#like this happened several times in the Grishaverse

[keirashark]

Somebody oughta check in on Leigh Bardugo cause she loves describing how people get cut in half via dark magic in visceral ways

[writing-havoc]

Hi I just read enough and I was wondering if you would make another part. It doesn't have to be yn and Kaz getting another kid it could just be them in the future. Thanks

Enough, Pt.2

♡ Summary: Nina and Matthias have finally taken it upon themselves to search for a place to settle down. The downside is, it's outside the country. And saying goodbye is a bit more difficult that it usually is.

♡ Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Reader, The Crows x Reader (platonic!)

♡ Fandom: Six of Crows, Grishaverse

♡ Warning(s): None

♡ WC: 4.4k

Been a while, but here's part two!! I loved the direction this took when I was writing it and I hope you and everyone else who wanted a part two feel the same <3

Side note, thanks for 500 follows. Was not expecting that when I took a break but it was nice to come back to!

Please excuse any grammar and spelling mistakes

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"Something's wrong."

Kaz turns to look at you, several pieces of paper shuffled around in his hand and slotted between the spaces of his fingers. It momentarily distracts you, seeing how ridiculous he looks.

"Yeah. You're not helping."

"No, that's not it."

You ignore the scathing glare he sends you in turn for biting your nails, eyebrows twitching from where they're pulled together.

It feels distinctly like you're missing something. Or maybe like something is supposed to be happening but it's not.

You've already been around Jesper and Wylans to drop off the pie you promised them in exchange for them coming along on a job. Nina already talked to you about her trip back to Ravka to discuss some stuff with the King. Inej wasn't due back until tomorrow, already having everything prepared for her return. Matthias was relatively self sufficient so he didn't need anything from you today. Kaz is burning holes into your skull as a way of forcing you to continue to help him.

Logically, there's nothing left to worry about. You just went through your entire list of people who you wouldn't mind helping.

Maybe Rotty needed something? But you haven't talked with him in a while. Which, really, you need to do that because now you feel bad. Pim and Anika are out of town.

So what-

Panic bubbles in your chest and spurts out your throat. "Leo!"

Kaz jumps a bit, papers making a noise as they're jostled. He stares for a moment, then tenses. "Where is he?"

You rub at your face, the question already plaguing your mind.

"He's at fifth harbor, I think."

The fact that you're not certain kills you.

"You /think?/"

"Okay listen here, Mr. 5 Star Parent." You glare at him. "I told him there was something I needed at the harbor and that it was coming..."

You pat your body, looking for a pocketwatch. Usually it's around your neck or hanging in your pant leg but it's not here.

Kaz walks up to you, jutting his torso out a bit and paper filled hands held off to the side. You grab the pocketwatch from his vest, popping it open to look at the time.

A bit of relief nulls the panic. "It came about half an hour ago, which means he should be-" you turn towards the window, slotting the little clock back into his pocket "-on his way back right now."

The curtains are already open, letting in a deep, warm orange glow into his newly refurbished office. He still intends to move to the ground floor, but for now he remains up here, with the creaky stairs and wide angled window.

You walk over, looking outside. The sun blazes into your eyes for a moment before you block it out, the cobblestones glistening up at you.

There aren't any people around, which is a little weird considering this is the time when people would be making their way back home. But, there is a dog barking up the side of a building, the sound carrying to your ears.

"I doubt you'd see him walking back home."

"He couldn't carry a stack of notebooks with him over the rooftops."

"He would try."

That he would. And he proves Kaz right by hopping down from above.

"I got your note- Woah!"

His sudden appearance is enough to make you scream, hard earned fighting instincts kicking in. Your knife in your side pouch is suddenly no longer in your side pouch, instead flying at record breaking speeds across the Barrel.

The only reason it's not in your son is because you managed to divert it before it left your hand, instead making it create a wind that rustles his longer hair.

"Shit!"

Leo loses his balance, tumbling into the office in a very ungraceful front flip, landing on his back.

"Leo! What did we say about this!?"

He doesn't answer right away, and you don't really expect him to. He groans on the floor as you go to help him up, books scattered on the floor from where they ripped against the thick paper they were stored in.

Kaz is right behind you, papers forgotten as he grips Leo beneath the arms and hoists him up to his feet. You grab a chair, heart still racing yet relieved to see him here and, for the most part, safe.

You plop him down, wooden chair adorned with a cushion.

"I thought you'd have heard me!"

You scoff. "You know I often don't, you sneaky fucking minx." He learned from the best, unfortunately, so he had nothing to say in his defense. "I really could have killed you just now."

"Yeah, you could have." Kaz decides to chime in, going back to sorting through his papers, but paying you extra attention. "That knife is now floating in East Stave, judging by the sheer power and murderous intent you just threw it with."

"Which is why we talked about this!" You examine Leo, turning his face with your fingers near where you seen the knife fly by.

Kaz sighs, putting papers back between his fingers.

"I'm sorry." Leo whispers.

You take a minute to look at him, /really/ look at him instead of searching for what you know isn't there, and see the shaken up and guilt ridden look on his face. His freckled cheeks are drained of color, but slowly coming back. His eyes are wet, and his hair is ruffled beyond repair with just your fingers to card through the progressively curling strands. His eyebrows are pulled together, and there's a noticeable downturn to his lips.

He's really scared.

You sigh. "I'm sorry, too." There's no hesitation in the way you place a kiss to his forehead, letting your lips linger for a moment as you feel the tension leave the space between his brows. "I was literally in the window looking for you, I shouldn't have been so startled."

"I wasnt gone for that long."

You huff. "It's half eight. You left at two."

His eyebrows raise. "Wow."

Kaz actually laughs, a short, sharp exhale through his nose with a curve in the corner of his mouth. "I don't think 'wow' is the word you should be using."

"It's the only word I've got."

You scoff. "Well now you're just a liar, little book worm."

Speaking of books, you turn to the space in front of the window, finding it void of your stack of notebooks that nearly cost Leo his life.

You don't even get the chance to look around for them before Kaz is picking them up from his chair, and then handing them off to you.

There's four of them, each looking the exact same as the others, much to your delight. You take them in earnest. "Thanks, love."

It's wonderful to see the shade of pink that adorns his cheeks still when you call him that.

"What do you need 4 exactly replicated notebooks for?" He clears his throat.

You set them in Leo's lap, taking the top one off and opening it.

The paper was fine and thin, a bit of a bumpy texture to it when you run the pads of your fingers over the surface. It was cream white, a slight yellow tint to some and a very slight grayish-brown tint to others. The edges were deckled, which you'd fix later, and the back cover to the book had an imprint of the sellers company on it.

"They're for little things. Ones for Leo and the rest are for myself. I was considering getting into drawing, but I think I'm mostly going to use them for keeping track of my thoughts."

Leo picked one up, flipping through the pages. "Like a diary?"

"Not... necessarily."

"Then what?"

As you try to think of a different way to explain it, though, nothing comes to mind.

You bought a book you can write in to record your thoughts and feelings. If that's not a diary you don't know what is.

As if second nature you look towards Kaz, as if he's going to help you out of the mess you made. Instead you're met with your husband doing a shit job at hiding an amused smile.

He did that a lot these days.

"If not a diary, then what is it?" He teases.

"It's just... a journal." You go back to flipping through the pages, drinking in the sound that comes from Kaz as he suppresses a laugh with a controlled breath even if it pisses you off, Leo smiling widely at the display he's managed to produce. "Just to write stuff, yknow?"

Leo closes his journal and opens the next one, going over the pages.

"Write stuff. Personal stuff." Kaz teases again.

"Well, yeah." You shrug. "But also, other non personal things. Just stuff I notice and want to keep track of, like things people gravitate to. And to help me learn languages."

You feel Kaz before you hear him. He presses a feather light kiss to your temple, holding your face with his gloved hand.

It's new, welcomed.

You close your eyes and lean gently into his hand until he pulls away. And when you look back at him, he's got that boyish charm to him that he fought tooth and nail for.

You're just glad you run warm. To ease his worries.

"A journal isn't going to help with your abysmal pronunciation of Ravkan."

You shove the journal into his chest, making him stumble away from you. His smile grows.

"I don't need sass from you, Mr. I-only-know-one-language."

He takes the journal and opens it, looking into it. "I don't need to know more than one when I'm surrounded by people fluent in several."

"Not for much longer you're not."

The comment makes the air in the room melancholy.

Along with Nina going to Ravka to discuss some "important matters," her and Matthias won't be returning to Kerch afterward.

They're going to travel around for a while, exploring the different lands available to them to settle down in. After they explore a bit of Ravka, Nina giving Matthias an ample tour of her homeland, their next stop is Novyi Zem. There they'll do much of the same, basking in eachothers presense as they indulge in the prosperous lands and rich culture.

From there they'll edge into The Wandering Isle, but not too far to avoid the Drüskelle. And then they'll take their leave to the Southern Colonies, where they're planning on taking permanent residence if they don't find somewhere else first.

You're happy for them, and so is Kaz, much as he still hates to express it.

Leo, however, is having a hard time figuring out where he stands on the matter.

Earlier, when you went to treat Nina to waffles as one of the last meals you'll share together for a long while, Leo had made it about halfway to the same little diner the three if you went to when you first found him before stopping.

He stood his ground, refusing to move even as you took his hand and tried to encourage him to even just move out of the road, and then gave you a genuine, sad "sorry" and took off back towards the Slat.

You couldn't get him to turn around and come back. And knowing he'd make himself as difficult to find as possible, you continued to meet Nina, who was as sympathetic as can be despite being disappointed.

Even now, you can see the way Leo grips the notebooks, ready to flee.

Your fingers find the back of his head, gently scratching his scalp and loosening the knots in his hair. His shoulders loosen, and he let's out a deep breath.

He's the only reason they haven't done this sooner. But now that he's older and they've had time to learn how to manage the sheer amount of money they came into possession of, it's time.

"They leave tomorrow. Inej will be back as well to see her off." It was a feeble attempt to lighten his mood.

And it doesn't work, his smile not even reaching his eyes. "I know."

You can't think of anything else to say. And Leo stands up, setting the journals on the chair, and walks out the door.

--------

Inej makes it to the harbor before everyone else. Her boat is docked right where it always is, and she's throwing herself off the side and bounding towards the group of you before you can point it out.

You pick up the pace, Nina following right after, luggage forgotten about once she gets to the base of the steps.

The both of you wrap Inej up in a hug, not squeezing hard, but hard enough that you're sure that Inej is having a bit of some difficulty breathing.

You all let go, you taking Inejs hands in yours, smiling as wide as you can. "It's so good to see you."

"You too."

Nina puts a hand on Inejs shoulder. "Are you sure you're alright with taking me to Ravka?"

Inej gives her a contented look. "I'm sure. I'll just be dropping you off, no getting off the boat."

You hardly get another moment with her before Jesper is shoving his way through. He draws out her name, slowly and gently coming down to wrap her in a hug. She reciprocates, already having seen his quick approach.

As Wylan comes to stand next to the hugging pair, Jesper swinging them from side to side, you turn toward Matthias to see him smiling at the display as well.

He's gotten so much more comfortable over the past few years, his year in prison far behind him. It's nice to see him smile so openly, so lovingly.

The boys let go of Inej, Leo having given her a hug as well.

He decided to come along silently, standing outside the Slat and ready to follow to the docks.

No one said a word, just nodded at him as he tailed right beside you.

Getting to see Inej breaks the tension within him a little. You can tell, his shoulders more relaxed and his smiles coming easier.

He moves out of the way as Nina gets Inej's attention again. Inej allows the tears to collect in her eyes as she hugs her once more, the both of them gripping eachother.

Inej sighs. "You'd think I'd be used to this."

They giggle, and so do you.

A high, sad whine escapes Nina's throat. "I didnt realize how hard this was."

"It gets easier."

"I don't think it does."

They go silent, gripping eachother just a little harder before letting go.

You suppose there's some truth to both those statements.

As Nina turns to you, wrapping you up in her arms, you find it hard to do the same.

Because sure, if you do this enough it can start to feel like routine. You lean in close, holding the other together as tight as possible, and then you say goodbye.

But there's so much more.

You hike your arms up and squeeze around her middle, only minding your pressure just a little to avoid forcing all the air out of her lungs. She does not afford you the same courtesy, and squeezes you as tight as possible.

Emotionally, it doesn't. Everytime Inej leaves it feels as if a piece of you is being taken away. And now two more pieces are leaving, a sizeable hole forming in your heart.

When will it be whole again?

When will every one of you be back in the same place, after almost 8 years since the Ice Court? With one hunting slavers and two finding a place they can call home?

Childishly, selfishly, you want everyone to stay together. To call this place, right here, their home, and settle down.

But that's not how real life works.

So you squeeze her a little tighter, and eventually when you let go, you allow the little piece of her that occupies your heart to float away with her.

"Take care of yourself." You say to her, clutching her hands in yours.

She laughs, her loud barking laugh, and tears run down her cheeks. "8 years and that's all you have to say?"

You scoff, regretting it immediately when the release of air from your lungs sends tears pouring out of your eyes. "You know I suck with this emotional goodbye bullshit."

"You and our boys all do."

You turn towards where Kaz and Matthias are standing next to eachother, Kaz's hands placed firmly on his cane and Matthias with his hands clenched into loose fists at his sides.

While he has grown more relaxed over the years, that Drüskelle rigidness has yet to be completely shed, if it ever will be.

Jesper and Wylan get their turn saying goodbye to Nina, and you walk over to Matthias.

He relaxes slightly, his body curving down ever so slightly to become just a bit more eye level with you.

"What do you want, big guy? A hug? Handshake? Fistbump?"

He smiles at the humor in your voice, rolling his eyes, and then he's walking forward, arms out.

It's only half surprising, your eyebrows raising ever so slightly as you walk into him.

He's still as solid as can be, but he's gentle in the way he uses that solidness. His arms wrap around your upper body in a way that encapsulates you, your hands flattening across his back.

The hug is much shorter than Nina's, but it's only slightly less emotional.

Your tears continue to fall. His eyes manage to get a glossy look to them, which is basically the same as you breaking down into an ugly sob if you had to put it on a scale.

You take hold of his arms, his hands holding onto your elbows.

"You take care of yourself as well. Keep eachother safe."

He smiles. "You and the demjin really do suck at goodbyes." His Fjerdan hasn't faded a bit, with you, him, Nina, and ocassionally Wylan all speaking it when he does. You and Wylan were learning to speak more like a native, you catching on much faster than him, who wanted to stay more towards textbook Fjerdan.

You're going to miss those bits of chaos, with Kaz and Jesper standing off to the side giving the lot of you looks of confusion and horror when they pick up on certain words out of context.

"Give me a break, half of you are gone now."

He gives your elbows a squeeze. "We will visit, as promised."

"You better. I'll be visiting you too once you get settled down, so you better be prepared."

"I wouldn't expect any less."

You let go of eachother, your body subconsciously finding Kaz's and standing as close as you can to him.

Leo is talking nervously to Nina. Their voices are gone with the wind, his mouth moving rapidly as hers stays slow, hands coming up and wiping away his tears.

He stops, lips turned down, and she brings him into her. Just like you, he can't seem to make his arms move at first. But when he does, they fly around Nina, squeezing her as tightly as a thirteen year old boy can.

You hope this doesn't break him. It's hard enough whenever Inej comes and goes, you have no idea how hard this will be for him with Nina and Matthias visiting so much less often.

They pull apart, and Nina wipes his tears once more. She says something, low enough that you see Inej try and lean in to hear. Whatever she says, Leo gets a serious look on his face, and then nods.

She ruffles his hair, making him giggle.

Inej takes this as her cue to make her way on over. Her eyes are a little pink and glassy, and her nose has gone a little red from where she's been rubbing it.

You hold your arms out again, and she accepts as she takes those last few steps. She's still so thin, but you know better than to think she's gotten weak. You can feel it in the firmness with which she hugs you and how tense her back is, hard muscles sleeping beneath her clothes.

"I've only seen you for five minutes and you're leaving already. And taking Nina and Matthias with you."

You feel more than you hear her chuckle. "Ill visit soon. And so will they when they're ready."

"I know." You pull away. "It just hurts."

She moves on to say something to Kaz, and you look back towards Nina to see Leo handing her one of the journals from yesterday. Usually you'd be a little upset at the regifting, but the awed look on Nina's face brings more confusion than anything else.

They hug again, squeezing tighter than before if possible, and then Leo is running back towards you.

He slams into you, and you're half ready for it. Your body stumbles backwards, his fingers digging into your side and shoulder blade. A third hand comes and stabilizes you as you put your hand on the back of his head, and your other on his back.

He's grown so much. Both physically and emotionally. He's tall enough now that his forehead can rest comfortably in the meat of your shoulder, and considering that he's only 13, you're willing to bet he'll be as tall as Matthias once he's done growing.

The people this important to him leaving will be hard, like opening an old wound, but you can tell he's been prepared for this. They've been openly preparing to leave Kerch for about a year and a half, discussing it when the topic comes up.

He knew this was going to happen.

You just hope you're prepared for how emotional this will be once they're actually gone, boat disappearing across the horizon.

You squeeze him a little tighter, wishing that just holding him like this would make everything better.

"You okay?" You ask.

He nods his head, but doesn't let go.

The other hand rubs your back from side to side. You can feel the leather through your many layers, the vibrations of the friction as he readjusts his fingers making you smile.

Looking up, you see Nina begin making her way over.

Gently, you encourage Leo to let you go. He stands next to Kaz, who does his best to comfort him, gloves fingers moving his hair from his face and behind his ears.

"One last hug before you go." You ask.

She doesn't deny you. "Youre doing a lot of that today."

"Forgive me for wanting to hold you while youre still here."

"Apologize for that again and I'll drag you with me to throw you overboard."

You both laugh, the sound coming from your bellies. Your heart stutters, and it makes you feel a whole lot better.

"Leo gave me a journal to write in while I'm away." She whispers.

"Are you going to use it?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course I will." She pulls away, wiping at her eyes. "And you can read about our adventures for generations to come."

"The size of your ego won't fit on that boat."

"I'll make it work."

You cup her head in your hands. "You always do."

Her lip wobbles, and Matthias takes that as his cue to come in and comfort her.

For a while you all stand in the middle of the docks of fifth harbor. Hoards of people give you dirty looks as they brush past, but no one could find it in them to care.

It's obvious that you're all just finding excuses to keep the conversation going. But the thing is, it's not hard. It's the easiest thing in the world. Topics flow into more topics, strings tying each one together so intricately that you loop back to the beginning several times without more than a blink, and then you're off on something else just as quickly.

And time continues, despite the unrelenting need for it to stop.

When you eventually look up, the sky is becoming a darker shade of blue than the ever lovely warm orange it sports. The sun is just barely peeking over the horizon if you had to guess, the torrential waves surrounding Ketterdam ever present.

Everyone goes silent, realizing the time, and then they begin their goodbyes.

The cycle starts with Jesper and ends with Kaz, who gives both Nina and Inej a tip of his hat, Matthias getting a handshake.

You put a hand on Ninas shoulder. "I hope you find the best piece of land the world has to offer."

"I won't settle for anything less, given what we've been through. I deserve it."

You both smile, giggles almost bubbling. "That you do."

You let your hand slip off her shoulder as she turns away to pick up her things, journal stuffed safely into her shoulder bag.

With nothing left to do, they wave goodbye with their stuffed hands, and Helnik and Inej are on the boat and pulling out of her berth and out into the sea.

The waves allow them to pass, making for a beautiful scene of The Wraith bathed in the light of the nearly set sun, and they're gone.

Nobody says anything.

You wrap your son in your arms, and take your husband's hand. Wylan tucks himself into Jespers arms, and props him up.

Everything feels like it's falling apart.

But for your sanity, and those around you. You tell yourself everything is as it should be, no matter how bullshit it feels.

Because everything is as it should be. It just...

It doesn't feel good.

A hand comes up and wipes your cheek, and you let it rid your face of the tears.

"Come. Home time." Kaz says. There's a gentle tug on your arm, and it's almost like he tugs on your heartstrings too.

He makes everything easier.

You finally look away from the waves, and you feel just a little better. "Home time."

You look down at Leo, who also has tears running down his face. He let's you wipe them away, and then nods. "Home time."

"See you tomorrow?" Wylan asks, Jesper cleaning himself up right next to him.

You hum a deep, confirming tone. "Tomorrow. Dinner."

He nods. "Dinner it is."

Kaz tugs once more, just as gentle, and you give in.

It's time to go home.

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Tags:

@b3kk3r-by-br3kk3r @a-candle-maker @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx @kylie18 @morrigan-crowmwell @venomsvl @milkshake0

And I hope it's okay to tag these people as well since you guys specifically asked for a part 2 in the notes:

@curiousdarlin @beautifulbows924 @jjmaybanksrings

[stromuprisahat]

grishaverse-chaos/739063809256374272/oh-you-are-reading-ditw-do-share-your?source=share oh my god bro wtf is OP on???

No, please, I'm NOT reading it.

I've had a long argument with the author last year, and in short it got stuck on two points:

Their unshakable belief people are deep down all nice and longing to become better, if only you gave them the chance. The solution to anything is simply heartfelt discussion.

The Darkling never really did anything for anyone else after the Little Palace. He's evil at heart, and all his efforts are only about his personal power. He cannot be trusted (while others can).

I ended up in helpless depression, because how can anyone be so naive, especially if they claim they want to enter the world of politics?

When you talk to a person like this, then go visit (unfortunatelly) your father, who spends an hour telling you how all the bad stuff happening is the Ukrainian immigrants' and unemployed Gypsies' fault. And yes, he's willing to admit they're not ALL like ~that~, BUT... *start the same shit all over again*

One day, reality will arrive at that person's door like:

edit: Oh! I forgot third! They trust Alina's word, even though she's unreliable narrator af, and lies on the page several times...

[sissytobitch10seconds]

A Peculiar Flock of Crows: Fly Towards Home

Fandom: Grishaverse: Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows Summary: With the entire group together, they begin to work out the kinks in their dynamics. That is, until they happen across what looks to be a crime in action. Warnings: Hate crimes, human experimentation, threats, and violence Word Count: 7,496 Ship(s): Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik/Matthias Helvar

Archive link!

A/N: We've got another installment! I honestly love the fusion between these fandoms so much, it works almost as well as MPHFPC and TUA lol. I hope that you guys enjoy! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

They had been making good progress while the group was still too nervous to really get into their differences. As that began to fade, the problems arose.

Kaz and Inej were the first to begin. They started sniping at each other about what the best way to go across dangerous territory was. Inej had her training scaling the sides of impossible cliffs and sheer rockfaces, but Kaz had experience with sneaking around people that were actively looking for him. When they finished with that, they argued about politics and religion and pretty much anything else. It was obvious to everyone other than them that they were flirting with each other.

Jesper and Wylan were also obviously interested in the other but their class difference had caused a lot of problems in the beginning. 

Nina was proud to say that she was able to keep her tongue in her mouth instead of teasing Matthias endlessly, until he had demanded that they cross the river so he could be closer to Trassel instead of waiting for the wolf to come closer on his own. After they had fished him out of the water, she had really let loose. Now they couldn’t go more than a couple of steps without her tearing him apart about something or other. They had almost gotten caught by several hunting parties that could have alerted the authorities about them because of their incessant arguing.

A couple days after the river incident, things began to soothe for everyone else. She was glad that Wylan and Jesper had finally worked out whatever issues had arisen between the two of them while they were traveling, but she thought that the moon eyes were going to be the death of her. They usually hung towards the back of the group so that they could not-so-subtly whisper flirt to each other while holding hands. None of the rest of them cared very much about the fact that they were both boys, what they cared about was the fact that it was slowing them down.

She supposed that she couldn’t really complain about it, she was just feeling a bit jealous. Jesper had been her surrogate brother while she was living with him and Colm. She had cherished the connection that she had with another peculiar during that time, even if she was living life quite differently to how she was used to. She had lost everyone that she had ever known when she had been forced to flee her loop so that she could survive. She had found a bit of what she had back with Ms. Eagle in the form of her brother, but then she had lost it again when they had found more peculiars. Her days became a constant struggle to manage her jealousy towards Wylan, her contempt for Matthias, and actually getting them to the place that they needed to be.

It was exhausting, but she was pushing through it. She just wished that the others would make it a bit easier before she absolutely lost her mind. The monotony of endless trees, mountains, and farms was beginning to get to all of them and was making them a bit cranky. Every place that they stayed seemed the same even if it changed fairly significantly. They had several wool blankets, two per person, that they would use to bed down in the empty barn, cave, or under the bramble bushes for the night. They were loosing out on sleep because they had to stay up so that they could keep watch for wights, which likely wasn’t helping with them feeling like everything was the same. Inej, Wylan, and Matthias were all tied for the most moral of the group so their bad attitude was coming from the realization that they did have to steal eggs and crops from the small gardens they came across so that they could keep their bellies full, more than what they could forage would ever hope to. 

Nina was convinced that if they didn’t come across something more interesting, she was going to have to pry Kaz’s hands from around Jesper’s neck.

She immediately wished that she hadn’t thought that because as they crested their latest hill, she spotted something that made her heart stutter in her chest. She held her arms out to either side of her so that she could tell the rest of her crew that something was wrong and then dropped down to her belly. She averted her gaze from the sight on the path next to the hill so that she could check on the others and saw that they had all, including Trassel, followed suite to her.

Nina then inched closer to the ridge of the hill where she gazed down at what she had discovered again. There were three men standing around the back of an army truck, one of the ones that locked from the outside and had a massive compartment used for lugging supplies to soldiers or to boats for contract. They were wearing the brown and green military fatigues of the British army but it was clear based on the way that they were holding themselves that they were anything but. Two of them had rifles clutched in their hands and the third kept touching his hand down to his hip where a shiny pistol rested. Each of them were also wearing sunglasses despite the gray smog of clouds that was painted over the sky and had been since early that morning.

“What’s going on?” Wylan asked, having been knocked down the furthest down the hill. He was also the second smallest out of their entire group so it was harder for him to spy.

“I think that we just ran into another group of wights,” Nina supplied.

“They look like soldiers to me,” Matthias replied, his brows furrowing together. Something jumped in her stomach and a rush of anger surged through her bones. Every time she said something, he had to contradict her about it with his own opinion. She had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt in the beginning with assuming that he just liked to talk or wanted to make conversation but didn’t have great people skills. Now she was beginning to believe that it was him singling her out.

Inej let out a low breath like she was preparing for something, and then she disappeared. The grass where she was before had wavered in the wind for a moment as it sprang back up. There was a light creak in the tree above them, the one that was casting black and white dancing shadows down onto the road, but it was easy to pass it off as the wind. They had been traveling with the girl for long enough that they knew it wasn’t, though they also knew better than to tilt their head up and give away her location.

Nina let her anger go and then turned towards Matthias, “I think that I know how to spot wights better than you do.” She bit her lip when she turned her gaze back down to the road, figuring that she maybe hadn’t let go of as much anger as she had thought.

“How do you even acquire a skill like that? They look like everyone else and according to your wondrous Ms. Eagle, they’re masters of blending in with others,” Kaz snarked. He had also been causing her quite a lot of headaches, but he reminded her of her older sister back in her loop.

“I know that they’re wights because I’m not a damned normal,” she snapped back. “They’re good at pulling the wool over on kids that don’t know any better and people that aren’t even aware of the whole other world that lurks right next to them.”

She could almost feel the breath that Jesper released when she said that. She had been trying to explain more of her world to him since they had first met up and she was introduced into the Fahey home, but she struggled. Nina had lost everything when her loop had been raided and so even thinking about the times before the raid made her entire body ache with mourning grief. She knew that he had been worried about Colm since they had started on their journey and he was right to do so. Reassuring him that it was easier for normals to spot wights when they knew about peculiars was the least that she could do, even indirectly.

“What do you think that they’re doing?” Wylan asked. He inched up the hill so that he was laying on his belly between Matthias and Trassel. The separation of that particular soul would have resulted in a fight if it was anyone else, but Matthias had a soft spot for Wylan.

“They’re probably transporting something,” Matthias shrugged awkwardly as he unbundled his arms from underneath him. It made him look like a weird slug when he was no longer holding himself up with his elbows, but she knew that he was reaching towards the long hunting rifle that the villagers had given them when they left.

“Yes, but what?” Jesper finally questioned as he wiggled up on the other side of Nina. For a moment, she mourned the loss of Matthias’ warmth and visage beside her. She shook the thought away almost immediately after it lodged itself in her brain. She didn’t need his comments her way of life, or his constant contradictions of every opinion that passed through her lips. It was better that there was some separation between the two of them.

They all went quiet as something more began to happen on the roads below. They were nearing the town that Nina knew an old peculiar lived in, which meant that there was a speckling of homes around them. The one across from the hill that they were hiding out on was like something out of a tale of the American plains. It was dug into the earth so that the stairs had to go down significantly before the door could jut up from the ground. There was a single window on the top of the mound, right next to where a chimney was belching gray smoke into the air. 

The wights stalked down to the door and then burst it open. They took hold of someone inside and then tugged him through the entrance so that he was on display for them all to see. He had slanted golden eyes and dark hair that looked as though it should have been styled and wasn’t. He couldn’t have been older than any of them based on the awkward way that his body was put together, like he hadn’t finished growing into all of it yet. He was wearing plain trousers and a white shirt like every farmer in the area did.

“Please let me go! I don’t even know what I did,” he cried as the men turned him around so that they could bind his hands. “I don’t know where my father is!”

Wylan let out a small gasp and then had to duck further back down the hill when the wights turned around to see if someone was there. Nina pressed her hands together as she reached out for their hearts with her gift, waiting for them to get so close that she had to take them out. She wasn’t nearly trained enough to take them all out at once, though. A silent breath of relief washed over the group when he turned back around and walked over to the crying boy.

“Hush, boy. You’re making a scene,” the man replied gruffly. He finished twisting the cuffs into place and then extended something in between them. It was a thin metal bar that would keep the wrists separated while changing them to whatever the wights decided to attach the leash to. 

Kaz leaned forward slightly, his dark coffee eyes boring in on the metallic object. “What is that?”

“His peculiar ability must have something to do with his hands,” Nina frowned. She remembered what had happened when the wights had raided her own loop. They had brought something very similar with them when they had heard that she was one of Ms. Eagle’s wards. She supposed that the boy they had captured was somewhat like her friends had been and thus the wights wanted to make sure that he couldn’t use his talent.

“We have to get him out of there,” Wylan insisted as he watched what was happening again. His brows were knit together and his hands were clutching at the grass like he was trying to pull it all up.

Nina had already resolved that their group was going to have to do something, but she was glad that there was someone there to back her up. She hadn’t been able to talk about the true horrors that she had seen and been told about when she was working as a partial healer with the ymbryne council in their headquarters. Those memories were the ones that haunted her right alongside the night of the raid. 

“Just how are we going to do that?” Jesper snarked as he turned towards his boyfriend. Even though they had settled most of their differences, it was still hard for them to keep their bickering to themselves at times.

Wylan opened his mouth to say something, his cheeks flushing pink with indignation. Before he had the chance, the boy on the other side of Nina rasped, “I have an idea.”

They scuttled away from the edge of the hill with Jesper watching the road, his rifle mounted like he was true soldier instead of an awkward teenage boy too old for his farm and too young for the army. They huddled around each other so that they could talk in hushed voices while they made a plan on what they were doing to do. Kaz proved to be intelligent beyond his years even when he wasn’t using his gift.

By the time that they had actually set their plan in motion, Nina almost wished that she had vetoed Kaz. She slipped away from the group and hurried as far down the path as she could go with the truck barreling merrily down the road. She was adjusting the ringlets that were matted from sleeping on the ground and her shoving them out of her face. She made them look as neat and pretty as she could while also shoving the grass and dirt off of her blouse so that her breasts were on display. She wasn’t sure that this would actually work on the wights since they were power-hungry eugenicists, but Kaz had insisted that he knew everything there was to know about a man’s desires.

She slipped out of the forest and onto the road, where she stuck her hand out to try and catch the attention of the cars moving past. Nina pretended to just barely be spotting the armored truck instead of having been following it for the better part of half a mile. She had no idea how many people were inside of the vehicle for it to be moving so slowly.

Nina raised her arms above her head and then waved them to get the attention of the men inside. She had been expecting them to charge right past her without a single care in the world, but they stopped and pulled over. The one in the driver’s seat got out and then leaned closer to her, “Can we help you, little lady?” he asked.

“I’m certainly hoping that you can,” she purred. She hated the idea of having to be seductive to men that not only wanted to kill her, but were far older than her. Her thoughts strayed back to Matthias and she felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. She tried to focus on the mission ahead of her instead of the very confusing feelings fluttering like a nest of bats in her chest.

“What would someone like you need from us?” the man on the other side of the driver asked.

Nina placed her hands behind her, curling down her pinky and ring finger with her thumb while leaving the other two distended. She reached out with her powers so that she could feel the thrumming of their pulses in their bodies. She traced the feeling up to their hearts and then urged the organs to slow so that they would loose enough oxygen to pass out.

She had been so focused on using the powers that she wasn’t trained enough in that she didn’t think to reply for a couple of seconds. She made herself flush by bringing up a dream that she had shoved away the night previous and then tilted her head down shyly. “Well, I just got a tad bit lost. I was wondering if you could help me get back to my grandmother’s home?”

As she moved, she pressed her chest out and up so that the crease where the mounds rested together was more visible. She noticed, with a bit of disgust, that it only made the wight leer at her more than it had before. Maybe she should have just told Jesper to shoot him when they had the jump on the wights before.

 “Where would that be?” the driver asked.

She hadn’t thought of that before. She would have to come up with a quick answer and then unlock her hands so that the guards wouldn’t by under her spell anymore. Nina desperately tried to think of something that she could say to get out of that situation. She didn’t know where any non-peculiar towns were settled or even where the closest standalone home was. She couldn’t even unclasp her hands because it was vital that the guards were sleepy enough to not notice what was happening in the back of their van.

All of her thoughts came to a screeching halt when she heard the other guard say, “Hey Ron, do you feel off at all?”

“Now that ya mention it, I think that I do,” the man replied. He shifted around in his seat and then tilted the edges of his sunglasses down so that he could get a better look at Nina.

The wights had always seemed so inhuman to her that she had never realized that they might have trouble seeing from behind the dark glasses that they always wore. To her, they didn’t need to see because they always just knew. They knew where the best place to find peculiars were, the best places to stash the children that they stole, the best places to hunt down normals for their hollowgasts, and everything else that an evil maniac would need to know. The idea of her being truly viewed by someone that had once been a person and then had made the conscious decision to become that insidious and evil made her take a small step backwards. 

Her own heart was thrumming wildly out of control in her chest. She was still focusing on pumping the blood through their veins as slowly as possible without killing them. Ms. Eagle had never even let them maim the normals in her loop, not even for practice in defending themselves. Nina had a strong bias against killing people, even when they were wights in the middle of kidnapping an innocent.

The anxiety that she had already been experiencing increased tenfold because she saw a shape out of the corner of her eye. She refused to tilt her head or even let her irises flicker in that direction because she knew what it was. Inej had likely launched herself out of the tree that she had used to get a better vantage point, which meant that she was either on top of the truck or on the other side of it already. Kaz was the one that was going to make the biggest fuss since he had to limp down the hill and to the bolted doors so that he could get through the lock.

She desperately wanted to look towards her friends so that she could tell if they were alright, but she knew that she couldn’t. Even a slight movement in their direction would give them away and result in them all being very badly hurt. That made the anxiety simmering in her stomach all the worse, the muscles clamping down around the meager breakfast of wild berries and grasses that they had found.

“I think we’ve got a girl with a tricky set of fingers,” the wight on the other side of the driver said.

“I think that we do,” Ron replied. “Mind showing us those lovely hands of yours, girlie?” he asked.

She couldn’t release her fingers because then it would immediately result in them being able to break from her hold. If she dropped them under too quickly, then they would suffer brain damage or worse. She didn’t want to have to deal with hiding bodies or bringing them to a hospital to explain what had happened. If they left two dead people in the middle of a country road the townspeople her group was trying to get to would no doubt suffer the consequences of her action.

“Oh, sir, I really don’t think that’s necessary, sirs,” she shook her head. “I just wanted to get a ride back to where I live, but I don’t think that you’ve got room for all of me. You can continue down the road if you want.”

Nina wasn’t sure what the words that were spilling out of her mouth were meant to do. She was supposed to be keeping the wights distracted with the rest of the team did their work, not sending them on their way before they could even get those damned doors open. She realized that they should have stationed someone on the other side of the hill so that she could have had a sign about how far along the plan was. She didn’t know how long she was supposed to be distracting them for.

Relief and anxiety mixed together in her so that she felt like she was falling apart. Neither of them men seemed like they were just going to leave, but that also meant that she had to find a way to flirt or manipulate her way out of the hole that she had dug for herself. “I don’t think you were quite understanding what I was asking, girl,” the wight in the driver’s seat replied. He reached down to his waist and then pulled a shiny gun from the holster she had seen on his belt earlier. He flicked the safety off and then pointed the barrel directly at her forehead. “Just what do you think that you’re trying to pull on us?”

Slowly, she peeled her hands apart and then let their heartbeats go back up to what they were supposed to be. As she raised her hands up into the air so that they could see her palms. “Nothing, I was just trying to get home,” she made tears well in her eyes as she cast her head down towards the ground. She made sure that she looked as pathetic as she had when she had gotten caught sneaking around with Ivan and Fedyor when they were supposed to be studying. It was a talent that was unrelated to her peculiar abilities but had helped her get out of trouble just as often as the other had.

“Do you think that we’re stupid?” the other wight asked. “We can tell that you’re a fucking peculiar, which means that we’re going to have to round you up. I think that you’ll make a wonderful experience, I’m eager to see what parts of you we can bottle.”

Her stomach roiled at the mention of that. She knew what they did to people like her, she knew what they would try to do to someone that had powers like her, but it was different to have it actually threatened on her by someone that was willing to do it. “I don’t think that we’re talking the same language anymore. I don’t know what a peculiar is,” she was lying through her teeth and she could already see that they knew it.

Ron stepped out of the cab without moving the pistol from where it was pointed. She was able to take a moment to admire the fact that Jesper’s pistols, the one that his mother had brought with her when she moved away from her family to marry Colm, were far prettier than the ones that the wights had secured. Almost as soon as that thought had fled from her mind, she realized that the seconds of her life were ticking slowly further and further down.

“I think that the time for lies is over, kid,” he chuckled. “You’re going to stay right here while my friend goes around to the back of the truck so that we can get something to keep those hands apart.”

Nina knew that there was no fighting it now. He knew what she was and how she used her powers, she was too close to the boy that they had just taken from his own home. She should have taken Matthias, with all his thick accent and charm, up on his offer and let him be in her place. If she had then they wouldn’t have found out about him as quickly as they did her. She would have been able to focus more so that she could drop them quicker. They could be halfway down the road with their new companion in tow instead of her facing down the barrel of steal pointed at her brain.

She heard a snap come from up on the hill and then some rustling grass. She wasn’t sure who had moved or why they were no longer hiding out in the gully while waiting for Kaz and Inej to finish, but she loathed whoever it was with every fiber of her being. The wights had picked up on it just as easily as she had and while the gun stayed trained exactly where it had been before, Ron turned his head so that he could look towards the direction of the sounds.

As soon as he determined that nothing more was going to happen, he looked back to her. He leaned forward so that she could hear his breath in a whispered rasp and feel the heat of his breath against her skin. “It would be pity if we had to lose you, but don’t think that I won’t shoot if there’s something that you’re still holding back from us,” he growled.

“I’m not, I promise,” she choked. The tears that she had faked earlier were becoming real. They raced down her face without even a breath or pause, cooling the embarrassed heat of her cheeks.

The other wight had apparently finished getting around the other side of the truck and had spotted something. “Hey! What are you doing back here?” he shouted.

As soon as he gave a signal that something could be wrong, Ron wrapped his arm around Nina’s neck and then held her with the barrel of the gun pressed to her skin. She could feel the way that the metal was heating with the warmth of her own body and the press of the man against her back. She was very aware of every second that crept past and the shaking of the wight’s hand. Even a single twitch or jerk in the wrong direction could result with her dying.

“What’s going on?” Ron shouted to his partner.

“I found another one of those fucking kids! They’re lousy in these fields, boss is going to be so happy with us,” the other wight replied. He walked around the edge of the truck so that they were standing on the edge of it lengthwise. He had Kaz in his grasp, the boy breathing hard as he stared directly at where the wight’s bare hand was wrapped around Kaz’s wrist. Her friend’s pupils were blown wide and he had his teeth bared like he was a feral animal waiting for the right moment to strike.

“What do you think his power is?” the wight asked.

“Something to do with the locks, I found him trying to pick it,” the man explained as he jerked his head to where they had just come from.

There was another rustle and then suddenly Kaz was dropped. The wight reached towards his neck as Inej stepped out of the shadow of the truck with a shiny silver knife pressed into the wight’s neck. “Good, you’ve already let him go,” she said happily when she noticed Kaz scrambling to get up. “Are you going to finish cooperating with us?”

“I’m going to hang you by your hair and cut your soul out of those traveler’s feet,” he snarled. He then spat on her hand and sneered a word that made Inej’s face go ashy pale. Nina had heard it a couple of times before, but she had never contemplated the weight that it would hold for her new friend. Inej pulled the knife to the side so that there was a blooming slit in the wight’s neck that leaked thick red blood down onto his pressed military shirt. It wasn’t hard enough to damage anything beyond repair, but it was going to have a grizzly scar.

“I’ll fucking shoot her, you don’t think I’ll do it?” Ron shouted when he seemingly snapped back to his senses.

Nina let out a sob but refused to move at all, lest his finger twitch too close to the trigger ands he end up as another entry in the Tales or Ms. Eagles famous records.

A shot ran through the air.

The entire glen was silent for a moment before Nina let out a scream. It was so loud that her throat ached and her entire body was quivering with the force of it. The fear that had been brewing in her veins exploded out around like a firework so that she couldn’t contain herself anymore. She felt like her power was overflowing out of her in grand waves when she felt the blood that she had been trying to control earlier trickling down her back and soaking into the material of her shirt.

A hand reached out and grabbed her so that she was up against a firm chest and wrapped up in a pair of warm warms. She could feel lips moving on her hair and a hand brushing against her neck as whoever it was tried to calm her down. “You’re okay, you’re okay.”

Matthias’ warm, honey deep accented voice made the quivering movements of her body calm so that she felt like she was able to stand on her own. After the weeks that they had traveling together and their constant bickering throughout, she hadn’t ever expected to find that kind of comfort him. He felt like the only real thing in the entire world as she dug her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. Trassel’s fur brushed on her other side, where her socks barely didn’t cover the skin that her skirt exposed on the backs of her knees. She was consumed by the love and care of the boy that she had thought she hated, his soul reaching out to find her in both of the forms that it took.

“Wh-who shot him?” Nina asked after a second.

“I did. Sorry, love,” Jesper whispered. Matthias had already released her, so Jesper was able to reach over to her and bring her into a hug. She clung just as tightly to her surrogate brother as she had the boy she was falling in love with. They broke apart and then turned back to the bodies that they had just created.

“What are we going to do about them?” she asked. She was trying not to let her eyes stray to where Inej was sitting on the bank of the hill with her head in her hands. Based on the shaking of her shoulders and the white handkerchief that was clutched in her hand, she was crying. Nina knew the feeling, being around death never got easier even if the dead were completely irredeemable and had left the world a better place without them.

The sound of metal against metal sounded on the back of the truck. “Stupid fucking lock,” Kaz growled as he threw the door open. “Jesper!”

“Coming, boss,” the man replied with a lazy grin as he walked over to the back of the truck’s compartment. “Hello there,” he greeted the boy that they had seen inside.

Nina tried not to think about the gelling red liquid on her back as she joined them. She had the ability to do minimal healing, so if the wights had ruffed up the boy then they were going to need her to help him before they could move on.

“Wh-what’s going on?” he asked, shaking slightly. Jesper stepped up into the back of the truck and then knelt down in front of the boy. He looked over the bar to assess whether or not it would be easier for him or Kaz to do it. When they were making their plan, it was determined that if Kaz didn’t have to touch the new member of their crew then he would handle the lock. If the lock was too close to the boy’s skin, Jesper was going to have to do it.

He let out a small huffing noise when he determined what he was going to have to do. He shifted so that he was sitting with his calves and thighs flush together and then got to work. She had seen him work many times before, when they had managed to steal a second for themselves away from Colm, but it was different when they were still in the midst of such a dangerous situation.

Nina sat down on the ground beside him as Jesper continued to work. He had to be careful so that none of the metal developed barbs that would dig into the skin of the boy’s wrists. “My name is Nina Zenik, can you tell me what you’re called?”

“Kuwei Yul-Bo,” he answered nervously. “Who are you people?”

“We’re the Crows,” Kaz replied, his voice dark and raspy where he was standing at the edge of the opening. He was grasping the head of his cane as tightly as a person could without breaking it. 

“We are?” Matthias asked as he stepped up behind the other. Trassel was by his side as he always was, casting a suspicious gaze towards Kuwei.

“Nina and Inej keep talking about birds, so we might as well give ourselves some kind of name to go along with it,” he shrugged.

She rolled her eyes, but she could already feel some of the anxiety falling away from her. While it was true that peculiars were much better at handling stress and anxiety than normals were, coming close to dying as liable to mess anyone up. “We’re what’s called peculiars. That means that we can do things that other people can’t. For example, I can control people’s pulses and other parts of their bodies,” she reached over to him and placed her hand on his arm so that she could slow the steady rocketing of his heart to allow him to feel calmer.

“We those people that came into my house like you?” he asked, his eyes glancing nervously out to the crowd around the back of the truck. 

Nina shook her head, “The people that took you were called wights, they try to find people like us so that they can take away what makes us special for their own gain.”

Kuwei’s face went dark with understanding and he nodded at her. “My dad mentioned something about that before he left. I thought that he was talking about the Axis Powers and the war, but I think that there was another war I didn’t really understand.”

“There certainly is,” Nina breathed as she rolled her shoulders to readjust herself. She could still feel the hot blood spilling down her back even though it was dried and flaking in large chunks onto the surface of the truck.

Before she could spiral any further into her mind, Jesper raised his hands above his head in triumph and shouted, “Finished!” He was grasping both parts of the bar that had been separating Kuwei’s hands in his own so that they were no longer on the boy.

“Thank you,” he said awkwardly as he rubbed his fingers over his wrists.

“Are you hurt? I can do some first aid or help heal some smaller injuries,” she offered. He pursed his lips together like he wasn’t quite sure that he could trust her yet and then nodded. She motioned for him to show her and then he turned slowly around to pull up his shirt, which revealed a nasty gash on his hip from the door of his home. Nina trailed her hand over the wound so that she could sense anything that might have been inside of it. There were only a couple of splinters and they were all big enough that she was able to pull them out without another peculiar or a pair of tweezers. Once the wound was mostly clean, she brushed her fingers over the first layer to seal the skin and vessels.

She had been taught on how to do that by one of her mentors back in her old loop, but putting it into real practice made her miss them more than anything. She had known that she wasn’t going to be able to train with them or even spend time with them for quite a while, it had been one of the first things that she had come to terms with after the raid. It was only now hitting her how desperately she was going to miss them, though.

“There we are,” Nina chirped as she finished her work. “Come on, we have to get going before other people discover what we’ve done.”

“What are we going to do about the bodies?” Wylan asked when they appeared on the road beside him.

Kaz and Nina glanced at each other. He had experience with death and the real world, but she was the most experienced in the world of the peculiars. Together, if they could figure out how to separate their personal differences from their work, they would make an unstoppable team. They came to the same conclusion at the same time and then turned back to Wylan so that Kaz could say, “That’s where you come in, rich boy. Jesper, matthias, help me get both of the men back into the cab.”

“I don’t really want to touch the dead body,” Matthias replied as he turned to stare down at the man that Inej had slit the neck of.

“I don’t care what you do or do not want to do, this is what we have to do to survive,” Kaz snapped. “Jesper, make sure that you take the bullet from the one that you shot.”

Jesper had been hesitating, but he had a lot more experience with touching dying bodies. She had seen the way that he was able to take down a deer and then gut it in the woods. Even she hadn’t been able to do that and she had had her hands inside of a living man before. He leaned down and picked up the man he had killed before he stuffed him awkwardly back into the driver’s seat. He was standing on the edge of the truck with one hand on the door to keep him steady with the other sensed around for the bullet that had flown from his gun and saved Nina’s life.

Matthias did the same on the passenger’s side while grumbling in a language that none of them knew. He closed the door with more force than he meant to, which caused the driver to slump out at Jesper. Eventually, both boys were able to get the bodies back into the cab of the truck and then turned to the man in charge of their little group.

“The rest of us are going to head a safe distance down the path and then Wylan is going to blow up the truck. They’re both inside, which means that if anyone finds them, peculiar or normal, they’ll assume that something happened to their truck. Make sure that the explosion is hot enough that it can obscure the slit throat and bullet wound,” he instructed Wylan sternly.

The boy swallowed hard enough that his Adam’s apple visibly bobbed in his throat but he gave a nod anyway. He stood awkwardly in front of the grill of the truck as the rest of the group began down the path. 

Nina was limping a little bit because she had stepped wrong on her ankle when she had been grabbed, but she was between Matthias and Trassel so she could believe nothing bad would happen to her. She didn’t miss the way that his knuckles would graze against her own every third step, or the way that the wolf was burying her fingers into his thick fur.

They had walked about half a mile before they heard the massive explosion that Wylan had caused. Whatever he had done was hot and angry enough that it send a rush of power through the forest, rippling the grasses and the trees. Nina could almost feel the warmth of it baking the blood onto her back. 

He came running down the path a moment later with his red curls soaked with sweat on his forehead and his pupils dilated with adrenaline. The moment that he was close enough, Jesper reached out and grabbed the other man so that he was pulled into a hug. He then tilted their faces together and collided their lips together despite the presence of the newest member of their party.

“That was actually kind of fun, especially if I get to be kissed like that every time I blow something up,” Wylan giggled when they had to break apart.

“As long as you always blow something up when I’m around, then I’ll make sure to kiss you like that every time, alright?” Jesper chuckled.

Wylan gave a shy nod and then broke apart from him so that they could ace the rest of the group. His cheeks were already tinged pink, but his entire face became sunburn red when he realized that they were all watching him. Nina didn’t really care what he had just shared a kiss with his boyfriend, she desperately wanted to be able to do the same thing to Matthias.

The realization that she was already that deep into her feelings for him hit her like a bag of bricks. She had known that he was handsome like the sun had birthed him into the world, but she had always thought him as something of an annoyance. He still held that moniker in her name, but she couldn’t help the fact that she enjoyed that. He made her feel safe in a way that no one else ever had.

“What’s the next step in the plan?” Inej asked. She was shaky and still a little pale from their fight earlier.

“We get as far away from the blast as we can. I know that the town over the ridge is small, but it’s bound to have at least a sheriff that will come sniffing. We don’t want to be here when he does,” Kaz replied.

“We should probably also find a river so that I can soak the blood out of my hair, then,” Nina sighed. “I doubt that we would be able to avoid getting much attention if I’m walking around looking like I have a headwound.”

“Hey, I made very sure that you weren’t the one to get the headwound,” Jesper squawked indignantly.

Kaz cleared his throat to get their attention before they all had the chance to start fighting again. “We have to get going, now. Inej, why don’t you and Nina go looking for a river and then catch up with us when you get the chance?”

“Then I’m going with them,” Matthias immediately replied. “Trassel can go with your group so that he doesn’t get attacked by local wildlife and it will allow us to find you faster.”

The defacto leader of their group looked like he didn’t believe the excuse for a second, and Nina could really either. She didn’t say anything, though, and soon they had all split up so that they could meet back up and continue their search for a loop.

[grimm-the-tiger]

Fuck it, Grisha!Denmark.

More on this AU below the cut:

The Grishaverse is the setting of several (I think like three-ish) book series. It's a vaguely pre-modernity fantasy universe. The first series - Shadow and Bone - is set in Ravka, based on Tsarist Russia, and the second - Six of Crows - is set in Kerch, based on colonial-era Amsterdam. Other areas I can remember off the top of my head are Fjerda (medieval Scandinavia), Novya Zem (Africa, I think?), and Shu Han (Imperial China). In the Grishaverse, some people - known as Grisha - are born with the ability to control and manipulate a given element or material, ranging from flesh to metal, sort of like Benders in Avatar but with less martial arts. Grisha are generally not well-liked except in Novya Zem, where I believe they're considered sacred, and Ravka, where they're drafted into the army to hone their skills for warfare.

Matthias Densen is a fugitive Inferni from Fjerda, which really, really hates Grisha and considers them witches. He, his childhood friend Lukas Ransson, and Lukas's little brother Eirikur went on the run together after Matthias was outed as a Grisha, with the ultimate goal of reaching Ravka, where they'll at least have a modicum of safety.

Because Matthias had no training and very little knowledge of how Grisha powers work outside of highly exaggerated stories, he thinks he's average, probably even terrible, for a Grisha (he's not). Because he's also very dumb, he wears the closest thing he can get to a replica of a kefta, the standard clothing for Ravkan Grisha, and wonders why he's always recognized as Grisha on the spot. Lukas, for his part, doesn't really mind, because it means people tend to go after Matthias first and give him an opening to make a run for it.

Some other headcanons:

Norway is a Heartrender

Sweden is either a Durast or an Alkemi; I haven't decided yet

Iceland may or may not be a Darkling. The "may" is necessary because he wasn't even a year old by the time the trio went on the run, but suspicious darkness-related bullshit keeps happening when he's around, so either he is or he's just the subject of a bunch of really weird coincidences

Finland is the token normal one. He's Berwald's closest friend and could not give less of a shit about him being a Grisha. He hates the Fjerdan government for reasons unrelated to the Grisha

Sealand is a Tidemaker

I'm torn between making Russia a really good Heartrender or a really bad Healer, because I'm not sure which fits him more

China is an Alkemi from Shu Han. Ivan has a fat crush on him, which Yao is aware of but chooses to ignore because Ivan creeps him out

America is an Alkemi; he got it from England, who quite literally went out to get milk one day and never came back. Arthur's probably either dead or wishes he was, not that this shakes Alfred's optimism in any way, shape or form

Canada is a Durast, and occasionally takes work on Netherlands' ship partially for pay and partially so he can look for Arthur. He's nowhere near as optimistic about Arthur's survival as Alfred is, but he's looking anyway just to make his brother happy

France is a Tailor

Netherlands is also a normal human. No one knows what his deal is. He fills a similar role to the Conductor in the TV adaptation, smuggling Grisha who don't want anything to do with the Second Army to Novya Zem via boat. Sometimes he charges people out the nose for his help, sometimes he does it for free; coincidentally, the latter mostly happens whenever Matthew is aboard

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

https://www.tumblr.com/goblins-riddles-or-frocks/751369003507843072/how-do-you-think-alina-being-extremely-beautiful?source=share

I think everyone being kinda disappointed with how she looks was a theme throughout? The other grisha didn't even know that Alina can't really summon, it was just her looks that made them sorta go 'this can't be the sun summoner!'. Beautiful vulnerable women being a target of men's depravity is also a theme across several grishaverse books so idk the Duke's son showing interest in her etc would have made her more wary of people in power being attracted towards her? She was wary of the darkling but she also bought several of his lies. The fake kisses, the night offer etc were not really great manipulation tactics, she bought them because she was vulnerable in that way with the lack of attention. Other people being more blunt about finding Alina attractive instead of calling her 'sticks' would also have set up Malina jealousy and yeah Malina would have happened sooner.

I wouldn’t say beauty is at all integral to the theme of women being taken advantage of. Like Alina is literally preyed upon lmao that’s the main plot. Towards the end of the book she’s threatened with sexual assault two separate instances by complete randos when she’s on the run, she doesn’t live in a safe place for women to begin with?

People being disappointed by the sun summoner is an aspect sure but I don’t think it’s particularly story changing tbh. Even if she’s super remarkably pretty (which lol I am skeptical of even the most gorgeous person looking great when legitimately very ill and living rather roughly without having some time to bounce back) like I think they’d treat a random pretty peasant sun summoner about the same as the random average looking sun summoner. Maybe she’s valued slightly more as far as novelty goes.

I don’t think beauty would actually prepare her for being manipulated by the Darkling lol. Like shdhfgf hot girls get manipulated too? And she would still be vulnerable and as I said I do think she’d still be supremely insecure. I don’t think people being slightly nicer to her or more attentive because she’s pretty makes up for the loneliness of having no one in the world except fucking Mal, who’s also abandoned her. If anything if a faked break up letter from Mal *had* happened, then she might be more distraught and more willing to throw herself into a rebound.

[a-feller]

When reading a book, watching a show or a movie, or even experiencing real life, I often find, when a major character or important person dies, I mourn, not so much the person but more their loved ones, the great bond lost and the incredible damage done to them. Over time, almost subconciously I have grown to value a great bond of love, lust, friendship, romance, great platonic love, or that weird sixth thing two inseperable stray cats have, almost as much as human knowledge, something I greatly revere. This is most prominent in fantasy worlds, where for certain there is some haven beyond the barrier of death, where a person and their knowledge can go to live in harmony after whatever happened to them. Yet leaving their loved ones behind for years to come, perhaps forever. Maybe it is more amplified in the real world, or universes like the star wars one and my belief of real life, where there is no life after death. Just nothing. All bonds severed by death's scythe in one fell swoop.

I will list an example for every book/tv show/movie I can. Spoilers ahead for: The Bad Batch, The Scythe series by Neal Shusterman, Harry Potter, Trials Of Apollo, The Six of Crows duology, The Lord of The Rings

The death of Tech, a clone from the bad batch. His close, paternal bond with Omega, shattered as he sacrificed himself before her eyes, the unrequited mutual love with the pirate lady whom he promised he would come back safely and of course the rest of the bad batch, now a gaping hole within their group.

The death of Tiger, the Best friend of Rowan in the scythe series, slain by people he was played by and his body contorted into a new one for Rowan's greatest enemy. Their friendship gone and spited by the monstosity created from his headless corpse.

The death of Sirius Black and the huge damage it did to Harry and Remus Lupin. Harry losing his first ever loving paternal figure he can remember and Lupin losing a dear best friend (or more considering what half of you post about)

The death of Jason Grace. Killed slowing down an unkillable enemy to save his friends and close-ex-lover Piper McLean, leaving behind at least a dozen dear friends who fought, battle after battle together, almost dying time and time again, only for him to fall far away, after it was meant to be over. And specifically Nico Di Angelo who as anyone who read the book will know had a priceless, unique friendship with him that simply could not be created with another.

The death of Matthias Hevlar, just beggining to fit in with the people around them and his romantic relationship just springing up with Nina, those bonds once again shattered, and the last thing he asked for was a kiss (hold up just gonna go cry for a second).

Edit: The edit is here for the smoothness of the post. I cannot believe I forgot. The very ones who inspired me to make this post in the first place. David and Genya from the Grishaverse and the King Of Scars duology. Another romantic one I'm aware however they had just had a wonderful ceremony, a proper marriage at last. And then David left to go do something and the city was attacked by bomber planes. He wasn't seen throughout the following fight until Genya noticed his absence at the end. They later pulled his body out of the rubble. Some ink Genya was fussing over still there. Queue the funeral, Genya, in private afterwards reads from his notebooks containing all the little things he picked up on that make her happy (hair, skin etc). I am genuinely tearing up just thinking about it. David was also a leader and a role model to the other Grisha, especially other fabrikators. Close friends with Nikolai and Zoya. All of these bonds gone.

The leaving of Frodo Baggins. This one is a little different as he isn't dead but to all of his friends but Gandalf and Bilbo, he is. Never able to be seen or contacted again, no way to hear or feel them either. Sam, who carried him up a mountain. Refused to leave his side ever. Pippin, Merry, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, All his shire friends, All the people they met along the way. Those bonds were shattered as if he was dead.

This last one is very different. It takes place in the real world. This death is obviously a thousand times more important then any of the others. A real human with thoughts, feelings and of course friends. This person is Technoblade. Funny, kind, skillful, he was friends with pretty much everyone he played with, best friends with those like Philza and of course the people around him in real life. The innumerable amount of people he either just made laugh, or helped get through some really dark times. Like me. 10 million people. Bonds reasonably one way but still there. 10 million people. Bonds snapped like rubber bands. All his friends. Online and off. Those he helped, those he inspired. All grieving with that bond suddenly a gaping hole, all lost. o7 Techno. Fly high.

Edit: I cannot believe I forgot. The very ones who inspired me to make this post in the first place,

[thatfangirlofsb]

A/N: Hi, I'm back with another grishaverse fanfic. This time it will be about the zoyalai.

This one will be longer than the last one, so be prepared.

T/W: Spoilers of Rule of wolves.

"Zoya decides to fix the wedding that Nikolai and the shu decided to botch, but will she be able to do it without breaking down?"

Moya tsaritsa (I)

"And now I find it out?" The fury could be heard clearly in her voice even at the other end of the table, where Nikolai was happy to be separated from her thanks to all the people who were sitting around the long piece of wood.

Nikolai couldn't have been happier when everything went according to plan, but all that happiness crashed down when a very angry Zoya walked into the meeting room with her fists clenched.

"Over my age-wrinkled corpse, Nikolai." She said placing her palms on the table with such force that the wood trembled slightly at her touch. "And I remind you that the grisha live longer and take us a while to get old."

She was tempted to throw a blast of air at him that would put him against the wall and knock him unconscious for a few minutes, but she quickly forgot that idea. She was going to keep yelling at him, but when she felt the air gathering around her she turned and got out of there toward her room. Thanks Nikolai, today I won't be able to rest after the trip because of all the work I have to do, she thought before occupying her mind with solutions to the big problem that a certain blond had caused.

—————

"Was there a tornado or just an angry squaller?" Nikolai asked entering Zoya's room and closing the door when both of his feet had already crossed the threshold.

"Was there a stupid king or was it just you on your good days?" Zoya said, picking up all the papers that had been scattered on the cold floor after her blow of fury every time she began to write the apology letters.

She was angry, very angry. So as soon as the door of her room closed behind her, she unleashed her power without control between those four walls, causing all her order to disappear.

All because of that stupid boy with the lopsided smile that often made her want punch it away. But later, when she remembered who he was and what could happen to her, her thoughts became only dreams. Dreams that she prayed she had instead of all the nightmares that tormented her at night.

"Are you here to seek your death or just to work to fix it?" The grisha lifted and leaned against her desk, folding her arms as her cold gaze settled on the king. "I can make it look like an accident, so don't provoke me."

"I missed you… the whole palace missed you." His voice trembled slightly and he looked down at the ground trying to avoid his gaze. "I was wondering if..."

"If I want to blow you out of my room? Yes." She answered drily, looking over the papers she had already picked and placed on the desk for later ordering. "I'll tell you two things Nikolai. First, this wedding is going to happen and I don't care that you've had a fever and your brain has switched into some selfish version of itself. And second, you're not fleeing this room until the last letter signed by your handwriting is finished."

"Understood."

It was going to be a very long day, extremely long.

—————

"Congratulations Zoya, thanks to you now my hand will fall off."

The last letter had already been enveloped and placed on the pile to Nikolai's right. His hand was certainly tired, but not to the point of falling. Despite Zoya's words, she had also written several letters. Probably more than him, because her pile was taller than the opponent's one. But she wasn't going to complain, they were doing all of this for Ravka.

"If you hadn't messed up the wedding this wouldn't be happening." A sigh escaped her lips, and Nikolai couldn't help but notice as his gaze landed on them. "Why Nikolai?"

The blond was so engrossed looking at her that it took him a while to react. He could blame exhaustion out loud, but he actually knew that the principal point of all the trouble he had caused was a certain general standing by his side; too close.

"Can't a king mess things up?" He asked as he stood up and stretched his limbs. Most of the candles had blown out on their own, and the room was lit only by the moon and a few candles that were about to follow the same path as the others.

"Yes, but not you." Zoya turned on her own chair to look at his face, feeling her heart clench as she saw his face lighted from the side by the moon. No, she couldn't think that. Only Ravka had to be in her mind. "We both know that what you've done is bad for Ravka, and you never do anything bad for your kingdom no matter the outcome. Why?"

Why? I don't know either, but I know it has to do with you. With your beautiful blue eyes, your long black hair, your bravery, your devotion to Ravka, your mask to hide what you really feel... You, you are the culprit, Nikolai thought before shaking his head from side to side. He couldn't, he couldn't say that. Not now.

"Are you so tired that you are speechless?" Zoya's cold voice brought him back to reality, to a reality where he had to think of an answer as fast as his brain could. "Nikolai, say it or I'll have to force it out of you."

"I just was thinking." It was true, but he didn't want to tell her in what. "Zoya... have you ever wondered what you would do if you weren't you?"

"If I wasn't me?" Nikolai's question surprised her. What would do if she wasn't her? What was he talking about? Not being a grisha, not being the general of the second army, not being part of that friendship between the two of them... He could refer to so many things with those words. "I would be a very famous thief, and I would have already stolen your crown and your Lantsov emerald. I would rule Ravka with an iron fist and use you as a footrest."

Small smiles appeared on the faces of them, it seemed that Zoya's anger had largely disappeared.

"I would be honored to hold your beautiful feets, moya tsaritsa." He told her making a little bow, very dramatic for Zoya's liking.

"I could get used to that." She stretched out slightly her legs, looking at him teasingly and then crossing them over each other again.

"To what? To be queen?" He crossed his arms with his typical smirk, pulling his chair closer to her and sitting on it. "I can fix it if that's your wish."

"Are you sure? You know of any son of the queen of Shu Han who is planning to kill their entire family so he could become king?"

"Shu Han? Why?" His lips curved down, trying to appear devastated by her teasing. He hoped that her words were just that, a simple joke.

"I've had enough of the Ravkans. They are…not tolerable." Her gaze settled on him, and a slight smile with which she showed her teeths made Nikolai feel like his skin melted with that look; his heart had already succumbed long ago.

"I hope I don't have to take that accusation personally." He got up again and turned around, approaching the map that was hung on the wall. He bordered with his fingers the ravkan frontier that adjoined the shu, soon he would have to see how that country returned to bring a princess to Ravka. "I would be at sea, but then I would settle somewhere far away from the coast." He watched Zoya's smile give way to doubt, so he decided to speak. "I know you're not interested, but you could have at least asked. It's called manners."

"It wasn't that." The grisha's hands groped for the glass that rested empty next to her, only a slight aroma remained of the brandy that had been in it before. "It amazes me that you, the great Sturmhond, decide at some point in your life to settle. And far away from your beloved sea, no less. Do you have fever?"

He don't have it. But if the desire to leave everything just to be with the person he loved could be called that... yes, he has it.

"The wedding may have made me sick." He laughed as he observed Zoya's incredulous look, it was funny to see how she got annoyed with him but at the same time tried to contain herself. Playing with the death was one of his favorite hobbies.

"What wedding Nikolai? The one that did you dream about?" Her arms crossed and she blew out a small sigh before picking up the kefta from the back of her seat and got up to put it away in her closet.

"Genya and David's one." He said following her with his eyes without missing any of her movements. "It was beautiful, I would say one of the best weddings I have ever seen."

The two were silent for a long time. Although they had started with jokes and little games, remember what had happened that fatal day brought them back to reality. They stopped being Sturmhond and a queen with a human footrest and became Nikolai Lantsov and Zoya Nazyalensky again.

"Come on, it's time." She said quickly trying to change the subject so she wouldn't break down. Zoya walked briskly towards her bedroom door and placed her hand on the knob. "I have to chain a king."

"You don't know how long I was waiting for hear that."

—————

You can read the second part here.

You can read the third part here.

You can read the fourth part here.

You can read the fifth part here.

[kru-sader]

Finished Rule of Wolves a few ago - essentially completing the Grishaverse series more than an year after I had completed the first five books. I was avoiding starting King Of Scars for the sole reason that I found out Zoya- whom I admit I disliked greatly- was going to be more of a main character and Nikolai's love interest in this duology.

Although the duology did do a good job in redeeming her for me, I still have several complaints about her character arc.

Firstly, the sad backstory was definitely- sad; however it in no way logically explains Zoya's vile behaviour towards Alina in SAB. The only way Leigh Bardugo could have clarified all of that, her superiority complex and her mean gurl persona in general was to let her be the arrogant and self-centered girl she was painted out to be initially. She could have owned that and I personally would have loved her still. Does she go around treating Otkazat'sya with hostility? Yes. Would she still put her life on the line to save theirs? Also yes. Does she look down on pretty much anyone and everyone she meets? Yes. Does that affect how she does her duties as the General? No. Does she grumble and complain about something all the time? Yes. But does she also work incomparably hard to somehow put life into a dying nation? Yes.

I have no qualms about her backstory. It was fine. It gave us a peek into where Zoya came from, what she's suffered and all that she risks losing if she fails. But I cannot for the life of me find the link between all that and her actions in SAB. The author could have just let her be a snarky little shit while showcasing all that she does for her country and people rather than force her into the super annoying mold of the soft and sensitive saintly girl who's so traumatised she's adopted this tough girl persona who cares about no one. It feels ingenuine, like even in her own monologues Zoya is acting to get the readers to sympathise with her.

Another thing that infuriated me to no end about her character was how inconsistent it was :|

In chapter 5 Zoya clearly says to Count Kirigan ,

"You will invite me to a fine dinner. We'll both drink too much wine. You'll get me to talk about myself, the pressures of my position, the sadness of my past. Perhaps I'll shed a tear or two. You'll listen sensitively and astutely and somehow discover my secret self.....

...There is no secret self. I'm not going to reveal another me to you. I'm not going to be tamed by you. I am the king's general. I am the commander of the Second Army...."

It was so nice reading that and thenn thennnnnnn?!!?? You know what happened in chapter 23??!!!

Behold my angry notes I added at 2 AM because this scene made me want to scream.( please ignore the ton of spelling mistakes- it's really difficult to type on a Kindle and I was also shaking because I was a sleep deprived ball of rage)-

[Without all the spelling mistakes- the note basically says-

I hate what they are doing with Zoya's character here.Once she'd established with Kirigan that she was not some rough outside soft inside cliche fantasy, that he was not going to peek inside of her and see a hurt, broken and just a sensitive girl- it should've stayed like that. Just because it's Nikolai does not mean it's not an injustice to her arc to just come out as a soft hurt girl. I don't mean to insult every female character that does fit that stereotype. There's nothing wrong with it. But with the way Zoya's storyline progressed even her background I know Zoya was meant to be a tough outside tough inside girlie. She had made it clear herself and that monologue to Kirigan about how true love wasn't going to soften her edges should have been her truth. It was her truth.

Zoya didn't even need to be a sociopath or a psychopathic character for this. The author could've portrayed her weak and vulnerable moments in solitude. Hell- there was Juris the dragon inside of her. He could have been used as a plot device to show Zoya grappling with her past her mistakes, loss, grief, self-doubt, (bad) mental health, psychological pain etc.

I feel like wve the Nikolai and Zoya ship would've been better this way. There was no need to make him the knight in shining armour that breaks down the walls of the outwardly harsh but actually soft and small and weak girl. She's the General of Ravka for God's sake.]

Overall though I liked the books and fairly enjoyed them. I think on the whole the author did a stellar job - especially in terms of plot development and the charcter development of most other characters.

TL;DR- Ways I think Zoya's character was ruined for me personally.

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @bookworm-center

Who You Are:

Izzy || She/her

I love Marvel and the Grishaverse. I'm obsessed with the anime Dr. Stone which is severely underrated, and I live in the gorgeous islands of Hawaii (though which I won't say).

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Fanfic and fantasy. Middle grade.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

Fantasy because I love making another world with different systems and the idea of creating a new place just seems fun.

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

Historical fiction. I grew up reading I Survived and that was enough to stop me from liking the genre (though I do like some of those books). I just can't stand writing about events that already happened but with not real people for some reason.

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

My target audience is middle grade, though I think it's possible for older audiences to get into my works because I do talk about some deep topics that aren't often discussed in middle grade books.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

I mostly focus on strong female characters, or broken, not quite perfect characters. I love enemies to lovers and rivals to lovers, mainly because I love the idea that you don't have to be perfect to be loved and grow into a different person.

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

Honestly, I hate cheating and miscommunication tropes. They just annoy me, because I can't stand that they wouldn't hear the other person out for miscommunication and they always go back to them anyways. I also can't stand when toxic relationships are portrayed as romantic, for obvious reasons.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

I'm currently working on a fantasy novel (which needs a new name) about a princess who locked away her magic and lost her memories, but now they are returning and causing her corruption. I've been working on the for a little over a year and I've just finished my second draft, though I have much more to go.

Why do you write? What keeps you writing?

I think I write because I know that whatever's in my head needs to come out somehow. There's too much crowding my head but it's nice to know that there's a whole world waiting to get out, and that kind of what keeps me writing: to let the stories in my head be told.

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

I've been writing for about ten years (which isn't that long as I'm much younger than you'd think). I've always been a big bookworm so I think that sort of drew me towards writing because I was like "oh! I can write too!" and that's how I got started.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

I'm not sure where I get my inspiration. I have some weird dreams and some of those become book blurbs, or things I like in shows get added to a story. I get ideas from lots of things, I suppose. The inspiration for my current project has been in my head for a long time, the main character has always been an alternate me made to comfort me, so I guess I finally wanted to tell her story.

What work of yours are you most proud of? Why?

Either my current work or another story I've started about teens who get superpowers from boba tea. I'm most proud of them because I love the idea and the scenes in them.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

No not yet, though I do want to publish my current project.

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

Actually seeing my book published and other people reading it is kind of what keeps me going sometimes. Though I really hate thinking of editing. Too much pressure!

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

I really like planning, to be honest. I like to do sketches and maps and write my plot down which is so fun to me. Again, I hate editing. That's what I'm currently doing and it's such a pain.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

I don't have an ideal setup because I'm still in school so I write when I get a chance. I work best when I have music playing (I love the Epic: the musical soundtrack!) or watching musicals in the background. So yeah, I guess you could say my process is just a little chaotic but I get a lot of work done.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I haven't been a writeblr long, I'm mostly a booklr but maybe a month? I saw a lot of really cool writing prompts and I wanted to do that, but alas, I don't have many writing related posts.

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

Ooh I can't think of any specific ones right now, but I love the ones that post prompts cause they get me in a writing moods and the ones that analyze others books because it's fun to see the skill behind some masterpieces.

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

I love the writing memes to be honest. They always make me laugh at the worst times but they're so relatable.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

I don't know, I think our community's nice as it is. I wish we did more collabs, though maybe I just haven't seen any of the ones that exist.

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

Well, I've released some random prompts but I know there's a lot more that I can do I just haven't had the chance to yet.

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

I mostly interact with booklr posts; love all the ones about the Grishaverse.

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

I make Grishaverse posts as of now but I'd like to start doing more writeblr stuff and book reviews.

Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?

I don't have it set up yet but I'm planning to start a booktube channel called "b00kworm_c3nt3r" (without the numbers was taken) so check on my posts for updates on that!

Questions For Fun:

Which author would you say has impacted you the most? Why?

Currently I feel like the author that has impacted me the most is Leigh Bardugo. She is an absolute inspiration for fantasy writing and worldbuilding; I want to create worlds like hers someday. However, I'm sure there are other authors, I just cannot remember any of them at the minute.

Top five favorite books? What about them makes them your favorite

That is a really hard question! I change favorite books so often! I think that Six of Crows and the final Renegades book are definitely up there because I adore those characters. I really liked the book "Stranger Than Fanfiction" by Chris Colfer. That was one of the only books to ever make me sob. I also have a deep love for "The Princess and the Fangirl" by Ashley Poston because of the geekiness of that book. For the final favorite, I'm going to go with Rule of Wolves, again by Leigh Bardugo. I can't rank those books though, but those are probably my top five.

Do you have an ideal reading setup? A little nook? Curling up on the couch? Etc.

I don't really have an ideal reading setup since I mainly read in school after finishing work. I do really like to read curled up in my bed or on the beach when we visit one.

[writing-havoc]

I can't STOP thinking of an idea for inej ghafa x fem!reader so here you go (let me know if I'm freaking you out or if I need to stop, please!). i've read several kaz fics where he gets jealous of r very close relationship with some crow, so imagine that except with inej, where r is kaz's childhood best friend and they are a duo in the eyes of practically everyone (some even consider them a couple). r and inej have been mutually interested in each other for a long time, but r doesn't do anything because she's afraid of the consequences if the information gets out and inej doesn't try anything because she's in doubt whether r likes girls the way she (inej) does. maybe after a heist gone wrong r narrowly escaped death and now inej can't stop thinking about what could have happened if something worse had happened and r had died so the two talk privately and both admit what they feel one for the other. I can't get this idea out of my head and now I want to know how you would write about it. love inej and would like to see more of her point of view on her. oh, it would also be really nice if there was a spotlight on the platonic kaz x reader relationship. something like "we have a problem" and "no you have a problem, I have a problem friend". I imagine too much kaz rolling her eyes at every involuntary sigh of r for inej and at the end when r goes to tell her and inej getting together, kaz just like: "really? and the sky is blue?" but secretly glad her friend and the wraith are together. just inej and r being crazy about each other and kaz turning a blind eye (no romantic feelings for either of course)ssalto que deu errado r escapou por pouco da morte e agora inej pode ' t parar de pensar sobre o que poderia ter acontecido se algo pior tivesse acontecido e r tivesse morrido então os dois conversam em particular e ambos admitem o que sentem um pelo outro. Não consigo tirar essa ideia da cabeça e agora quero saber como você escreveria sobre isso. amo inej e gostaria de ver mais de seu ponto de vista sobre ela. ah, também seria muito bom se houvesse um destaque na relação platônica kaz x leitor. algo como "nós temos um problema" e "não, você tem um problema, eu tenho um problema amigo". Imagino demais kaz revirando os olhos a cada suspiro involuntário de r para inej e no final quando r vai contar pra ela e inej se reunindo, kaz tipo: "sério? e o céu tá azul?" mas secretamente feliz por sua amiga e o fantasma estarem juntos.

Fist bump

♡ Summary: Inej contemplates whether her feelings for you are reciprocated. A nearly fatal injury throws all apprehensions out the window.

♡ Pairing: Inej Ghafa x Fem!Reader, Kaz Brekker x Reader (platonic!!!)

♡ Fandom: Six of Crows, Grishaverse

♡ Warning(s): Gunshot wound, says y/n three times

♡ WC: 5.4k

Hello!!

Thank you for the request. It was nice getting to write for Inej again. While I've only written for her once before, I feel confident that I'm closer to getting her character right

Kaz is slightly ooc imo. But I feel it comes with the territory of him actually having a lifelong friend instead of being completely alone. So be prepared for that!

Hope you enjoy it regardless <3

Please excuse any grammar and spelling mistakes

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"What the hell am I looking at?" You ask, frozen in place.

Kaz sighs from somewhere deep within his throat, tone riddled with annoyance. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Inej takes a moment to stare. Her mouth might be open as she squints at the scene, but that's... the least of her worries.

Jesper and Wylan were currently flirting with eachother on the ground floor of the Crow Club, not even at any specific game. Every once in a while pieces of their conversation would float to her ears, and it was just plain horrible.

It's honestly surprising. Jesper has no problem attracting anybody of any gender, but with the way he's talking to Wylan right now she finds it truly unbelievable that Jesper was able to pull anybody at all.

What's even more unbelievable was that Wylan was actually enjoying it.

Seduction tactics don't really interest Inej. But even she is able to distinguish between a good and bad pickup line.

The moment she hears something about a fruit she makes it a point to stop listening to them completely.

"Whatever it is they're talking about I don't think its wise for us to listen anymore." Inej turns away, body facing towards you.

"Agreed." You scoff, turning a little towards her too. "I'm not all that into exhibitionism."

Kaz's eyebrows raise. "Surprising."

He's mocking you, which you immediately recognize and shoot a glare at him, knocking your heel into his cane. "Budge off, limpy."

"Oh no. Not my limp. Anything but the limp."

It's really only funny because Kaz isn't bothering to fluctuate his voice at all. It's monotone, and his eyes remain half lidded and he hoists his cane up and brushes off the dirt you got on it.

Inej smiles, holding back a chuckle as she watches the crowd around her, people steering clear if only for the fact that Kaz is nearby.

"Yes, the limp. Your worst fear." You giggle when you watch his eyes roll.

Nina comes in, standing below the railing where you stand, eyes flickering between you and Kaz.

"How are the lovebirds doing?" She jests.

It sends a little pang through Inej's heart.

Your closeness with Kaz has been a topic of interest within the crows since they joined the little inner circle. And it's not all that surprising.

You have known Kaz the longest out of any of them. You were with him when he joined the Dregs, when he climbed his way up the ladder until he became floor boss and when he managed to secure fifth harbor. You even own a share in it, taking the risk and knowing full well Kaz would have gotten it up and running.

He let's you closer than anyone else, his trust intrinsic to the fact that you have been with him through thick and thin. Inej can tell something big happened an your guys' past, small looks shared here and there, pursed lips when someone mentions a niche topic.

But with the way you hang around eachother, when you sigh with a far away look and Kaz wacks your shin with his cane just gard enough that it aches, when you can have a conversation with just a glance, it's only natural that people assume.

"In his fucking dreams." You chuckle. "This lump of coal is my best friend and nothing more, we've told you this."

Nina smirks, looking between you two once more. "You tell me and yet I can sense your heart beating like crazy, my dear Y/n."

Inej watches as you prickle, flustered, but her gazing is interrupted when you turn your body completely away from her, focusing solely on Nina.

"Hearts can lie, Zenik." Inej watches as the smile falters slightly on Nina's face. "There are people who have mastered the art of lying without any spikes in heartbeat because of grisha power. Unrelated, im simply inebriated and just witnessed the most foul and frankly disgusting conversation between Jesper and Wylan."

Nina groans. "Oh don't even get me started on that. They walked right next to me and let me tell you, I learned more about Wylan than I ever needed to know."

And just like that the topic is dropped, but Inej's mind was still gripping it, trying and failing to squeeze any sort of meaning beneath your words.

Because that conversation between those two boys hadn't flustered you in the slightest. You made jokes, voice and posture lacking any semblance of embarrassment.

You like someone. If not Kaz, then someone else. Someone you know. She takes the little hope that bubbles in her heart and gently pours it into a bottle, corking it and putting it away.

Hope is dangerous. But not unnecessary.

She'll look at it later. When she has time to feel what she needs to feel.

"Well that's a delicious specimen." You purr, watching a man in a bright yellow-green suit walk into the club.

Nina looks where you do, Inej and Kaz following your gaze.

"5." Is all Nina says.

"James Denker." Kaz relays. "Dirt poor, dressed in an attempt to impress."

"Ugly suit color." It wasnt, but it clashed horribly with the reds and blacks the club adorned. He stood out like a sore thumb.

You groan. "You're all the worst."

"We're simply saving you from having the worst time of your life." Nina downs a glass being cleaned up, Rotty taking it back once it was dry. "Speaking of, I need to go find Matthias."

"To torture him?" You lean into the railing, resting your head in your open hand.

Nina hums. "Torture is not on the menu tonight."

Kaz rolls his eyes, immediately leaving to go elsewhere as Nina strolls away, off to find her burly boyfriend.

You stay planted exactly where you are, looking out at the little tide pool of people rolling dice and flipping cards.

"Everyone's so obsessed with sex today." You remark.

Inej raises a brow. "You literally just called a man a 'delicious specimen'."

You chuckle. "I wasnt actually going to do anything. I would never go for a man dressed like an unripe lemon."

She hums, coming to rest her hands on the rail next to you. Out of the corner of her eye she sees you begin to track someone, a smile pulling at your lips. She follows your gaze, and sees a women in a dark blue dress, low a-line revealing her stomach. A feather boa rests on her shoulders, a matching dark blue bandana pinning her hair back in a mass of curls.

"Men tend to have the worst fashion taste."

Inej looks at you, your face relaxed and pupils wider than she's ever seen them.

The girl comes up to the railing, looking up at you. You give her a toothy smile, allowing her to take your hand and give it a kiss.

It squashes her heart and shocks it all at once.

You're so gentle with the woman below, who introduces herself as Femke, at it pains Inej that it's not her, but also uncorks that bottle she had just put away and pours it all over her.

She feels it in her hands, the way her eyes avert as you giggle at eachother with your hand in the safety of your pocket, the way her feet want to run and jump between the highest rooftops.

Kaz was incredibly right. Hope is dangerous.

"I have to go, but it was lovely conversing with you." You say politely, giving Inej a look she knows is begging you to follow her.

She does so, taking an alternate route out of club, pulling up a mask and throwing the hood of her tunic over her head.

She heads out a side door, melding into the shadows of an alleyway as she begins to scale the side of the building, fingers still electrified. Balconies become footholds and launching points and gutters become ledges to hoist herself up.

You're a bit further behind, but not terribly. You opt for a ladder placed on the back of a building two addresses down. You hop along the top of the curved rooftops, bouncing between the dormers and sliding down gabled edges whilst Inej followed, a grin pulling her mask up until you both reach a flat roof.

The view below is rather pretty compared to the rest of the Barrel. The distance you had crossed places you closer to East Stave, the wide canal full of boats and gondolas.

Lamposts were beginning to turn on, the lamplighters going around and lighting them. People began to bunch up, drawing their coats around their shoulders.

She looks at you, then. Worn out, the thinnest sheen of sweat making you glow. She wants to know just how warm you are.

She stays where she is.

"You're rather popular tonight." Inej begins, biting the topic in the ass.

"Hm?" You ask, catching your breath. "Oh, Femke. I guess."

Inej quirks a brow. "It didnt go as planned?"

You chuckle. "You were standing right next to me, Inej." Her name sounds like sweet treats her parents used to get her coming from your lips.

"The moment felt private."

"Femke was pretty, yes. She was... fucking gorgeous." You laugh, a kind of manic one when you remember her features. "But I couldn't be with her even if I wanted to."

Your face turned a little more solemn, eyes glancing around Inej's face.

"I'm sure she would have agreed to a night together if you showed interest."

"Thats not the problem. But thanks for the vote of confidence." You turn away, hopping onto the edge of the roof, hanging your legs off the side.

She walks to the edge, prefering to stay where she could quickly flee, hands resting on the concrete. "Do you want to elaborate?"

She hopes you'll say yes. Hopes you'll let her in.

You swing your feet, lip sucked between your teeth as you tear off the skin.

"I have... a rather quiet appreciation for the attractiveness of women." You say, staring out at the open street full of people. Inej cannot help but think of how romantic this all could be, if the day had been different. The topic lighter. Your words bobble around in her mind relentlessly. "Aside from the fact that me being with someone could compromise their safety, women get enough people who will yell how pretty we are with the caveat that they'll hurt us if we take it negatively in any way. I wanted my love for women to be quieter, out of personal experience, but there all the same."

It feels like Inej's mind is playing tricks on her, some sort of intoxication manifesting in auditory hallucinations. But when you look at her out of the corner of your eye, mouth upturned so perfectly, she knows in her wildest dreams she couldn't have thought of something even half as stunning.

She looks where you were just looking, seeing parades of men with their arms slung around eachother stumbling down the road, women hooking their arms through the other and talking quietly into the others ear, families tugging their kids close and loners standing on the corners of buildings with blunts and cigars resting between their fingers.

She understands. "You've got a beautiful soul."

She'll treasure the way she could hear your shoulders relax, hand coming to rest right next to hers.

-----

"Kaz!! Kaz Kaz Kaz Kaz-"

Inej was startled from her perch in the window when your voice boomed up the stairs, door to the office flying open.

You were slightly out of breath, and your hair was a mess of strands flying in random directions, like you'd been running your fingers through it. Pulling it even.

Kaz didn't seem worried in the slightest though. In fact, she wasn't even sure he recognized you were there until he said, "What is it now, Y/n?"

"We have a problem."

"No we don't. You have a problem. I have a friend who is obsessed with making them." He looks up from his desk, not even bothering to set down the pen from his hold. "What happened?"

Your lip wobbled, and Inej was quick to tag it as fake when you threw yourself into the lonely chair that sits across from Kaz's desk, body melting into it. "There's no more Kvas."

He sighs. "Of course there isn't." His fingers find the bridge of his nose, pinching it just slightly.

"We had four bottles left yesterday." Inej notes. "Was there some sort of celebration?"

"No. All jobs that took place yesterday, while necessary, wouldn't have warranted a celebration like that. I'll order more tonight."

Immediately you brighten, face splitting open as you hop up from the chair, a giggle spilling from your lips. "Thank you Kaz!"

"What's the ocassion?" Inej asks. Her heart stutters when you turn that wide grin towards her.

"Remember that businessman Kaz had you spy on a few days ago?"

That got both her and Kaz's attention, the both of them staring at you. "I do."

"Well, I happened to run into him today and had a chat with him when I realized he was wearing a pocketwatch of the same type that my father used to wear." The mention of your family only makes Inej more interested.

You and Kaz never talk about where you came from, not unprompted anyway. The only tidbits of information that Inej has been able to scrounge up and overhear was that your family was very close friends with Kaz's, and that both of your parents, judging by how you talk about them, are either dead or too busy to bother contacting you.

"And this is meant to mean... what? Exactly?" Kaz prompts, a bit of caution dripping from his tone.

"I'm getting to it! Anyway, we had a rather long conversation about it and how useful they can be. Which of course led into talk about businesses and meetings and the such- he mentioned that there was about to be a huge rise in, like, 4 different stocks because of something going on over in Ravka. I have it written down, um, here!"

You root around your jacket, taking a card out of one of your inner pockets and handing it to Kaz. Inej stood up and walked over, taking a look at the writing.

There 5 stocks written down in your own messy scrawl, the card itself being the man's business information. One of the stocks she recognized as being really low from when Kaz talked about it the day she had to spy on him.

"I also managed to nab his wallet. You would not believe the stuff this guy keeps in here. There's a deed and tons of other interesting things." You take a wallet from your pocket, leaning forward and dangling it in front of Kaz's face.

He grabbed it from you, opening the leather receptacle.

"Aren't I just the greatest bff you could ask for?" You posed, going out of your way to exaggerate each one, sending a wink Inej's way when she eventually made eye contact with you.

"Annoying, is what you are." Kaz remarks.

You two were incredibly confusing sometimes. He treats you differently than he would everyone else. You make fun of him and tease him and get closer than anyone would dare, and he takes all of it in stride, turning your teasing right back on you, pulling you around by your waist with his cane when you particularly annoy him or when you're about to run into something.

But maybe that's just a statement of your friendship. In a way, Inej doesn't think anyone will ever be able to get so deep beneath Kaz's walls like you have. Kaz deserves to have that someone that he can just be who he is around. There's some semblance of a boy within that bloody battered exterior.

And who better to bring that out than you? The person who came here with him and who holds so much compassion that it's truly a wonder it hasn't been beaten out of you yet? You hold a certain appreciation for life that brings a balance to the apathy Kaz likes to exhibit and uplifts others.

It makes Inej remember the little moment last night. The way you looked so calm and the way the lights of the lampost made your skin glow.

You... you really like girls. And it makes Inej feel so giddy and hopeful. It translates as a smile that you return.

Kaz sighs. "Inej, I need you to return this once I look at everything."

She glares at him. "We've talked about this."

"Dearest Inej, will you please return this once I'm done?"

"Can I come?" You ask.

"Unfortunately for you, no." Kaz gives you a glance. "Youre needed with Jesper and I after I do this."

Your eyebrows snap together, mouth opening to say something before the whole expression fades into realization. "Oh yeah." You drag out the words. "For that thing near the lid."

Kaz neglects to answer, still going over everything in the wallet. He pulls out a few bills of kruge, which he immediately stows away into his shirt pocket. Everything is taken out and placed methodically around his desk, any wet papers being skillfully avoided.

"That thing is a ten thousand kruge job. So you better remember what it is."

There's a silence for a few moments, your wide eyes trailing towards Inej. She shrugs, and you cup your hand around your mouth, a stage whisper exiting your lips. "I don't remember."

Kaz drops the wallet, scratching his chair against the floor as he says "of course you don't, filthy lovebird" and walks to a drawer in a dresser, pulling out a blueprint.

'Lovebird.' Inej thinks the same time you whine out an 'I'm sorry' but Kaz ignores it, shoving the paper into your hand. You quickly unroll it as Kaz starts going over the plan once more, eyes flickering to find the starting point.

"It's simple. You will use your curse of an ability to start conversation with complete strangers and distract the guard at the west point by asking for a bathroom..."

Inej remembers this. Kaz had briefed her for it as well before realizing her presence, for once, wasn't all that necessary. You were acting strange that meeting, half of it you were off staring into space at Inej.

She remembers her collar feeling a little stiff, heat making her sweat under your gaze.

Kaz ended up sighing and knocking the metal head of his cane against your forehead, making you yelp. He had to go over the plan again, Jesper laughing at your pouted lip.

"I don't need anything else from this wallet." The conversation fades back into focus. "The kruge and the stock card are all I need. Inej." He holds out the wallet to her, which she takes and immediately pockets it.

"How long will you be gone?" She asks, eyes flickering to you.

"No more than four hours." Kaz stands and takes his cane, heading to the coat rack to collect his outer wear. He gives you a stern glare. "If everything goes according to plan."

Your eyes roll, landing on Inej. "No faith. Absolutely none."

"Faith isn't in his vocabulary."

Kaz walks out the door, leaving it wipe open.

Inej expects you to follow, to jog to the door and disappear beyond into the darkness of the staircase with nothing but a 'see ya' yelled at her.

But you turn to her instead, hand rubbing over your stomach as if to quiet it. You wet your lips, her eyes following the movement. She stands a little straighter when you approach.

"No mourners, yeah?" You extend your fist.

Inej smiles, heart beating faster as she tentatively bumps her knuckles into yours. "Yeah. No funerals."

With a nod, you chuckle and leave, leaving Inej alone with her thoughts and a cold wallet pressed into her tunic.

You'll be fine. Jobs like these were routine, and Kaz and Jesper were two people she'd trust with your life any day.

But that doesn't stop the anxiety from bubbling in her gut, acid gnawing at the walls as she leaps out the window.

The chance for something to go wrong is never zero.

-----

They should be, though.

A loud, booming "Move" startles everyone away from the door. People dive out of the way, a cane flashing by their faces as Jesper carries a body down to the makeshift hospital beneath the Slat.

Inejs heart sinks, Nina rushing in after them.

There's only one person that could be.

She hops down the stairs, weaving through people like a needle and thread and swinging the door open with such a force that it bounces off the wall and squeals shut behind her.

"Guys please it's not that ba- OW!"

"You don't get to say it's not that bad when you lost nearly a quart of blood." Jesper hisses, grabbing at his head.

"What happened?" Inej demands, a rumbling in her chest as she does so.

Kaz nearly threw his cane down, chunks of his composure swiftly falling away. "Plan A failed, we had to resort to Plan J."

Inej wants to tug out her braid, to tug his hair out, "Which was?"

"Fucking book it." Jesper slumps into a chair. "Which we did, but one of them got lucky and hit her in quite possibly one of the worst places you can get hit."

Inej starts going through a catalogue of major arteries, sick intrusive images of your neck blown open and chest reduced to a gaping hole shoving their way into her mind.

But that's not the case. You were talking, sitting upright, protesting.

Now you're laid down, your nails carving crescent moons into your forehead as you shove the heel of your palms into your eyes, teeth gritting.

Nina's using her heartrending to look over your hip and thigh area, and Inej realizes the predicament that the novice healer has to deal with.

There's an artery that runs through the inner thigh. If it's hit, it's almost just as deadly as the side of your neck being slit open. The bullet managed to hit within that area, and a tightly bound blood-soaked piece of fabric was keeping pressure on the wound. Probably the only thing keeping you from bleeding out.

"It's been nicked. But the bullet seems to still be in you. I'll have to do my best to heal it while also trying to direct it out of your body." Nina doesn't even give you a moment to process it, immediately loosening the fabric.

Blood begins to gush from your wound, and Inej wants to scream.

Jesper follows your lead and digs his palms into his eyes. Kaz stands a good few feet from the table, watching the whole thing unfold. And Inej is...

She walks up to the side of the table, reaching out and brushing her finger through your hair.

"It'll be done soon, yeah?" She asks thought not really expecting an answer, watching your temple flex and your skin turn red as you held your breath. A rough scream escapes your lungs when you open your throat, gulping in as much air as possible before you go back under.

A small tink sounds against the table, bullet out. But Nina is sweating, glowing under candle light as she stitches everything she can back together.

"The bullets out. The only thing you have to do is wait for Nina to be done putting you together again and then you'll be done."

Healing, while ever so helpful, was far from painless. You're speeding up your body's natural process, your skin, muscles, veins being stitched back together on a cellular level.

A highly trained grisha healer could probably numb you while doing so. But Nina is not that.

Inej wants to be mad at her for being so inept when it comes to this. For not having the ability to just repair you with practiced ease and get this over with.

But she can't. She can't be mad at Nina for being who she is.

Instead she's grateful that Nina is here at all. Otherwise you'd be-

Saints, she doesn't want to think about it.

"What went wrong?" Inej asks, taking your hands away from your eyes when beads of blood build on your forehead. "This was supposed to be simple."

You grip her hands tightly. She squeezes them right back, hoping she's providing some sort of relief as she prays for your life.

"Simple doesn't cut it when your intel becomes outdated." Kaz snarled. "They changed the guard postings on the inside. We got found out shortly after retrieving this."

He pulls out a rolled up painting from a tube slung over a chair. It's a landscape of what looks to be from Fjerdan territory looking beyond towards Ravka. The Shadow Fold is missing, and in the distance she can see the artist took some creative liberties and drew the Ravkan palace.

"Supposed to be worth over ten times what we were getting paid for." Jesper uncovers his eyes, opting to cover his mouth and nose. "Doesnt really seem worth it for this."

He glances at Kaz, but Kaz looks at her, and in those dark brown eyes she feels like they come to an understanding. Kaz knows things that Inej hasnt bothered to voice to him outloud. He knows how she feels about you, and is probably just about the only person that on some level could come close to feeling the way she does now.

You're way too important to lose.

Nina let's out a deep breath, hands becoming slower and less steady. "I've got this mostly patched up, but for now the artery is pretty weak. I've got most of the muscles around it to heal to protect what it can but rest and the least amount of movement as possible while I monitor this for the next few days is whats needed."

Inej feels you relax, hands no longer squeezing the life out of her own. Your elbows knock against the table, foot wiggling on your injured leg.

You swallow. "Okay."

Inej has never heard you sound so small, which is surprising.

This isn't your first time getting injured like this, though it has been a long time. But even now she can remember you fighting them every step of the way when you were asked to rest.

Now you're more compliant than ever. You're not even making a move to sit up.

Kaz clears his throat. "Jesper, Nina, out."

Inej can hear Jesper get up from the chair, all too ready to get away from the situation. Nina, however, is less ready to vacate your side.

"I want to check over the rest of her for any other injuries you may have missed in your getaway plan." She places her hands over your head, slowly moving down your body.

"There are no other injuries. It was just the bullet. Out."

Jesper is already up the stairs, probably to find Wylan. She knows he'll come back later, once he's calmed down and can properly look you in the eye after being faced with your mortality. Nina gets down to your feet, and sighs.

"Just wanted to make sure your girlfriend-"

At the same time, you and Kaz state that you're not together. Your voice is a lot sharper than Kaz's, which is enough for Nina to whip around and give you a look.

You're sat up now, propped up on your elbows as you glare at her.

"I would really appreciate it if you stopped pushing us together, thanks."

Your hand squeezes Inej's, and it's like her heart gets zapped with a little lightning.

Nina eyes you for a moment, expression a little hurt but otherwise reserved as she searches for something.

When she looks at Inej, it seems she found it.

Her eyebrows shoot up, and her mouth falls into a little 'o' as she backs up. "How could I have missed that?"

Before Inej can silently ask what that means, she's smirking and basically running up the stairs.

Kaz collects his things, then gives Inej and you a nod before following.

The door above clicks shut, and a bound of wild creaking from above tells her that a few people were crowding around the door and waiting for news.

You squeeze her hand again, and Inejs attention is all on you.

"How bad is it?" You ask.

Inej swallows, then looks down. There's a mess of reds and purple around where the wound is. It's smaller than before, skin a little malformed where Nina put everything back together.

"It looks like you got shot."

You chuckle, moving to sit up completely. Inej helps you were she's needed, letting you use her to pull yourself up and position yourself without using your leg.

Silence followed. Your hand was still holding Inej's, your thumb going over rough spots on her palms. Your finger would stop, finding a spot that was particularly rough, and then smooth over it as if you could make it disappear.

"Thank you."

Her brows scrunch. "For what?"

"For staying."

"Of course."

You take a deep breath, exhale coming out shaky. Before Inej can ask what was the matter, you begin talking.

"I like you." You say. "I like you a lot, and I have for a while. Long enough that I can't be in a room alone without automatically looking for even though I know you won't be there. Enough that about half the time when I feel like you're watching me I'm right, and I can pick you out from the crowd."

Inej is smiling. She can feel it on her face, eyes pricking and ears ringing just a bit.

"Kaz has gotten so sick of me talking about you to the point he actually has resorted to knocking his cane against me when I sigh too loudly or when your name comes out of my mouth for the tenth time in a minute." A chuckle comes out of your mouth when you go to rub at a bruise on your shin. "He doesnt mean to be harsh but I think he forgets how solid his cane is sometimes."

She's laughs, the same as you do when she pulls your hand towards her and presses it against her chest, heart saying everything and more.

But words matter too.

"I like you too. For what sounds like just as long as you have. Believe me if I had known you liked girls I wouldn't have let you torture Kaz for as long as you did."

"What do you say? Girlfriends?" You let go of her hand and hold out your fist.

She bumps her fist against yours. "Girlfriends."

She loves the way your eyes brighten.

However, she does not love that the door to the room comes open again.

The distinct sound of metal on wood tells the both of you immediately who it is. While Inej's annoyance only slightly decreases, yours disappears immediately.

"Kaz!"

"Y/n."

"Look!" You gently offer your hand, and Inej slips her fingers between yours, interlocking them. "We're dating. Inej likes me back."

He rounds the corner, looking at the both of your hands. He puts up his shoulders, raising an eyebrows.

"And im actively disabled. Dont waste my time with the obvious."

You chuckle. "Thanks, Kaz."

While Kaz mulls over whether it's worth it to stay down here, Inej helps you off the table, easing your leg down to the ground where it remains limp.

"Oh my saints, twinsies."

Inej looks between you and Kaz. Your limp leg is the same as his.

"If I ever hear you say twinsies again, you will lose me as your friend."

"Impossible."

Kaz takes that as a challenge, and moves up the stairs faster than she has ever seen him go.

As you call out to him to get his ass back here, Inej takes a moment to think about how perfect everything is.

Your leg may be out of commission, but you're happier than she has ever seen you before. You asked her to be your girlfriend, and still you're gentle and wait for permission. She's giggling as you do when you trip a little and catch yourself on the step.

She's so incredibly happy to be where she is today. And even more excited to figure out where the both of you will go from here.

∘₊✧──────────────────✧₊∘

Tags:

@xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx @kylie18 @morrigan-crowmwell @venomsvl @milkshake0

[screamingpandas1452]

I posted 5,057 times in 2022

That's 5,057 more posts than 2021!

85 posts created (2%)

4,972 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@the-lavender-creator

@lollytea

@sodamnbored

@ck2k18

@worm-in-a-trenchcoat

I tagged 593 of my posts in 2022

#monster high - 62 posts

#ever after high - 31 posts

#six of crows - 29 posts

#the owl house - 25 posts

#youtube - 22 posts

#lgbtq - 20 posts

#kaz brekker - 20 posts

#mcu - 19 posts

#grishaverse - 15 posts

#lgbt - 15 posts

Longest Tag: 127 characters

#can you imagine him talking about his theories dipper or whatever and hes just like 'oh boy do i have something to tell you...'

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Based off this post:

Ao3 version:

-----

The Weasley family wasn't particularly known for keeping secrets very well. If someone had a big secret it would probably would be out to the whole family by next week.

That's why, when George sees that his brother, Percy (Percy!!), had several tattoos, he almost immediately told the whole family.

It had happened 10 years after the war(how had he kept a secret that long?), George had his bad days (his twin had died, so obviously), but luckily this day had been pretty good.

He had gone to the bathroom and, since one of his ears had been destroyed, he didn't here the shower on. When he walked in he saw Percy in the shower completely naked, with some tattoos.

Wait, George thought. Tattoos?

He didn't have time for another thought when-

"George!" Percy shrieked, he grabbed the curtain and yanked it close. "What are you doing? Get out! I'm showering!"

George stood there for a few more seconds and then, "Sorry couldn't hear the shower. You know."

His voice came from behind the curtain, "I really don't care. Can you get out and not tell anyone about this?"

"Um- yeah sure, whatever," George said, not really paying attention to what he was saying, and backed out of the room and closed the door.

So, George thought, Percy has a tattoo. Huh, looks like all of the Weasley siblings are disappointments.

It wasn't a secret that Molly was a firm believer of "tattoos and piercings are bad!" It also wasn't a secret that all of the Weasley children had both of those things. Besides Percy, at least. Well, that's what they thought. Apparently he had tattoos as well!

He walked back to the living room. All of the Weasley siblings were there(besides Percy, of course). It was a " Weasley siblings reunion! No partners or children or parents aloud!" The rest of the family would hang out on their own and then come back to The Burrow at dinner.

"You look like you saw a ghost," Bill said with an amused tone of voice.

George rubbed his neck, "I-uh, saw Percy in the shower."

Ginny scoffed, "That's it? Pathetic!"

"No, no, you don't understand!" He leaned in and whispered, "he has tattoos!"

"Really?" Ron said in disbelief. "Are you sure you didn't, I don't know- missee(is that a word?) Something?"

He scoffed, "I may only have one ear, but I'm not blind!"

Suddenly, Percy walked into the room and everyone went oddly quiet.

"What are we talking about?" He asked with a smile.

"Nothing!" Charlie squeaked. "No secrets or anything like that!"

He sighed, "I'm not an idiot. Did George tell you about my tattoos?"

Everyone looked at each other and then nodded.

"Do not tell mum or dad, okay?"

Again, everyone nodded.

"So..." Ginny said. "Can we see them?"

See the full post

56 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

#4

You're telling me, after seasons of marinette being obsessed with adrien, the moment he likes her back she says she doesn't like him? Bullshit! I swear if it's cus she's falling in love with chat noir-

75 notes - Posted October 4, 2022

#3

Gabriel: I don't remember raising you like this, Adrien

Adrien: I don't remember you raising me at all

105 notes - Posted August 18, 2022

#2

Jackson: We need more help. Maybe I should call my friends.

Clawd: ... Your what?

Jackson: My friends.

Deuce: Is he saying “friends”?

Gil: I think he's being sarcastic.

Heath: No, no, no, this is delirium, he's cracked from being awake all night. Hey, Jackson! All of your friends are in this room.

Jackson: I have other friends! You asked me to make new friends, I made new friends! It was a task. I complete tasks.

From this incorrect quote generator:

https://incorrect-quotes-generator.neocities.org

171 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I hate when people bash my comfort characters. Like, how dare you disrespect my children?

284 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[jamespottersdaisy]

THE GRISHAVERSE RL3O3RIJFKEI2IKWKSNNSNW im not well I love this series so much please read it I beg you it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. which books haven't you read cause i talk too much and I don't wanna make you not enjoy it to it's full potential (and trust me its a very big potential)

but yeah it's honestly incredible and the characters the world building the plot the everything. I'm so in love that I might stop breathing (I had a map of the grishaverse on my bedroom ceiling)

-🌕

BABE IM A NEW STARTER!!!! Im pushing my way slowly to the six of crows so shush it and give me time (jk talk as much as you like)

also i read several books at the same time, so it takes patience with me. for example right now im reading the woman in white along with grishaverse and love hypothesis is also on hold but i really can't like it yet

did you finish your homework???

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Gentle Hands and Warm Hearts

Fandom: Grishaverse: Six of Crows Summary: The whole point of the polycule is so that each of them can get the care that they need without putting it all on one other person. That should, arguably, mean that Jesper and Nina don't have to do this but they find themselves hiding it away every time they do, as if it's something shameful. Or, the five times that Jesper and Nina got caught together and the one time that they sought their partners out. Warnings: Mentions of child abuse, haphephobia, mentions of sexual abuse, minor sexual content, and anxiety Word Count: 6,226 Ship(s): Nina Zenik/Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck/Matthias Helvar/Inej Ghafa/Kaz Brekker

Archive link!

A/N: So I really like this idea but I'm not entirely happy with the execution. I feel like the dialogue in this fic is a bit awkward and I had to correct a lot of stuff. I think that it's come out a little bit better than when I found it, but I'm not entirely happy with it yet. I hope that you can all still enjoy it, though! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone &lt;3

1.

They were all clamored around each other, as they often were on date nights. Matthias had his arm looped around Wylan’s hips to keep the smaller man somewhat close to him, though they would both take several minute breaks whenever the touch began to get too much for them. It was hard to adjust to having so many partners when they had gone almost their entire life with touch being out of reach, after all. Kaz knew the feeling, since, while he had been able to overcome his haphephobia enough to maintain the kind of relationship that he wanted with his partners on most days, there were times that he still felt the waters of the harbor lapping at his ankles. He knew that Inej was going through the same thing, wading through hip-deep memories of when she had been in the same place as the people that she was now saving.

They reached the theater without anyone stopping them and with very few people staring at them. The only exception was when Nina had begun begging Kaz and Matthias to let her have some of the fried bread that was being sold in a cart outside of the entrance. They had given into her almost immediately, neither of them were very good about saying no to her when she looked at them with that delicately pouting lip.

They were shown up to the private box that Kaz had reserved for them so that they could watch the show without having to worry about people behind them. He sat in the front row with Inej beside him, though there was a chair between them so that they could speak to each other without being overwhelmed. Matthias and Wylan sat with a chair between them and the other duo, though they were next to each other with the arm down between them.

“Why are you sitting so far away from us?” Kaz asked when he turned and saw that Jesper had taken up residence in the row behind them.

“Nina and I are going to be very annoying during this show,” Jesper explained with a half shrug. “We didn’t want to ruin it for everyone else by making fun of every other thing the whole time.”

That was a reasonable enough explanation for everyone, so they turned their attention back to the stage. None of them turned around when they heard Nina return to their box with the concessions that she had slipped away to buy for herself. She dropped a candybar down into each of their laps without touching any of them and then flopped down into the chair beside Jesper so that she mirrored the other duo.

The stage lights lit up as everything else was dimmed so that their attention was on the actors alone. The music picked up when the two leads stepped out on stage during their first scene together, keeping each member of the polycule transfixed on what was happening. The score mixed very well with the script that the troupe had chosen. The story itself was a little bit dull, but the performance, combined with the aerialists swinging through the air in increasingly complicated styles, were enough to keep the entire audience fixated on the stage.

Throughout the entire play, just as they had promised, Jesper and Nina whispered to each other as they made jokes about what was happening. 

The intermission for the play came at about an hour into the proceedings. The curtain lowered and the aerialists climbed into the catwalk above so that they could reset for whatever was going to happen next. Nina and Jesper began to talk to each other louder to continue the jokes that they had been making when the rest of the theater came alive as well.

Kaz got up so that he could stretch out his leg in the cramped box. Matthias disappeared so that he could get something to eat while Wylan stretched out, long and cat-like in his seat. He turned to Inej so that he could strike up a conversation with her about what went into the tricks that they were doing on the stage, which she was very happy to entertain.

Kaz watched her talk for a while, admiring the side of her face and the shining brightness that she somehow always seemed to bring with her. He wished that he could hold her beauty in his hands at all times, to admire her elegance and the warmth that she flooded into the world no matter what. 

He was growing bored since he was listening to a conversation that he had with her more times than he could count. He turned his attention away from the giddy way that his girlfriend spoke to his boyfriend and instead directed it to Jesper and Nina.

She had a handful of popcorn halfway to her mouth while he balanced a kernel on the tip of his nose, his mouth wide open like it was somehow guaranteed that treat would fall down in that specific direction if it began to tip. Nina laughed with the joy of someone that was truly healed and free, no more the shaking, scared woman that she had been on the ship after she had taken the parem so that they could be free from Fjerda. Jesper looked brighter and happier, yet at the same time more grounded, than he had been in a very long time. Kaz knew that they were helping each other with their powers and learning how to love that part of themselves, something that none of the others could really relate to.

He let his eyes travel down and then smirked slightly when he realized what they were doing. Jesper’s dark brown skin stood starkly against the pale yet freckled shade that Nina’s was. Their fingers were also wildly different sizes, but they still fit together like a key sliding into the lock that it was made for.

Kaz leaned forward on the chairs, tilting his hips so that the throbbing pain decreased as much as it ever did. “Are you sure that the two of you didn’t just sit back there so that you could hold hands?” he asked, jerking them both from their activities.

Despite the odds, the kernel of popcorn did roll down off Jesper’s nose and directly into his open mouth. He threw both of his hands up into the air at the same time, which got the attention of their other two partners. Kaz noticed, with a bit of disappointment, that Nina had dropped his hand so that she could continue to shovel popcorn into her mouth. 

She stood and dumped the bucket down into Inej’s lap as she said, “I know that Matthias said he was going to go get some more but he’s so distracted with Wylan tonight that he’s likely to forget my sweet Inej, so I want to make sure that you had some.”

“Thank you, love,” Inej laughed, that warmth and brightness flooding out of her like an endless river. Kaz was then distracted from the confusion that the duo separating so quickly had brought to him, focusing instead on the antics that the rest of his partners were pulling.

2.

It was a very cold day in Ketterdam, but those were common. Wylan had grown up in the city in his entire life and even though he was often hidden behind big doors and windows that kept him separated both physically and metaphorically from the weather, he had been aware of it. He liked the cold, it made it easier for him to work in his lab without overheating. It also meant that he was more likely to find a cuddly Jesper when he walked home for lunch after his meetings with the Merchant Council.

He knew why they liked to meet in the mornings, since it was before a lot of the boats that they needed to do business with docked back in the harbors, but his lovers pulled so many late nights that if often left Wylan feeling absolutely exhausted.

He stifled a yawn behind the back of his hand and then pulled his heavy coat tighter around his body. He walked past one of the dewey storefront windows and had to stop for a minute so that he could examine himself. He had done something similar several years ago, when he was wearing the face of one of their closest friends.

This was far different than that was. He had the face that he had known the entire time that he was growing up, even if he had let Genya go a little further than he really should have. He had the same pale skin and bright blue eyes that he had seen over and over again when he had discovered that his mother was still alive. His chin had a gentle curve that went with the near-button nose in the center of his face. The thing that was different than when he normally looked at himself was his clothing.

He had been dressed in white button up shirts and pressed slacks for as long as he could remember, but wearing the black vests and overcoats that were typical of Merchers felt like he was putting on another costume. He knew that Kaz dressed like a Mercher to make the men that hoarded that power uncomfortable, a costume of sorts for him as well, but it was strange for Wylan to do the same thing. On one hand, he had inherited all of the land and fortune that his father had tried to deny him due to his inability to read, so he was actually a Mercher. On the other hand, he was still one of the international criminals that had broken into the Ice Court and stole one of the most wanted people in the entire world.

Wylan shook his head to clear it of the thoughts and continued home. He knew that everything felt heavier after one of those meetings because they took so much out of him. He wanted nothing more than to go home and check on the puppies that should have been fully whelped seeing as Matthias’ favorite bitch, a wolfhound named Mila, had gone into labor the night before. Coming home meant he also got to see most of his favorite people in the entire world, even if Kaz was going to be at work and Inej was one another one of her long voyages.

So he carried through the streets of Ketterdam until he approached East Stave. He slipped into the back alleys were no one would be able to tell where he was or follow him. He hadn’t known the paths of the city as well as Kaz had only a few years ago, but days of traveling using only them had piled into his repertoire so he could walk through any part of the city using any path.

He walked through the back door of his home and smiled when he heard the low voice of two of his partners in the living room, combined with the sound of a crackling fire. Wylan shed his heavy coat and hung it on the hook so that the wool would dry out, a couple droplets of rain had begun to come down when he had been on the last leg of his journey. He set the briefcase full of papers down in the office that he and Kaz used for when they had to bring their work home. Wylan was about to go on vacation so he didn’t have to find someone to help him read them just yet. 

Instead, he traveled up to the bedroom so that he could change into something that was more comfortable. The starched shirt and stiff pants were hung back up in the closet like they always were when he came back from one of his missions. He changed them out for a pair of comfortable brown slacks and a baggy gray shirt that kept out some of the cold that was still leaking through the well-sealed windows.

He traveled back down the stairs and then peaked into the massive room where Matthias kept his dogs, the only other door in it leading to the dog run that they had in their backyard. He was about to go check on the squirming mass of fur when he heard a snore emitting from his boyfriend. The birth of puppies was the most stressful part of breeding, according to Matthias, so he always stayed up to make sure that everything went smoothly when one of his bitches went into labor. Given that it had been early in the evening when Mila had started nesting, Wylan knew that Matthias had been awake almost all night.

Instead of going inside, he carefully shut the door and then walked towards the living room so that he could join the partners that he hadn’t seen yet. He stopped before he crossed the threshold when he noticed that something was off about the room.

Usually there was a long couch directly in front of the mantel, a loveseat kitty corner to the right side, and then a pair of chairs on the other side. They had a table that went in between the chairs and then a large coffee table pinning down the rug in the middle. It made the room closed enough that they felt like they were in a den, but open enough that no one had to be touching anyone else unless they wanted to.

It took Wylan only a minute before he realized what the difference in the space was. Someone had moved the couch back about six inches and had placed the coffee table behind it, including all of the cups and dishes that remained there since their breakfast.

Pinning the rug down instead of their table was a pair of people that Wylan had grown very fond of. Nina was wearing a loose fitting red dress that billowed out around her like a pool of blood, which stood starkly against the pale of her skin and the dark brown of her hair. Jesper was weaning one of his linen button-up shirts and a skirt that as the same color red as Nina’s dress. They were turned towards each other so that their foreheads were pressed together, their hands pulling at each other’s clothes like they were both bored. They were giggling and talking in voices quiet enough that Wylan couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.

He walked over to the loveseat, placing his hands down on the top of it. “Since when did we decide that we would be redecorating the living room?” he asked, trying to resist the grin that was spreading across his features. 

He loved the duo more than he knew how to say, even if his love for them was different. He loved Jesper, Matthias, and Kaz in a way that was deeply romantic and sexual. He loved Inej and Nina in a way that was just as passionate but also so starkly not romantic and clearly not sexual. He wanted to be close to them, to know their innermost workings. He wanted to hold hands and sit beside them, but he didn’t want to kiss them or have sex with them, even when he was having one of those days where he was craving that kind of intimacy.

As soon as he spoke, they sprang apart from each other. Nina climbed up onto one of the chairs as she worked some of the knots out of her long, curly brown hair. Jesper simply rose to his feet so that he was once again towering over the merchant. “Wy! You were gone before we woke up this morning, how did the meeting go?”

He was shocked at how quickly their demeanor had changed, but didn’t say anything about it even when Nina began to pull the couch back to where it belonged. He just told them about the tasks that he wasn’t looking forward to dealing with and the headache that was waiting for him at the end of his vacation. Whatever they were doing was their business, he wasn’t going to pretend like he understood what their love was like.

3.

Long trips wore all of them out, but Matthias always felt exhausted when they finally arrived at their destination. He had a lot of memories wrapped up in travel and he didn’t think that it was something that was ever going to go away. He had spent a lot of his childhood going on very small journeys with his mother when they were heading into town from their home out in the woods and with his father when he was learning how to hunt so that he could provide for his future family. Then when he was with the Druskelle, they had spent a lot of their time traveling between the Ice Court and whatever other training facility that it had been decided would be best for them. When he had actually graduated, he had traveled to every country under the sun and even a couple of others that seemed to be in only darkness so that he could look for the witches that they had been hunting back then.

Even when they were walking down the long, dusty paths so that they could stay with Jesper’s father over the Zemini’s winter holiday, he still ended up feeling like he was trudging through sludge by the time that they got to the cabin. It left him exhausted down to his bones, which made Kaz tease him that he was getting old despite them all being about the same age.

He managed to stay upright on his feet long enough to get all of their bags into the little back room that they were going to be sleeping in before he collapsed down onto his cot. He only managed a nap before the smell of dinner made him wake up. 

Jesper had made Zemini food for them back in Ketterdam fairly often since he was one of the two people in their entire polycule who knew how to cook and Nina liked to stick with baking. He always complained the that the spices and ingredients that they were able to get off the boats in Ketterdam were nothing compared to the fresh ones that he got back home. Now that they were actually in the country that the ingredients originated in, Matthias was excited to be able to try some of their favorites with the flavor that they were meant to have.

He hauled himself up from the cot and then blearily rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He was alerted to how nearly overheated he was when he stood up and his head began to swim. He removed the thick riding shirt that he was wearing so that he was in nothing but the loose cotton undershirt that he had donned back when they were in Shriftport. He was so used to the cold of Fjerda and then the nipping damp of Ketterdam that it actually astounded him that a place could be as warm as Novyi Zem was without the entire place being bleached white from the oppressive force of the sun.

Matthias walked out of the small room and then looked towards the kitchen where Jesper was. He smiled softly when he saw that his partner was dressed in nothing but a cotton undershirt as well, the sweat from standing over the stove having soaked through the garment so that it was clinging to his skin. It was reassuring to know that he wasn’t the only one that was suffering in the heat.

His cheeks turned red when he saw that Nina and Jesper were actually together, the others seemingly elsewhere on the farm. Matthias vaguely remembered something about Wylan and Inej wanting to see Kaz’s magic bird skills in action with the mean chickens that the Faheys owned. Nina was dressed in her slip and bloomers to beat the heat of the kitchen, but they were also clinging to her body with sweat.

Jesper turned around, singing a song in Zemini so softly that it was almost under his breath. Nina was singing along to it as her hands slowly traveled up his arms until they were resting on his shoulders. She threaded her fingers around the back of Jesper’s neck and brought their lips into a slow kiss. They were standing so close that their bodies were pressed together, though Matthias wasn’t quite sure how they were managing that in the heat.

He watched them dance, sharing kisses during the breaks of the song, for as long as he could manage before his stomach gave a loud grumble. The noise let them know that he was there and they sprang apart, both of them blushing furiously, though it might have just been the temperature from the outside combining with the steam raising from the pot on the stove.

“Matty, would you go outside and let the others know that dinner is ready? You’re the most dressed out of all of us and I need to get some of Ma’s old clothes for Nina since all she packed were things that would kill a polar bear in a Fjerdan winter,” Jesper said.

“It’s the winter in Ketterdam! How was I supposed to know that this was when Novyi Zem got hotter?” Nina asked, indignant but smiling. She brushed past Matthias after sharing a very brief kiss with him. He barely had time to say anything before he was being shepherded out of the door with a spoon that was covered in something that smelled absolutely heavenly.

4.

Nina knew that she was cutting it close. Despite what her partners thought, she was actually very good at time keeping. She had to be given that she had been a student during a time of war and had been to more classes than the rest of her peers combined so that she could learn all of the languages that were now familiar to her. She just didn’t care about time when it wasn’t something that was crucial to their survival or wasn’t going to give her something that she wanted.

Now was one of those times. She knew that if she pushed the time that she was supposed to meet up with Matthias the only thing that would be waiting for her would be a grumbling boyfriend who would be soothed with a bat of her eyelashes and a kiss or two. No one was going to die, no teachers were going to come after her, and she would only be a few minutes late at the very least.

So once she was finished tugging her bodice into place over her skirt, she took her time while getting her hair spooled onto the back of her head. She left one of the elaborate ringlets that decorated her head loose around her face so that it made the freckles on her cheeks and nose stand out. 

She figured that she had a bit of time left over after she finished getting dressed despite her late start, so she might as well go find one of her other boyfriends while she was at it. When she finally found him, he was sitting in his room in front of the workbench that he used to clean his guns and practice his Grisha abilities. “Hello, sweetheart,” she beamed as she knocked on the frame of the door to get his attention.

He jerked away from the project that he had been focused on and then beamed at her like she was the sun and moon combined together. “You look beautiful, darling,” he whispered as he reached a hand out towards her.

She stepped into his room and then took it, only to find that he used it to spin her around. He took in the full majesty of the outfit that she had chosen, his other hand grazing against her waist to keep her in the same spot in front of him. Then, he grasped her other hand so that her arms were crossed in front of her. Jesper used that to slip her into a hug, pressing their bodies directly into each other so that they were swaying to the music of their combined heartbeats. For a moment, Nina wished that she could still hear them.

“You’re going to have to let me take you to a dance sometime, especially in this dress,” he growled as he teasingly bit just underneath her jaw.

She giggled and tilted her head away from him so that he would have more space to work. “If we were going to a dance then I think I would wear something more svelte than this. Like that little black number that I got to accompany Wylan to that ball he really didn’t want to go to.”

Jesper moaned into the skin of her neck and she almost felt like she was dying. Wherever his hands were touching felt like they were on fire in a way that she couldn’t get enough of. It was just like the parem had made her feel, but healthier and beneficial to her. “I loved you in that dress.”

“Oh yeah? Show me,” she whispered when their noses were a hair’s breadth apart and she could already feel the arousal burning inside of him.

He didn’t wait even a second as he crashed their lips together in a burning kiss. Nina felt like he was trying to draw her soul out through her mouth and she was happy to let him do it. Their lips moved in perfect time with each other and his hands felt solid and grounding on her hips. His body was warm against her in a way that made butterflies shutter through her system so that she felt almost as though she was flying.

The entire world had melted away until they heard someone stop at the doorway, which caused them to fly away. “Am I really that late?” she asked as she looked to the perpetually broken clock hanging above Jesper’s wall.

“You are. I was worried, even though it looks like I did not need to be,” Matthias chuckled. She knew that it was good natured and there was no malice behind it, but she couldn’t help the shame that was burning in her cheeks at the words. She linked her arm through his and then began to ask him what he thought about her hair and her outfit while she led him back out into the street so that they could start their date.

5.

She let her feet carry her to the easy access points to the roofs of Ketterdam. Gliding from shingled roof to smokestack to flat industrial tents felt like coming home as much as the smell of the sea and bread baking in an oven did. Inej found her thoughts drifting while she traveled back to the home that she had made with her partners, showing her just how little she needed to pay attention to where she was going after all of the time that she had spent flitting over the tops of the city.

She landed on the balcony that led into the master bedroom that they all used when they were feeling up to sleeping with each other. When she noticed that no one was in there, she flipped over to Nina’s balcony. Her girlfriend had apparently recently taken to gardening, based on the geraniums and poppies that she had managed to coax into blooming in the same planter box along the outside of the balcony. Inej imagined that Jesper and Kaz, the duo that had the most previous experience when it came to growing things, had likely tried to tell her not to. Wylan had likely made some sort of special formula that made the ground more fertile so that her beloved blossoms wouldn’t wilt and die. Matthias had most definitely been the person to actually remember to water the flowers.

She smiled fondly as she thought about how desperately she wanted to see them all again. She turned towards the aforementioned woman’s room so that she could see if there was anyone that she could startle in there.

She saw two figures on top of the blankets, but the sky was just dark enough that she wasn’t to make them out properly through the warped glass. She pressed her hand flat against the window and then slipped it open so that she could wiggle her body silently through the opening, but she paused as soon as she had a clear view.

Inej could see a lot more clearly who it was and what they were doing. Jesper’s tall form had his head against the headboard and his toes just barely pressing against the baseboard of Nina’s bed. His entire bare back was on display for her to see, including the silvery white scars from their early time together in the Barrel. His arms were wrapped around a body that was shaped very differently than his. When he rolled over, she was able to see that it was Nina.

They were both totally in the nude but they had a blanket vaguely draped over their legs so that they could avoid the chill of the incoming spring night. Nina had her long hair vaguely tied back so that it was out of her face with the tie that Inej had given her out of the first rope that had snapped on her ship. Jesper had his arms draped lower over Nina’s hips so that he was vaguely holding onto her thighs. Nina was leaned forward so that her forehead was against his neck. Their entire fronts were pressed together in a way that told Inej that Jesper was inside of Nina.

She was expecting to hear moans and see movement, but the only thing that she heard was the sniffling and hiccuping that came with crying. They were still except for the fidgeting that came whenever Jesper wasn’t actively running away from something.

She felt oddly voyeuristic even though she had watched them do a lot of things that were far more dramatic than nude cuddling. So instead of continuing to spy on them, she placed her legs down on the inside of the windowsil so that her toes could brush against the floor. She then knocked on the wall next to her so that they were alerted to her presence.

They jumped and turned towards the sound, both of them obviously confused before the color drained from them both. They separated from each other and scrambled to get their clothes on. Nina was wearing her shift and a pair of bloomers by the time that Inej properly stepped into the room. 

“Inej, you’re back early!”

“I am,” she nodded. 

She opened her mouth to ask what they had been doing before she was interrupted by Jesper saying, “Have the others seen you yet or did you come to visit your favorites first?”

“I don’t have favorites,” she answered, forgetting what had been happening before despite them still getting their clothes back to rights.

+1

Jesper hated having to tell people about things that he was feeling. It was the one thing that made him a terrible boyfriend, outside of the inherent danger that his zowa abilities posed to his partners and his gambling addiction. Thinking about having to admit the reason that he and Nina had been so cagey about their affection with each other during the last six months made his stomach tie itself into an impossibly tight ball that he wasn’t sure he was ever going to get to come undone.

He knew that she was right, though. They had been walked in on when they were cuddling and touching each other more times than they could count and their partners were going to get suspicious. It was strange for them, since they were actually dating each other, to act like they were having an affair. They were dating the most dangerous and intelligent people in Ketterdam so there was no way that they were going to continue to get away with it. 

Nina threaded her fingers together with Jesper’s and then kissed his cheek to remind him that she was going to be by his side through the entire process. That gave him the strength to do what needed to be done, as being touched almost always did.

They headed down the hall and into the main living room where everyone else had already positioned themselves. Matthias and Kaz were discussing some business venture involving another disgraced Druskelle in the chairs. Wylan was stretched over the loveseat while drawing something. Inej was napping on the couch, but she woke up as soon as she heard the two new people walk into the room.

“What’s going on?” she asked, able to pick up on the tense body language from Jesper immediately.

The duo walked so that they were standing in front of the empty fireplace so that no one had to crane their heads or look behind themselves while they had their conversation. “We have to talk to you about something,” Jesper managed to get out before he felt his throat constrict with fear.

“It’s nothing bad,” Nina quickly explained. “It’s just something that we want to explain before it does turn into something bad.”

He nodded in agreement. He looked over his partners and felt suddenly very put on the spot when he noticed that all four pairs of eyes were glued directly onto him. Usually he liked it when everyone was paying attention to him because that fed that part of his ego that made him feel so good. Right now, though, it felt like he was in trouble.

“Nina and I like to cuddle,” he blurted, awkwardly.

“Treasure, we all like to cuddle each other,” Kaz said. “Inej and I slightly less often, sure, but that doesn’t mean that this is something that has never been done within the Crows.”

“That’s just it,” Jesper shook his head. “You have haphephobia, Inej has her trauma from the Menagerie, Matthias gets easily overstimulated by touch, and Wylan doesn’t like having too much of it because of what he went through when he was a kid. Nina and I don’t have any of that so whenever we need the long-lasting touch we go to each other so that we can get it from someone else that wants it.”

“I’m confused, I thought that was the whole point of us all dating each other?” Wylan asked as he set his pad of paper down onto the table next to him.

“I’m confused about you two liking to cuddle specifically. Every time someone else comes into the room you immediately focus on them instead,” Inej commented as she and Wylan shared a look with each other.

“That’s just it! We like cuddling but…” Nina shifted awkwardly as she looked up to Jesper. He gave her the same kind of reassuring smile that she had given to him before they had come into the living room to face the rest of their partners.

They paused for a while, letting the nerves in Jesper’s stomach settle out. “The reason that we’ve been acting so weird around each other is because we don’t want any of the rest of you to feel like you’re inadequate for us because you can’t handle as much touch as we need. We want to make sure that you all feel loved and appreciated without overwhelming you.”

The others were quiet for a long time, simply staring at their partners like the duo had grown an extra head that was keeping them attached at the shoulders. Then Kaz began to laugh behind his gloved hand, shaking his head like he was in utter disbelief despite the turmoil that the whole situation had caused his partners, “Ghezen and all that is Holy. You two are so sweet that you’re going to make my teeth fall out.”

Inej reached across the space with her foot so that she could kick the chair just enough to get him to jerk. She then turned back to the duo with a soft expression, “We really love the fact that you’ve found a way to soothe that facet of yourselves in a way that benefits everyone. Thank you for telling us so we don’t have to worry anymore.”

“I was beginning to worry, it was so strange the way that you were acting,” Wylan nodded in agreement. “I thought that maybe you were hiding some sort of secret Grisha club.”

Matthias gave a small shudder at that and then frowned when he no doubt began to correct his thoughts. None of the other partners plied into what he was thinking when they all began to go back to their own tasks. Nina and Jesper settled down on the rug in front of the hearth after they had moved the coffee table again, talking about their day. This time they were also given insight from Kaz and Wylan, who were now free to listen to them and watch them cuddling even if they weren’t up for the task.

[wordsmith-storyweaver]

No, I think that's a solid take. He DOES need to change; he needs love and therapy and acceptance and a new direction in life.

However, there are several problems standing in his (and Alina's way):

1. First and foremost- if you want AUs set in the canonical 'verse- is that basically every country in their world except Novyi Zem (maybe??) treats Grisha as inhuman, as Other. They are vilified and persecuted at worst and barely tolerated at best. Systemic, global oppression as LB has built into the fabric of the Grishaverse is not something that is going to go away UNLESS Aleksander and Alina and their successors as leaders of the Grisha are engaged in politics. They need to be in positions of power/influence I'd They want to defend and preserve their people.

2. In my opinion, one of the reasons Aleksander does not move away from his established patterns of behavior and ingrained trauma is that Alina herself has so much growing and learning to do herself. Her naivete and ignorance require so much focus and drive plot so much more readily that "How To Make Your Dark, Dark Evil Lord Win Friends and Influence People"; plus, again pointing to the grim-dark racism and oppression of the Grishaverse, looking on the bright side of life is difficult for EVERYONE. If Alina herself was given more of a Primrose Everdeen than a Joanna Mason personality, in spite of the spartan upbringing, then her being a more positive, optimistic influence would nake sense... as it is, her cynicism is entrenched (even if she hasn't been beaten down quite so thoroughly by life as Aleksander has).

3. When you have big, iconic leaders like Aleksander and Alina, ones who live and willingly die for the cause, they have a hard time letting go. Even if the pursuit of power itself is not his motivation AND he gets the therapy he needs, Aleksander will always fear a return to the days of Grisha persecution, will always want to have his fingers on the sociopolitical pulse of Ravka to make certain that he and his people are still safe. He will also always be ready to step in and suffer for his people, because even if he and his therapist address his martyr complex, he's likely to always see himself as expendable or as the perfect sacrifice BECAUSE he has already done so in the past; he has several selfish bones in his body, sure, but he knows that he can endure the pain that others cannot and should not. (Side Note: this is also why I disagreed with the end of Steve's arc as Captain America in the MCU, but with the obverse of Rogers being positively, Messianic-coded by his narrative and 'verse. Steve never quits, and his most famous line is "I could do this all day"... those aren'tthe words of a man who can sit on the sidelines silently, passively while the horrors of the 20th and 21st centuries happen- events which he KNOWS IN ADVANCE will take place.)

4. That idyllic future you imagine for them won't happen unless they "die" and leave everyone behind, starting a new life in a new country... and while that might sound good in theory, it necessitates them leaving everyone else behind. Unless the plan is to completely uproot all Grisha and to join an already existing country, or find an uninhabited land somewhere else, there are going to be abandoned Grisha somewhere (not even taking into account that Grisha can be born from Otkazat'sya parents and will, presumably, continue to be born). Even at that, once they have established their new community, they will need to create a political system of government to regulate their own lives AND to treat with the governments of external countries... and Aleksander's political experience is too vast and important for him to not be involved in AT LEAST an advisory capacity.

tl;dr: You make a good point, but would need to overhaul the worldbuilding aspect of the Grishaverse in order to make most of those AU ideas work.

Unpopular opinion: Specially in the Aleksander fan club, but the Darkling for the good of a story (and his own lol) needs to change.

I know, the blasphemy. But it's true! Homeboy over here is heavily traumatized and emotionally constipated.

Do I want that for him forever? Life has sucked, he has a point. But jesus, even if his defense mechanism of shutting everyone out and everything kinda works, it's a miserable way to live!

I want him to see the good in people again, to have hope for a better future without blood, sweat and tears. I want him to connect with his emotions and to choose to be vulnerable and seek love without chains.

I remember from a meta from the wonderful @theweeklydiscourse that they thought Alina and the Darkling's story could have evolved in a direction in which Alina and her new perspective could make the Darkling see and hope for a better life, a gentler life. And that's what makes me so mad about the canon 😭

Give 👏 me 👏 that 👏 story. I want an inmortal that falls in love with life again. I want the Darkling to be in deep depression, to tell Alina "this would be what happens to you" and for her to be like "hell no. Watch this" and for him to be like "I WAS WRONG. I want to trust in people again. The happiness of having them is worth the pain of losing them"

Also controversial opinion, but I don't want the Darkling to rule Ravka?? My perfect ending will be for them to retire into an University of Grisha Studies. I want him to fund a new Little Palace free from the pain of the past, an actual school for the Grisha and people who want to understand the Grisha. No more politics, no more fights, that's toxic. I want them to build and protect the future through education of the masses. There aren't any fics about that peopleeeee 😭

[dreamsatdusk]

Food and Drink in Ravka - Part 1

Just as the Shadow and Bone trilogy timeline originally began as a much more ambitious project, so too did a knowledgebase sort of idea for details of day-to-day life found throughout the books.  The latter didn’t end up happening, but having gone off on a wild hair to read about tea party etiquette recently, a smaller scale idea popped up.

I have some off-site references to link, but to avoid search/tagging woes, I will reblog this post right after the original goes up and add the links there.  I will also link this on my Grishaverse Meta page.

IRL = In Real Life.

Beverages - Part 1: Everything But the Tea

But don’t worry, tea will be the feature in the next part!

Whiskey:

Alcohol favored by Vasily Lantsov.  Nikolai references “Kerch whiskey” at one point.  The greater mention of it being consumed is in SoC and CK, in Ketterdam, where it is shown being drunk by a wider variety of people.  If it’s distilled in Kerch, that would explain why:  it would be harder to come by in Ravka, particularly before the destruction of the Shadow Fold. 

Per RoW, the Darkling seems to have cared more for it in the past:

For the first time in several hundred years, he wished for whiskey.

Champagne:

IRL, champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France, produced according to specific practices.  In text, it appears in scenes in Ravka, Ketterdam/Kerch, and in Fjerda. It’s not clear where it’s produced, though we see throughout the books that vineyards exist in Ravka and other locations both.

It’s served at the winter fete in S&B and at Nikolai’s birthday celebration.  At an earlier point, Nikolai references “champagne parties”, as a pastime of nobility/royalty.  

At his birthday, we also see champagne feature in some toasts.  Based on context, below are proposed translations:

Ne zalost: To your health

Ne Ravka:  To Ravka

These are modeled after the style of Russian toasts, but are in the made-up Ravkan category language-wise. See reference [1] in the reblog for some interesting information on toasting phrases and traditions in Russia.

Cider:

Tomikyana, where the group stays prior to the final battle in R&R, is an apple farm that produces cider from its orchards.  To go by the contents of the farmhouse, it is a profitable line of business. 

Indications are the cider is fermented:  as Harshaw happily gulps from a jug in R&R, Tamar tells him to go easy so that he’s awake for the next day.  This isn’t surprising, as in most of the world IRL, ‘cider’ means a fermented, alcoholic beverage.  (In the US however, it’s generally assumed you mean non-alcoholic, unfiltered apple juice if you say apple cider - hard cider is the term for the alcoholic version.)

Given Sankt Feliks’s association with apple boughs and orchards, he seems the saint most likely to be honored by people in that business.

Brandy:

Nikolai favors brandy over kvas. It’s also something Kaz drinks and in general sounds more common in Kerch, which is explained by mention by a Ravkan noble of ‘Kerch brandy’.  In Ravka, it seems to be something to which the wealthy are more likely to have access.

In Ravka, there’s a dish called pomdrakon - dragon bowl - where raisins are soaked in brandy and set on fire.  People then try to grab and eat the raisins.  Nina told Matthias of it.  This sounds like Snapdragon, a parlor game played IRL in the winter going back to the 16th century and often associated with Christmas[2].  Perhaps it was played at the Little Palace around the feast of Sankt Nikolai.

We know there are snifters in Ravka (some were seen in Tomikyana), so that is a likely serving option for brandy drunk by the well-to-do:

Coffee:

The only mention of coffee in the Shadow and Bone trilogy itself is at the Gritzki party:  served out of golden urns into blue enamel cups.  It’s described as “sludge-like” and the “Suli told fortunes by reading the dregs at the bottom of the cup”.

I suspect the coffee in question is prepared Turkish-coffee style, which would explain the thickness of it and also result in grounds with which a fortune could be told. 

Coffee is common in Kerch and there are coffeehouses in Ketterdam.  In the duology, Nikolai is said to have developed a taste for it while at University there.  Overall, there’s not much indication it’s very popular in Ravka itself. This may be due in part to import challenges before the Fold’s destruction.  But in CK, Retvenko is shown to prefer tea over coffee (though given the circumstances, I suspect the coffee he was given didn’t taste the greatest either!)

Coffee is imported into Kerch to go by something Kaz said, and it’s likely grown in Novyi Zem and/or the Southern Colonies.

Wine:

In addition to champagne, other types of wine are mentioned.  Alina has a ‘sweet iced wine’ at one point.  Isaak has some apricot wine.  Red and white wines are also mentioned.

We learn that at least some wine is made in Ravka itself:  there is wine in Carveya, aged in clay.  Said wine impressed even a member of the Kerch Merchant Council.  IRL, wine was made in clay amphorae long ago, but in doing some research, I found it’s a practice that’s resurged in the current day too.  See [3] for an interesting article about the practice of wine in clay in the country of Georgia, which could be used as a model for the Ravkan approach.

Beer:

Mentioned once in S&B.  A beer hall and beer come up in RoW as well.  Overall, the impression is it’s cheap and no description makes it sound like it tastes that good.  Generally, it sounds like people are more likely to drink kvas if they can get it.

Cordial:

Alina remembers stealing cherry cordial as a child at Keramzin. There is some sort of cordial that Zoya favors, according to KoS.  

In the US, cordial and liqueur are pretty much interchangeable terms (this is not the case in the UK).  A liqueur is a sweetened distilled spirit.  Think of things such as Amaretto, Chambord, Galliano, and the like.

Per the interlude in Tomikyana, we know liqueur glasses are a thing in Ravka.

Cordial/liqueur glasses are used to serve dessert wines and liqueurs after dinner, so safe to assume that is the case in Ravka given the above.

Kvas:

The most confusing and controversial beverage in the books because what it means IRL is not the same as what it represented in the Grishaverse.  When I first read the books and saw it mentioned with the connotation that people were getting drunk off of it, I was pretty baffled.  Kvas is a real beverage (often spelled kvass), and while it is fermented, the alcohol content is very low, to the point it’s often not even considered an alcoholic beverage.  There are many different recipes for it, but one common approach involves rye bread[4].

In the Grishaverse however, the term kvas is used to mean vodka.  It’s described as ‘clear’, it is definitely alochol.  And furthermore, in a long ago blog tour, the author flat out said it’s a stand-in for vodka:

Kvas: Kvas is, in fact, a semi-fermented beverage popular in Russia, but in Shadow and Bone it’s an obvious stand-in for vodka. For me, “vodka” places us instantly in our world and time. It’s simply too common. Kvas, however, maintains immersion in the world, but has the advantage of visually evoking the word “vodka”—there’s no real leap for the reader to make. (Also, this is YA. I suspect a lot more flags would have been raised if I’d had a bunch of teenagers sitting around drinking Stoli.)[5]

Fic-wise, some writers stick with using kvas for continuity and others have switched to using vodka as word of choice instead for clarity.

In-universe, kvas isn’t really mentioned as drunk by anyone other than Ravkans.  Ramsus of Fjerda remarks on it once as “that filthy kvas Ravkans love so much”.

In KoS, we read of Dima’s mother using kvas as an offering:  

She’d left a little glass of kvas behind the stove that night, a gift for the household ghosts who watched over the farm and who slept behind the old iron stove to keep warm. Or so Mama said.

Sounds like a domovoi to me!  They are Slavic spirits who watch over the family.  They are often said to live under the stove and it was customary to leave little gifts for them.  Read more about them at [6].

Kvas is mainly spoken of as being poured from bottle to glass for consumption.  For those with the money to spend, you could imagine them using something like an elegant vodka drinking set such as the below:

*

A Little Something More:

How is this stuff being served?

Tin cups are mentioned more than once, both in the context of travelers and a family with limited means.  Alina cut her hand on a broken blue cup of pottery when she was fifteen; it would have been earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain.  I suspect it’d have been one of the first two.

For those with money, Kerch porcelain and crystal are an option.

In Tomikyana, a farm owned by a family of the ‘new rich’, it’s noted there were “goblets, snifters, wine and liqueur glasses”.  In light of that and other tidbits in the book, I wouldn’t be surprised if formal banquets at the Palace involved a line of water goblet, champagne glass, red wine glass, white wine glass, and liqueur glass.  I’ll talk more about that in one of the future parts of this post series.  Because hey, we know there are snail forks too.  Perfect opportunity to nerd about table settings.

Societal Commentary?

I found it interesting that Nikolai shows disdain for what are arguably the most iconic Ravkan beverages in the setting:  tea and kvas.  He refers to kvas as “awful stuff” at one point and prefers brandy.  He is also partial to coffee.  And in RoW, when he’s told he shouldn’t have wine, says “Then I suppose I’ll drink tea like an old woman”.  The latter is particularly notable given we’ve seen book after book that all manner of people in Ravka drink tea.  

Is this more because of combination of personal taste and his station in life allowing him access to things Ravkan peasants wouldn’t be likely to experience?  Or is this a reflection of Nikolai’s role as a visionary driving Ravka into the future, sloughing off the old and traditional (and on that point, a contrast to the Darkling)?  If the latter, I don’t think I necessarily like that symbolism.

Bonus Drinks:

These aren’t things I spotted in the books, but are beverages in Russia that could be woven into a fanfic.  And there are many other candidates if you go looking!

Kompot:  Not to be confused with compote, though that also involves fruit.  Kompot is a refreshing drink made by simmering fruit and other ingredients.  There are many variations, but see [7] for an example recipe.

Sbiten: A hot, honey-based drink. It can be made with or without alcohol.  In Russia, it’s been around for hundreds of years, although became less common in the nineteenth century as tea and coffee became more prevalent. Perhaps in the Grishaverse it’s something the Darkling likes from years past and so it’s prepared at the Little Palace in winter as part of the focus on the traditional.  See [8] for a recipe.  Given the honey base, perhaps it’s associated with Sankta Lizabeta!

*

Tagging @redsixwing​, @tirkdi​, and @helenvader​ given they expressed an interest in the topic on my earlier post.

Don’t forget that I’ll be reblogging this right away with the addition of reference links corresponding to the numbers above in brackets, e.g., [1]

Questions or comments?  Please feel free to reply!