#zemenipearls

[kavinskysdick]

The weight of a hand fell on his shoulder, but Nikolai could not see anyone. “Oh Nikolai,” rumbled the voice. “You finally understand.”

AND HERE WE ARE, entry number two for this round of the @grishaversebigbang Reverse Mini Bang, this time joined by the illustrious @zemenipearls who came along with me on this bleak and dangerous ride. You can read her gorgeous piece right over here: Darker than Midnight The flex here: a beautiful delivery of delicious and complex royal intrigue.

For my part, I went with something super simple, a captured moment rather than the telling of a life. I'm obsessed with the Darkling as a haunting and a ghost of power hanging over an older Nikolai for the rest of his life -- the demon that haunts him lives in his scars and in his mind.

[zemenipearls]

Fandom: Shadow and Bone (TV), The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky, The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Nikolai Lantsov

Nikolai is weighed down by everything. From decades of gravity causing his back to stoop, and the crown he no longer wears. Zoya is as passionate and strong as ever. And so, so young. Whispers in the dark from an old enemy prey on Nikolai's mind and enshroud him in dark thoughts he kept at bay for so long

Written for the @grishaversebigbang reverse mini bang 2022. Please check out the incredible artwork by @kavinskysdick [HERE].

[xandrei]

It would be ugly work, but Adrik would have use of them soon enough.

A very emotional and cathartic scene featuring Adrik from @zemenipearls fic Seige of Novyi Zem. Loved getting to draw Adrik looking like a BAMF!

[saintprivateer]

I understand the ideas behind the zemenipearls post but can we not just have a nice fictional world? It’s not like the Kerch are made out to be a great nation of saintly people, it’s all fantasy for a reason. I won’t get started on their posts about my girl Nina and my dude Nikolai 😒

Okay... there’s a lot of ground to cover here so boot up cowhand I wrote a LOT

No matter how unlike-this-world a fantasy universe seems, it was still crafted by a real human who IS a part of this world. And humans put their own beliefs and experiences into their stories as the foundation for how ideal/ not-ideal they want the au to be. We use the environment around us as a stepping stone for our stories, and this DOUBLES if the author is saying “This World Is Not Like Ours At All”. The question authors answer of “What exactly is this au not like?” Rounds back to the place we are trying to distance ourselves from, because that is what this au is “not like.” And most often, authors craft these fantasy universes and bring the reader into a whole new world only to go back to a REAL theme of “This World Is Actually More Like Yours Than You Think.” Because that’s usually the entire point. We like fantasy because we want to see our nature mirrored in worlds unlike ours. We love that people can fly and cast spells, but we REALLY love when they’re as human as us in behavior/interests/ actions.

All that’s to say: you can’t actually write a racism-free world if you’ve never experienced a racism-free world. The ideals we want to portray will still be flawed and not 100% ideal, because the notion we have OF this ideal is fundamentally flawed. ESPECIALLY if we are still unlearning our own fallacies to these ideals. Grishaverse has anti-blackness threaded in the pages because there is anti-blackness on Earth and anti-black fallacies in the ideals Leigh Bardugo has internalized (like any other white person). If we can acknowledge the argument that meanings can be found in stories/art whether it was intended or not, then we have to acknowledge Leigh Bardugo wrote in her own prejudice or anti-black ideals into the grishaverse, whether intended or not. She wanted to write a story removed from the racism we know, and that in of itself isn’t a bad thing to imagine. But she still wrote tropes actively harmful to the minorities they represent.

“Why do you have to look for patterns that aren’t there and nitpick on characters? Why does everything have to be about race? Isn’t it enough that our heroes are TRYING to be good?”

When people say this, they usually mean “Why are you putting this in my face? We (the group not affected) were all doing fine until you decided to be grumpy about something, and I don’t want my ideals soiled by your criticisms.”

Imagine seeing the person who’s supposed to represent you and your identity be repeatedly trashed, ignored, dumbed down, dismissed, killed off, etc etc in canon and in the fandom, and when you finally get the courage to bring it up, the entirety of people not affected silence and threaten you for rocking their boat. You really can’t imagine how that actually feels unless you’ve felt it. When you write off the consistently abusive treatment of a community of people in a book as an inconvenient—and thus invalid— topic that “ruins” the characters or plots you want to root for, you’re acknowledging the privilege you have in being able to look the other way when these patterns have been brought to your attention.

There’s a lot you might not catch when you aren’t a part of the communities affected. If someone is gracious enough to extend their emotional and intellectual labor to point it out to you despite the all the gaslighting and harassment they face, the LEAST you can do is have an open mind and release the defenses and previous ideals you’ve cultivated for the characters you love. Black fans don’t owe it to you to spell it out, but they sometimes do! Despite how white fans treat them in return.

You said “it’s not like the Kerch are made out to be a nation of great saintly people.” Great! So we agree everyone should be praised and criticized accordingly? And when it’s pointed out that a character exhibits bigotry we can acknowledge that as a part of the environment they’ve lived in and thus a trait of themselves?

You can enjoy any universe or the characters that come with it in full capacity, and no one is asking you to discard stories entirely because of the mistakes. Nikolai meant and means a lot to me because of the ideals that I crafted in my head from 16 up. He’s a comfort character! He was my vision of a masc-presenting adventurer who got by with wit and charm and aesthetics. The people who love him see something of themselves in him, or someone they love. But he’s still a product of his environment. Just because I don’t want that to be true doesn’t make it untrue. Ravka is fantasy Russia but .*•*~more idealistic*.~*. This doesn’t take away the fact that the foundation is...still Russia. He’s still a privileged white king thats actively oppressing minorities in the story by upholding the kingship as it is, and if he continues the path he’s on, he’s not much better than his heritage. I love Nina to death but she’s still the jarhead kid in your algebra class ready to fight anyone who says her country merits basic criticism. The kingdom of Ravka would need to be entirely dismantled and recreated. Nikolai might seem more progressive than the kings before him, but he’s got a lot to be reprimanded for, and rebuilding can’t even start until he acknowledges and unlearns that. Which...he hasn’t, not fully, and there’s no written proof of him doing so as of now.

Before I made myself research more I got just as defensive of him and others. I’m sure I’ll get defensive over another story and have to relearn everything all over again. It’s a process and you have to check yourself all the time. But it’s a step towards the ideals we want to actually live in. If I want to imagine Nikolai a better man, I have to start from the scraps I’m given.

So yes!! You’re allowed to draw up your own themes and ideals from the stories and reimagine the characters to fit a narrative that makes your heart happy. But it won’t change the reality of the canon universe. Zemenipearls enjoyed the grishaverse so much she made a fan account for it, participates in fan-led events that celebrate the characters (and sometimes leads those events herself), commissions artists to make fanart, and has ongoing works that delve into the expansive universe that better represents her and what she wants for black characters in fantasy. And she STILL gets shit for imploring a conversation about what we all want to ignore away. Why would she put so much energy into this if she didn’t care or believe in this story too? If you also care about grishaverse that much, shouldn’t we be willing to uplift and reimagine by starting where the work needs it most?

Okay I’ve said a LOT SORRY HHHHH BUT TO WRAP UP: Ignoring a fictional character’s faults or repercussions is one thing, and I’m not about to waste energy on making people hold characters in a book accountable. We all see how people treat the Darkling.

But when you participate in or ignore the bullying and threatening that happens to REAL people, when people JUSTIFY that shit as if it merits denying a person their humanity, THATS the actual harm being done. (Not saying you’ve done that, but the mindset I’m seeing here is what feeds into that compliance.)

If we have the energy to protect and coddle our fictional white boys and let them burn the sandbox down, I KNOW we have energy to respect and protect black fans who have just as much say in how they see the story or how they reimagine it. If you have the energy to accept/tolerate the stuff alarkling fans promote, I KNOW you have the energy to put your pride away and acknowledge fallacies in your own ideals for characters. And regardless!!! of whether you “agree” with the criticisms or not, does that mean the person who spoke up about the issue deserves to be harassed?

I’m gonna ask the white ya majority reading this to be humble and open your hearts up to change the way you do for fictional edgy white dudes. Y’all have the SPIRIT but then it funnels into the WRONG IDEAS!!! PLEASE use your heads you’d be unstoppable if you used your privilege to amplify the ones who need amplifying. I promise Cardan BlackBerry and Alesksxxander Marigold aren’t gonna be disappointed in you 😔🙏

[discountscoobyart]

Hello! For the drawing request, some princess Leoni from zemenipearls's 'Siege of Novyi Zem' pls? 🥺👉🏽👈🏽

the only royal we deserve

also, can i be added to the gang post-gvbb?

kai‘s fic is amazing btw, so go read it!!

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/26237752/chapters/63862222#workskin

[paperplanenomad]

‘Ravka's Next Top Tsaritsa’ - a GVBB fic by @zemenipearls

Eek I can finally post my piece for the @grishaversebigbang event!! Loved working with my gang, aka Ravka Reality Productions (read our gang intro here!)  

You can read the fic by our Etherealnik writer Kai (@zemenipearls) on AO3 here with our Corporalnik editor @darklesmychuckles!

Synopsis:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RAVKA REALITY ABC, 8/9c

Genya Safin-Kostyk

Tune in next month to see our bachelor Isaak Andreyev meet 30 new women in the hopes of finding his wife! Isaak is a tender-hearted, bookish man who just wants to find love. Isaak would rather be having a picnic or studying languages than playing football or out partying. He wants a real wife and partner in life, unlike contestants in the past. This season promises to be more exciting and real than ever!

And!! Definitely go check out our other Materialki artists’ pieces: - @strawberrylark - their piece! - @namelessscribe - their piece! - @bdhead - their piece! - @oranges-and-stuff - their piece (Tumblr)! And Instagram - @saatanan-sorsasesonki - their piece (Tumblr!) and Instagram

I had the most fun drawing the surf, palm trees and scribbling the contents of Genya’s trash 😂😂 

[trassellynn]

The Black Pieces

Hi everyone!  This is my story for @grishaversebigbang 2020!  I am so excited!  First of all, I want to thank the wonderful people who worked with me at this story: Corporalki (Beta): @forthegenuine  Materialki (Artists): @bubble--berry  (work here ) @clearlynotclaire  (work here ) 

@saatanan-sorsasesonki (work here )

@saintprivateer  Sensitivity Reader: @zemenipearls 

Synopsis:   Twenty-one years after Crooked Kingdom events, people start to disappear in Ketterdam. Kaz understands the fault is in Igor Valaky, a mad scientist escaped from Ravka, and he contacts Nikolai. The Ravkan king persuades Dirtyhands and King Steffen of Fjerda to form a team of eight skilled teenagers to help them with Valaky’s capture. The young team is called “The Black Pieces” and each of the members represents one of the main chess pieces: a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights and two rooks. You can find my fiction on Ao3 here

Under the cut, you’ll find the Prologue! 

ANIKA  A single, dull, bell toll echoed throughout the sleeping city. Anika walked along the poorly illuminated streets of the Barrel, with a black jacket that shielded her tiny body from the fresh, night air, a couple of guns fastened to her leather belt and a sharp knife hidden in the right boot. It had been a good day, at the Crows Club, that had kept her busy from early morning, but also gave her great satisfaction. That was her world, a harsh, sometimes cruel, but always homely kingdom and she was born to be the Hand of the king, his loyal and capable second in command. Not the queen, she thought.   The queen, the one who had kept the king’s heart in her hands for over two decades, fought her battles elsewhere, for the majority of the year. And when she came back to the city, she was always torn between the calls of two kings: the beloved criminal and the sea. The latter always won. Sometimes, Anika wondered how it was, how they felt. She could barely imagine living parted from Fannie, her lovely Fannie, who always waited for her awake, in their apartment near Fifth Harbour.   She left the Barrel behind, taking a quiet, almost deserted road. There was a single human being there, apart from her, a pretty girl around twenty, with long, wavy, chestnut brown hair which almost reached her waist. She was closing the door of a small pub. Anika gave her a small, polite nod, when she walked by her: she had already met that girl before, more than once. She was a young immigrant from the Wandering Island, who worked in a floral shop and, sometimes, earned extra money serving as a waitress in the pub. I should buy some flowers for Fannie, tomorrow, Anika thought, her low heels ticking on the pebbles of the small street. White and blue flowers. Her favourites.

She had almost reached the end of the street, when a loud shriek broke the silence of the night, making her turn around, a hand on her right gun: the girl was struggling against two persons, a man and a woman, both wearing the typical kefta from two different Grisha orders. The woman was a Squaller, the man a Fabrikator. What’s happening?, Anika thought, catching her gun and aiming at them. Why are they trying to kidnap that girl? She knew she had no chance against two Grisha, but she could count on the element of surprise, since they hadn’t seen her. “Let me go, please!” the girl screamed. “What do you want from me?” The Squaller said something to her companion, in Ravkan, then, she covered the girl’s mouth with a hand, while the Fabrikator used his powers to animate a thick rope, that wrapped her body like the coils of a snake. Anika narrowed her eyes, then, she pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot was immediately followed by a male scream: the Fabrikator collapsed to the ground, clenching his left leg, while the Squaller turned her head to their attacker, giving her a killer glance. “Let her go!” Anika ordered, aiming at the woman’s arm and shooting again. Even though he was injured, the Fabrikator moved his hand so quickly she didn’t even notice it. A sudden, piercing pain exploded into Anika’s right shoulder, making her scream and lose the grip on her gun.   The woman knelt to the ground, almost breathless, her left hand clutching the wounded shoulder, where her own bullet, sent back by the man’s magic, had sunk .Her eyes went wet, while she raised her glance to check the situation, and thanks to the male Grisha’s distraction, the girl had been able to free herself from the rope and, led by desperation and survival instinct, she hit the Squaller’s cheekbone with her elbow. With the left hand, Anika grabbed the gun she had let fall and tried to stand up.“Help me!” the girl cried, running towards her. “Please, help me!” The Dregs’ deputy chief trudged ahead, stretching her trembling right arm. The pain was almost unbearable, but she needed her left hand ready to shoot again. “Qu-quicker…” she panted. “T-take my hand…” They almost did it. They went so close that Anika felt the warmth of the girl’s fingertips on hers. Then, the snake-like rope flew towards its young victim, catching her right leg. The flower girl was suddenly thrown up into the air, hanged upside down, screaming and fidgeting, her long, soft hair fell down to her face, like a reddish-brown curtain. “No!” Anika yelled, aiming at the kidnappers again. The Squaller raised her hands and a strong, howling wind travelled along the street, reaching the Dreg lady and hurling her behind, making her crash against the shop window of a furniture store. The glass broke and Anika hit a huge, exposed wardrobe with the injured shoulder. The intense pain almost took her breath away, then, everything went black. She woke up some minutes after, when someone tapped her forehead and cheeks with a wet, cold handkerchief. Pim’s worried face was bending over her. “Anika!” he whispered. “Anika, can you hear me?” The woman moaned, grabbing his wrist with the left hand. She could taste a bloody flavour into her mouth. “Pim…” she murmured, coughing. “Wh-where’s the girl?” Her comrade frowned, making her heart sink. “What girl?”

[battlestar-royco]

I recently read N/octurna by Maya M/otayne, and I was curious cause a bunch of people said it was a ADS0M knockoff but... it wasn't, it was so much better, and I haven't laughed out loud like that in ages. Sometimes, authors of color can write books that have nothing to do with a white author's book and all those goodreads reviewers owe me $100 each. - @zemenipearls

Hey ZP!! I’ll have to check that out. I’m not a fan of Schweppes and I’ve heard mediocre things about ADS0M. Ew I feel like authors of color are constantly getting unfavorably compared to white authors :/. Speaking of authors of color, I think my next books on my TBR are City of Brass and COBAB. I’ve been really looking forward to those and this week I just knocked out a few books I’d been meaning to read for months., so the time is nigh.

[korolreznis]

modern au kuwei / wylan brotp hcs 🔥💥

*we could’ve had it all playing in the bg*

• they’re both so snarky with each other most people have trouble believing they’re actually friends.

• kuwei makes fun of wylan for being a useless gay that can’t function around cute guys, wylan endlessly teases kuwei about their height difference (since wylan is supposed to be a bit taller than kuwei).

• but really when it comes down to it they’re there for each other when they need each other most. like terrifyingly ride or die, especially kuwei, who is pretty fiercely loyal (hc based off a convo with @kingjesperfahey )

• they both understand what it’s like to have complicated relationships with grief and loss so whenever the PTSD™️ starts hitting hard, you can bet they’re there for each other ASAP

• and whenever teachers or students decide to get snarky with wylan about his dyslexia you bet your ass kuwei is there with a psyche-damaging comment to ruin that person’s whole ass life.

• wylan isn’t quite as articulate despite having kerch as his first language, so rather than take kuwei’s route, whenever people hurt kuwei he just. yknow. sets their shit on fire.

• projects, essays, hair.... all normal activities for a 16 year old to participate in

• you know those two kids in your class who only ever pick each other to be partners and inevitably do the best work in the grade? yeah. that’s wylan and kuwei.

• neither of them trust other people to do the work correctly and they both understand each other’s work ethics.

• speaking of which: like basically all the dregs, these two have really strange work ethics. like they’ll do barely any work in class (probably too busy whispering to each other) but catch them working ahead of the class at home at like 4am.

• marya would certainly prefer her son didn’t stay up til 4am, but she adores kuwei and finds him very clever, so she deals with it.

• teachers on the other hand are pretty frustrated by these two because they talk incessantly during class, always whispering and side eyeing people but whenever teacher’s try to pull the “i hope you two have your work done since you’re talking” WHAT DO YOU KNOW: THEY HAVE IT DONE

• i’m pretty high on caffeine rn so i can’t think of a concise ending to this but honestly leigh robbed us of what would’ve been the most hilarious chaotic gay friendship

[dunyashas]

me: rubbing my greedy soc hands on any new shitpost

[trassellynn]

Grishaverse Big Bang 20! I'll try to reblog as many stories and art works as I can! I'll start with this: "Ravka's Next Top Tsaritsa" written by @zemenipearls! Art piace by @strawberrylark

GVBB TIME!

i’m so excited to finally be able to share my pieces with yall!! these two are from a fic by @zemenipearls called ravka’s next top tsaritsa (linked below) (this fic is one of the most entertaining things i’ve read recently it’s seriously fantastic)

go check out the stuff by my other gang members! @bdhead , @oranges-and-stuff , @paperplanenomad , @namelessscribe , @saatanan-sorsasesonki , and @darklesmychuckles !

[corvidinacape]

Saw this awesome post a while ago and decided to draw paleontologist! Jesper with Colm and Aditi being proud parents.

[malinafics]

A Winter Day in Keramzin by zemenipearls

Alina and Mal are an old couple watching over the orphans as they play a game outside, and they beg for a story when they come inside.

Written for Grishatober's Day 6 prompt: Saints & Stories

[saintprivateer]

Adrik C-3, Leoni G-4? - @zemenipearls

I got a little color happy BUT anything for these angels 😔🤘 Thank you for the request!! (Sheets found here!!)

[discountscoobyart]

Leoni 6B, Adrik 6A looking at her - @zemenipearls

i love them so much💕💕

[meherya]

I love how we all collectively rose from nothing to defend Malyen Oretsev from the incomprehensible mess that is the grishaverse fandom simultaneously like 5 months ago