#Inej is also the Queen of the sea

[ilovebluecookies2]

Queens

Queen of Fjerda.

Queen of Ravka.

Queen of Ketterdam.

#nina zenik #zoya nazyalensky #inej ghafa #Queen of our hearts #Inej is also the Queen of the sea #Nina is also Queen of wafels #One of them is also the Queen of Kaz's heart and we all know who #Love them so much #my beloveds #im in love with them

[hadesoftheladies]

FEMALE MOVIE/TV RECS (PART 1 / FANTASY)

got inspired from a recommendation post so decided to make a list of movies and shows with female-centric stories/female protagonists. since i can't post all of the genres in one post, i'll split it into multiple posts and y'all can save or add to the list as you wish. (disclaimer: i have watched most of these, but i only know about the existence of others. not every movie/show on these lists will be my recommendation. my recommendations will be beneath the list with reasons. also some of these are way better than others in terms of storytelling/performance--which is why i'll list my faves separately):

#1. FANTASY/ADVENTURE (LIVE ACTION)

Common Themes of Media In the List:

-Strong female friendships

-Romance critical (or anti-romantic centrism)

-Emphasis on female-female relationships

-Warrior girls and women

-Revenge against awful men

-Distrust of male love interests

Ones I Haven't Watched:

His Dark Materials

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Paradise Hills

Crimson Peak

Outlander

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

House of the Dragon

The Nevers

Cursed

NOT LISTED BUT QUALIFIES

Pan's Labyrinth

Mary Poppins

Twilight

The Craft

The BFG

PERSONAL NOTES FOR THE ONES I'VE WATCHED

The School for Good and Evil

5/10

There were many things about it that were good. The chemistry between the two leading actresses, the primacy of friendship over romance, the effects, the costume and set design, the insane cast (Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, Kerry Washington?!) and the score. Some of the performances were good, too. The pitfalls of the film had more to do with the writing and directing. Some scenes were rushed, some dialogue was embarrassingly bad, some plot points were just nonsensical and childish. The magic system was also not well executed (though I've seen worse).

It's mostly mid, but the ending is refreshing for the fairytale genre and if you like fairytale fluff, you'll probably be more willing to forgive the film's transgressions. If you can, there'll be a lot of fun left to have with it.

2. Damsel

6.5/10

More action than fantasy and with a much smaller cast. Most of the movie focuses on Millie's character. The performances in this were pretty good, though. If you like heroines getting revenge, non-cliche fantasy stories involving princesses, and dragons, this movie is right up your alley! Also the costuming is delightful! It's predictable, but it is also entertaining.

3. Willow

7/10

This show was just fun. Fantastic effects, female heroics, tomfoolery, lesbians, action, evil forces, cool costuming, lesbians, sword-play, riddle-solving, dumbass princes, sarcastic mentors, and lesbians! This show knew exactly what it was trying to be. Aside from some poor performances, my overall impressions is positive.

4. Wednesday

7/10

I personally enjoy Wednesday Addams' character wherever I see her. Having a whole show of her was just a treat. I didn't care for the typical highschool-shenanigans (like the cliques) as much, but there were many enjoyable elements in this for me. Particularly, the effects, the crime, the other female characters, and the ending. It's entertaining and pretty to look at. Also I'm always on my wenclair propaganda.

5. Shadow & Bone

6/10

I've read the Six of Crows duology and the first book of the Shadow & Bone trilogy, so for me this show was a let down. For new watchers, however, you'll find interesting female characters, cool effects, and an entertaining (though sometimes choppy) plot. Inej Ghafa is my queen forever, regardless.

6. Renegade Nell

7/10

This is puts the fantasy in revenge fantasy. I love all the actresses from Derry Girls, and Louisa Harland is still charming in this. It's basically if Gentleman Jack (same director, I think) and Tinkerbell teamed up. Or if Little Women was also Pirates of the Caribbean but instead of taking to the sea it was highway robbery! The action sequences are so fun, the villains are nuanced (particularly the villainess) the comedy isn't overbearing (like I forgot I was watching a Disney show tbh) and the silly towel boy from Ted Lasso is here! I personally had fun. I hope it's renewed.

7. Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass

7/10 (i love these so much so it's 8/10 for me)

It sucks that Depp is in this, but I can never ever forsake my girl Mia Wasikowska. I just love these movies. I love the design, the music, the costumes, the irreverence toward marriage and romance, Alice's personality and relationship with her mother, how it tackles the pathologisation of female autonomy, the performances, etc. The books are one of my favorite books of all time so there's that.

8. Maleficent

7/10

I really loved the performances in this, the metaphor for rape, the satisfying revenge. I don't mind that it was cliché. I love Maleficent movies. AND the Lana Del Ray cover for "Once Upon A Dream." Also, the first one makes me tear up every time. The mother-daughter love is just so touching to me.

9. Warrior Nun

(?/10)

I love the premise of this show and I can get behind the characters. The protagonist just annoyed me so much so often I have taken multiple breaks and can't remember the story. I am all for imperfect, asshole girl characters. But this protagonist was just whiny and careless beyond reason. And it was taking too long for her to get with the nuns. Like I was not invested enough in her running away arc. Like sis get your ass to the coven you are not that main of a character!

She took up so much screentime when literally every other character in the show was more interesting than she was.

At least there's lesbians.

10. Snow White & The Huntsman

(8/10)

What can I say? Kristen Stewart was hot in this, as was stepmother. Effects? Stellar. Direction? Stellar. Performance? Mostly stellar. Drama? Action? Magic? All there. Thoroughly entertaining. Refreshingly anti-Disney. Unfortunately there are some annoying men involved (I'm talking about the dwarves of course) but it never gets too overbearing. This is, however, the least feminist of the entire list and scores lowest on the above common themes.

#radblr #female centric media #female fantasy movies #feminism #fantasy heroines #hadesoftheladies rec list

[whosthatfunkyrat]

Some imagery you can associate with Inej, Kaz, and Kanej:

Inej first (bc she’s my beloved):

Religious imagery/ sainthood

The moon

Acrobatics/tight rope/ circus(?)

Daggers/blades

Pirate imagery/ ships/ captain

Water & The Sea (Not sure if water counts but Kaz describes her movement like a girl under water, also the whole sailing away thing)

Smoke (Kaz also describes her as moving like smoke)

Ghost Imagery (I.e The Wraith)

Spider imagery

Crow/bird imagery (less prevalent for her than Kaz but still worth mentioning)

Wings (the whole chapter where she falls and looks for her wings, connected to the bird imagery but separate enough)

Kaz:

Dog imagery (bc he’s “Par Haskel’s rabid dog” and I feel like this nickname is heavily under appreciated)

Crow imagery

The Sun (you might be confused by this bc usually the sun is happy but think about how Kaz burns with devotion and rage, how all the crows circle around him, him always being the center of the gang ((even tho we all know Inej is their touchstone)))

Fire.

Keys? (Lemme know if this is wrong but I see a lot of people doing fanart with him holding a key- idk what that’s about I haven’t read past crooked kingdom, if you know pls tell me)

Magic/slight of hand/deck of cards/thievery (lumping them all together bc they’re too similar)

Hands & gloves (ofc)

Water & the sea too actually… unfortunately.

Honestly… Blood.

You can do knives for him as well but it’s less prevalent.

Eyeballs… bc…. The eyeball part. Also- he sorta knows/ sees everything.

Kanej:

Sun & Moon

Fire & Water

Fire & Smoke

Queen & King

Saint/Sinner (or demon)

Knife/Wielder (referring to when she worked as a dreg, and killed who he told her to, less romantic but should you be using this for writing it could work)

#my idea of imagery is very loose so bare with me #just a fun idea I thought #it’ll probably just be serving me to have them all written down #just for like art or fics or something idk #fun times #six of crows #crooked kingdom #inej ghafa #soc #kaz brekker #shadow and bone #grishaverse #kanej #ck #inej x kaz #kaz x inej #sankta inej #inej my beloved #kazzle dazzle #kaz being kaz

[incorrectklavekatz]

The crows as cards cause I’m bored and why not, as usual my asks are open and I’m always happy to answer!!! Possible ROW and CK spoilers??? Obviously SOC spoilers

Kaz: king of clubs, symbolises strength, power and determination, his ambition towards taking down Rollins, and his effectiveness in doing so, as well as his power by the time ROW occurs in him having two people on the merchant council, the queen of fjerda and the wraith on the seas, in play can be useful, but in most cases doesn’t do much if the rest of the hand is shit, he needs his crows

Inej: Queen of spades, I was going to make her and Kaz match but I’d rather give her an individual one, symbolises intelligence, practical and intellectual, plans ahead of time, inej is always the one in the crows to provide insight to their issues, no matter how cryptic it may be at times, and she shows her ability to understand the consequences of all of their actions better than the other crows several times, in play a black queen can change the game if not countered by a red one

Nina: queen of hearts, pretty obvious as it is, heartrender, queen of fjerda, symbolises a powerful woman who is commanding and has a strong presence yet is compassionate, caring and protective of those she loves, her taking the parem to save the others in coming out of the ice court, as well as generally just being there for the crows in their times of need while still being a very independent and strong female character, in play can be incredibly useful for saving a hand

Matthias: king of hearts, symbolises honesty and spirituality, obviously spirituality to djel and his honesty about changing who he was to be a better man, and admitting that what he did was wrong along with coming to terms with how he was raised and how that effected him and how he treats others, also symbolises a kind gentle man, which he became because of Nina, sparing the boy who shot him, in play again not very useful unless the rest of the hand is good

Wylan: Ace of diamonds, symbolises a financial increase and can indicate a message from a new lover, his claiming of his inheritance from his father, and Jespers role in helping him achieve and maintain that inheritance with reading to him, in play can change the stakes of the game and is very fluid compared to other cards in what it can do, as well as changing the suit to how it sees fit regardless of the suit being played, changing to look like kuwei, asking to be beaten up further for dramatic effect etc

Jesper: Jack of Diamonds, symbolises youth, energy and potential, “maybe he was a bullet in a chamber, waiting to be given direction”, it can also symbolise future financial instability, his gambling, and can be used to represent an unfaithful employee, when he accidentally ratted them out to the dime lions, in play isn’t extremely helpful and generally can benefit the person before the player more than the player themselves, heavily depends on the other cards in the hand, much like how Jesper often puts trying not to disappoint others above his own general well-being and mental health

+ Bonus kuwei: ace of spades, mirrors Wylan, symbolises death, darkness and mystery, parem causing death, hiding in the tomb, nobody really knowing much about him, but can also represent new beginnings, fresh starts and rebirth, moving to Ravka and changing his name to fix his fathers mistakes, arguably one of the most important cards in play, can change the game entirely based on its high place on the list of outcomes on rolling the dice or drawing from a deck of cards chance, can also symbolise power, luck and triumph, whoever was ‘in possession’ of kuwei was winning the game

If anybody has any other opinions on this please let me know!! Also I am aware that technically they have all already been assigned cards in the collectors edition art for crooked kingdom but these are my own takes, might do an analysis post on their cards assigned in the official art if anybody is interested <333 also will do any other characters in the SOC duology and maybe some from the SAB trilogy if asked!!!

#I haven’t played card games much recently so if my analysis on how they work in play is off #ignore me #my cards and dice have been confiscated #jesper fahey #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #wylan van eck #wylan hendricks #matthias helvar #nina zenik #kuwei yul bo #six of crows #crooked kingdom #shadow and bone #kanej #helnik #wesper #incorrect klave talks

[honeii-puff]

for grishverse asks, like any one of them, I just kinda want to know, since they’re such good questions, and if you feel like it all of them

shadow | rank all the grishaverse books you’ve read.

I did this one already

bone | have you seen the show? what’s the best part of it?

Also did this one already

siege | if you got to kill off one character, who would it be?

Probably Heleen. Burn the Menagarie down whilst we're at it

storm | share and tag your favorite fan art

Dont have one, i love all the fanarts

ruin | favorite character?

Did this one already, its Inej

rising | what’s the best ship? canon or otherwise.

Kanej. no questions.

six | favorite grishaverse quote?

the "I would have come for you" bit from Kaz. That or "Best way to steal a man's wallet"

crow | which crows are you most and least like?

Most like Inej, Least like Kaz

crooked | if you got to rewrite the first chapter of six of crows, how would you do it?

I'd probably let Anya live longer bc she was cool

kingdom | pick a character and give them a theme song

Jesper - Killer Queen by Queen

king | what’s your favorite idea for a new series in the grishaverse?

Probably something centric on Captian Inej Ghafa

scars | which character deserved better?

MATTHIAS HELVAR

rule | favorite book cover?

The russian version of Six of Crows. its beautiful

wolves | sort all the characters you can into hogwarts houses, (or choose to give them zodiacs, mbtis, alignments, etc—)

im just gonna do the crows

Kaz: Slytherin

Inej: Hufflepuff

Wylan: Slytherin or Ravenclaw

Jesper: Gryffindor

Matthias: Hufflepuff

Nina: Gryffindor

ketterdam | change the ending of one of the books

LET. MATTHIAS. LIVE

os alta | when did you get into the grishaverse? tell us all about it

I'd say about 2021 i read Shadow and Bone and half of Seige and Storm, then dropped it. I watched the show in 2022, read six of crows, saw s2 of SaB, and then read KOS

djerholm | what pair of characters would you kill to see interact with each other?

We need more Kaz and Nikolai interactions.

the unsea | what type of grisha powers would you want to have? or what crow’s skills would you want to steal?

Stealing Inej's grace, I have the balance of a toddler :P

the true sea | rant about whatever grishaverse thing you want to (a hot take, something that bothers you, something you love, etc)

WE. NEED. MORE. RELIGIOUS. REPRESENTATION.

And not in the way "oh we need more religious characters"

no.

I want full in-depth explanations on each religion. On Djel, Gheezenism, the difference between Ravkan, Kaelish, and Suli saints, what they worship in the Southern Colonies, Novyi Zem, and Shu Han, all of it.

Give me it all.

#grishaverse #six of crows #shadow and bone #siege and storm #crooked kingdom #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #matthias helvar #nina zenik #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #ck #soc #s&b #SaB s1 #SaB s2

[fandomscraziness22]

duplicitous - a Kanej gala heist

i freaking loved this idea from our artist @bubble--berry, and their art is soooo amazing!!!! so i’m glad we got to write this! co-authored by me and @desidarling123

Inej docks The Wraith in Ravka’s port, only somewhat happy to be on land. It’s been almost a year since she’s been in Ravka, and the sight of so many joyous Grisha out and about is a bit startling. The nation’s port is busy with preparations for the Harvest Festival set to commence in a mere two days.

She’s here at Kaz’s request – though calling the letter a “request” would be like saying Jesper “mildly enjoys a game of chance.” Inej has known Kaz long enough to determine what is  a request versus what is a demand for her unique skill set. And this letter, short and to the point, had been a thinly veiled command for her to meet him at the bustling port of Udova, ready for a job. Inej knows the newly appointed Queen and her prince consort are to be at the festival –  however, that is where her knowledge starts and ends. And if there was one thing Inej didn’t miss about working with Kaz, it was his complete lack of willingness to divulge information that most would deem necessary knowledge. 

Nevertheless, her crew is a well-oiled machine, and Inej is soon ready to disembark. Many of her crew members have family in Ravka, and she’s given them an extended leave to go and visit them. Those who aren’t from Ravka have either made plans of their own or have been invited to visit their friends’ homes, so Inej is left to her own devices for the week of the festival. 

According to Kaz’s very brief letter, her identity is that of ‘Isla Rooj’, a lesser-known Mercher who has traveled overseas from a small town in order to witness the first festival under the country’s new monarch. She is to meet him at a tavern called the Ptitsa-Sinitsa, where they will be staying for the duration of the festival. As she makes her way through the busy streets, she wonders what Kaz could possibly plan to steal amidst the Ravkan festivities.

Well. That’s not exactly right. She’s got a few ideas, actually. Inej imagines the job has something to do with the amount of powerful and influential people gathering in the city. These gatherings bring with them a horde of secret information, not to mention loud displays of wealth and power. 

But Kaz has most of the Barrel afraid of him already, and he’s working his way steadily through the few who still disobey, so… it’s not like he’s lacking anything, on his end. 

So it must be for someone else. But who?

keep reading on ao3

Inej supposes she’ll have to get her answers when she sees him. And despite her annoyance at the circumstances under which it’s happening, her heart skips a beat at the thought of being with Kaz again. It’s been far too long since she last docked in Ketterdam, having been kept away by the constant slavers she’s been thwarting and the terrible weather of the open seas. She’s successfully kept in touch with Jesper and Wylan through their joint letters to her, and with Nina, who, despite often being out on assignments, keeps Inej updated whenever she can. There’s even been a scarce exchange of letters between herself and Kuwei detailing the latter's continued studies as an Etherealnik within the Little Palace. But Kaz has been oddly silent during her most recent voyages. His letters have been few and far between, and whenever they do come, they’re often undetailed and impersonal, a far cry from his first few letters to her. Not that Kaz had ever been forthcoming in that way, either in writing or in person, but his letters had become much more distant, which had hurt her more than she’d care to admit.

It still doesn’t change the fact that her heart belongs to him — an undeniable truth she had realized long ago – and that she’s excited to see him, even if she does also want to smack him over the head with his own cane. Kaz can be obtuse when it comes to understanding his own feelings, and even worse with expressing them. Though the two of them have progressed at their own speed, Inej can’t recall anything bad happening the last time she saw him that would prompt such a stark change in his behavior. Kaz Brekker may not always need a reason, but he sure as hell always had one.

I’ll just have to find out for myself, she thinks as the sign for Ptitsa-Sinitsa comes into view. The tavern itself is packed, much like the various buildings around it, with people from all roads of life coming to see the Queen’s festival. Inej skirts around a group of excited Ravkans and notes a few poorly-disguised Fjerdans on the edges. Of course, an event like this would be crawling with foreign spies. None to worry about yet, but she vows to keep an eye out anyways. 

There’s also some Kaelish folk around, evidenced by their bright hair and loud voices ringing out over the crowd of people eating and talking.

Finally, she spots Kaz at a table near the back with a plate of smoked cod and skillet bread and heads towards him. He’s wearing a hat she knows he hates, but refuses to get rid of. All the better a disguise, she supposes with a sigh. Kaz looks up from his food, and although his face doesn’t change, the edges of his eyes grow softer at her approach. 

“Isla, good. You found it,” he says in greeting. Inej smiles warmly at the sight of him, her overwhelming happiness at seeing him in the flesh overriding her annoyance for the time being. 

“Of course. It wasn’t too hard, your instructions were quite clear. Did you have a good journey?” she asks, sitting down opposite him. His body relaxes, a sight Inej doesn’t see often, though she knows he’s still on high alert to their surroundings.

“Tolerable. I took Rotty with me, as he’s the best sailor I’ve got now, and the man wouldn’t shut up about how he needed to be back in two weeks’ time for the annual plink-drop competition.”

Inej rolls her eyes. “Trust Rotty to stick to routine. He loses every year, I’m not sure why he bothers to play anymore. One would think six straight years of losses would make the whole thing not enjoyable, but alas.”

They fall back into familiar territory with ease, chatting harmlessly whilst they eat, all too aware of the many eyes staring into the backs of their heads and ears tilted ever-so-slightly in their direction. Once they’ve had their fill, Kaz guides her to their room where they retire for the evening. It’s definitely one of the nicest places Inej has stayed in for a heist of any kind, with a double bedroom, a small lounge area in the front, and a balcony looking out over the port.

Once they’ve inspected the room and secured all entries, she takes a seat next to Kaz on the plush red couch. “Who’s bankrolling this one?” she asks without preamble.

“Our friend, the demon.” Kaz’s voice is dry, but Inej can sense the humour in Kaz calling someone else what he himself has often been named. “He’d like us to relocate a foreign dignitary's documents.”

“Your friend, you mean. I’ve not become as well acquainted with Nikolai on the sea or land, despite his many roles in his country.” Kaz has kept her informed of the former king’s whereabouts, such as he knows them, but news travels slowly at sea (as opposed to rumors which spread like wildfire), and it hasn’t been a top priority for Inej. 

“In any case, he asked me to get some documents a Fjerdan official will be carrying.” Kaz’s face is set into scheming mode, and it once again makes Inej’s heart stutter. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed seeing him in his element; a slight smirk on his face and a mischievous glint in his dark eyes.

Inej shoves that thought away. Not the time, she admonishes herself. “What kind of documents?”

Kaz eyes her carefully, as though hesitant to say. It’s a strange look on Kaz; he’s never hesitant about anything. Careful, yes, but not dubious. Not like he wants to hide the information from her.

Inej keeps her gaze steadily locked with his, unwilling to back down until he relents. “It’s the instructions for a drug to render any individual catatonic in seconds. They plan to use it in hunting Grisha, and selling them to slave traders in Ketterdam.”

Saints, she thinks. Her mouth goes thin, mind racing, because of course things wouldn't stay good for her. She’s been bringing down slavers and saving people with surprising speed and efficiency (surprising only to those who don’t know the Wraith from Ketterdam’s rooftops), and her name is getting around through rumors. It makes sense that the twisted people who trade in human lives would look for new ways to get easy captives.

“Is that why you didn’t inform me in your letter?” Inej asks, half hoping that he will catch on to her annoyance about his lack of general communication in the last few months. Kaz nods in answer to her question, and Inej decides to let it go for now, sitting back against the couch in contemplation. “I assume you have a plan,” she says, and Kaz nods once more. “Tell me.”

“The Harvest Festival begins in two days. The plan is, we sneak in as guests and find the official with the documents. My plan is to steal them, leave in its place instructions for a … friendlier alternative, so as to not arouse suspicions, and make our getaway.”

“So simple,” Inej says with raised eyebrows. She’s used to Kaz only sharing parts of a plan, so it is a miracle that she even gets that much of an outline all at once. (The mention of a friendlier alternative, one she somehow doubts is as friendly as he implies, also has her curiosity piqued). Still, she knows he’s got backup plans galore, and Inej trusts him implicitly.

Kaz gives her a begrudging twitch of his lips. “For now, yes. We have two days to find clothes and fill in some additional details. Get some rest, and we can begin in the morning.”

The next two days pass in a blur of planning, laying low, and shopping. The formal gala that is set to open the Festival requires nicer dress than the two Dreg members usually wear, and Inej gleefully picks out a range of horrific colors and patterns for Kaz to try on (which he declines in a variety of ways: with an eye roll, a smirk, a sarcastic comment, or outright disgust). 

His reactions do nothing but spur her on, and for those small pockets of time, she is simply a girl shopping with a boy she likes; she’s living a future she had only imagined for herself as a small child in her family’s caravan, excited for a whirlwind romance with the perfect man as only a little girl can imagine. 

The thing that truly drives her fantasy home, however, is the moment Inej spots an honest-to-saints lehenga, one of her people’s favorites for fancy occasions. She’s never worn one, having been deemed too young by her mother before…everything. Traditionally, they are worn most often at weddings and official gatherings, held once every five years where all the Suli come together to celebrate and tell stories. The sight reminds her so vividly of her mother that her heart aches as she reaches out to grasp at the fabric. The lehenga she holds in her hands is made of well-made silk, embroidered with intricate floral and paisley resham. It is obviously worn, but has remained in good condition.

Inej runs her fingers over the pieces and marvels at how this seems made for her. It’s her favorite shade of purple, the detailing done in neat rows. The lighter fabric of the shawl flows over her, and Inej trembles as she realizes that there’s nothing stopping her from buying and wearing this to the festival tomorrow. When she tries it on in the small stall of the dressmaker’s, her mind works quickly to pick out places for her knives, how the skirt doesn’t limit her motions, the way she can tie the shawl part of the lehenga in specific places to keep it from being a hazard if she should need to run. 

A thought occurs to her then. She remembers distinctly the coy look the older girls would get once dressed in their lehengas, the heavy blush riding on their cheeks, as they’d wait for their lovers to see them decked out in their finest, playing teasing games for minutes if not hours on end, before not-so-secretly escaping with them into a dark corner somewhere, far away from the rest of the caravan. 

It’s such a silly, random memory to come to mind, but suddenly it’s there, in her heart: a desire to have Kaz look at her like a boy in her caravan once might have – as she could have been, maybe, if her life had turned out the way it was supposed to. 

Yes, she has made her peace with who she’s become, the feared Pirate Queen of the Seas. But in this moment, she feels a strong pull back to who she could have been. Inej feels strong and beautiful in the lehenga, and although she thinks Kaz already knows that about her, she wants to hear him say it. She wants it to be acknowledged openly, for him to take off a piece of armor that he’s kept clutched firmly to his chest since she left Ketterdam. 

So Inej buys the lehenga, keeping the purchase a secret from the boy she came with. He’s never bothered about her clothes before, and he doesn’t break that streak when they reunite, both carrying bags with their new clothes. She drags Kaz along to buy jewelry to complement the outfit, forcing him to purchase new cufflinks for the suit he’d picked out for himself. For her part, Inej is immediately drawn to a set of golden earrings and a matching tikka, and doesn’t let herself second-guess the decision, purchasing it quietly while his eyes are elsewhere. 

She can be devious in her own right, and finally, this festival is something she can look forward to.

They do not – cannot – enter the gala together. Cannot, because, as Kaz had explained to her, should their covers come into question, both need some modicum of plausible deniability. 

(She hates that he’s right about that.)

But maybe that’s for the better. Without him by her side as she gets ready – he leaves their shared room early, claiming one final errand to run without her –  she finds herself able to gather some much-needed nerve. To put on her battle armor, so to speak.

It helps to start with her knives first – she carefully straps those to her legs, murmuring prayers to each Saint as she fixes them in place. 

(The lehenga, however tempting and beautiful it might be, is still a hard sell. It reminds her of the home she used to have, the life she used to live. But she’s determined to reclaim that piece of her that was stripped away.)

So Inej runs her fingers over the embroidered edges once more. The obvious care that was put into the details suffuses her with a much-needed sense of calm.

Yes, it would’ve been nice to have him here, to help her with this part. 

But she’s always known, deep down, that this is something she has to do alone. 

So she pulls herself together. The skirt goes on first, her trustworthy knives disappearing beneath the heavy layers. She works the blouse on next, lacing up the back of it securely, ensuring no wandering fingers will take it apart. Finally she wraps the dupatta – a gorgeous, shimmering, delicate thing – over her shoulders. A fitting last touch, the cherry on top.

She’s relieved to find that she still looks and feels like herself, beneath it all. Even if that’s not what anyone else will see.

It paints a perfectly duplicitous picture, in the mirror. A glittering, distracting facade on Ravkan soil.

And if this night goes the way she hopes – no one else will ever have to see what lies beneath.

—---------

So she enters the gala alone.

Well, correction – the gala doors have not officially opened yet, so she’s here in the large banquet hall that serves as a makeshift waiting room alone.

That is unusual in and of itself, but that’s by design. She doesn’t look like a working girl (not that any would have been allowed in at this kind of event), but she does pique some immediate interest amongst the well-dressed attendees in the room. Inej firmly ignores it, choosing instead to take in her surroundings.

It’s a magnificent hall, if darker than she’d expected. But the low light will work to their advantage, and it gives the event an air of mystery. The floor is a rich, dark wood (perfect for hiding stains of all kinds, she thinks grimly) and the furnishings are ornate and well-worn. There are small candles everywhere, reminding her, counter-intuitively, of the inside of a church.

If only this could be as safe.

Inej turns now to scan the crowd, and mercifully, most eyes have since fallen off of her, the thrill of novelty long gone. But she can pick out a few who stand out, their movements not quite casual. And just like that, her previous suspicions are confirmed: they’re not the only ones with their own agendas on the loose tonight.

That’s fine, expected really, but it adds a lovely new wrinkle to their mission: not only do they have to swap out the documents, but they have to make sure they’re not observed by anyone else looking to do the same thing. Of which there are likely several. 

That’s her job for tonight, and just as well. She can handle it, easy. 

Now as for the man of the hour. Their diplomat – where is he?

The Fjerdans are difficult to miss, generally speaking. She’s looking for someone who, by Kaz’s description, is a tall, blonde, older gentleman, one who’s covered in military regalia. Currently, nowhere to be seen.

That’s when, of course, she feels what can only be described as someone’s gaze on her. 

Inej turns, and there he is: Kaz Brekker, looking quite unlike she’s ever seen him before. He’s dressed in a more traditional Ravkan-style suit-coat, a stormy grey-black color, but it’s the look on his face that stops her where she stands: there’s a hunger, a greed on his features she’s never seen before. Never directed towards her, anyways. 

It’s so much coming from him, a man who never tells her bloody anything if he can avoid it, but it doesn’t scare her like it probably should. Instead, it sends a thrill down her spine, tilts her world on its axis. 

He’s looking at her as she could have been, yes, but he doesn’t see it that way, she realizes. There’s no bitterness in his eyes, no lingering regret over what had been taken from her. 

No, for once there’s just pure, unadulterated want from the boy she loves, the feeling it evokes is every bit as magical as those starlit caravan nights she’d always dreamed of.

And yes, maybe that exact dream had been stolen from her past, but every choice she’d made since had brought this part of her life back to her, even when she’d thought it impossible. 

The world kept changing, just as they both had. This could change, too.

It’s what emboldens her to draw closer to him, all covers be damned. 

He meets her as if he can read her mind, the two of them moving into a secluded, dark corner. (Some things, perhaps, always stay the same.)

But this part will be different. Because she has a question she needs answered, and she knows when to pull her advantage. 

“Why didn’t you reply to my letters?” She doesn’t let her gaze leave his, can feel the way he suddenly stiffens beneath it. His eyes avert from hers, on some faraway point on the wall.

“I wrote you letters,” he responds slowly. 

But it’s not a complete answer, not really. He’s leaving out something, he most certainly is. So she waits until he looks at her again, eyebrows raising in an unspoken question.

Kaz’s eyes bore into hers, daring her to look away, but Inej has held many a contest with him, and he can’t scare her away this time. Once, the challenge might have frightened her, but she knows his feelings are something he doesn’t feel comfortable expressing outright unless she pushes.

So she does.

“Why didn’t you reply to all my letters? I heard more from Nina than you this past voyage.”

A brief moment of hesitation, then – 

“I didn’t think you would want to hear from me.”

Inej snorts. “I always want to hear from you, even when you’re being an insufferable idiot about it.”

The boy lets out a small laugh, and the sound lifts Inej’s soul into flight. Kaz doesn’t laugh easily, and she treasures each and every one she creates in him.

He takes a deep breath, as if steeling himself for whatever admission he is about to make. “I…thought that hearing from me might be too much of a reminder of the life you left behind. I didn’t want to pull you under the weight of Ketterdam once more.”

She’s startled, not having expected that at all. It’s complete nonsense, of course, but she’s touched that Kaz is worried about that. Inej knows he has his demons, and his course of action is to fight through them by sheer force of will and by conquering the streets of the city that never gave him an inch, but she isn’t like that. 

“My demons are strong, yes...but Ketterdam has never been a reminder of that,” she shares, willing him to realize that when she said Ketterdam, what she really means is Kaz Brekker. 

The boy who saved her from a living nightmare, who had bought her freedom with the last of his funds, and who had been willing to let her leave him behind to fulfill what she was born to do.  

But she’s not leaving him behind. Not now, not ever again. Not even if he wants her to.

“You are a part of the life I want to keep, Kaz,” she says simply. “So don’t keep yourself away from me.”

“Or what?” he says, and though there's a challenge in the low pitch of his voice, she can also see the beginnings of a smile on his lips. It’s a look that makes her want to do to him what those older girls would do with their clandestine lovers, mission be damned. One day, maybe.

“Or I’ll have to steal you away, of course,” she retorts, and there’s a fully-formed smile on her face, one she’s certain doesn’t hide her inner thoughts in the slightest. “After all, I learned from the very best.”

Around them, the crowd starts moving with a shout – the gala doors have finally opened, praise the Saints! – but neither pays it any heed.

Kaz nods once, gaze never leaving hers, before slowly moving his arm upwards to hover it in the air between them in an offering. Not everything, but enough.

As long as he reaches for her, she will always reach back. 

So Inej slowly, gently wraps a henna-covered hand around his outstretched arm. She feels Kaz stiffen momentarily before forcing himself to relax, feels a warm surge of pride at the effort made. 

He’s doing this for her. They both are.

So together, arms linked, they push through the heavy wooden doors and enter the gala. 

It’s finally time for real work to begin. 

But, Inej knows, there’s no one else she’d rather have at her side.

#six of crows #soc #kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #gala #fancy dresses #fanfic #fanfiction #gvbbrmbfic22 #gvbbrmb22 #post canon #fluff #slight angst

[oretsev]

hi helloo, i'd just written a novel in ur askbox about s&b and then tumblr crashed and it was all lost :') maybe for the better because it was a total mess of thoughts lmao so let me try to summarise my feelings a bit (im sorry this turned out REALLY long)

i HATE that they speedran s&s and r&r in the most bullshit way possible. the entire amplifier hunt was basically removed, at least journey-wise - they just. find the sea whip in that one cave and then they go to morozova's workshop and thats it?? wheres the shu han quest. where the fuck is the ACTUAL spinning wheel. and why is alina not hounding everyone to find the firebird??? she's supposed to be obsessively seeking it now, why does she barely seem to care? also where's the actual ending to siege and storm. WHERE is my darkling & alina fight. wheres her being saved by mal... where's her white hair !!!! idk that scene was my favourite and once i knew we were getting a tv show i really wanted to see this on screen :((

all the characters and relationships they cut... harshaw, misha, ONCAT, tamar&nadia (because lbr they basically weren't there), honestly i even missed sergei and stigg (who i'd barely even remembered before), nadia and adrik as siblings even. they just cut all these people and their journeys with alina for what, a fetch quest for a magic sword?

also, where's the apparat and the soldat sol? we hear people call alina 'sankta', sure, but the entire religious part of ruin and rising is just. completely sidelined. which is really weird because it's so important!! tolya and tamar's faith is basically nonexistent and i don't like it at all

the whole firebird reveal was soooo boring. like i'm sorry but that scene in the book? absolutely perfect. but in the show... it's just a story! baghra just tells mal and thats it! honestly this entire season was so much telling and not showing too, soooo much exposition and it just really didnt work

now then. ive put this off long enough but. the fucking ending. dude... i don't even know where to begin. how do you fuck up the rewrite of your book so badly that the entire moral of your book is just. completely lost?? literally the entire trilogy is built on the "what is infinite? the universe and the greed of men" quote. you CANNOT disregard that in this way. the point of the entire story is that alina's greed is punished! she loses her powers and she loses mal (sort of). the fold is destroyed by her power but not by her, because she never should have had that much power! now... she loses nothing. she has her power, she has three amplifiers, she brought mal back with merzost (which is still. insane to me like i legit laughed out loud when that happened) and now she's general of the second army and also soon probably queen of ravka??? she doesnt lose ANYTHING to her greed.

and with the ending too... where the hell are they going to take this next? because theyre sure as hell not following the kos duology storyline, what with alina now being nikolai's general instead of zoya (which im also. really pissed off about because zoya's story is SO important and theyve just. shoved her to the side)

i also have some thoughts about the crows and how theyve been handled of course i just don't feel as passionately about them (also because they shouldnt have been in this show in the first place but thats just my opinion <3) but i do wonder how theyre gonna start the soc spinoff when theyve basically done so much of the crooked kingdom plot already? and inej is literally already sailing and finding slavers like... i have no idea how theyre going to dothis spinoff and make everyone happy

very small last points but im so mad that they did the "an ordinary life full of ordinary things" line and then decided to. include nikolai? what the actual fuck? and then they didnt even GIVE malina their ordinary life... sorry im so so angry about this ending

i'm sure ive got more to say but this is already wayy too long and i don't wanna bother u anymore but ive just been mad for 3 days straight and really needed to get this off my chest <3 im really disappointed that theyve managed to screw up my favourite book series of all time so i'm just going to reread r&r and forget this season exists :D hope u have a nice day and thank u for reading this dump slfksdj

RIP but ty for venting!!! i totally get everything you’re saying. all of this comes down to the writers smashing basically all of the books into one season for NO reason. all of the things that make the trilogy & duology interesting & compelling & complex are gone bc there’s no time to show them. it’s constantly going GO GO GO with the plot, & for what?? nothing got added to these characters this season, i didn’t feel any impact during any of the big reveals, i didn’t get any emotional payoff from these characters’ journeys.

& why change the ending the way they do? eric’s already said that a season 3 would go back & touch on s&s things they didn’t address. so this ending is meant to draw out alina & mal’s stories, but why do it this way? why backtrack like that? you could certainly draw out the trilogy without speed-running the original ending like this, but that doesn’t fit whatever weird narrative he has for the crows ig.

#i’m tired!!!! let these characters breathe!! #he’s so determined to just tell his silly crows story that he flattened literally every character including them #answers #shadow and bone #genjasafin

[dhampiravidi]

platonic connections wishlist (long)

Jayn: Gotham-based vigilantes especially Nightwing, the Gotham City Sirens*, the Justice League* (DC Comics); Simon Bassett* (Bridgerton); James Valdez* (Queen of the South-US); Alina Starkov, Nina Zenik*, Jesper Fahey, Inej Ghafa (The Grishaverse).

Naela: Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Rhaegar Targaryen, (ASOIAF/GOT); Chaotic Good & Lawful Evil characters (D&D)

Achilles: gods from Hellenic myth*, Arthurian knights* (Mythology); Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, Captain Price, Johnny "Soap" MacTavish, König (Call of Duty); Astarion or any D&D characters (D&D); Gambit*, Mystique, Wolverine*, Storm, any Avengers (Marvel)

Jasmine: Iron Man, Loki*, Wolverine, Brunhilde (Marvel); Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane*, the half-fey Blackthorns, Kieran Kingson (Shadowhunter Chronicles)

Skadi: Brunhilde, Black Widow, Spider-Man*, Winter Soldier* (Marvel); Simon "Ghost" Riley*, Johnny "Soap" MacTavish, Farah Karim (Call of Duty); Karlach (D&D)

Oraia: Emma Frost, Loki, Iron Man, She-Hulk, X-Men in general* (Marvel); Philippe (Versailles), anyone (The Old Guard), Jack Sparrow* (POTC); most characters (Shadowhunter Chronicles); werewolves, vampires, fey (urban fantasy); Artemis*, Hestia, Bast*, Isis/Aset, sea nymphs, heroes (Mythology)

Hestia: Cyclops, Iceman, Jean Grey, Storm, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Venom (Marvel); young!Coriolanus Snow, Katniss Everdeen, Gale Hawthorne (The Hunger Games)

Rose: Zatanna, Constantine, Dr. Fate, Raven (DC Comics)

Aurelia: The Marauders--especially Sirius & Remus!, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, prominent Order members and/or Death Eaters, any cool people from the Marauders/Golden Trio eras (Harry Potter)

Rela: Din Djarin*, Grogu, Obi-Wan (Star Wars)

Zehara: Sokka, Suki*, Korra, Tenzin (Avatar: TLA & LOK)

Eugenia: Bonnie Bennett (Vampire Diaries); Hellenic deities (Mythology); werewolves, vampires, fey (urban fantasy); Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

Fantomex: ngl he'll flirt even if it's just platonic but Storm, Wolverine, Monet St. Croix (Marvel)

Renée: Gambit, Mystique, Fantomex, Storm, Quicksilver, Wolverine, Daken, Loki, basically anybody who's had dubious morals from time to time (Marvel); Nightwing, Wonder Woman, Superwoman (DC Comics)

Shayera: DCAU!Wally, Wonder Woman, Black Canary (DC Comics)

Mu Lan: Simon Bassett (Bridgerton); any people who are unfazed by Strong Independent Women 😁 especially those from eras other than the modern one...

Lady Gotham: Gotham vigilantes especially Batman, Red Hood (or Robin!Jason), Nightwing, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain)...also magic users like Swamp Thing, Constantine, Zatanna, The Spectre, Etrigan (DC Comics); wouldn't mind crossovers like something with Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Loki (Marvel)

-- an asterisk means "zomg I've been wanting this forever!" --

thanks for reading!

#wishlist #platonic connections #admin

[black-rose-writings]

Watching Shadow and Bone Season 2: Episode 1 - I am losing braincells fast

Okay, I finally have time. Let's do this.

Firstly, sorry if I miss some visual details, I am watching it on a very legal site that unfortunately has something of a potato quality.

S1 Intros looked better.

Alina is looking around in her pretty little dream sequence like "My Saints, life is so emo right now."

Sasha, my beloved.

Wasting sickness my ass.

And there is Mal, assuring her that Sasha is dead.

Where did Alina get her new fancy dress, if they've been on a ship since the end of S1? And her hair grew a lot for it being just two weeks... sorry, nit picks, but like... her hair was not that long and it doesn't grow all that much in two weeks.

Oh, look, Ketterdam. Surely, Alina will not face any danger of being kidnapped and sold into slavery, despite there being a million kruge bounty on her head last season.

So, what exactly do they think they'll find in Kerch. At least when they were running in the books, they just wanted to get to the frontier to disappear there. But like, you two don't have shit to your name... ah, I'm barely like 2 minutes in and I'm already rambling.

Oh, look, Kaz arranged them fake passports... somehow. While they were all on a ship.

*stop thinking about the details, stop thinking about the details, or you'll drive yourself crazy*

So, when exactly did she decide to go after the Sea Whip? Why does she believe it's real? Fuck, I'm doing it again.

Ah, yes, let's talk about our plans and identities openly in public where anyone can hear us.

Also, love how this is 100% the opposite of book Mal. Kinda unironially. Book!Mal can go die in a ditch.

So, we're sticking to the stange season 1 plot of Alina being some kind of a clairvoyant, huh?

Or, wait, are they in Novyi Zem? I guess they are. Okay, nevermind my first few points, I am an idiot.

I know season 1 did weird time jumps, too, but this is going to be very jarring.

Oh, look, Inej still not scared one bit of Haleen.

And... that's what happens when you leave town for months on a whim. You dunce.

Oh, look, Kaz's backstory.

Not sure how I feel about this weird twist, but sure, let's see where this goes.

I'm sorry, who did they even kill? WTF is that?

I mean, I know Ketterdam kinda sucks, but that went down way too quickly.

And Kaz trying not to lose his shit because he's surrounded by people. Well, at least that's book accurate.

Love how the guy next to Jesper is staring at him like "bro, who you talking to".

Okay, what the fuck is happening.

Oh, look at that, we are not completely ignoring that Kaz and co. got hired to kidnap and sell Alina. Well, her side of the story will, but hey, at least it's not completely glossed over like the fucking maps.

Okay, excuse, what the actual fuck is this? What in the name of hell is Nikolai doing. I am confused and not in a good way. I feel like we're missing... a lot of context. Like, a lot.

Okay, so let me get this straight... the way that they get around the "Crows planned to sell Alina into slavery" plot line is... by retconning it so that Nikolai was behind it all along. For some Saints-forsaken reason. Well, Alina is still dumb as bricks, but okay I guess.

Fjerda made ship-art. Of Darklina. For their bounty poster. (Or is this part of the whole retarded "Aleksander is working with the Fjerdans for some reason" plotline.

My question is where they got the visual reference from since everyone except for Crows and Alina-and-co. got murdered.

Kaz, mentally: Jesper, you idiot.

Wow, look at that. Room like for a queen. Wonder where they got the money from. Definitelly an upgrade from the bed-bug infested group room of the book.

At least take your fucking shoes off you barbarian!

Mal is down for travelling the world. Wow, they really pulled a full 180 on this bitch, huh?

Ew. Just ew.

Thank the Saints for cockblocking fishermen. I will vomit if they go any further.

Kaz, screaming internally: Shut the fuck up Jesper.

Oh, look, we still doing the whole "paying with jewelry got her tracked down" thing. Just, slightly less retarded.

Hold up, are we saying Jesper and Kaz are having the conversation now. Like, come on, they've worked with each other for a long time, there's no way this didn't come up before.

That is way more than 20 seconds, just saying.

Oh, look, another Alina dream sequence.

Okay, so is that like a Tether thing or is she just having prophetic dreams? If it's the Tether, how does Sasha already know what Mal is, they spoke like 2 times. If it's prophetic dreams... why though?

Language barrier? What language barrier?

Ravkan Grisha? Of all places? Is she talking about the pogroms that happened after the Fold expanded? Cause if I understand the timeline correctly, there's no way the news have spread that far, yet.

I mean, even in Novyi Zem, Grisha are not safe, in the books. There might not be society-wide prejudice, but there's also not any protection from, you know, slavers and shit (or at least not enough). Ravkan Grisha might be soldiers, but that's not exactly an uncommon profession in this world.

(calm down. You can rant later)

Please tell me this interaction isn't the reason Alina is going to go "All lives matter" on her Grisha status.

Also, how come the maps are marked in Ravkan? Again, language barrier is not a thing here.

Alina being the most suspicious thief ever.

Also, ehm, what the actual fuck is that map doing?

Wow, look at Alina, definitelly not attracting any attention with her summoning.

Why are these two talking about it... in the library of all places?

Also, I'm pretty sure public libraries with all this quantity of information available to just anyone were not a thing until the early 20th century, which the Grishaverse is most certainly not.

Dear god, this is so dumb.

Who drew that shit that it's so accurate that the people actually recognize her by it? At least when she had the physical collar in the books it made sense why everyone recognized her.

Mal being no less suspicious about asking about this shit.

For some reason, there's First Army here. Is that Bohdan from season 1? Why the fuck is he of all people in Novyi Zem?

I know the plot needs to move forwar, but this is a bit too many coincidences for my taste.

Mal's doing parkour, because we've gone 20 minutes without an action scene and if nothing happens for too long, people will start to question our dumb-fuck narrative choices.

Also, the question stands. Where the fuck did Mal and Alina get their money.

Not that I am a big fan of the King's army, but like... just shoot him. He's gonna hang for desertion, anyway. You had a gun to his head, already.

And look, how much of a badass Mal is, taking down a handful of soldiers of equal training without much trouble.

Really... you're trying to stay hidden and you've just found out there's a massive bounty on your head and you... summon in a square full of people.

I don't know why I'm bothering to use my brain anymore.

Random Zemeni people decide to protect her because... she's a Saint? I guess?

Zemeni people believe in the Saints, I guess.

Okay... let's see if they can at least write a convincing sibling dynamic when they don't intend for those two characters to fuck.

Tamar sounding far too 21st century and that's not how people talk, in general. (I say as if I talk to people).

As much as I love the bounty posters, I do have to say, I don't get how they have such a good drawing on them so quickly.

Why is Inej stealing random people's knives?

They killed Haleen. Off screen.

I mean, I guess that's one way to avoid Inej's absolutely amazing, very important and already ruined by last season revenge moment. However...

I am not saying this just because they changed the story and I know they needed to include them again, since they did last season, but like... I don't trust these writers to do these characters an ounce of justice. Or make up an alternative story that makes even a little bit of sense.

And there's still 20 minutes of an episode left. FML.

Okay, hot take, I liked book!Pekka more. This one is far too much of a cartoon villain and not in a fun way. Kaz was the one for whom it was personal. Pekka was just doing business. So, either Pekka is being pupeteered by someone else (which would make the level of too complex and dumb to work conspiracy way too high. Like, it already is, but this would be over 9000) or they really made Pekka into a cartoon villain who would hunt down one guy for a single (fake) million kruge job.

And just like that, everyone in the room went deaf.

Oh, look, Wylan. He's baby.

Inej somehow got caught sneaking in the shadows. Book!Inej would be disappointed.

Ah, yes, asking a random stranger to help break your boyfriend out of the most secure and shitty prison in all of Kerch, like, right now, something which took a lot of planning and a lot of work in the book.

(stop comparing it to the book, we know it was better, you'll drive yourself crazy)

I think telling them you're innocent when you're being dragged into the cell is... a little pointless?

I am still asking the money question.

And that's Sturmhond's ship, isn't it?

Ew 2.

Dear god, they're still using the fucking pins. They didn't have to. They could have completely avoided it. They didn't have to do it. I feel personally attacked by the inclusion of the pins.

How does Alina not realize the boat people are after her, too, right now, is beyond me. Like... my dude, my lass, nobody is going to put their life on the line for one shitty pin.

Are we getting Sasha. Please tell me we're getting Sasha being the best leader and the best character, please, I need a little bit of common sense before I lose my shit.

So... the first army is doing the sham trials of Grisha. And Aleksander is going to save them. And he's still the villain and not the monarchy. Okay. Sure.

Is that Genya?

Tell me, if this is what happens, how in the hell is she going to join Alina, who is supporting the King.

Please, tell me the show is gonna go for a "Fuck the monarchy" twist.

The First army is laughing as they're preparing to murder a bunch of innocent people. I think it's only fair that I cheer on once Sasha and the Nichevoya tear them to bits.

It's Sasha to the rescue!!!!! Hell yeah.

Now that is a hero's entrance. Moi Soverennyi!

Ah, yes, time to catch up.

Oh, look, Alina being a dumb bitch finally but her in the ass.

Well, not really, we know it's Nikolai, but Saints I wish it did.

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #shadown and bone season 2 #review #grishaverse #long post #took me 2 and a half hours to get through a 1 hour episode because it's so bad

[lissomelle]

First Lines Fic Meme

Tagged in a first-lines-of-fic meme by the diabolical (and wonderful) @hmsharmony​!

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag however many people you like. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway!

Tagging: @morewonders​, @theopensea​, @spurlunk​, @bananaleaves, any other writers who want to do this 😘

There’s going to be a lot of WIPs here, lol — additional asterisk that anything unpublished is not set in stone. I have more in the drafts, but this is more than enough. (Telling myself I’m allowed to post because I’m actively working on most of these!!)

* * *

1. untitled post-s2 fic — in-progress | Shadow & Bone (TV), Nikolai/Zoya/Alina/Mal + permutations

The shadow demon wakes him in the dead of night on the palace rooftop.

Or the edge of it, as it were. Shivering, palms smarting and feet bare against the crushed tiles as the wind tears at his thin shirt and trousers, Nikolai employs his years on the sea to swear profoundly.

Sleepwalking. Again.

*

2. untitled canon divergence AU fic — in-progress | Shadow & Bone (TV), Alina/Mal

The first thing Alina learns in Ketterdam is that the Crows are proper criminals.

When Kaz isn’t dispensing alarming advice (“Preferable when the blood on your hands isn’t your own”); Inej isn’t sharing leads on honest work; and Jesper’s not eyeing a conquest, losing money, and recommending pleasure and leisure establishments like mayor of the city all at once — they’re a sleek, secretive unit. A deadly one, if the rumors are true. Their discretion doesn’t slip so much as deliberately lower when it might benefit to leave a fingerprint. A warning that they were there.

They know the city better than anyone, but more importantly, the city increasingly knows them.

*

3. untitled post-canon fic — in-progress | Moon Knight (TV), Marc/Layla/Steven

Despite everything, two constants remain in Layla’s life:

One, Marc still disappears.

Two, most times, Steven’s there instead.

She doesn’t know how this works. Being good at math never prepared her for having half a husband or two husbands or just many, many shards of a man. Fractions don’t explain the way Marc and Steven will flow into each other now, quicksilver fast, just as they don’t explain why or when one will stay while the other leaves.

*

4. untitled canon divergence AU fic — in-progress | Knives Out, Marta/Ransom

What’ll you do when I’m gone?

Marta had her fingers at his wrist, counting beats to measure his pulse. That’s not for a long time, Harlan. God willing.

You need an adventure. Go now, send me postcards and pictures. Crack open the bone and suck the marrow out of life!

You wouldn’t last a day.

*

5. untitled canon divergence AU fic — in-progress | King of Scars, Zoya/Nikolai

In their record-breaking run of poor ideas, Zoya thinks, this has to be the worst.

Lying side by side, the space between them feels narrower by the moment.

“I would make you my queen because I want you.” In the dark of the cargo hold, Zoya can’t be sure of Nikolai’s expression but his words sound certain. “I want you all the time.”

*

6. sanctity of our own devising (Mature) | King of Scars, Zoya/Nikolai

Sainthood is its own kind of death.

In the long, slanted hand of history, she is already being worn smooth, iconified yet also erased. Names rise and fall like snow in Ravka. Pure, cleansed by the storms that wrought them. Such is the way of Saints, bodies and humanity alike spent in the making of sanctity. Only one lives to rule a nation, scholars have begun to write.

Daughter of the Wind. Dragon Queen. Herald of a new age.

*

7. Null and Void (Teen) | To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Lara Jean/Peter

The first note is easy.

Just the bottom of a clean sheet ripped out of his notebook and folded twice. Peter doesn’t even think before adding the heart and writing her name outside.

We’re gonna crush this, Covey. Trust.

*

8. rhythms of unseen drums (Teen) | Black Panther, Nakia/T’Challa

When the world first spoke to Nakia, it chose to murmur.

She discovered early her aptitude for language, her mouth deftly forming words to fit their native shapes. Her teachers encouraged it, offered tomes and music from every country, which she drank up in greedy gulps until she could quote lines by Murakami and sing bars of Edith Piaf with equal ease.

The idea to leave home stayed buried, setting down spindly roots but never peeking above the soil. She thought and then quashed the idea of becoming a translator in the capital city one day; Wakanda’s borders were not hers to open.

*

9. timbers we place by hand (Teen) | The Punisher, Frank/Karen

The front door won’t shut.

Less than a year of living in a doorman building, and the auto-lock for the entrance is useless because the goddamn door won’t shut all the way. Karen tries coaxing it into place, nudging and wriggling the doorjamb. No good. Sighing, she’s got the number for the front desk pulled up on her phone when the thought appears, unbidden, that this might have been the point. To catch her on the stoop, distracted.

She looks up sharply, sweeping her gaze from left to right and sliding a hand into her bag.

*

10. The Hollows of Shells (Explicit) | The Scorpio Races, Puck/Sean

To no one’s surprise, Sean Kendrick steps across the threshold of the Connollys’ house so many times it isn’t long before he arrives to an extra place already set at the table and a worn groove in the ancient, battered sofa that fits around him.

Today, however, he stands on the front step, shifting from foot to foot. He has a strong urge to knock on the door even though it’s been months since Puck made an impatient noise and told him he could simply walk in. It feels like an old contract rendered null, the new terms uncertain now that he’s arrived with everything he owns in hand — scant though it is.

#enthusiasm for any of these v much welcome!!! a girl's gotta eat #fic #memes #i'm not strictly speaking ''in fandom'' anymore but sometimes you just do a thing for yourself

[heliads]

LISA! i'm so sorry is taking me so long to come here, things have been crazy this year but i had to tell you I'M GOING TO THE ERAS TOUR

i'm so happy!!!! i couldn't believe i got the tickets, it was so chaotic. but she's finally coming to brazil and i'll be able to go and it'll be like 2 weeks before my birthday so it's the best gift ever!!

i hope you're having a nice summer vacation!! get some rest and have fun, i'm sending a lot of love <3

about shadow and bone, i agree, season 2 was so disappointing. the cast is everything i dreamed about, i love them so much, but everything else... i still can't believed they combined s&s and r&r and somehow managed to erase half of alina's story. i think it's so disrespectful with the fans and even with jessie mei li, we lost a lot of character depth and all of her internal battle, i was pissed

and there's some things that were just so ???

i mean, nikolai is this incredible privateer and tolya and tamar are great and they have so much sea experience, but still they decided to go walking with alina, mal and 3 other guys into that little cavern to try and kill something called the sea whip, a million years mythological monster. it doesnt make any sense.

all of genya's arc was messed up, i was so mad that they kept the king during all of vasily's dinner but they had to kill him there so she wouldn't be able to do the "i'm not ruined, i'm ruination" moment. and yes, she confronted the queen, but it's SUCH a moment in the book when she gathers up confidence to confront the man who abused her for years and we were robbed. also, they gave her like, two scars

the darkling looked like he was dying the whole season, if alina didn't kill him, he would've died of pneumonia in two weeks lol

and they did the crows so dirty, if we do get the spin off i wonder how the hell they're going to justify inej's return. she has absolutely no reason to join the heist, she's already free and in a ship living her best life

and yes, mal as sturmhond was traumatizing. and so was the little hint at tolya and inej possibly being a couple. i wanted to cry.

but sujaya was so pretty and her little wink when zoya is talking to alina made me faint so that was great. paddy as nikolai had me in a chokehold the entire time and honestly, every single actor is so good in that show

OMG ERAS TOUR!!! tell me EVERYTHING when you go, the video clips i've seen of her past performances look INCREDIBLE. does this mean you get to see sabrina carpenter too??

and yes, all of your shadow and bone thoughts are so correct. i mean it KILLS me because the show should be so good! their casting was incredible and the costumes are fantastic and the cgi is good and the locations are great... and the source material worked just fine... but no, they butchered everything. there was no reason to do that! i know shows are getting canceled left and right so they felt like they had to streamline it so they could get to everything but girl... WHY

it was so great to hear from you!! hoping you're doing well too xoxo

#not writing

[unrequitedloveletter]

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

M - either Nina from six of crows, Kenji from the shatter me series, or Coriane Jacos from the Red Queen books (she deserved so much better and I will love her for the rest of eternity)

T - I have a lot for six of crows, so I put them below lol

Jesper loves the smell of bonfires and smells like if cedarwood and gunsmoke could be combined and turned into a scent

Wylan likes cinnamon rolls but only if they have a very light drizzle of frosting or none at all because he finds the icing too sweet

Kaz and Inej write letters to each other while Inej is out at sea--Inej tends to write a LOT, mostly stuff about how much she loves the boat, and she talks a lot about the different places she visits. Kaz keeps it short and concise, tells her about Wylan and Jesper and Ketterdam as a whole, occasionally passing her updates whenever he hears something from/about Nina through the grapevine. Though he keeps it short and concise, he cherishes every five-page letter he gets in the mail and he eventually falls in love with her handwriting.

Nina is absolutely a lover of pumpkin season, but she's not REALLY a coffee person, so she gets the iced pumpkin cream chai with a shot of blonde espresso when she needs a pick me up (and without it when she doesn't need a pick me up to keep awake, just because she's like "I don't care if it costs me eight kruge. I deserve this")

Also--she would love the pumpkin cream cheese muffin from starbucks. So would Inej and Wylan, honestly!! (I can ramble on for hours about the crows during pumpkin season--it's not funny)

Speaking of Nina still--she and Matthias always go get sweet treats. She'll ask him if he wants coffee and a muffin and then they'll walk together and make a date out of it

#cal talks #anon #ask game

[anthony-sharma]

Six of Crows Reread - Ch. 22

Chapter 22: Kaz

"In years to come people would call the outbreak of firepox that struck Ketterdam the Queen’s Lady Plague, after the ship believed to have brought the contagion to the city. It hit the crowded slums of the Barrel hardest. Bodies piled up in the streets, and sickboats moved through the canals, using long shovels and hooks to tumble corpses onto their platforms and haul them out to the Reaper ’s Barge for burning."

It's interesting how much of what makes Kaz Kaz is the fact that he uses his weaknesses as a strength and tries to see them not as a hindrance but as a way to go above and beyond and make a name for himself in a city that treated him so cruelly. In this specific part, it strikes me as interesting how it was the Queen's Lady Plague that took away his brother from him, but it is that same thing that allows him to get a hand over Pekka and Van Eck in the end. And it is because he went through that experience that he was able to later on come up with the plague idea that ended up working not only for his own benefit, but for his crows' benefit too.

"Kaz tried to pull Jordie from the water. His body was covered in the little blooming sores that gave the firepox its name, his skin white and bruised. Kaz thought of the little wind-up dog, of drinking hot chocolate on the bridge. He thought that heaven would look like the kitchen of the house on Zelverstraat and smell like hutspot cooking in the Hertzoons’ oven. He still had Saskia’s red ribbon.

He could give it back to her. They would make candies out of quince paste. Margit would play the piano, and he could fall asleep by the fire. He closed his eyes and waited to die.

Kaz expected to wake in the next world, warm and safe, his belly full, Jordie beside him. Instead, he woke surrounded by corpses. He was lying in the shallows of the Reaper ’s Barge, his clothes soaked through, skin wrinkled from the damp. Jordie’s body was beside him, barely recognisable, white and swollen with rot, floating on the surface like some kind of gruesome deep sea fish."

It breaks my heart to read this, because it shows how hopeful and wholesome little Kaz was! He was dreaming of being in heaven with Jordie, and have enough foor to eat, and make candies with Saskia, and then you compare that Kaz with present-day Kaz and it is such a stark difference. And it puts into perspective how much Kaz lost that day, not only his brother, but also his faith on humanity almost? And then it makes sense why he makes fun of Inej's faith and her goodness despite everything she's been through, because it almost is the polar opposite of what he got out of his horrible situation.

"He hated that Inej had seen him this way, that anyone had, but on the heels of that thought came another: Better it should be her. In his bones, he knew that she would never speak of it to anyone, that she would never use this knowledge against him. She relied on his reputation. She wouldn’t want him to look weak. But there was more to it than that, wasn’t there? Inej would never betray him. He knew it. Kaz felt ill. Though he’d trusted her with his life countless times, it felt much more frightening to trust her with this shame."

Nothing specific to add here, just the fact that he has spent so much time and effort maintaining his facade of being strong, that it is frightening and disconcerting being able to trust someone with something he's ashamed of. And him knowing that he can trust her? Even though he's not ready to admit any feelings he might have for her, he can at least admit this to himself.

“You okay?” Inej asked, and Kaz felt himself drawn towards her voice like water rolling downhill."

Omg??! He's so not ready to admit any feelings yet, but he felt himself drawn to her voice like water rolling downhill??! My boy is down bad!!

"They entered a chamber where an old woman sat with her hands chained, flanked by guards. Her eyes were vacant. As each prisoner approached, the woman gripped his or her wrist.

A human amplifier. Kaz knew Nina had worked with them when she’d been scouring the Wandering Isle for Grisha to join the Second Army. They could sense Grisha power by touch, and he’d seen them hired on at high stakes card games to make sure none of the players were Grisha. Someone who could tamper with another player ’s pulse or even raise the temperature in a room had an unfair advantage. But the Fjerdans used them for a different purpose – to make sure no Grisha breached their walls without being identified."

I really hate this. I understand the rationale of why Fjerdans do it, but then it also plays into the "Fjerdans are hypocrites". Because they hate Grisha and they call them unnatural and witches and so on, but then they use their powers to build the Ice Court and detect other Grishas and later on also to create an army under jurda parem to try and defeat Ravka? Either you hate them and want to kill them, or you don't. It goes to show, then, that Fjerdans only wanted power and if Grisha (even though they hated them) were a means to obtain it, then they were going to use them.

"As they were led through an arch on the left, Kaz glimpsed Inej disappearing into the opposite arch with the other female prisoners. He felt a twinge in his chest, and with a disturbing jolt, he realised it was panic. She’d been the one to wake him from his stupor in the cart. Her voice had brought him back from the dark; it had been the tether he gripped and used to drag himself back to some semblance of sanity."

I can only wonder how Kaz will be doing when she leaves for the seas. I know we catch a brief glimpse of that in the KoS duology, but since we didn't get any Kaz chapters there, I'm sure there's more to it than the brief things we get to see. And I'm sure he's not having a great time without her in Ketterdam.

"None of it mattered. For now, Kaz had to focus on the plan and finding Yul-Bayur. He glanced at the others. Wylan looked as if he was ready to wet himself. Helvar appeared grim as always. Jesper just grinned and whispered, “Well, we’ve managed to get ourselves locked into the most secure prison in the world. We’re either geniuses or the dumbest sons of bitches to ever breathe air.”

I think you're both, Jesper. And every adventure from here on out is equal parts because you're geniuses but also the dumbest people on the planet.

"More Suli platitudes, but somehow even the memory of her voice helped. He was better than this. He had to be. Not just for Jordie, but for his crew.

He’d brought these people here. He’d brought Inej here. It was his job to bring them out again."

Just the thought of her voice helps him? Okay, so he is down for her very very bad.

On another note, I love how he separates Inej from "these people". Like she's in a separate category from everyone else, almost as if she's not only part of his crew, but also his girl (like we see him say / admit later on in the book).

So that's it for chapter 22. Next up, we have Jesper dealing with the fact that they're trapped in a high security prison.

#six of crows reread #six of crows

[just2bubbly]

Could you make a recap of the s2 as you watch it

Hey, thank you for the ask- I have already posted something similar to this here, it's a lil passionate and disoriented with more emotions and less facts. If you want something more organized I can put a recap of the entire season here.

Warning: Spoilers for Shadow and Bone S2

The show starts right where they left it. Mal and Alina are traveling to Novyi Zem, they have plans to find the Sea Whip. In Ketterdam, Jesper, Kaz and Inej are framed for the murder of Tante Heleen by Pekka Rollins. He has also taken over the Crow Club. Kaz informs Nikolai about Alina's whereabouts in order to escape from the Stadwatch. Nina and Wylan gets recruited along the way. Alina somehow ends up Sturmhond's ship, unlike the book there is no Darkling here. Kaz has some revenge issues but we love him for that so yk, he is after Pekka and Inej and Jesper have some trust issues with Kaz. Pekka plays them quite well and Kaz blows up the Crow Club. The scenes play out just like the books. Here Per Haskell is shown different from Kaz in the terms of club. Kaz plays out Pekka just according to the books. In Ravka, the main action is quite similar to the books with Alina doing away with the Sea Whip and returning to the fold to destroy it, she fails spectacularly. Nikolai introduces himself as the second in line, the crows are appointed to find a sword Neshyenyer that was stolen by The Disciple (turns out his wife is a Saint) in order to kill the shadow monsters. They do get successful but not without the usual troubles and some rather emotional flashbacks. Genya and David made plans to run away from Darkling's abode but Genya gets caught only to end up in a dire state. David run aways to The Spinning Needle and tries to explain the scenario with his zero social skills ability, not to mention Vasily gets himself murdered with his own stupidity and Queen Tantiana gets what she deserved in the long run. Baghra and Genya make it till and Alina and Baghra being a moody teachers pulls her strings and clears Alina's head of romance and insane ideas. Baghra, Mal and Alina plan to go in search of the Firebird only to discover that Mal is the Firebird. With this short knowledge that could act as a leverage over Darkling, Baghra sacrifices herself to cut out the link between Alina and Aleksander. Darkling and his small yet powerful army of Grisha march down on Nikolai's army and lose in a passionate affair, some lives are lost. Alina finally decides to sacrifice Mal for 2 minutes and vanquish the fold but like always all plans go astray and she actually has to kill him. It turns out she is powerful enough to vanquish the Fold and kill Aleksander and use the cut. All ends well but the epilogue is sadder than anything so far, with everyone going their separate ways. The real trouble begins with Nikolai's mosters and the Jurda Parem, a potential chance for the third season if fates and Netflix allows. That would be more like a crossover between Six of Crows duology and King of Scars duology. Apart from that, the second season was more of the crows against Pekka Rollins and working as thieves to help save Ravka (Nikolai offered a handsome amount ;D) and the Shadow and Bone trilogy, altered at multiple places to make space for the crows. Otherwise the show was significant with good writing and might I mention amazing cast for all the characters, hope you get to see it sooner, Anon! :)

Also praying that the Saints give us a a third season!

#this took some time #anon asks #shadow and bone #sab #s&b spoilers #shadow and bone season 2 #netflix #recap s2 #six of crows #leigh bargudo

[ragingstillness]

Shadow and Bone spoilers - random thoughts from my notes (e2)

I love that this stolen painting of the fold is now our indicator that they're in the crow club.

Why doesn't Kaz tell anyone anything?

Blowing up the crow club is a scorched earth drama queen move and I approve.

"The barrel doesn't belong to kings it belongs to bastards" - ICONIC SHOWSTOPPING WE LOVE LOVE LOVE TO SEE IT

Quoted directly from my notes here: "Give me Ben you fuckers"

Why is Alina trying to seduce the Darkling in the tether?

"You're already dead" oof the foreshadowing

So cute Genya is looking for David and the Darkling is promising he'll find him. It's yet more evidence of how much he cares for all Grisha. He's rescuing them. Now that I think of it, how did Genya end up in a cage anyway? Was she back at the Darkling's encampment in Kribirsk and not on the skiff?

More Genya/David I love this song.

"Fear in a smaller glass is instinct" I am finally actually engaged in the crows' storyline

Nina's love for waffles continues.

Ballsy of the writers to tell us that Helnik had sex off-screen and refuse to show it to us.

Quoted directly from my notes here: "why does Hellgate look like a pair of boobs"

If the Shark Tooth in the side of Tamar's head isn't considered unusual why did everyone act like the bonding of the stag collar was some horrific thing. Not related to this scene just a thought I had, do you need a Durast for every implantation of an amplifier?

Why aren't they showing us Alina dreaming of the sea whip and the firebird? Seems odd after showing her dreaming of the stag and a simple dream flashback wouldn't take much of the runtime.

"You think the three are connected" is it somehow not common knowledge that Ilya created all three? Duh they're connected.

It's sweet that the Darkling knows the names and stories of everyone he ever rescued, really shows he cared.

Genuinely quite surprised that even Inej doesn't know the history with Pekka because in season one she seemed to.

"You're not just sunshine sunshine" lol

I'm kind of in love with Fruzsi but why have we literally never seen her before and why is she filling the role of Ivan or Fedyor? Also, finally we get to see a tidemaker, we've seen almost every other iteration.

The map that Alina had seemed to show the seawhip being in the sea but suddenly it's on an island?

Killing the seawhip was ridiculously easy. Also, the stag wasn't inherently violent, even when its territory was invaded, why was the seawhip violent?

Is it just me or is Nina chubbier this season? Maybe it's just the multiple layers and cloaks and bustle. I can't help but think that they took into consideration the criticism that Nina wasn't "truly" plus-size and this is how they dealt with it.

Inej's leather pants are everything.

I've been told that in the books Jesper is deeply and unrequitedly in love with Kaz but ngl I'm glad they didn't lean in on it and just had Wylan make one suspicious comment.

"My wraith" death, death for Pekka Rollins for a thousand years.

This Morgens character came out of nowhere and the show's acting like we're supposed to know him. And why is he wearing the Daredevil suit and dressing like one of the twelve from Junni Taisen?

Jesper remembering Wylan while lying on top of him is peak disaster bisexual behavior and I approve.

When are they ever going to run out of animal metaphors for Inej and the Crows? It's just constant all season.

Jesper stopping while being strangled to give Wylan a thumbs up is yet more peak disaster bisexual behavior.

I can't help but notice that Aleksander is spending a ton of time in these first episodes perilously close to the fireplace. Is he experiencing some sort of eternal chill/wasting sickness thing like Baghra does?

TW: SELF HARM MENTION

Ok what was he going to do with that hot poker? Burn the hole in his hand a little deeper? Like there's just nothing given as a reason besides the plot insisting that we need to learn about the tether. (I can't help but think of this from a self-harm angle)

Jessie's got some dance moves. It gives me Benedict Cumberbatch learning to Pop-Lock for Dr. Strange vibes.

"My Alina" - cute in fic where they're in a relationship, creepy in all other contexts including this one.

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone season two #shadow and bone spoilers #s&b #s&b season two #s&b spoilers

[19burstraat]

My SOC Fics: Full List

(fully updated as of March '24)

the queen's lady (post CK, 14k oneshot, no ROW or show spoilers. platonic kaz&jesper and kaz&wylan, minor kanej at the end)

on the 10 year anniversary of the Queen's Lady Plague, the Holy Ghezen Health Institute aim to erect a memorial for the victims, but they struggle to find the funds. Kaz is selfish in a selfless way. He also commits a major robbery along the way, and thanks to some sleuthing from wylan, jesper finds out who jordie is.

or was.

twin skeletons (post CK, 11k oneshot, no ROW or show spoilers. kanej)

Kaz gets wind of a planned ambush. With precisely zero good grace, he goes to help Inej and her crew. In Lij. He's about as happy about it as her crew are; which is to say, not happy at all.

zentzbridge (post CK, 3k oneshot, no ROW or show spoilers. kanej)

Inej leaves. Kaz waits for her. It should be as simple as that, but it's not, really. There's religion and superstition and criminal sensibilities to muddy the waters.

Plus, the Ketterdam weather really is terrible.

(based on the 'Kaz managed to endure it all the way past the iron railings of Zentzbridge, the grating covered in little bits of rope tied in elaborate knots, sailors’ prayers for safe return from sea. Superstitious rot.' quote from SOC)

so, what fates do we share? (post CK, 7k oneshot, no ROW or show spoilers. heavy on the kaz&wylan dynamic and parallels, with side kanej and wesper. please note the warnings for canon-typical violence and frequent references to jan van eck's abusive parenting)

on the day of his father's trial, kaz hounds wylan into admitting something he'd avoided. they all deal with the consequences. some better than others.

An Investigative Report Into The Matter Concerning Whether Or Not Mister Kaz Brekker– Murderer, Conman, Bastard of the Barrel– Is In Possession of a Heart. (post CK, 9k oneshot, some kaz/inej, platonic kaz&nina and nina&jesper. no spoilers except for CK!)

a well-meaning but deeply misguided university student ventures into the barrel, with the task of proving to the masses that the dregs are, despite everything, still only human. even kaz. kaz is not best impressed.

a family pulled up from a flood (post CK, 13k oneshot, kaz/inej wedding fic, canon compliant I think)

Nina finally came to herself and burst out into the aisle to confront Kaz, indignant. “You said we were needed for a job at a wedding!” “You are,” said Kaz briskly, taking the ledger from Rotty and flipping through it. “I thought we’d be robbing some mercher event! Doing a real job!” “That’s your folly. Besides, I haven’t told you what you have to do, yet.” “This is your wedding!" Kaz looked blankly at her. “Did I say it wasn’t?” -- it's a fine day in ketterdam when two monsters are wed.

i never told you what i do for a living (post CK, 22k oneshot, jordie lives fic. kaz&jordie, side kaz/inej and kaz&jesper)

“Before what?” demanded Jordie. Inej’s gaze bored into them, for a moment. Finally, she said: “Before I try to convince Kaz that you’re not imposters, that he should have strangled and thrown into the harbour.” Jordie’s neck prickled, thinking of the hard-eyed stare in the Crow Club. “I’ve been in enough harbours for one lifetime, thank you.” he said. He was rewarded with a very faint smile. “…you’re not as dissimilar as he’d like, you know.” -- besting impossible odds is apparently a genetic trait, because jordie is definitely not as dead as kaz thought. or dead at all.

west coast smoker (pre-canon, 5k oneshot, jesper&kaz, kaz cane origin)

"Don’t you want me to go downstairs or something? Shoot some cans in an alley?” “Any nub with a decent aim can do that,” said Kaz. “Besides, I need to be able to see you.” “What? You–” Jesper turned around and saw his elevated right leg, strapped into some kind of harsh metal brace over his trousers. “Woah. That’s new. What happened? You get your kneecap smashed, or something?” “I came off the roof of a bank and shattered my leg, and we still got away with thirty thousand kruge,” Kaz snapped. “Don’t lump me in with the sad sobs that get dragged outside the clubs and maimed. No one got the goddamn jump on me, alright?” “Alright!” said Jesper quickly. -- how kaz got his cane, and how jesper got his job... and his ill-fated crush.

guild me, build me (post-canon, 12k, oneshot, kaz&wylan, inej&jesper, kaz&jesper, kaz in the komedie brute fic)

Kaz was out of town when the Komedie Brute decided to have audacity in spades. Later, Wylan thought this was probably best. Giving the actors a grace period of about a week without having to worry about the presence of Kaz was probably a good thing. The real Kaz, that was. -- (The Komedie Brute, Ketterdam’s favourite theatrical troupe, opens this year’s season with the addition of a new character to their lineup… starting this Ghezen’s Day, come to the staves to see Ketterdam’s very own urban legend– Dirtyhands, the Bastard of the Barrel!)

what the water gave me (tidemaker!kaz au, post-canon, canon divergence, 3-parter kaz&nina, kaz/inej, kaz&jesper)

In time, he almost forgot what he had once been able to do. Water was his most ardent foe, not an ally. Water was the bodymen’s boats, Reaper’s Barge, and Jordie’s corpse. The water had given, and could give him, nothing that he wanted. It would make no bargain with him that could be worth it– so he would not try. He eked out his fortune and his revenge with every bloody punch and petty swindle and broken bone. He ignored the hiss and slap of the filthy water in the canals that wended through the city, the roar of the waves at the harbour that smashed boats to pieces, the sinuous curl of the mist on wet nights that got you jumped if you weren’t paying close enough attention. The Ketterdam water had a touch of the mocking about it– a determination to be as awful and monstrous and polluted as he was. But Kaz didn’t need a reminder of what he’d become. The water had his brother; it would not have him, too. --- Assuming Kaz was a Tidemaker; what, then?

when existence or when hope is gone (regency / jane austen au, 27k oneshot, kanej w side wesper and helnik)

“And have you made this entire call without once vexing or offending poor Miss Ghafa?” Captain Rietveld looked coolly at him. Inej bent her head over her sewing to hide her smiling, since she was not sure she would not laugh outright. She had not thought that Wylan would deliberately provoke the Captain, but perhaps his deference to his father did not reach anyone else. “I am sure that is not for me to decide,” said the Captain, “But I own I have been perfectly well behaved.” “Does he lie, Miss Ghafa?” “No— he has been quite tolerable company,” said Inej. “If not quite a perfect gentleman.” “You wound me, Miss Ghafa.” “I suspect I do not, Captain.”

a world alone (kaz & jesper post-canon/post-CK, 21k oneshot, jesper goes back to university)

“If you’re here for something honest and respectable, I’ll eat my guns piecemeal,” said Jesper. He scrubbed his face. “How long have you been telling those poor girls about your sick mother in Oldendaal?” “It was Zierfoort, actually.” “I don’t care where it was! What are you doing?” “I thought I wasn’t supposed to involve you in my schemes anymore.” said Kaz petulantly, glancing in the mirror to rearrange his jacket. “Kaz, you playing the victim is about as natural as a flock of lime-green flamingos, so don’t bother,” said Jesper. “Is it a heist? A blackmail job? Gathering information?” “Who said it was just one thing?” said Kaz, straightening his cuffs with two brisk jerks. “This place is the playground for the children of the rich and prosperous, Jes. I could have a million reasons for being here. But since you’re here for reasons both honest and respectable, I can assure you I’ll stay out of your way–” --- (jesper goes back to university. kaz follows him... and trouble, as usual, follows both of them.)

spectre, how he laughs (wylan&nina canon-divergent au exploring what would have happened if kaz had died on the barge, oneshot, 6k)

“Oh, Wylan,” said Nina, peering through the half-open door of her room at the Sweet Shop. “Again?” “It’s not as if I do it on purpose,” Wylan muttered through his swelling lip. --- Kaz Rietveld lay down and died on the Reaper's Barge. ..and then?

bite the hand (the per haskell pov on kaz's rise to power that literally no one asked for. canon compliant oneshot, 5k, some gore wrt kaz's broken leg)

The kid in front of Haskell’s desk was hell to look at— a plague orphan, he could tell that much. His face and neck were still marred with the slightly reddish pits that the pox left behind, even months later, and he was gaunt with sickness and malnutrition, bones jutting hard and nasty. They’d have pinned him down as a weakling, before the plague. But that was before. Now, in the miserable, scraping afterwards, not only was he alive, but half the gambling halls and gangs on the Lid were desperate to have him— or so Seeger said, anyway. Haskell didn’t know why this kid wanted to be in the Dregs, when the Razorgulls were practically throwing cash at him, but he wasn’t going to count his chickens. Maybe he preferred crows to gulls. (the rise of dirtyhands, as witnessed by per haskell)

#six of crows #soc #soc fic #kanej #wesper #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #the crows #shadow and bone #my post #my fics