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parkersbliss · 3 years

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Fourteen | K. Brekker

pairing: kaz brekker x female reader

warnings: blood, death, angst, torture(?), crooked kingdom spoilers

wc; 2.5K

synopsis: some things are better left unsaid. you learned that the hard way.

prompts: 003: I’ll never love you 010: I just want the pain to stop 017: “Just tell me that you love me! Please…”

a/n: I uh… sorry in advance? I just read a heartbreaking story before this so now there’s this

Masterlist | Taglist | Prompt List

—

Decisions, decisions.

They weren’t easy to make, but they had to be.

It was one or nothing.

Make a choice, or you get neither.

Perhaps, not making a choice is better in this case, but you already know what the decision is.

It’s clear in your mind, and though you don’t want it to be, you’re not naive.

The world was cruel. It didn’t care for mercy.

Mercy was a luxury in Ketterdam. It was a luxury no one could afford.

Most things were unaffordable in Ketterdam, but you stayed anyway. You could leave, could’ve. Past tense. It was too late now.

And yet, you didn’t.

You stayed for the boy in the coat with a troubled past. You stayed for the hope.

Of course, you paid the price now. Mercy was expensive enough, but hope… hope simply didn’t exist. Surviving Ketterdam was a matter of kill or be killed, which is not an exaggeration. Knives are at your throat every day, and if you don’t make the choice to grab them and put them in the enemy's eyes, then you don’t survive to see the next blood bath.

For some people, that might be a relief, but others had unfinished business. The people in Ketterdam were driven by two things: money and revenge.

Both sweet and hard to retrieve, but to some, it was worth it. Every casualty was worth it if it meant getting what they wanted.

“Be ruthless, and don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do.”

Even now, you could still hear his voice in your head. At the time, it was good advice. You hadn’t expected it to be used against you.

“You should have no attachment to anything, and especially anyone. You have to be willing to let them go.”

That should’ve been the first sign. You had regarded his words with a grain of salt. You didn’t realize the meaning behind them because you thought he could learn to grow out of it. He didn’t really mean that.

Everyone says things they don’t mean in an attempt to seem stronger.

Everyone was lying.

Lies, lies, lies.

Oh, how everyone lied.

Just like how Kaz lied. He did that a lot, but never in a way that would hurt any of his crows. At least, you had thought.

“It’s a simple plan,” Kaz said, laying out the blueprints on the table. “Jesper, you will come in from this entrance, Inej and (Y/N), the roof, and I will come through the back.”

It was just the three of you.

Matthias… you didn’t speak of him. It was too sensitive of a topic. Well, it had been for Nina, at least, but then she left to return home to Ravka.

And there wasn’t a need to not speak of it, but you had all gotten used to it. Some things were better left unsaid.

Wylan was out on business, though he didn’t speak of what. Inej was often gone to traversing the seas. When she returned home, Kaz always planned the biggest heists. She was the best one here.

Jesper was still Jesper, young as ever, but that’s the plus of being Grisha. Most days, he was with Wylan, salvaging what time they had left.

Though it was plenty.

Which left you with Kaz a lot of the time. It wasn’t a bad thing, but spending too much time with someone is dangerous.

But you were drawn to him like that of a moth to the flame. Maybe it was an effort to try and fix his broken parts because you couldn’t fix your own.

You would learn soon enough Kaz didn’t want to be fixed. There was only one person that could do that.

It wasn’t you.

It never would be.

“What about the guards?” Jesper inquired, leaning against the polished wood.

“Two shots is all you’ll need. He doesn’t keep it heavily guarded,” Kaz replied.

“What if there are more?” You asked. “I doubt Black doesn’t have a few personal.”

Kaz glances at you, raising an eyebrow. “There won’t be more,” he spat. “Don’t question me.”

You wince at his tone, mumbling a sorry under your breath and letting your gaze slide to your boots.

“Jesper takes out the guards, I’ll take out any extra, and Inej and (Y/N) will head straight for the safe room. Then, Jesper will stand guard while I keep Black at bay with a deal he can’t refuse. Inej will pull the fire alarm, and then we run.”

“Will we have enough time between here and the exit?” Inej asked, using her finger to trace the space between the safe room and the central doorway. “I don’t think it’ll work, Kaz. You won’t have enough time.”

Kaz doesn’t lash out at her. His eyes linger on her face, drawing all the features he already knows in his mind. He’d memorized them before she left so that he could see her in his dreams. He did not want to forget her.

“You’re right,” He said softly, like a hushed whisper between them. An intimate moment that you shouldn’t be a witness to. “Is there a window nearby?”

“There’s one here.”

“Can you get out that way?”

You don’t bother to call him out when he only asks Inej when it’s the two of you that need to escape.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll count in my head. You have exactly 130 seconds to get in and out.”

“Understood.”

Kaz nods, satisfied, and rolls up the blueprints and tucks them under his arm. “Be here at midnight, sharp. I’m looking at you, Jesper.”

The said boy winks, “Wouldn’t miss it, boss.”

“You would,” Inej quipped.

“Well, guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Jesper.”

“Fine. Midnight sharp.”

Kaz exits the room after that, Inej trailing after him and Jesper swings his revolvers around, instantly drawn to a gambling crowd.

That would occupy him until midnight.

You stand at the empty table, feeling just that. It was lonely.

What used to be six felt more like three, someday two. If you were lucky, four.

“Kaz,” You muttered. “When was the last time you slept?”

He shrugs. “Am I supposed to keep track?”

“Yes.”

He exhales, gripping his desk before meeting your eyes. His face softens. “I don’t know.”

“Kaz-”

He holds a hand up. “I know, I know. Coffee isn’t sufficient enough to keep me awake.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, crossing your arms over your chest. “If you know, why do you still do it?”

“It’s addictive,” he hums.

“Addiction is bad.”

“Is it?” Kaz inquired, grabbing a stack of Kruge off his desk and flipping through it. “Addiction drives us all. It’s the root of every being.”

“So what?” You snorted. “Your addiction is coffee?”

Kaz falls back into his leather seat. “Greed is my addiction. I supposed coffee as well. What’s yours?”

“You,” You breathe out. The answer had slipped from your lips with such ease. You didn't even notice.

Kaz freezes, his pen staggers in the middle of a signature.

“To be like you,” You add for good measure.

“That’s impossible.”

“So is living off coffee.”

“Then it seems we are both at an impasse.”

“It would seem so.”

Kaz’s gaze lingers on you, making your heart pound madly in your chest. “Then let’s come to an agreement.”

“What do you propose?”

“I will attempt to get a good night’s sleep if you try to be yourself.” He sticks his hand out for you to shake. You grab it, making sure it’s quick, but when you try to pull back, Kaz grips it and pulls you towards him.

“And for the record, you are my addiction as well.”

“Me?”

“To be more like you.”

He lets go after that, and you’re unsure if he’s mocking you or if he’s serious.

“Have a goodnight, (Y/N).”

“You too, Kaz.”

Jesper isn’t late. He makes it on time. Courtesy of Kaz grabbing the collar of his shirt and dragging him away from the gambler’s table.

“Do we need to review?” Kaz asked.

You all shake your heads.

“Good because I wasn’t going to.”

Kaz turns sharply on his heels and walks into the Ketterdam night. It’s no different from the day, in fact, the night is more lively. It was better for thieves and mischief. The shadows were in their favor here. The people part for the basted of the barrel; it’s common knowledge to them. They don’t think twice about it; they just move.

It makes for a quick walk to the Mercher’s house.

Jesper takes the front, Kaz the back, and Inej throws you a rope to get onto the roof. Her footsteps are silent as she looks for a way in. She finds a latch on one of the windows and calls you over.

You were always better at picking locks than her. She was better on her feet, and though Kaz tried to teach her, he had gotten fair luckier with you.

In a few clicks, the latch pops open and Inej dives in. You wait for her to clear it before dropping in. You’re not as stealthy as the wraith.

Inej was one of a kind.

You land with a soft thump, both of you waiting five seconds before making any kind of movement. Inej cracks open the door, a stream of light filling the room.

It’s empty. There's nothing except cold, bare walls and a plush rug in the center.

It doesn’t appear to be in use.

Oddly enough, it looks like it’s waiting for someone or something.

Inej taps your shoulder, using your head to gesture to the hallway. You follow after her, staying pressed up against the walls just in case.

But there’s no one; the house is eerily quiet. There are no servants, no guards, and no wife or children. You didn’t know much about Black, other than the fact that he was a wealthy merchant. He mostly kept to himself. Sometimes you’d see him at The Crow Club. He was a cold and calculated man, every move he made was planned out ten in advance.

You could tell by the way he played his cards.

“It should be right about here,” Inej said, opening the door.

At the same thing you can hear Kaz’s voice, slight panic evident. “What did you-,”

As you open the door, your legs are being kicked in, and you drop to the floor next to Inej. Two guards from behind you are quick to bound your hands together as you both push against them.

Black tuts, laughing at the fear on Kaz’s face.

Poor Jesper was knocked out on the floor at his feet.

“Did you really think you could outsmart me?” Black asked, “The power is getting to your head.”

Kaz doesn’t say anything, but his nostrils flare in anger.

“Take them,” Black dismissed, clearly speaking to the guards. “Put… Brekker in a room with the girl, not the Suli one. And put the Zemeni boy and her together.”

The guards nod, roughly seizing you all. Inej shouts in protest, trying to hit them, but she’s unsuccessful.

Kaz grunts when they lay his hands on him, but he obeys because he knows it’ll be worse if he doesn’t. They throw you and Kaz into the room you dropped into earlier. They put you back to back, and you know it’s for Kaz because he hisses every time your hand's brush.

You try not to move as much as possible because it pains you each time you hear it.

Black strolls in a moment later, leaning against the door. He wears a satisfied smirk when you and Kaz glare at him.

“Confess.”

“What?” Kaz said with a snarl.

Black holds a knife between two fingers, spinning it. “Confess something. Your deepest, darkest secret, and maybe you’ll make it out with all your limbs. The Suli girl was quick to do so, and naturally, I’m curious what you two have to offer.”

“What did she say?” Kaz asked.

“Well, maybe if yours is just as good, I’ll tell you.”

“What if it’s not interesting?”

Black pretends to think about it for a moment before throwing the knife at you. You scream when it lands itself in your leg.

Kaz flinches, hard, screwing his eyes shut.

“That,” Black taunts. “So, confession time.”

When neither of you says anything, he grabs another knife. It’s only then that you notice their Inej’s. He had at least twelve more.

“I-,” Kaz starts, but he chokes on his words. They never make it out of his mouth and Black raises his dagger.

“I’m in love with Kaz,” You blurt.

The said boy stiffens against you.

Black lowers his dagger. “Now that is juicy.”

“I’ve been in love with him since we were fourteen," You whisper, letting your head fall. It was good to get it off your chest, but you'd prefer to not have a knife sticking out of you when doing so.

“Brekker?” Black inquired. “Reply?”

Kaz doesn’t say anything.

Black rolls his eyes, tossing another knife at you, and a muffled sob leaves your lips.

“I’ll keep going.”

“Kaz, say something, pl-”

Another one, this time your stomach. You cry out, thankful that at least they’re keeping the blood from rushing out.

“These things are so fun,” Black said. “Where ever did she get them?”

More knives are thrown your way each minute Kaz doesn’t say anything. You feel like a pin doll, except alive and with knives sticking out of you.

Many knives because Kaz couldn’t open his damn mouth.

“I just want the pain to stop,” You sob, unknowingly letting your head fall on his shoulder. You’re exhausted, your body is exhausted as it fights the intrusion. It’s a losing battle. “Kaz, please.”

“I can’t.”

“Just tell me that you love me, please!” You’re begging at this point. You just want to hear those words, even when you know they aren’t true. You knew they weren’t true the moment the third knife landed itself.

“Give the girl what she wants, Brekker. Or the other one gets it.”

“I’ll never love you,” Kaz said, milliseconds after Black had threatened Inej. Somehow, that hurts more than the fourteen knives sticking out of you.

“Don’t touch her,” Kaz shouts when Black backs out of the room.

“You love her, don’t you?”

“Yes!”

Black smiles. “Well, today is your lucky day. That was her confession as well. Since you two are so cute together, I’ll let you leave. All limbs intact.”

“What?” Kaz asked.

Black walks over to you, grabbing the knife from your stomach and pulling it out roughly as you cry.

“Oh yes,” He said, “You two - three - I forgot about the Zemeni boy,” He cuts Kaz’s ties. He’s quick to be on his feet and away from the contact.

“You can leave, you can live out the rest of your lives happily.”

“Three?”

Blood rushes from your open wound. He had nicked an artery when drawing it out. You were somehow thankful for that because at least death came quicker.

It came in fourteen agonizing seconds.

It came knowing that Kaz never loved you. He never cared. And he would sacrifice anything and anyone for Inej.

You were just the first.

Addiction will kill you. You just proved it right.

“My bad,” Black apologizes. “You and the Suli girl can love each other for as long as the saints may deem, but just know, you made that choice.”

“I didn’t choose anything.”

“You did, Brekker. I’ll leave the guilty conscience to you, Dirtyhands.”

The name stings Kaz more than it usually did.

“You chose Inej,” Black said simply. “And you’ll pay the price. And do send me an invite to the wedding.”

Black is gone before Kaz can do anything, and when he looks to you.

You’re already dead.

And he wonders what the lasts words you heard were.

If it was up to him, he would’ve said: I love you too.

— END —

🏷 Kaz taglist: @kaqua

want to be added? click here!

#side note!!#kaz is NOT in love with you #he just wanted to say that to make reader happy #:(((#f in chat lads #kaz brekker fanfic #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker x reader #soc kaz #kaz brekker #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker one shot #kaz brekker angst #kaz brekker fic #soc #six of crows #crooked kingdom #shadow and bone #sab

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thebadgerclan · 3 years

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Always Find You

Pairing: Jesper Fahey x reader

Summary: He’ll always find you....

The skin on your wrists was raw, the rope binding them behind your back chafing. Your legs were numb, folded beneath you, your weight atop them. A piece of rough, thick fabric was tied around your head, leaving you unable to see and unable to move. One week ago, you’d been snatched right off of East Stave, bound and gagged, dragged off to wherever you were now. And where exactly that was, you had no clue.

Your blindfold was never removed; your wrist untied twice a day when someone brought your meals, allowed to relieve yourself a few times throughout the day. You could only pray to Ghezen, to the Saints, to Djel, to anyone, that your Crows would find you, that they would bring you home. Through the fear you felt, you worried for Jesper, the man you loved and who loved you more than anything else. He was likely worried sick, unable to rest until you were back safe in his arms.

At the Slat, Jesper was restless, pacing nonstop, hands firmly around the handles of his pearl-handled revolvers. “I need to go find her,” he said. “She’s gone, my baby’s gone, I need to find her.” Nina attempted to place a hand on his arm, to comfort him, but Jesper turned out of the touch. “We will,” Kaz said, hand on his forehead. “We know that the Black Tips snatched her, but beyond that-” “The necklace!” Jesper interjected, making Kaz straighten up. “What?” “The necklace!” he reiterated, suddenly energetic.

“What about the necklace?” Nina tried, sitting down. “I gave Y/N a necklace,” Jesper explained. “For our anniversary. Pure Ravkan iridium. We know the Tips probably have her somewhere on their turf, and if I get close enough, I can track it.” Kaz nodded, features rearranging. “Scheming face?” Matthias, who had yet to speak, asked Nina. “Definitely,” the Heartrender nodded. Jesper stilled, looking at Kaz. “Get Inej,” he said, rising to his feet.

The night was warm, steam rising from the stone, wet from the rain earlier. The Wraith flitted about on the rooftops, keeping one eye on Jesper on the street below. They were in Black Tips territory now, a dangerous place for two Crows. Jesper focused, tuning his Grisha ability, long out of practice, to the small piece of iridium that he hoped still hung around your neck. After an hour of walking, it flickered on the edge of his consciousness.

Jesper froze, gasping. Inej dangled from a fire escape, concern on her face. “What’s wrong?” she asked. But Jesper shook his head. “She’s close,” he said, pushing forward. Inej followed, scanning the streets below. She was here mostly for surveillance, but she knew that if things went south, Jesper would need her. Inej followed the path Jesper carved through Ketterdam, and when he stopped again, she looked down to him.

“Here,” he said, and Inej nodded, sinking back into the shadows. Jesper set to work, picking the lock of the building he stood before, before slipping inside. It was deathly quiet, and Jesper moved with feline agility, his ability helping him to know where to step and where not to. He ascended a flight of rickety stairs, the pendant of your necklace singing in his mind. The building was abandoned, but light spilled from beneath a door.

Jesper kicked it down, pistols in hand, ready to shoot anyone who got in his way, but the only figure in the room was you, hunched in on yourself, blindfolded, arms behind you. “Y/N,” he sighed, dropping to his knees before you. “Jesper?” you asked, heart racing. “Jes, is that you?” He pulled your blindfold off, holding your face in his hands. “It’s me, baby, I’m here. I came for you, I’m taking you home.”

He untied your wrists, taking the wounded flesh in hand. “We’ll get Nina to heal these up for you,” he said, lifting you into a bridal carry. “Nina?” you asked, and Jesper nodded. “Yes love, Nina. We’re going back to the Slat.” He stood, carrying you from the room and the building, pausing to signal to Inej once outside. The Wraith nodded, moving like silk on the rooftops back to the Slat, likely to beat you there and tell the others of your return.

Jesper jogged through the streets, on constant alert, ready to draw his guns at any moment. You buried your face in his chest, his familiar scent calming you. “They won’t take you away from me ever again,” Jesper said, slowing as you approached the Slat. “No one will. I promise, Y/N, no one’s gonna take you ever again.” He shouldered open the door, stepping into the common area of the Slat. Kaz and Inej were standing there, his arm around her shoulder. “Nina’s upstairs,” Kaz said, and Jesper nodded, climbing the stairs to the room you shared.

Nina was perched on the edge of the bed, wringing her hands. When Jesper entered, she stood, vacating the bed which he laid you down on. Nina turned her back as Jesper stripped off your filthy clothes, pulling one of his shirts over your head. “You can turn around,” he said, and Nina came to your side, taking your wrists in hand. She healed the wounds from your bonds, the red and irritated flesh fading into unscarred skin.

She didn’t linger, simply checking your overall health before leaving you and Jesper alone. He laid down, pulling you into his arms, and you eagerly snuggled deep into them, burrowing as close as physically possible. “I was worried no one would find me,” you admitted after a few moments, tears leaking from your eyes. Jesper only held you tighter, kissing your head, your forehead, and your temples. “I will always find you, baby,” he said. “Never doubt that. I will always find you. I love you, Y/N, I love you so damn much.” You were too tired to respond, the exhaustion of the week setting in, finally feeling safe enough to relax. But Jesper didn’t need to hear you say it, he felt your love for him in the way you clung to him, even while asleep.

#jesper fahey x reader #shadow and bone fanfiction #jesper fahey x you #shadow and bone reader insert

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Do Shadow and Bone & Six of Crows Work as One Story?

https://ift.tt/3dL3rrm

This SHADOW AND BONE feature contains spoilers for Season 1.

Though Netflix’s new fantasy series Shadow and Bone is based on the bestselling Grishaverse novels of author Leigh Bardugo, it’s not a straightforward adaptation of the book series that shares its name. In addition to the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the series also incorporates elements from Six of Crows, a duology that is set in the same world, but focused on a very different set of characters.

Set two years after the events of Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows is a dramatic heist story set in a different country (Kerch) and starring a set of characters who really don’t take part in the events of the first trilogy. Until now. Shadow and Bone attempts to create what are essentially prequel storylines for the major characters of Six of Crows: criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker, assassin Inej Ghafa, gunslinger Jesper Fahey, and spy Nina Zenik.

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How these figures would fit into the series’ existing storyline of the discovery of a legendary Sun Summoner with the power to destroy the Shadow Fold was a question that every book fan was wondering prior to the series debut. And now that Shadow and Bone is here, it’s time to dig into whether this fusion of these two separate-but-related series worked or not.

Den of Geek editor Kayti Burt and Den of Geek contributor Lacy Baugher dig into the specifics of the good, the bad, and the somewhere in between when it comes to incorporating the Six of Crows characters into Shadow and Bone. Welcome to our discussion, and feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments below…

Question: Going into this series, what did you think about Netflix’s choice to integrate Six of Crows into Shadow and Bone? Did you think it would work?

Kayti: As someone who has only read the first book in the Shadow and Bone series and neither of the Six of Crows duology, I was intrigued.

As a viewer of adaptation, I tend to hold my opinions until I’ve at least seen the trailer and… well, the first teaser (which is the only trailer I watched before binging the screeners) didn’t give much away. That being said, there’s nothing that frustrates me more than an adaptation that is overly faithful to the plot without being faithful to the tone, characters, and themes of the source material, so I think I am much more tolerant of major plot changes when it comes to adaptation than the average viewer?

Lacy: I will admit that I was extremely apprehensive about it. I mean, I get the impetus to combine both sets of characters into a single story if only to allow Six of Crows fans the chance to see favorites like Kaz and Jesper onscreen. (There are no guarantees that Shadow and Bone would be successful enough to even get a second season, let alone a sequel/spin-off about a completely different cast, after all.)

But the thing is, Six of Crows is a very different story from Shadow and Bone – from setting and characters, to the time it takes place. (It’s actually set two full years after the events in the final Shadow and Bone novel, Ruin and Rising.) Furthermore, it’s also a very different kind of story. Six of Crows is very much a heist drama and one that’s not concerned so much with things like love triangles or larger Ravkan politics. And the characters are, of necessity, much darker and more morally gray than Alina and her friends. I worried that the two worlds of these stories wouldn’t mesh well, or that there simply wouldn’t be anything for the Six of Crows crew to do.

Kayti: Yeah, these are such valid concerns! Even as someone who had never read Six of Crows, I knew that these series, while set in the same world, were doing very different things.

Reading your response, Lacy, I also think I saw it as a way to incorporate the more popular Six of Crows material into the slightly less popular Shadow and Bone, which did make me a bit nervous, as it seemed to be a marketing decision more than a story one. That being said, with good storytellers, those two motivations do not have to be mutually exclusive!

Question: Now that you’ve seen the show, what do you think works with the strategy?

Lacy: Shadow and Bone does, I think, pull off the inclusion of the Six of Crows crew fairly well. Much better than I expected it to if I’m honest.

There are certainly problems – for the first four episodes, it generally feels like the Crows cast exists in an entirely different show that has very little to do with the stuff happening in Os Alta. Shadow and Bone is also generally terrible as a series at drawing any sort of distinctions about what makes life in Kerch different from that in Ravka and how that might have shaped these people.

But the character work is honestly great, and the addition of this Six of Crows prequel plot adds some really interesting layers to Inej and Jesper especially. The show is really clear that the latter obviously has Grisha power in a way that the books are not, and Kit Young steals almost every scene he’s in. (Milo the goat! I cannot! Protect him!)

I also love the way that the show fleshes out Inej, both in terms of her past and how the overhanging threat of returning to the Menagerie impacts her choices, as well as the way her religious beliefs shape who she is. (There’s something honestly wonderful about the fact that she gets to meet and know Alina, who is – and will become even more fully – revered as a saint by her faith, and I just love that for her.)

Kayti: I agree! For the first half of the season, I wasn’t sure if it worked, and I do think that has something to do with the weakness of setting in this adaptation. For parallel storylines to work well, they need to have a strong sense of world-building. In that way, even if there aren’t explicit plot or character connections between the two (or more!) storylines, then each storyline still adds something to the other(s) by virtue of telling us something about the larger world they share. Game of Thrones did this famously well, as does The Expanse. In Shadow and Bone, the articulation of setting is one of the adaptation’s weakest elements—the world and its cultures don’t truly feel real or lived in to me—and I think that hurts the integration of these two book series.

That being said, once the characters and plot collide in the second half of the season, this integration works incredibly well for me. I loved the final episode for so many reasons, but one of the big ones was for how integral the Six of Crows characters (or at least Jesper, Inej, and Kaz) felt to this climax—I mean, Inej throws a dagger into The Darkling! By the end of this season, it didn’t matter to me that the world-building didn’t quite work because I was so invested in these characters. (And I loved the Inej/Alina stuff, as well.)

And then, of course, we have Nina and Matthias off on their own, little subplot, giving me the Jon Snow/Ygritte vibes. Again, this subplot picked up steam for me. At the beginning, I didn’t know why we should care, but these actors really brought their “A” game when it came to their Enemies to Friends to (Almost) Lovers journey, complete with There Is Only One Bed and Huddling For Warmth. I never stood a chance.

Lacy: There is Only One Bed!!! Truly, the best romantic trope there is. Heart eyes emoji.

You’re really right about Shadow and Bone and how it articulates setting. On some level, the fact that the Shadow Fold is the most fully realized location in the show makes a lot of sense – it’s huge, monstrous, and terrifying. But this focus has the downside of making almost everywhere else look and seem exactly the same. (I really would like to know how many viewers didn’t/haven’t yet realized that Kerch is an entirely separate country with different laws about Grisha.)

The utter destruction of the West Ravkan city of Novokribirsk at the end of the season is supposed to be really shocking and underline how depraved the Darkling is, but I don’t think it hits as hard as it should – part of the reason is that the show has plenty of other opportunities to show us the Darkling’s flaws, but it’s also because there’s no real attempt to give West Ravka any real sense of place or identity.

Shadow and Bone Ending Explained: The Stag, Sun Summoner, and Black Heretic

By Lacy Baugher

Shadow & Bone: Ranking the Ships

By Kayti Burt and 1 other

Question: What do you think doesn’t work?

Kayti: I think that some of the supporting characters from Shadow and Bone get lost in the shuffle here, as does the Ravka world-building, and I think that is partially because we spend so much time with the Six of Crows gang. There’s nothing to say that, even if Six of Crows hadn’t been incorporated into this adaptation, we would have had more Os Alta or that more would have been better. In both the source material and the adaptation, the Os Alta stuff feels perfunctory rather than inspired. I would have loved to see the adaptation breathe new life into it, similar to what they did with Mal in the translation, who is a much fuller character in the Netflix series than he is in the book.

Lacy: Kaz Brekker, unfortunately. I mean, I think part of this is because there are aspects of who Kaz is and what he’s been through that you just can’t find out right now because of the story that’s still to come in Six of Crows and how that all plays into things there.

This is probably the right decision, but it has the really annoying side effect of making Kaz the least interesting character in Shadow and Bone for me. And if you’ve read the books, you know that’s the furthest thing from the truth. But here, Kaz is basically just a dude with a cool walking stick who’s kind of super into Inej for some reason and hates a man named Pekka Rollins. There’s almost no sense of who he is on his own terms or why he behaves the way he does.

Kayti: As someone who has yet to read Six of Crows, the degree of mystery around Kaz’s character worked for me. The character performance was strong enough that, even though I wanted answers about his backstory now, it felt more in a “I am getting what I need, not what I want” sort of viewing experience—though I get how this could be different if you already know and love his character.

As a non-book reader, I love the tension of not knowing what the heck is up with Kaz because it seems so in line with who he is as a character—jaded, angry, and prone to pushing people away. Of course, if he didn’t have enough sense to be friends (or whatever) with Inej and Jesper, I probably wouldn’t have as much time for his bullshit. The fact that these two seem to vouch for him as a person worth standing by goes a long way for me, and makes his character all the more intriguing.

Question: Do you foresee any problems with this strategy moving forward?

Lacy: Where do they go from here? The end of Shadow and Bone Season 1 sort of puts all the pieces in place for what feels like it’s about to become the first novel in the Six of Crows series. The Crows gang is on a boat heading back to Ketterdam, Nina is on the same ship with them, clearly about to join their crew with her own Matthias-related agenda. Alina and Mal are heading off on their own journey, which will take them on a completely different path. (Both figuratively and literally speaking.)

Is Shadow and Bone just going to move up the timeline of Six of Crows and put the rest of that story as a sort of B plot to the elements of Siege and Storm that will inevitably drive any Season 2? Season 1 successfully managed to use these characters by basically inventing a backstory for them that wasn’t present anywhere else. (Though it should be noted that Nina’s does come from the books.) I’m not sure that I think they can successfully do that again. But if they do adapt Six of Crows, how does that story fit here – especially if it means they can’t easily cross back into the main narrative?

I’m nervous, is what I’m saying. But the show has pleasantly surprised me thus far, so I live in hope.

Kayti: As someone who hasn’t read the books, I am blissfully ignorant, though, as our two main groups of characters are heading in different directions (both figuratively and literally, as you say, Lacy), I’m not sure what Season 2 is going to look like. Are these characters going to be in completely different stories? Because that doesn’t sound like the best idea. Or is the world-changing stakes of The Darkling and his pet shadows big enough that it will pull all of our main characters in?

Whatever happens in terms of the Shadow and Bone/Six of Crows division, I am very excited to see Nina and Matthias fully engage with Inej, Jesper, and Kaz. Maybe they will spend Season 2 together, with the events of the Six of Crows plot, and come back together somehow with Alina & co. for Season 3?

Lacy: You know, I actually don’t mind that idea at all – sort of letting everyone be free to do their own specific series-mandated things next season and then come back together again in Season 3. Because I think what bugs me is the idea that we might have been sort of gifted this really nifty blending of the book narratives and then have it taken away with nary a mention again. (I also just really want Nina to meet Alina, sue me.)

The more I think about it, the more I don’t necessarily see why we couldn’t have some of the Six of Crows plot here – yes, technically it takes place later on, chronologically speaking, but the show itself has already moved up the timeline of Matthias’ impending imprisonment in Hellgate, which is a big initial mission the Crows crew has to sort of undertake. I don’t think he deserves to stay in prison for what is essentially two more books before they get him out. Maybe that’s a place Season 2 can easily start.

The World of Shadow and Bone Explained

By Kayti Burt

Shadow and Bone Review: Netflix Adaptation Brings the Magic

By Lacy Baugher

Question: Final thoughts.

Kayti: I can’t get over how well this integration worked for me in the second half of the season. This isn’t Stan Lee popping up as a random member of the First Army; Inej, Kaz, and Jesper are the ones to drive Alina out of the palace, and they get to be a small part of that final fight with The Darkling (while not taking away from Alina’s agency and power in that climax). Then, we get a family campfire at the end of the season that straight-up feels like fanfiction (which coming from me is not a dismissal, but rather the ultimate compliment).

Lacy: I can’t wait to really see Nina incorporated with the rest of the Six of Crows cast. She spends most of this season off in her own storyline, which is necessary and gives us a lot of great moments (Nina + Matthias 4-ever), but I am very much looking forward to seeing her friendship with Inej develop.

Also, if we’re going to keep the Six of Crows crew around for any sort of Season 2, which I think they’ll want to do to some extent, I really hope we spend some serious time in Ketterdam, exploring what Kerch is like and how it’s different from Ravka and Fjerda. The Ketterdam set looks amazing and we should get some use out of it.

Kayti: Yes to more Kerch! I am hoping that what we saw in Season 1 was just the tip of the iceberg for what they have planned in terms of the culture and world and that Ketterdam feels more lived-in in Season 2. Overall, the season finale definitely left me eager for more. More than after watching the first episode, after watching the eighth episode, I felt like this story was just getting started.

Looking back on this first season, I think one of the reasons why this show works so well is because it isn’t just a “Chosen One” narrative, and I think that is because it incorporates the Six of Crows’ heist-driven structure. The heist is, by its nature, an ensemble story, while the YA “Chosen One” structure is usually a first-person narrative, which doesn’t always translate so well to the screen. In addition to its amazing characters, this multiple POV, non-Chosen One sensibility is the most important thing Six of Crows brings to Shadow and Bone, and I don’t know if the adaptation would work half as well without it.

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