#should i make him a full grisha oc

[naushtheaspiringauthor]

~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- none

A/N- Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @nadeleine123n @marauders-wife

Ch-38 ~Plans and discussions~

Anaya wasn't exactly fond of being chosen to represent the Etherealki with Zoya in the war council, yet she seemed to have no other choice now.

She put on her kefta and let her hair down then headed for the war room.

Tolya and Tamar stood outside, just a shout away in case of trouble. Mal sat at Alina's right in his roughspun clothes, the sunburst pinned above his heart. 

Sergei sat to Mal’s right, his arms crossed sullenly over his chest. He wasn’t happy to be sitting next to an otkazat’sya guard, and he was even less pleased that Alina had insisted on seating a Fabrikator directly to her left, in what was considered a position of honour.

She was a Suli girl named Paja whom Anaya hadn't really seen much before. She had dark hair and nearly black eyes, and the red embroidery at the cuffs of her purple kefta indicated that she was an Alkemi, Fabrikators who specialized in chemicals like blasting powders and poisons.

David sat further down the table, his cuffs emblazoned in gray. Then there was Fedyor, then Zoya and Anaya beside her.

The first part of the meeting was spent discussing the numbers of Grisha at the various outposts around Ravka and those who might be in hiding. Zoya suggested sending messengers to spread the news of the Alina's return and offer full and free pardon to those who swore their allegiance to the Sun Summoner.  Anaya suggested providing full sanctuary to anyone who agreed to side with the Sun Summoner.

They spent close to an hour debating the terms and wording of the pardon. Alina would have to take it to Nikolai for the King’s approval, and she wished to step carefully. Finally, they agreed on “loyalty to the Ravkan throne and the Second Army.” No one seemed happy with it, so Alina was pretty sure that they'd gotten it right.

It was Fedyor who raised the issue of the Apparat. “It’s troubling that he’s evaded capture this long.”

“Has he tried to contact you in any way?” Anaya asked.

“No,” Alina responded

“He’s been spotted in Kerskii and Ryevost,” said Fedyor. “He shows up out of nowhere to preach, then disappears before the King’s soldiers can close in.”

“We should think about an assassination,” said Sergei. “He’s growing too powerful, and he could still be colluding with the Darkling.”

“We’d have to find him first,” observed Paja.

Zoya gave a wave of her hand. “What would be the point? He seems bent on spreading word of the Sun Summoner and claiming she’s a Saint. It’s about time the people had some appreciation for the Grisha.”

“Not all of us, just the Sun Summoner" Anaya spoke

Zoya lifted one shoulder. “It’s better than them reviling us all as witches and traitors.”

“Let the King do the dirty work,” said Fedyor. “Let him find the Apparat and execute him and let him suffer the people’s wrath.”

“Do you think he believes it?” asked Zoya, studying Alina. “That you’re a Saint risen and back from the dead?”

“I’m not sure it makes a difference.” Alina responded

“It would help to know just how crazy he is.”

“I’d rather fight a traitor than a zealot,” Mal said quietly. It was the first time he’d spoken. “I may have some old contacts in the First Army who will still talk to me. There are rumors of soldiers defecting to join him, and if that’s the case, they must know where he is.”

Zoya looked around the table and said, “You need to know what we’re up against.”

The room fell silent. 

Piece by piece, Alina laid out what she knew about the nichevo’ya, their strength and size, their near invulnerability to bullet and blade, and most important, the fact that they did not fear sunlight.

Anaya assisted her in explaining the strengths of the shadow monsters, but they didn't seem to have many weaknesses.

“But you escaped,” Paja said tentatively, “so they must be mortal.”

“My power can destroy them. It’s the one thing they don’t seem able to recover from. But it isn’t easy. It requires the Cut, and I’m not sure how many I can handle at once.” Alina spoke

Anaya noticed that she didn't mention the second amplifier.

“We only escaped because Prince Nikolai got us outside the Darkling’s range, they seem to need to be close to their master.” she continued

“How close?” asked Pavel.

Alina looked to Mal.

“Hard to say,” he replied. “A mile. Maybe two.”

“So there’s some limit to his power,” Fedyor said, with no small amount of relief.

“Absolutely. He’ll have to enter Ravka with his army to get to us. That means we’ll have warning and that he’ll be vulnerable. He can’t summon them the way he summons darkness. The effort seems to cost him.”

“Because it’s not Grisha power, it’s merzost.” David spoke

In Ravkan, the word for magic and abomination was the same. Basic Grisha theory stated that matter couldn’t just be created from nothing. But that was a tenet of the Small Science. Merzost was different, a corruption of the making at the heart of the world.

David fiddled with a loose thread at his sleeve. “That energy, that substance has to come from somewhere. It must be coming from him.”

“But how is he doing it?” Zoya asked. “Has there ever been a Grisha with this kind of power?”

“The real question is how to fight them,” said Fedyor.

Talk turned to defense of the Little Palace and the possible advantages of confronting the Darkling in the field.

                                        ...................................................................................................

Back at the hall, the scene was quite unusual as Alina had decided upon making everyone sit together. She sat at the Darkling’s table. 

The other tables didn’t seem to be faring much better. The Grisha sat side by side in a jumble of red, purple, and blue, barely speaking. The clink of silverware echoed off the cracked dome, the Fabrikators had not yet begun their repairs.

At least Sergei and Marie seemed content, even if Nadia looked like she wanted to disappear into the butter dish as they cuddled and cooed beside her.   

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai lanstov x reader #nikolai lantsov x oc

[shannaraisles]

OC - Alyona Kalashnik (Shadow and Bone Netflix)

NEW OC ALERT!

I know, big surprise, huh? :D

Full disclosure before I get into this - I have not read any of the Grishaverse books, I have only seen the first season of Netflix's Shadow and Bone, and therefore I am very aware there are huge gaps in my knowledge of the lore and the general vibe of the 'verse itself.

That said ... ermagerd, the glorious tragedy potential of this set up! Which has, of course, spawned a couple of OC ideas, one of which I am going to share here.

Name: Alyona Kalashnik Origin: Unknown Race: Grisha (Ravkan) Age: Unknown Timeline: Canon Divergent AU (almost certainly) Overview: One of the first healers to join the Darkling's initiative to take control of the Second Army following the creation of the Shadow Fold, Alyona's gift was used most often to heal the Darkling himself in the initial battles the grisha fought to be accepted as defenders of Ravka itself. She grew close to the Darkling, and to Baghra, to the point where she was among the privileged few to know who he truly is. Despite her love for him, when she began to suspect what his intentions for the prophesied Sun Summoner might be, she fled the Little Palace and the Second Army, evading any attempts to find and bring her back. Over the years between then and now, she has built a small nomadic enclave where grisha who have managed to avoid being found out by the Second Army can take sanctuary and learn their gifts before moving on. When Alina and Mal take sanctuary at Alyona's enclave, she chooses to reveal herself to the Darkling for the first time in centuries in order to buy them time to escape.

And I think I'll leave how that turns out to the imagination until I write it.

Would anyone be interested in reading Alyona's story? Would likely be in one-shot stories loosely tied together in chronological order - snapshots of her life and her involvement with the Darkling and his plans. Whaddya think? Should this romantic tragedy in the making be written and shared with the world?

#oc - alyona kalashnik #shadow and bone netflix #possible oc story idea #anyone fancy reading this?

[talysalankil]

the shadow and bone provided an official picrew so i guess i'm putting my brain worms on full display

#the quiz said corporalki #although really it could have been any of them for me #i picked heartrender for the aesthetic and also because it just seemed more versatile than healer idk #tailor i see the appeal but it's not for me #(although #you know #king of scars makes it clear there's a lot of overlap anyway) #should i make him a full grisha oc? nah probably not

[mizelophsun11]

Mizeloph's Tale Chapter 7

Pairing - It is still General Kirigan x OC Sun Summoner but will eventually switch over to Kaz Brekker x Sun Summoner OC

Summary - Anna is continuing to adjust to her life in the Little Palace and her life and things will continue to pick up once she is presented to the king. She is missing some of the old parts of her life and thinking about it her childhood before crossing the Fold.

Word Count - 2273

-

Anna had been dressed in a First Army uniform that she knew all too well. What she was not used to was the golden veil that was attached to her hat, she had a hard time seeing through it. Something else that was different was her hair that had been tucked into the hat so it wouldn’t be seen. The idea behind it being that Anna would truly be seen for the first time as the Sun Summoner when she pulled her hat off in front of the king. She and Genya were walking to the courtyard where they would meet General Kirigan. He would take Anna over to the Grand Palace for her to be presented in front of Ravkas monarchy and other important people.

“Can you please explain to me again why I have this veil? I just don’t see what purpose it has” Anna said as she touched the veil

Genya tapped Anna's hand to stop playing with the veil “you look fine”

Anna sighed and stopped touching it “um, so I was wondering, is there any way that I might be able to leave the Little Palace? It wouldn’t be for a long time I swear” Anna was starting to feel the effect of being sealed away in the Little Palace and wanting to just get out and possibly see her friends

“But you have everything here that you might need” Genya knew that there was more than just missing a some items, but it was dangerous for Anna to leave the Little Palace

“Yeah, but there are a few things I wasn’t able to get before I was whisked away to the Little Palace” which was true, she had been dragged to the carriage and taken away before she could even think about what was happening “I could go back, get those items and make sure that I stay safe” she also hoped that getting those things would allow her to see Mal and Alina

“What could be so important that you would want to go back there? Plus, you were attacked on the way here, why would you want to risk that?” Genya thought that maybe if it was truly important maybe something could be done, but Anna’s friends would have to wait to see their friend

“I know it's a huge risk.. But it’s my sketchbook, I’ve always had one since I got to the orphanage.. It’s stupid I know, but it’s really important to me” for Anna drawing was very important to her. With it she was able to make new friends while also thinking about her first friend Kaz. In the orphanage, Anna and Alina would draw pictures that reminded her of the places she and Kaz use to draw in the dirt. Ketterdam was not for someone with artistic talents like Anna, but she remembered Kaz supporting her passion. Anna knew that she could never make a career out of drawing; it was always something she used to just escape. Now that she was in the Little Palace Anna needed a little bit of time to escape.

Genya nodded “It’s not stupid, I will see what I can do, now come this way, we don’t want you to be late to meeting the king” she pulled Anna along

Anna smiled a little and started to blow at the veil still trying to make the best of it “now this is fun, I can’t wait to get this thing off” she kept blowing at it

“Stop that!” Genya laughed at Annas antics

Anna laughed, she was having a good time with Genya, they had gotten along from the beginning and it was really nice. With Genya at her side she felt like she had made her first friend in the Little Palace. She knew that friends were probably hard to come by in the Little Palace with everyone being cold stone serious, but Genya was different and Anna loved it.

“Remember, no one can see you until King Pyotr does, I’ve told you this when I was tucking your hair into your hat” Genya said

“I still don’t understand why, it’s not like other people have already seen me before, I am just the supposed Sun Summoner now” before she was a living myth Anna was just a regular map maker, why was it so important now to cover up what she looked like?

“It’s all ceremonial, the King wants to see you, a humble girl taken from the ranks of his army, as if he is taking credit for you” Genya tried to explain

“Yeah.. but still I feel like I should be wearing a kefta or something, not a cleaned First Army Uniform that has never seen a speck of dust ” Anna said

“You’ll get a Kefta once he has seen your power” Genya knew that this was a lot for Anna and was trying to be there for her

“Yesh, that power that I definitely have a full grasp on..” she said sarcastically, Anna just wanted this demonstration to be over with, she wanted to start training right away

“The important people who will be there are King Pyotr, the Queen, Crown Prince Vasily, and the King’s spiritual advisor, the Apparat. He’s a greasy rat, then there will be other Lords and Ladys there close in the kings court” Genya went on but something grabbed Annas attention

They had walked past a library, Anna stopped for a moment to look inside and see the rows of books. When she had been living at the orphanage Anna would read any book she could get her hands on in order to escape the world she lived in. She had also taken interest in books with illustrations, she always enjoyed the prospect of drawing what she was reading. Another escape she had acquired when Anna was taken to the orphanage, with the drawings came the reading.

“Wait, did I just see a library? Please tell me that is available to us” Anna asked really hoping it would be someplace she could visit

“Everything here is available to all of us, General Kirigan built this palace to be a home for us so we could thrive and not have to always look over our shoulder” Genya knew that it had not always been like this, a palace safe space

Anna nodded “has a Grisha ever escaped?” she joked, not being serious

General Kirigan knew she was joking, but decided to approach “does that mean you are going to make a break for it?”

Anna turned around to see General Kirigan “oh, I didn’t mean to, it was just a joke, sorry” she smiled a little and he smiled back

“It’s alright, I know you are still adjusting to life here, it’s good to laugh a little” he wished that sometimes he could smile more and laugh, but he was always serious and take care of everything, the world was on his shoulders

They walked out to the courtyard that connected the Little Palace and the Grand Palace “The royals paid for a palace that looks like crap?” Anna said without thinking “oh my.. I just said that”

General Kirigan chuckled “I couldn’t agree more, I think that the Grand Palace us the ugliest building I have ever seen”

Anna smiled “well that’s good, otherwise I would be questioning your sanity”

General Kirigan looked at her as they walked “I hope the room was to your liking, did you get some rest?”

“Yeah I did, surprisingly, once I was finally able to fall asleep it was probably the best sleep I have had in a while” Anna had gone through so much she had tired herself out, she needed to rest “but now there is this demonstration and I don’t even know how to summon the sun properly.. I am scared that I will fail in front of everyone”

General Kirigan stopped, Anna noticed and faced him, understanding he wanted to have their conversation before entering the Grand Palace. “Remember the promise that I would keep you safe?” Anna nodded, she knew that he would keep his word to her. “During this demonstration, just focus on me and you will be fine, we will get through this together. All of this is for formalities and I promise I will be by your side every step of the way” General Kirigan smiled at her and grasped her hand “we have nothing to fear” Anna felt at ease and her worries had dispersed.

They let go of each others hands and continued on to the Grand Palace “once we sees what you can do then get his blessing, you will remain here to train” General Kirigan said

“His blessing? I know he is the king, but I thought you ruled the Grisha” Anna asked, she knew that there was a lot to learn so she hoped that she wasn’t coming across as stupid

“I only lead the Second Army, the King has the final say in things, but I always make sure that my Grisha have the best and are not held back”

They walked into the Grand Palace, as they walked down the large stairs she looked around at the room filled with people. As Anna and General Kirigan walked to the center of the room, it felt nerve racking, there were so many eyes on her. General Kirigan and Anna both got to the center of the room and bowed to the monarchy. Once everyone was settled in Anna looked over to General Kirigan who nodded to her, she took the hat off allowing her white hair to flow free. The people in the room gasped and began to whisper, the unnatural color catching everyone off guard, this made Anna even more nervous. Eventually everyone became more quiet once the Queen spoke up.

“Your hair color.. I have never seen anything like it before, it’s.. interesting” the Queen said trying to appear as nice

“Thank you, Your Highness” Anna was able to spit out

The Queen continued to look at Anna curiously “what are you?”

Anna was still feeling nervous and looked to General Kirigan pleading for help without saying a word “She is Anna Mizeloph, the Sun Summoner moya tsaritsa and she will change the future. Starting now..”

General Kirigan brought his hands up to call forward the shadows into the room, making it dark. Anna watched as the room was consumed with darkness, she looked to General Kirigan who then faced her.

He gently grasped her hands and put his under hers “now call the sun”

Anna nodded, she brought her hands together beginning to call the light, then she felt General Kirigans hands come under hers and the light moved out completely surrounding the room. She was glowing, feeling every molecule of light and the energy that came with the sun, warmth and power. Anna looked up at General Kirigan and smiled, she felt more like herself than she ever had. In the moment, it felt like it was only them in the room, wanting to get lost in each other but remembering they had an audience. General Kirigan then let go of her hands and the light she had summoned disappeared. Everyone in the room was clapping and cheering, the Sun Summoner had been found and the people could not be happier.

Their transe was broken by the King's standing ovation “Bravo! Bravo! How long will she need?”

“Destroying the Fold will not be easy. She will remain with me in the Little Palace to train.. Undisturbed” General Kirigan wanted to get his point across to the King

The King nodded “Then train her quickly, our wars have been a noble pursuit, but this chatter from the West about becoming a sovereign nation needs to stop. The sooner we are one country again the better”

“Agreed, moi tsar” General Kirigan and Anna bowed and turned around “you were perfect”

Anna smiled “thank you, it felt amazing, I don’t even know where it came from” she was still feeling the joys of using her small science truly for the first time

General Kirigan stopped and looked down at her “it came from everywhere, because you called upon it” he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek “Welcome home, Miss Mizeloph” she blushed a little and smiled watching him walk through the group of Grisha that had gathered around to greet her

One Grisha gave her a hug “it’s such an honor to formally meet you” Anna smiled and saw the Squaller, Zoya approach her

Zoya smiled and hugged Anna “white haired Ketterdam trash” Zoya whispered into her ear

Anna didn’t have enough time to react as Genya grabbed her arm pulling her through

“You are truly one of a kind, the entire country is going to be talking about you now” Genya smiled and pulled her away from the group

Anna walked with Genya back to the Little Palace, she was still in shock, first she had been able to summon the sun. Then after it all, General Kirigan had given her a kiss on the cheek, she touched the place where he had kissed her. She was surprised by it, but it was actually kind of nice, she was feeling so many different emotions. Once they got back to her room there was a blue kefta that had gold embroidering that resembled the spiralling rays of sun. Anna took off her First Army uniform and put her new kefta on, she went over to a mirror and looked at herself, she felt like she finally finding her true home.

-

Author Note - Thank you everyone who has been reblogging my chapters and leaving comments! I really appreciate everyones support in my story! Please feel free to continue leaving comments if you would like to! Also if anyone would like to please feel free to pm me and if you would like to talk I think that would be amazing!

Tag List - @rika90 @itsemy01 @hotleaf-juice @teatimeforusreaders @benbarnes-supremacy @graciefullygracie @aleksanderwh0r3 @klaudosh @herbatkazmilosica

#sun summoner #shadow and bone #shadow and bone fanfiction #grisha fic #the grisha series #grishaverse #ben barnes #freddy carter #general kirigan #general kirigan x reader #kaz brekker #kaz brekker x reader

[taurusart07]

The Savior of Fire

Hi guys, this is my first time posting a fic I did for the @grishaversebigbang. I had so much fun making this adventure with mu OCs and I was really happy of working with talented artists who showed the same passion for my characters as I did. 

Summary: After many reports of Grisha caravans with newly foundling (children) recruits are being raided by mercenaries or even undercover Druskelle. Grisha soldier Dimitri Alexand rov (OC), gets assigned with the mission of finding these missing children and the ones responsible for their kidnapping.  

Materialki: @awtetsuya27 (https://awtetsuya27.tumblr.com/post/661317187569614848/story-the-savior-of-fire-by-taurusart07-link)

@yourpancakefulness (https://yourpancakefulness.tumblr.com/post/661319128844500992/dimitri-wanted-to-leave-something-to-commemorate)

Soon to be on AO3.

For now here’s a link to the finished docs if you want to read now. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NQDnS1Ul9Y-p6RdNKpEk7G6MMsLMv1p_LBEPwpVPtlM/edit?usp=sharing

Chapter 1: 

Even at his worst, being around fire was always a comfort for Dimitri. Knowing he could take control of the situation surrounded by his element calmed his nerves. And even before he discovered he was a Grisha Inferni, he found comfort looking at the flame of a candle or getting lost in the dancing blazes of a fireplace.

When the Grisha examiners arrived at his small farm near Ryevost to find out about his nature, Dimitri was both excited and sad about going to live at the Little palace. For once he was ready to embrace his abilities and serve his country. But also, he felt bad for leaving his mother alone. After the loss of his father she was all he had left. However the Grisha assured him she would be safe if he left. He knew the risks, many enemy spies roamed the lands and could be on the hunt for Grisha at any time. 

Time passed, and the Ravkan Civil war had ended with The Drakling’s death. Afterwards the second army was reformed and the Etherealki order was now led by General Soya Nasyalensy. Now there was more activity of Grisha helping through the war, getting along with the Otkazat’sya and the first army made the war effort much easier. But the enemy kept resisting. More missions began to be assigned to small grisha groups, and no one was more enthusiastic about it than Dimitri. 

“Why are you so eager to leave the Little Palace to the front lines?” Asked a young Grisha Squaller. 

“Because,” Began Dimitri shoving his messy dark curly hair aside. “It’s been too long since I’ve been here. I want to see some action. Something I can prove myself” The squaller looked at him doubtfully, but of course, no one really understood Dimitri. 

He walked down the halls of the Little palace, towards the training grounds, where his instructor was waiting for him. For the greater part of his last year, Dimitri hadn’t really done full extense sessions of training, since his incident in the mountains of Petrazoi near Ryevost. On a recon mission. Dimitri had fallen deep into a cave where he was sure there was no way he was gonna get out of there alive, for he heard a fierce snarl come from the darkness of the cave. A wolf happened to land there as well, and at that moment that quiet cave became a battlefield for survival. Dimitri spent quite some time fighting off the wolf. his fire was not strong since his strength was quickly taken away by the constant struggle of keeping the predator’s fangs away from him.  

After intense hours fighting off the animal, Dimitri came out triumphant, seriously injured but he had managed to kill the Wolf. And once he did, he found out that this animal was an amplifier. Not like the sacred amplifiers Morozova created, but a natural one. At first, Dimitri wasn’t sure if he should take on its bones to merge with them, but when he wanted to check on it. He had a vision, It was almost as other Grisha with amplifiers described them. Right in front of the dead wolf, Dimitri saw a luminescent copy of the animal, bowing to him, out of respect.

 Hours after that, the rescue team arrived, and Dimitri’s injuries had to be taken care of at the little palace, so he requested them to take the dead wolf with him, and told them about its nature. The healers tended his wounds and suggested him rest since the bites of the wolf had been quite deep, some scratches in his torso and back would also take some time to heal properly. 

It had been nearly a year since that day, and during that year he felt incompetent by having these bambraces made out of the bones of the wolf, and not be able to push himself once more. But all that has changed now.    

“Are you ready to try this Dimitri?” Asked Oleg, an experienced Inferni trainer who began mentoring Dimitri from his first day at the little palace. Dimitri gave a silent nod and thus his teacher began an easy attack on him, something he could fend off. But to Dimitri, this felt too easy. With just a single hand gesture and his fists he managed to effortlessly push the incoming fire away from him. Another burst of flames were thrown at him, and without struggle he managed to dodge and even redirect some of the fire into Oleg. Now it was his turn to attack. His dark, almost coal colored gloves with red embroidery ready, and his mind focusing on trying to use the enhancement of his amplifier. He launched forward and threw a massive explosion of iridescent red and yellow sparks right to Oleg. His teacher managed to evade the attack with an impressive jump and still maintained a regal posture, as he dismissed the fire around him, clearing up the arena. 

“It seems you haven't lost any condition. And your technique has improved” Regarded Oleg “I’m quite impressed, your amplifier has indeed enhanced the heat on your fire as well, though you still need to work on precision” 

Dimitri Couldn’t expect more. Even though the healers had told him that he needed rest, and very moderate training, the truth was that inside his room there was none of it. He continued on with his training in complete silence and without anyone's knowledge of it. His fires had to be very low in size if he didn’t want to light up the entire little palace. Once again he began to send flames towards his mentor. As he kept on, the enhancement of the amplifier began to settle in with Dimitri’s will. 

Oleg started to give him more demanding shots of fire, seeing that Dimitri wasn’t so rusty at all. He sent out a gigantic wave of flames, only to distract him, and get closer to engage in hand in hand combat. Dimitri managed to block some of the attacks as they began to get more and more constant, not giving him time to pack a punch at Oleg, or even stunt him or get him out of his way. His feet almost reached the edge of the arena, when he decided to pull out a trick he invented on his secret sessions. It required minimal movement, but a great deal of concentration. As he kept Blocking Oleg from taking him off the limits of the arena. “You ready to give it a rest boy?” Teased Oleg. 

Dimitri began to feel the heat accumulating in his forearms and hands, however he did not feel any pain, unlike Oleg, who was rapidly disengaged once the heat hurt him enough. 

“Looks like you learned some tricks on your own” Said Oleg, surprised. 

“It wasn’t so hard, and as you can see it doesn’t require much mobility” Explained Dimitri, worried he would get in trouble for not following strict instructions from the Healers.

“Regardless,” Added Oleg, taking off his gloves, and shoving away the sweat on his slightly wrinkles forehead, “You should've at least told someone, in case anything happened” He dismissed Dimitri, and let him join his fellow comrades, who were impressed by the skill he showed at the arena, and was asked to show them how to do that trick. 

“It’s not gonna be that useful, don’t you think?” Said one of the older Inferni. “We barely get into hand to hand fighting. Most Druskelle I’ve encountered had been reduced to ashes before getting near me” He bragged. Dimitri did not take his opinion at all, since he was always told by Oleg to always expect the worst of a situation and no to rely always on his power. Dimitri left the Training grounds on his own. He mostly didn’t hang out with many of his own, just with Pyotr, another inferni who he grew close to after they both were taken under the mentroy of Oleg. As he reached the halls of the palace. He was first planning on going to his room and getting some rest, cause even though he had not lost his edge, he definitely lost some resistance, however that would not stop him. Going past the library he saw some young durasts studying on some books, furthermore he was about to get to his room, when he got caught by an old familiar voice. 

“Dimitri!'' It was his old  life time friend Pyotr, he was sporting his typical blue kefta with spiky red embroidery on it. His hair was much larger than he remembered. And his light fair skin was covered with some minor scars obtained at the battlefield. He ran towards his friend and partner in crime, and embraced him with a hug. They hadn't seen each other for almost a year, since most inferni were sent to the front lines along with the Heartrenders and the first army. When Pyotr and the rest got orders to leave, Dimitri was barely tended by the healers after the encounter at the cave. 

“It’s been so long my friend,” Said Dimitri “How are things on the Fjerdan front line?” He asked. They constantly received reports every other night, however the casualties were hardly named, and the letters he received from his best friend told so little. 

“Well… Pretty intense as you can see'' Answered Pyotr, pointing at his scars on his face “Fortunately they’re not gonna get permanent… But yes, things are tough. The Fjerdans are getting more brutal, even with our strengths combined, both armies are barely resisting” he said. 

“Then why are you here?” Asked Dimitri. 

“To escort you,”His friend answered. 

What? Thought Dimitri . “Where?” 

“Just come with me. Trust me.” Said Pyotr, taking Dimitri back to the halls, without giving any more details on where they were going. But he had to trust his lifelong friend, just as he always did. 

When Dimitri Finally arrived  he was completely out of words. Right inside of a rounded dark room illuminated by bright lights, was the Triumvirate in front of him. Genya Saffin leader of the Corporalki and talented tailor, David Kostyk master fabrikator and head of the Materialki, and lastly the fierce and only Zoya Nasyalensky General of the etherealki. Among them were many more Grisha commanders and lieutenants discussing the war effort.    

“Is it Him?” asked General Zoya to Pyotr. Dimitri remembered reading some letters of his friend about how sometimes they were saved by Zoya and her powerful winds and storms she summoned. However he did not expect to have direct contact with her, with any of the triumvirate. Pyotr nodded to her and so Dimitri walked forward trying to not show his excitement and fear by being in the presence of his leaders. 

“Dimitri Alexandrov, at your service. Grisha inferni, former member of the seventh regiment.” His answer sounded as if he were reading it outloud in front of a class. Some Grisha in the crowd found his answer funny and some looked doubtful at him. “Former member?” Questioned Zoya. 

“I had an incident a year ago,” Explained Dimitri. “Ever since that I’ve been on break. But I’m more than ready to be back in the field, I swear” It was true. The least he wanted was to be back in his room training in complete silence. He wanted to hear the roar of his fires.  

“I’m not sending you to the battlefield,” She began. Her deep black hair hanging on her sides and her blue kefta shimmered with the lights. “There have been some events across the country that concern us,” What could she possibly be talking about?. Dimitri just kept his mouth silent and let her explain. “As some of the guards have informed. The caravans of examiners that went to the first near cities have not arrived and It’s been long since they left the palace in order to find new grisha among children” Informed Zoya. “Only a wounded squaller managed to arrive at the palace yesterday. He claims their caravan had been raided by unknown enemies, who took the children captive, and killed our Grisha brothers and sisters.” 

Thoughts of his past began to run through Dimitri’s head, Of how they prick his arm to reveal his inferni powers, of his arrival at the little palace, and his first training lessons with Oleg, along with Pyotr. If what Zoya said was true, then children just like he once was, were not only taken away from their families but from their future, as a soldier, and as a Grisha. People like Dimitri were still not seen with the best intentions around the world. The Fjerdans burned Grisha at the stake, while the Shu dedicated extensive experiments on them. Ketterdam wasn’t a good place either, for they were mostly sold out as indentures for the wealthiest merchants. But children offered something more to those countries. The Shu might try to dissect their living bodies to further investigations, and the Fjerdans might even want to try out the dangerous drug, Jurda Perm on them, as for the ketterdam businesses, those children without the dominion of their powers, may just as well be slaves or even delight se the carnal desires of sick old men around that treacherous city. 

“As for what our records show, the examiner parties we’ve sent out have been to the south, from Sikursk, Caryeva, Keramzim, Kribirsk, and the west to Os Kervo, and their near villages and farms” Said Zoya, showing everything she explained on a three dimensional map, of all ravka and the north and south borders. It was still not big enough to fill the entire table, as the pieces had connections like a puzzle that Dimitri guessed were pieces of the other countries. 

“Just yesterday we sent out a crew towards Ryevost, and another to Balakirev” Said Genya, her soft voice filled the entire room, and it was quite hard for Dimitri to not look at her eyepatch, a symbol of what happened to her at the civil war. 

“Which means they should be arriving there by now, and the parties heading north still have to report on arrival” she continued. “We need to find out who are these captors, if they’re druskelle or mercenaries after a high price on Grisha children”

“Will you do that, Dimitri?” Asked Zoya out of nowhere. Dimitri has always expected an assignment, he just didn’t expect it to be of such importance.   

“You want me to look for these children?” He asked, the question was pretty dumb of his part, but his mind still hung over the task he had ahead” 

“I’ve heard that you kept asking for open assignments the whole year, even with your condition in mind” Said Zoya. “Also a fellow comrade of yours spoke fondly of your determination, and aptitude for this job” She glanced subtly at Pyotr. “You must assemble a team with Grisha in which you can put your whole trust on this job, You are expected to leave tomorrow at dawn” She said finally, heading towards distance, to hand him an archive with the details of his first mission after a very long time. 

“I will not let you down, General” Said Dimitri, “I'll find those kids and bring them home”  He said as he was Dismissed by Zoya. He began wondering how he could carry such a test on himself, he wondered who he would contact to join him. As he left the room, walking through the halls, Pyotr intercepted him, congratulating him for receiving such an important job. “It won’t be easy” said Pyotr, “You'll definitely need one or two Heartrenders, and possibly another etherealki” 

“I know just one who can come with me,'' said Dimitri, looking at his friend while they kept walking. 

“Who?” wondered Pyotr naively. 

“You, idiot,” Replied Dimitri, laughing. Of course he would need his best friend in this, He always reminded Dimitri of what he was capable of and more. “You really thought I would do this without you?”   

They kept planning who else to bring, Dimitri didn’t want a whole group as that might draw attention when they needed it less. He definitely agreed with Pyotr, they would need at least a heartrender, And dimitri knew who was fit for this Job. 

 “You’re insane” Said Pyotr, “Raol Ralevsky is the most hated Grisha among his class” 

“And that attitude of his and his incredible skill is what we need” Explained Dimitri. He was his first immediate choice. Besides, Dimitri knew he wasn’t that awful, as Raol once helped Dimitri to control his amplifier, for he also had one within his neck, a massive claw of a Tiger he once hunted. 

“I heard he once took about six Druskelle on his own, completely destroyed their bodies, that man shows no mercy”

“Once again proving my point, we don’t know if these captors are Fjerdans or not, or how many are there when they attack the caravans. Just trust me on this, we need to get Raol, I need you to let him know, just tell him Dimitri is asking him for this”

“You're gonna tell me that now you’re friends with him?” Asked Pyotr, appalled “More of an ally at the palace” Replied Dimitri, as he left his friend to be alone in his room. 

Inside of the grand place he had for his own, he took off his blue kefta, and hung it on a chair near his wardrobe. The room curtains were completely blocking the last hours of light the sun had left. He took off an ointment from the drawer at his bed. with the small red bottle in hand Dimitri walked to the next room at his dorm, where he mostly trained and where a silver bathtub was waiting for him with warm water. He placed the bottle on a small table near a full body mirror. The ointment was a tonic given to him by the healers to help the deepest wounds heal up, but it didn’t seem to do any effect. However he continued on hoping it would work one day.  

He took off his white shirt that was covered by the kefta. revealing his scarred light brown skin, reminiscent of his mother who came from Novyi Zem. His leaned but chiseled torso still hadn’t lost the massive scar that crossed from all over his chest to his belly. Dimitri poured some of the ointment on his right hand and slowly began to rub it across the scar. He then turned around and using the mirror he began to apply more of it across the few scars left on his back. After a couple minutes, the ointment dried off and Dimitri striped of the rest of his clothes to enter the bathtub, and for once, in the heat of the water, the smallest pain that was attached to him the whole day vanished. 

He knew that he would not receive any of these glimpses of pain relief for the next days or weeks during his mission, but he preferred being outside, in the heat of the action and in the heat of a royal bath.

#gvbb21 #gvbbfic21 #the savior of fire #grishaverse oc #inferni #grishverse

[geekywritings]

Rise of a Queen - Nikolai Lantsov x OC - PART 2

"We will need support at court.", Zoya stated, as they were all sitting around the fire, barely a two day journey away from the capital. "There is no saying whether the Grisha will support Alina."

"There is also no saying how the rest of the court will react to me.", Nikolai threw in. "I doubt my brother will want to roll out the carpet for my return."

"Is there anyone we can count on within the palace?", Mal asked and Aline's eyes moved to Nikolai.

"What about that friend of yours? You did mention that she comes from a powerful family." Now Nikolai cursed himself for having talked about Taya more than once with the sun summoner. Maybe she could help, but still. If this was to be his first letter to her after all these years...

"Well, we should use any chance we have.", Mal said with a shrug and so Nikolai almost felt peer pressured into writing those damned lines and sending them ahead to Os Alta.

________

Whether it had been with Taya's help or not, their arrival at the capital was quite the sight. People littered the streets to catch a glimpse of the returning prince and his glorious sun summoner. All the shows they had put on before now culminated in this grand finale, even though Alina had made it abundantly clear that she wanted no part in the story he had fabricated. And as they rode through the streets of his childhood towards the palace, Nikolai wondered himself if the story had been a mistake.

The court had gathered in the gardens to welcome him, his parents at the front, but Vasily nowhere in sight. He had probably left to gamble somewhere or appear busier than he actually was. Surrounding his parents he spotted more familiar faces, but his eyes stopped on one. He had almost missed her for a split second, but it had to be Taya. Taller, more womanly and dressed in the latest fashion, she looked like everything she never wanted to be. And her expression carried both surprise and anger. It could only mean that his letter had reached her after all.

Before he could even think about speaking with Taya, he was swept up in the commotion. His parents were glad to have him back but furious with Alina. There were many questions to be answered and before he realized it, two days had passed without him seeing more than his parents, the little palace, and his bedroom.

That evening however, there was a ball to be held in his honor and while he disliked the idea, it was the perfect opportunity to finally speak with Taya and explain himself. What he would say? He honestly had no idea.

________

Fine silks, colorful brocade, happy music, and fine food... just another annoying ball full of empty flattery and court intrigues. Even if the occasions changed, the balls themselves never did. But this ball Taya was not annoyed. Not like usual. This event was held in Nikolai's honor to celebrate his return after his long absence. Five years to be exact. Four of which he hadn't sent even a single letter to her. He had practically vanished off the face of the earth and the next time Taya had heard of him, he was rumored to marry the sun summoner. She wasn't angry at him for that. No, she was angry for having been worried about him without a letter. She was angry for him to only write a few lines to her two days ago, asking about the mood at court. She was angry at him for not taking the time to find her after his return.

But she couldn't show that anger, as she walked around the ballroom with the glass of champagne in her hand that she would love to empty in one go. And then she spotted him, practically glowing amongst all the other guests in his uniform. For a moment she glanced left and right until she realized that he was walking towards her. Instantly she straightened her back, ready to greet him, but instead, he just mouthed a familiar line to her. "Meet me in the garden." Even after all these years, she still understood perfectly.

Making sure nobody noticed, she sneaked out of the ballroom and headed into the garden, still careful to remain unseen. She slipped through a wall of ivy and found herself in their secret spot. There he stood, looking unbelievably handsome and nervous and so very very real. Not one to hold back, Taya rushed to him, throwing her arms around him and holding him tight. From the way he tensed, it was obvious that he had not seen that coming. "I was so worried.", she said. She felt his arms sneak around her, returning the embrace, but after only a second she pushed him away, hitting him repeatedly with her fan. "Why did you never write?! Why did you just disappear from the army?! Why is the first letter I get from you after all these years only three sentences long?!"

"I would explain if you would stop hitting me.", he said, putting up a feeble attempt to defend himself. "You do know that hitting a prince is a crime, right?"

"Not when he absolutely deserves it!", she snapped back. She looked glorious, Nikolai realized, even as she stood there, mad at him. She had been a very pretty girl, but now she had grown into a beautiful woman. Her dark curly hair was already escaping from her tight updo, some strands falling out and her blue eyes were only enhanced by the light makeup around them. The dress she wore underlined her womanly figure and he caught his eyes wandering from head to toe twice. It only earned him another hit with her fan.

"You owe me an explanation."

"I have none...", he said. He had thought about what to tell her, but he honestly didn't have any kind of excuse or story to tell her. The only thing he could offer was the truth, which he tried to shorten as much as possible.

"You became a pirate?"

"Privateer."

"You had your own ship? And a crew? And real adventures?"

Funny how those were the things she seemed to be stuck on. There was admiration in her eyes, but also disappointment. Because those had been her dreams, as well, he realized.

"I should have written to you.", he said, really meaning it. "But I got lost in that new life."

"You were free.", she stopped him. "You let go of everything."

The words cut him like a knife.

"Why come back now?"

"Because Alina can stop the Darkling and destroy the fold."

"And what about you becoming Tsar?"

So she had heard about that. Of course, the rumors had flared up the moment he had reentered the picture. From what Nikolai had gathered, Vasiliy wasn't exactly regarded as a good candidate for the crown. With his achievements and popularity among the army and the people, the younger brother suddenly had good chances to be named as the Tsar's successor after all.

"That is my plan, yes.", he admitted to her and Taya just accepted with a nod. Silence fell between them. The kind of silence they had never experienced before. It was uncomfortable, cold even, as if they were strangers.

"How have you been, Taya?", Nikolai asked into that atmosphere, if only to fill it with talking.

"I have been well. I've even grown used to the embroidery and dancing."

A ghost of a smile passed over Nikolai. "I don't believe it. You?"

He expected her to joke back, but she didn't. "I had to.", she just said. "It was a small price to pay to stay unmarriagable." A problematic wild woman was far more likely to be married off to the next best man, while a proper lady was a prize to be won.

The news of her being free still was surprising to Nikolai, based on her family and appearance, but he was also strangely relieved to hear it. "Vasily has not started chasing you?"

"I didn't say that." Ah, so his brother had made his move. "He just isn't fast enough to catch me."

The first genuine smile crossed their lips and the awkwardness melted away. "I'm still mad at you though.", she reminded him, giving him another hit with her fan for good measure. "And now tell me, how can I help you?"

____

You can also follow the series on my Wattpad! 

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/275585861-rise-of-a-queen

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x oc #nikolailantsovxoc #grisha #grishaverse

[trassellynn]

Hi! Could you please write about the birth of Nina and Matthias' baby?

Hi Anom, here I am! Thank you for the prompt, hope you’ll like it! 💕  In the story, there are two OCs: Helèna “Lena” Parr is my OC, while Julian Volkov belongs to mandrake-arya. They’re both doctors and they saved Matthias’ life at the end of Crooked Kingdom.  BLESSED  Nina barely noticed the path to Parr & Volkov's medical lab. She had probably fainted several times, in Matthias' arms,  flashes of consciousness and moments of darkness constantly interacted with each other. She never felt such a breathtaking pain and couldn't help but think that if only... if only she still had her Heartrender powers... "Hold on, love..." Matthias's voice was low, broken. He was probably dying inside thousands times, but he wouldn't have stopped until she was safe. She had no idea how he was able to run, holding her with the extra amount of pounds she gained during her pregnancy. They quickly entered the lab, their friends all around them. Nina tried to look for Inej, but a pang of pain, fiercer than the previous ones, made her scream and faint for a few moments. When she awoke, Matthias was laying her on a bed, his large hands trembling. Helèna and Julian immediately approached her, helping her to take the right position. They both wore their lab coats, gloves and surgical masks. "It's okay, Nina, we're here for you" the young doctor said. "We won't leave you alone, you'll have all the help you need." The Grisha opened her mouth to reply something, when she saw Matthias falling backwards, burying Wylan under his giant body. "Saints!" she yelled, while another pang made her body shiver. "Help..." Wylan pleaded, in a whisper. "I am stuck..." Jesper, Kaz and Doctor Volkov lifted Matthias' body up, allowing Kuwei to help Wylan slide away. Then, they put him down and the older man asked Kaz to keep the Fjerdan's legs raised, while he gently stanched his face with a wet handkerchief. "Saints..." Nina repeated, hissing. "I can't do it..." “You can” Lena reassured her. “Me and Julian are here for this.” Once he awoke, Matthias was escorted out of the room by their friends, giving Nina a guilty glace. She wanted to tell him he had no reasons to feel guilty, but the excruciating pain made her difficult to articulate such a long phrase. “Inej...” she finally pleaded. “Inej...” “I'm here!” The tiny girl sat next to her, caressing her hair. Nina took her hand, her eyes wet. “I'm here, Nina, I'm here.” Julian and Lena said something Nina didn't hear. All she was able to do was concentrating on Inej's dark, deep eyes. “Please... please stay...” she cried, almost voiceless. The captain of The Wraith kissed her knuckles: “I'll stay. I'll be with you all the time. Hold on, Nina. You can do it!” “I should have stayed with her...” Matthias was burying his face in his hands, blaming himself, hating himself, feeling an idiot and a coward. His little red bird was suffering into that room since hours and all he was able to do was sitting on a chair in the hall, complaining and trembling every once he tried to stand up. “How could I leave her?” Jesper patted his large shoulder: “Hey, man, don't blame yourself like this. You took her here, in your arms, with no help. You're going to be a father, it's normal to be overwhelmed by emotions. You're not weak or... anything you're thinking of yourself in this moment.” “Jes is right” Wylan echoed, smiling. “Yes, I mean, I would have preferred you not to be overwhelmed by your emotions on me but... Matt, I'm kidding.” “Do you think it will last longer?” Kaz asked. He pretended to be unimpressed and almost annoyed, but he was nervously ticking the tip of his cane on the floor. Kuwei took a look at the wall clock: “A woman's first childbirth usually lasts more. Tissues are more rigid, she is not fully aware of what she should expect...  hope our Nina will make it as soon as possible.” Finally after an hour, Lena came out of the room, removing her mask and giving Matthias a bright smile. She was no more ashamed of the scars that covered the left side of her face, in front of them. “We did it,” she said. “It's a girl. You can come in.” Matthias immediately stood up, almost jumping. He felt like his legs were made of butter and he had no idea how he could manage to enter the room without fainting again. On the bed... oh, Djel... he had never, ever seen such a beautiful vision, nor a sweeter scene... Next to a cheerful Inej, Nina rested against a huge pillow and she never looked more stunning, with her forehead and face wet with sweat, her messy hair, her tired but happy expression and... and the marvelous, little creature in her arms. She looked at him, saying no words. And yet, he could read everything in her glance. He realized he was standing frozen in the middle of the room when Lena gently touched his arm. “Hey, love...” he whispered, approaching the bed and slowly sitting next to Nina. The girl giggled, showing him the baby, their baby, their Aenya, their lovely, plump daughter who was wrapped in a white blanket. “Hey,” she whispered back. “Come, love... take her...” Matthias swallowed hard and carefully took the little girl in his arms, almost holding his breath. The last baby he held was his little sister, several years ago, and, for a while, he feared he had forgotten how to do it. But he soon got lost in those big, blue eyes, and all his fears vanished. She weighted like... a feather. She was so small, and delicate... she could easily be held in his large hands. Time seemed to stop, while he looked at her, adoring, enchanted. He gently caressed her full cheeks with a finger, then, he made their noses touch. Aenya blinked, probably trying to focus him. The young man kissed her forehead and, when her tiny hands touched his bearded cheeks, he felt blessed. “Hi, Aenya...” he whispered. “Hi, love... you're marvelous... we... we’ve waited for you so long and... and you're beautiful, you're the most beautiful creature on earth...” His voice broke and his eyes went wet. Nina smiled, caressing his cheek: “Hey... hey, love... it's okay...” “I'm sorry” he murmured, crying and laughing at the same. “I... she is...” The young woman approached her face to his. They shared a sweet kiss, then, she rested her head against his shoulder and he sank his mouth into her hair. “I love you... I love you both, so much... I love you all...” “We love you too!” Jesper giggled. Matthias sat closer to Nina, so they could hold Aenya together, then, he blinked to dry his eyes. “I am serious, I love you all. Thank you for everything you did today... Lena, Julian... you guys, who helped me to keep control outside... an you, Inej... thank you for staying with Nina...” “I did it happily” the girl said, smiling. Nina shared an extremely affectionate glance with her, then, she kissed the little girl's forehead: “So, Aenya... are you ready to meet the rest of our family?” As an answer, Aenya moved her little hands and let a happy, shrill cry out.

#Prompts #Ask Box #Anon #SoC Prompts #Matthias Helvar #Nina Zenik #Helnik #Nina x Matthias #Inej Ghafa #Kaz Brekker #Jesper Fahey #Wylan Van Eck #Kuwei Yul-Bo #SoC Gen 2 #Helnik's baby #Helnik as parents

[aspoonofsugar]

hi! I wanted to ask what do you think is the point of making the Attack titan have the ability to see the future? I get that it's a cool twist and all but it's also so confusing...And it's frustrating because who knows if Eren has seen any deaths and could have helped prevent. Would love your thoughts on this confusing topic!

Hello anon!

I have talked about Eren’s power here and here.

About your general question of what’s the point of this power, I think we will know for sure when we will discover what Eren exactly saw.

As for now, we have been told only this:

Eren saw some kind of scenery four years before the current events when he kissed Historia’s hand. As I have written in the second meta I have linked, it is possible that the meeting he has had with Historia and we know nothing of might have resulted in him having a new vision. After all, Historia’s royal blood has always helped Eren unlock new visions, so it is possible that meeting with her convinced him to go forward with his plan because of something else he saw.

That said, as for now we know nothing of the scenery Eren saw even if it might very well be the result of the rumbling. However, since we have not been shown yet, it is possible there is still more to it.

I personally think there is really no reason to believe Eren has seen much of what is happening or what has happened up until now. We have been clearly told this:

As Zeke says, Eren did not know about Ymir’s situation and this is proven also by his reaction to her and to Grisha’s behaviour in the paths:

He shows surprise and pity after realizing Ymir has spent so much time trapped in this dimension alone.

What is more, his reaction to Sasha’s death clearly shows he had not seen it coming. As a matter of fact, he has shown shock over it and even asked what she said when she died.

Going on, he clearly did not know about Marley’s attack:

Nor did he know what would have happened to Falco to the point that he tried to stop Zeke from screaming:

And obviously he did not think Gabi would have shot him:

I might be wrong oc and he might have seen all of this, but if so then his reactions were completely off and he did nothing to prevent a disaster (if he knew an attack would have come he could have very well organized things differently). The impression I have is simply that Eren has seen something in the future and that he is moving restlessly towards it. This would also fit with what he told Falco:

He has seen something in his future and is running toward it. This is what Eren has always done and he is doing the same right now with his future memory (or so it seems).

In short, I don’t think he has seen any specific death or at least I don’t think he has seen the death of people he cares about. If anything I wonder if it is not the other way around and he has seen at least Mikasa and/or Armin in his future memories hence he knows they will be fine and this might be why he sent them in the front lines and put their lives in danger.

I would also add that I am not sure we have had major deaths after Sasha’s one. Yes, we have had Nile and Pixis’s ones, but they are side characters who had no connection with Eren. What is more, their deaths happened while Eren was inside of the path dimension hence he did not see them and if he has not seen them he can’t have future memories of them. As a matter of fact Eren’s knowledge of the future seems to be limited by what he will see since his visions are just memories which travel in the past.

I would also add that Eren knowing or not about people’s deaths (unless we are talking about people he is particularly attached to) does not really make that much difference when it comes to his actions. After all, he attacked a square full of people and knowingly killed children. He is ready to rumble the world, he knows that the people following him have poisoned many members of the SC and other soldiers and he killed other people in Paradis by activating the Rumbling. In short, I think Eren has made clear that he is ready to make sacrifices in order to reach what he wants. So (again unless we are talking of specific individuals) I doubt he would have been able to prevent many deaths since as for now he has been fully focused on reaching his objective.

Going back to your original question, I think there may be consequences both in terms of plot and in terms of theme when it comes to the Attack Titan’s power.

When it comes to the plot I can see two possibilities. Either all Eren saw was the rumbling or he saw also something else we still don’t know of.

In the second case, Eren’s power will probably be important for the plot and its ending.

In the first case I see what you are trying to imply. Why did we need this power if all Eren saw was the rumbling and he could have simply chosen to pursue it without future vision? I think that in this case the meaning of the Attack Titan’s power will mostly be thematic.

I have suggested some possible thematic meanings of the power in the first meta I have linked:

All  in all, the person who is supposed to embody freedom is also presented  as an individual who manipulates others. One could also say that Eren is  doing something very similar to the first King just on a smaller scale.  The first King wanted peace, but his manipulation and brainwashing led  to Marley becoming a nation built on war. Eren wants freedom, but he is  imposing his own point of view on others. The first king wanted a  peaceful heaven and to create it he imprisoned people and left the rest  of the world to fight each other. Eren wants to be free and is ready to  take others’ freedom to do so and also to move war to the world. The  manga has kept presenting concepts like peace and freedom and has shown  us that they can both be extreme. It is probable that they’ll need to  balance each other out in the end.

Let’s now briefly consider  the conflict between Frieda and Grisha. All in all the two of them are  both being manipulated by family members and both are conveying an  ideology which is not really theirs, but which they came to accept  because of the influence of another shifter. For Frieda it is a previous  one, while for Grisha it is a future one.

Let’s also highlight  that both Frieda and Grisha eshitate. They are two people who are able  to emphatize and would probably prefer not to kill each other, but they  are both told to do so by their families (Frieda is told so by her father, while Grisha by his son).

All in all it is very interesting on multiple levels.

On  one hand the father-children relationship is a very important one for the series and we have seen that so far children have kept paying for   their parents’ mistakes. Eren is a character who is clearly trying to   change the system and him embodying the future against the first King (and Rod Reiss) embodying the past is clearly symbolic of this.

However, at the same time, his idea of freedom is one which does not consider others.

If  everyone were to apply this concept nobody could be really free because  everyone would be too much busy fighting each other to actually be free  to live as they want.

In other words there is no doubt that what  Eren is doing will be fundamental to change the current corrupted  system, but at the same time I think his pov needs to be integrated. I  think Eren is missing a piece of the puzzle and that someone else should  give it to him.

(...)

The  ideas of “moving forward” and of “looking forward” which have been  present since the beginning are now acquiring a different meaning when  one considers the Attack Titan’s power.

These ideas have always  been connected with freedom. The SC kept considering the future of their  people and realized that if they did not act they would have been  doomed someday.

So, a titan who sees the future given to a character who represents freedom is a pretty coherent choice.

However, the ability to foresee the future might very well become a binding ability under certain conditions.

1)  For example, knowing the future will definately influence you and this  will lead to your possibilities being reduced. We have seen so in the chapter itself where Grisha can’t oppose Eren’s plans because of the   memories he has been seeing. He talks of future events as if they are   the past and asks Zeke to stop Eren (and in this way the cycle of a   father leaving his own burden on a child is repeated). This behaviour is  ironic because if Grisha really thought of Eren’s scenery as terrible he would have been in a much better position to change it compared to   his other son. However, he didn’t.

Now, we don’t know if Eren is   being influenced by some future shifter and I honestly think he is not   and that he will be the last Shifter of the Attack Titan. However, he   too has seen the future and it is probable that he has been acting in a certain way because of what he saw. If Eren had not seen that scenery   would he still be acting the way he is? Would he have attacked Liberio? In short, it is obvious that Eren himself has been changed by the   future.

2) The ability to see far away is precious, but it can  be dangerous if it is coupled with the inability to perceive what is   close to you. What is more, it can lead to a disaster if it is coupled   with narrowness. You might be able to see the future, but if your vision  is narrow you might misread and misinterpret what is going on.

Eren has developed the ability to see what is coming, but he might need a broader vision if he really wants to succeed.

In short, as for now I think there can be two different and opposite interpretation of the Attack Titan’s power.

On one hand the ability of seeing the future and of shaping it by influencing the past can be seen as symbolic of freedom. The attack titan is not tied to the past and pursues something different from others. I think this description fits Eren, his activism and his ideals well.

On the other hand the ability represents another kind of slavery the Attack Titan and Eren himself might be subdued to. The Attack Titan’s shifter is influenced by what he sees in his future memories to the point that he doesn’t really choose, but act only to fulfill what he sees and suffers along the way.

Personally, I believe that the second interpretation is more likely at this point. If that is the case, then the titan’s power pretty much represents the duplicity of Eren’s character and the deconstruction of this wish of freedom he has been pursuing since the beginning of the series.

These are my thoughts so far. Thank you for the ask!

#snk #eren jeager #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

[the-hound-and-the-raven]

Tidemaker pt. 1

A Shadow and Bone fanfic centred around the Darkling an an OC.

Bao Guo: a half Suli, half Shu boy. Short and lithe, like his Suli mother, but with his fathers golden eyes. Black hair to the small of his back, kept up in a thick top knot at the back of his head. Long lashes and high cheekbones.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Standing around the pyre after the destruction of the Fold, plenty of people wept. They cried and sobbed and mourned for Sankta Alina, their saviour, the Sun Summoner. But only two mourned the second on the pyre. Only two felt the absence of the man, only two watched with sorrow as silk like shadows disappeared behind the smoke. Between the two, only one wept. Sankta Alina watched with quiet sorrow for Aleksander, but another watched with molten gold eyes stained with tears as he lay on his pyre. His shoulders bowed beneath the weight of the sorrow, his heart shattered in a thousand pieces of black glass in his chest. He wore the deep blue of a Summoner, Tidemaker’s blue ringing the cuffs clutched in slim caramel hands. Around the slender throat, securely hidden beneath blue silk, laid a collar of dark Grisha steel set with black diamonds, a pendant hanging in the hollow of his throat wrought of a black diamond and gold. An eclipse. It had been he who tended the body, the one to lovingly brush the dark hair away from his face once more, the one to gently arrange his limbs as if in sleep, to fold those elegant hands over the still chest, the one to press one last, tearful kiss to his forehead. His power kept him safe, for he would not allow hateful eyes to witness him burn. No, that was a sight only for his eyes. He wept for the man in his inky kefta, for all the memories he had of him, and all the ages he had spent with him.

Bao Guo was terrified. His heart pounded in his chest, keeping frightened time with his panicked breath as he hid from the soldiers behind a darkened tree. Two parties searched for him, two groups bound and determined to catch him. First, it had only been the Shu, their golden eyes watchful in the light of their torches as they sought him to cut him open and steal away his power. They had hunted him for weeks already, but he had hidden himself at the slightest sound beneath the blue mountain lakes of the Sikurzoi with his power. It had worked for a while, until blue eyes crowned with blond lashes had begun to scour the lakes and stones, and white wolves began to seek his scent. The Drüskelle had begun their search, and they were more persistent than the Shu and their dead eyed, soulless servants. But they had found him. They had flushed him from his hiding places, and driven him down the far side of the mountains to Ravka. Here he hid in trees and rivers, desperately running and hiding. This was not what he had wanted when he had stopped his village from flooding, not what he had planned when he had driven the fish towards their nets. But this was what they had planned. He knew what he would have to do. There was no hiding from either of them, no escaping the embrace of death. But he would much rather be torn apart by wolves’ teeth or burned at the stake than be trapped in a lab to be slowly cut apart. So now the game was not escaping, it was finding his way into the arms of the Fjerdans without the Shu catching him first. He sighed, allowing his head to fall back with a soft thud against the tree behind him. He could see the stars above him, shining so brightly in the clear winter sky like diamonds. He swallowed hard, eyes closing as he began to pray to the Saints to accept him with loving arms as he died. His hand found the hollow of his throat, where the little icon of Sankt Morozova hung from a worn strip of cloth.

“Sankt’ya, guide my steps and protect me as I journey to meet you. Give me the strength to meet my death with dignity, and the grace to forgive them that deliver it unto me.”

He inhaled deeply, preparing himself to greet his demise, but his eyes flew open at the sound of a dry voice.

“A pretty prayer, but unnecessary.”

Before him stood a man in a long black coat, quartz grey eyes glimmering in the light of the torches as a small smile quirked his full lips and skin as pale as the moon. For a second, it was like an ink painting. Black hair, black coat, black trees. White skin, white moon, white stars, white snow. And grey, grey eyes like stones, staring so solidly ahead. Bao blinked, eyes filling with panic.

“You should not be here. It is dangerous. I beg you, go.”

He grabbed at the man’s coat, meaning to push him away, but slender fingers the colour of marble wrapped around his hands to keep him in place. A rush of power and certainty flooded Bao’s veins, and he gasped slightly as he realised the man was a living amplifier.

“I can help you escape, save you from these men hunting you. Will you come with me?”

Bao stopped, looking up at him in confusion.

“How can you do this?”

Those full lips curved upwards, and skeins of silken darkness spread from the hands holding his own.

“I can hide us from their otkazat’sya eyes, their Drüskelle ears, and their isenulf noses.”

Golden eyes widened, but his hands tightened around the wells of shadow.

“Truly you can save me? You do not lie?”

A flicker of amusement laced the man’s tone.

“Not at the moment. Shall we?”

Bao swallowed hard past the lump in his throat, nodding as tears threatened his eyes.

“Lead the way.”

The man nodded, releasing one of his hands in favour of waving his long fingers. The darkness followed, flowing like water where he commanded to form a sort of bubble around them. It was impossible for Bao to see now, but the man kept a tight hold on his other hand as he began to lead him away. Bao reached for the snow on the earth, sensing and probing where he should step and silencing the tell-tale crunch beneath their feet as he followed blindly behind. His heart was in his throat, but it leaped and began to thrum like a hummingbird when a gruff voice barked something in Fjerdan not two feet from him. A horrible certainty roiled in his gut that the man was nothing but a clever spy here to lead him to his death, but the man seemed to sense his unease and squeezed his hand reassuringly. He was pulled along, away from the harsh shout of the Drüskelle, away from the growls of pale men and paler wolves. The feeling eased as the noise faded, and he breathed a tiny sigh of relief as the darkness fell away like ink from glass to hover around the man’s head like a halo. The man turned back towards him with a small smile, releasing his hand. The power faded from his veins, but he didn’t mind that much as he returned the smile giddily. He was alive. He didn’t have to choose between the Fjerdan fires or the Shu labs. The man opened his mouth to speak, but molten gold eyes were fixed on something over his shoulder in horror. Something pale and blonde, blue eyes blazing with righteous fervor as a blade arced towards the black clothed back. His heart froze in his chest,a frigid fear running in his veins. He was so cold in that instant, his hand achingly empty of the man’s warm fingers as he watched the knife arc downwards in slow motion. Bao didn’t think, he moved. His hand closed around the man’s once more, flooding himself with power as he called to the water around him, honing it into a deadly, precise blade of will thin enough to slip easily between the smallest parts of the man. He slashed his hand downwards, directing all his deadly intent towards the pale man who sought to murder his saviour. The Fjerdan fell with a sound like thunder, first one half, then the other, onto the pale snow. A man of ice killed by a blade of snow. The black clothed man turned to look behind him, staring at the Fjerdan in surprise.

“The Cut.”

“Yes.”

Grey eyes turned back on him, a warmth there like a smile.

“I am impressed. My name is Aleksander. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Bao Guo.”

He stared at the inky shadows still dancing around Aleksander’s head, one hand reaching to gently pass through them beside his ear.

“A true darkling.”

Aleksander tilted his head, Quartz eyes inquisitive.

“Darkling?”

“A child of the dark.”

Aleksander smiled, his free hand rising to allow the shadows to gathered and dance in his palm.

“The Darkling...it has a nice ring to it.”

#Shadow and Bone #the darkling #fanfic #oc

[mizelophsun11]

Mizeloph's Tale Chapter 1

Pairing - The pairing will change, in the beginning it will be General Kirigan x OC Sun Summoner and then eventually shift to Kaz Brekker x OC Sun Summoner

Summary - The Fold, a black mark that had always seemed to consume the earth it covered, so many lives have been taken, will there be more? Anna is brought to the brink of darkness with her friends, they must fight together in order to survive and with that secrets are revealed.

Word Count - 1627

-

Anna and Alina were traveling with their crew to the Fold, map makers who only had the stories of others to know what was awaiting their views. When they arrived Alina and Anna got out and looked at the menacing clouds of darkness that formed the Fold, the very monstrosity that had taken so many lives. Anna pulled her hair back into a ponytail with a few strands kept out, she also pulled her hood up wanting to hide her hair as much as she could. They were making their way to the tents when they heard their names called by a familiar voice.

“Anna! Alina!” The two girls turned their heads around to see Mal, their best friend

“Mal!” Anna smiled seeing Mal, it had been so long since she had seen him

“Mal!” Alina said watching him approach them

He slung his arms around his best friends shoulders and started walking to the tents together “I didn’t realize you two were coming in today” Mal said happily

“Yeah, this is our stop before we head south, when did you get in?” Alina asked

“Just yesterday, I found out when I got here that I would be assigned to your group” Mal kept walking with them

“They can’t seem to split our little group up now can they” Anna smiled

As they got closer to where their tents would have been Anna noticed that they had been moved. This caught Anna's attention, so many First Army soldiers were in this camp area, what reasonable answer would they have to move their tents. Unfortunately for them the reason was standing right in front of them practicing their small science, Grisha.

“That is why our tents got moved” Alina said

“Because some Grisha wanted some extra room, how nice.. Some show offs, all spoiled and  bullies. I wish we could just be left alone sometimes, home was better than this” Anna said, as she watched their little demo

“You really think home was better? They were so mean to you” Mal said

“Oddly enough I would take that orphanage, where they would call me an abomination, over the way Grisha treat us, they act like we are nothing, completely expendable...” Anna really could not stand the Grisha she had met so far, they would go after her odd hair color and just treat her like the dirt under their feet

They headed to the tents and organized their things before heading to a larger tent where people were to be told of their assignments. A man with an appearance of age and greyish hair stood higher than the rest ready to make his speech.

“Alright right, all of you listen up! I know some of you have been on the road for a while so I will try to make this short and sweet. There are three destinations, most will go North to Fjerdan, another is south to the Shu Han border. However, a selected few will be assigned to the shiny new Sandskiff just outside this tent, if it works, that means full meals, bullets for your guns, sugar for your tea and even a little bit of whiskey to celebrate, but don’t hold onto that, the thing still needs to work. Now, here is the list of people who will be making the journey through the fold” he got a piece of paper out that had the names of the people who would be assigned to the Sandskiff.

Mal smirked “it should be called ‘the nightmare lottery’ if you ask me” Mal said, both girls laughed at his joke

“Sergeant Yure Teplov, Tracker Malyen Oretsev…” the list continued for a few more names

“Wait.. why would he say your name? I thought you were coming with us to the south” Alina said

“Maybe it was a mix up” Anna tried to counter, she did not want to think of the possibility of Mal facing the Fold without her and Alina

Mal decided that he would talk with the man who had just announced his name to make sure that he was for sure meant to be on the skiff. After dinner the friends all met up and realized that Mal was indeed meant to go on the skiff. There was tension in the air that night and the trio did not get a lot of sleep that night, Alina and Anna were worried for Mal. In the morning Alina decided to take matters into her own hands and went to the tent where valuable maps of areas on the other side of the Fold would be. This is how Alina was going to get her and Anna on the skiff with Mal so they would not be separated again, she would burn that information. However, what Alina did not expect is that yes her and Anna would be going, but her entire crew as well. As they arrived onto the skiff Mal spotted them, taken aback as to why they were here.

“What are you two doing here, you should be heading south right now” Mal said

“We have been assigned with you, some maps where damaged that contained information for land on the other side of the Fold” Anna said looked around on the skiff

“I could shoot both in your feet” Mal offered

“I think we like our feet don’t we Anna?” Alina countered

“Yes I think we do” Anna knew that there was no way Mal would be getting them off the skiff “After all this was an order, and orders are orders” Alina knew Mal could not get them off this skiff

“You two get off this boat now” Mal said trying harder to save his two best friends from having to face the Fold

However before they could even move they heard someone yell “Raise the Gate!”

“We are in this together Mal” Anna said

“We will make it Mal, promise” Alina said walking over to her post

Both Anna and Alina were standing close to each other on the edge of the skiff watching everyone moving around. People were making sure that everything was in order before they entered the fold.

An Inferni walked to the center of the deck “Alright everyone here is how things will go. We enter the fold and it goes dark, but we like it dark. The blue light at the mast is the only light we need, it allows us to travel without drawing any attention to ourselves”

Raisa looked at the Inferni confused “but if you are an Inferni, how are you helping if we need to keep things dark?”

“For when the dark comes to keep you” the Inferni looked up at the Squaller

“Ready to launch!” A sailor yelled and the Squaller started to put wind in the sail moving it forward “That’s our cue” she looked around making sure everything was in order “alright Cartographers listen up! Until we reach the western dry docks, you are to remain at your stations. I repeat, do not leave the skiff during the crossing..” the skiff approached the Fold and pushed through the darkness “In we go”

Shadow, it was consuming, as if the sun had gone out and nothing was left. There was rumbling in the distance, the loud crack of thunder that drowned out the growling sounds of the flying terrors that were in the sky.

“Marker 1” the Inferni said as she passed Anna

“How many markers are left?” Anna asked, even though she had crossed the Fold once before that had been a long time ago and she tried to forget about it

“37” the Inferni said walking by her

As the skiff continued forward the growling of the flying monsters seemed to start getting close. Guns were cocked, ready to shoot anything that decided to get too close for comfort. Suddenly, for some unknown reason the blue light at the mass flickered until it was completely out and there was no light left to guide them through the dark. A soldier not knowing any better lit a lantern in order to try and see not knowing it would be their demise.

“What are you doing? Blow it out you fool!” the Inferni said but it was already too late and the Volcra started to swarm the skiff.

Chaos. Everything became very chaotic with everyone trying to somehow survive this massacre. There was firing of gunshots and screams of the people on the skiff that were being taken by the attacking Volcra.

“Come at me you coward!” yelled the Inferni before she was snatched and her body ripping in half by the force of being grabbed and thrown into the side of the skiff

This was all too much for Alexei, every scream and drip of blood brought him to his decision, he jumped off the skiff and began to run away “No! Alexei!” Alina yelled shocked that everything was unfolding

Suddenly a Volcra appeared and grabbed Mal by his shoulder “Mal!” Anna yelled, getting up from where she was and grabbed a rifle on the floor and shot the Volcra, it let go of Mal and flew off

Alina and Anna ran to where the Volcra had dropped “Oh Mal..” Anna said with tears in her eyes

“I’ll meet you two in the meadow” Mal weakly said as he tried to stay awake

“No Mal, please stay with us..” Alina said

Suddenly another Volcra appeared, ready to grab onto Alina but Anna shoved her out of the way to try and protect her from being taken “Anna!” Alina yelled trying to hold onto her from being taken away.

Light. As if the sun had been called upon the volcra surrounding the skiff had been obliterated in an instant.

-

Author Note - I am overjoyed that there are people who are enjoying this story! If you are reading and would like to leave a comment at the end please do, I really enjoy seeing what people have to say. Another side note, I will add people to the tag list that would like to be added, please let me know and I will gladly add you!

Tag List - @rika90 @itsemy01

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone fanfiction #ben barnes #freddy carter #general kirigan #kaz brekker #general kirigan x reader #kaz brekker x reader #grishaverse #grisha fic #the grisha series

[geekywritings]

Rise of a Queen - Nikolai Lantsov x OC PART 12

The end of the war could have marked the perfect beginning of a fairytale for Nikolai and Taya. He was Tsar, the Darkling had been defeated, Ravka could finally breathe again and the couple could start focusing on their relationship. But the reality was no fairytale.

Only days after the crown had been placed on Nikolai's head, he became swept up in the responsibilities of a ruler. Endless meetings, balls, travels, and negotiations began, along with the much-needed rebuilding of the cities that had suffered during recent times. Whenever he was in the palace, there was always someone there requesting his attention or calling him to a meeting or following him with paperwork. Though more often than not, Nikolai was absent from the capital, traveling around his kingdom to meet his people and mend relations with West Ravka. It felt as if sleep or a peaceful meal had become a luxury a king could not afford.

Taya wasn't fairing much better. She tried to help Nikolai whenever she could, but she was soon also swept up in the Saadovska affairs. She had inherited the family fortune, but also her father's businesses. And there were more of them than she had ever expected! Not only did her family own several remarkable fabric businesses in Ravka, they also held shares of companies in Fjerda and Shu Han and had close business ties with Kerch traders. Furthermore, there was more land in her family's possession than anyone in all of Ravka could even imagine, including large estates and even simply lands for agriculture. It was so much that Taya spent a good few weeks trying to wrap her hand around it all before starting correspondence with her father's former business partners. Some of them were kind and understanding, but there were also those, who refused to work with a woman or tried to cheat her. For Taya this meant a lot of studying. She would spend many nights in the library, reading up on economics and business practices or former contracts until Nikolai would come and carry her back to bed after she had fallen asleep. Whenever he was not around, this task fell to Andrej or one of the twins.

Ultimately, the couple didn't have much time for romance. Ravka was like a child that required constant attention and within the first years, Nikolai and Taya felt burnt out. Yet at the same time, they couldn't feel happier. The country was flourishing, steadily gaining stability, military strength and even some recognition. So although Taya was usually the one pushing them to work more, it was her who announced one morning: "We need a break."

Nikolai had returned from a long journey to the West just the day before and still looked incredibly tired even after a good night of sleep. "What do you suggest?", he asked, his face still half-buried in the pillow. "That we run away?"

Taya chuckled, as she sat up, running a hand through his hair. "I don't think we'd get very far.", she admitted. "But I do think we can take a vacation for a couple of days without Ravka falling apart again. Besides, there is this small estate by the sea I want to visit."

"Estate by the sea?" Now Nikolai's curiosity had been piqued and he slowly half sat up as well, hazel eyes staring at her full of interest.

"Yes, apparently it has been in my family's possession for quite some time. My great great grandfather bought it for easier business with the local fishing industry. And it would be my chance to see the ocean for the first time."

Although she had joined Nikolai on several of his journeys, none of them had taken her all the way to the sea, which she longed to finally visit. "Let's do it.", Nikolai agreed, suddenly fully invested in the idea. "We will tell everyone today and be on our way by the evening."

Taya loved his enthusiasm and spontaneous nature and she nodded enthusiastically. "I will take care of packing.", she said, already mentally going over everything they would need for the short trip.

It was with a newfound energy that the two started their day, making sure that everyone knew about their departure, while also preparing for the journey. Tolya and Tamar insisted on coming along, but Nikolai refused. He wanted some time alone with Taya and where they were going, they would need neither servants nor bodyguards, he figured.

Everyone was so taken aback by the Tsar's sudden decision that nobody had much time to argue or raise concerns. And by evening, Nikolai and Taya were ready to depart. They hadn't packed much and could easily take one of Nikolai's smaller aircrafts, where he took care of navigation, while Taya kept the airship going. Traveling at night was difficult, but also much safer.

The sun hadn't even risen when they arrived at the small estate on a hill, overseeing the sea and the nearby fishing town. It was a two-story building beaten by the rough coastal weather, but still in good condition. Surrounding it was a garden full of wildflowers and tall grass. It was clear that nobody had tended to this place in quite some time. Using the key she had found in her father's study, filed correctly to the matching estate, Taya opened the door, revealing a dusty hallway, smelling of sea salt and stuffy air. At least they found that the place was equipped with working lights.

Leaving their luggage in the hallway, Nikolai and Taya just explored, opening all windows to air out the place. There was a parlor downstairs, as well as a study, a kitchen, three servant rooms, and a storage chamber. Upstairs were bathrooms and generous bedrooms, offering a stunning view of the ocean. The sunsets from this place would be quite the sight, Taya thought.

The furniture had been covered in sheets to prevent them from dusting, but they would still need to air out all linens, pillows and covers the next day. "Seems like your ancestors were quite the passionate sailors", Nikolai announced, as he joined Taya upstairs. He had found some old photographs and paintings in the study, showing her grandfather and great grandfather in this estate together with sea captains or standing in front of ships themselves.

Taya looked at them with interest, seeing them for the first time. "I didn't know that. But maybe it explains why I always wanted to go to sea.", she ran a finger over one of the photographs, realizing how much her grandfather resembled her father. A pang of pain shot through her, but she didn't allow it to take over. She would make her family proud by doing her best to carry on their legacy instead of shedding tears.

_____________________

After two days, Nikolai and Taya had settled into their little sea estate. Seeing as the linen had continued to smell of stuffy room, Taya had simply brought fresh ones in town. Not wanting any servants to disturb their peace, the couple took care of everything themselves and Taya discovered that she knew nothing about actual housekeeping. But it was fun to learn and try, even though the first meal she attempted to cook ended up being more burnt than edible.

Nikolai caught some fish, which they roasted over a fire and that tasted better than anything Taya had eaten in a while. Still, they decided to start eating in town to be among people and see what they lived like. Taya had bought some local clothes, allowing the two to blend in and for Nikolai to go unrecognized. It was lovely, living a normal life without duties or burdens.

"One day, when we are old and grey, I hope we can sit here and watch the sunset as well.", Taya said on the last evening of their stay, when the two were sitting in front of the house by the cliff, waiting for the sun to turn the ocean into the stunning shades of orange and purple Taya admired.

Nikolai smiled at her. It would be a lovely future indeed. "And who will be running Ravka?"

"Not us, for sure.", she replied with a laugh. "I suppose it would be our son."

A son. Nikolai had never thought about children before. He had been too busy being Sturmhond, getting the crown, fighting a civil war or just being Tsar. But now that she had said it, the vision would not leave his head. What would their son look like? Would his hair be darker? And whose eyes would he inherit? He hoped it would be his mothers, for he loved the blue more than he could put into words. He also hoped he would have Taya's personality, far more suitable for a ruler.

"If we do have a son, let's name him Mikhail. After my father.", she suddenly added. It was common for a prince to carry the name of a former ruler, an ancestor from the father's side, but Taya was ready to break with that tradition.

"Mikhail... I like it.", Nikolai said finally, his arm sneaking around Taya, as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Though if he ends up anything like us as children, I feel sorry for us already." Both laughed and then just enjoyed the spectacular colors of the sunset before them.

________________________________

After the trip, Nikolai returned to work with newfound purpose and energy. He wanted to build a strong Ravka for the people and for the future. He wanted a stable country should he and Taya indeed have a son one day. He was also more determined than ever to finally marry the woman, who had been by his side for so long.

"I have an important task for you.", he announced, as Genya entered his office one afternoon. "But I must ask for utter discretion."

"Of course.", the redhead vowed, looking more and more intrigued.

"I need you to plan something"

"A Wedding?!", Genya almost squealed. "Your wedding?!"

Nikolai didn't even have a chance to answer before Genya rushed forward, both hands slamming on his desk. "I have everything thought out already.", she announced. "I have been planning this since your coronation. It needs to be a grand affair, of course. Worthy of a Tsar. But it definitely needs personal elements. I'm thinking of a lot of blue highlights to symbolize your time at sea and Taya being a Grisha and..."

"Genya... Genya.. slow down.", Nikolai spoke, even though he felt almost guilty interrupting her. She seemed so excited and he was glad to know that he had so many people behind him.

"Oh, I apologize."

Nikolai smiled, shaking his head. "No need. But what I specifically want from you is a design for a ring. Traditionally, Taya would get the Lantsov Emerald, but that is off the table.", he explained. "But I don't just wanna choose something from the treasury. I want something especially made for her. Something meaningful."

So it wasn't a wedding, but Genya was still excited nevertheless. "Oh, I will think of something!" It would be blue, she thought, but it definitely needed elements of green to hint at the traditional emerald. Without a second to waste she got to work, while Nikolai went back to planning on how he could ask Taya to marry him again.

The last proposal had been a lousy one, he thought. Absolutely not worthy of a future Queen and especially not worthy of someone like Taya. She wouldn't like an over-the-top gesture, he figured, but it had to be special nevertheless. Perhaps the finished ring would offer more inspiration.

He had no idea that he would not be asking Taya for quite some time...

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x oc #nikolailantsovxoc #Grishaverse