#➳ —— ❝ the heart is an arrow. it demands aim to land true 》 grishaverse

[vansshitposting]

Is it just me or is it the same horse?

Roach my love, I-

TOSS A COIN TO YOUR TSAR.

[the-lonewriter]

and they were boyfriends

This country gets you in the end.

Not us.

Not us.

[yangvik]

so i recently finished the lives of saints and now it's time for my specialty; making everything about inej ghafa. the stories behind the namesakes of all her knives can be found here but the one that stood out to me the most was that of sankt petyr, her first knife. as the patron saint of archers it's likely she named the knife after her family's saying ("the heart is an arrow, it demands aim to land true"). but what stood out to me about it was how petyr died. i've seen a lot of analysis about the water imagery in the series and so i couldn't help but notice that petyr was martyred fighting a demon possesing a body of water, as inej fights slavers on the water. i know she didn't know that she would end up there when she named it but whatever it's symbolism you get it!!

while i was searching tags to see if anyone else noticed this i came across this post that highlights a possible parallel between petyr and kaz which is so delicious since it's known he gave the knife to her. one thing the grishaverse series is gonna do is eat the fuck out of symbolism. it was also not lost on me that sankta margaretha patron of thieves and lost children was kerch that was a nice touch. maybe a future knife name idk a girl can never have too many!

and ps sankta marya being a suli girl and the patron of those far from home made me want to eat the book. what the hell. what the hell.

[the-toskaverse]

Let talk about all the lines in the Grishaverse that are the most poetic, and that I would get tattooed to my forehead in a heartbeat

“What is infinite? the universe and the greed of men.”

“When people say impossible, they usually mean improbable.”

“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.”

“I am not ruined. I am ruination.”

“Fear is a Phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return.” (One of my favorite)

“I’m the Sun Summoner, It gets dark when I say it does.”

“No mourners, No Funerals.”

“I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together-Knifes drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.”

I could definitely make a Pt.2

[lily91106]

What are five of your favourite Grishaverse quotes? Send this ask to 5 of your favourite grishaverse blogs!

My favourite grishaverse qoutes not in perfect order will be

1. When people say impossible they mean impropable

2. Fear is a pheonix you can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return

3. We are all someone's monster

4. The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true

5.Many boys will bring you flowers. But someday you’ll meet a boy who will learn your favorite flower, your favorite song, your favorite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won’t matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart

Tags if you want to join no pressure btw (@sleepless-crows @lilisouless @ashluvv11 )

[meher-sumedha]

My favorite GRISHAVERSE quotes for ALL members of inner circle :

Gwyn : "Fear is like a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times, yet it will always return. "

Azriel : "There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong. And there was no part of him, that was not stronger for having been broken.

Rhysand : "He has served countless kings, faked countless death, waiting for you. "

Feyre : "If I told you I'm trying to save the world, would you believe me?"

Cassian : "Well, well, well. If it isn't the consequences of my own actions. "

Nesta : "Suffering is like anything else. Live with it long enough, you learn to like the taste. "

Mor : "You live in a single moment, I live in a thousand. "

Emerie : "I like to have powerful enemies, makes me feel important. "

Elain : "The heart is an arrow, it demands aim to land true. "

Lucien : "Know that I loved you. Know that it was not enough. "

Amren : "What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men. "

Varian : "We hope or we falter. "

Bonus :

Nyx : "Thanks for being my best friend, and making my life bearable. "

[weirdoismymiddlename]

im pretty sure this post won't go around but this post is dedicated to @im-someone-i-guess or @this-is-not-someone-i-guess

PEOPLE WHO DON'T READ SOC

ARE MISSING ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS

BUT WHY?

*spoiler alert and no offense*

you don't have to read the first series in grishaverse to understand this duology

if you're not interested in ya tropes (a.k.a love triangle and the like), this book doesn't have it!

the writing is *chef's kiss*

there are poc characters

*no offense* it has lgbtq+ characters

slow-burn (kanej)

enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers (helnik)

pretty characters with tragic past story

pretty boy with dark hair, dark eyes

gouging out eyeballs @shadowsinger07

a gang of cool kids going out to save the world

cool supernatural powers

there are betrayals

independent characters

wayward son

heroes who play instruments

funny dudes

highly relatable characters

"I take care of my investments"

"I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all."

"The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true."

and many more wonderful quotes

I'm pretty sure I left out stuff but meh

[kenopsiaedits]

I present to you my favorite scene in the entire grishaverse:

But even as she gave thanks, she knew that the rain was not enough. She wanted a storm—thunder, wind, a deluge. She wanted it to crash through Ketterdam’s pleasure houses, lifting roofs and tearing doors off their hinges. She wanted it to raise the seas, take hold of every slaving ship, shatter their masts, and smash their hulls against unforgiving shores. I want to call that storm, she thought. And four million kruge might be enough to do it. Enough for her own ship—something small and fierce and laden with firepower. Something like her. She would hunt the slavers and their buyers. They would learn to fear her, and they would know her by her name. The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true. She clung to the wall, but it was purpose she grasped at long last, and that carried her upward.

She was not a lynx or a spider or even the Wraith. She was Inej Ghafa, and her future was waiting above.

[bloodfestgf]

Shu Han, Durast, Novyi Zem

shu han: what is your favorite grishaverse quote?

Any Inej quote 😭 but one of these two:

“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.”

and

“Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.”

durast: in your opinion, who is the most underrated grishaverse character?

Gosh, there are so many? But here are three: Joost (JOOST RIGHTS!!!!),  Alys Van Eck and Leoni Hilli.

novyi zem: in which of the main grishaverse locations would you most like to live?

Kerch. I’d probably not survive a day there but I have a Thing for cutthroat worlds. 

[vlctorvale]

haha that’s not how it works and I’m illiterate whoops. How about for the grishaverse?

jfkdf it’s ok

favorite male character: nikolai lantsov

favorite female character: nina zenik but zoya come close second

least favorite character: still jan van eck….the guy is a dick

favorite ship: nikolina sorry still bitter over it

favorite friendship: nina and inej always

favorite quote: “the heart is an arrow. it demands aim to land true.”

worst character death (if any): yep still matthias :(

this made me so happy you have no idea moment: literally every scene with nikolai lantsov. he shows up and i’m instantly happy. that’s it. that’s my answer.

saddest moment: matthias’ death

favorite location: ketterdam rules bye

give me a fandom and I’ll tell you

[dregstrash]

a new soc and ck fan with some thoughts about Kaz Brekker (also a little about inej/kanej)-- it’s going to be a little long

I just finished both books last week and honesty, I have so many thoughts about one of my most favorite characters Kaz freaking Brekker that I am just going to write down because I can’t hold it in.

FIRST OF ALL

- I’ve never read a character so perfectly characterized as an anti-hero with a perfect storm of chaotic neutral and just a hint of chaotic good as Kaz “Bastard of the Barrel” Brekker. The self-proclaimed monster that he is, wasn’t because he was born a certain way or because he was part of some bigger prophecy. The fact of the matter is that Kaz was born into a loving family that fell on bad times. He was born to trust his older brother, maybe even idolize him, and see the good in people. So when that was taken away, when he realized that something darker lay about the world, especially in the hot mess that is Ketterdam he forced himself to start a new-- to survive. And if I may borrow a quote from dear sweet Inej, “The heart is an arrow, it demands aim to land true.” And truer words could not have been spoken in the case for Kaz. To survive means to have purpose, to have a reason to join a gang and rise up from the ranks, to have a reason to be ruthless, to have a reason to be angry at the world that took everything away. Kaz Brekker used vengeance as his target and in doing so has given him a “renewed life” just like he stated to Pekka about being reborn.

- Another thing about writing him as the perfect anti-hero/chaotic neutral. I know that at some point in his journey to vengeance and money, he realized that he couldn’t be left with weakness (i.e. human emotions). I think a common thing to look for in these anti-heroes is that sliver of humanity, that good deed that proves that these people aren’t as bad as we think or they think they are, that in some way they are redeemable. And I am definitely one of those people who try to see the good in everything, but in Kaz’s case I honestly believe that he is the purest form of anti-hero. He does things because they get him something. He lies because he has to. He threatens because he means it. He is blunt about what he wants (with the exception of Inej, but more on that later). But more to that, he doesn’t/never wanted to be a hero, he told Inej that countless times. He had to destroy any sort of altruism within himself because he had to, again as we’ve learned Weakness would get you killed in The Barrel. He did good things not because they were good, but because he really had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. And that’s why I love him so much. He’s fearless. He doesn’t care. He knows that his life is short-- maybe even revels in the fact that he hasn’t died yet. I have never met/encountered a character who was so carefully crafted to be so cruel, yet so compelling and makes me care about him so much. 

SECOND OF ALL

- INEJ. Freaking Inej Ghafa. His little Suli idealist. The Wraith. The only person in the whole entire Grishaverse that knew him, that knew his weakness, that knew her own worth, that knew enough that she couldn’t be the one to save him. In the case of Kaz, I love love love the fact that she acknowledges that she has feelings towards someone who had made the conscious effort to try and act cold towards her. She acknowledges and chooses instead to let him make the first moves because heaven knows that she wasn’t going to pine after him forever. And that fact alone forced Kaz to acknowledge that a small part of him that was still human. Whether or not the Bastard of the Barrel acknowledges it, Inej changed him in a way that no other member of his crew could ever fathom of changing him. Inej made him want something other than vengeance, power, money, etc. Inej made him try to face the waters that threatened to drown him every time his skin touched another person’s skin. Inej made him acknowledge that he was a monster, but that didn’t mean that a monster had to be completely heartless. Inej’s decision to be herself and to focus on her own goals beautifully brought out this side of Kaz that he didn’t even want to admit. That is undoubtedly one of the most badass moments ever.

- That scene at the end of Crooked Kingdom killed me. It was right before Inej met up with Kaz. It was when she was planning to buy a ship, gather what crew she could, and making plans to go to her homeland. She as reflecting about the meeting with Kaz. She was acknowledging that she would see him one last time, act like everything was normal because she would not let herself hang onto the Kaz she knew before the Ice Court Job. Her whole plan to just report to him what she heard and leave him to run his gang and let him go, was absolutely ruined-- not completely anyway-- because Kaz came to her without his armor. Talk about full freaking circle. Now was it what Inej wanted? I don’t know, but it certainly meant a lot to her. Kaz had made the conscious effort to take his gloves off. He made the decision to prove that he was willing to try, to fight his traumas, if only to get her to return. Not to abandon her mission, but to return to him as she saw fit. He let her brush against his knuckles. He let her hold his hand. He let her intertwine his fingers through his. Then of course we get the iconic “Is my tie on straight” scene and that was the epitome of a story that ended with the right amount of hope for the future.

AND FINALLY

- I don’t know if this is controversial, but I’m glad that we didn’t get a Kanej kiss. At first, like any good shipper, I was disappointed because after all this time, after the slow-burn romance of course I wanted a sweet kiss that would’ve made the ship “officially” canon. But honestly, I think the hand-holding scene at the end of Crooked Kingdom was pretty clearly an indication that it Kanej was canon. Just because we didn’t get the Nina/Matthias treatment of their relationship, does not make their progression to hand-holding any less valid. If we had gotten a Kiss from Kanej, I don’t think that would have stayed true to Kaz’s character, or Inej’s for that matter. Both of them have been through literal hell, and that largely involves their bodies. Kaz can’t handle skin on skin. Inej has had more than her fair share of sexual abuse. For them to suddenly share a kiss would be a disservice to their characters. Kaz still has a long way to go before he could ever think about kissing someone. Sure, he has said that he wanted to kiss Inej. He has made it clear that he has definitely pined after her, but his past traumas are still very much prevalent in him. It’s not an illness that is solved because of “the one.” It’s an illness that is fought step by step (or brick by brick if you catch my drift). So the hand-holding is that first step. I’m sure it was taking everything he had to keep the drowning waters at bay. I’m really sure he had to take several long deep breaths and reminders of who he was touching before it was comfortable for him to continue to hold Inej’s hand. It felt more natural and even more intimate than any kiss for Kanej to stand in front of the ocean holding hands because it was something Kaz had never dreamed of ever trying. 

- Of course, in the future hopefully, I still want them to have that tender kiss because I am a shipper and I am allowed to dream. But that could take a while and honestly, I’m fine with that. Just the acknowledgement that both of them would fight with each other instead of trying to heal something within them they couldn’t heal is more than enough to make me happy.

[the-lonewriter]

"It was a creature wrought from shadow, its face blank and devoid of features. Its body seemed to tremble and blur, then form again: arms, legs, hands ending in the dim suggestion of claws, a broad back crested by wings that roiled and shifted as they unfurled like a black stain. It was almost like a volcra, but its shape was more human. And it did not fear the light."

~

or - Netflix blessing me with Nikolai Whump <3

[charlotteecraig]

“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.” ➶ • • • #grishaverse #shadowandbone #leighbardugo #seigeandstorm #ruinandrising #sixofcrows #crookedkingdom #kingofscars #fantasy #trilogy #writer #author #books #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B4nhxtZgC3g/?igshid=1vf9g18486m5z

[chaotickoalas]

Grishaverse Tattoo Poll

So guys I'm going to get a Bardugo Quote done on my arm but I can't decide which one. So I'm asking my fellow Grishaverse lovers to help me choose. I've narrowed it down to a few options: 1: "What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men." 2: "The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true." 3: "When people say impossible they usually mean Improbable."

[kazscrows]

six

favorite grishaverse quote?

This ones really hard because there are so many good ones! Practically anything Kaz has ever thought or said lol !!but I’ve always really loved

“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.”

[the-lonewriter]

HEAVY IS THE HEAD

that feeling when your boyfriend is a crown prince with a father that hates him for being gay and then he ends up bleeding out in the arms of his brother and you didn't even get to properly say goodbye

A moodboard inspired by our angsty modern gv au @sophierequests

Black & White version below