#i suppose he might have sent some other poor sap out there in his armor to take the fall

[blue-heronstairs10]

R&R quotes I tabbed

*RUIN AND RISING SPOILERS*

key:

{…} = thoughts in book

(…) = my commentary

*…* = action

emojis = expressions

[…] = my subtitles

italics = it’s italisized in the books

-…- = not actually said in book

——————————————————————————————————

Apparat: he should not address you so.

Alina: why not?

Apparat: it was the Darkling’s title and is unfitting for a Saint.

Alina: then what should he call me?

Apparat: he should not address you directly at all.

Alina: next time he has something to say, I’ll have him write me a letter.

——————————————————————————————————

Zoya: are you ever going to name that thing?

Harshaw: she has a name.

Zoya: Oncat is not a name. it’s just Kaelish for cat.

Harshaw: suits her doesn’t it?

——————————————————————————————————

{David and Genya kept falling behind, but he seemed to be the one responsible for the lag. finally, Toyla hefted the huge pack from David’s narrow shoulders.}

Toyla: what do you have in this thing?

David: three pairs of socks, one pair of trousers, an extra shirt. one canteen. a tin cup and plate. a cylindrical slide rule, a chondrometer, a jar or spruce sap, my collection of anticorrosives,-

Toyla: you were only supposed to pack what you need.

David: *nods emphatically* exactly.

Alina: please tell me you didn’t bring all of Morozova’s journals.

David: of course I did.

Alina: maybe they’ll make good kindling.

David: is she kidding? *concerned look* I can never tell if she’s kidding.

Alina: {I was. mostly.}

——————————————————————————————————

Genya: David is oblivious. he’s been babbling about mineral compounds for the last hour.

Zoya: maybe he and Toyla will just put each other to sleep.

——————————————————————————————————

Harshaw: *cuts the sides of his scalp so there’s only hair in a single stripe down the center of his head*

Zoya: *shrieking* what did you do? you look like a deranged rooster!

Harshaw: Oncat insisted.

——————————————————————————————————

Mal: everyone okay?

Genya: never better.

David: *raises his hand* I’ve been better.

——————————————————————————————————

Mal: I am becoming a blade.

——————————————————————————————————

Ekaterina: I saw the prince when I was in Os Alta. he’s not bad looking.

Nikolai: *in the trees* not bad looking? he’s damnably handsome.

Nikolai: *still in the trees* brave in battle, smart as a whip. an excellent dancer. oh, and an even better shot.

Nikolai: *shoots Luchenko between the eyes*

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: first vomit, then tears. don’t tell me I’ve lost my touch.

Alina: I’m just happy you’re alive. though I’m sure you can talk me out of it.

——————————————————————————————————

Alina: thank goodness we had the foresight to be captured.

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: Saints, Alina. I hope you weren’t looking at me to be the voice of reason. I keep a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret.

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: we’re heading into Fjerda.

Alina: oh good. enemy territory. and here I was starting to relax.

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: it’s good to see you, Oretsev.

Mal: you too. thanks for the rescue.

Nikolai: everyone needs a hobby.

Mal: I thought yours was preening.

Nikolai: two hobbies.

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: Baghra, how are you this evening?

Baghra: still old and blind.

Nikolai: and charming. never forget charming.

Baghra: whelp.

Nikolai: hag.

Baghra: what do you want, pest?

Nikolai: I’ve brought someone to visit.

Alina: hello, Baghra.

Baghra: the little Saint. returned to save us all.

Nikolai: well she did almost die trying to rid us of your cursed spawn. 

Baghra: couldn’t even manage martyrdom right, could you? come in and shut the door, girl. you’re letting the heat out.

Baghra: *turns to Nikolai* and you. go somewhere you’re wanted.

Nikolai: that’s hardly limiting. Alina, I’ll be back to fetch you for dinner, but should you grow restless, do feel free to run screaming from the room or take a dagger to her. whatever seems most fitting at the time. 

Baghra: are you still here?

Nikolai: I go but hope to remain in your heart.

Baghra: wretched boy. 

Alina: you like him. *disbelief*

Baghra: greedy. arrogant. takes too many risks.

Alina: you almost sound concerned.

Baghra: you like him too, little Saint. 

Alina: I do. he’s been kind to me when he might have been cruel. it’s refreshing. 

Baghra: he laughs too much.

Alina: there are worse traits. 

Baghra: like arguing with your elders? *turns to Misha* boy, go fetch me something sweet.

(I’m sorry it’s so long it’s just,,, they’re so iconic and cute)

——————————————————————————————————

Alina: how does Nikolai know you’re the Darkling’s mother?

Baghra: he asked. he’s more observant than the rest of you fools.

——————————————————————————————————

Mal: I don’t reserve my friendship for perfect people. and, thank the Saints, neither does Alina.

(did mans just insult himself ?? 💀)

——————————————————————————————————

Genya: *talking about how David didn’t look at her before*

David: I know metal.

Genya: what does that have to do with anything?

David: I...I don’t understand half of what goes on around me. I don’t get jokes or sunsets or poetry, but I know metal. beauty was your armor. fragile stuff, all show. but what’s inside you? that’s steel. it’s brave and unbreakable. and it doesn’t need fixing. *kisses Genya*

Genya: 👁👄👁

Genya: *kisses David back empathcially*

David: *kiss ends* *😳😊*

Genya: *☺️😄*

(they’re the sweetest S&B couple don’t @ me)

——————————————————————————————————

Mal: you can introduce him to Ana Kuya.

Alina: I already unleashed Baghra on Nikolai. he’s going to think I stockpile vicious old women.

——————————————————————————————————

Mal: but I guess I’m the same selfish ass I’ve always been. for all my talk of vows and honor, what I really want to do is put you up against that wall and kiss you until you forget you ever knew another man’s name. so tell me to go, Alina. because I can’t give you a title or an army or any of the things you need.

Alina: goodnight, Mal.

(😳✋🏼)

——————————————————————————————————

Alina: *hits the side of a mountain with the Cut*

Everyone besides Baghra: *claps and whoops*

Baghra: hmph. they’d clap for a dancing monkey.

Nikolai: all depends on the monkey. and the dance.

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: does Morozova strike anyone as a little…eccentric?

Alina: if my eccentric you mean insane, then yes. I’m hoping he can be crazy and right.

——————————————————————————————————

Genya: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Nikolai is growing on me. he’s nothing like his father. and the man can dress.

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: if you’re going to jump, at least give me time to compose a ballad in your honor. something with lots of sad fiddle and a verse devoted to your love of herring.

Alina: if I wait, I may have to hear you sing it.

Nikolai: I happen to have a more than passable baritone. and what’s the rush? is it my cologne?

Alina: you don’t wear cologne.

Nikolai: I have such a naturally delightful scent that it seems like overkill. but if you have a penchant for it, I’ll start. 

——————————————————————————————————

Zoya: toss him over. break his heart cruelly. I will gladly give our poor prince comfort, and I would make a magnificent queen.

Alina: you actually might, Zoya. if you could stop being horrible for a minute. 

Zoya: with that kind of incentive, I can manage a minute. possibly two.

——————————————————————————————————

{they wanted a Grisha Queen. Mal wanted a commoner Queen. and what did I want? peace for Ravka. a chance to sleep easy in my bed without fear. an end to the guilt and dread that I woke to every morning. there were old wants too, to be loved for who I was, not what I could do, to lie in a meadow with a boy’s arms around me and watch the wind move the clouds. but those dreams belonged to a girl, not to the Sun Summoner, not to a Saint.}

——————��———————————————————————————

Genya: the day I curtsy to you is the day David performs an opera naked in the middle of the Shadow Fold.

——————————————————————————————————

Baghra: I am Morozova’s Daughter, and the Darkling is the last of Morozova’s line.

——————————————————————————————————

Alina: or a Ravkan heiress or a Grisha like Zoya.

Nikolai: Zoya? I make it a policy never to seduce anyone prettier than I am.

——————————————————————————————————

Nikolai: I love it when you quote me.

——————————————————————————————————

Genya: you’re the prettiest walrus I know.

——————————————————————————————————

Alina: turned out I needed a good cry.

Zoya: next time, invite me. I could use one too.

——————————————————————————————————

Zoya: do you know what Baghra told me at my first lesson with her? pretty face. too bad you have porridge for brains.

Harshaw: I sent fire to her hut in class.

Zoya: of course you did.

Harshaw: accidentally! she refused to ever teach me again. wouldn’t even speak to me. I saw her on the grounds once, and she walked right by. didn’t say a word, just whacked me on the knee with her stick. I still have a lump.

Nadia: that’s nothing. I had some kind of block where I couldn’t summon for a while. she put me in a room and released a hive of bees in it.

——————————————————————————————————

Mal: same way Ana Kuhn got me to stop begging her to keep a lantern lit at night. 

Alina: really?

Mal: yes. told me I had to be brave for you, that if I was scared, you’d be scared.

Alina: well she told me I had to eat my parsnips to set a good example for you, but I still refused to do it. 

Mal: and you wonder why you were always getting the switch.

Alina: I have principles. 

Mal: that means, ‘if I can be difficult, I will.’

——————————————————————————————————

Zoya: if you’re not up here before I count it ten, I’m going back to sleep and you can carry me to Dva Stolba.

Alina: Mal, if I murder her in the Sikurzoi, will you hold me accountable?

Mal: yes. 

Mal: that means, ‘‘let’s make it look like an accident.’

——————————————————————————————————

Alina: *being mad and realistic then apologizing*

Zoya: maybe you’re hungry. I always get mean when I’m hungry. 

Harshaw: are you hungry all the time?

Zoya: you haven’t seen me mean. when you do, you’ll require a very big hanky.

Harshaw: to dry my tears.

Zoya: to stanch the bleeding. 

——————————————————————————————————

Toyla: he watches her the way Harshaw watches fire. like he’ll never have enough of her. like he’s trying to capture what he can before she’s gone.

Zoya and Alina: 👁👄👁💓

Zoya: you know, if you turned a bit of that poetry on me, I might consider giving you a chance.

Toyla: who says I want one?

Harshaw: I want one!

Zoya: Oncat has a better chance than you.

Harshaw: *holds up Oncat* why, Oncat, you rogue.

——————————————————————————————————

Zoya: you really didn’t think they were ghosts, did you?

everyone: 😬

Zoya: I am surrounded by fools.

——————————————————————————————————

Harshaw: Oncat objects to the landscaping.

——————————————————————————————————

Alina: Mal is the third amplifier.

——————————————————————————————————

[TW: hanging]

{the oak I’d once climbed on a dare still stood, untouched by the fire that had taken Keramzin. now it’s branches were full of bodies. the three Grisha instructors hung from the same thick limb, their kefta fluttering slightly in the wind- purple, red and blue. beside them, Botkin’s face was nearly black above the rope that had dug into his neck. he was covered in wounds. he’d died fighting before they’d strung him up. next to him, Ana Kuya swayed in her black dress, her heavy rings at her waist, the toes of her button boots nearly scraping the ground.} 

Darkling: she was, I think, the closest thing you had to a mother.

——————————————————————————————————

(unfinished)

[weaveroftruth]

The Starweaver’s Descent

Facing the Devil, pt. 2 [Part 5][Index]

ft. @velarishiku​ — written by @velarishiku​ with edits by @weaveroftruth​

CW: implications of previous manipulation, gaslighting, child abuse. 

Velari scowled at the man as he came over, speaking to Jade in such a manner, and even more so as he put his arm around her. The more he talked, the more Vel wanted to hurt him already. He was.. very unlikable. 

"...My name is Velari, scum, and you had best remember it while you still have the capacity to do so." She forcefully grabbed his arm that was around Jade, aggressively flinging it away from her.

Another snide chuckle escaped the man as his arms folded, glancing down at the woman. 

”Ah, she’s definitely paying you then, hmm? I’m not surprised she’d need a bodyguard after everything.”

That caught Jade’s attention, knocking her out of her shock a bit. “E-everything..? What do you mean, everything?” Surely... Surely Vel had been wrong, right..?

His head tilted with amusement, as his tail swished behind him.

“You really were a naive, foolish child, weren’t you..? Believed everything right until the very end, didn’t you..? I used you to get my freedom, dear. Not that I really needed to. I could’ve walked away at any point — so could you for that matter. Our den wasn’t big on keeping people trapped, not like others… But… I would’ve had to leave behind some of my earnings to do so…”

The man paused for a moment, his eyes twinkling in amusement as he watched the taller half elezen’s face, watched her reality crumble down around her as she began to realise just how much of everything was a lie.

“You were supposed to be dead by this point, and in doing so, all the money that you’d put into savings, and the properties under your name would come back to me… Allowing me to walk away while still keeping everything, hmm? Why did you think I put so much work into a worthless brat like you? Why would anyone for that matter, darlin'? This woman's probably just after your gil — my gil.”

"I'm not with her for money. Nor did she hire me; I'm here of my own free will." The shorter half-elezen glared at the man, with a ferocity she hasn't felt in many years. It was everything she could do to restrain herself, to not unsheathe her sword and gut him where he stood. 

"You'd best count yourself lucky that I don't gut you right here and now. The temptation is... great." She gritted her teeth as she spoke her last words, extremely disgusted with the man. "Why don't you just apologize instead, and off yourself here and now? You might be saving us some time in doing so. And getting rid of another piece of trash; you'd be doing some good for the world for once." Every one of her words dripped with venom; if one could visualize killing intent, the aura around Velari would be intense.

Jade had sunk down to her knees at this point, seemingly unable to breathe. “All this blood on my hands… Everything I did… What I thought was to help you… None of it was necessary..? I… I could’ve walked away at any time..? E-Everything was a lie..? I was… I was a pawn..?”

“Gods, you really were so desperate for someone to care about you that you didn’t even realise, did you? Poor thing, darlin’, aren’t cha? Ran away from horrible parents that left you vulnerable and weak, craving any kind of validation and affection, the absolute perfect pawn, huh? And soon, I’ll have everything back that I should’ve had years ago...”

With that, he let out a shrill whistle, and Jade found herself picked up rather harshly, her arms trapped behind her back as he held her, as people — men that seemed awfully familiar — swarmed the armored half-elezen in an attempt to trap her in place. K’wata moved swiftly, heading towards the Ruby Sea — he knew he wouldn’t have much time… 

The only thing Jade could bring herself to do was scream Vel’s name, before she heard muttered curses and everything faded to black as a large thump came down on the back of her head.

"W-Wait! Get back here, filth! Get-Get your hands off of me!" Vel struggled against the sudden tide of goons swarming her, and unable to draw her weapon in these close quarters, she resorted to having to fend them off bare handed; luckily for her, a gauntleted fist still had plenty of impact. These poor saps have no idea what they got themselves into...

In short order, she took out the thugs, beating each of them unconscious  - all but one, who she currently held by the collar, staring at him very angrily. 

"Tell. Me. Where. He. Went. Now."

Shaking a little in the half-elezen woman’s grasp, after just having watched all his fellow men knocked unconscious, he stuttered out in between numerous apologies that K’wata was taking Jade to a boat that was waiting for him at the Ruby Price. After that? He had no idea… All he knew was that the Miqo’te had plans to kill her, along with having sent men to ransack her store in the Mists. All information that he fed to Vel, hoping she’d spare him the same fate as his companions.

She immediately tossed him aside, sprinting out the door, heading for the docks. She couldn't waste any time. She had to get there as soon as possible. As soon as she reached the pier, she immediately demanded a ride to the Ruby Price; slamming enough gil for the ride and then some onto the merchant's table. "NOW."