#matthias has no idea ninas there

[nine-is-not-a-ten]

jesper: cmon matthias, youll love poker!!

matthias: Ughh. Fine. I'll try.

*in the middle of the first round*

matthias, telling the truth: SERIOUSLY, I HAVE 2 RED THREES, 1 BLACK FOUR, AND 1 RED SEVEN!

poker players: *chuckling* Yeah, right. Good bluff. *folds*

jesper: youre really good at bluffing, matthias!

nina from behind matthias, mouthing: he's got four aces

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Okay I’ve been toying with an idea for a Six of Crows au post-Crooked Kingdom where Van Eck won for a little while now and yeah idk but I had a scene idea come to me just now so I’m gonna write it here to see what you guys think and if there’s any interest then I might add it to my list of fics to write

This feels like a weird introduction but, er, here we go:

Inej knew the moment Kaz got home. There were no longer any crowds in the house to come to attention at his entrance, or if there were then no-one had bothered to come down to the half-room and tell Inej, but she could hear his voice drifting through the vents as soon as the door upstairs banged shut behind him.

“Where’s Inej?”

“Where do you think?” Matthias’ reply came roughly, and Inej could all but picture the disapproving grimace that must be crossing his face about now.

Let him judge. She didn’t need to leave the half-room, and for as long as that was true she wouldn’t. The vents did not give her every room though, and she did miss gathering her secrets. She wondered if there was anyone else in the house, but the five of them. Five? She stopped and counted them on her fingers. Yes, five. Hopefully still five. Inej had not bothered to leave the half-room in days, and no-one had been down to see her since yesterday morning.

She heard the door click open behind her, of course, but she did not bother to look up as Dirtyhands entered the room.

“Wraith,”

“Don’t you read the papers, Kaz?” Inej asked, without turning, “The Wraith is dead,”

She stood up, hand wandering across the table for her little pot of jurda. It tasted like shit and it wasn’t nearly as strong as she wanted it to be, but it took less than a month for the price of the blossoms to surpass the height of the stars so she’d have to make do with whatever they had left.

“Inej-”

“They found her body on the steps outside the Church of Barter almost three months ago, remember?” she finally turned to face Kaz, unscrewing the lid on the little silver pot as she did so, “Killed by some mercenary called the White Blade, who still hasn’t been found by they way in case you haven’t seen the latest. I guess it’s difficult to catch a ghost,”

Difficult to catch a wraith.

“We’ve had this conversation several times, Inej-”

“And we’re going to have it again,”

Inej placed an orange jurda blossom on her tongue, then offered the open container to Kaz. It was almost empty. He waved her off.

“I thought you didn’t go in for that sort of thing,”

Inej shrugged.

“Gotta stay awake somehow, haven’t I? We’re busy,”

“We’re not on a job”

“We’re never on a job. Unless the reason you’ve bothered to grace me with your presence is a proposition?”

Kaz shook his head.

“I just wanted to tell you there’s no news,”

Inej looked away. There was never any news. And yet somehow she always expected differently.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“Probably,”

Inej caught another jurda blossom between her fingers. She needed to stay awake, because if she slept she would see him. She would see all the ways she’d failed.

“It wasn’t your fault, Inej, we’re having the same conversations on repeat can’t you see-,”

“And we’ll have them again,” she shrugged, “We will have this conversation again, Kaz, because I made a mistake and you are coddling me like a child who won’t be able cope if you tell them something was their fault. Tell me it was my fault, Kaz! We both know that it’s true,”

Kaz shook his head.

“I’d rather repeat the previous,”

“Then let’s,” snapped Inej, because hell if this jurda wasn’t strong enough to keep her awake then maybe an argument would be, “Let’s repeat the goddamn conversation, Kaz, because you’re right. We have the same two conversations on repeat and do you want to know why? Because I am owning up to the mistake I made and I am trying to deal with the consequences of it, but you had no right to do what you did, do you understand me? You messed up and you need to take some damn responsibility, because if you think-”

“You always knew Tailoring Dunyasha’s body to look like yours was a possibility for your escape option,” said Kaz, calmly.

She hated how quiet his voice was, how slow and deliberate he sounded next to the and ramblings that she could not stop from stumbling out of her.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” she hissed, slamming her jurda back down on the table.

“I couldn’t have done anything to stop that,”

“You could have tried,”

“Inej-”

“Shevrati,”

Know-nothing.

She waved a hand vaguely at the door.

“Get out,”

Kaz turned to leave, then paused.

“I am sorry, Inej. They’d like to see you upstairs, you know. Nina misses you,”

“Nina can come down here then,”

“Inej… I can’t do anything for you but apologise,”

“Keep you apologies,” she snarled, and when the door had closed behind him added: “Choke on them,”

Kaz could apologise all he wanted. She would not forgive him. What right did he have to expect anything different from her than this? Did any of them? Kaz had not had to watch his parents cry, as they carried home the body of a child that wasn’t theirs. Kaz had not had to feel the ironclad grip of the person he thought he’d trusted most in the world as they held him back and told him to swallow his sobs and keep quiet. Kaz had not given up and gone limp in their arms, a mess of tears and useless prayers, as he saw his parents slip from his grasp once again and knew that he would not have the chance to tell them truth.

Kaz had also not failed the others, and did not have to feel the truth of that choking him every time he saw them. Kaz had not spent almost three months barely daring to venture out of the half room, just so he would never have to lock eyes with Jesper Fahey. There was a scream inside Inej that had been slowly building itself since the day of the auction, and if she did not find a way to release it soon it may very well eat her alive.

[i-dont-even-know-by-this-point]

Idk guys something about a Beauty and the Beast Helnik AU is really tickling my brainworms (spoilers ahead for CK)

Not a 1-for-1 adaptation — I think it’d be interesting if, like in SoC, they both got stranded together somewhere rather than Matthias holding her hostage for the whole thing… or at least, it’s got something to do with the drüskelle & Nina getting captured, and then they end up stranded somewhere afterwards, like in the book.

Anyway, it could work quite well with Matthias (beast) learning from Nina (Belle) and changing his views about Grisha and stuff. Maybe he got cursed by a Grisha or something? Maybe Nina has something to do with why he’s in whatever beasty situation he’s in?

It might also be interesting if Nina is actively being pursued by drüskelle, and that’s what drives her into staying with Matthias — a lesser of two evils kind of thing? Maybe?

And then the parallels with ahem… the Beast getting killed at the end… BUT! The Beast survives so Matthias can too. He will. He must. He— [machine gun fire]

[ruins-and-rewritez]

Matthias doing something really cool and heroic and Nina is like "wow babe didn't know you were such a badass" and Matthias' face just kinda falls and he glances behind him because all things considered he thought his butt was pretty nice

[apricusapollo]

A RANDOM HELNIK FIC BECAUSE THEY'RE MY PARENTS!!!

[a-mythologynerd]

Tbh one of the most telling things about Kaz’s character is never makes or tries to convince Nina or Jesper to take pareem and actually actively keeps both of them from it. Just the idea that Matthias gave the pareem to Kaz cause he knew Nina wouldnt be able to get Kaz to give it to her. And Jesper asks for it as a fail safe and Kaz denies him. Kaz who has all this big talk about giving everything for the plans, everything for revenge won’t let his friends destroy their lives and die despite the fact his persona claims he would

[aria-bun]

Ive been thinking of a reverse crows au where its still angsty.

Kaz, who needs touch because the last stage of Firepox is numbness so he needs the feeling of human touch as a reminder that he is, in fact, still alive.

Inej, who is purposefully loud because she got taken due to how quiet she was and nobody noticed her absence until it was too late.

Jesper, who openly uses his grisha powers because as he gets older, he starts to forget more and more about his mother, and this is the last permanent tie he has to her.

Wylan, who is more upfront about his Dyslexia to remind himself that, if he didn't have it, he might have turned out just like his father, and he fears that more than any judgement he may recieve.

Matthias, who always admired grisha but couldn't say anything about it for fear of someone getting the wrong idea and him being the next body on the pyre

Nina, who hates the power she holds because of how much damage it does, and wishes that she had been taught to heal instead of taught to hurt.

@lilisouless @barrel-crow-n @randomfandom-3 @i-eat-so-much-grass

[phefics]

welcome back, phe <3 could i maybe have a blurb of kaz brekker x reader with the sentence "you're cute when you blush."???

𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ♡ thank you sm for the request!!! xoxo contains: fluff, playful bickering, confident!reader, flustered!kaz

Most people in the Barrel were petrified of Kaz Brekker.

And rightfully so: He could be intimidating, cruel, unpredicatable, selfish...There were plenty of things to fear.

You've seen him nearly collapse from the pain of his bed leg, watched him struggle with stairs and steep streets. You've seen him faint, vomit, nearly drown. And perhaps his resilience should make him twice as intimidating.

However, knowing him for quite some time, you've learned that he isn't always so scary. You're observant, and you have caught the softer sides of Kaz. You've noticed the way he has to physically bite his tongue to refrain from laughing at Jesper's jokes, and have even heard him let out the rare chuckle. You've seen him stop to rub a stray dog's belly on more than one occasion, and watched him perform a magic trick for a curious group of children once.

But there's one thing about Kaz that is just frankly cute, and you don't think he even realizes it.

Because he's an expert at steeling his emotions, hiding the truth. He can lie, cheat, and steal his way out of any situation. But when he's safe, around trusted people, when there are no stakes at hand...Kaz Brekker blushes.

You had thought at first that he was just flushed from alcohol or something, but you quickly realized it only happened when you gave him a compliment, or when you teased him.

At first, you'd assumed that it happened more often, like when Jesper did a bad impression of his gravelly voice, or when Nina playfully flirted with him. But no. It seemed to just be you.

Which led you to the conclusion that perhaps your attraction to the Bastard of the Barrel wasn't for naught. And so, you began trying to flirt with him. And as intelligent as Kaz was, when it came to relationships, he was a fucking moron.

He was in his office that night, and you walked in and leaned against the edge of his desk.

"Hi, boss," you said with a smile.

"What is it?" he replied, skipping the pleasantries.

You leaned against the edge of his desk. "Oh, nothing. Jesper's passed out drunk, Nina and Matthias are making out, and Inej and Wylan are on a job, so...I'm bored."

Kaz frowned. "So you decided to bother me?"

"What? You're good company. Easy on the eyes, too."

There it was. That tinge of pink on his pale cheeks, spreading to the tips of his ears.

"You're cute when you blush."

He was practically scowling by that point. "I don't blush," he hissed. "And I'm not...cute, Y/N, I'm a grown fucking man."

"Your face is literally red right now."

Kaz used a gloved hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, clearly irritated beyond belief. He was so easy to rile sometimes, and it was simultaneously adorable and entertaining.

With his aversion to physical contact, flirting with Kaz wasn't always easy. The natural instinct to lean closer, to touch his arm or initiate an act of intimacy was out of the question.

You wanted to keep going - To tell him that on the rare occasion that he smiled, it was beautiful, and on the rarer occasion that he laughed, you were surprised all the women in a 10-mile radius didn't literally swoon. But you didn't want it to sound like you were just teasing, that this was all just to bother him.

However, as well as his feelings about touch, Kaz seemed to have an aversion to genuine emotion too. How were you ever gonna get through to him?

When he finally looked back up at you, cheeks still flushed, there was the ghost of a smile on his lips. "If you insist on being in here, the least you can do is help me talk through the plans of this heist."

You grinned, taking a seat on the edge of his desk, listening intently as he walked you through his idea. The flush in his face subsided, his demeanor relaxing, the conversation natural.

Still cute, though.

[justszanna112]

Where the crows would shop in the modern world

Kaz: He would buy suits, vests from high quality brands but not like brand names. He would not cheapen it down, because he's not the one to bargain (pls I forgot the quote in english, can someone comment it) about his clothing.

Inej: She would buy vintage from thrift stores, also Inej would defo be the activist against fast fashion brands, like shein or temu.

Nina: I feel like she doesn't tipically have a place where to buy clothes, she just buys whatever she likes. (I have a feeling that half of her wardrobe consists of things she bought of tiktok shop or small businesses)

Matthias: He is that type of person who inherits all his wardrobe, and he would be very stingy about his money, he would not spend it on himself, so maybe the other crows buy him like a winter coat that he's been looking at for the past weeks, but wouldn't buy it. He'd absolutely treat nina like a queen though, and spend his whole wallet on her, gladly.

Wylan: I feel like Wylan would thrift with Inej, and he'd wear knitted hoodies. I also love the headcanon of him learning how to make his own clothes, and knit some hoodies for the other crows too.

Jesper: He's the same as Nina, but he'd love anything silky or purple. He has a hat collection and he is the one to do a youtube channel where he would post videos of like accessorizing tips, or outfit ideas.

[19burstraat]

hmmm I know we can surmise that kaz & jordie were the iphigenia of the series, in that, whether it's fair or not, they had to be sacrificed for the benefit of everyone else. jordie had to die and kaz had to suffer it and live with it, because if kaz had lain down and died on the barge, it would have had a crazy knock-on effect. inej likely would never have escaped the menagerie, or matthias from hellgate, jesper would probably have fallen foul of debtors or gangs some way or another (he gets at least one beating from enforcers), nina would have been caught up w the dime lions trying to get matthias out of hellgate, and there's even some more tangential ones, like kuwei probably dying at the ice court and marya being stuck at saint hilde.... but I wonder what would have happened to wylan.

kaz had him under dregs protection, so he never suffered the way he did ("kaz is your luck, merchling."); no beatings, etc. without that... well, it's tempting to think that wylan would have just been killed some way or another. and yeah, maybe, but miggson and prior couldn't get him, could they? wylan has that scary glimmer of the biting-animal, kaz-style survivalist in him, and he had a goal; amass enough money to get the hell out of ketterdam and start anew. but how far would wylan have gone to get that money? van eck's letters pushed him into the arms of dregs munitions building. without the perpetual intervention of kaz-- protection, constant jobs even when there were better people for it, good pay-- how quickly would wylan have turned into someone more like kaz? he has a core of decency, but he gets the privilege of keeping that, because kaz helps him to. alone, would he have surrendered it, or been forced to surrender it, just for a chance to survive? I don't think he would have ever willingly given up. it's not an accident that kaz and wylan's first days in ketterdam are so closely paralleled, or that they have a set of similar skills/traits; it's explicitly said that wylan would also be able to count cards and control decks like kaz can, if he wanted to. and after he finds out about his mother, wylan's comforted by the idea of retribution for van eck, that kaz could destroy his father's life. they're a little bit too similar. but kaz is there to take the moral fall, for the most part; all wylan has to do is help him. but without kaz... well. that's another story, isn't it?

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Have I worked on any of my long form works in progress that I haven’t updated in a while? No, I wrote like 10 words today.

But you know what I have done? I’ve started working on a oneshot that I’ve been thinking about for like a year and is amongst the angstiest things I have ever written. In fact if we only take into account canon-compliant or post-canon fics then it is absolutely the angstiest thing I have ever written.

Helnik, canon compliant, post crooked kingdom.

(Yes, you read that right)

It will be coming eventually I honestly have no clue when but I’m excited so I thought I’d share this now anyway

[humanoiderror]

matthias helvar was not a nazi, he was a boy built like a weapon and left to die trying to be human

i am so unbelievably tired of people calling matthias a nazi or white supremacist (????) like they skimmed six of crows with one eye and a twitter filter and decided to cosplay moral literacy.

you want to understand drüskelle? look at vikings. look at central asian nomads. look at mongol military doctrine. not fucking gestapo. fjerdan language is literally scandinavian rooted, the culture is a cold, norse coded polytheistic pantheon, a divine warrior class, and sacred wolves, tribal theocracy. they literally do not give a single fuck about being superior and think that others are subhuman for being different. all they talk about is grisha are dangerous but not because they’re lesser but because they’re threat.

matthias was not raised on supremacy. he was raised on vengeance. his family got murdered, he was conscripted as a child. not brainwashed like it’s a class he could skip; groomed, militarized, stripped of softness, molded into a holy weapon by a state that demanded obedience and called it righteousness.

you think this is a redemption arc? it’s not. it’s a ghost story.

he doesn't know how to be a human. nina tells him -literally textually, not subtextually- he doesn’t know the difference between a good man and a good soldier. he gives her the same oath he gave fjerda. that’s not romance. that’s structural damage. this boy has no idea how to want something for himself without filtering it through violence, duty, or sacrifice.

he doesn’t even have a personality. not really. not until right before he dies

when he, jesper, and kuwei escape from the dime lions, and for the first time in his entire life, he thinks "i’ll find nina. we’ll change the world."

that’s the first moment he thinks like a person. not a soldier. not a legacy. a person.

and what does he do?

he tries to help a boy.

and he dies.

not because he “paid the price for his past.”

he dies because he was a half-built soul making a full-hearted decision with no idea how to survive it.

he still thinks like a twelve year old boy who accepted losing blood for trassel

“i won’t hurt you even if you hurt me.” // “you don’t want to hurt me. i was like you once.”

he still acts like “doing good” means dying for it. because that’s the only model he’s ever had.

this isn’t justice. it’s unfinished. it’s unfair. it’s textually written to be a scream cut short.

and you reduce that to “nazi boy dies lol”?

be fucking for real

matthias didn’t get a redemption arc, he was learning how to be a human and we were going to read his redemption if he didn't fucking die.

matthias helvar was not evil.

he was barely even alive before he met nina/crows

and he dies the moment he starts to imagine he could be more.

ps. also, no, he didn’t get shot by his "past self." matthias never would’ve shot a man who was unarmed and willing to cooperate. joran was 14 when he killed matthias. matthias was 12 when he risked losing his arm to save trassel. he didn’t even scream when his bone was about to break.

he was the same 12 year old boy who thought he could gain the trust of the aggressive opponent by being kind. that’s why he died. because he never got to grow up fully.

[system-to-the-madness]

Bet ya - Kaz Brekker x Reader

Pairing: (can be read as any gender, no pronouns used) Genre: fluff Word Count: 2 311 Warnings: alcohol, Reader kisses Wylan (oops, but no cheating), OCC Kaz, betting (not on money) Summary: Kaz makes a bet with you and doesn’t like the way it turns out for him Prompts: bet, game, constest

“You’d never win a bet against me.”

“Is that a bet?”

Kaz rolled his eyes at you, adjusting in the seat at the bar of the Crow Club. “Why are you so desperate to lose to me.”

“We don’t know if I’d lose,” you reminded him, tilting your head at him playfully.

“Why do I even bother,” he murmured, more to himself than you, but you still heard him over the noise of the guests, the music and the clinking of glasses and coins.

“Come on, Kaz,” you encouraged him, nudging the leg of his chair with your foot, knowing better than to touch him. “It’s a game!”

“A stupid game, and that’s Jesper’s specialty, not mine.”

“Indulge me, just this once. All the others played too!”

“What’s your current score, then?” Kaz wasn’t looking at you as he waved to the bartender for another glass of whiskey.

“Sooo… I won against Matthias,” you start counting, “lost to Nina and Inej, won against Wylan and the bet with Jesper is still ongoing. Currently it does look like he’s going to lose, though.”

With a sigh Kaz turned back to you, taking in your appearance. His blue eyes were cold as always, but you had learnt better than to be intimidated by them. Sure, he was a dangerous man, but in a relaxed situation like right now, considering how close you were, there was nothing you had to fear from him. For the time being.

“Fine,” he agreed eventually, rolling his eyes again as an excited grin spread over your face. “But first: who would you rather kiss, Wylan or Jesper?”

You, you wanted to say, but you were no idiot and certainly not drunk enough to answer that. Even if he wouldn’t mind you basically confessing your annoying little crush on him, even if he would want to kiss you too, he couldn’t. Not with the way he flinched at any form of physical contact or even the mental image of standing too close to someone.

Quickly you tore your thoughts back to his question. Really, you had no desire to kiss either of the young men, even more so because you knew they were going out. But you had the distinct feeling one of their names would annoy him more to hear than the other.

“I don’t want to kiss either of them,” you told him honestly.

“Assume you are being forced. Who would you choose?”

Worrying your lips between your teeth, you glanced over at the table in the corner, where the rest of the crows were laughing together. Matthias sat in the very back, Nina cuddled into his side, Inej in safe distance at his other side with Wylan and Jesper on the bench opposite them.

“Do I have to choose?”

“Yes,” Kaz’s answer came cooly and not without a hint of pleasure at your discomfort.

“Jesper,” you eventually decided, just in time looking back at Kaz to see his face fall. Jackpot.

“And who of the two are you more scared of?”

“Scared of?” You couldn’t help the laugh that slipped over your lips. “Why would I be scared of either of them?”

“Maybe you upset them? Broke Wylan’s favourite flute, or Jesper’s gun…”

The way Kaz was looking at you now reminded you of why people were so scared of him. There was something truly… demonic- in the way he was watching you now. You were his mark and his whole focus was on trying to find a way to bring you down. You just wished his whole focus would be on you even without trying to drive you into ruin.

“I mean, Jesper has his guns, but Wylan has his explosives,” you thought out loud. “So, I’m gonna go with Wylan on this.”

“Hm, not ideal,” Kaz told you, his eyes flickering from you over to the table with his friends. You had about an idea what he was going to bet you on, you just didn’t know who he would choose, Jesper or Wylan.

“Don’t stress yourself out,” you joked, trying to overplay your sudden nervousness. “You don’t have to come up with a masterplan for a simple game of betting.”

“Who would I be if I didn’t,” Kaz asked, turning back to you with a devilish grin that made a shiver run down your spine. Jup, Matthias’ nickname for Kaz was accurate indeed.

“Fine, hit me with all you’ve got,” you sighed, leaning a little closer than before as if conspiring with him. Instead of leaning away, as you had expected him to do, he leant closer, close enough for you to smell the whiskey on his breath.

“I bet you wouldn’t go over to Wylan and kiss him. On the mouth,” Kaz grinned diabolically.

Yeah, you had known he’d go for this as soon as he had asked the first question.

“That’s not a bet, that’s a dare,” you educated him, but got up from your chair anyway, Kaz’s eyes widening slightly. “What do I get if I win?”

“You won’t,” Kaz told you, his confident smile seeming frozen on his lips.

“Well, then what do you get if you win,” you asked, adjusting your shirt, turning to him expectedly.

“The pride of knowing you ruined your own bet,” Kaz decided.

“How chivalrous of you. I’ll take a coffee with winter spices from the café down the street as my prize, but the coffee with cream, the good one,” you told him, before turning away and walking over to the corner, where your friends were seated. All the way over you felt Kaz’s eyes on your back.

“Hey! Did you finally leave the resident rain cloud and decided to join the fun,” Jesper laughed as he spotted you approaching.

“Not quite. Hey Jes, remember our bet from before?”

Jesper nodded, his grin growing broader. “Am I winning?”

“You just might,” you told him. “But I’d have to kiss your boyfriend for that.”

Jesper stopped for a moment, as if he was thinking, then he looked up at where you were standing behind him, over to Kaz, to Wylan and back to Kaz.

“Oh, if it’s just for the bet, you’d have to ask Wylan, not me.” The grin was returning to Jesper’s face, and you had the sudden thought that he actually might be into you kissing Wylan. Oh saints, that man.

“I would ask him either way, you genius,” you sighed, “I just don’t want to get shot by you over a bet.”

“Fair enough,” Jesper agreed.

“So, Wylan, would you mind if I kissed you? No tongue or anything. It would help me win a bet against Kaz and possibly help Jesper win a bet against me.”

Wylan blinked for a few seconds, trying to process what you were asking, then his eyes skipped over to Jesper, who you saw nodding encouragingly from the corner of your eyes.

“I guess, it’s okay,” he nodded, making you smile.

“This shouldn’t be as hot as it is,” Jesper mumbled behind you.

“I’ll keep it short, I promise,” you told him, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning down to come to level with him. His dark eyes flickered over your face and from this close up you could almost count the freckles that were sprinkled over his nose and cheeks. He definitely was cute. Not your type, but cute. You could understand why Jesper was so in love with him.

You closed your eyes, and leant forward, determined to get this over with as quickly as possible. But your lips had barely touched against Wylan’s, hadn’t even yet registered his warmth, when suddenly the others on the table gasped. It wasn’t the kind of ‘oh, they’re actually kissing!’-gasp, it was more of a shocked, if not even scared gasp. Before you could even try to make sense of it, something hard and pointy landed on your shoulder and you got yanked backwards.

“That’s enough,” Kaz’s icy voice cut like a blade through the noise of the Crow Club.

And without giving you the chance to properly stand up or let you look at him, he used the crow beak of his cane to drag you backwards. Instead of trying to figure out the various levels of amusement and terror on your friends’ faces, you twisted, trying to turn around to Kaz, who marched straight out of the Crow Club. In the dark, cold street outside, he walked a few more meters before he came to a halt and unhooked the cane from your shoulder.

“What was that about,” he almost shouted, his frame seeming taller and more dangerous than usually. Finding yourself on the bad side of Dirtyhands was not very pleasant, you realized, but also you didn’t understand what his problem was.

“What do you mean,” you asked, “you bet I wouldn’t do it, and I did. You lost, so what?”

“You kissed him!”

“Hardly! You stopped me before it was even a proper kiss. With that crow cane of yours.” Annoyed you rubbed the aching part of your shoulder, where the tip of the beak had bored into your muscle.

“You weren’t supposed to kiss him,” Kaz argued.

“You bet I wouldn’t. You have to expect people to win a bet by doing the opposite of what you want them to do. That’s how bets work!”

“I didn’t think you’d really do it! I thought you’d- or- I don’t know! I didn’t think you’d go through with it!”

“Why not? I told you, it’s a game. What’s so bad about wanting to win it?”

“I thought- I thought you wouldn’t kiss him, because you liked m-” Kaz stopped himself before the last word fully slipped over his lips, and turned away, exasperated. Running a shaking hand through his hair, he sighed. “You weren’t supposed to kiss him.”

“Kaz,” carefully you stepped closer behind him. His breath was irregular, and he was clearly upset and emotional. Under normal circumstances you would have placed your hand on his back, but knowing Kaz, you refrained. “Kaz, you do know it was a game, right? It didn’t mean anything. And- I only kissed Wylan because I though you wouldn’t mind.”

“Wouldn’t mind?” Kaz turned back around to you. “Of course I mind! Do you think I don’t wish I could be the one who-”

“Quick question!” Without warning the window beside Kaz and you got thrown open and Jesper poked his head outside. “Kaz are you jealous? And does that mean I won our bet?” The second part was directed at you.

“Not now, Jes,” you told the Zemini man and slammed the window shut again.

“Listen Kaz,” you took a step closer to Kaz, still leaving a safe distance between him and you to not upset him further. “If I had known it would upset you this much, I would have rejected the bet. I really was convinced you didn’t care about if or who I kissed. But now I know better, and it won’t happen again. And for the record. When you asked, who I wanted to kiss between Jesper and Wylan, my initial response would have been someone else entirely.”

You exchanged a long look with Kaz, one that left no doubt that you had meant him, even if you lacked the courage to put it into words.

After a few moments, Kaz bowed his head slightly.

“Sorry for lashing out,” he mumbled.

“Since when does Dirtyhands do apologies,” you teased, making Kaz groan.

“Don’t ruin it,” he threatened, making you laugh.

“Alright, alright. But now that we have that settled, does this mean I won a bet against you?”

“One,” Kaz emphasized. “I won’t make it so easy next time.”

“Why, what’s the next bet? Kissing Nina?”

“You won’t be kissing anyone,” Kaz grumbled, a blush beginning to rise into his cheeks.

“Not anyone? Not even the great Kaz Brekker?” It was bold, that was for certain, but you had hit bullseyes it seemed, as Kaz fought back the red on his cheeks and instead turned to you with an expression that probably was his attempt to threaten you. The thing with Kaz Brekker was that he was incapable of believably threatening the people he cared about.

“I might make an exception for him,” he mumbled, before turning to the door. “Let’s go back inside; it’s cold.”

Trying not to let your giddy excitement show, you followed Kaz back into the bar, but before he entered the main room, he stopped and turned to you.

“What was that bet you had going on with Jesper,” he asked with furrowed brows. You couldn’t help but notice that his body language had changed. Where before he always stood straight and with a certain distance to every person he encountered, he now seemed to be leaning more towards you as if trying to close a distance you knew he couldn’t. Not yet anyway.

“He bet, you would get jealous over me before the end of the month,” you admitted, watching Kaz tilt his head. “I was convinced it was impossible.”

Kaz’s jaw tensed, and his eyes met yours with an unspoken confession, but the moment was interrupted by a drunk guy stumbling through the door, bumping into you and apologizing terribly.

Kaz and you exchanged glances, your more amused than his annoyed one, before you walked back inside, getting hit by a wall of noise and the smell of alcohol. The others waved you over cheerfully, and when Kaz and you pulled your own chairs over to join them at their table, nobody mentioned the way Kaz rested his arm on the backrest of your chair or how he leant over to whisper in your ear that he hadn’t forgotten about the prize for you winning the bet but only under the condition that he got to accompany you to the café.

[lilisouless]

Matthias: i am not sure if it was a good idea letting Kaz order out drinks before we got here

Wylan: come on,do you think he’d try to poison us?

Matthias: no, but there was something in his smile…

Bartender: here, five beers and capri sun for the kid like Mr Brekker said

Both Jesper and Nina laught

Nina: wait,why are you laughing?

Jesper: why are YOU laughing?

Nina: huh…The kid is you,obviously

Jesper: nuh uh, you are the childish one…

Nina: i am more mature than you!

Jesper: you always have been the team’s baby,

Nina: you take the capri sun!

Jesper: you know what, it’s probably meant for Matthias, who else would Kaz choose to piss off?

Matthias: but he hardly calls me “kid”, it’s obvious the kid who meant to be Wylan…

Wylan: 🤨

Wylan: go on…

Matthias: no, my survival instincts are telling me to stop right here…

Jesper: if you saw what I saw you wouldn’t call him a kid

Wylan: Jesper,there’s such thing as too much help

Nina: he can’t help it, he has to joke like the kid he is, and as such he is taking the capri sun!…

The four keep arguing ardently

Kaz : ah, it’s not irritating when they are not arguing with me

Inej: you are sick

“Just give to your Fjerdan! He is too much of a prude for alcohol anyway!”

“First, you take the “prude” back! second: we could ask the bartender who they think the kid is and I can bet all fingers point at your twi-…!”

“NINA IF YOU DARE TO EVEN PRONOUNCE THAT WORD, I SWEAR…!”

Kaz: not seeing you trying to stop them or me

Inej: I will the second someone starts trowing hands

Kaz: so, five minutes from now

[swanimagines]

Hi, Can I get E36 with Kaz Brekker, thanks!

Prompt: E36. I hate everyone but you (it was only the matter of time this would be requested with Kazzy hehe)

WAIT AND SEE

Ever since Kaz hired Maartje, the dancer from one of the clubs at West Stave to distract the guards during a heist, she had taken an interest towards him. Which was a really bad idea of course, but Maartje was known as a master seducer and would get any man she would possibly want, and the Bastard of the Barrel was a challenge she had apparently decided to conquer.

But, as her attempts grew bolder and bolder, Kaz was slowly losing his patience. He was pushing the girl away, refusing her kisses, overall very clearly showing he wasn’t interested, but the girl just kept pushing him. And eventually, Kaz had enough and finally scared the woman off somehow. None of you knew how, but the woman just ran through the Crow club as if he had seen the demon Matthias claimed Kaz was carrying with him.

“At least she won’t do that again,” you laughed as someone shut the door behind Maartje. “She just got a taste of being Kaz Brekker’s enemy.”

Jesper gulped his drink down and huffed. “What makes you think he didn’t hate her ever since he hired her?”

You frowned. “Why would he have hired her if he already hated her?”

“Kaz hates everyone,” Jesper mumbled with a smirk as if it was obvious. He lifted his eyes on you and shrugged. “Well, everyone but you.”

You couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “What? Me? Are you serious?”

Jesper raised his eyebrows at you, which made your laughter die down. “Saints, you are oblivious to this while you were smart enough to see the chemistry between me and Wylan long before we felt it ourselves.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re imagining things. He’s rude to me all the time. In case you forgot, just a few nights ago, he barked at me only because I didn’t walk fast enough in his opinion and told me I’m slowing everyone down. He didn’t care that I got injured while stumbling when we got off the ferry, and my ankle hurt.”

Jesper sighed. “He was worried that Stadwatch would see you. You would have been in danger if they had decided to target you as the weakest link of the group.”

Your eyes widened slightly. “Did… did he tell you that?”

Jesper laughed. “Of course not. But he looked behind you all the time. It was obvious he was looking for the signs of Stadwatch torches. And then he waved yours truly to come over and help you.” He smirked. “If it was me who had hurt my ankle, Kaz wouldn’t wait for me, he wouldn’t make sure I made it safely back to the Slat.”

You rolled your eyes. “That’s because he’d know you would be able to handle it even if your hands were tied behind your back and your both legs were broken.”

Jesper nodded at the bartender who handed him another drink and downed it again, before he shifted his eyes on you again. “And you would be in distress? From what I’ve seen you fight, you could also handle yourself just fine and deal with them before they’d even get a chance to call for backup.”

You frowned and tried to make up another reason why Jesper’s claim would crumble, but soon you had to admit it. He had a point, Kaz treated you a little differently from everyone else. But you still shrugged. “But he’s… Kaz. And I’m… me. He wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.”

“Well, he definitely has anyway,” Jesper chuckled. “Just wait and see. It’s going to get more and more obvious from here.”

Jesper stood, offering you another smirk and left you sit there alone. Your eyes immediately wandered up, and you found yourself wondering if you should go to the attic and confront Kaz about Jesper’s claims. But you quickly decided against it. Like Jesper said, if it was true, Kaz could get more obvious. Maybe you could go to Nina, ask her if his heart beats faster at the sight of you.

But you were scared to hear what she would answer. If she would say no, you would get disappointed because whatever you had convinced yourself, Jesper’s words made your hopes go up. But if she said yes, you wouldn’t know what to do. Show your interest back? He could reject you, pretend you’re just foolishly wishing for things that can never happen, break your heart anyway.

But still, the tickle was there, and you made a mental note to watch out for his behaviour around you in the future. 

Maybe it could even make you realise Jesper is right. And maybe, against all the odds, your silly dream would come true.

Requests are open! FANDOM LIST | PROMPT LIST(S) | RULES (READ!!!)

[calyxthenerd]

I HAD A GENIUS IDEA FOR AN AU! it goes like this: Jordie refuses Pekka Rollings’ offer, him and Kaz get sick anyway, Jordie dies, Kaz grieves normally without his need for revenge and he keeps his birthname, he still struggles with ptsd but eventually becomes a street magician

Than one day he wanders into the menagerie for some reason and he sees Inej doing tricks onstage and he’s like “that girl has potential!” So he pays off Tante Heleen with something that he probably stole (because it’s still Kaz) and recruits her into his show

Then in comes Jesper, looking to pay off his gambling debts, wicked gun skills (as shown when he was fighting off a bunch of guys who were demanding he pay them and Inej saw them when she was scoping out new talent for her boyfriend boss), so he joined their show too, and he demonstrates his shooting skills (and helps build/fix stuff with his grisha skills) and Wylan, who gets hired for his flute skills, and does special effects with it, and also kisses the sharpshooter on occasion

And then there’s Nina and Matthias, Nina was desperate for work when she docked into Ketterdam so she could get Matthias out of hellgate as soon as possible, and when Inej told him how good the hand to hand combat of the girl, who was also a Corporalki, and had showed up a few weeks ago were, he hired her right then, and since Kaz is nicer in this au, he agrees quicker and gets the contacts he acquired in the gang whose territory they perform on when he made a deal with them for a cut of the profits of their shows in exchange for protection to get Matthias out, so Nina is there as their main security during their performances and to make sure Inej’s muscles stay fresh and don’t strain too hard (Kaz was very worried about her), and Matthias is there as a meat shield in case people don’t take Nina seriously (and also to haul stuff around when needed)