#sad inejs was so short

[shit-people-probably-didnt-say]

Crows Name Meanings because why not?

🐦‍⬛ Kaz:

Meaning: Destroyer of peace; One who declares peace; Child of peace or harmony

Kaz is an incredibly dynamic name popular for boys and has Slavic origins.

Kaz comes from the name Cassius, which means “hollow”, and was famously worn by one of the conspirators against Julius Caesar. This may be why it has gained the meaning “destroyer of peace.”

However, Kaz has an endearing connotation, too! In Japanese, Kaz comes from Kazuko, which means “harmony” and “child of peace.” This powerful title will find a home in a soul who is unafraid of forging their own, unique path.

Baby Kaz will undoubtedly stay true to themselves as they journey through life, carrying a remarkable presence everywhere they go.

🌺 Inej:

Meaning: Faithful, The faithful one

Inej is a girl's name of Spanish origin.

Meaning "faithful" or "the faithful one", this name is for the parent intending to raise baby in a life of faith.

🎲 Jesper:

Meaning: King of the treasure; Treasurer

Jesper is a masculine name of Danish, Dutch, and Persian origin.

A variant of the Persian name Jasper, this name translates to “King of the treasure” or “treasurer.” Wealth comes in many forms, whether it’s gold, knowledge, or moments with your loved ones.

Of course, baby is going to be a priceless new addition to your family. If you want to always remind baby how invaluable they are, the name Jesper makes for a bountiful choice.

🎼 Wylan:

Meaning: Wayside land; Crafting one; Brave in battle

Wylan offers a dapper appellation steeped in cool kid vibes. A form of Waylan and Waylon, masculine Wylan is a topographical name meaning “wayside land.” Wylan’s origins don’t stop there, as the name also has Germanic and Old Norse roots, where it derives from Wayland.

Wylan adopts the meaning “crafting one” from Wayland the Smith, a mythological master blacksmith who escaped the king’s custody by flying away with a winged cloak he crafted. He is mentioned in several Germanic and Old Norse poems, including the Old English classics, Waldere and Beowulf.

Wayland may also mean “brave in battle,” equipping baby with a warrior-worthy title. Not only is Wylan effortlessly chill for the cool-as-a-cucumbers, this handsome title comes steeped in ancient lore and ingenuity.

🫀Nina:

Meaning: Little girl

Nina is a girl’s name with various possible   origins, arguably the most well-known being Spanish.

Aptly meaning “little girl,” this simple title never seems to go out of style.

Sharing her name with the Incan goddess of fire, Nina can be inspired to let her flame burn bright. Also connected to a Babylonian goddess, there is no shortage of heavenly influences for this little girl.

🐺 Matthias:

Meaning: Gift of God; Bear

Matthias is a refreshing twist to the ancient masculine name Mathew sure to give baby a distinctive edge.

Emerging from the Hebrew Matityahu, meaning "gift of God," Matthias bears this definition with all the swagger of a rock star.

As much as Matthias seems to push against tradition, its very sound directly links it with the Ancient Greek translation of Matityahu, Mattathias, which pre-dates even Mathew.

Touring overseas to Celtic shores, Matthias finds an intriguing kinship with the Irish mathúin, which means "bear." A relic with a rugged appeal, as names go.

Matthias serves up stage presence before baby has even taken their first steps.

Do with this what you will

[fantastic-nonsense]

I love your thoughtful SoC meta! I would love to know your thoughts on Kaz and Jesper’s relationship. Specifically, I adore Kaz but one thing in particular that always seemed so dark to me was that he enabled Jesper’s gambling addiction even though he obviously does care about him. Kaz is obviously willing to do a lot of fucked up things in service of his goals, but this one in particular, toward his own brother figure, I find sad. It’s kind of addressed during their fight at the end of CK but still feels a little unfinished.

I love Kaz and Jesper's relationship. There's sooooo much to dig into there (way too much for a single meta); it's super juicy and complicated, and one of the best complexities of it is that they often enable and feed off of each other's trauma. The pre-canon status quo is a situation where Kaz and Jesper are, in many ways, using and abusing each other as a way of avoiding dealing with their own trauma. It's a fascinating push-and-pull dynamic because neither of them are pushovers and yet neither one is particularly interested in facing their Issues™ head-on, and they both seemingly recognize that in each other and give each other an uncharacteristic amount of grace in helping the other avoid dealing with it.

In Kaz's case, that most often looks like enabling Jesper's gambling addiction and then repeatedly bailing him out of trouble under the justification of "he's loyal and competent, it would be wasteful to let the other gangs kill him." In Jesper's case, this looks like ignoring Kaz's countless and extremely obvious issues in favor of playing the loyal second. Basically, it's not just Kaz enabling Jesper's gambling addiction; it's also Jesper enabling Kaz's unhinged ruthlessness with little pushback other than a few snarky comments.

They also project a lot of their own issues onto each other! Kaz pushes Jesper away in part because he's projecting the grief and blame he feels over Jordie's death onto Jesper, but Jesper is using Kaz's ruthless pragmatism to escape the crippling disappointment of returning home to face his father's judgement for being a college drop-out, gambling addict, and gang member. And Kaz withholds praise and verbal declarations of trust from Jesper because he hates acknowledging that he cares about people, but Jesper uses Kaz's emotional detachment as a crutch to avoid dealing with his own commitment issues by pining after a boy he knows will never reciprocate his advances. This status quo is, of course, insanely unhealthy for both boys long-term, but where would we be if any of the Crows actually dealt with their issues in a healthy way?

That dynamic, imo, is also only possible because Kaz and Jesper have known each other for longer than anyone else in the main crew; Kaz may have let Inej in further, but he let Jesper in first. As far as we know, Jesper is the first person Kaz genuinely lets past his mile-high walls since Jordie died...but he very deliberately holds him at arms' length in a way that he does not with Inej (something that Jesper notices and is jealous about!). Being "the first" in this case unfortunately comes with a lot of baggage, and Kaz and Jesper would both lowkey rather die than talk about how much they care what the other thinks of them.

Kaz clearly didn't recruit Jesper looking for a friend or someone who reminded him of his dead older brother; he recruited him because he saw someone with a useful skillset who he preferred to be at his side rather than in a rival gang or dead in the canals. It's to Jesper's credit that he managed to break through those walls anyway, but there's only so much he can do in the face of Kaz's armor. And like Inej, Kaz's closed-off personality and actions hurt Jesper repeatedly. But he stays anyway, because he (like Inej) sees the boy underneath the mask that Kaz wears and cares a little too much to let him go:

“He wouldn’t—” Jesper stopped short, and then he laughed. “Of course he would.” Jesper flexed his knuckles, concentrated on the lines of his palms. “Kaz is…I don’t know, he’s like nobody else I’ve ever known. He surprises me.” “Yes. Like a hive of bees in your dresser drawer.” Jesper barked a laugh. “Just like that.” “So what are we doing here?” Jesper turned back to the sea, feeling his cheeks heat. “Hoping for honey, I guess. And praying not to get stung.” Inej bumped her shoulder against his. “Then at least we’re both the same kind of stupid.” “I don’t know what your excuse is, Wraith. I’m the one who can never walk away from a bad hand.” She looped her arm in his. “That makes you a rotten gambler, Jesper. But an excellent friend.” “You’re too good for him, you know.” “I know. So are you." -Ch. 17, Six of Crows

Kaz is unused to verbalizing the trust he places in others and actively in denial about how much he cares about them until Crooked Kingdom; he spends his time deliberately being cruel and pushing people away even as he proves over and over again that he doesn't actually want them to leave him. This casual assholery hits those closest to him (Inej and Jesper) the hardest because they are clearly trusted with his life but not with his heart, and that hurts them both.

For Inej, resolving that behavior looks like giving him an ultimatum ("I will have you without armor or I will not have you at all") and telling herself to walk away unless he meets her challenge. For Jesper? That looks like duking it out on top of the Geldrenner when they're both at rock bottom, because of course that's the only way either one of those boys is ever going to verbalize the tension that underlies their relationship. There's just a lot of baggage and mutual toxicity and unsaid words that neither of them are very interested in dealing with until everything comes to a head during the Clocktower fight.

I think we also forget that the Kaz-Jesper dynamic we see in the majority of the duology is not their normal dynamic: it's how they interact when Kaz is mad at Jesper. And a mad Kaz is, within the scope of canon, a pretty cruel Kaz, which is something that I think a good portion of the fandom likes to handwave away in favor of pointing towards Kaz's active attempts to be better in the back half of the duology.

Ultimately we only see the "normal" Kaz-Jesper dynamic for the first 12 or so chapters of Six of Crows (when the Dock Fight/Eyeball Incident happens) and the last few chapters of Crooked Kingdom. Those chapters are a really interesting look into what that relationship looks like when they're on good terms. It's clear that they're good friends, trust each other a hell of a lot, and joke around with each other quite a bit (the "saves ammo" joke in the parley chapter, their interactions during the Hellgate breakout, the "man with a knife!" "man with a gun!" exchange immediately after Kaz throws Oomen overboard, etc), but we also see the stress points: Jesper getting mad at Kaz for not telling him about Big Bolliger's betrayal, Kaz sending Wylan with Jesper during the prep chapters to keep an eye on him, and Jesper's bee and honey conversation with Inej on the Ferolind, for example.

These stress points are what fracture and crack in the aftermath of Jesper accidentally alerting the other gangs that they were headed out on the Ice Court Job and nearly causing Inej's death, and further buckle under the stress and pressure that Kaz and Jesper deal with during the following month and a half: the Ice Court job, Van Eck kidnapping Inej on Vellgeluk, Colm showing up in Ketterdam, and the Sugar Silo/Auction scheme.

In this way, I think Kaz enabling Jesper's gambling addiction is less about Kaz being actively cruel towards someone he sees the ghost of his brother in and punishing Jesper for the sins he percieves Jordie to have made (which is also true, and a meta for a different time!) and more about the weird balance of toxic mutual leniency Kaz and Jesper have allowed the other to provide for them for over two years...and how that leniency breaks down once it's not just Kaz's life or time on the line when Jesper fucks up.

Put more succinctly: for a long time, Kaz and Jesper existed in a toxic balance of enabling each others' worst impulses and behaviors, which was only able to be verbally addressed when they were both at rock bottom, desperate, and seemingly had very little left to lose. This conflict is somewhat addressed and resolved in the conversation where Kaz refuses to give Jesper the last of the parem and offers up a tiny bit of information about Jordie—showcasing his own growth and how he's finally trying to break the cycle by refusing to enable Jesper's self-destructive tendencies—but that level of tension is unable to be properly resolved in one single blowout argument. And I think it's deliberately left a bit unfinished because neither of them are really in a place where they're ready to address everything they've left unsaid for so long, even in the epilogue chapters.

However, we do see the beginnings of that reconcilitaion (Kaz asking Inej to tell Jesper that he's "missed around the Slat") and the story ends on a hopeful note regarding Kaz's commitment to removing his armor, which implies a lot about the resolution of that dangling thread. And of course, we know that by Rule of Wolves they're back to being thick as thieves and fucking around as usual, so clearly they hashed it out at some point in the in-between (and personally? I don't think it took either of them very long after the CK epilogue chapters to do that hashing out).

tl;dr: I love it when two traumatized and emotionally constipated teenage boys use each other to avoid facing their own personal problems and then get into a fistfight to avoid talking about how much they care about each other. Top-tier dynamic. Chef's kiss. I could talk about them for hours.

[bug-under-a-rug]

the crows as my notes app quotes (pt 2)

jesper: i can’t just wear my slut shorts and a tank top! i’ll get cold

kaz: i really love that guy and i wanna watch him suffer

wylan: i’m gonna grab my flute. (distantly) AWAY!!

jesper: why is there so much moisture?

wylan: because i’m sad

nina: orbs… you lost me man

wylan: diy music reading babyyy

mattias: it’s called being dirty minded and it’s usually frowned upon in mature society

inej: no you can not have my toes

jesper: ohhhhh that hurt. right in the cheese whiz

inej: i don’t like him anymore because he’s not attractive- I MEAN ATTRACTED TO WOMEN

wylan: my eyes are like, it’s time for a nap now bud

[lady-ashfade]

Just a pawn

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

Notes: kinda wanna make a part two..but maybe I just will leave it here.

Warning: Angst, heartbreak, no comfort, short, cursing, I wanna hug the reader.

This was exactly what you signed yourself up for, you tried to stop it. Telling yourself to bury the feeling deep down so you couldn’t get hurt, you hated feeling weak and this was exactly what you expected. You knew he would crush your heart, that you would wait for the end of time for him, just for him to feeling anything…

Anything other then anger.

“Don’t you walk away from me!” He shouted from behind you as your back was turned. You bit the inside of your cheek ready to cry and scream in anger. Spinning yourself you glare at him, his face dirty and sweat dripping and he looked as miserable as always. “Or what, Brekker?” You stepped closer, never letting your anger slip.

“Because we both know you can’t afford to let me go, who else would you have to throw in harms way? Inej, oh not your wraith. Jesper? Not him, your charming shooter. Nina, wylan, Matthias? Because for fuck sake he risk anyone he doesn’t care about!” You shouted as loud as you could, actually hoping everyone could hear you in ketterdam.

“Don’t you shout at me, this wasn’t my fault. We got the job done so stop yelling like this.” He groaned out. You laughed and put on a smile, “Oh thank the saints! We got the job done, so glad my almost death was worth it.” You cheered while putting your hands up.

Kaz looked at you with a glare and stood up straight not having the slightest bit of amusement from you. “For fuck sake, I had a plan. Yes you almost died but that happens on jobs like these. You came to me remember? You signed yourself up for this.”

You sighed yourself up for everything.

“No, I did not. If jesper wouldn’t have acted fast I would have fell from the building, nothing under me or could stop me from hitting the ground. I knew i could die on these jobs,” you went quieter and your eyes become heavy and flickering with tears, “what I didn’t know is that I would be used as a target to just toss around. Each time it’s always me who almost dies and you tell me to do it.”

He glare softens and his jaw unclenches it self. “I don’t toss you for you to die. You know that.” But did you? Did he ever give you a reason to believe that? “I actually don’t, kaz. I know nothing of what you feel or care about other then yourself.” The words cutting him like a knife. She wasn’t yelling or shouting but speaking to him in such a hurt tone.

“I know you know how I feel about you, kaz. I tried to hide it but it was just too hard, and I thought when you looked back at me- That you felt the same way I did.” You laughed and wiped the tears rolling down your face, “Funny huh? It was pathetic of me to believe that. Because you never could care for me like I want you to, you can’t even treat me like something other then a pawn.”

He couldn’t say anything, couldn’t do anything as she broke in front of him. She didn’t know that it was her he cared about the most and it scare him how deep his feelings went. He pushed her away each time to not let the feeling take over, always yelling at her or moving her around. And it killed him to know he could never pull her close and touch her skin.

“Nothing to say? Fine, I’ll talk for the both of us. I’m leaving and when I come back we will forget this ever happen. You wouldn’t speak to me other then on a job, no glances from across the room. Nothing but acquaintances.” Speaking clearly with her mind made up.

Kax watched her walk away to the door and all he wanted to do was go after her and make her stay with him, tell her just how much he cares for her. But she could never know, he could never give her what she deserves. He stepped closer and his body moving on its own, but he forced himself still. You turned around and looked at him half way out the door, a sad smile on your lips and glossy eyes.

“Goodbye, kaz.” And then he lost sight of you and his heart shattered. He knew this was your way of saying goodbye to the way it was between the two of you. It was never going to be the same, a goodbye to him as yourself. He huffed and turned around to clear his deck of everything on it in anger. He shouted and slammed his hands on the table knowing it could very well be goodbye forever.

“You never were a pawn.” He sighed to himself like he was talking to your ghost. Everything he wanted to say.

[aleksanderscult]

I don't understand how Leigh Bardugo could write something as bad as King of Scars and a trilogy as average and problematic in its messages as Grisha ?!

Knowing that she also wrote Six of Crows which was very good for me, limits most people to only knowing that about the Grishaverse (even if, if you take it in the context of the original trilogy, that makes the fate of the Grisha and of the Darkling even worse)... The Language of Thorns with some really cool stories, the Demon in The Wood (which makes you wonder even more why the Darkling is supposed to be the fucking bad guy in the original trilogy and die at the end ?!). Not forgetting recently The Ninth House which has 2 very good volumes and the beginning of The Familiar.

I have a hard time understanding how she can produce good things and such bad things.

I hear that not everyone is perfect, but for me the gap is still huge.

And the most paradoxical thing is that while she seems to gradually improve her way of writing, at no time does she acknowledge having made questionable choices in the writing of Grisha ?

Just see her attempt at moralizing backpedaling with the King of Scars duology...

TW!: Genocide

I don't think she knows or even cares about how genocide and prejudice in real life are not how she portrays them. And they definitely don't vanish by magical means. Clearly she put them in her story as a dramatic effect but she handled it with such unrealism and carelessness that makes you wonder what was the point of putting such issues in her book in the first place. She places such importance to the romance part (Mal × Alina, Kaz × Inej, Nina × Matthias) that the problems of her world take a third place in her books.

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom weren't such flawed because the heroes there did some personal jobs and didn't have a humanitarian goal. Kaz, in particular, has made it clear that he doesn't give a fuck about the world, only about his pocket. So they were some pretty straightforward books and well-written enough that you cannot see the issues.

But in the trilogy we have this huge war going on while the protagonist wails about her love interest, kills her enemy at his weakest (so no flex of her powers against him) and other people vanish the Fold for her.

In the duology Bardugo wanted to get back to her own readers:

- "People dislike Zoya. Hmm... Let's make her Suli with a very sad background. Also let's make her the most important character among the heroes just for these haters to shut up. Because if they don't, they'll be racists and misogynists"

- "People love the Darkling. Hmm.... Let's remind those readers of mine what he has done by having Zoya conjure up every delulu thought about him. Also let's have Mal, Alina, Zoya, Nikolai and freaking Misha make him shut up and look stupid"

- "Ah shit they love Aleksander too much. Ok how about this. I'm gonna make the Starless Cult out of them to prove how blind they look"

- "People didn't like the R&R ending. Hmm.... Let's bring Alina back and have her say how happy and peaceful she feels with her current state"

- "People hate Mal. Hmm... Let's have him be likable and funny while thwarting Aleksander's comments like a pro. It's not like he isn't a hot-tempered guy or smth"

(and about bringing the Darkling back, this was lazy writing. Instead of making the heroes face new foes from the north and south, she recycled villains)

By the way, when the TV adaptation of S&B came out she said that she wanted to fix the diversity. Can you imagine that? Not book!Alina as a character, not the trilogy's ending (not protesting on that cruel scene on the show where the Crows gleefully kill the Grisha that stood with the Darkling) but the diversity. Season two's ending was the showrunner's idea as well as Mal's change of personality, not Bardugo's.

Anyway, she should stay on writing short stories. I really love the Language of Thorns and Demon in the Wood so why ruin your fictional world further?

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Finally finished the outline of Daughter of the Rain and Snow and I know exactly how the ending is going down almost pretty much (details are blurry, but plot and character arcs are completely outlined and ready to write instead of just bullet points or vague ideas) so out of interest (won’t necessarily stick to it 100% but would still like to know) what would anyone like to see next if you would like to continue reading my stuff?

Explanations below cut

Sequel

I have every intention to write this one, I have characters but thus far not a main plot more of just the premise. Would follow Ahra, Evan, Yara, maybe Vix, and maybe Lilia as our young Dregs and start around when Kaz and Inej left for Ravka since the Dregs was kinda on the verge of collapse whoops. Can’t go into too much detail or they’ll be spoilers for the current fic but there’d be the opportunity for some Aimee and Kiada, and Kanej would still be present but they might not be in focus (again, can’t explain too much or they’ll be spoilers). There might even be some Fiona or some Maya stuff who knows

I really want to write this bc I really want to write Ahra’s story so it’ll probably end up coming around at some point but I realise it might not be the most interesting to y’all when it’s mostly ocs so yeah

Feliks had been more than lenient with Ahra. He’d been the only person who ever gave her a real job - playing her violin in the reception of the White Rose - and when things had predictably gone haywire he’d been good enough to only turn her away, not Evan too. Ahra hadn’t much cared for the job, she loved her violin but she did not enjoy watching the Rose’s clients come and go and she certainly hadn’t cared for having her skin paled and her hair Tailored white for such purposes, but it was easy money and enough to keep them ticking over as all of Evan’s funds petered away on overpriced little medicine bottles. She studied the thin stack of kruge in her hand, thinking of Kaz standing opposite her in the alley by the Slat.

“I don’t need your charity, Brekker,”

“And far be it from me to offer you any,”

Not charity, but she didn’t doubt Dirtyhands had his own purposes in paying her for a job she failed to finish. Still, cash was cash. And medicine was medicine. She tucked it back into her breast pocket and tapped it lightly, slipping round the corner and pulling a bone light from her jacket.

What Evan didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

Helnik

This was an idea I had a looooong time ago and I shared a little snippet scene on here, but then I started writing Daughter of the Rain and Snow and never looked back. I really want to write this one I think it could be pretty cool, it would be relatively short set in between Crooked Kingdom and King of Scars and take place in Ravka; based on a headcanon I have about Nina learning how to use her new power and as a result of it experiencing hallucinations of Matthias being with her that she is fully convinced are real. Following Nina, Zoya, and Genya as they try to navigate this and worry that they shouldn’t let Nina got to Fjerda in this state.

“What time is it?” she mumbled into the cushions.

“A little after seven bells,”

“Saints, how disgusting,”

Nina sighed, in a mixture of content and tiredness. The luxury of the Little Palace was a mostly welcome change from crawling in next to Matthias in the tomb at Black Veil - or even of the hotel room at the Geldrenner. They’d shared a sofa, so close to each other; limbs entangled, chest against her back so she could feel his heart beating. A steady rhythm, no matter what he was feeling. The big bed here was more comfortable, but the closeness felt like an aching absence, as though the few feet between them spanned for miles. She reached out behind her and found something soft that she decided was his arm.

“Come closer,” she whispered, and she imagined the way he’d smile.

He would press her fingers to his lips and she would roll over to face him. She’d reach out and touch his cheek, and he would catch her hands in his.

“Witch,”

“Barbarian,”

“Little Red Bird,” he would say, just before his lips met hers

The sunlight would be warm and soft on their skin as they moved closer, as she felt his heart beating beneath her fingers.

But he hadn’t moved. He hadn’t come closer, or kissed her fingers, or brushed his lips against hers. He had not gently pushed her hand down towards his wrist so their fingers could intertwine.

“Matthias?”

Nina made the mistake of rolling over, and began to scream.

Wesper

There’s a line in Crooked Kingdom where Jesper says if Van Eck really couldn’t cope with Wylan not being able to read he could have told people he was blind, the point being that still would’ve been wrong but that everything he’d resorted to was unnecessary and Wylan shouldn’t feel like it was his fault. So this would be an au where Van Eck did exactly that and Wesper attend Ketterdam university together; Wylan grapples with his father being the worst and falling for Jesper as he fears telling him the truth, Jesper grapples with addiction and wanting to stay at university partly for the sake of falling for Wylan.

Jesper leaned in, pushing one of Wylan’s curls back off his face.

“It’s pity you can’t see how beautiful your eyes are,”

Wylan blushed, letting Jesper run his hand over his cheek and tilt his face up towards his own. Jesper leaned forward but then Wylan squirmed, just slightly, and Jesper tensed as he pulled his hand away.

“And me, of course,” he added, letting his voice take on a teasing lilt to brush past the moment, “It’s a shame you don’t know how gorgeous I am,”

Wylan almost smiled, but he had stepped away.

“I- erm,” he brushed his fingers through the lock of hair Jesper had moved and cleared his throat, “Excuse me,”

And then he was gone.

[chocolatecake26]

SOC characters as Taylor Swift albums because I'm bored af :-

Kaz Brekker: Reputation, nobody's surprised, everybody and their grandma knew this was coming, I don't even have to explain this.

Inej Ghafa: Evermore, also pretty self explanatory, although I did have to decide between this and Folklore. Also cowboy like me is so kanej and long story short is so inej.

Wylan Van ek: Midnights, I first thought folklore but Midnight's tracks are so wylan like anti hero, you're on your own, kid and dear reader?? Yes sir.

Jesper Fahey: 1989, come on. The energy, the deep emotions hidden as loud, upbeat songs? Totally Jesper. And you are in love also reminds me alot of wesper.

Matthias Helvar: Folklore, it just gives me huge Matthias/helnik vibes, especially my tears ricochet and peace.

Nina Zenik: Red, the title is pretty self explanatory, but red tracks also give me Nina/helnik vibes, like all too well, sad beautiful tragic, run etc.

[lilisouless]

What your favorite Six of Crows ship says about you

inspired by this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns_7ax-i3DE&list=PLZKnRTyUP15ZC04zScew3pmDG8ZaKno_M&index=12 and the other serie s of videos 

Kanej: You crave a romance with the yearning of a period drama but also want to create unstoppable chaos while holding hands

Helnik: Your thing is enemies to lovers as long as it pays off with tons of fluff afterwards (also chapter 40 doesn’t exist)

Wesper: You like ships with the versatility of working in any possible au…And you may have anxiety and/or self steem issues

Hanina: You favorite aesthetic is either royalty core or cottage core

Matthias/Nina/Hanne: you just want Nina to be happy and fuck the fjerdans in all senses

Kuwei/Jesper : you just wanted good things for Kuwei (and really, who wouldn’t?)

Ninej: Your love language is physical touch, sharing sweets and slaying together

Kazper: You have a secret crush on someone in your life or you love buddy cop comedies

Kaz/Nina: You though the books were written by Sarah J Maas

Inej/Jesper: You believe in friends to lovers supremacy , but keep it to yourself to avoid toxic responses that you clearly don’t deserve

Matthias/Kaz : You don’t like enemies to lovers, you like enemies WHILE lovers (or you just wish Wesper went harder with their hostility phase)

Wylan/Kuwei: same as above , but more like a passive aggressive kind of hostility

Nina/Jesper: you have a crush on one or both and since you can’t have them you just make the most bi couple to ever bi

Jesper/Matthias: Probably shipped Bert and Ernie in your childhood before knowing what shipping was

Kaz/Wylan : Your thing is corruption and revenge stories, also hate the Dad!Kaz thing

Inej/ Matthias: You just don’t understand why short people with tall partners will beg to get lifted instead of climbing over them and obliterate them

Wylan/Matthias: You don’t actually ship them, you are just a Kazper shipper who doesn’t want Wylan to be sad

Alinej: Your thing is bodyguard au! (Also totally your choice but you should consider Alina x Tamar)

Zonej: There is a surprising lack of positive desi women representation on YA literature, so you said “alright i’ll do it myself”

Nina/ Nikolai : You are heterosexual 

Nikolai/Kaz: 🎼 two bastards are better than one, is twice the cringe 🎶

Kaz/Anika: You tried to get into Kaz x reader but you didn’t feel y/n had enough personality for your taste

Kaz/Imogen: You want to see more of this girl, you also dig lost love tragedies when the main characters doesn’t end up together

Kaz/Saskia: you don’t exist

Anya x Joost: you wouldn’t survive a single A song of ice and fire book

Aditi x Colm: You are a textbook hopeless romantic

Colm x Marya: you are so lost in the thought of second love chances, that you didn’t thought the implications of wesper becoming step brothers

Marya x Alys: you are so lost on the thought of destroying Jan Van Eck that you didn’t thought the implications that Alys is probably at least twenty years younger

Jan Van Eck x Death:I respect your opinions but i seriously don’t get it,death is clearly too good for him

Inej/Dunyasha: You love enemies to lovers in theory, but in practice you would rather they just stay on the enemies stage

Important: i had the link saved since this was on drafts and didn’t remember it gets you to a hp video themed since is the first one on the reproduction list, i recommend skip the video if you can’t stand anything related to jk rowling

[hotpinkmurex]

49 & 63!

Thanks for the ask @tinyarmedtrex

49. What character that isn't a Grisha do you think would embrace being a Grisha the easiest? Who do you think would have the hardest time?

Easiest time: I think Kaz would hone those skills and become a living legend.

Hardest time: Maybe Inej? She already has such complex feelings about being only used for her body/skills, things might get extra complicated when she has a new "commodity" people value her for. Also, she may realise the Saints were not so saintly.

63. Link your favorite fic(s)!

I had to make a short list recently for other reasons and these were my alternates.

"A Brief and Eventful Internship" by rainstormdragon"

Ridiculous, hilarious and smutty as anything.

Jan Van Eck is a corrupt politician. Wylan is his umbrella in any political storm. And Jesper is going to put him in an umbrella stand. "Yeah..." (It's a whole thing). The Crows are hackers. Or something.

"it isn't bad work" by demigodbeautiies (many trigger warnings)

So sad. So beautiful. With a dreamy, non-linear timeline.

Wylan's life is going down a more Inej-like trajectory. But he always has his mantra to get him through.

"The Kind That's Not Undone" by tinyarmedtrex

The Crows are heisting, Crooked Kingdom chapter 40 never happened, Jesper and Wylan are fake-dating. There is pining and action and original characters and an actual plot line.

[thecrxwclub]

assigning taylor swift songs to grishaverse characters + ships because i don’t want to do my actual work!! this is about to be long as hell!!

notes: i feel like some of these will be unpopular opinions but here we are + there are two instances where ppl have the same song (long story short and you’re on your own kid) but i just think it applies to both characters really well. and idk why basically all the crows are from midnights, it’s just a soc album i guess.

ALINA STARKOV

– long story short : evermore

"Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things. Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing…and I fell from the pedestal, right down the rabbit hole. Long story short, it was a bad time. Pushed from the precipice, climbed right back up the cliff. Long story short, I survived. Now I’m all about you, I’m all about you. Long story short, it was a bad time. Long story short, I survived.”

MAL ORETSEV

– this is me trying : folklore

“They told me all of my cages were mental. So I got wasted like all my potential. And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad. I have a lot of regrets about that…I just wanted you to know that this is me trying. At least I’m trying.”

NIKOLAI LANTSOV

– Mastermind : Midnights

"No one wanted to play with me as a little kid. So I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since. To make them love me and make it seem effortless. This is the first time I’ve felt the need to confess. And I swear I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian ‘cause I care.”

ZOYA NAZYALENSKY

– You’re On Your Own Kid : Midnights

“You’re on your own, kid. You always have been. From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this. I hosted parties and starved my body. Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss. The jokes weren’t funny, I took the money, my friends from home don’t know what to say. I looked around in a blood-soaked gown, and I saw something they can’t take away.”

KAZ BREKKER

– Dear Reader : Midnights

"Dear Reader, if it feels like a trap you’re already in one. Dear Reader, get out your map. Pick somewhere and just run. Dear Reader, burn all the files, desert all your past lives. And if you don’t recognize yourself that means you did it right. Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart…Dear Reader, the greatest of luxuries is your secrets. Dear Reader, when you aim at the devil make sure you don’t miss.”

INEJ GHAFA

– Karma : Midnights

“Karma is my boyfriend. Karma is a god, karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend. Karma’s a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not? Sweet like honey, karma is a cat, purring in my lap ‘cause it loves me. Flexing like a goddamn acrobat. Me and karma vibe like that.”

NINA ZENIK

– Bejeweled : Midnights

“Sapphire tears on my face, sadness became my whole sky…And you can try to change my mind. But you might have to wait in line. What’s a girl gonna do? A diamond’s gotta shine. Best believe I’m still bejeweled. When I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer…Diamonds in my eyes. I polish up real, I polish up real nice.”

JESPER FAHEY

– Anti-Hero : Midnights

"I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser. Midnights become my afternoons. When my depression works the graveyard shift all of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room…It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me. At tea time, everybody agrees. I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror. It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero.”

WYLAN VAN ECK

– You’re On Your Own Kid : Midnights

“Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned. Everything you lose is a step you take. So make the friendship bracelets, take a moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid. You’re on your own, kid. Yeah, you can face this. You’re on your own kid, you always have been.”

MATTHIAS HELVAR

– ivy : evermore

"How’s one to know? I’d live and die for moments that we stole. On begged and borrowed time…oh, goddamn. My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand taking mine, but it’s been promised to another. Oh, I can’t stop you putting roots in my dreamland. My house of stone, your ivy grows, and now I’m covered in you.”

GENYA SAFIN

– Clean : 1989

“Hung my head as I lost the war, and the sky turned black like a perfect storm. Rain came pouring down. When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe. And by morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean.”

DAVID KOSTYK

– Sweet Nothing : Midnights

"On the way home I wrote a poem. You say ‘what a mind’, this happens all the time. ‘Cause they said the end is coming. Everyone’s up to something. I find myself running home to your sweet nothings. Outside, they’re push and shoving. You’re in the kitchen humming. All that you ever wanted from me was nothing.”

THE DARKLING

I Did Something Bad : Reputation

"They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one. They got their pitchforks and proof, their receipts and reasons. They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one. So light me, go ahead and light me up. They say I did something bad. Then why’s it feel so good? They say I did something bad. But why’s it feel so good? Most fun I ever had, and I’d do it over and over and over again if I could. It just felt so good.”

TOLYA YUL-BATAAR

– epiphany : folklore

"Keep your helmet, keep your life, son. Just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle…With you I serve. With you, I fall down. Watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out. Only 20 minutes to sleep, but you dream of some epiphany. Just one single glimpse of relief, to make some sense of what you’ve seen.”

TAMAR KIR-BATAAR

– Only the Young : Featured in “Miss Americana”

“They aren’t gonna help us, too busy helping themselves. They aren’t gonna change this, we gotta do it ourselves. They think that it’s over, but it’s just begun. Only one thing can save us…Don’t say you’re too tired to fight, it’s just a matter of time. Up there’s the finish line. Only the young can run.”

HANNE BRUM

– long story short : evermore

“Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles ‘til the battle picked me. Misery. Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep. And you passed right by, I was in the alley, surrounded on all sides. The knife cuts both ways. If the shoe fits, walk in it ‘til your high heels break.”

–––––––––––––––––––––

KANEJ

– Renegade : How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?

“Are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these? And let all your damage damage me? And carry your baggage up my street and make me your future history? It’s time, you’ve come a long way. Open the blinds, let me see your face. You wouldn’t be the first renegade to need somebody. Is it insensitive for me to say ‘get your shit together so I can love you’?"

HELNIK

– Long Live : Speak Now

“Long, long live the walls we crashed through. All the kingdom lights shine, just for me and you. I was screaming, long live all the magic we made, and being on all the pretenders, I’m not afraid. Singing long live all the mountains we moved, I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. And long, long live that look on your face. And bring on all the pretenders. One day, we will be remembered.”

WESPER

– Paper Rings : Lover

“Kiss me once ‘cause you know I had a long night. Kiss me twice ‘cause it’s gonna be alright. Three times ‘cause I’ve waited my whole life. I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings. Darling, you’re the one I want, and I hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this.”

ZOYALAI

– The Great War : Midnights

"And we will never go back to that bloodshed, crimson clover. The worst was over. My hand was the one you reached for all throughout the Great War. Always remember we’re burned for better, I vowed I would always be yours. ‘Cause we survived the Great War.”

MALINA

– invisible string : folklore

“Time, curious time. Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs. Were there clues I didn’t see? And isn’t it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?”

DARKLINA

– Dear John : Speak Now

“You are an expert at sorry and keeping lines blurry. Never impressed by me acing your tests. All the girls that you’ve run dry have tired, lifeless eyes ‘cause you burned them out. But I took your matches before fire could catch me, so don’t look now.”

DANYA

— Last Kiss : Speak Now

“But now I'll go sit on the floor wearing your clothes. All that I know is I don’t know how to be something you miss. I never thought we’d have a last kiss. Never imagined we’d end like this. Your name, forever the name on my lips.”

TAMADIA

— Lover : Lover

“My heart’s been borrowed, and yours has been blue. All’s well that ends well to end up with you…Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close, forever and ever? And I, take me out, and take me home. You’re my, my, my, my lover.”

HANNINA

— Daylight : Lover

“I’ll tell you the truth, but never goodbye. I don’t want to look at anything else now that I saw you. And I don’t want to think of anything else now that I thought of you. I’ve been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night, but now I see daylight. I only see daylight.”

[desidarling123]

teaser for a never-before-seen show!bathroom fic (coming tmrw)

here's the opening for the show!bathroom fic i wrote and never finished bc fuck it, we r harnessing our sadness into finished writing:

There’s no preamble, no much-needed prelude to soften the blow when Kaz breaks the news to her. "It's been decided," he says simply. “You need to leave Ketterdam. Now.” The words slip out easily enough -- easier than he’d thought they would. And yet, when he finally meets her eyes again, Inej looks nothing short of aghast. “And what, leave you?” she says. “After everything that’s happened?” (So much -- too much -- and yet, once again, they’ve run out of time.) “Yes,” he says simply, because as much as he’d like to, he cannot humor her with the explanation she really deserves, not now. Not when it’s her life on the line, too. But oh -- he’d been foolish, oh-so foolish to think she’d obey his commands without questions. The Wraith was never one to go down without a fight. “No, Kaz,” she hisses out. “I won’t leave you. Not for this.”

[mery-cm99]

Vixen ~ Nikolai Lantsov (Chapter 1)

Masterlist

Description: Vixen is one of the Crows. Kaz saved her a long time ago. He’s the only one who knows the truth about Vixen. He’s the only one who knows her past, her secret. That’s until a certain privateer shows up in Ketterdam looking for a living Saint. 

Pairing: Nikolai Lantsov x fem!OC

Warnings: Mention of trauma, blood, war and sad stuff in general. English is not my first language, so sorry in advance for any grammar or spelling errors. The sign language used in this story is made up and does not correspond with any official one. The sport is based on the series, not the books.

Rating: Teens and up

Chapter 1/6

Word Count: 2,680 words

— — — — — — — — — — — 

Arriving at the port, Vixen remained half hidden behind some crates of merchandise and from that position she watched the ship that had just docked at the docks. She stood on her tiptoes, trying to see over the crates and the heads of the fishermen and merchants that filled the harbor. For once in her life, Vixen wished she looked more like her father than her mother in height. Her short stature was an advantage in many aspects of her life there in Ketterdam, but it was a disadvantage when she wanted to see what was going on inside the ship. Soon after Vixen saw the three occupants she was expecting exit the ship and had to resign herself to leaving without even getting a glimpse of the famous living sankta, the Sun Summoner. It was easy for her to hide in the crowd again and follow the three newcomers through the streets of Ketterdam, though it was clear to her where they were headed. Once in the Barrel, Ketterdam's neighborhood of criminals and prostitutes, Vixen came out to meet them in front of the entrance to the Crow Club.

“What’s happened to my club?“ asked the guy in the middle. Vixen noticed his elegant posture, even when he had to lean his weight on a cane. Her eyes unconsciously went to his gloved hands and she thought about the rumors that were going around Ketterdam about Kaz <<Dirty Hands>> Brekker. “I left you here to take care of my properties. Why is my Crow Club in Pekka Rollins hands?” Kaz insisted, his voice laden with menace. Vixen pulled her hands out of her cloak to answer him, but another voice beat her to it.

“Halt! All of you! Hands up!” shouted one of the officers from the standwatch as he and his men entered the street. Vixen’s back was to them, so they didn’t see her move her hands at Kaz, who nodded slightly. “Come on. Everybody get your hands up!” he repeated before informing that the four of them were charged with murder. 

Kaz was the first to raise his arms, his cane still in one of them. Jesper and Inej repeated him. Vixen was the last to do so, and only because one of the men slapped her with the barrel of his gun on her back to make her turn around. They were ordered to surrender their weapons, including Kaz's cane, but Inej had disappeared without them noticing. Vixen smiled, unable to contain herself. She may be stealthy, but the Wraith was capable of disappearing right in front of your eyes. Jasper handed over his shooters, the two loves of his life. Kaz offered his cane, which was taken from him in very bad manners. 

“Your weapons, Vixen. And this time I want them all," the guard declared, staring at her. The girl returned his gaze without moving, but in the end she pushed her cloak aside with her shoulders and took out the two daggers hanging from her hips. “Hand them. No sudden movements," the man ordered, holding out his hands. Vixen did so, though it was hard for her to open her hands to let go. Just as Jesper loved his pistols, Vixen had an unconditional love for her daggers. “The others too," he added when she made no attempt to pull out the rest of her weapons. The silent girl pulled out the knife she carried in her boot and the other one she kept in the inside pocket of her jacket. “Is that all of them?” Vixen scanned the street with her eyes once more and pulled out the small knife hidden in her right sleeve. The Standwatch chief felt satisfied with his haul of weapons, so he ordered his men to handcuff them and put them in the prisoner wagon. "Of to the Hellgate to await trial," he declared before closing the wagon door.

As soon as they got moving, Vixen squirm to push away the two men on either side of her who were crushing her. One of them put his hand on her knee, trying to grope her, but with one swift movement she dislocated his index finger and brushed it off. She was used to dealing with criminals and men who thought they had the right over her, so she had long ago learned to protect herself and stand up to guys like this one. 

They all went silent, all except the man to her left, who was whimpering in pain from his dislocated finger and Jesper, who was saying something about them being screwed. But Vixen wasn't able to hear him, her mind was churning like the sea in a storm. Hellgate. She didn't want to go back there. She couldn't go back there. Vixen looked up at Kaz, who was sitting in front of her, to see if his wonderful brain was preparing his escape plan, but he seemed as disturbed as she herself was. Vixen guessed for different reasons, considering he had nothing to do with Hellgate. Noticing this, Jesper began shouting for them to stop the car. To everyone's surprise, the driver complied.

When the door opened, one of the standwatch officers pointed to Jesper, Kaz and Vixen.

“You three, out.”

Vixen was the first to do so, but not before leaving a disguised elbow in the crotch of the man who had tried to touch her, and who let out another yelp of pain. 

As soon as she put her feet on the ground, two arms held hers, which were still in shackles. They were two other men from the standwatch, who must have been aware of the girl's history. Kaz and Jesper climbed down behind her and the three were escorted into a building the girl didn't recognize. She felt out of place, like a fish out of water, and she didn't like that. Vixen needed to know her surroundings, it was the reason she had survived so long. So she made sure to observe everything around them as they were led into a room, making a mental map of the building for when they escaped their captors.

Once in the room, they were seated in chairs and the man from the standwatch stood in front of them. 

“Someone paid good kruge to have some alone time with the three of you," he said with a smile. The girl was not surprised. Everyone had a price, you just needed to know what the amount was. It was one of the first lessons Kaz had taught her.

The doors in front of them opened and through them an older man with a gray mustache entered. Vixen recognized him without trouble. It was Dreesen, a merchant from Kerch. And the man who had hired them to bring him Alina Starkov, the Sun Summoner. 

The young woman let Kaz and Jesper handle the conversation while she studied the room for a way out of there. It was thanks to that scrutiny that she noticed the bodyguard. Dreesen had brought two men to protect him. The one on the right looked like a bodyguard. The right posture and ready to pounce if his boss was attacked. The one on the left, however, did not have the bearing of a guard. His back was too straight and his shoulders too square, as if he needed to stand out even without intending to. His eyes moved between the merchant and the three prisoners, as if he was very interested in the conversation. A bodyguard wasn't interested in such things. What gave him away were the cufflinks on his jacket. Too expensive for a guard's salary. 

Kaz must have noticed the same thing she did, because he cut Dreesen off mid-speech.

“It wasn't your money, Dreesen. You were brought here as a intermediary. Someone to hire the likes of us. But this operation wasn’t yours. It was his" he assumed, pointing to the bodyguard on the left. 

Dreesen was about to protest, but the stranger cut him off.

“Oh, yes. Totally convincing," he said wryly, approaching the merchant. “Thank you, Dreesen. But I'll take it from here " he added, looking at the three crows.

Vixen saw the new posture he was acquiring, even stiffer, more arrogant. He was just like the rest of men who entered the Barrel with a full wallet and false hopes. He had an undeniable beauty, which made him even more unbearable. Vixen was fed up with those bastards for the false freedom they thought they had, not bothering to protect their backs -or their pockets-, while she had to keep an eye always open for survival.

"Tell me. What give it away? "he asked amused. That pissed off Vixen even more, that he took the false identity as a joke. 

“You dress too well for a bodyguard," Kaz replied. The girl took a moment while the man took off his hat to sign at Kaz, still wearing the shackles. She hated those things. She needed her hands to communicate and to defend herself. "And you were hanging onto every word, as if it was your money on the table. My question is, who are you?"

"Oh, you don't know me?" he asked, and aside from the arrogance that permeated his voice, there was also surprise. Although Vixen didn't know if it was genuine or just another show, like the rest of his appearance. "Maybe in profile," he added, letting them see his face from the side. Vixen had to admit that he had a very nice profile, but that didn't take away from the fact that his arrogance made her feel repulsed by him. However, something about his arrogant posture rubbed her the wrong way. Vixen was a major asset in the Crows because she was good at identifying details. And there was something odd about the man's attitude. It was too perfect, as if it were rehearsed. "No? Very well. The name is Sturmhond," he introduced himself, leaning against the table casually.

"I’ve heard of you" Jesper said, which made the man smile.

"Yeah, I should hope so."

"He's a very rich pirate," the zelemi explained to the other two prisoners. 

"A privateer, actually" the man corrected him, as if he had had to clarify that one too many times. “It’s an important distinction”

Vixen looked at him again, weighing the information. The arrogant posture suited him for a pirate, and the cufflinks might belong to a very rich one. But his posture was too elegant and refined for a man who had lived his whole life at sea. As she studied him on that occasion, Sturmhond returned her gaze. His expression remained steady. Vixen guessed he would be good at gambling games with that impassive expression. But she needed him to give her the information she was looking for. She had to know who he really was.

Nikolai forgot about the other two men occupying the room for a moment as his attention was drawn to the girl to Kaz Brekker's left. She was so still and silent that he had almost forgotten she was there. He supposed that was what they meant when they said Vixen was like Brekker's shadow. He wondered what a thief would want with a Wraith and a Shadow at the same time, but he didn't ask out loud. He looked at her, her frown as she looked at him and the tension in her body. She looked...angry. But he didn't know why. It was the first time they had met, and he thought for sure she didn't know who he really was. He had made research on the Crows, but there was very little about her. Everyone talked about the lethal Wraith, but Sturmhond considered Vixen more mysterious. He knew that wasn't her real name, but no one knew what it was. She had appeared shortly after Kaz Brekker created the Crows and he had taken her in as one of his own. He had been told that Vixen was as loyal to Kaz as a dog to its owner. Rumor also had it that she could not speak.

"Are you the Wraith or the Shadow?" he asked with a small smile, just to find out if the angry expression was permanent or just being offered to him. He verified it was the latter when her brow furrowed even more. The first sound he heard coming from her was the clinking of her hadcuffs as she gestured with her hands staring at him. The privateer didn't know the meaning of her signs, but it must not have been a compliment, if he could take Jesper Fahley's smirk into account. 

"My question now is: What does a privateer want with the Summoner?" Kaz spoke again to get the blond to stop looking at Vixen. 

"You may not be aware, but half the world is looking for her. Or even just confirmation of her death. The reward has gone up. Twenty million to hand her over to Fjerda. Turns out they're not particularly pleased with Kirigan and the Sun Summoner's plan to weaponize the Fold."

Vixen wanted to hit the man upon hearing him speak so snidely about the Sun Summoner's death, but she restrained herself. She could not yet unveil that her hands were no longer tied. 

Jesper laughed and revealed the truth unconsciously by referring to the grisha by her first name. That served Sturmhond as proof that they had at least seen her in person. They had talked to her. Then he turned his attention to the other two crows, who remained silent.

"You escaped. I know you two are already out of those cuff" he asked with a smile, as if he was impressed, but not overly concerned. Kaz let the shackles fall to the ground. Vixen guessed there was no problem in showing that she had gotten rid of hers as well. "If we had more time, I would insist that you show me how."

He offered them money and to let them go if they would tell him where Alina was. Jesper was going to refuse, but Kaz told him straight out. Sturmhond left the money and their weapons on the table and exit with what he came for, but left a tense atmosphere in the room. As soon as the door closed, Kaz and Vixen were on the move. The Crows boss went over to get their things from the table while the girl headed for the windows to look for the escape route. The hallway was not an option because it would be occupied by the Standwatch. 

Jesper seemed disappointed that Kaz had sold Alina out. Vixen hated confrontations, so she opened the window and went outside while leaving them to sort it out alone. From the window sill she scanned the corridors on either side of the room and the rest of the windows to locate the standwatch. She peeked back into the room when she saw them running toward them. Vixen tapped on the glass just enough to get the attention of the two boys and motioned for them to come out. Just then, a bang sound on the door, which was blocked by a chair someone had used to block it. She guessed it had been Kaz because Jesper was still fighting with his handcuffs.

They went back to the Barrel and hid in the worst part of the neighbourhood, where the Standwatch didn't patrol.

"What are they accusing us of? Who have we killed?" Kaz asked as they walked. 

"Tante Helen," Inej answered, making Jesper jump in fright. He hadn't heard her coming. 

"We didn't do that, though? Wait. Did you do that?" the zelemi asked Inej. He seemed to be begging to be told he was right.

"It was Pekka Rollins, wasn’t it?" Kaz guessed.

"It was a trap for when you returned, for taking the Summoner's job from him" Vixen confirmed, running her fingertips along the texture of her daggers. Her voice sounded a little hoarse after not using it for so long.

[aoibhinnslater04]

SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 4: Nothing left to lose

Ok, so I know I'm late but I had exams, a severe hangover and work, so this took a bit and isn't my best work.

Don't hate me!! :)

Word count: 1408

Trigger warnings, kidnapping, grief, mind control

Inej leaned against Jesper with her eyes closed, her mind whirring. She knew they had to get out, knew Kaz wouldn’t accept the insult of a negotiation where he was at a disadvantage, and knew they had to escape. Now.

Kaz didn’t know of their abilities, he would do something stupid that would end up with them being in a hell of a lot more danger than they were in now, and would likely drag Wylan, Nina and Matthias into this mess too. 

Inej had been trying to come up with a plan for ages now, since she woke up, but she kept remembering the disturbing and violating feeling of Rhysand’s power over her. At least at the menagerie she had some semblance of control of her body, but this? This was a whole new level of being out of control. It was like he had stripped her naked. She didn’t know how much he had seen of her memories, but either way it was too much. No one knew as much as he did now, and that was just as disturbing a thought as the power that achieved it. Even Nina, her best friend, who had helped her through her worst moments, calmed her heart when she awoke from panicked nightmares and held her while she cried, didn’t know all her thoughts like he did now.

Jesper shifted slightly, and she looked up at him. She knew he likely felt just as violated, as well as betrayed. He had told her all about his new friend Cassian on their way to Vassa’s, and she felt a slight pang of sympathy. Her friend had such a good heart, and he didn’t deserve this. But she sat up, and tried to push every thought out of her head, and turn her mind towards escape. 

“We have to get out of here”, she said, her voice still shaking slightly. “Kaz doesn’t know what these people are capable of, so any kind of retaliation isn’t going to work. And they'll likely take it out on us, then.”

“Cassian won’t let them hurt us”, Jesper interjected.

“Jesper, Cassian is the one who told them how to find us and helped them take us! He’s not your friend. He’s not someone we can count on! Sitting here, we’re prey. We’ve been prey long enough.”

She softened slightly at the sadness in his eyes, and took his hand.

“Let’s get out of here so we can become the predators again.”

~~~~~

Jesper glanced back as the tortured scream echoed down the hall, and he grabbed Inej’s hand again to tug her along with him as he ran faster. Not that the Wraith was slow, but she didn’t have the long legs he did, and by the sounds of it, they needed to be out of here like an hour ago, and neither of them wanted to test the limits of Rhysand’s powers, especially when they were this close to freedom. And whatever had caused that scream, he knew they were running out of time.

Suddenly, he stopped short. He felt a tug in the corner of his mind, the smallest part of him that he had allowed himself to search for their weapons with his Durast abilities, pulling him towards a room down another hall. He pulled Inej, despite her furious, whispered protests before opening the door of a small office, one with the most beautiful view over a fast-moving river. He shook his head slightly to stop himself from getting distracted, and grabbed the two pistols and pouch of bullets from the desk. He pulled open a bag beside them to discover Inej’s collection of knives. He goes to pass them to her, but notices her staring at an obsidian hilted knife, protected by a dark scabbard with silver runes. “We can take that too”, he told her, grabbing it and turning back to the door, ready to rush out again, until he hears loud yells nearby. They weren’t going to make it. Their escape had been discovered.

He didn’t hear Inej move until her hand was grabbing his once more. This time, he could feel it shaking. Inej wasn’t one to show fear, so this scared him almost more than the threat of the angry mob coming towards them. But her voice was strong as she whispered, “the window. We’re directly over the river, we can both swim, and we’re desperate. If he gets his clutches in our minds again, we’ll never be able to leave.”

He looked at her, and saw the determined look in her dark eyes. So he squeezed her hand. And pulled the trigger. And glass showered all over them.

~~~~~

Cassian heard glass shatter down one of the many halls and ran down to Azriel’s office, where the prisoner’s weapons were currently being stored. He pulled open the door just quickly enough to see Inej leap gracefully from the windowsill, and to see Jesper make a vulgar gesture towards him before following the Wraith. He ran to the window, and saw them being pulled with the tide in a direction he knew led to the Harbour. Oh shit. Rhys had just lost his leverage.

~

The Inner Circle were all sitting in their living room, a stunned silence hanging over them all. Even Feyre had stopped sobbing, only the occasional tear trickling down her pale face. They had gone so quickly from being in control to being left with less than before, with Nyx missing as well as the prisoners. Rhys stood up, his face going from the picture of devastation to uncontrolled rage, and Cassian almost shivered, like the room had changed temperature. 

“The Dregs have no idea who they’re messing with. They thought we were dangerous before? They haven’t seen anything”, he snarled, the promise of violent death clear in his voice. “We have nothing left to lose. Game on.”

The pained silence that followed their nodding was only broken by Azriel’s gloomy tone.”I still can’t believe they took Truth-Teller.”

~~~~~

Nina ran to the deck of the boat she was travelling on when she heard the cries of “man overboard!” She had been travelling with this crew for weeks now, between her journey to Ravka, her quest for Zoya and the journey back, and while she would never exchange her life with the Crows for a life at sea, she had grown fond of them, so she wanted to help however she could. However, when she reached the surface, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the new level of light, she saw Jesper and Inej in front of her, shivering and pale. She blinked again as though the light was deceiving her, showing her who she wanted to see when they landed, but no, Inej and Jesper were really there. 

Nina squealed and ran towards them, throwing her arms around them and nearly knocking them to the floor. She thought maybe Jesper was dripping sea water onto her face as she felt coldness fall down her rosy cheeks, but realised she was crying as they gripped her tightly back, as if they were scared to let go. She had been so worried when Kaz had told her they were missing, presumably captured by this mysterious Rhysand, and she had convinced the crew to stop at a dodgy island marketplace on their way back to Ketterdam to pick up supplies for Wylan. But here they were, whole and safe in front of her. 

She released them, but kept gripping Inej’s hand tightly, as though the Wraith would float away on the breeze, and she turned to Jesper, saying “I have some spare towels in my room. Follow me.”

Nina kept glancing worriedly back at the pair behind her, looking so pale and scared. When they got to her cabin, she threw them a towel each, before collapsing on her bed and saying “spill”. Her face fell more and more with each word they spoke, pressing tightly against one another as if they were the only thing they could be sure of. Which, Nina supposed, was probably pretty accurate based on what she had just heard. She had never heard of any Grisha having the powers Rhysand was supposed to have, unless they were on jurda parem, although it didn’t sound like that was the case. And now they were after the Crows? Oh no, this wasn’t going to end well at all….

[swift-creates]

That’s The Laugh

a/n: this is my fic for @grishaversebigbang Reverse Mini Bang 2022! This was super fun to write and I hope those who read it enjoy ♥️

see @cassecorrea’s amazing art here

read @aceinejghafa’s wonderful fic here

read on Ao3 or under the cut

Jesper watched Kaz pace the length of the Slat and concluded that his best friend was really, irrevocably in love with his other best friend. 

“Calm down, Kaz,” Wylan tried, but as the past five thousand times they’d tried to get him to stop pacing, Kaz paid no mind. 

“Just like Kaz, to be so contrary.” Nina rolled her eyes. “Bet if we told him to keep pacing, he’d stop, right then and there.” Kaz said nothing, only shot Nina a glare before continuing past the billiards table.

Jesper had a suspicion, a hypothesis, if you would, as to why Kaz was being so moody- Well, moodier than he usually was, anyway. In Inej’s last letter to Jesper, she’d referred to a fight, or at least a chilly ending to a conversation, that she’d had with Kaz before sailing off for Ravka’s Southern Colonies. The sharpshooter suspected that was why the Crows’ favourite bastard wasn’t in the best of moods.

As Jesper wondered if he should try to say something, and if so, if he should mention Inej or not, Kaz suddenly deviated from his regular pacing path and started to limp up the stairs. The other Crows watched him go, and then Matthias broke the silence by asking, “Waffles, anyone?”, at which Nina kissed him very firmly on the lips.

----------------------------------------

“Kaz?” Jesper poked his head into Kaz’s old office. The thin curtains had been drawn over every dingy window but the one at which he sat, staring out over Ketterdam, fingers trailing over the ledge. “Kaz?” Jesper said again, more tentatively this time. 

“Would Wylan hate you if you said his occupation was a waste of time right before he left Ketterdam?” Kaz asked suddenly without turning. 

The question took Jesper by surprise, and he blinked twice before it clicked that he was alluding to his situation with Inej. “Oh. Well, Wylan doesn’t really have an occupation now.”

“Right.” Jesper thought he saw Kaz frown, but it was hard to tell just by his silhouette against the cloudy Ketterdam sky. They fell into silence again before Kaz finally asked, “What are you doing up here, Jesper?”

“Oh, you know. The others are having a waffle party. Didn’t feel hungry, so Nina kicked me out and proclaimed herself queen of the waffle kingdom.” Jesper shrugged nonchalantly.

“Really, Jesper.”

Jesper bit his lip and winced. “I came to see if you were okay? If you needed relationship advice? If you wanted me to write Inej and just tell her, ‘Hey, don’t be mad at Kaz anymore because he’s sitting at his window all sad and moody thinking about your fight’?” “Came to ask you if you wanted a waffle.”

Kaz did turn then, and gave him an appraising look, arching one eyebrow at him with a short “No.”

“Okay. Good talk, then.” Jesper started to walk out, but then promptly turned on his heel and came back. “Nope, that wasn’t what I wanted to ask you.” 

“Then what was it?” Now Kaz was starting to sound a little annoyed.

“Just… Inej wrote me the other day.” He drew the crumpled letter out of his pocket and waved it around a little. “And she kinda mentioned something about, um…”

“About. What, Jesper.”

“That you guys might’ve, maybe, had a teensy, weensy bitty bit of… conflict, is all.” Jesper braced for wrath, maybe threats, probably yelling and the end of a years-long friendship, but all Kaz said was, “Oh. Okay.”

‘Okay’? “‘Okay’?” 

“Okay.”

Huh. “You’re not mad?” He stared at Kaz for a few moments in utter surprise.

“Why would I be? Inej chose to tell you. She thought you should know, so if anyone, I should be mad at her. And I’m not. We both trust her judgement more than that.” Kaz watched a small flock of birds cross the roof of a nearby house, settling on the window ledges of the building next door, and it brought Jesper no small amount of relief to hear that.

“Oh. Okay. Good, then.” He blew out a breath through his mouth before tentatively continuing on. “You sure you’re okay?”

There was a silent pause, then Kaz tore his gaze away from the birds — crows, Jesper realised — and sighed, suddenly looking exhausted and sad. “Maybe.” The moment was gone just as soon as it’d come, and he turned away again. Jesper waited a beat more, then another, then slowly backed away and exited when he realised Kaz wasn’t going to say anything more. 

The part he’d neglected to mention to the Barrel boss, his best friend, was that he was holding onto the hope that Inej would straighten all this up when she docked back in Ketterdam’s twenty-second berth the very next day.

----------------------------------------

Matthias frowned at the Dreg messenger, then nodded, stood, and as the girl left, walked into the adjacent sitting room and said, “Inej is back.”

Kaz’s head snapped up, and he grabbed his cane and left the room just as fast as Matthias had entered. Under Nina’s inquisitive gaze, Jesper grinned sheepishly as the Slat door slammed behind their gang leader. “I forgot to tell him.” That was a lie, and the Fjerdan shared a glance with his partner to see she was thinking the same. 

“You better hope to all the Saints he doesn’t find out, Jes.” Nina pointed the end of a pastry at her friend. 

Matthias agreed. That conversation would likely go very, very badly.

----------------------------------------

“Inej!” Kaz strode quickly down the quay, and the dock workers and sailors scrambled to duck out of his way — the Wraith may have his support and his heart, but he was still a Barrel boss, and one of the most ruthless in Ketterdam. 

When Inej looked up and saw him, her first instinct was to smile and take his gloved hand in hers, but then she remembered.

“Kaz.” His expression remained carefully blank, but she could tell her cold tone had thrown him off a little. Now she was the one with the armour and walls built up, keeping him at a distance.

He had no reply, and they stood there for a moment before he turned and started back up the quay. She fell in by his side as always, but said nothing. The silence lasted as they walked up towards Tuinpark, one of the only green spaces in the whole country, and Inej decided she’d rather focus her gaze at a patch of purple flowers struggling through the snow than talk to him. In the end, it was Kaz who spoke up first.

“We missed you. The Crows. You’re our best spider, you know.” He avoided her gaze as he said it, staring at a puffy cloud drifting over their heads. 

“Say it as you mean to, Kaz.” It came out harsher than she’d intended it, and she bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything else more hurtful. 

He paused, then met her gaze, thoughtful. Then he straightened and said, “I missed you”, and suddenly she found it that much harder to stay mad at him. They kept walking down the narrow path, stopping to let one of the new Dreg messengers pass by them at one point. They silently watched the young Zemeni disappear before Kaz spoke to her again. “Inej.”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t mean it. That day. When you left. And when I said ‘hunting slavers is a waste of time’.” He was looking at a plant with startlingly vibrant green leaves, so if he hadn’t called her name, or if she hadn’t been paying attention, she might have thought he was talking to the plant. Inej figured that was as close to a hug and apology as she was going to get, so she opened her mouth to accept it, but he cut her off before she could. “I was wrong to say it, and I’m… sorry.”

Now wasn’t that something. 

She looked up, met his gaze. “Then this action will have no echo?”

He paused for a moment, then nodded. They continued along the path with a new, soft feeling of peace, and Inej let her gloved knuckles brush his every few steps before she worked up the will to take his hand fully into hers. His grasp was surprisingly warm, and she felt his hand tremor slightly, but then he twined his fingers with hers, and they walked through the snow together, the handheld promise unbroken.

“How are the Crows?” she asked as they left the park and a light snow started to fall. 

“Managing. Jesper is somehow making profits with the Van Eck fortune, and for some reason, Wylan is letting him. Matthias is a snow-covered mountain of gloom. And Nina is, well, Nina. She proclaimed herself the queen of the waffle kingdom just yesterday.” Inej couldn’t help but throw her head back and laugh — Nina was and always would be indescribably, unapologetically and incomparably herself — and a soft smile pulled at the edges of Kaz’s mouth when she wasn’t looking. 

“That’s the laugh.” 

They stopped to buy roasted serdtsenuts from a vendor, and the snowflakes drifted down and down, coming to rest on her head and shoulders, nestling in her hair. He reached out, as if to take a nut, but then reached past the bag of food and tenderly brushed snow out of her ebony locks. She put a hand on his, so close to her face, and all of a sudden it was just that much harder to breathe. And all she could think of was how much she wanted to kiss him.

Then he abruptly pulled away, turned to walk quickly off, and the moment was gone. 

A million things ran through her head. Did she do something wrong? Maybe he wasn’t ready yet. Could she have set him off somehow… She tried her best to push them away as she fell in by his side, but they continued to nag at her anyway. They were almost back to the Slat by the time she managed to gather up enough courage to ask him about it.

“Kaz,” she said. 

“Yes, treasure of my heart?” he replied, and once those words would have been laced with caustic sarcasm, but now they fell pure and sweet as spun sugar upon her ears, and she felt her face warm, thanking the Saints for a dark complexion to hide blushes well. 

She took a moment to reel her wayward romantic feelings back in and calm her heart before she asked, “Do you think… Do you think we’ll ever be like everyone else?”

He tilted his head to the side just the slightest bit. “What do you mean, ‘like everyone else’?”

Inej looked helplessly at the tourists and citizens flooding the square in front of Tuinpark, couples holding hands and giggling, rosy-cheeked children following along behind their parents and siblings. “Could we ever have a family like that?” She looked wistfully at two adults and the wide-eyed little girl who was gazing at a frosted cake through a bakery shop window. 

Kaz followed her gaze to the young family, was silent for a long moment, and then cracked the barest of smiles. “Now, why would we want to be like everyone else?” She sighed, turning back to him, but he didn’t give her a chance to argue. “You are magic, Inej. You don’t need their life when you have yours. Maybe… Maybe we’ll have that. In time. But you are anything and everything I need, and the Saints will give you what you want, and what you so deserve. In time, darling.” He brushed one gloved finger against her snow-damp cheek before turning and continuing down the lane again. He tended to do that a lot. 

Inej felt as if the twinkling lights of the bakery warmed her from the inside, encompassing her heart in its soft yellow glow. She was preparing to catch up to him when she heard a chuckle from behind her, and turned to see an old woman standing in the bakery’s doorway. “Lucky girl, you, to have a boy like that,” the woman said with a smile.

Inej laughed. Most would have said she was ill-fated, to end up with the tyrant of Ketterdam, the bastard of the Barrel, but Inej knew the truth.

“You have no idea,” she replied, and ran after the treasure of her heart.

[cristalbeesnow]

apparently on next week's tudum there is no mention of the spin of, exactly as I feared. so goodbye. oh well, too bad, they cancel everything anyway. let's say that there is an ending. i saw kaz as a kid that was the flashback i was most interested in and matthias will never die breaking my heart. unfortunately, however, I will never see inej's past (I will always keep my doubts about her brother) nor wylan's, nor will I see kuwei or jan nor the sad part of wylan's mother. like i will never see zoya and nikolai together. Such a pity! I liked the Netflix series a lot even if I would have preferred a slower pace to manage the story, in short, more seasons but I appreciate that they put everything in the second view of the cancellation. at least I have almost everything. here at this point, even if I will always miss this legendary cast, I am open to the possibility that someone else will make one film or TV series out of six of crows (the work I like best from the author, without taking anything away from alina of course!) perhaps more faithful and more in-depth than the source material, I'm also curious about a new cast even if my heart cries. then, I would be willing to see something of alina too, but this time not with the crows and not before them. perhaps the other platform or film house will carry the project through to the end if more faithful, also satisfying the slice of fans who didn't like the Netflix series. We will see. I hope they do something because I want to see these characters again even if necessarily with another cast. in any case, no one will take away my memories or the possibility of seeing the series again, provided I stop before the coronation and thus enjoy a sort of ending. what a shame though that this much loved cast is never working on this project again! another wrong choice in bitter times. I was hoping that the popularity of the cast would save the series but instead...

[lunatheseus]

Movie/TV show ships that I'm thankful for and why

Beast Boy x Raven / Garfield x Rachael: Honestly, Teen Titans Go didn't do it for me when it came to this ship because it was almost too silly and cringe, but the live action (I know, I know, the actors have a HUGE age gap, but when talking about the CHARACTERS) really helped me visualize. It's not just about their romantic chemistry at this point (there's plenty of time for that later), but they already had a connection from the start, and that's incredibly important. They already care so much about each other that setting up their romance might be a little underwhelming tbh. They've already established that Gar has feelings/cares immensely for Rachael, and vice versa. They're also seen cuddling on a couch together, so it's not too far-fetched, you know?

Tina Goldstein x Newt Scamander: Honestly, this is already confirmed endgame. In the Harry Potter movies, it is already written in print that these two are endgame, so watching Fantastic Beasts (that occurs before Harry Potter) is incredibly comforting. These two are honestly my comfort couple, and sometimes I wish I could have what they did. My only ick is that Tina isn't around for the entire third movie? which is a little strange. I miss their quiet interactions and such. I also hate how she became so jealous of Leta so quickly without even checking with Newt... like what? Why? He's so in love with you, can't you tell? (Kudos to Eddie Redmayne for really selling the character) ... Anyway, I could go on. I'm just glad that when it comes to Fantastic Beasts, I don't have to focus so much on the rockiness of everyone's love lives and really focus on the real plot of the movie.

Wylan Van Eck x Jesper Fahey: OML do I really have to explain? Ok first off, MAJOR kudos to the actors (good job Kit and Jack) for having INSANE chemistry onscreen. The secretly insecure on the inside but confident on the outside Jesper Fahey falls in love with the shy but extremely intelligent Wylan Van Ek?? Yes please! These two are also SUCH a comfort couple of mine and I could not stop squealing on the inside when I watched their scenes in Shadow and Bone. They-UGH I can't its so good.

Nina Zenik and Matthias Helvar: I know, I know, in the books it doesn't exactly end well, but I love the Sunshine x Grumpy + Enemies-to-Lovers trope that these two absolutely embody. They teach each other so much and I really really hope Matthias doesn't get kicked off in future seasons.

Kaz Brekker x Inej Ghafa: Ok sooooo they're a little problematic, but that's the point. Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that Inej says that she'll have him without his gloves, or not at all. I love that her character decides that it's not her job to "fix" Kaz. That's a really overused plotline, where one person fixes the person they love and helps them out of their trauma. Inej understands that Kaz needs to come to terms with his own fears and feelings by himself. I also love that Kaz keeps Inej around just to be in her presence, while she comes back from her adventures to visit to be in his.

May I also add that the entire cast of Shadow and Bone are an absolute VIBE! I love the chemistry they have with each other both on and off screen. I am absolutely in LOVE!

The Eleventh Doctor x Clara: This'll be short but I love how they challenge each other and enjoy each other's company at the same time. I was really sad when he changed faces and didn't end up with Clara. They (the actors I guess too) had insane chemistry and banter, which I personally am a sucker for, and I wish that they had more screen time together.

Daphne Bridgerton x Simon Basset: Again with the banter + friends-to-lovers + Simon's speech to the Queen!!! I wish talked more, you know, incorporate the open communication so that all of the misunderstandings would have never happened.