#why is kuwei different

[gods-upturning-inkpots]

Interaction I had on Pinterest

Post: I will not tolerate kuwei appreciation

Me: kuwei was a child who watched his father die, imprisoned, while not knowing how long his captors would keep him alive. Not once. But TWICE!

Op: doesn't give him the right to kiss jesper.

Miss girl...all the main characters have committed manslaughter wtf are you on about?? 🤨🤨🤨🤨

[alcrox]

Minor detail in six of crows i liked is that both kaz and wylan have a similar thirst for knowledge although they are generally in different fields. And it is shown by two moments. First is a conversation between wylan and jesper where wylan says he is curious about how the moat in the ice court is sustained so high up. Where does the water come from? He wants to know. Jesper makes it clear that he isn't really interested in the whys that much. And the second comes much later one where we see that kaz was wondering the same thing AND he had a theory that the sacred ash actually hid a spring which is the thing that gets him, nina, matthias and kuwei out of the ice court and ends up being the key to their escape.

Kaz and Wylan actually have a really similar curiosity and ingenuity

[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.

[r-u-living]

Six of Crows as things me and my friends have said:

Kaz: Money and love. What's the difference? Money has value.

Inej: I'm sneaky. I'm a sneaky sneaky girl. That's why I stole your bone.

Wylan: boom boom. That should be a song. Boom boom man boom boom man.

Nina: HELP I BULLIED A CHILD AND IM FACING THE CONSEQUENCES

Mattias: What are you on about?? Therian?? Gay?? Huh?? Love??? What's that???!!!

Jesper: guns, gambling, and Death. That makes a good Friday evening.

Bonus Kuwei: I'm so anxious and gay. I tripped over my own feet and broke my nose cause I saw a cute guy.

[jujus-bizarre-blog]

SOC and CK allegories for the queer characters (and other thoughts)

I was going to make a separate blog to yell about books but I decided to do it here.

I AM NOT DONE CROOKED KINGDOM AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS SO EVERYTHING I SAY IS HAVING ONLY READ HALF THE BOOK SO FAR.

The Grishaverse doesn't seem to have any form of homophobia, but SOC and CK are chalk fulllllllll of what I can only see as plots that mimic queer experiences for the queer characters in the main group.

We have four queer characters (that I know of at the moment): Jesper, Wylan, Nina, Kuwei.

So let's start with the obvious, three of the four are Grisha. Obviously not all Grisha are queer, but all the Grisha in the party are. This gives them an automatic plotline of "hide who you are".

It could be said that since Nina is Ravkan she wasn't raised that way, and no, she wasn't. However since leaving Ravka she has been forced to hide for her safety, and not only that but she is frequently told she's "too much" which sounds a lot to me like what some people say about queer people when they think queer people should be less queer. Also Matthias is all about being "traditional" and "proper" and Nina's whole thing is that she is neither. Traditional and proper sound a lottttt like some people's arguments to be homophobic.

Jesper's I think is rather obvious. His father has a clear concern for his son being Grisha since it can put your life at risk. In Jesper's argument with his dad he goes off and asks his dad why did he never let him go to Ravka where he could be himself and learn about himself and his powers. Oh not to mention the fact that him and his dad talk around him being Grisha like it's some sort of virus that can be caught by simply speaking the word.

Kuwei's took a second to hit me but when it did I was like "ah yep, makes sense" and this is probably because it took me a hot second to realize Kuwei was queer. Yeah, apparently him being jealous that Jesper only looked at Wylan a certain way didn't tip me off... ANYWAY THOUGH. Kuwei is also told to hide who he is, but his dad goes the extra length of literally making a drug to help him hide himself. Is it giving anyone else Dorian's dad from Dragon Age vibes??? Blood magic for the gay son???

FINALLY, I will talk about my baby, the character I love more than anything else. Wylan. Here's the thing about Wylan, while I was reading SOC I wasn't sure if homophobia existed in this world yet and I was half convinced that his dad disowned him because gay. While his dad obviously didn't do that, I still think at the end of the day it portrays an experience that is very similar. Wylan is shamed, hidden, and ultimately his dad tries to have him killed, all because he can't read. His dad loathes him over such a stupid reason, especially since Wylan is absolutely brilliant at tons of stuff and the cutest lil guy. But I think it's that hatred of his son over something so trivial that really lends itself to being about something else entirely, Wylan being queer.

All four of our queer characters in the main group have different plots, but ultimately they all circle around the idea of hiding who you are and being ashamed of who you are. That sounds like a very common queer experience if you ask me.

I don't know if this was intentional or just a huge coincidence. As a writer myself I am all too aware of how easily accidental metaphors and symbols can happen. But I think about it a lot as I'm reading so I wanted to shout about it either way. I also have no clue if this is a common idea or not, I just know when I pointed it out to my friends who had read the books prior, one of who loves and reads them yearly, they both kinda went "oh damn, you right," but didn't see it before I mentioned it.

Anyway, if I missed things (or you wanna yell at me about how wrong I am, which is usually the more likely option) I'd love to know thoughts :)

AND BONUS THOUGHTS

This one is super obvious but I just wanna say it. Jesper is ADHD and no one will change my mind in the history of ever. This man cannot sit still, has been described as having limitless energy, and he seeks constant immediate gratification in the form of gambling and adrenalin rushes. COME ON MAN. I know I know, there's a lore reason, something something Grisha not using magic blah blah. No. No. He is ADHD and you cannot tell me otherwise. And I love him dearly.

Also, not a theory or anything but, y'all, I love Wylan so much. I just wanna give him a hug and a lollipop and tell him it's okay. He's so cute.

[raginggeeksworld]

Chapter 11

One Day

A/N: sorry not sorry for breaking hearts and leaving it on a cliffhanger BAHHAHAAA (I refuse to die before i see Hans Zimmer live for this one fucking song)

P.S. I love you guys tho

P.P.S. Replace the word bf with husband in Boyfriend by Big Time Rush and it's exactly what Kaz was thinking everytime he touched the ring in his pocket

Taglist: @kiraflowersworld @vainillasmil157 @bookloverfilmoholic @so-get-this-sammy @ell0ra-br3kk3r @hufflepuffprincessbabe @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @bitterspoons @wonderland2425 @noorie101

Our perception of time is defined by our ability to choose the right moment.

There is no right choice.

Every moment we choose to hesitate, to act irrationally is already a moment born in uncertainty. There is no choice that doesn't already carry the weight of a collateral damage, a necessary evil, which hides in the shadows of the illusion we call "the better choice".

There's no right choice...

There's no possibility to choose from, because there is only one way this can play out, and that's with a bullet in his brain and his blood scattered on the cobblestones.

And even if there was a choice, it would change nothing. There is nothing any of them could do to change the fate waiting for them.

If these are my last moments, at least we'll be together, Kaz thought. If death has finally came for him, at least he wouldn't be alone, because he had Y/N with him. Kaz reached behind him to hold her hand for one last time, ignoring the fact that their relationship wouldn't be a secret anymore, but he could only feel the metal of the tank under his fingers.

Kaz whipped his head around only to find Y/N reaching up to Kuwei. No, not Kuwei, he realized as fear coursed through him.

Y/N reached for the tiny pouch of jurda.

Kaz leaped from his seat.

"We shoud do this some other time! This is so much fun!" Jesper shouted in delight while the tank moved closer and closer to the harbour.

"Clearly we have a different definition of fun," YN mumbled to herself, trying find a position that didn't strain her bandaged shoulder too much.

Kaz noticed her motion and glanced at the bandage, furrowing his brows. He tried to piece together when that could've happened, coming to the conclusion that this was why Nina looked so disheveled and worried when she found them. As the thoughts of YN fighting a drüskelle alone coursed through his mind, his eyes never left the wound. He was completely oblivious to the stares he got from her, trying to reassure him that she was fine.

When Kaz finally looked at her, she moved her hand closer to him on the surface of the tank. To anyone watching, it looked like she was just trying to reapply her grip on the metal, but to YN it was her way of making him snap out of his thoughts, and bringing him back to reality.

She did it just in time for them to turn their heads and see that they were completely surrounded. The tank came to a stop at the edge of the harbour, watching in shock as the soldiers pointed their weapons at them. They turned in every direction, but there was nowhere to go now. This is it. This is where it all ends.

"There has to be a way for us to-" Nina started but Jesper cut her off. "Are you blind?! There's hundreds of armed soldiers surrounding us!" He yelled, still in shock. They were so close. They were so close to go home.

"Please tell me you have a plan for this," YN whispered to Kaz, who just kept staring ahead of him. His whole body was frozen in place, and YN was close to asking Nina if he was even still breathing.

Kaz didn't move, he couldn't. How could he? This is it. All of his sleepless night, scheming and planning, making ideas upon ideas, preparing himself and the group for numerous outcomes, and yet, it was all worthless. No matter how much he prepared, how much he read and stayed up late, no matter how strict he was with them, it didn't count in the end.

His mind went completely blank.

This was the one thing, the only thing, that he didn't count on, because this was the worst possible outcome he wasn't ready to plan for. He wasn't ready. Kaz Brekker was not ready to die, not like this, not like some low scum of a man, who couldn't even keep the one promise he desperately wanted to keep.

Kaz heard the voices of the others asking him what was next, what would they have to do. But Kaz was speechless. He couldn't answer them. He couldn't tell them they were never going home. He couldn't, because Kaz himself was horrified.

He tried to push the feeling deep down, but he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that YN was never going to see her family again. That she will neer see her nephew grow up, that she will never hold his face again, or that she will never be able to-

"Are you out of your mind?! It would be suicide!" Nina shouted and the loud noise made Kaz snap out of his inner turmoil.

He turned to look at Nina, who was arguing with YN and Kuwei. The shu boy held a small pouch in his hand, and Kaz figured that must be the jurda parem. For a few seconds he didn't understand what was happening, but when he saw the look on Y/N's face and the way she was hovering her hand near the pouch of jurda, Kaz's eyes widened against his will.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kaz asked coldy as he looked between them. His voice was directed at Y/N, who straight-up ignored the warning tone, not moving away from her spot.

"This is our only chance, and these idiots know it!" She said to which Nina let out an offended gasp. "Did you just call me an idiot?!" She asked and the two girls began arguing again. Kuwei just sat there holding the jurda, not quite understanding what was going on.

"Enough!" Kaz shouted suddenly and all of them turned towards him. The girls stopped their fight and both of them loked at him in annoyance for interrupting them.

"Is that the parem?" Kaz asked and pointed at the pouch in Kuwei's hand, to which both girls nodded. "And it's dangerous I presume?" Another nod. "It can make you an addict just like the Grishas we came across, yes?" Another nod, followed by a heavy silence. "And what are the side effects of taking it?"

"That's exactly what we were discussing." Nina told him and made sure to glare at Y/N, who ignored said glare. "If you call listing all the reasons why I'd be a moron to take it, then yes, we discussed it," Y/N almost hissed back at Nina. Kaz rolled his eyes.

"If it can kill you, then it should be a discussion, not just a decision based on a random hunch," Kaz told Y/N, who was trying to grab the pouch again, but this time Kuwei noticed and pulled his hand away, to which Y/N stood up to take it with force if she had to.

Kaz almost jumped up to pull her away, but Nina was quicker. She grabbed Y/N's hand and slapped it away. "Oh for fuck's sake, Zenik!" Y/N damn neraly shouted while Nina asked for the pouch from Kuwei, who gave it to her with a worried look. "Oh, so if I do it, I'm suicidal but if you, then it's totally fine!"

"I know the consequences!" Nina shouted back, trying to not look at Matthias or Inej. She knew if she did, she wouldn't be able to go through with this. "I know what parem does to a Grisha. However, we do not know what it would do to you." Her voice softened towards the end of her sentence, making Y/N grew annoyed.

"Zenik is right," Kaz said and Y/N turned to him with furrowed brows. "And you're an expert since when? What do you know about magic, Brekker? Nothing!" She argued with him, and all the Crows watched in silence as she lashed out.

Kaz just sat there, taking her words as she continued to spill all of her anger out on him, each word like a slap to his face. He just let her do it, because he understood more than anyone what it felt like to be angry at the world when things didn't go as planned, when he suddenly felt helpless, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Kaz knew that Y/N was scared, he could see it in the way her hands trembled just enough to be noticed, how she tried to control the crack in her voice, and how her eyes slowly became glassy from unshed tears. She was the most terrified he has ever seen her.

Meanwhile, Nina held the pouch of parem in trembling hands, watching the two of them with a pang of guilt. She was still contemplating if she could take the parem and go through a horrible recovery, if that was even possible, or just give it to Y/N who already decided to do it. That thought made Nina guilty. It would be a selfish decision to let her take it, just because she was too afraid of the aftermath.

She couldn't let Y/N do it. She still had a family to go home to. She had a life to get back to. And by the way she saw her and Kaz act around each other, Nina hoped there was love waiting for her too.

"Y/N." Kaz spoke up on a soft voice while she was still arguing. His voice was muffled by all the noise around them, so he tried to call her name again, trying to distract her thoughts of the parem.

"Orlova." He said again, and this time Inej and Wylan heard it, turning towards him.

"Y/N Orlova." He repeated louder this time, but the soft tone still evident.

Now Jesper looked at them too, but he was elbowed in the ribs by Inej when he almost spoke up to interrupt them, with a fun comment presumably. Instead he was made to turn away from them, to give the two of them some privacy at least.

'"Y/N, please." Kaz pleaded with her on a quiet voice, but she wouldn't stop.

She wasn't angry anymore, the shock and helplessness took over her, and now she was just babbling about how they were going to die if she didn't take the parem, because she wouldn't let Nina do that. She didn't say it out loud, but Kaz knew what she was saying. She was going to sacrifice herself, so they would make it back to Ketterdam. As soon as the thought appeared in Kaz's brain, he didn't hesitate to stand up and grab Y/N by the shoulders.

"Ty moya zhena!" Kaz shouted to her face and she finally stopped talking.

She heard the others turn at the sound of Kaz's voice, never before hearing him speak in another language. She tried to move away, but Kaz held her in place. She looked at his piercing blue eyes, his gaze speaking louder than any words.

"Ty. Moya. Zhena." Kaz spoke each word with passion in his eyes, trying to get Y/N to truly understand what they meant. Her eyes became glassy again as one of her hands came up to cup Kaz's face. He slowly let his hands travel up to her neck, his thumbs caressing her skin.

"Ty moya zhena. Moya zhena." Kaz whispered the words as they stood there, completely unaware of the shocked looks the others sent their way. Nina's jaw was practically on the floor.

"A ty moi muzh." Y/N whispered back, her eyes betraying the saddness she felt.

(A/N: ty moya zhena=you are my wife; a ty moi muzh=and you're my husband)

She wanted to say those words in the comfort of their home, after a long day, when there was just the two of them in their tiny apartment, probably a bottle of kvas and their interwined hands between them. But that wasn't possible. Only if she-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden warmth on her lips. Y/N felt as if she was spinning, her head swirling as leather clawed hands came around her, squeezing her impossibly closer to the other person. She was clinging to them just the same, clutching the back of his coat in a deathly grip, afraid to let go.

Kaz was kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

And there wasn't. These could be very well considered her last moments, and Kaz was kissing her like they were a demon and an angel, and her kiss was the only thing that could make him see the heavens. Like he was a damned soul trapped on the Earth, and Y/N was the one showing him the way to salvation.

Kaz had been walking his way a long time, and he finally reached his destination.

When Y/N began pulling away, afraid of pushing his limits, Kaz instantly leaned closer to capture her lips again. He couldn't get enough of her now that he knew what she felt like. He wanted to savour every second their lips touched, he wanted to make her understand just how much those two little words meant to him.

"I do." Kaz whispered in between kisses.

"I do." Y/N smiled into their kiss and Kaz let out a soft groan, their kisses becoming more passionate, as the fear of their impending death slowly crept into the moment.

Y/N felt bittersweet as she thought about what was going to happen in just a few seconds. She was angry at the world, and she tried to water down her guilt by kissing Kaz more vehemently. The messier their kisses became, the sadder Y/N got.

It wasn't fair what she was about to do to him, but there was no other way. A single tear escaped her eye, and she could feel the salty taste on her lips as she desperately clinged onto Kaz for one more kiss.

One more kiss. With one more kiss, she was going to betray him, the one thing she promised to never do. Only one kiss to make him hate her forever. Only one kiss and their fate will be determined.

One single kiss is all it takes.

One.

Kiss.

It all happened so fast. One second she was kissing Kaz like it was the last time, and the next she was snatching the pouch of jurda from Nina's hand, transforming into a crow and quicly flying away as the group yelled and protested.

Even in animal form, Y/N felt the unshed tears burn her eyes as she left them there. The guilt was like a knife to her heart, twisting and turning the farther she flew from them, and she could feel the phantom blade cut the organ into a million pieces in her chest.

When she stopped at the edge of the town, she allowed herself to waste a few seconds, silently apologizing to everyone, especially to Kaz and her brother. If she was to die because of the complications the jurda parem would make her go through, she wanted her last memories to be of her family.

She wanted the Saints to know that even if her life wasn't finished yet, she will be leaving it happy and content.

With a quick inhale, Y/N opened the pouch and poured some of the jurda into her mouth, frowning at the taste. After waiting for a few more seconds, she could feel her entire body began to tingle, and with one last sigh she closed her eyes and concentrated on the form she would be shifting into.

The sun above him scorched the clouds, its relentless heat searing them with an unforgiving pain. The heavenly rays of light seemed to laugh at Kaz, the warmth on his face a grotesque mockery of the despair inside him, as if the Sun itself found his grief a mere amusement.

One second Y/N was in his arms, kissing him like in his dreams, and the next she was ripped away from him and took the jurda with her. For a few seconds Kaz just stood there frozen, his face blank and eyes wide, his brain trying to keep up with all the emotions and thoughts inside him. He was oblivious to the looks he got from the rest of the group, but in his inner turmoil he could guess what they've all felt: shock, surprise, and sorry for him.

Kaz swallowed hard as he felt his knees grew weak, and he feared he would collapse in front of the others, therefore slowly, albeit robotically, he sat back down on the side of the tank, gripping his cane so tightly, that he could feel the ring under his glove dig into his finger.

"Oh Kaz," Nina spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper. She felt a few tears brim her eyes as she continued. "When did you two even-" She wanted to ask, but Kaz interrupted her. Despite the monotone voice, they could hear bits of shock and grief in his usually stoic voice.

"The roof at the incinerator. I wed her in Ravkan tradition. Partially at least, since we couldn't just parade around in white and gold dresses. The speech was at least in Ravkan, and our wedding bands were made of Grisha steel." Kaz explained, still not turning towards them.

He didn't think of his actions when he pulled one of his gloves off, holding his hand up for them to see. There it was, the dark silver wedding band on his finger, the metal shining in the sun. Nina let out a sharp gasp, now understanding the reason why Kaz refused to take off his soaked gloves after they managed to revive him.

"But why silver?" Jesper asked, afer he finally got rid of his shocked face. For now.

"What's the most valuable thing in the world?" Kaz asked, weariness creeping into his words, his lungs seeming to cave in on themselves, and he felt like he was going to slowly suffocate.

"Power?" Asked Jesper confused as to what answer should he give.

"Freedom?" Came Inej's answer.

"Love?" The group turned to Matthias with raised brows, and Matthias mumbled something to himself.

"Money." Kaz answered for them and he looked back at Jesper and Inej as he continued. "And what's the most valuable thing every criminal wants in Ketterdam?"

"Gold," Jesper and Inej answered simultaneously as their face fell. They sent Kaz a sad look, but he just stared back at them with a blank face, the fear not completely gone from his eyes.

"Usually wedding bands are made from gold, which makes them easy to recognize. On the other hand, a silver ring gets overlooked, even if it's worn on the ring-finger. If I was to get into a fight, and somehow they manage to get my hands bare, they wouldn't be able to connect me to Y/N based on the ring alone."

Kaz explained but decided not to go further with his words, not having the mental energy to keep speaking without his voice cracking somewhere in his speech. He tried to focus on the sole thought that he had finally kissed her, and managed to put that damn ring on her.

Kaz's thoughts didn't have time to turn sour, to acknowledge the grief and anger he felt mixed with the sense of betrayal, because a loud roar could be heard. He looked around and saw the fjerdan soldiers glance at the sky in confusion. Then he saw it.

No.

Her.

The enormous beast rose higher and higher with its wings stretched to their full width, and as Kaz looked up at the dragon flying over above them, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pride as he looked up at Y/N. If he wasn't so shocked about everything that occured in the past five minutes, Kaz was sure he would've looked at the soldiers with an arrogant smile. Yeah, that's my wife you sons of bitches, he thought to himself.

The bronze dragon let out another loud roar, as she circled around the harbour, sometimes flying dangerously close to the soldiers, her massive wings blocking the Sun above them. She was the true image of a beast, deadly and dangerous, and despite her claws she looked nothing short of beautiful, magical, magisterial.

Kaz wasn't a man fond of beauty. He only found it in shining gold, and the thick roll of kruge. He paid little to no attention to artists, and rarely did he enjoy looking at artifacts for sheer contemt, and even then only to measure their price.

He was looking at the dragon form of Y/N and he could only stare in awe at the magical being that was his wife. In his worry and anger Kaz couldn't ignore the pride he felt watching her settle down beside their tank, a protective gesture and a threat all at once.

Kaz didn't hold back his arrogant smirk as he watched the soldiers glance between each other and the dragon in fear and worry.

Inej and Nina held each other's hands and stared at Y/N with a glint of child-like wonder and disbelief. Both of them thought back to the Ravkan fairytales they no doubt heard many times during their childhood. The two girls glanced back at the dragon and Nina let out a breathy chuckle as Y/N moved closer to them. Wylan and Kuwei looked genuinely terrified at the creature, their mind's not yet processing Y/N's transformation.

Jesper seemed almost giddy at the sight of his friend, already planning how to ask her to let him ride on her back before she transforms back to human. Matthias, unbelievably, wore the same expression as Kaz. He too was in awe of the magical creature like he was a little boy again, but his worry for Y/N was close to none, unlike Kaz's.

The dragon stepped around the tank, a threatening growl escaping her sharp-teethed mouth. Her snout gently signaled to the direction of the Ferolind, the group turning their gaze towards the harbour. Wylan and Kaz were the first to regain their senses, and getting the others to move the tank towards the dock.

"I'm no engineer of course, but uh," Jesper started as he stared at the wooden planks of the dock, "I don't think a dock is capable of holding a tank on its surface."

"Then we'll walk," Kaz said back as a matter of fact, making Jesper's eyes go wide. "They will shoot us!"

Kaz let a small smirk escape his lips as he looked behind them. "Y/N would sooner burn them alive."

The group reluctantly got off the tank, but as soon as they met the gazes of the soldiers gathered around them, they fastened their steps. Inej and Nina grabbed each other's hand in a hurry, the boys quickly following in their steps. Kaz stayed behind to make sure everyone got to the Ferolind without any trouble.

"Is that a fucking dragon?!" Specht exclaimed as he watched them get on the boat. He turned to Kaz with a surprised face. "Boss, how the hell did you get a dragon?"

"I married one," Kaz replied casually and watched as Specht swallowed hard. Kaz took a step closer to him, to which Specht instinctively straightened himself, ready for whatever Kaz had to say.

"I have a task for you."

I need you to do the one thing I'm not able to, Kaz thought, his mind a hurricane of emotions. I need you to keep the promise I-

Gunshots rang out in the harbor, targeting their boat.

Kaz looked behind him only to be met with his darkest nightmare.

The soldiers began firing at both the Ferolind and the dragon. She was roaring and trashing around, stomping her legs on the ground and using her tail to hit the soldiers into the water, clearly not wanting to kill them all.

The bullets went flying around their heads, and Specht rushed everyone to help them get away from the harbour as soon as possible. Kaz watched as they handled the boat, Jesper and Matthias sending a few shots back at the soldiers. He watched for a couple of seconds, before his gaze turned back to his wife.

She was getting angrier by the second, and Kaz knew that soon she will start killing the Fjerdans, no matter how many. He could already notice her reluctance slowly fading away, as the fire in her throat became brighter and brighter, ready to be let out.

Y/N flew up in the sky, circling around them, directing their shots at her instead of the Ferolind. Kaz could only watch in helplessness as she let the bullets hit her, roaring and growling at the pain, but still not doing anything to stop it.

That was until she glanced at the Ferolind getting further and further away from her. She knew that Kaz couldn't see the emotions on her face in this form, hell, he couldn't even see her completely. Despite that, she was sure he knew how scared she was, because he must've felt just as terrified.

Y/N sent one last thought to Kaz, hoping that in some magical way he will be able to hear her.

If I cannot have my happy ending, neither will they.

This sentence kept repeating in her head as she dove down from the sky, letting the fire burn her throat. The flames erupted from her mouth, making every soldier breath in her misery and anger, their crimson blood getting mixed with the snow and the ashes of their bones, painting the dock into a true image of devastation.

And she just looked at them with pity when they tried to shoot her again, sending another burst of flames through them. She roared at them the loudest she could, letting all of her emotions out, killing them mercilessly like a true monster would.

Their cries of pain and devastation kept ringing in her ears as she flew after the Ferolind. All the pain she caused. All that blood she could feel on her claws. All that fire still lodged in her throat, ready to be used again, but making her feel like it will burn her alive if she doesn't change back to human soon.

Y/N tried to access her wounds as she grew closer to the boat. Although she couldn't see them, she could definitely feel every single one of them. Her limbs started to feel heavy, as if they were going numb from something. She let out a low growl, as her legs began throbbing in pain.

It seemed her brain finally decided to catch up with the hits and bullets she took in the fight. In the moment it felt like she was invincible, she felt untouchable. But now, as she neared the Ferolind, the adrenaline of the fight wearing off, she felt like she was about to die any minute.

Die.

What a dramatic word for how she felt. But Y/N couldn't find a better way to word it to herself. Every breath felt like she was breathing fire, as if she was somehow breathing in the same fire her dragon self was making, as if her body was slowly killing itself.

She could hear her heart pumping in her ears, and her chest felt heavier by the second while her vision became disoriented. Her view seemed to be shifting from clear to blurry, then blurry to clear again. She could feel her body dragging her further and further down, while she tried to maintain some kind of order in her flight, but she felt her wings swaying her from side to side, like she was inebriated or something.

Again, she felt her heart ringing in her ears, mixed with the painful cries of the soldiers, and it all made her feel like her heart was going to cease to beat. The panic slowly took over her every sense, making her fight or flight mode kick in with full force, leaving her brain with only one coherent thought.

I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.

Her heart was beating so loud it was deafening.

Her limbs felt so heavy she couldn't move her wings anymore.

Her head felt like it was going to explode.

The last thing Y/N saw through her blurry vision was a black figure at the front of the Ferolind, before the waves engulfed her in a drowning hug.

In the next lifetime, we'll meet one day.

The next life we'll meet one day.

We'll meet one day.

One day.

Lightness, then darkness. Silence, no thoughts, no sounds, no noises. No cold. No heat. No flash of memories, and no sense of peace and finality. Just nothing.

Death felt awfully empty.

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

The Phoenix and the Crow

part thirty-nine

pairing: kaz brekker x fem!reader

genre: it's pretty angsty, this one...

el's thoughts: i hope yall love this as much as i dooo

masterlist

They’d been blessed with a strong wind. Y/N felt it ripple through her hair that Inej took out of its matted braid. The strength of the breeze was a telltale sign of a storm coming.

As soon as they were on deck, Inej turned to Kuwei.

“How long does she have?”

Kuwei had some Kerch, but Y/N had to translate in places. She did it distractedly, her glittering eyes roving over everyone and everything. Nina stepped in to help translate when the Inferni mentally zoned out every few words.

“The high will last one hour, maybe two. It depends how long it takes her body to process a dose of that size.”

“Why can’t she purge it from her body? Couldn’t Nina help her?” Wylan asked, turning to the Heartrender almost desperately.

“It doesn’t work,” said Kuwei. “Even if she could overcome the craving for long enough to start purging it from her body, she’ll lose the ability to push the parem from her system before it’s all gone. You’d need another Corporalnik using parem to accomplish it.”

“What will it do to her?” asked Jesper.

“You’ve seen for yourself,” Nina said bitterly. “We know what’s going to happen.”

Kaz crossed his arms and finally spoke from where he stood beside Y/N. “How will it start?”

“Body aches, chills, no worse than a mild illness,” Kuwei explained.

“Then a kind of hypersensitivity, followed by tremors, and the craving.”

“Do you have more parem?” Matthias asked.

“Yes.”

“Enough to get her back to Ketterdam?” Kaz followed up.

“I won’t take more,” Y/N protested, hooded eyes flickering up to look at Kaz in refusal.

“I have enough to keep you comfortable,” Kuwei said. “But if you take a second dose, there is no hope at all.” He looked to Kaz. “This is her one chance. It’s possible her body will purge enough of it naturally that the addiction won’t set in.”

“And if it does?”

Kuwei held out his hands, part shrug, part apology. “Without a ready supply of the drug, she’ll go mad. With it, her body will simply wear itself out. Do you know the word parem? It’s the name my father gave to the drug. It means ‘without pity’.”

When Nina finished translating, there was a long pause.

“I don’t want to hear any more please,” Y/N said breathlessly. “None of it will change what’s coming.”

She drifted away toward the prow. Kaz watched her go with an aching heart.

Inej sought out Rotty and got him to dig up the wool coats they left behind in favor of their cold weather gear when they’d landed on the northern shore. She found Y/N near the prow, gazing out at the sea.

“One hour, maybe two,” Y/N said without turning.

Inej halted in shock. “You heard me approach?”

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t those silent feet that gave you away. I can feel your body heat and the warmth from your breath.”

“And you knew it was me?”

“Everyone feels so different. I never realized that before… I was barely able to focus on one person’s heat directly.”

Inej joined her at the rail and handed over Y/N’s coat. The Grisha put it on, though the cold didn’t seem to be bothering her. Above them, the stars shone brightly between silver-seeded drifts of cloud.

Y/N was ready for dawn, ready for this long night to be over, and the journey, too. She was surprised to find she was eager to see Ketterdam again. She wanted a mug of too-sweet coffee while she sat in Kaz’s window seat as he worked at his desk. She wanted to hear the rain on the rooftops while she lay in her warm bed at the Slat. There were adventures to come, but they would have to wait until she’d had a hot bath and a clear mind once again.

Y/N buried her face in her coat’s woolen collar and said, “I wish you could feel what I feel. The warmth from everybody on the ship… was overwhelming at first but now it’s comforting. I can pinpoint where everyone is and just knowing that they’re all safe…”

“I can only imagine,” Inej hummed. “I only hope it brings you a sense of peace.”

“I don’t really deserve peace, don’t you think?” Y/N chuckled coarsely. “I nearly burned down a city, and killed more people, and all I did was complete my assignment as a Ravkan soldier. The Phoenix.”

“That’s a horrendous way to look at this. Don’t do that to yourself.” She scolded the Inferni softly. “You’re so much more than a soldier anyway. You’re a friend to all of us here. You’re a Crow from the Barrel. And I think Kaz sees you as more than another soldier or a friend.”

Y/N felt her cheeks warm and desperately avoided eye contact with the girl beside her. She knew the Crows weren’t blind to what was going on between herself and Kaz, but no one has had time to address the growing bond. She hasn’t even had the time to mentally process what she was feeling. For the first time in her life, she just let her feelings bloom, but now she had to face the facts and think through it all. It was fun to live in a bubble where it was just the two of them in all these life threatening, world changing events where there feelings had no real effect on their lives.

‘What if their feelings were solely caused by the trauma they were forced to face together?’

“I feel the need to tell you that…” Inej let out a breath. “Kaz isn’t one to deal with feelings and things of the like. But with you- You changed him so much. For the better. I’ve seen it already. You communicate with each other between glances and he’s opened up to you in a way I’ve never seen from him. I would even go as far as to say he loves you.”

Y/N’s wide eyes snapped up to look at Inej.

“I wouldn’t lie to you. I’ve never seen him like this in all the years I’ve known him. Y/N you mean so much to him, more than you think you do. Nina even mentioned how his heart beats faster when you’re around but it’s also more sure of itself. You can’t fake that.”

“I…”

“Just think through it. If you need anything, come find us.” Inej gave her the sweetest smile before she turned on her heel and walked back to the others. But as she walked away, Y/N saw she had another reason to depart. Kaz was standing in the shadows near the mast. He had a heavy coat on and was leaning on his crow’s head cane—he looked almost like himself again.

Kaz murmured a few words to Inej causing her to lean back in surprise. Y/N couldn’t make out the rest of what they said, but she could tell the exchange was slightly tense before the Suli girl let her shoulder slouch for a split second as she made her descent below deck.

“What did you say to Inej?” Y/N asked when he joined her at the rail. She tried to ignore the beginnings of a pounding headache.

“I have a job I need Nina to preform.”

Y/N hummed tiredly as they stood together, gazing out at the waved, silence stretching between them.

“We’re alive,” he said at last.

“Some of us more than others but it seems you prayed to the right god.”

“Or traveled with the right people.”

Y/N shrugged. “Kaz Brekker, are you going soft?” He said nothing and she had to smile. “No sharp retort?”

He ran his gloved thumb over the rail. “No.”

“What’s your plan when we get back?”

“When we’re a few miles out, Rotty and I will row to the harbor in the longboat. We’ll find a runner to get word to Van Eck and make the exchange on Vellgeluk.”

Y/N scrunched her nose as she leaned forward to rest her chin in her palm. The island was popular with slavers and smugglers. “The Council’s choice of yours?”

“Van Eck suggested it.”

Y/N frowned, her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she tried to keep her mind active and awear as she spoke with him. She was proud that she remembered the right island when writing her letter to Nikolai before they made it to the Ice Court. ‘Why would the mercher make a call like this?’ “Why does a mercher know about Vellgeluk?”

“Trade is trade. Maybe Van Eck isn’t quite the upstanding merch he seems.”

They were silent for a while. Finally, she said, “I want to own horses again.”

Kaz’s brows furrowed, and he cast her a surprised glance. “Really? Why?”

“I used to ride with my father when I was young. And during my time at the Little Palace, there was always a horse for me to take out. It was my only way of feeling free, and I’ve grown to miss it. Ravkans breed the best riding horses.”

Kaz hummed and looked back out to the stars. Y/N smiled softly at the side of his face and leaned slightly closer to him, her limbs growing heavy. “But we’ll go home first.”

“We will go to Ravka?” He smiled down at her. A smile that she’s noticed was reserved for her and her alone.

A please flush warmed her cheeks. “No,” she chuckled, her speech slightly slurred now. “We will go to Ketterdam. Home first.”

“You should go rest. The drug will begin taking it’s toll on you.”

Y/N shook her head. “I would really rather not be alone right now.” She watched the gears in his head turn as he thought for a moment.

He held his hand out to her, “I’ll wait with you.”

“Don’t you have plans to prepare for and see through?”

“I can spare a few moments.”

She smiled and took his hand slowly, giving him the chance to pull away if he wanted to but he didn’t move. Together, they walked below deck to the large room Kaz had taken ownership of. He brought her to the bed and let her lay down as he pulled the desk chair to the bedside.

Y/N let out a quiet moan as her muscles ached and her bones creaked as she tried to get comfortable under the rough sheets. Her body felt a sudden chill but she could still feel the different body heats through out the ship. Her nose scrunched in discomfort for a short moment before she looked up at Kaz who remained by her side.

No words were exchanged as they stayed in each other’s presence. Y/N silently stared up at Kaz with glossy eyes, admiring the way the light from the oil lamp flickered across his face. Her eyes began to burn and her chest grew heavy.

Kaz turned to her as the sound of her breathing grew labored. An unsettling pit formed in the depths of his stomach, bracing himself for the after-effects of the drug to kick in. “Should I go get Nina or Kuwei?”

He got no response only quiet groans so he decided to just stay at her side.

When the tremors began, she begged him to leave.

“I don’t want you to see me like this,” she said, trying to roll on her side.

He brushed the damp hair from her brow with his gloved hand. He hissed quietly as her skin burned him through the leather fabric. “How bad is it.”

“Bad.” But she knew it would only get worse.

“Do you want to try the jurda?” Kuwei had suggested that small doses of regular jurda might help Y/N get through the day.

She shook her head. “I want… I want— Saints, why is it so hot in here?” Then, despite the pain, she tried to sit up as Kaz walked to push open the small circular window. “Don’t give me another dose. Whatever I say, Kaz, no matter how much I beg. I don’t want to be like them, like those Grisha back there.”

Kaz stayed silent for a long minute. “Y/N… Kuwei said the withdrawl could kill you. I won’t let you die.”

She flopped back down, and her whole body rebelled. Her clothes felt like crushed glass against her burning skin. “I would have killed every one of the druskelle.”

“We all carry our sins, Y/N. I need you to live so I can atone for mine.”

“You can do that without me, you know.”

He reached to her open palm and placed his atop of her’s. “I don’t want to.”

“Kaz,” she said, turning their hands over so she can trace the creases of the black fabric. It hurt. Touching his gloved hand burned her fingertips, but she still did it. She might not ever get to again. “I am not sorry.”

He took her hand and laced their fingers gently. She winced, but when he tried to pull away, she clutched him tighter.

“Stay,” she panted. Tears leaked from her eyes. “Stay till the end.”

“And after,” he said.

“I just want to feel safe again. I want to go home.”

“Then I’ll take you there. We’ll set fire to hay bails in the country side just for fun.”

Y/N looked into his eyes with longing. Longing fora normal life, longing for her pain to go away and longing for him. “Kaz…” Her throat was so raw it hurt to speak anymore. “My Crow.” She smiled tiredly anyway.

Kaz didn’t let his eyes stray from her face as her eyes began to close out of pure exhaustion.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Y/N could barely make out Kaz’s facial features through her hooded eyes. She watched his eyes squeeze shut and noticed his breathing become shallow as he placed her hand down on the bed beside her.

“My Saint, don’t go.”

taglist: @katherinereid @littlecat21 @jahayla-parker @maliciousbrekker @brekkershadowsinger @brekkers-desigirl @clunaes @wonderland2425 @bookloverfilmoholic @karensirkobabes @bookworm-center @el-de-phi @so-get-this-sammy @skittleabyss @crispy-croke @cometsghost @auttumnsayshi

[lilisouless]

Okay lets go

A reminder, this is just for fun and content, an exploration, something that doesn't matter. I don't want anyone to go and take screenshots and sending them to twitter going "this person doesn't agree with the canon couples!" "Lilisouless? more like lilibrainless!" and using my dear layer against me. This is purely experimental and if i catch any of you use this for real discourse i swear-!

Also i am sorry but i can't find the friends tiktok, there´s a similar one but i think it´s not the same. If someone gets it, let me know.

Okay, so lets see ships alternatives for the crows if they weren't with their canon LI

This wasn't exactly personal taste (you´ll understand when you read it) if it was personal taste and my multiship likeness it would be Nina/Inej, Kaz/Matthias, Wylan/Kuwei and Jesper with a self insert named Lulu. And obviously each partner options are on the case they don't have romantic feelings for their canon partner.

I did this thinking on story alternatives. Spoiler: there´s only one crow x crow pairing and most of them are crack ships. Now let´s star:

Nina, i name her first because this may be dissapointing: I think it should still be Hanne, technically cheating but i can take her old friend Nestor as a dead lover and Hanne as the eventual endgame. The difference being she actually encounters Hanne at the Ice Court then the Nik Duology happens.

Matthias: Saying Kaz is tempting, but i will actually say: Alys. She is is about the crows age after all. My reasoning was that she still has a personality extroverted enought to provide a fun constrast, matches Matthias´s gentlemany manners, i could see her being like "hey, you sound like one of the kidnappers, the one that rubbed my feet" and having a small lived romance., or he may as well even get to live here.

Wylan: Kuwei honestly, i see Wylan being nice to him until they sort of start being annoying to each other, then developing a frienship eventually when they bond over being lonely and the loss of their fathers (metaphorically with Wylan)

The next ones are on cancellable land, just remember this is purely an experiment.

Inej: if you are wondering why i didn't write Nina despite being a very Ninej enthusiast, well the think is that they´d be too perfect, beautiful but if i want the slowburn and something to build a main couple energry, i think Jesper would be a better fit. In canon, Inej was Jesper´s person before Wylan came, as much as he was besties with Bollinger and close to Kaz, she always was his best friend. Jesper also always respected her. Now their individual struggles could give a decent subplot, Jesper not feeling he is good enought to her so he wouldn't bother to pursuing but still supporting her, Inej being the only person who tries to understand him, to me they are better with someone inside the group that with an outsider.

Kaz: So Kaz is the one i decided won't be in a wholesome romantic storyline, that can only happen with Inej. No, i am not saying Imogen, she is fine as an ex, and i think (no joking i mean it) Matthias is not a bad option honestly, like helnik´s hostility without the fluff. But the actual proposal i have is this: Saskia. Or whatever her real name could be. You see, lets say she is another member of the crew, a spy for Rollins, maybe Kaz knows, maybe he doesn't, she may regret whagt happened to Jordie but doesn't know how to confess, maybe she didn't even know what she was doing since she was a child and wants revenge for whatever Kaz did to her, the posibilities are a lot enought to go crazy with the possible dynamic. Would probably not have a happy ending but would make an interesting story.

I would like to hear what alternatives people would give instead. Pure fanfic and au talk here, wheter if i agree or disagree.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Worldbuilding

Thanks so much for the interest in this series on my previous post, I’m excited to share it with you :)

One of the strengths of the Grishaverse worldbuilding is that the different countries and cultures take clear inspiration from the real world, so the reader is able to infer a lot of the small details without having to be spoon-fed the information. For example, we don't need a long, info-dump explanation as to why surnames in Shu Han are constructed from the prefixes "yul" or "kir" based on sex and the first name of the parent (eg Kuwei Yul-Bo, son of Bo Yul-Bayurr) because we understand that the country is partially inspired by Mongolia. And even if we don't make this immediate connection, looking at characters like Tolya Yul-Batar and Tamar Kir-Batar we understand how to infer the source of the name because of it's basis from many different naming conventions in our world, such as the -son, -dottier, or -bur suffixes in Iceland. Something I think I see authors do a lot is struggle with the balance in this kind of situation, but personally I find that Leigh Bardugo does it really well. We don't need to be told the extensive information about this, even if she knows it or has some idea about it for herself, because it isn't relevant to the story. If we were told about it in great detail during the Grisha Trilogy or the SOC duology, it would feel a lot like info dumping. But by telling us what it's necessary to know about the Shu royal family in KOS/ROW and letting us fill in the gaps, we feel that we have enough information to both understand and keep the story moving forwards. All we're actually told, to my recollection, is that the Shu queens maintain the given name of the first queen of Shu Han rather than their mother's name to unify the family and to maintain the status symbol of the royals. The information we've been given from this that's immediately relevant to the story is an explanation as to why the character doesn't take her mother's name, so we're not confused or distracted by that as we read on, but we also know that Shu Ha, or at least its aristocracy, is a matriarchy, that the Shu people still feel a great respect for their first queen, implying further that there is a great respect for heritage in the country, and that the Shu monarchy feel the need to remind people of that first queen for what is probably a fear of unsettlement in their power and therefore a need to remind people that this is their 'birth right'.

In my book, there are futuristic technologies made possible by the blending of science and magic, such as a scanner that can identify several genetic markers and is connected to a national database in order to identify anyone, that is used very similarly to a passport system, as well as by the justice system. But it's not necessary to explain the set up of the database, or that the earliest generation of the scanner was developed in the 16th Century, because that doesn't move the story forwards. Instead, I focus on the impact that the technology's usage has on one of the main characters, who has to have routine police and governmental contact because she witnessed the destruction of her home and the murder of her family at age 10. The case is so famous that at the equivalent of passport control to know that her information is about to appear on that database and the person is going to know what happened to her is deeply stressful for her, but there are no alternatives because this system is considered far safer than any paper-based system that could be cheated or faked. My aim is to actually say that the scanner recognises the person and brings up their information so that I can use it to move the story forward through the emotional response of the character, whilst letting the reader infer anything else about the system. I also don't have to tell you that the technology has been around for centuries, but if I have a stranger to the technology describe it and casually mention that 'Generation 18' or something similar is written on the side, you know that it's been around for an extended period of time.

I hope this made sense and was somewhat helpful, I thought I wouldn't go into too much detail and instead split this into multiple posts. Thanks for reading, and if there's anything in particular about worldbuilding you'd like me to talk about let me know and I can give it a try :)

[sprnklersplashes]

matthias teaches wylan how to fight (ao3)

fanfic fundraiser

“Remind me why we’re doing this?”

Matthias glances over his shoulder. In the low light of the evening, Wylan stomps through the grounds of Black Veil, nudging a rock with his shoe. It’s a little uneasy, seeing Wylan’s sullen expression on Kuwei’s features, but Matthias thinks he’s getting used to it. And when he sees him like this, eyebrows raised, pulling and tugging at his shirtsleeve, it’s as if the tailoring never happened.

“Because you need to learn to fight, Lamb,” he says plainly. “Now come on.”

“I know how to fight,” Wylan replies, following Matthias into what passes for a clearing. At this hour, the cemetery is painted in black and blue and grey, the small green glow from Matthias’ bonelight being the only deviation. But Brekker wanted to be careful and, much as it pains Matthias to say it, he may have a point. Van Eck could have eyes anywhere. 

“You know how to throw a bomb,” Matthias tells him. “You know chemistry, and you can throw a punch.” His lip twitches. “Sort of.” Wylan’s cheeks turn pink, his mouth falls open, and Matthias allows him an indignant squeak before he continues. “But, there may come a time where you need more than that.”

“Kaz doesn’t have an issue.”

“That’s because you fight like Kaz,” Matthias tells him. Wyaln brightens at that, and it pulls at Matthias’ heart. The boy couldn’t be more different from Brekker, and yet there seems to be something in him wanting to be Brekker’s shadow. Matthias doesn’t like it. “You’re both tenacious, you’re both stubborn. You’d fight til you couldn’t stand if you could.” He exhales softly. “But you lack finesse. And training.”

“Didn’t get much of that at home,” Wylan mumbles. “Or in the Barrel.”

“Well, you have me now,” Matthias says. “And, much as I hate to think of it, there may come a time where I’m not around to protect you. Or none of us are.” 

Wylan nods, his face half-concealed by shadow. His arms are wrapped around himself, attempting to be casual, but the way he clutches his elbows tells a different story. Matthias wishes he’d never said it. He doesn’t like the idea of being separated from Wylan like that, but they don’t get to choose what happens now. The best thing he can do for Wylan is make sure he can defend himself. 

So, he steps back, bends his knees, braces his shoulders. He can almost hear Brum in his head, first attack position. His hand is steady, a phantom sword in his grip.

“Run at me.”

And all discomfort drops away. Wylan’s mouth falls open, golden eyes almost bulge out of their sockets.

“Are you insane?” he says. Matthias bites back a laugh.

“Just do it, Wylan.”

“You’ll flatten me,” he says. “Nina didn’t give me bigger muscles.”

“It’s not about muscles,” he tells him. “It’s about technique. You can be in peak physical condition, but if you can’t out-think your enemy as well then it’s all for nothing.” He nods to Wylan then, and hopes it conveys what it does. That while Wylan is small and misses as many hits as he lands, there’s not a man alive who could outthink him.

When Wylan ducks his head, Matthias can just about see the grin on his face. It’s all they need.

“So,” he says. “Run at me.”

Wylan runs. He’s fast, his face is set in a steely determination. Upon reaching him, he throws all his weight at him, grabs Matthias by the shoulder.

And then Matthias catches him under the arm, sweeps him off his feet and then pins him to the ground all in one breath. Wylan is lying on the floor, swift and heavy gasps filling the air, pushing against Matthias’ hold. His eyes are feeling from what just happened, and Matthias can only sympathise.

Well, sympathise and criticise.

“You leave yourself too open,” he tells him. “Your centre is too high and your feet are too close together, it makes you easy to knock over. You also favour your right hand when you swing but you leave your right side exposed.”

“Great,” Wylan pants. “Anything else while we’re at it.”

“You focus too much on where you’re going to hit and it makes it obvious. You need to conceal it more. Feign left and then hit right. Or just never let them know where you’re going to hit.” 

Wylan nods. 

“Well, the good news is I’ve spent my whole life hiding,” he says. “That should come easy.”

Slowly, Matthias eases off him. A full moon hangs over their heads, and in its light he can see the bitterness in his eyes, the tightness in his jaw. Even the half-hearted grin on his face can’t disguise it. He looks more like himself than ever before and Matthias hates it.

Carefully, Matthias helps him stand. When he takes his shoulder, his touch is gentle. He squeezes it warmly.

“Hey,” he whispers. “The good news is; you’re strong. You’re determined. You have a good eye for detail and it means you have good aim. And you don’t give up. Ever.” Wylan nods, shuffles closer. They both know it’s not just about the fighting now. “When something doesn’t work for you, you make it work. Keep coming at it with new angles until you land a hit, okay?”

Wylan exhales, slowly. White mist forms in front of his face. He nods, and then Matthias sees it-the glimmer in his eye that tells the world he will make it, no matter what anyone says. He sees it, and pride glows in his chest.

“Let’s do it,” he says, and his smile flashes in the dark.

It takes a while. When Wylan runs at him again and this time his stance is better, but when Matthias dodges, it knocks him off-balance and he falls face-first into the dirt. The second time he manages to land a hit, but he leaves his side exposed and Matthias catches him in the ribs. On the third try, he draws his arm back to swing and Matthias grabs it, turns him around and pins it behind his back.

He improves. He forgets. He makes mistakes. Matthias swings from proud, worried, proud, worried, like a pendulum. The boy will get it, he will, he reminds himself. Even if Matthias has to drag him there himself. 

Everything is there-Matthias just needs to mold it with him.

“Use your opponent’s weaknesses against them,” Matthias tells him after another miss. Wylan looks up at him, glaring from behind his fringe. He’s on his hands and knees, courtesy of his last attempt.

“I think I’m the only one with weaknesses here,” Wylan gasps. “Unless you count massive biceps and the ability to smash someone’s head like a grape as a weakness.”

“Everyone has weaknesses.” As Matthias clasps his hand and helps him up, Wylan’s words settle in his chest. Is that really how he sees him? As some perfect warrior, no cracks or imperfections to hold him back? Wylan knows he was in the druskelle. He knows how he used to think. Why would that not be a weakness to him?

“Matthias?” 

He looks up to see Wylan standing there, his jacket discarded and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He pushes his hair away from his face, his chest rises as he breathes. He squares his shoulders, sets his feet. Golden eyes flash when he glances up, fierce, daring.

“Let’s do this. I’m ready.” 

Matthias laughs. 

This time when Wylan runs at him, he keeps more control over himself, head down, arms close by his side. He feigns left and Matthias almost falls for it, but then he slips up. His arc is too wide and before his fist can reach Matthias’ jaw, Mattias grabs his elbow, then his waist and in one swift motion, he flips the boy over and they both land in the dirt. There’s a small puff of breath when Wylan hits the ground. As he stands, he makes a note to check his ribs before they go back inside. 

“That wasn’t bad,” he says. “You just need to keep your stance tighter when you’re throwing a punch. You swing too wide and it leaves you open. Come on, let’s try it again.” A second passes and Wylan doesn’t budge. Guilt builds in his chest. It has been a long night. “Wylan?” he asks. “Come on, you’ve nearly got it.” Again, nothing. He didn’t think the boy was the type to sulk. “One more go and then we’ll call it, okay?”

He waits, looking at Wylan crumpled on the dirty ground. A second passes, then another. The wind blows in his ears. Wylan’s chest rises slowly. His hand is limp against the ground, fingers slowly uncurling. Matthias waits another second, his heartbeat spikes.

“Wylan?” Panic creeps into his voice now, trembling in the two syllables. He rushes hurriedly to Wylan’s side, winces at the sight of his slack face. His hands are shaking as he checks his head and his breathing, and feels for the signs of a broken bone.

“Wylan?” he asks again. “Wylan-Lamb can you hear me?” He pushes back his hair, runs his finger along Wylan’s cheekbone. The boy doesn’t even stir. His fingers are shaking now, an all-too-familiar prickle at the back of his eyes. “Wylan?”

Suddenly, there’s a hand around his wrist. Wylan’s leg hooks around Matthias’ thigh and he can only gasp when suddenly he’s tumbling over. In the next second, Matthias is flat on his back with Wylan hanging over him, his forearm pressed against his chest, his free hand pinning Matthias’ arm down and his legs holding the bottom half of his body in place. The boy smiles at him, his tongue poking teasingly out of the corner of his mouth. 

“I do believe you’re dead, Matthias,” he teases.

Matthias has to catch his breath first. He breathes in once, twice, three times.

Then he bursts out laughing and can’t stop.

“Brilliant, Wylan,” he says. Wylan staggers off him and extends a hand to Matthias. He takes it, more of a courtesy to Wylan than anything else, and he notices the mile-wide grin on his face, the way he glows from the inside. Perhaps he should be concerned that he’s so happy about this. No-one should get this much thrill out of a fight.

As it happens though, he can’t feel anything over the swell of pride in his chest.

“Brilliant,” he says again. 

Small, cool droplets land on his face, soothing his flushed cheeks. Matthias looks up and sees the beginnings of a rainfall overhead. 

“Come on.” He hooks his arm around Wylan’s shoulders. The boy is still grinning, shaking a little too from the adrenaline rush. “It seems I’ll make a warrior out of you yet.”

Wylan giggles then, the sound so full and bright that it’s almost out of place in this dreary little hovel. He leans into Matthias’ side, seemingly unaware, and wraps his arm around his waist. He leans his head onto his shoulder, and Matthias can’t put a word to how it makes him feel. Like there are puzzle pieces inside of him slotting into place after spending far too long apart. 

(What Matthias doesn’t tell him is that he wouldn’t need to make him a warrior. Wylan already is one.)

[barrel-crow-n]

would you be friends with a Kuwei hater

Hate is a bit strong to feel about Kuwei, I think. I find him funny personally. The whole pretending not to know Kerch that well was hilarious. And his "why is he looking at me like that?" when Kaz was glaring at him. He stepped over the line by pretending to be Wylan with Jesper but he didn't really pretend, he was just sat there, Jesper assumed, and Kuwei took his chance. It's still wrong but he was 14, kidnapped by a bunch of criminals after being liberated from the Ice Court, and he was most likely going to die.

So I mean, sure I'd be friends with one but our opinions would differ I guess. It's not that big of a deal really (hating Kuwei, to me) and I can see why people dislike him. However if the person hates Kuwei because he was "getting in the way of wesper" then no. I would not be friends with them.

[6point5crows]

KUWESPER:

I genuinely believe that Kuwesper may be one of my favorite ships ever, and the way I can genuinely feel that it could happen in canon as well! Now, lemme give some quick explanation as to why:

Kuwesper, aka Kuwei x Wylan x Jesper, would be a polyamorous ship where all three involved would be dating each other. I believe that Kuwei would naturally be drawn to Wylan as he was with Jesper, especially after Wylan’s face was changed back to normal once more. I mean— here’s another scientist who is able to throw the same energy he is received back, also having gone through abuse of some kind with a father somehow related, and being the son of somebody very highly known and further being sough after due to this.

I know that relating does not equal attraction, but it can spark an understanding between the two of them which would cause them to be able to have further conversations and bonding moments. The moment they’d cross that first hurdle of realizing just how much they can relate to one another, it would be cascade of just being nerdy together, taking time to listen to one another, nights they’d spend together in a lab or even just outside somewhere— pretending that together they are just normal boys without a fathers’ fame and reputation to have been given to their shoulders. They’d start noticing the little details about each other… How much it felt like an autumn night beside a campfire when they are together.

Then of course, we already know the Wylan x Jesper bit of all of this. But what about Kuwei x Jesper? I mean, people must wonder why Kuwei decided to crush on Jesper of all people? (Although I do hc that Kuwei had been drawing Wylan before his face was changed and does so in Ravka still…)

After Kuwei was trapped and imprisoned for so long, where he was tortured and put under extreme pressures, he is obviously going to get attached to the person who shows to be the complete opposite of that. Jesper is shown to be the kind of guy who doesn’t follow all the rules, who is able to walk as if there’s no weights to carry at all, slinging his guns around with a smile. Kuwei could feel himself be free around Jesper, to be drawn to his whole vibe and become drunk off of it. Meanwhile Jesper seems to already like the science-y type, so he would look at Kuwei’s notebook of inventions and formulas and get all interested in him. I could go on and on about how they’d all fall in love but— I digress.

Together, Kuwesper would fight the expectations given to the three of them, and would learn how to create a world of their own making. Of course with some headcanons such as… Kuwei steals all of their shirts and hoodies… Kuwei and Wylan bicker the most about the silliest of things… etc etc. Kuwesper would make such a cute relationship and honestly the only thing on my mind most days.

Plus— the world needs more poly representation. The only real representation of poly relationships seems to be the classic: “Love triangle” “No Communication” “Just exists for the sexual aspect.” Unhealthy and toxic ways to show relationships like these. In fact, the way society (even LGBTQ+ community!) treats poly relationships is completely different than how any other relationship is treated. There’s always that certain look or tone of voice I’m sure every poly person has seen/heard, and always the same phrases that seem innocent on the surface until you put it into the perspective of what that person is actually saying.

The amount of polyphobia there is within the LGBTQ+ community and overall society as a whole is… daunting to say the least. It’s constant assumptions and judging and weird looks. To top it all off: hardly any representation besides the ones that make the poly relationship into the antagonist of the story. I can go into so much detail but I’ll save that for a post more centered around that.

What I’m getting at is that— this is why I hold Kuwesper very high in my heart and why I will always defend this ship. You may be thinking, “But what about the whole point that this was a jealousy thing?” This is where healthy communication comes in so they all get an understanding of each other and feelings. This is where they would talk it out and realize why people did what they did and accept each other. This is where polyamorous people are given healthy communication representation rather than just the basic “nobody talks to anybody unless it’s behind their back” tropes.

Let poly people have Kuwesper!!

(I’m gonna post so much about these three omg)

[astralbookworm12]

Six of Crows Duology Review 𓄿

Six of Crows - 5/5 ☆

Crooked Kingdom - 4.5/5☆

Leigh Bardugo is simply never going to create anything as beautiful as these books ever again. I absolutely loathed having to get through the original Shadow and Bone trilogy, but I'm convinced these books were written by two different people. You cannot create something as beautiful as the relationships between these 6 characters (no Kuwei you aren't included, sorry bro), and then just continue to destroy the readers' emotional states regularly.

The reason why I keep coming back to this duology is because of how real and human the characters feel, it's to a point that I forget these are 17 to 18-year-olds. I wish I could give everyone the biggest hug (apart from Kaz, he would have a mental breakdown) and let them know that they don't have to struggle this much. I'm so sad at how the show botched these characters and the overall story, but I remember that the producers cast each character so perfectly that I can't imagine any other casting for them. If you haven't already, READ THESE BOOKS! A blueprint for young adult heist fantasy novels, and an example of how an author can go from writing hot garbage (*cough cough* Seige and Storm *cough*) and going on to creating masterpieces.

[justmybookthots]

Crooked Kingdom

5/5 stars

I finished this in one whole day. This is a BIG book, and it took me hours and hours of non-stop reading from morning to night to get it done. 

This book is a masterpiece. Usually, I can be kind of sceptical about books this size, because they might drag, but Crooked Kingdom’s length really helped wrap up a lot of loose threads for each of the Crows. And oh my gosh, but this book really blew Six of Crows out of water for me. See, I liked Six of Crows, but I wasn’t in love with it. 

But this. This. 

There was no major heist (save for the safe, I think), and I actually was fine with it! If anything, I liked it more! One of my biggest (and personal) issues with the original heist was that it was so setting-heavy that my brain was dying. But in this book, there really isn’t as much setting involved, and I LOVE mind-games and scheming so this was everythingggggggg.

Kaz is officially one of my book loves, my book boyfriends, as Booktok would say. Usually, he’s not my type because he’s too abrasive, too callous, and I like guys who are more emotionally intelligent—but here’s the thing, he isn’t emotionally unintelligent. Not entirely. He just chooses to be a dick half the time—and he can put up a hell of a show playing a different persona if he wanted to—but it doesn’t matter because he’s a fucking genius, and everyone knows that. Every single time they did something I didn’t understand, I was like, ‘never mind, I’ll wait,’ and LO AND BEHOLD, the shoe drops in a later chapter and everything earlier makes sense. There is always a shoe dropping. The plan is never straightforward. This is a devious Kaz’s world, and we are just living in it.

Also, I was just fucking wheezing with delight when Jan Van Eck's kid caught him breaking in and he handled the situation so... so......... I can't even articulate myself. It was so good. And how he handled Jan right after he left the house was fucking PERFECTION.

I LOVE clever characters, and Kaz is single-handedly the smartest literary character I’ve read (or rather, not the smartest, but the one whose brains are actually shown rather than told the most). I adore him. I breathe him. I want to lick his shoes. I want to listen to his mordant wit and soak in its barbs. Also, when he kissed Inej’s neck, I was SCREAMING. SCREAMING!!!!!!!

I know a lot of people weren’t happy with the ending, so I went into Crooked Kingdom slightly apprehensively, worried about how it’ll conclude. 

I needn’t have worried. The ending was good!!! Excellent, even. I really am confused about what people were so hung up about. It was everything, from Wylan getting his house and money back from his father, Jan arrested, Jesper getting closure with his dad and himself, Wylan and Jesper being in love and living together, KAZ FINDING INEJ AND THEIR FINGERS TOUCHING AND HIM BRINGING HER FUCKING PARENTS BACK, Pekka gone for good?? What more do they want????????

This is the wonderful, quintessential Crows ending. Okay, fine, I noticed that I didn’t mention Nina and Matthias, but, uh….

I don’t really care about them.

Look. I’m sorry to their fans, if they exist. I am sure they do. But I couldn't care less. Also Matthias’s death was so random, like everything was going fine, and some guy from his country pops up and shoots him and I was like, huh? Okay?

Ah, well. You see, a major annoyance I had with Crooked Kingdom was that everything was so good… until it was time for Matthias or Nina’s chapters. Nina, maybe not so much (it was only irritating because it meant I’d have to read about her budding romance with him), but Matthias’ chapters made my eyes glaze over. He is definitely less annoying than in the prequel, but I still found myself scrambling for fucks to give and coming up empty.

Now, back to the Crows I cared for:

Wylan!!!!!!!!!MY WYLAN. MY BOY. MY HEART AND JOY. When Jesper was kissing Kuwei (thinking it was Wylan), I was like: why is Wylan grinning? This isn’t Kuwei, is it? And OH BOY WAS I RIGHT. I loved that this happened, that it pushed a jealous Wylan to try to get his face back because I missed his original face so much. I love his reddish curls, his wide blue eyes, everything!! And when he shared his first kiss with Jesper—he initiated it!! He did!!! He told a jumpy Jesper to stay still and then KISSED him—I jumped up and squealed like a little bitch. Ah!!!!!!!!! I don’t care what anyone says. Wylan has more balls than anyone expects and he is literally taking care of Jesper financially at the end because he is a baby boy boss. 

I did like Jesper’s story a lot, and I found it cool that he was a good marksman because he was a Fabrikator. I can’t say I love Jesper as a character that much, but he was still much more entertaining than Matthias because he’s so fucking funny. In fact, this entire book made me laugh out loud at certain parts—which is rare, because I’m beginning to realise that a lot of the fantasies I’ve read aren’t so funny. 

Like, look at this:

By the way, even this innocuous little piece of banter had a purpose later. That’s how ingenious this story is. 

Gah, I can’t take it. I have not spoken about Inej yet, but make no mistake; I love her to bits—she’s such a self-respecting queen. Like, she is not here to fix anyone, to be fucking Bob the Builder like fucking Evangeline from OUABH. This is exactly what she thinks: 

Inej, you are a fucking queen. You are everything. You have a giant heart, yet you know your worth, and you are a badass, yet you are not invulnerable, and you are just *chef’s kiss*. 

Fuck, this is definitely going to be one of my favourite books of all time. I love the Crows so much (well, most of them). I’m nursing a hell of a hangover and I don’t know how I can go back to other fantasy books without missing the hell out of them—and comparing male leads to Kaz without them coming up short. (Of course, there are exceptions like my boy in Cruel Prince but that's because I am biased. By the way... Jude and Kaz, if they ruled a kingdom together? Sheer chaos.)

Is this a perfect book? No. I skimmed certain parts like some of Nina and Matthias’ chapters, and I’m still not sure how to feel about the sugar scheme being abandoned completely. Also, colour me a sadist, but I was slightly disappointed Inej came out totally unharmed from the kidnapping. I think the tongue-ripping in The Stolen Heir really set my expectations too high, lol. Another thing - Mathias suddenly being brainy with Jesper and Kuwei when he was a stupid oaf in the first book had me confused, too. Him being "military" isn't really strong enough of an explanation for me.

Regardless, the story hit so many spots for me, and I’m happy that I finally got to this so wildly acclaimed series and enjoyed what it had to offer.

Better late than never, as they say. 

- 27 July 2023

[thesacredlore]

I GOT YOU

If yours is formatted the same as mine/same version then it *should* work <3

Omg yeah I hate that 😭

I don't have much opinion on Kuwei but I don't dislike him so yeah I don't like people saying stuff like that because it's just such a misinterpretation and dare I say cruel to Kuwei's character to be anti LITERALLY JUST BECAUSE THEY KISSED LIKE CALM DOWN.

Exactly!! There's a difference between criticism and then hate. Yessss that's why I actually don't like super wild headcanons where people are basically just like "I loved this series so these are my characters now" like pretty sure they're not go write your own book if it's that important to you but please don't make my BA protagonist your dainty shy girl *bonk* stop it.

Bestie bestie bestie

Just saw a BUNCH of anti Kaz posts and like:

"Wah he did A, B, and C and that means he's BAD I don't care about his tragic back story" AS THOUGH THIS MAN IS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE FLAWS

They're hating on my boy Kaz. Can't have that. Not cool. Like if you want to read a series by Leigh with a more noble protagonist go read S&B. Kaz isn't for you guys <3333

(people won't study characters in depth and then they bitch about it in fandom spaces and for some reason it's the author's fault and THAT MAKES ME SO MAD)

So now I have blocked the anti tag so I don't get angry 😌

HOW DO YOU BLOCK TAGS, PLEASE, I NEED TO KNOW

Yes, Kaz does bad things. Wow. It's almost like he's morally grey or something

Because I follow the wesper tag, I see a lot of anti-kuwei stuff and I hate it! There was one post saying that Kuwei SAed Jesper because he didnt tell Jesper that he wasn't Wylan.... JESPER WAS THE ONE WHO KISSED KUWEI, AND HE DIDNT EXACTLY ASK IF HE WAS WYLAN OR NOT, DID HE????

Sorry, it just annoys me so much cos I love Kuwei. I really like him

It's cool to have opinions on character, that is literally what fandom is for, but when those opinions go against the whole point of the source material it kinda defeats the point of the opinion in the first place (if that makes any sense)

[lilisouless]

Okay i have a concept i want to explore but i don't know how to exactly redact on a coherent way so i´ll just brainstorm here with lets call it the "theory" before making a post about shadow and bone tv.

So, there are different type of characters (if there are real terms for this let me know) , one i´ll call the flexible characters, other i´ll call the "no characters" and the other i am conflicted because the best term i can think is "One story pony" (one trick pony sounded harsh for what i was trying to say)

Meaning:

"Flexible character" is a character that can work in many stories mostly because they have very defined traits

"Non character" is a character with no real function or their fuction is ulterly superfluos. This can become a state since a character on the other categories can become this when done badly.

"one story pony" against what it may seem i am not using as a bad connotation, It´s simply a character who is story oriented which means that, after their arc they will probably not work for another story. Which is not bad (bellow examples of why) some characters have one excelent arc , nuanced develoment and great themes attached to them. while still being this, this just means they are in the service of the specific story they are mean to be in. Flexible characters aren't inherently good btw, they can have one trait and fit on many stories with that sole trait. And not to say being a one story pony is WAY better than being a non character.

Now with the theory i will clasify the grishaverse characters for the next post where i see if this alings with the show.

Before seeing this i need people to be VERY cool with something: this is a view of the characters as ingredients, tools, chess pieces, etc, not human beings. They are human beings to us but for this to work i need to detach myself of the realness of how they feel and see the big picture.

-Flexible characters

Nikolai, Zoya, David, Inej, Kaz, Nina, Jesper, Wylan,Tolya, Tamar maybe Baghra but she died quickly. Also minor secondary characters such as Leoni and Adrik, they are not as related to the story so they work in other scenarios.

I am going to use two examples: Zoya may not always be the main character but she always can be the harsh proud girl with a hidden heart, Inej may not always be the main character but she always van be the wise and faithful girl with a cool styling fight.

Tolya comes with a canon example: you heard "a grisha that can recite poetry for hours" in soc and you know it was him.

-One story pony characters (again, NOT A BAD THING)

Starting with the obvious: the secondary dead ones (SPECIALLY the ones whose purpose is to die) Fedyor, Marie, Sergei, Harshaw , Ivan , Isaak, Paja, Joost,Ruby, the flashback characters, etc.

The villains of six of crows: Jan Van Eck, Heleen, Pekka Rollins, Jarl Brum (sure, he is featured as a villain again in KoS but his whole purpose is being defeated and after that he is vanishing into irrelevance) Dunyasha.

In fact, all the villains or jerk characters that got punished for it, are one story ponys to make it short.

Other minor characters such as Misha,Colm, Nadia on the first book,Magnus Opjer, Kuwei.

Now the controversial ones, the reason why i need to enphatize why is not a bad thing because this are main characters: Alina, Mal, Matthias and Hanne.

There is nothing wrong with this characters, it just means that they are linked to their story and once is done, they can only live normal lives and if used again would only be cameos that mostly feel a post character thing.

-Characters i am hesitating in putting on one box

Genya and The darkling. First of all, neither can be clasified as a "not character" , they are characters, that box can be ruled out.

To me they are both one story pony. With Genya i feel she is mostly defined by her relationships, her backstory and her status as an important character on the first trilogy. She is Alina´s friend, Zoya´s friend, The girl the kings hurt, the girl the darkling hurt, a reminder of the existence of the grisha trilogy on soc, but who is she by herself? This is the reason that, despite being on many books (the biggest amount them along with Zoya) i can't consider her flexible, maybe if she was the only tailor but she isn't. I thought maybe her flexibility can come from being an emotional support but then again, this is to specific characters . aka: would she worth with other characters? considering her relationship with Nina was mostly defined by being the "good cop" to Zoya´s bad.

Again, this is not bad, said relationships are important and have a purpose that keep her relevant but stop me from seeing her as "flexible".

However, i can completely accept changing her to flexible if someone gives me a good enought reason.

Now the darkling, the nikolai trilogy convinced me he is a one story pony. The only reason i don't place him as definitive is that well, i haven't read everything that needs to be read with him, i didn't read (not want to read) Demon in the woods and i won't just for this tumblr post. Also i can admit i am biassed when it comes to him. Could i change my mind with a good enought reason? Probably but honestly i´d rather not talk a lot about him. The most generous thing i can do is not putting him on the definitive box.

Other characters i am not sure to clasify yet is Ehri and Mayu since they got introduced too late for me to put them in one or another.

Is there a "non character" on the grishaverse?

Yes and i am NOT going to say who is. Mutuals will know, they tried to defend this character´s honor and didn't acomplish it. Let´s just say the next thing: Leigh had the shot , she wrote her own chance to make them a character yet choose fanservice over it, thats how unimportant this character is for the author.

Hope making this wasn't a mistake, just wanted to make some order because i was wondering why some characters work in spinoffs and why some don't. This is NOT arguing some characters are better than others, just their flexibility. (should i say one story pony instead of one story pony?)