#zoya x harshaw

[yibeimolihuacha]

My problem is when I fall in love with a fictional character I can ship them with everyone, because if I fell in love with them then certainly so can everyone else, right?

Right?

[sophierequests]

holiday event masterlist

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“Had she really thought the world didn't change? She was a fool. The world was made of miracles, unexpected earthquakes, storms that came from nowhere and might reshape a continent.”

I know it's like *checks watch* three days after Christmas, but I still wanted to do a little something in honour of the holidays. Especially since all my prior fics haven't been even close to festive at all. These are all just drabbles, so none of these are similar to my usual fics. I just wanted to write a little something for everyone.

I hope you can forgive me for my utterly atrocious timing, and still enjoy this collection of festive drabbles. I love and appreciate all of you so much, loves <333

six of crows

hot chocolate with kaz brekker

under the mistletoe with jesper fahey

festive braids with inej ghafa

christmas baking with nina zenik

first snowfall with matthias helvar

family tradition with wylan van eck

shadow and bone

first christmas with alina starkov

gratefulness with malyen oretsev

necklace with the darkling

cold feet with nikolai lantsov

gift-giving with zoya nazyalensky

tree decorating with genya safin

the ring with david kostyk

snowball fight with tolya yul-bataar

ice skating with tamar kir-bataar

ugly sweaters with harshaw

[appolinyou]

harshaw and oncat

[velvetarcane]

Grishaverse Masterlists

Shadow and Bone Masterlist

Six of Crows Masterlist

[naushtheaspiringauthor]

~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- none

A/N- I absolutely loved writing this chapter and soon you'll know why 😼let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @nadeleine123n @marauders-wife @evelyndane @el-de-phi

Ch-50 ~The harbinger of hope~

Gunfire shattered the air around them. Anaya grabbed the rifle of the soldier behind her and struck it at him, making him stumble backwards. She moved towards another soldier charging at her. She arched sideways, dodging a bullet fired at her. She then grabbed his rifle as she threw a kick to his ribs and thrashed his rifle at his head. 

“Stay down!” Mal yelled from somewhere.

Amidst the crowd, Anaya could see Alina on the ground. The rest of them formed a circle and stood close to one another.

Harshaw was on the ground, but Stigg had his flint in hand, and flames shot through the air. Tamar and Tolya had charged into the fray. Zoya, Nadia, and Adrik had their hands up, and leaves lifted in gusts from the forest floor, Anaya had summoned a blade. 

She heard a row of shots being fired in her direction. But before they could reach her, Zoya summoned a gust of wind, sending them away.

Another soldier charged at her from the side. But she threw her blade in his direction as she spun around. He fell down as the blade pierced through his neck. However, there were still a row of soldiers rushing their way.

Nikolai’s men moved forward, driving the Grisha ahead of them. Anaya finally noticed Nikolai standing by Alina’s side. The sight of him making a wave of relief wash over her, for reasons she failed to understand. They took off through the trees, trying to keep pace as Nikolai darted through the woods. Anaya had no idea as to where they'd been heading to. 

The Squallers were summoning in tandem, knocking trees into the militia’s path. Stigg trailed them, sending up spurts of flame. David had somehow managed to retrieve his pack and staggered beneath its bulk as he ran beside Genya.

Tolya had Harshaw thrown over his shoulder, and the weight of the big Inferni was slowing his stride. A soldier was gaining on him, saber drawn. Tamar vaulted onto a fallen trunk, took aim with her pistol, and fired. A second later, the militiaman clutched his chest and crumpled mid stride. Oncat darted past the body, fast on Tolya’s heels.

“Where’s Sergei?” Alina shouted

Anaya cursed under her breath as she rushed back. She grabbed Sergei by the elbow who stood dazed, and utterly out of his mind.

“Come on you filthy idiot! Have you gone berserk!?” she screamed at him when he didn’t move forward.

The words finally made him snap out of whatever bewildered state he’d been in and he rushed forward with Anaya still gripping his elbow.

They were pouring into a barley field. Despite the heat of the late afternoon sun, the field was shrouded in mist. They pelted over the marshy soil until Nikolai shouted, “Here!” They skidded to a halt Anaya looked around in confusion. Just what did the boy had in mind?

She heard two shrill whistle blasts. The ground rocked beneath her feet.  “Hold on tight!” Nikolai said.

“To what?” Alina yelped. Anaya found herself wondering the same.

They were suddenly rising. Cables snapped into place beside them as the field itself seemed to lift. Anaya glanced above and observed that the mist was parting, and a massive craft hovered directly over their heads, its cargo held open. It was a sort of shallow barge, equipped with sails at one end and suspended beneath a huge, oblong bladder. The soil beneath them fell away, and she saw that they'd been standing on a swaying platform made of a kind of metal mesh.

They rose higher, ten then fifteen feet above the ground. A bullet pinged against the metal. They took up spots at the edge of the platform, clutching the cables while trying to take aim at the mob firing up at them. 

“Let’s go! Why aren’t we getting out of range?” Alina shouted. But Anaya believed she already knew the answer to that.

“They know we have the Sun Saint,” Nikolai said.

Mal nodded, snatched up a pistol, and gave Tolya and Tamar a swift nudge.

“What are you doing?” Alina asked, her voice brimming with panic.

“We can’t leave survivors,” Mal said. Then he dove from the edge. Alina screamed, but he tucked into a roll and came up firing. Tolya and Tamar followed, cutting through the remaining ranks of militia while Nikolai and his crew tried to lend cover from above.

Anaya saw one of the militiamen break free and run for the woods. Tolya put a bullet through his victim’s back, and before the body had even hit the ground. He was then turning, his hand forming a fist as he crushed the heart of another knife-wielding soldier looming up behind him. Tamar charged directly into the female soldier from earlier. Her axes flashed twice, and the militiawoman fell, her topknot drifting down beside her lifeless form, attached to a piece of scalp.

Another man lifted his pistol, taking aim at Tamar, but Mal was on him, knife slicing across his throat. And then there were none left, only bodies in a field.

“Come on!” Nikolai called as the platform drifted higher. He tossed down a cable.

Mal braced his feet against the ground, holding the rope taut so Tamar and Tolya could shinny up. As soon as the twins were on the platform, Mal hooked his ankle and wrist in the cable and they bent to haul him in.

Anaya then noticed that the man had risen from the dirt, covered in mud and blood, saber held out before him.

“Mal!” she heard Alina cry.

But it was too late, his limbs were tangled in the rope. The soldier released a roar and slashed out. Mal put up a useless hand to defend himself. Light flashed off the soldier’s blade. His arm stopped midswing, and the saber dropped from his fingertips. Then his body came apart, splitting down the middle as if someone had drawn a near perfect line from the top of his head all the way to his groin, a line that gleamed bright as he fell in pieces.

Anaya looked around in confusion. Then she noticed Alina standing at the edge of the platform, her hands glowing.

She'd used the cut.

The girl swayed, but Nikolai yanked her back before she could tip over the edge. She broke free of him, scooting to the far end of the platform and vomiting off the other side. 

Moments later, the platform was hauled up into the Pelican’s cargo hold, and they were under way. When they emerged above deck, the sun was shining off the port side as they climbed into the clouds. Nikolai shouted commands to his crew.

One team of Squallers manned the giant lozenge of a balloon, while another filled the sails with wind. Tidemakers shrouded the base of the craft in mist to keep them from being spotted. Anaya recognized some of the rogue Grisha back from when she'd been aboard the Volkvolny.

This craft was larger and less graceful than the Hummingbird or the Kingfisher. She soon learned that it had been built to transport cargo, shipments of Zemeni weapons that Nikolai was smuggling over the northern and southern borders and occasionally through the Fold. It wasn’t constructed of wood but some lightweight Fabrikator-made substance that sent David into a tizzy. He actually lay down on the deck to get a better view, tapping everywhere.

 “It’s some kind of cured resin, but it’s been reinforced with… carbon fibers?” he asked

“Glass,” said Nikolai, looking thoroughly pleased by David’s enthusiasm. 

“More flexible!” David said in near ecstasy. 

“What can I say?” asked Genya drily. “He’s a passionate man.” Genya’s presence was quite worrying, but Nikolai had never seen her scarred, and he didn’t seem to recognize her. Alina circulated a few reminders to their group about not using her real name. 

Anaya rested her hands on the railing, gazing at the morning sky in front of her. After all they’d gone through, it was immensely difficult for her to believe she was still breathing. The peace, however relaxing, seemed daunting to her.

She turned around at the sound of footsteps behind her.

“Good to see that you’re alive, Miss Nasrazeen” Nikolai spoke as he stood beside her

“Just, Anaya would do. And believe me, it doesn’t feel as good as it sounds” she shrugged

“Ah I suppose your stay at the Apparat’s humble abode wasn’t really a great experience” he said with a pleasant grin

“If you call being buried in the soil for months, or however long it’s been, a ‘great experience’ then sure” she lifted one shoulder

“Well I assure you that we’re heading towards a far better place”. His expression grew somber as a thought struck his mind, “Your friend” he glanced at her with deep concern

“Didn’t make it” Anaya responded hesitantly as she looked down at her hands.

She could feel his gaze on her. Perhaps he'd seen the hint of despair in her eyes, despite her best efforts to hide it.

“What do you think of my latest creation?” he asked, referring to his ship. Clearly changing the subject before she could further dwell upon it

“Well, it is quite surprising what you’ve put together, given how less time you've had” she said, tilting her head briefly

“So you do like the pelican?” he spoke with great enthusiasm

“Pelican?” she raised an eyebrow. “What’s next, the Woodpecker?” she gave a slight smirk

“Don’t underestimate my love for birds, Anaya” He stated, grinning like an idiot yet again

She rolled her eyes in a rather unserious manner. She then noticed that they were heading directly towards the mountains, the northernmost peaks of the Sikurzoi, the range that stretched across most of Ravka’s eastern and southern border. They were massive, snowcapped things, all white ice and gray rock. They would have dwarfed the Petrazoi.

"Wait, why are we heading that way?" she asked. "Have you now found some way to move the mountains as well now?" She raised an eyebrow

"No unfortunately, still working on that" he responded, earning a look from her. "But, I assure you that you won't be disappointed" he added. 

And he turned out to be right. They climbed higher. The air grew frigid as they drifted into the thick cloud cover. Here, the few mountaintops tall enough to pierce the clouds seemed to float like islands in a white sea. The tallest appeared as if it was clutched by huge fingers of frost, and as they arced around it, Anaya believed she saw shapes in the ice.

A narrow stone staircase zigzagged up the cliff face. Just what would happen if one looses their footing during climbing those stairs, she wondered, but quickly ushered the thought away.

They rounded the mountain, drawing closer to the rock. They rolled hard to the right and in a sudden, they were between two frozen walls. The Pelican swerved and they entered an echoing stone hangar.

The Prince had clearly been busy.

They crowded at the railing, gazing at the hectic bustle around them in an awe. Three other crafts were docked in the hangar, a second cargo barge like the Pelican, the sleek Kingfisher, and a similar vessel that bore the name Bittern. Nikolai’s crew threw lines over the Pelican’s rail, and workers ran forward to catch them, stretching them taut and tying them to steel hooks secured in the hangar’s walls and floor.

They touched down with a thud and a deafening screech as hull scraped against stone.

David frowned disapprovingly. “Too much weight.”

“Don’t look at me,” Tolya said.

As soon as they came to a halt, Tolya and Tamar leapt from the railings, calling out greetings to crewmen and workers they recognized. The rest of them waited for the gangway to be lowered, then shuffled off the barge. Nikolai gave orders to the waiting dockworkers for repairs and then led their ragged, wide-eyed band to a doorway in the rock.

“Everybody in,” he said.

With utter confusion, they crowded into the little rectangular room. The walls looked like they were made of iron. Nikolai pulled a gate closed across the entry.

“You’re on my foot,” Zoya complained grumpily, but they'd all been wedged in so tight it was hard to tell who she was angry at. 

"What is this?” Alina asked.

Nikolai dropped a lever, and they let loose a collective scream as the room shot upward. A wave of adrenaline jolted through Anaya. This was clearly not what she had in mind.

They jolted to a halt and the gate slid open. Nikolai stepped out, doubled over with laughter. “I never tire of that.”

They hurried out of the box as fast as they could, all except for David, who lingered to fiddle with the lever mechanism. 

“Careful there,” Nikolai called. “The trip down is bumpier than the trip up.”

Genya took David’s arm and yanked him clear. 

[kasinonightlife]

Zoya: Stop setting things on fire because you're curious about what will happen. What will happen is fire.

Harshaw: But what if something else happens just this one time?

[alinaxstarkov]

Does anyone else ship/shipped Zoya and Harshaw or am I the only clown here?

[twili-al]

My zoyarshaw ass is still not over the fact that Zoya never forgot Harshaw and mentioned him in kos

[lilisouless]

Zoya fandom after Ruin and Rising

Zoya fandom at the beggining at King of Scars

[remuslupinisgay]

My favourite ships - GRISHAVERSE EDITION SPOILERS FOR RUIN AND RISING Helnik - My favourite ship from the grishaverse. I love their chemistry, and I love how Matthias changes how he sees Grisha. Darklina - My second favourite ship. I know it is not the healthiest ship, but I can't help it. Nikolina - I am not a hardcore Nikolina shipper like I was before, but I still like them and I often think about what could have been. David x Genya (can somebody PLEASE tell me what their ship name is) They are literally soulmates and I wish Genya the very best after what she has been through. Harshaw x Zoya - It is not really a common ship, but I think that if Harshaw would have survived they could have ended up together. Fedor x Ivan - THEY ARE THE HEARTRENDER HUSBANDS AND THEY ARE PERFECT! I also like Wesper, Kanej, Tamar x Nadia, but I don't really care about them. Sorry.

[aperture-of-bullshit]

grishaverse related drawing reqs from the kuwei nation server that i did to forget about having to live through another major historical event

[quotesfromthewafflecrows]

Tolya (about Mal and Alina): "He watches her the way Harshaw watches fire. Like he'll never have enough of her. Like he's trying to capture what he can before she's gone."

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

Tolya: "Who says I want one?"

Harshaw: "I want one!"

Zoya: "Oncat has a better chance than you."

Harshaw: "Why, Oncat, you rogue."

[incorrectquotesconaisseur]

SO GUYSSSS I JUST FINISHED READING RULE OF WOLVES AND WHAT THE HELL???? I am a MESS

(so here are my thoughts that I had while reading it)

❗❗RULE OF WOLVES SPOILERS❗❗

• Lol Nikolai has a horse named Punchline, I love him so much

• Sankta Zoya Y E S

• Nina is sooo badass I love her - Brum needs to die btw

• Fjerda is a little shit

• "If not for Nina, their blessed termite eating at the heart of Fjerda’s government" - did I mention I love Nina?????

• Nikolai is a freaking mastermind and I love him

• OMG THEY HAVE AN ANTIDOTE FOR PAREM NOW???? HELL YEAH take THAT Fjerda!!!!

• Nina adopting Kaz's mindset when back at the Ice Court is what I live for

• UGH THE APPARAT

• Nikolai is soooo in love with Zoya I AM GOING CRAZY

• Zoya's "you forget that in Kerch greed is a virtue" gave me MAJOR Kaz vibes... I miss my crow babies

• Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but I don't really like Ehri

• ZOYALAI NATION, HOW ARE WE??? ARE WE CRYING?

• I just REALLY love the found family trope and seeing everyone gathered in Zoya's rooms and Zoya curled up on the couch next to Genya I just AAAAAAAAA

• I absolutely adore the whole concept of the Darkling's prison and the CONSTANT sunlight he has to face HA - Alina vibes

• OMG "bring me Alina Starkov" WHAT THE FUCK I have literal chills ESPECIALLY after seeing the S&B trailer:)

• Nina being so confident in everything she learned from the Crows gives me so much serotonin I WANT MY BABIESSS

• Oh my god... I like prince Rasmus, he gives me major Nikolai vibes

• I draw immense satisfaction from Kaz and Zoya using "podge" as their preferred curse word :))))

• NIKOLAI CAN SEPARATE HIMSELF FROM HIS DEMON???? King behavior

• HOLY SHIT ALINA AGREED TO THE MEETING here we go again, fam

• I'm seeing Nikolai talking a lot about accepting his death and being undisturbed by the prospect of it and it feeaks me out - if he dies, I die with him

• Random, but: they need to get the thorn stuff from the Order of Sankt Feliks or whatever, right??? Maybe they have to steal it... and they would require expertise... MAYBE SOME CROWS PLS???????? (I am such a clown)

• Okay wait... so the letters that prove Nikolai is a bastard are in the druskelle sector... PLEASE TELL ME NINA HAS TO BREAK IN THE ICE COURT the fact that she is back there ALONE makes my heart clench so hard... I MISS MY CROWS

• FUCK ALINA SHOWED UP (also Oncat apparently and now I want to cry about Harshaw again)... AND MAL I can't take this I AM HYPERVENTILATING

• I AM LEGIT ON THE FLOOR Yuri is still there FINALLY understanding that the Darkling is evil AND NOW MY MAIN MAN GOT HIS POWERS BACK oh, I love the chaos

• NIKOLAI FUCKING CARRIES ZOYA'S RIBBON IN HIS POCKET nobody fucking touch me

• THE WEDDING IS FOR GENYA AND DAVID????? I AM SOOO CONFUSED what the heck

• Nikoali is the most fucking badass amazing cunning freakishly intelligent idiot I have ever seen in my entire life, my love for him is immesurable, I cannot put into words just how awesome his awesomeness is TAKE THAT MAKHI YOU BITCH

• OH HELL NO the demon is trying to escape SMACK THAT BITCH NIKOLAI BABY

• Oh wow, Rasmus is crazyyyy af he isn't anything like Nikolai my perfect boi SORRY

• OMG Nikolai's dad us a good guy??? I feel so sorry for him... SO NIKOLAI WAS RIGHT TO BE A ROMANTIC huh

• FUCKING HELL again with the nichevo’ya???? Darkling bby, what the HECK

• Nononononooo NO NOOOO NOT DAVID WHAT THE FUCK LEIGH

• "This is what love does" one of the most powerful quotes tbh

• Wait... they want to???? STEAL??? titanium from the Kerch??? .... DOES THIS MEAN.... C R O W S?????

• Okay but... the Darkling's POV? POWER MOVE I love it!!! And the fact that he uses Aleksander as his name with zero reticence now is just *chef's kiss*

• I'm sorry but... I don't like Mayu's chapters I AM SO SORRY I DON'T

• Nina is my badass queen STEP ASIDE PEASANTS

• All these SoC Easter Eggs and mentions are driving me insane

• Idk why but imagining the Darkling drinking beer is sooo funny to me

• I AM LOSING MY SHIT they are in Ketterdam KETTERDAM does that mean ....DOES THAT MEAN ....I better see my Crows or I am throwing hands

• The Zoyalai conversations in this book are KILLING me

• OH MY FUCKING GOD so Kaz took the Emerald Palace over and renamed it THE SILVER SIX???? LIKE???? I AM LEGIT CRYING???

• Ummm...Zoya, honey, WHY do you want to VOLUNTARILY stay away from Nikolai, HUH?????

• THE ONLY REASON HE AGREED TO HELP NIKOLAI WAS BECAUSE HE GUARANTEES INEJ'S PROTECTION if that's not L O V E idk what is YAAASSS KANEJ

• FUCKING SHIT JESPER!!!! IT'S JESPER!!!! WYLAN!!!! I AM FAINTING MY BABIESS

• The Crows' banter is WHAT I LIVE FOR

• Kaz is the most cold, badass and calculating motherfucker on the planet, I love him soooo much

• No NO NOO JORAN IS THE ONE WHO KILLED MATTHIAS????? HOLY SHIT I am sooo scared LEIGH WHYYYY

• Kaz's reaction to Nikolai's demon is legit the funniest shit ever

• Kaz and Nikolai are bffs - THIS IS HEADCANON LEAVE ME BE

• Queen Leyti has severely disappointed me

• I am having waayyyyy too much fun reading about the Darkling among blindly faithful monks - this is the stuff of sitcoms

• (I know the Crows only had a cameo and they won't pop up again, but I can't help desperation wanting to see Nina reunite with them and PLEASE GIVE ME INEJ!!!)

• Honestly, it's pretty cool getting to have a look in the Darkling's head - it's SUPER fucked up

• OOOOO the blight vs the Darkling = the only confrontation I want to see

• FATHER AND SON REUNION

• I don't care much for Hanne x Nina, but I have to admit that they make a very cute couple

• FUCK THEY BROKE STURMHOND'S BLOCADE FUUUUCK

• WAIT NO it was their plan all along HOLY SHIT electricity RULEZZZZ who knew physics would prove THIS useful???

• UUUGHH FUCK THE APPARAT I am so sick of this guy - Zoya was right, they should have killed him

• I am really pissed at the Darkling- YOU FUCKING ACKNOWLEDGE HOW MUCH RAVKA NEEDS YOUR HELP, YOU SEE NIKOLAI'S BRAVERY, YOU KNOW YOU CAM HELP, AND YOU DO NOTHING??? BRO WHAT THE FUCK

• HELL YEAH ZOYA IS A DRAGOOON fuck some shit up sweety Y E S

• MY SKIN IS CLEARED AND MY CROPS ARE WATERED BY THE DARKLING RAISING A MOB TO CALL ZOYA "SANKTA"

• Also... the Darkling winking at Nikolai? FLERT

• WHAT THE FUCK???? HANNE DIED??? holy shit, why???? WHY CAN'T NINA BE HAPPY???????

• Nikolai is an absolute SAVAGE in a debate

• Idk what to think abt Rasmus... he was kinda badass for standing up against Brum

• SOLDIER. SUMMONER. SAINT. slap me and call me a hoe I SCREAMED WHEN I READ THAT

• ZOYA AS QUEEN, SIGN ME THE FUCK UP

• Okay I stan the Darkling again

• ZOYALAI IS CANON I REPEAT ZOYALAI IS CANONNNNN

• OKAY WOW HANNE IS A FULL-ON BADASS yep, I stan

• I really???? LOVE??? this ending for the Darkling??? Idk but it is VERY fitting

• ALINA!!!! AT ZOYA'S!!!! CORONATION!!!! my life is complete

• FUCKING SHIT INEJ!!! INEEEEEJJJJ my queen my love AAAAAA

• The conversation at the end between Alina, Zoya and Genya DESTROYED ME

• STEALING THE HEART OF SANKT FELIKS yes please BRING THE CROWS BACK!!!!! I NEED ANOTHER CROWS SEQUEL!!!!

• I fainted, I ascended, I DIED at the last page

• NOW I NEED A SEQUEL!!!

• Leigh, you ARE goig to write what happens next, right? RIGHT? RIGHT????

[vanilla-vivillon]

"we're exes and we meet again" maybe?

Oooooooooh interesting!!! I decided to do a Genya Safin x David Kostyk one because I haven’t done that yet for some reason

Also college AU yes please.

Genya Safin knows what she wants

And what she wants is to get through her studies

Become a plastic surgeon

Support her friends

Maybe get a cat

What she doesn’t want is to meet her high school ex at a party

She doesn’t want to talk with him for hours

She doesn’t want to relive the hurt

But the universe never does care for what we want does it

“C’mon Nazyalensky it will be fun!” Nikolai was trying to convince Zoya to come to the party he was throwing in his dorm

Nikolai was throwing a party to celebrate the start of there third year at Stanford

“Nikolai there is a lot of studying we should be doing instead of drinking our cares away” Zoya shot back

“Genya, love, please knock some sense into Zoya?”

“It could be fun, plus the school year started two weeks ago. No profesor is going to assign a big test anytime soon” Genya said

“You have never met Proffesor Baghra” Zoya said Speeding up

They were all walking to the dormitories together

Zoya was studying law. She wants to be a lawyer

“Are you really gonna let some old hag with a stick up her ass ruin your fun?” Genya retorted stopping in front of them

After a long pause zoya finnally relents and says “Fine. I’ll go, but for you, that way your not stuck with Alina and Mals drama”

Ever since Alina started screwing the professor with the the dreamy dark eyes and looked far to good to ever be a professor, mal had been insufferable

Flashing his million dollar smile Nikolai turned towards Zoya “I knew you would see sense”

“Now leave my sight before I change my mind” Nikolai sped off towards his dorm no doubt to finish preparations for tonight

Genya typically enjoyed parties

Cool people, cool music, cool boys

The list went on

Reapplying her deep red lipstick Genya turned towards her roommate Alina

Alina Starkov was a foster kid bouncing around homes in a small town, Keramzin.

She and her friend Mal felt so out of place in California

Genya helped her a lot in the first year and after some drama in there second year friendship was finally back on track

“Okay how do I look?” Genya asked giving a little spin

She chose a short red dress with a black leather jacket and thigh high black boots

“You look Perfect” Alina complimented finishing up on her own eyeliner

“Of course I do”

Alina laughed that fluttery sound that had become far to rare these days

“Listen Alina, I’m worried about you”

Alina took a pause before answering “I’m fine Genya”

“Alina you’re sleeping with your professor”

“So what!” Alina snapped “We’re both adults! Besides I don’t want to talk about this tonight, let’s just go to the party”

Genya let out a sigh

Sometimes Alina could be the most stubborn woman on earth

“Fine”

Loud music was blaring through the speakers Nikolai borrowed from Mal

Genya was socializing with some of her friends

While Genya did like parties the constant people was always a little stressful for her

So after giving some dating advice Genya went to go grab some beer

Pouring it Genya reflected

She was doing well in her classes, most of her friends were okay, she personally didn’t have a cat but across the hall from her is some dude Harshaw who did

one thing was missing

Him

Journals and glasses and caramel candies

Genya had been in love once in her life

And it’s seemed once was all she would ever get

“Oh sorry!” Genya exclaimed accidently spilling beer on someone

Looking up she lost her breath

There he was

All brown hair and wide eyes and sunkissed skin

And all the memories came crashing back

Geny first fell in love with him in the sixth grade

Well not love really

More like awe.

Back then he was really into legos

He built this giant airplane that Genya thought was so cool

But they first talked in seventh grade

They were partners in a group project

David hadn’t been very interested in Genya then

But Genya even then loved the way his brain worked

But she never said anything

In there sophomore year of high school after years of being friends Genya finally got the courage and told him her feelings

David was so suprised then he had to leave the room and come back two minutes later to say he reciprocated her feelings

They started dating and were inseparable

Whenever David had been pulling an all nighter on some new idea she would go over to his house and bring him some Carmel candies

Whenever she raved on about this new surgery technique he would listen and give her that soft beautiful smile he rarely showed anyone

But there happiness came crashing down in senior year

David was going to go to MIT all the way in Massachusetts while Genya wanted to go to Stanford in California since she was a kid

At first they were going to do long distance

But it didn’t work out

They both got busy

And didn’t talk

And Genya hated having a boyfriend who was never there

There was never some big fight

Never some big cheating scandal

One day Genya posted a picture of her on a date with the cute classmate who winked at her and that was that

They never saw each other again

But that might change tonight where she met those impossible chocolate eyes again

“What are you doing here?” Genya said after her shock

“Genya, I…. I live here” David said stuttering

Clearly he was just as suprised as she was

“Hey Genya you meet my new roommate David!” Suddenly Nikolai appeared “He just transferred from MIT”

Transferred

He transferred

David Kostyk transferred to Stanford

The one who got away was standing right in front of her

“Do you two know each other?” Nikolai asked sensing the tension

Ignoring him, Genya said “would you like to talk outside?”

After knowing David for years Genya knew she should probably initiate conversation

David gave a slow nod ignoring his roommate’s bewildered face

Walking outside they turned to each other again

He had gotten cuter if that was even possible

“So…. You transferred?” Genya attempted to start talking

“MIT was great, but it felt kinda isolating. So when Nikolai suggested transferring… I took him up on the offer”

Oh

Oh

That made sense

David always had a hard time making friends

In high school Genya practically had to force him into her friend group

It mustve be hard all alone

Genya was the opposite

Although all through elementary school she was ruthlessly bullied and sophomore year of college was complicated, she had always been able to make friends

“Well I’m glad your here now” Genya said looking away to hide her blush

“I think I’m glad to”

David and Genya talked the whole night

About there studies and friends

Genya couldn’t way to introduce him to Alina

They had a lot in commmon

Things between the two weren’t perfect

But then again in matters of the heart it never was

Genya wasn’t sure of what she wanted

But if she had a Carmel loving genius by her side she might be able to be okay with that

Omg it’s finally done. This has to be one of the most difficult things I’ve written. I didn’t enjoy it at all but I’m really glad I went through with it. Thank you @ninamorozova and @confused-as-all-hell for encouraging me to complete this.

Thank you @wafflesandschemingfaces for the prompt

If yall really like this I might make a part two with David’s perspective

Please reblog. Likes are nice but te logs actually help

My ask box is open and I take any Grishaverse requests

[naushtheaspiringauthor]

~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- none

A/N- lemme know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @nadeleine123n @marauders-wife

Ch-45 ~The tomb~

Tolya and Tamar had catched up with the rest of them after a long moment. After being taken away by Tolya, Mal had pleaded with him to go back to Alina and he’d let him. So he’d come back, with an unconscious Alina in tow. She appeared frail and wouldn’t have lived had it not been for the twins but the most notable change in her was her hair. What had been a dull brown, had now turned a dampened white.

They were being taken to someplace called the White Cathedral by the twins and a group of pilgrims. They travelled through tight passages and small tunnels, making them unable to recognize whether it’d been day or night. It was even worse in Anaya’s case, as she’d been immensely claustrophobic. 

The situation only worsened when they reached the destination. The White Cathedral was a cavern of alabaster quartz, so vast it might have held a city in its glowing ivory depths. Its walls were damp and bloomed with mushrooms, salt lilies, toadstools shaped like stars. However, the entire place was underground.

 It was buried deep beneath Ravka, somewhere north of the capital. 

Alina held tight to Mal’s arm as they went to meet the Apparat. 

 “Sankta Alina, you are come to us at last.” he spoke Then he fell to his knees in his tattered brown robes. He kissed her hand and hem. 

He called out to the faithful, thousands of them gathered in the belly of the cavern. When he spoke, the very air seemed to tremble. 

“We will rise to make a new Ravka,” he roared. “A country free from tyrants and kings! We will spill from the earth and drive the shadows back in a tide of righteousness!” Below them, the pilgrims chanted. Sankta Alina. 

There were rooms carved into the rock, chambers that glowed ivory and glittered with thin veins of silver. But the place was so far beneath the ground that it felt like a tomb to Anaya. Only worse, as she’d been alive.

The church was brimming with all kinds of people, pilgrims, First Army deserters, even those who were too old and frail came to have a sight of the Sun Saint.

It was only a while when she and the others had found out that Alina was unable to summon after the incident. So David had formed a mirror dish out of salvaged glass to reflect inferni fire. It’d been a believable illusion the people.

There was no indication of day and night there. The crammed place with no source of sights to the outer world was enough to make Anaya feel as if she’d been going mad.

However, Zoya did her best to distract her from her daunting emotions by talking with her about the memories from their childhood.

After a long while of being not too politely pleaded by Zoya, Anaya had finally decided to accompany her to the training area. A group had gathered to watch Mal spar with a humourless Fjerdan inferni, Stigg. He was the only surviving inferni along with Harshaw, who was nowhere to be seen after summoning the flames for Alina’s demonstration.

Mal dodged an arc of fire, but the second spurt of flame caught on his shirt. The onlookers gasped.Instead of drawing back, he dove into a roll, dousing the flames on the ground and knocking Stigg’s feet from beneath him. 

In a flash, he had the Inferni pinned facedown. He secured Stigg’s wrists, preventing another attack. The watching sun soldiers broke into appreciative applause and whistles.

Zoya tossed her glossy black hair over one shoulder. “Well done, Stigg. You’re trussed and ready for basting.” 

Mal silenced her with a look. “Distract, disarm, disable,” he said. “The trick is not to panic.” He rose and helped Stigg to his feet. “You all right?” 

Stigg scowled, annoyed, but nodded and moved to spar with a pretty young soldier. “Come on, Stigg,” the girl said with a wide grin. “I won’t go too rough on you.” She had a black sun tattoed on her cheek, the mark of a Sun Soldier.

Anaya had been sparring with another young soldier when she noticed Alina standing in the company of the Apparat. She looked much healthier than she’d been when they’d came but she was still far from her old self.

She’d been noticing how the priest never seemed to allow her to spend any of her time with potential allies.

                                          …………………………………………………..................................

For several days, they’d been discreetly plotting to get out of the church which seemed more like a tomb as the days went by. They needed to go back to the surface, and the Apparat seemed to be making great efforts to prevent them from doing so. He barely ever let them all be in the same room together, so they’d devised a rather erratic plot to make their move.

The only place that had a connection with above ground was the Kettle, the kitchen where Alina was allowed to see Genya. The place had something of utter use to them, the hearths. Each of those ancient hearths led to the master flue. And that flue was the only place in the White Cathedral with direct access to the surface. Direct access to the sun. 

David, Mal, Zoya, Anaya and Nadia were taken in as “prisoners” by Tolya and Tamar, on the account of devising plots to bring down the White Cathedral.

As suspected, they were taken to the Kettle, where Alina and Genya had been. Zoya, Nadia and Anaya had their wrists bound, to prevent them from summoning. They were flanked by Tolya and Tamar.

“Lock the doors,” the Apparat commanded his guards “We will have this sad business done in private.”

[degenderates]

zoya for the ask game

oop sorry it took me a min to answer this! here we go, i love zoya sm<3

1: sexuality headcanon

zoya is so bi (are we sensing a trend here). i do feel like she leans more wlw though!

2: otp

i know i’m supposed to say zoyalai, but it’s really zoyalina, oops--

3: brotp

hmm idk...i really love platonic zoyalina for a brotp! & platonic zoyalai too.

4: notp

zoya x aleksander

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

zoya feels kinda bad that harshaw keeps pining after her in r&r, and she is the one who adopts oncat once he dies. harshaw was a little himbo, and though zoya didn’t like him in a romantic way, she still is one of the people who remembers him most. eventually, zoya had to pass off oncat to alina at the orphanage once she got too involved in nikolai’s business and politics, but she still visits alina all the time for the sole purpose of seeing both her cat and her girlfriend. anyways i need some zoyalina w/ oncat fanart now plz<3

6: favorite line from this character

i really love the “you are strong enough to survive the fall” quote, it hits me in the feels every time! i haven’t read KoS since it came out though, and I can’t remember if zoya said that or if it was said to her by one of the Saints or something? Either way, it fucking slaps!!

7: one way in which I relate to this character

i, too, am jealous of alina for getting the darkling’s attention. i, too, want to get with alina as well. no but seriously, it’s not so much i relate to her as she just embodies the person i wish i was: strong, assertive, witty, beautiful, badass...she’s an all-around great person and character with still some great flaws.

8: thing that gives me secondhand embarrassment about this character

the way she is so jealous of alina and the way they’re pitted against each other in general in the og trilogy is just...cringe. so glad leigh stopped doing that!

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

60% cinnamon roll, 40% problematic fave. it really depends on if you’re looking at the grisha trilogy or kos, i suppose!

thanks for the ask mikayla!!<3

(send me character asks!!)