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undiscovered-horizon · 11 months

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"Man of Faith" - Nikolai Lantsov x Reader

SUMMARY: With the Sun Summoner on board, Stumhond's attention seems to be captivated by the living Saint. While you know how important she is to him in terms of politics, you can't help but start to feel jealous. Nikolai, however, stays true to his only faith.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.4k

>>Grishaverse-inspired playlist<<

The night breeze feels cold when it brushes against your cheeks. Although you feel an uncomfortable shiver run down your spine, the chilly air is refreshing, revitalizing. Salty ocean water sprays your skin as the ship lazily cuts through the endless waters. Swooshing of the heavy waves hitting the vessel and the drawn-out creaking of boards interrupt the otherwise silent hours. The black, starry sky is reflecting in the equally black waters, making it hard to say where lies the horizon - firmament glistens both above your head and beneath your feet.

Leaning against the railing, you allow yourself a sigh of defeat. You shake your head at the bitter, lead-like weight in your abdomen. This phantom has refused to let you go ever since the Sun Summoner boarded the ship but it’s hardly her fault. Truly, it’s not His fault either, even if he’s part of your problem, following her around and eagerly asking every question that came to his mind. It’s like you’re not here at all, you think to yourself but quickly discard this awful idea with a shake of your head.

No matter how much you refuse to admit it, you’re jealous. In your mind, it’s very logical and rational to get neurotic - he’s an heir to the throne, she’s the Sun Summoner and you… are a pirate. Although your lovesick heart is defending Nikolai with all its might, your sensibility is feeding you a plethora of horrible scenarios that, to some degree, you’re aware are not very probable. Still, they’re not impossible.

You rub your face in a vain attempt to calm yourself down and gain control over your emotions. This is stupid. He’s just interested in an interesting person, nothing beyond that. All of the flustering, and frankly embarrassing, confessions of love he’s given you, can’t just be undone in two days… can they?

The sound of slow footsteps distracts you from your spiralling thoughts. You turn around only to see the man you’ve been agonizing over as though one of the Saints had heard you and, out of annoyance rather than goodwill, sent him your way to clear this perplexing misunderstanding. His blond locks float on the gusts of cold breeze. There’s an undeniable softness to his expression, even if his eyebrows raise slightly in worry. Despite the overwhelming darkness of the night on the open ocean, he looks nothing short of breathtaking.

And you, through unimaginable luck, are the only thing that steals his breath.

"I was looking for you,” he says in a gentle voice. Jealousy mixes with guilt and shame inside you - Nikolai probably thinks something serious happened but no, it’s you getting into your own head.

"Something's the matter?" you deflect his inquiry.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you that.” Nikolai leans on his elbow on the railing, his torso turned towards you. He’s standing close enough for his frock coat to brush against you - it’s smooth and velvety, as though water could be sawn into a garment. “You seemed upset earlier."

"Oh, it's nothing, really.” You dismiss him with a vague wave of your hand. “Don't worry."

Nikolai lets out a short sigh. He takes off his coat and puts it around your shoulders. "I always worry about you,” he says as he’s casually fixing the jacket to cover most of your body.

The familiar scent fills your nostrils immediately. Perhaps it’s the additional layer of clothing or his hand resting on your lower back that’s making you warm up significantly. In any event, his overwhelming presence, engulfing you in an embrace of comfort and security, momentarily shakes you sober from your grim thoughts. Like having a bucket of cold water thrown at your head, you’re wondering how you could ever question his devotion.

“A treasure?” Nikolai repeats after the old whaler. The stench of booze is surrounding the retired, one-eyed sailor like a hallucinogenic aura. “I’ve already found her, thank you.”

Doubt, however, is a relentless beast. Maybe you’ve been the recipient of his affection simply by a chance of convenience? You’ve always been there, waiting for Nikolai to pay you attention. But then you inhale again, the scent of resin and seaweed filling your nostrils, and the doubt vanishes once more as the fog does in the early morning hours.

"This is going to sound really stupid and selfish,” you confess.

"I want to hear it anyway."

Nikolai’s hand reaches for yours, fingers intertwining without either of you thinking about it. His thumb is gently rubbing circles into your skin. Some reflexes are scratched into bones, escaping human willingness.

“It’s just…” You cut yourself off before you can finish. Embarrassed at what you’re about to tell him, you look away, admiring the faraway stars reflecting off the black water. In an unconscious motion, Nikolai cranes his neck to try and see more of your face. “Ever since Alina boarded the ship, you’ve been quite preoccupied with her and I… I think I’ve grown used to having your undivided attention. For the most part, at least. And that made me wonder whether I’m underwhelming compared to the Sun Summoner herself.”

Finally, you dare look back towards him. As you could have expected, he looks just as lovestruck as he usually does - not a wrinkle suggests that he’s angry with you for making a show of your jealousy or doubting his devotion. In fact, that upturned corner of his mouth makes him look genuinely amused with this course of events. Somewhere during your circular way of expressing envy, he only heard you admit how much you yearn for his attention.

"You thought I'm more interested in Alina Starkov than you?" he asks, laughter hiding inside his voice. "Hey, look at me.” Nikolai lifts his hand to your cheek, first brushing his finger against your skin before his whole palm cups your face. "I would have to lose my damn mind and even then I'd fall in love with you again if you just glanced in my direction."

“I know how important she is to you, Коля," you whisper, nervous that someone might pick up on the secret only you've been privy to so far. It nearly escapes your attention that his smile grows a little hearing you say his name. “It’s not your fault I’m being a little selfish. I just need to get a grip. You really shouldn’t worry.”

Nikolai’s hand drops from your face to hold your hand again. He brings your fingers to his lips, placing a soft kiss on them. It’s tender, like everything else he does towards you. Sometimes you wonder whether this gentleness is a conscious choice or if he’s physically incapable of directing any harshness at you.

"I could have an army of Sun Summoners and you’d still be the only Saint I’m praying to day and night.”

You scoff at his cheesy poetics. Laughing to yourself, you shake your head at him. "Oh, please, there is nothing holy about me."

With the hand he’s been resting on your lower back Nikolai pulls you even closer to him. He lets go of your fingers, placing his free hand on the side of your head, forcing you to look at him - not that you have anything against doing so.

"I beg to differ,” he begins in a low, surprisingly serious voice. “Ever since I saw you for the first time, I can't think about anything else. I don't want to. When you’re not with me I can’t focus until I find you and when I do, I feel like nothing can stand in my way. I could lose everything but if you’re by my side, I know I’m saved.” Nikolai rests his forehead against yours and closes his eyes. “You're the closest thing to godhood I've ever seen."

You inhale sharply suddenly feeling his warm lips against yours. His hands are pulling you closer to him, deepening the kiss. It’s both loving and desperate as though he’s expecting you to vanish into thin air at any moment; like he can’t quite believe he has the rest of his life to adore you.

To your disappointment, Nikolai pulls away from you after a long while but keeps a rather impressive lack of distance as your noses brush against each other. In a breathy voice, he whispers:

"You're the only prayer I need to make me feel blessed."

“Just kiss me again, милый мой.”

A quiet chuckle leaves his lips. “As you wish.”

Without wasting time, he’s kissing you again - hungrily, feverishly, reluctantly pulling away every now and then to catch his breath, only to resume this consuming pastime with insatiable desire.

_____

Коля [ko-lya] - short for Nikolai

Милый мой [me-lee moy] - my darling (masculine)

#shadow and bone fanfic #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone #shadow and bone x you #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai imagines #nikolai x reader #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #sturmhond #nikolai lantsov fanfic #nikolai lantsov my beloved

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unrequitedloveletter · 1 year

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The One- n.l x gn! tidemaker! reader

Okay! This is one of two parts, and the second part is going to come out tomorrow! I’ve got two two part fics coming out this week with a standalone coming out friday, and I have to say that this two-parter is probably the best two parter I’ve written in a bit. The Spring Break fic-athon is a pretty simplistic event, and not really an event as it were, but fics will come out everyday this week. The title for this fic comes from the 1 by taylor swift, which inspired this fic partially!

Requests for Nikolai, as well as Alina, Mal, and Zoya, are officially open! I’m clearing out whats left in my inbox this week and will probably get started on any requests I get around Wednesday or Thursday, after I watch season two of Shadow and Bone and have finished my grishaverse reread.

On another note, I’m not quite sure if the ship that they end up on in Siege and Storm is the volknvoy, so forgive me if it’s not but I do remember that there was a ship with that name in those books so if it’s the wrong one forgive me.

Fic type- hurt/comfort

Warnings- none

Yours and Nikolais relationship had existed in the time before the war. You met while Nikolai was in the infantry and you were working alongside him, and by the time you were eighteen, you’d been together six months. You joined his crew when he took up the identity of Sturmhond.

You loved him through all of it, through every minute of the war, from the moment he had Alina and the Darkling aboard the whaler to the moment the sun saint, her lover and the rest of Nikolais crew took to the sea on the Volknvoy and found Rusalye.

But still, somewhere in there, your relationship began to crack, until at some point, it broke completely. You fled to Novyi Zem while the rest of the people you knew, the people you cared about, played their parts in the fate of Alina Starkovs martyrdom and the destruction of the Unsea.

You didn’t think you’d come to Ravka ever again when you finally settled into your life, living in a small flat and using your small science to fill the basin when dishes needed washing or when the kettle went empty. You enjoyed working in a small boutique, making enough money from it to live comfortably.

In the weeks after the deaths of Alina Starkov and the Darkling, you came home from a shift at the boutique to see a note from Tamar and Tolya sitting on your dining room table. You noticed a new set of keftas draped over the backs of three of the four chairs that sat at it.

You will always be welcome at the Little Palace, Tamars note read. Bring your kefta if you come. Tolya and I have taken care to ensure that you’re not stuck with the one you left with for the rest of your life. Come around when the replacements wear out, we’ll get you some new ones and talk over a samovar of tea.

It’d made you smile, made you weep a little bit for the life that you could’ve had if things had been only slightly different. You missed Ravka, you did. You missed it helplessly, missed the familiar walkways of the Little Palace, missed Zoyas sarcasm and the sound of Genyas laughter.

You missed watching Tamar as she sparred effortlessly with her axes and grinning knowingly whenever you saw her flirt with Nadia, missed even Tolyas poetry, hearing him recite his poems that could go on for hours if anyone was able to tolerate it.

You missed Nikolai. You missed the glossy way of his hair, the quick, self assuredness in his smile, the fact that he always knew what to say until your etherealness stunned him into quite the opposite, missed the sound of his laughter and the way of his words.

But, you pushed it all down.

You continued working at the boutique. You bought a tote bag, grew accustomed to the never-ending sun and thanked the saints that air conditioning was included in your rent. You stopped wearing your amplifier because you had no need for it. You never quite let the kettle go empty and you enjoyed the smell of coffee from a coffee press.

You let yourself let people in, let yourself make friends and find people to call family. You met a Tidemaker like yourself, laughed at his jokes and congratulated him when it came to your ears that he’d gotten engaged. You went home tired and fell asleep by the last coals of a fire in the following hours. You woke up refreshed and visited the market stalls.

But, deep down, as the years passed and no word of Nikolais engagement or marriage reached your ears, some part of you knew that you weren’t quite done with all of it yet.

Some part of you knew that you would see that self assured smile that you missed once again, that you would watch, with a delighted smile of your own, as the King Nikolai stumbled to find adequate words. You would see his hair, blonde but turned gold in the sunlight, and you would see his eyes, the tiredness in them, the beauty in them even still.

You knew not when the day would come, though you could admit that there was a part of you that looked forward to it. There had long been a part of you that missed the life you’d once had, and as such, you knew that you would have to continue to live the life you’d found until that old life found its way back to you.

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix

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seventfics · 1 year

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The Grisha Rarepair Exchange is here!

We are happy to announce our rarepair exchange event for Shadow and Bone/the Grishaverse! It will run during the week of June 11th to the 17th!

First things first:

What is an exchange?

An exchange is a fandom event where participants sign up to create fanworks for other participants! All participants must send their requests to us event moderators through the sign-up form, and we will then assign you another participant's exchange request!

We'll be accepting fics, artwork, gifs, edits, videos...just make sure to post all of your exchange creations with the tag #grishapairexchange!

What counts as a rarepair?

Only non-canon ships with less than 150 fics posted on AO3 will count for the event. The rarer the better! Polyships encouraged!

We'll be evaluating this number based on the "otp: true" search listing of Grishaverse ships. Some examples: Inej/Tolya (4), Mal/Nikolai (7), Mal/the Darkling (10), Nikolai/Alina/Mal (18), Genya/Alina (46), Nikolai/Darkling (71). You can do this yourself by looking up a ship on ao3 and adding "otp: true" into the Search within results function box!

How do I sign up, and how does the assigning work?

All participants will fill in a form requesting basic information (contact options, tumblr name, age*). They must then state 3 rarepair options, each with their own prompt. Please take into consideration that your creator may fill your prompt by fic, art, gifs, or videos! If it helps to keep things simple, you may specify with trope tags. Example:

1 mal/the darkling: hurt/comfort scene, established relationship, the darkling is badly injured and mal stitches him up

2 nikolai/tolya/mal: intimate moments and shared looks between all three, or - all three of them having to watch the other(s) fighting and loving it

3 zoya/nina: zoya and nina shown deeply caring about each other, ex: their season 2 conversations about love and fighting to protect each other fiercely!

If you have any hard-nos, triggers, or squicks, you may write them into the specified text box.

*Participants under 13 are not permitted to participate. If a participant is under 18, they cannot request any mature or explicit content.

Sign-ups are open here!

Please share this post and tell any fandom friends who might be interested! We want as many participants as possible to share in the rarepair love! Rules and scheduling are under the cut!

Content Rules

Any type of fanwork is allowed and encouraged, so long as it is tagged appropriately and it correctly fulfills a prompt.

Writing fanworks must be between 500-5,000 words.

Art fanworks must be between 1 and 5 images, short comics allowed.

Edit fanworks like gifsets and image edits must be collected into a single post, with a maximum of 10 gifs/images.

Video fanworks must range between 1:00 and 3:00 minutes in length.

All posts must be tagged appropriately for ships, characters, and warnings.

Participant Requirements and Rules

As mentioned, participants under 13 are not allowed. Any participant under 18 years of age cannot request mature or explicit content.

All participants must state at least 3 different pair and/or poly ships to choose from. Exchange prompts are encouraged to be short and varied to allow for any fanwork type.

All signed participants must fulfill at least 1 of the 3 exchange prompts they receive.

Completing more than 1 prompt is allowed, but it must be part of its own separate fanwork/post.

Keep your assigned person and prompts a secret until posting week! Once the event is rolling out, mention your assigned person in your posts and tag #grishapairexchange.

No character or ship hate will be tolerated. This is an event centering on rare ships, all of which deserve some love!

If you find any kind of personal conflict or need help with the event, please privately contact the event mods (@seventfics/@jaskierian and @mal-zoya).

Schedule

April 22: Sign-up opens

May 5: Sign-up closes

May 11: Participants receive their exchange prompts

June 11-17: Grisha Rarepair Exchange posting and sharing

June 18: Late entries

#grishapairexchange #shadow and bone #shadowandbone #tolnej #darkolai #malkolina #malkolai #genyalina #zoyalina #darkolina #ninej #malarkling #kazling #and many more!#tt

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sophierequests · 1 year

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🌿 i talk in my sleep - send me your ideal idea of a first date and some facts about yourself (name/nickname, favourite pastry, favourite song, random fun facts etc.) and i'll ship you with a character and write a short drabble about them → please specify your sexuality, pronouns and whether the ship is supposed to be romantic or platonic!

Hi! I hope it's still the 14th where you are haha, but if it's passed the date, you can completely skip and delete this!! Ideal Idea of a First Date - Definitely attending a festival or carnival of some sorts! I love strolling around to see different carts and markets and the music and performance!! And ending the day with a fireworks show of some sort! Nickname - On here, my friends call me Oath! (but for the drabble you can just make it an 'x reader'! I don't mind ^_^) Favourite Pastry - I absolute LOVE cookies, especially chocolate chip and when it's soft baked, the best kind uwu Favourite Song - About Time (feat. Kelsey Kuan & prettyhappy) Random Fun Fact - I am pretty introverted when I first meet people, but once I feel comfortable and safe with someone, I open up and become a very energetic and talkative person, especially if it comes to topics I like or the person likes, I love listening to people's interests and have them sharing it with me Sexuality and Pronouns - I am a straight hetero woman, I go by she/her but I don't mind they/them pronouns as well! I would like it to be a romantic drabble please! (And fluff if you don't mind XD) Thank you in advance, I love your work, and I hope you have an amazing day! Take care ^_^

shipping people with grishaverse characters // the garden event

don't worry, you were just in time!

i don't think anyone's surprised by who i'm shipping you with

since we never really heard much about shu han in the books, i took the mid-autumn/mooncake festival as inspiration for this! (it's only very loosely based on it and i don't mention the history, so if you're interested in the festivities, please look them up, it's so interesting to read about!!)

“I cannot believe that the one time Nikolai is dragging us off to Shu Han is also one of the days when the whole country chooses to abandon their houses and fill up the streets,” you mumbled, more to yourself than to anyone else.

Tolya only chuckled in response, a few loose strands of hair falling lazily onto his forehead. Both of you wore a somewhat traditional robe that Nikolai had gotten all of you to blend into the crowds, but only Tamar and Tolya really managed to pull it off. You still had to admit that the fabrics looked more than stunning, especially in the warm red light emitting from all the paper lanterns around you.

“We should be glad that Nikolai didn’t intend on going through with that plan of his today.” He whispered back, almost having to lean down towards you so that you could hear. “We wouldn’t have a chance getting through the streets without causing some sort of commotion.”

“At least something,” you chuckled. “As frustrating as our favourite privateer’s planning skills are, I’m still excited to see what this whole festival is about.”

He raised his brows in amusement. “Have you never heard about the Moon Festival?”

“Tolya, I grew up in Ravka and spent my entire life cooped up at the Little Palace, studying manuscripts older than that hag Baghra, do you really think I know what kind of celebrations the Shu have?”

“Oh dear, then I have a lot to show you.” With that, he grabbed hold of your arm and pulled you face-first into the crowd.

There was so much going on and you barely had time to catch a proper breath before the next impression was basically thrust upon you.

First, he led you to what looked like a parade passing through the streets. People dressed in colourful hanfus and intricate costumes danced amidst the onlookers, laughing and singing songs that you had never heard before. A few of them held up a giant puppet of a bright green dragon, making it dance and writhe over their heads. It was a stunning display of colours and music alike, and you couldn’t help but gape at the performers as they walked past you.

“Dragon Dance,” he stated matter-of-factly. “It’s a tradition as old as time. They used to only do it during times of drought, because the dragons are associated with rain here, so they hoped that this dance would bring us a prosperous harvest.”

“It’s most definitely a stunning tradition.”

“You’d be surprised about how many stunning traditions the Shu have other than this.” He smiled, letting his eyes wander over the parade one last time before offering you a hand. “Are you hungry? I think I know something that you might like.”

This statement should remain to ring true. He took you to a less crowded market street, vibrant shops and huts lining the sides of the road nearly everywhere you looked. There were shops selling masks, fabrics and dresses, or all kinds of food.

Tolya stopped in front of a bright red booth, offering something that looked to be tiny sweets. He called them mooncakes and went on a long, complex rant about how his sister always used to steal the best ones while he was left with the flavours that no one really liked. After he was done rambling, he bought a little box full of mooncakes and two cups of Kuei Hua Chen Chiew, also called osmanthus wine as he explained to you later.

For what felt like the hundredth time today, he pulled you away from the commotion and towards a little ledge that overlooked the lower parts of the city and quite a bit of the raging sea. The city was bathed in the red glow of the lanterns and flashing lights, competing against the heavy darkness that surrounded you. It was a strange, but beautiful sight to see. And it was made even more beautiful by the fact that you had someone to share it with.

#— the garden celebration #tolya yul bataar x reader

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heliads · 1 year

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7,000 followers celebration!

good morning everybody,

heliads just hit 7,000 followers! that is an insane number, and to say thank you, it's time for a celebration! i am in awe that so many of you are so supportive of me, i've been so grateful for each and every interaction. love you all so so much.

requests for full length fics are still closed, but i am opening up my ask box for celebration themed asks as well as the usual messages. if you want to send in something for the celebration, feel free to choose from the following options! and again, thank you all so so much for 7,000! that's absolutely crazy. requests for this event will open april 4 and close april 11.

choices are as follows:

🌎: world swap! give me a character/fandom and i will put them in a randomly generated fandom off my masterlist. you'll get a brief drabble describing what i think would happen in this crossover. ex) you send in percy jackson and i spin my wheel and get the grishaverse, you know that boy is becoming a tidemaker.

🎶: playlist! classic option. you can ask for a playlist for your blog or for a favorite character, and in return, you get a five song playlist with those vibes.

💌: love letter! give me a brief description of yourself and a character, i'll write you a 100-500 word drabble.

🗣️: conversation! send in a kiss marry kill or cym for any fandom/question and i will answer accordingly.

bonus! mutuals only:

🎬: casting call! send me a fandom and a description of yourself and i'll tell you which character i ship you with. short blurb included.

🎨: vibe check! i will make a moodboard for your blog or a character/fandom of choice.

once again, requests for fics are still closed. only requests for this event will be accepted. love you!

tagging some mutuals and friends (but not all!) under the cut:

@retvenkos, @musicallisto, @swanimagines, @amortensie, @thereagles, @mxltifxnd0m, @thatfangirl42, @neewtmas, @hiya-itsamber, @mystic-writings, @justasimphere, @spideyanakin, @nocturnal-theater-kid, @ellobruv, @starlit-epiphany, @zaypay, @maximoffgxrl, @w1shes43, @schuvries

#7k celebration

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ell0ra-br3kk3r · 2 years

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400... that's a lot of people haha y'all are amazing for putting up with me for this long *mwah* y'all are amazing for supporting all my intrests and little side hobbies, and i really really really appreciate all the love and support so thank you

you may notice that i don't have any blurb or writing options on here... that's because i have wayyyy too many requests in my inbox already, haha, but if you want to send an idea in then you can send it to my writing blog @ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes where i have a song fic event still open!

fandoms for this event are the grishaverse and wizarding world both golden era and marauders era, and here are the characters i write for. please let me know if you have a prefrence of pronouns, otherwise i'll default to she/her.

anyone can participate! please make sure it's one event per ask. thank you

NAVIGATION

CLOSED

guitar picks ~ mood boards! send me this with a character or ship and an activity!

trying not to fall ~ ships! send me your ideal late night, in or out, along with a fandom and gender prefrence, and i'll ship you with a character!

late nights ~ send me this along with very specific thoughts you have about characters (from the fandoms i've listed above) and i'll build off of that!

as a writer ~ send me this along with the link to one of your favorite fics, that you've written and i'll tell you my favorite parts and lines! (writers only)

your thoughts ~ tell me your favorite thing(s) about me and i'll share some of my favorite things about you! (moots only)

wildflowers ~ send me this and i'll hand write a short message from me to you along with a small mood board (close moots only)

home ~ random asks! cym, kmk, or any other random questions or games!

the titles for the events are some titles of the songs that i've written :)

mutuals below the cut:

@writingwitch007 @draco-dormiens @i-live-you-die-i-tell-your-story @the-crazy-library-freak @imabee-oralizard @sparklenarniawizard @stxrrylunatic @jahayla-parker @thedelusionreaderbitch @cauliflowertree @freddycarterswife @maliciousbrekker @masivechaos @robynlilyblack @sw34terw34ther @bookaholics-stuff @juneberrie @sophierequests-trashblog @princess-paramour @siriusblackstwin @my-my-only-angel @n0agranger @puppy-coded @alexis-angelsss @romanticvampire @slyth3rin-princess @thehalfbloodedwitch

#el's 400 follower celebration #400 follower celebration #kaz brekker x reader #jesper fahey x reader #nikolai lantsov x reader #draco malfoy x reader #harry potter x reader #fred weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #james potter x reader #remus lupin x reader #sirius black x reader #regulus black x reader #will turner x reader

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dreaminghour · 11 months

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Genya/Zoya Crown Café (Modern AU) - Discount at favourite store

Event: @domaystic Fandom: Grishaverse Rating: Teen and Up Prompt: 18 Discount at favourite store Ship: Zoya/Genya & Fedyor/Ivan Context: Crown Café is an ongoing modern AU where Nikolai owns a café on a university campus in modern Ravka. Zoya and Genya are invited to stay at his hunting lodge and meet the neighbors, Fedyor and Ivan. Words: 1,001

The shop is a bustling noisy mass of humanity. After the last week in the wilderness where the cabin lies, Zoya realizes she didn't miss this much at all. Even being back home wasn't as remote as Nikolai's 'hunting lodge.' Apparently Ivan thinks much the same of the crowd.

"They couldn't have stayed home?" he grouses as he wrangles a shopping cart from the cage they're locked in.

"Look," Zoya replies, because shorter sentences is better with Ivan. "There's a sale."

And well, that changes things. Ivan's eyes gleam and he pulls out his wallet to count exactly how much money he has on hand and he slits his eyes at the various aisles.

"Do you want to—"

He interrupts: "Yes, you keep the cart, I'll find you. I just need a few things."

Ten minutes later, Ivan finds Zoya in the dairy section with his arms loaded: he has a massive wrapped fish, bundles of asparagus, some lemons. A moment later he unloads some packets of seasoning from his pockets as well.

Zoya doesn't say anything, she pushes aside the four-pack of eggs and the small glass of milk.

"Why do you have those?" Ivan asks accusingly.

"We ran out…"

"We have plenty. Didn't Fedyor tell you we'd give you all you need? Two tiny girls like you, how much milk do you need? Enough to bathe in? We can share."

Zoya withdraws her hands as Ivan puts the eggs and milk away again.

"So," he says, pushing the cart now filled with only his groceries. "What else did you need?"

Thirty minutes later they'd back at the lodge, Fedyor and Genya smiling as they step outside to greet them, Fedyor climbing into the passenger seat after Zoya climbs out.

"You two," Ivan says, rough as thunder. "Bring some of those biscuits if you have any left, Fedyor and I are going to fry Muksun for you."

"We are?" Fedyor says a bit amused.

"Around eight alright?" Ivan says a bit more quietly.

Genya looks a bit stunned, her mouth pursed in a little moue, so Zoya jumps in.

"Of course. You both eat so much we'll have to make a fresh batch."

"And Fedyor will give you any eggs you need," Ivan replies with a nod.

"I will?" Fedyor asks, still ignored.

"See you later!" Genya calls as the little car pulls off in a cloud of dust down the path.

"They're alright," Zoya says, crossing her arms.

Genya smacks her arm lightly before pulling her close and kissing her cheek.

"Fedyor is darling and Ivan is just as prickly as you, so I understand them very well I think."

"I am not prickly!" Zoya snaps.

Genya laughs and hugs her.

"And saying you're darling…" Zoya grumbles. "I don't want you getting a big head."

"What would you say then?"

"That…" Zoya frowns as Genya led her into the cool interior of the cabin. "Well, you're very sweet and personable."

"And Fedyor?"

"He's fine."

Genya laughs again.

"And Ivan?"

"He's very determined. And focused."

"As are you," Genya says, leaning in, wrapping her arms around Zoya's waist as she gives her a slow, sweet kiss. "You are very sensible as well. Mostly. I'm sure Fedyor can think of a time when Ivan was not so sensible."

Zoya becomes a little insensible herself as Genya continues to kiss her, hands wandering, and nearly forgets herself entirely before there's a brisk knock at the door.

Genya is breathless when she opens the door, while Zoya hides out of sight, tucking her blouse back in. It's only Fedyor, he smirks in a way that suggests he completely understands, especially when Zoya appears to take the box of eggs from Genya so he can hand them a bottle of milk as well.

"Eight o'clock?" he asks.

"We'll be there," Genya says, smiling as brightly as he is.

"With bells on," Zoya adds in deadpan.

For a second Fedyor gapes at her before crinkling his eyes and shaking a finger at her.

"You're so funny. You know, sometimes you remind me of Ivan," he says. And then he's turning away, waving over his shoulder. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!"

Genya is grinning almost evilly at Zoya as they close the door and Zoya just rolls her eyes.

"You're impossible," Zoya says.

"As long as you help me make these cookies, I'll be anything you like."

The cookies have only just hardened by the time they needed to be packed up. It doesn't get dark here at night in the summer, but there's a dusky blue to the sky as they walk through the golden grass toward the lake where Fedyor and Ivan live. It's very different than where Zoya grew up, very different than the city where they now live.

She's grateful for Nikolai, letting them say at his lodge (really a cabin) and mentioning to the neighbors they were there. She's grateful for those neighbors as well, as meddlesome as they first seemed to her, she agrees with Genya that they're pleasant people, worth getting to know.

As they wander toward the warm light of Fedyor and Ivan's cottage, she wonders if it would be possible for them to be friends in the city as well, or if this magic would not last in Os Alta. It's strange enough that she's friends with Nikolai, her boss, or ever managed to kiss Genya. She doesn't want to break anything.

But then Genya takes her hand and squeezes it, and the faint scent of ginger and spice from the cookies brings her at once to the present while reminding her of home. Whatever the magic is, it's here and she doesn't have to be afraid of losing it so long as she focuses on the present and loves it for what it is.

Much in the same way she loves Genya, she thinks. Or Ivan loves Fedyor. And they step through the door, Ivan offering them a rare smile as Fedyor welcomes them in.

#genya x zoya #zoya x genya #grishaverse #crown cafe #modern au #dreamy does fic #dreamy does domaystic #2023day18 #domaystic2023 #fivan #shadow and bone

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gwynpool · 3 years

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it’s 2AM and i just finished Rule of Wolves (spoilers definitely up ahead)

first, to inform everyone, i read the spoilers when it got leaked in twitter cuz i can’t help myself. (it’s a sickness, i know) i think this is important since it definitely influenced my perspective upon reading the book. also, this is my first time being early in a party so yay me! going in ROW was easy for me because i started King of Scars the day before book 2’s actual release date so everything’s fresh.

secondly, this is really long so i’m sorry. i just have a lot of feelings and need to write it all down. on with the rant.

King of Scars was wonderful to me since it gave me my favorite Shadow and Bone character and the girl who i used to hate for being a mean girl but who I now admire with every ounce of my being. It also introduced a new ship that I am now obsessed with and is ruling besides my love for Jude&Cardan. Not to mention, it gave us Nina, whom though i’m not entirely a fan of due to all my love focusing on Kaz and Inej, allowed the connection between Shadow&Bone with SixofCrows.

Moving on, ROW was a ride and whirlwind of emotions. unfortunately, it wasn’t always the best kind.

I love the fantasy elements of it (tho it was a huge leap especially with the saints power thingy) and the politics because i am a sucker for scheming and stealing thrones.

the zoyalai teasing and angst was painful but in the best way since slowburn is what keeps me going.

nina finding comfort (and attraction, apparently) from hanne made my heart flutter because i haven’t gotten over matthias but this allowed a sort of closure and next chapter for our waffle-loving queen.

the promised wedding by leigh wasn’t what i expected but i’m not complaining since david&genya deserved nothing but happiness.

almost everything seems going well (aside from the fact that aleksander was ressurected apparently)and then everything crashes and burns and i just have to wonder why?

so the promised funeral alongside the wedding one, immediately comes after two? three? chapters as they were attacked during the afterparty of the wedding. and guess what? leigh killed the fcking groom.

the thing is i already knew he was going to die (with the spoilers and all) but i did not expect it to come immediately after the freaking wedding. not even halfway through the book!

being spoiled, i think, took most of the pain from the event but it doesn’t lessen the fact that it was completely unnecessary??? like though the characters grieved, nothing much was affected from his death? also, don’t talk to me about the character development for the survivors from this tragic event because there. was. absolutely. NONE.

and then we have the fricking darling ressurected. i love him in the first book of the grishaverse though i knew he was still a villain, don’t get me wrong. and my heart ached but was also relieved with his death in the third. he also inspired one of my all-time favorite fantasy villain(antihero?) in the form of Adelina Amouteru in the Young Elites series.

Ceased to be a Darklina fan and am now shipping Aleksander with Adelina because their power tho? like clings to like and they are both imbued with unfathomable darkness. somebody write fics please.

but bringing him back was what for exactly? leigh bardugo preached on how toxic the darkling character was and how we really shouldn’t like him in terms of agreeing with his ideals and yada yada. and yet she brings him back because apparently, he’s the only one paying her bills.

his conversation with alina tho had me expecting some darklina crumbs with fan service on the side since the stans were all raving about it on twitter *vomiting noises from toxicity* but i was surprised since it just further reminded us of how he truly is a villain in his very core and would do anything to get what he wants. so all in all it wasn’t entirely awful and it actually made me like Mal a bit. (never was a fan of him but that’s my issue, not the character’s)

setting aside the darkling issue a bit, the POV from Mayu was skippable. i mean obviously it still needs to be read for the Shu politics and the khergud existence but it just made me want to go to the next pov. Same goes for the “the monk’s” POV since you all know how i feel about him and the cult with it’s assembly and shit ended up also being unnecessary towards the end. honestly, i could do without the journey of the starless saint and his cult.

i truly enjoyed the fjerdan plot to my surprise and i like how nina kind of went through the last of us 2 circle of hate journey. it was definitely difficult knowing her pain and all that she went through and still choosing to be the better person. and yet, i can’t help but be more proud of her development. also, the supposed death of hanne got me going for a second and was actually ready to storm leigh’s home to fix her mistake. thank god it was plot twist. that’s all i have to say on the nina POV because i don’t wanna ruin my good feeling on this.

the crows cameo gave us a mini heist and it just made me miss reading their adventures. also the suli scene tugged at my heart.

imma skip zoya’s transformation but it utterly made me feel amazing and i have never been more glad that she’s kind of overpowered. she deserves it so fck all them haters. you can choke.

nikolai’s revelation and decision for the ravkan throne was not all that surprising, even without my knowledge of the spoilers. i honestly had a feeling that he was always his best self when he was strumhond and he only chose to fulfill the duties of the king because at that time, there was no other choice. so him giving up the throne to his beloved soldier, summoner and saint was a quite satisfying choice of route. there has been some others who would contest nikolai’s decision to step down as something unnecessary in the grand scheme of things but i would stand by my belief that nikolai made the best choice for ravka and for himself. not to say that i didn’t want to see both the queen and king side by side ruling but what are fanfictions for?

zoyalai is canon and endgame. finally. i can die now.

now the last two chapters was a toss up. for the first one was the darkling’s sacrifice. okay, so i was also spoiled by this from twitter but when i was reading the book, i keep expecting it to be brought up and it wasn’t. so i honestly thought that maybe that spoiler was a prank. lo and behold it was not and it wasn’t until the very last end. so the buildup was goddamn awful. the whole concept of the thorn wood and sort of atlas moment was just no. like you’re just springing this up now? when we’re supposed to be tying up loose ends but making sure it had history and buildup to well, back it up.

also leigh outright writing genya saying it was not a redemption for the darkling and him being unapologetic about his crimes (basically being a truly evil asshole) doesn’t remove the fact that it still comes off as a redemption arc especially with what is now the synopsis of SOC 3 but ill get to that. he still was the one who did a heroic deed and that fucks me up because it was just devastating to me after making peace with his end in ruin and rising. not because i was hurt that he died yet again boohoo but because it kind of invalidates everything that alina, genya, zoya and countless other victims went through.

on a side note, the darling stans on twitter who keeps defending his actions, i would really advise you to reflect on your decisions cuz it is honestly unhealthy. also, you lot talking smack about nikolai and zoya refusing to sacrifice their lives? stop twisting the story to suit your toxic admiration, nikolai was even first to offer up his life and would do so if it was actually possible. so just go hide in your darkling cocoon and stop hating on other characters to justify your favored aleksander.

the very last chapter aka coronation was good because it gave us inej ghafa cameo as captain of her ship and bonding with our resident privateer and also genya, alina and zoya bonding. but it was bad because apparently the darkling chronicles is still not over and now we’re supposed to grant him death like that’s going to make everything okay? i know forgiveness and breaking the circle of hate and revenge is a huge theme in this duology but honestly, this is just too extreme. with nina it was understandable and the people she hated were born of twisted mindset and circumstances but the darkling? hahahah no. he is a literal immortal who was delusional so now that he’s paying for his crimes, you want to allow him death because you have nightmares? zoya, goddamit no! same to you genya and alina. and so this will be the plot for the third six of crows? why can’t we just stop making this about him. now he gunna steal kaz’s thunder? over my dead body.

in the end, i gave this book 4 stars in goodreads because if i ignore the darkling plot, it was a really good use of politics and fantasy merging in a storyline. i can’t fault leigh for choosing to do this since it’s still her book so i definitely don’t have a right to dictate what i expected from this. also, i have a half a mind to believe that she fell in love with ben barnes and had him in mind writing this so i really cannot blame her because i have been under that man’s charms since prince caspian came out. the spoilers i read made me more open in reading this (backwards thinking but eh that’s how i roll) so i’m not at all crushed by what transpired. it was just weird and was lackluster in its attempt to give ravka some sort of peace. frankly, i just want to read the third six of crows book to maybe find some sort of calm in all this craziness and also delve in some zoyalai fanfiction because it was a long time coming.

shameless promotion but if you guys want to check out my nikolai duology spotify playlist, here’s the link:

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retvenkos · 3 years

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There have been rumors that sab is going to include six of crows next season. Any thoughts?

whoo, do i have some thoughts™.

i should preface by saying, though, that if you are excited, good for you! if you think it’s a concept™, it most certainly is, and if you don’t want to see hate for the idea, then do not read ahead. i have some things to say about the idea, and none are too positive.

let’s get into it...

lol, plenty of spoilers ahead. mostly for the six of crows duology.

✧ *:･ﾟ

first of all, let’s hit it from an obvious, show running perspective.

six of crows is a lot™. there is so much happening in that book, and even more happening in crooked kingdom. not only are there new characters to add and explore, but there is new lore and new places that would all have to be hit. already, i felt like shadow and bone season one went fast. there was a lot to establish, and even more to expand upon, and i think there is so much to cover that trying to squeeze it all in would be a disservice to the characters and the world, which is the exact opposite of what the showrunners want, since they are lining up the grishaverse to be the new fantasy hit.

especially when the shadow and bone trilogy is adding in new places and characters, i don’t see the need for them to shoehorn in the six of crows duology. i’m sure there’s plenty for the crows to do, during these following two seasons. in fact, i’d even be fine if they wrote the crows out of the third season (which would ideally follow ruin and rising) entirely and maybe threw in a cameo at the end to get viewers excited for a six of crows show.

basically, there’s so much to cover, and shadow and bone already hit the ground running. i think that adding in the six of crows story arc would be too much of a time crunch, on the runtime of the show.

✧ *:･ﾟ

secondly, i’m ranting about a couple of characters, and how they are not six of crows duology ready.

the easiest one to talk about is kaz brekker, because book!kaz is dirtyhands kaz. our first introduction to kaz in the boks is him telling an opposing gang member that he can’t kill kaz, because if he does, his girlfriend will burn in a fire, and no matter how fast he runs, he won’t get there in time. kaz is like... “do you smell that? i think it’s her hair burning.”

and this is a more mild transgression of dirtyhands kaz. in the same book, kaz pulls a man’s eye out, he swallows lock picks, and he plans and executes the greatest heist of all time.

compare this to kaz in the show. kaz in the show is just a mean, angry boy in comparison. and this isn’t me hating on freddie carter - he did an amazing job. and this isn’t me hating on the writers either. i understand why they did that.

decidedly, there is a lot™ happening in shadow and bone season one. you don’t really get a lot of time with any one character, and if you do, it’s the shadow and bone characters. the showrunners knew they had to make kaz a likeable character to people coming into the series blind, and kaz brekker is a pretty hard character to like when you don’t get his backstory or even the slightest hint of it. part of what the six of crows books had going for it was the changing point of views, and inej’s trust and feelings for kaz. inej narrates a lot of stuff, and she does it in a more sympathetic way, making us give kaz the benefit of the doubt - especially since inej is such an upstanding character. you get a little bit of that is the netflix show, but you can’t get a lot of it because (1) time constraints, and (2) inej and kaz are actually at odds for a lot of the show - especially the opening bit. literally, their first interaction is a fight.

so, to get newer fans invested in this emo teen, they made him less dirtyhands. this is also fine because these events happen before the six of crows duology.

if we start the six of crows arc in season two, however, there is too much growth for kaz to do in between seasons. we need to see some of that on screen. especially since his plans were a bust, and the most dirtyhands thing he did was with the inferni, and he wasn’t the one to kill the inferni - inej was. (and i love that scene like the rest of you, but there could have been other ways to get inej to save kaz while letting kaz show some more of that ruthlessness.)

and that’s just kaz. admittedly, he’s an easy character to pick apart, but we have to talk about a few more.

nina zenik? yeah, let’s talk about her. the six of crows nina we knows has a lot of guilt over what she did to matthias - even if a lot of it is repressed. she has a slew of complex emotions over matthias, and it’s all been fermenting inside of her for a year. point is, in the show nina still thinks what she did was right, and she hasn’t had time to question that inside of herself. sure, in the books she still posits that what she did was justified, but there’s a bit of uncertainty there, caused by the acidity of guilt. i want to see that war inside of nina. it makes their love story all the more compelling.

and while we’re talking about helnik, let’s just cover matthias helvar real quick, because, personally, his character needs that time spent in hellgate, now more than ever.

i’ve already mentioned my beef with aging up matthias is a few other posts, but why don’t i reprise it?

matthias is an incredibly complex character, and part of what makes his change earnest is two things - the struggle he continues to feel throughout the duology, and his age. now stick with me.

part of matthias’ struggle is that he is still that little boy whose family were killed by grisha. in the books, matthias is only 18. that seems mature, but by all accounts, it most definitely isn’t. he doesn’t know anything about the world. he has been training to be a religious soldier, where he was heavily indoctrinated. what has matthias truly seen of the world? likely, very little.

furthermore, because he’s only 18, how many expeditions has he been on? sure, matthias has seen grisha tried for their “crimes” and he has been training against grisha since he was a boy, but do you think they’re putting eleven year old matthias out there, against full grown grisha? my bet is he only started truly hunting grisha when he was 14.

when he meets nina, he hasn’t been hunting grisha long, and he’s young enough to where we could truly see how him being smitten with nina could impact his thoughts.

matthias in the show is played by a man who is 27. no hate, this isn’t ageism, but if he’s been hunting grisha since he was 14, he’s been hunting grisha for 12 years. he has gone out on numerous expeditions. hell, in the show they give matthias a large amount of credit for capturing nina. it is sO much harder for you to buy the “nina is a beautiful grisha and has changed my life” storyline when he’s 27, almost 30. furthermore, this matthias has seen way more grisha trials. the concept that he doesn’t know that grisha aren’t given a fair trial is just absurd, at this point. furthermore, you add on the fact that he’s been indoctrinated longer, and it makes his story all the more difficult to grapple with.

on the one hand, i understand that they aged everyone up (which i was happy about, for the majority of characters. kaz, i am once again looking at you). on the other hand, it puts a huge strain on matthias’ character, and if they were to try to juggle the six of crows plot with the shadow and bone plot, so much nuance would be lost and the majority of new fans would not understand people liking matthias. you would risk alienating his character (and nina’s, by effect) and that is not what either character (or actor!) deserves.

they’ve already made it so hard for us to buy the “nina changes matthias” storyline - even though they’ve made him a tad sweeter and more likeable - and if they try to fast track it, it’s going to fall through.

i think matthias needs his time in hellgate for some soul searching and some struggle. with matthias, the only way out is through, and we need to have time for that to happen.

inej and jesper are a little less difficult to juggle since they’re are done pretty well, but i don’t want to see their complexity and nuance fall through (especially jesper’s) because the show is doing too many things at once.

basically, the crows are currently in their fledgling state, and if they were to be thrown into the six of crows storyline, it would not be nearly as fulfilling.

✧ *:･ﾟ

finally, i just want to say that the overall genre and theme of six of crows and shadow and bone are completely different. i feel like there would be far too much dissonance in the show. you could already feel it in season one, but because alina fears being kidnapped and then she goes on the run, it works. six of crows, though, is a completely different show and i think it would be odd to shift from ~life aboard sturmhond’s ship~ to ~breaking and entering in the ice court~.

✧ *:･ﾟ

anyway, those are my thoughts, anon. surely you didn’t ask for this, but you received it, anyway.

#shadow and bone spoilers #s&b spoilers #spoilers #grishaverse #asks #kaz brekker #matthias helvar #i'm only tagging those two because i really only talk about them

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i-can-read-to-him · 8 months

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The Ketterdamn Kink Meme (2023) is brought to you by The Wesper Fic Club, but this event is open to the public, all creative mediums (fic, art, etc), and all Grishaverse ships. If you'd like to share your prompt fills with us, you can tag our blog and use the tag #ketterdamn kink meme, or add your fics to our AO3 collection (anonymous submissions are permitted).

Please note: The mod team reserves the right to remove fics from our AO3 collection which are deemed irrelevant or in violation of our community's rules (for example, we do not permit sexual content involving minors). Thanks for your understanding!

#ketterdamn kink meme #ketterdamn 2023 #wesper fic club #shadow and bone #six of crows #wesper #kanej #helnik #polycrows #kuwesper #kazper #ninej #kazpernej #I don't know the other poly ship names I'm sorry dajkgjdkgd #anyway excited to kick this event off!!#consider this our version of kinktober #except we're pushing it through into december haha

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dylanobrienisbatman · 3 years

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Hey Malina Fic Writers!!

I'm pretty new to the Shadow and Bone fandom but I've written a couple fics now and I have seen the fandom looking for new works, so I thought I'd encourage you guys to come write for TROPED! @troped-fanfic-challenge is a fanfic writing competition that I help to put on, and starting on July 15th we are hosting our first ever multifandom event and I would personally love to see some Malina fics in the mix!

The details of the event can be found here, but basically we will be sharing four different moodboards, staggered over the writing period, and sharing all the fics that you guys write that are inspired by the visual prompts! We are hoping that this event can help us expand and bring our unique style of fanfic writing into other fandoms! We have a FAQ page here, and you can check through our blog to see what other kinds of events we have hosted! We would love to host a Malina specific event too, if there's interest!

I'm making this post for the Malina fandom, since I've recently become apart of it, but this event is completely multifandom, so it's open to any ship or fandom you would like to write! We would love to see any grishaverse ships in our event, or any other fandoms you’re inspired to write! Share the love and spread it around, and we hope to see our favourite Tracker and Cartographer make an appearance!

Our ask box is always open over at @troped-fanfic-challenge, as are our DM's (@thelittlefanpire and myself), if you have any questions! <3

#Malina #Troped #troped: visual #malyen oretsev #mal orestev #alina starkov #alina x mal #mal x alina #shadow and bone #the grisha trilogy #tgt #tgv #grishaverse #the grishaverse

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unrequitedloveletter · 11 months

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Okay! There was a bit of a gap between when my requests closed (May 14th) and when they’re reopening (June first, at the very minute this event is being posted) but I’m making up for it with this event lol. I wanted to do something to celebrate summer and this is that. I’m doing something separate to focus on pride and that will be a bit more explained when the first fic with that comes out, but my requests are also, as usual, open to queer fics!

But, to refocus with this event as it is, it applies to the usual host of characters: Everyone from the Grishaverse (the crows, the triumvirate, Alina, Mal, and Nikolai) as well as Pin Hawthorne from Free Rein!

This event is the summer event but even though summer TECHNICALLY doesn’t end till september (and it also doesn’t start for another twenty days but it’s warm here and it feels like summer so shhhh) Requests are going to close on July 9th!

I wanna love you til we’re food for the worms to eat- this one is summer fluff! Give me two activities/events you typically associate with summer, your character of choice and gender pref for the reader, and I’ll write 3000 words with that!

I’ll go anywhere you wanna go- this one is headcanons! It’s pretty much the shortened version of the first prompt--give me a couple of summer activities and a character, and I’ll use that to write headcanons!

I belong in your arms- ROMANCES!! This one has potential for sickeningly sweet fluff or absolutely gut wrenching angst, and it’s the dealers choice! These ones will probably be a bit longer too (it depends, but they’ll go anywhere from 3-8k most likely) and all of the details with this are up to the requester. Whether it alters my outlook on life or melts me into a heartsick puddle, send it in and I’ll see what I can cook up with whatever you send along

I’d find you in any world- I wanted to be creative, so this one involves a playlist! Pick a song from this one, give me your character preference and your gender preference for the reader, and specify whether you want it to be a song fic or a fic inspired by the vibes of the song of your choosing! These can be any genre at all, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, anything!

If I could give you the moon, I would give you the moon- ships!! Give me your gender pref, fandom pref, a description of yourself and a summer-y thing you like, and I’ll ship you with someone and write a blurb!

I’d give up forever to touch you- moodboards! Give me a character and a summer-themed date idea and I’ll make a moodboard with it

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serene-victory-77 · 3 years

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The Rodent Whisperer Of Ketterdam

This is my piece for the Grishaverse Mini Bang of 2021, thank you to @grishaversebigbang for hosting this event! @offrostandflames

My wonderful Materialki/Artists amazing and lovely pieces:

Frisslimbim’s Art and Instagram and Offrostandflames’ Art and Instagram

Summary: Kaz Brekker is known throughout the Barrel for his various schemes and skills. But there's one particular talent no one in his life is privy to, and it's going to help him get 30 million kruge. Crack Fic, Short And Sweet!

Fic:

Kaz walked away from the meeting with Jan Van Eck, his mind racing.

He’d accepted the deal, accepted 30 million kruge for breaking into the Ice Court and stealing a scientist with a drug that could change the world.

But Kaz wasn’t an idiot. It was too risky for humans, and only his best people could maybe do it. He didn’t like his chances.

There was no way he was gonna risk human error.

He hesitated. There was another option, but did he really want to instead use them?

Kaz thought about it for a long while as he made his way to the Slat. They were brave, they were many, and their relationship ran deep.

If he was being honest, they probably were his best, despite Jesper and Inej’s skill.

And humans…. Humans wouldn’t ever be able to succeed, he figured.

He knew what he had to do. He knew who he could trust.

Kaz closed the door behind him as Inej left the room. He looked around.

“Calling a meeting,” he said, tapping his cane thrice on the floor.

There was a rustle within the walls, the pitter patter of dozens upon dozens of feet. They came out of the walls, climbed through a cracked open window, found their place among the rafters and on top of his desk.

They were Kaz’s army, grown since he was nine and now an unknown force in his arsenal.

The Great Order Of Mice and The Virtuous Rat Society.

They named themselves.

He waited a little bit longer for them to all get settled.

“Thank you for your fast arrival,” he said, grabbing some cheese and crackers, as well as some bowls of water, setting them on a platter on the floor. “I have a big job for you all,”

The rodents chittered between themselves before looking up at him curiously.

He hesitated. “It involves leaving Ketterdam for a colder climate. It’s very dangerous. You might need the entire colony,”

The rodents stopped nibbling to stare at him. One of the bigger rats squeaked in confusion.

“Yes, I know, that’s a lot of you, and you guys aren’t used to being outside Ketterdam. But the reward is 30 million kruge ,”

The entire assembly went silent before wild squeaking ensued.

Kaz held up a hand. “Quiet, please, don’t alarm the Dregs,”

They calmed down again but all stood on their hind legs, nibbling their food while staring at him with wide eyes.

“I will tell you what it entails, and we can decide your reward if you agree. We’ll need to do some extra training to handle the colder weather, but that will wait a bit,”

They nodded, and Kaz settled down to explain what he could.

The briefing lasted two hours, and then the next night he had to go and break Helvar out of prison for more details to give to the army. They seemed to be in general good spirits about the entire thing, despite Kaz’s warning of danger and ice.

When he came back with all of the information he had gathered, including several small copied versions of the maps and diagrams Wylan had drawn, the real training began.

“No, the keys are going to be more complex than anything you see in the Barrel,” Kaz shook his head and laid out several old complicated door knobs and keyholes. “Show me how you’d open this,”

The rat squeaked determinedly and set to work.

“Even if you’re stealing from them, you can’t go around being sloppy,” Kaz frowned, straightening the bowties of a group of mice. The mice wore black ribbons, the rats gray, and The Council Of Rodents red. “I do not dress sloppy, and you shall not either. You are representing all Ketterdam rodents with this mission,”

They nodded seriously and let him adjust their ribbons.

“Make sure to take baths!” Kaz called after them once they were done. “You do not spread viral infections to other countries, alright!?”

Affirmative squeaks.

“It’s going to be cold, but your feet are grabby so we can’t cover them. You’re already used to Ketterdam cold, but this is different entirely,” Kaz warned them. “I tried finding some ice for you to practice on, and I’ve got...” he put several boxes atop his desk, “You guys some coats. There should be enough for all of you and are in different sizes, everyone in single file,”

The Council Of Rodents was following Kaz around town as they decided what treats he would be buying them with his share of the money.

He watched with hidden pride as the mice distracted the bakery shopkeeper and a group came from the left flank to pry open display cases and steal bread.

“They’ve come so far,” he whispered to one of the older rats that was standing on a ledge near Kaz’s head. It nodded in agreement.

A customer tried to bat away one of the rats with her purse, and a group of them jumped on her face in revenge.

“So far,” he nodded, pleased.

At the end of the week, in the hours before the sun had even risen over the sea’s horizon, Kaz stood at Fifth Harbor.

“Is everyone here?” he asked, looking over the crowd of rodents.

Two tardy mice ran from behind a shop and squeaked in apology.

“Alright, then. That ship over there is manned by someone who works for me. He has been instructed to leave you all alone and not bring a cat on board the ship. I’ve set aside barrels of cider, water, seeds, fruits, cheese, and crackers for you in the hold of the ship, so do not steal from the humans,”

One of the rats snickered and Kaz sighed. “Yes, I know I usually tell you to steal from the humans, but work with me here,”

They nodded.

“Does everyone have their maps?”

The rodents rummaged through their tiny leather pouches and waved their small maps at him.

“Weapons?”

Needles flew up into the air.

“No one is missing their coat?”

No negative squeak.

Kaz nodded. “Well, then, everyone. The ship departs in forty minutes. The journey will take a few weeks, and you’ll have to wait a while once you arrive. Do you remember what day you have to go to the Ice Court?”

Chitters confirmed they did.

Kaz took a deep breath. “Then, off to the boat with you. I trust I’ll be seeing you in two month’s time. No mourners,”

They squeaked back their best rendition of “No funerals,”, taking their individual time to pat his shoe in affirmance, and scrambled towards the boat.

Kaz stood and watched the boat until it departed.

As an extra safety measure, he ended up sending some guard crows to travel with the ship. Just being careful.

The great part about not sending humans to do your job is that people have a lot harder time figuring out which boat you’re going on, so Kaz had fun getting rid of the Black Tips that had failed to do any damage, as his army was already far out at sea.

Kaz had been training the rodents for a long time. He’d long since taken in stride that for some reason, not only could they understand him, but they could actually communicate back, and they were his secret weapon in everyday life. If things were too risky or complicated for Inej, he sent them to find out people’s secrets and bring back the information he used to control people like Geels.

He didn’t typically do big jobs with them though, they were too valuable to put in danger like that, but they were the only ones he could trust to really get the job done.

Still, despite his confidence in their abilities, he worried.

The next few weeks there were only about a couple dozen rodents from both the Order and Society, the ones that were either too young or too elderly to handle the trip, but they could still do work around Ketterdam, and news of what Jan Van Eck planned to do infuriated Kaz.

He wasn’t gonna not give his army their rewards, so while he waited for them to come back, he went about ruining lives.

Kaz found himself spending a lot of time with Wylan, Nina, Matthias, Jesper, and Inej the following weeks, one part because they were working on tearing down Wylan’s father, and one part because he had nothing else to do. The mouse and rats that were still there had taken to also watching Kaz’s companions.

He found a red fabric scrap and handed it to one of the mice, and later on, they came up to him, showing off the now rather dress-like piece.

“Who are you supposed to be, Nina?” he asked.

Affirmative squeak.

Kaz rolled his eyes and the mouse flicked their tail at him in contempt.

“Actually, you kind of have it down,” he noted, and the mouse sniffed haughtily before clambering away.

“Where’d you get that?” Kaz asked a rat playing with some gambling chips. “Better not be from the Crow Club,”

The rat showed him the Dime Lion insignia on the chips.

“Oh, you can always steal from them. But why the gambling chips?”

The rat twirled and did a little motion with its hands.

“Jesper? Really?”

He found a large, rather grumpy rat watching the Nina Mouse one day. He didn’t even have to wonder who that one was taking inspiration from, and instead handed Matthias Rat a piece of ice.

A small mouse had taken to stealing matches and trying to light small fires.

“You are not a demo expert,” Kaz told the mouse. “I don’t care how many hours you’ve spent watching the Merchling,”

The mouse squeaked sadly and Kaz frowned.

“Fine, you can mess with the matches, but have Jesper Rat watch over you,”

Wylan Mouse seemed to sigh but went with Jesper Rat anyway.

One of the smallest mice had taken to riding on Kaz’s shoulder whenever Kaz was walking the streets at night. At first, he’d wondered why, knowing he didn’t need to be watched over, but then he found that that mouse had been collecting needles, sharp metal bits, and even a small human-sized knife, and Inej Mouse was established.

A little longer than two months later, he stood on Fifth Harbor once more, the Five of Rodents waiting alongside him. A crow had arrived two days ago, with a note from the rodents that they were on their way, but complications had occurred.

He worried about numbers lost, or maybe that some of them had been imprisoned, but that wasn’t the result.

They came from the ship's hold like an ocean, carrying a small boy through pure willpower.

Kaz raised his eyebrows. “Welcome home, everyone. That doesn’t look like an old scientist to me,”

A group of them came forward, clambering over each other to explain what had happened.

“One at a time,” Kaz scolded, looking them over. It seemed that their numbers were almost intact. Clearly, some had been lost, but all in all, the casualties were minimal. He was relieved.

They explained what had happened, and Kaz sighed. Well, the old man was dead, but at least they had the son.

“Kuwei, was it?” he told the Shu boy. “Don’t speak to anyone about them,”

The boy just nodded nervously, looking more confused than anyone Kaz had ever seen.

A mouse piped up and Kaz turned incredulously. “You did what to Pekka Rollins?”

There was a gleeful chitter and Kaz smirked. “This is why I trust you guys,”

One of them asked about the reward.

“Yeah, I know,” Kaz told them. “Things got a little bit messy with Jan Van Eck, but now he’s in jail, and you guys have your own house fully stocked with food,”

A triumphant orchestra of squeaks filled the early Ketterdam morning, and Kaz grinned as the army ran onto the streets of the Barrel, pitter-pattering away.

#grishaverse big bang #grishaverse mini bang #GVMB2021 #Kaz Brekker #Six of Crows #Crack fic #mice #rats #rodents #heists #it's cute I promise #Fic with art #Six of Crows art #six of crows fic #kaz brekker fic #my crows

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trassellynn · 3 years

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Hi everyone!

Here the little event I promised! With the permission of the artist Marcy Rangel, I decided to open a special Grishaverse Art Request event, using the scheme from the image below. (Here you can also find Marcy’s Deviantart account. ) As I always say, I am not a professional artist and I only draw traditional/non digital art, but I will be happy to give my contribute to Grishaverse fanarts.

So, how does the event work?

You send me a request in my Ask Box choosing two characters and a pose (for example, Jesper/Wylan 1C) and I’ll draw it.

- As you can see, many poses can be good not only for ships, but also for friendships, so if you like BROTPs more than romantic pairings, feel free to ask for them!

- You can send me more than a request.

- I could take some days to draw your requests, but don’t worry, I won’t leave anyone behind.

- You are obviously free to tell me if you’re not satysfied and ask me to re-draw the fanart.

The event is for everyone: You don’t need to follow my blog to ask for a request and you can also send it anonymously.

SOME RESTRICTIONS:

First of all, NO SMUT.

Then, since I hate saying no to a request, here the ships I’d prefer not to be asked of.

I beg you not to take it personally, I have nothing against you as persons if you ship these couples, I just want to make things clear so you won’t see your request refused.

Couples with age gap, like Darklina, Nikolina, etc.

Couples that don’t respect characters’ orientation, for example, from what I know (and you can correct me if I’m wrong) Tolya is an AroAce character, so I won’t draw fanarts about him in a romantic pose with someone else (but feel absolutely free to ask for non-romantic poses for him!)

Then, please, don’t hate me, but I beg you not to ask me Hannina fanarts, because, for several reasons that also involve my emotive sphere, I am totally unable to work at this ship.

I think there’s nothing more about the restrictions, apart from these couples, you can ask everything you want, canon or not.

Please, don’t make flames nor send me hate, I’m doing this thing also because I’m in a very fragile mental status and I realized that making fanarts for you helps me a bit. 💕

(In case you desperately need a fanart about the couples I don’t draw, I you can still ask me to help you to find artists that will satisfy your request).

So, here we go, for now the requests are open until Sunday, November 29th, at 11.59 PM (Rome Timezone).

If I don’t receive many requests, I will probably make an extension.

Hope you’ll like this idea!

Thanks to everyone who will take part to this!

Lynn

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wazafam · 3 years

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Netflix's Shadow & Bone series, based on the bestselling books by Leigh Bardugo, has a rich mythology and vibrant characters; here it all is explained. The gritty, dark fantasy Netflix series was first announced in January 2019 with Eric Heisserer (Arrival) serving as showrunner, creator and executive producer, with Bardugo herself also serving as EP on the series, guaranteeing it will stay faithful to the spirit of the books.

Bardugo's series of novels has earned itself a large and faithful following thanks to their intricate world-building, an interesting system of magic, and unforgettable characters. The scope of the new upcoming Netflix TV show is ambitious; thus far Bardugo's "Grishaverse" consists of six books: the original trilogy, a mostly unrelated duology set in the same universe, and a direct sequel to the original trilogy meant to pick up where the events of it left off. Rather than adapt them all exactly in order or cut the duology out completely, the approach Heisserer is taking is to weave both stories and sets of characters together in an intertwining narrative.

Related: Everything We Know So Far About Netflix's Shadow & Bone

With the crossing A plot, B plot approach of both stories being adapted simultaneously, that means the series will introduce an awful lot of characters into a universe that's brand-new for many viewers. In order to prep for Shadow & Bone's anticipated release in April, here's a handy breakdown of the books and how the series differs from them, the characters, and the world of the Grishaverse.

The original Grishaverse trilogy consists of three books, Shadow and Bone, Storm and Siege, and Ruin and Rising. They tell the story of teenage orphan, Alina Starkov, who grows up in an orphanage in the kingdom of Ravka with her best friend and fellow orphan, Malyen Oretsev, or Mal. Both Alina and Mal are conscripted into the Ravkan army but Alina, who has never been good at anything, doesn't take to it the way Mal does.

They're sent on a mission to cross the Shadow Fold, otherwise known as the Unsea, an unnatural tear of absolute darkness full of monsters that has split the once-great kingdom of Ravka in two. During the dangerous crossing, their regiment is attacked by the monsters, called volcra, and Mal is brutally injured. In her fear and panic, Alina exhibits a rare and to-that-point dormant power that saves his life while changing hers forever, for it's revealed Alina's power may be the key to saving their war-ravaged nation.

Soon, Alina is whisked away to the capital Os Alta, to be trained as a Grisha, the magic users of the world. Her greatest champion, and source of confusion, is General Kirigan, a.k.a. the Darkling, the ultra-powerful leader of the Grisha and head of their magical armed forces. As Alina's power grows, she learns more about it – and that someone may be using her as a pawn for their own ends. Suddenly, Alina has to learn how to carry the burden of being the country's great hope while navigating the pitfalls of royal intrigue and betrayal, all the while fighting her attraction to her mentor, the Darkling, and worrying about Mal and how he fares on the front lines.

Related: How Shadow & Bone Is Avoiding The Witcher's Timeline Confusion

Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse is a rich tapestry of magical fantasy and gritty, realistic conflict. It's set in a fictional world that mirrors ours, with the various countries in the world being based on real-world countries and cultures. Ravka, where the majority of the action of Shadow & Bone takes place, is modeled after 18th-century Tsarist Russia, with its capital Os Alta, serving as a stand-in for Moscow. But other countries are visited in the book series, including Kerch and its capital, Ketterdam (the Netherlands and Amsterdam), Fjerda (Scandinavia), Shu Han (Mongolia & China), Novyi Zem (American & Australian colonies), and the Wandering Isles (Ireland).

When the story opens, Ravka has been embroiled in a long civil war after the rebellious Darkling's first attempts to depose Ravka's weak-willed king, Alexander III. As a result, the people of Ravka are no strangers to military service, but Ravka's has two separate militaries: those who practice the Small Science - what we'd call magic - known as the Grisha, and who serve in the Second Army, and the non-magical people (referred to as otkazat'sya by the Grisha) who serve in the First Army. The two Ravkan armies sit uneasy with each other, with the First Army fearing the Grisha's magical power and influence, and the Grisha often having a disdainful disregard for non-magical people, fueled in part by the fact magic users used to be persecuted. Understandably, the kingdom of Ravka is tired and impoverished due to its constant state of war with itself and hostile nations that would seek to take advantage of the inner turmoil, with the royal Lantsov family ruling over it all.

The Grisha are separated into three magical groups: Corporalki, Etherealki, and Materialki, each with their own subgroups and uniforms. Of the three, the Corporalki are the highest tier in the Second Army and the most feared magic users, as their magic is the kind that manipulates the body at the smallest molecular level, bringing either death (Heartrenders) or life (Healers). The Corporalki are identified by their crimson red kefta uniforms.

Etherealki are also powerful and an important part of the Second Army as they deal with the elements, manipulating air (Squallers), controlling and creating fire with a flint focus (Inferni), and those who can control water (Tidemakers). Squallers and Tidemakers are especially important to the Navy and a pair are found on every Ravkan ship, their blue keftas denoting them as Etherealki.

Related: Cursed Season 2 Theory: How Nimue Could Be Saved From Death

Lastly, the Materialki may not have skills that are as flashy as the first two branches, but without their magic, the Ravkan armies, and Ravka itself, would fall apart, for Materialkis, also known as Fabrikators, are able to manipulate inorganic material to create incredible weapons and inventions. The Durasts can manipulate any solid object, whether it be glass, metal, stone, wood, and more, while Alkemi deal in more alchemical matters, such as poisons and blasting powders. The Fabrikators are known by their purple kefta.

Then there are the extremely rare kind of Grisha known as Summoners. Though technically Etherealki, they get their own name as their powers are so unique among their kind. In the world of Shadow & Bone, only two known summoners exist: The Darkling, a.k.a. the Shadow Summoner, who can summon the dark, and Alina Starkov, a.k.a. the Sun Summoner, who can summon the light.

There are many characters across the six books published so far, and Netflix's Shadow & Bone series is using characters from both the original Grishaverse trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. Here are the main characters in the Netflix series.

The Darkling, a.k.a. General Kirigan - The Darkling (Ben Barnes) is the leader of the Grisha Second Army. He is mysterious and powerful, the only person on Earth known to be able to summon darkness. Thus, his abilities and the pressures of leading the army have isolated him from the rest of humanity and while he is not to be trusted, he's possibly to be pitied. When he meets Alina Starkov and realizes what she is, it creates an instant connection as he believes he's found someone who can finally understand him.

Related: Why Netflix's Shadow & Bone Is Hiding Ben Barnes Being The Darkling

Alina Starkov - The Sun Summoner, Alina (Jessie Mei Li) is a teenaged orphan who discovers she has a rare and world-changing power during a mission through the Shadow Fold. Suddenly, Alina's life is turned upside-down as she goes from a quiet life in a small village to the center of the capital city of Os Alta as the one who can perhaps destroy the Shadow Fold for good. Alina tries her best to live up to everyone's expectations, but the weight of it is lot to bear and it draws her closer to the Darkling in their shared loneliness.

Malyen "Mal" Oretsev - Mal (Archie Renaux) is Alina's best friend; they grew up together in the same orphanage. Mal gets drafted into the First Army where he proves himself to be an exceptionally gifted tracker and soldier. As their lives head in different directions after the revelation of Alina's powers, the distance and conflicting objectives put a strain on their friendship, even as their connection forged from childhood refuses to break.

Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker - Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) is the de facto leader of the Dregs, also known as the Crows, one of Ketterdam's street gangs, and one of the most ambitious thanks to Kaz being a criminal mastermind and bolder than the rest. Kaz is only a teenager, but his legend has grown in Ketterdam's back alleys and nighttime shadows. Kaz is known for being willing to do any job, no matter how violent or dangerous, without showing an ounce of fear, thus earning him the nickname Dirtyhands.

Inej "The Wraith" Ghafa - As Kaz Brekker's right-hand woman, Inej (Amita Suman) is as feared as Kaz himself. Of Suli background and raised as an acrobat, Inej uses her catlike reflexes and incredible grace to be the Dregs' spy. She can get into any room, scale any wall, infiltrate any building, thus earning the nickname The Wraith in Ketterdam's criminal circles. Despite this, Inej has a strong moral code, and though she always has at least half a dozen knives somewhere on her body, all named for a saint, there are some lines she won't cross, not even for Kaz.

Related: Cursed: The Original Lady Of The Lake Legend Explained

Jesper Fahey - The Dregs' sharpshooter, at first glance, Jesper (Kit Young) doesn't seem like someone you can trust in a fight: He's a gambler, cocky, and always quick with a joke no matter the situation. But Jesper is a cool head in a fight and has a near-perfect aim no matter what. Unknown to many, Jesper is also a Durast, but won't use his power thanks a childhood trauma. Due to his powers not being released, Jesper is often fidgety and impulsive, the excess magical energy making him constantly restless.

Nina Zenik - Nina (Danielle Galligan) is a Heartrender from Ravka who also works with the Dregs from time to time. She's beautiful and curvaceous, and her boisterous personality and forward manner belies a compassionate person. Nina is a big personality, who feels everything and loves fiercely, whether it's food, people, or laughter. Despite this, Nina is loyal to her country and often puts Ravka's needs above her own.

Matthias Helvar - Matthias (Calahan Skogman) is a Fjerdan Drüskelle soldier who captures Nina when she's on a mission. The Fjerdans are suspicious people with a hatred of witchcraft, immediately viewing all Grisha as devils to be destroyed. Matthias is uptight, bullheaded, and unfriendly, but there's also a softer, more open person struggling to break out from the years of brutal living that have made him so cold.

The big difference between the books and the new Netflix series is that the series will be weaving together characters from both the original Grishaverse trilogy and the Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom duology at the same time. In order to keep the timeline intact, this means the storyline with the Dregs will be a prequel story to those familiar with the books, with the events involving the Dregs in the series happening before the events in the books. This leaves open the possibility that Six of Crows may be adapted in later seasons. Likewise, there are two major characters already confirmed to not be appearing in Shadow & Bone season 1: Nikolai Lantsov, the prince of Ravka, and Wylan Van Eck, a member of the Dregs. They'll likely appear in a second season provided Netflix orders one.

Shadow & Bone premieres on Netflix on Friday, April 23.

More: Every New Show Releasing On Netflix In 2021

What Is Shadow & Bone? Books, Characters & Netflix Show Explained from https://ift.tt/308iHHv

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