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#kanej fanfic
ravenyenn19 · 4 months
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To the Grishaverse: We never stop fighting.
To honor this fandom that welcomed me with open arms, I will be posting my own take of S3 of “Shadow and Bone” in fic form. To Leigh, thank you for gifting us a world to walk into where the close calls made hope feel tangible. Thank you for the magic & the mayhem.
To my own fic readers, I toast DWOD style: “To the coin. May we always wonder where it disappeared to. May magic live on.”
I cannot offer much, but I may still offer a bandaid to aid the broken hearts that beat like crows’ wings.
No mourners, no funerals.
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lunarthecorvus · 22 days
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I give you my soul.
You give me an established Kanej fanfiction.
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subject-layla · 3 months
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Yesterday, I was going through my docs when I saw this snippet of a Kanej one-shot. I don't know when I'll complete it, so I decided to post this here anyway.
The last time they talked about marriage, it was pouring in Ketterdam. The rain was usual, but the world seemed to be on the brink of its ending, water rumbling on Slat's roof, louder than the conversations down bellow, louder than her heart beating like a hummingbird inside her chest, louder than Kaz silence when the words left her mouth: “Do you ever think about marriage?” He was crimson in a second, all blood rushing to his face, and if it wasn't her own nervousness, she would say he looked cute. Who knew that marriage made the infamous Dirtyhands all flushed and out of his depth? His pome went up and down, his oh-so-bare hands twitched, for a fleeting moment, she thought he had stumbled back, using the desk behind him as support for his fall. But his eyes, dark and wistful, told her he was searching for words. She let him. The sea made her patient, taught her the value of knowing when to demand answers and when to wait for its waves. Kaz was all tides in a dark night, you had to know these kinds of waters before adventuring. “Yes,” he whispered. Louder than the world-ending-rain. “All the time.”
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wandawxdow · 1 year
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Kaz Brekker x Inej Ghafa
fic recs
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If At First You Don’t Succeed by KatyaMorrigan
A Sign of Affection by teacup_tyrant
Splintered and Shattered by writetheniteaway
if the whole world was watching (i’d still dance with you) by heavenlyshadows
see your daybreak through my black curtains by TheTenthSunrise
No Mourners, No Funerals by Introverted_Mess
I Can Help You by gftomyofo
Breathe New Air Into My Lungs by ThisQueenShallConquer
shaking the wings of their exultant and terrible youth by lovebeyondmeasure
Sunshine Bleach by QHQ
A Safe Place To Land by insignificant457
The Calls by TWrites
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downn-in-flames · 8 months
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sometimes you hyperfixate on the line "was there another dream?" and the result is 1.1k words of tooth-rottingly fluffy kanej brainrot.
bon appetit.
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whynotcherries · 2 months
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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa Additional Tags: POV Inej Ghafa, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Kaz Brekker is Trying, Soft Inej Ghafa, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Trauma, Morning After, Slice of Life, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Fluff, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Domestic Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa Summary:
(Apparently, making breakfast while she slept in his bed wasn't off the table.
Neither was keeping quiet to let her sleep with the door open, just as he'd promised the night prior. And with the curtains drawn, he'd had to have made some amount of effort to get dressed in the dark without waking her -- or, maybe he'd stayed in his pajamas, and was currently shirtless in the kitchen.)
Or, quiet mornings.
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starlightandmagic · 5 months
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Between the Lines
For a moment, it feels like perhaps he could manage to give Inej more than the broken shell of a man too damaged to function correctly.
But when the mark of a year since Inej left Ketterdam comes and goes, and there's still no sign of the Wraith on the horizon, no hint that Fifth Harbor will ever welcome its pirate Captain again, Kaz begins to suspect that berth twenty-two will remain forever empty. And it's not like he has been harboring hope, not really, but a part of him wonders what all of this is for. When his revenge is no longer part of his everyday plans and Inej has long since left, what is he fighting for now?
In the time the Wraith spends away, Kaz struggles to find his new purpose and what life means outside of his revenge. Unbeknownst to him, none of his Crows are ready to give up on him just yet.
Read on Ao3
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sprnklersplashes · 5 months
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I'll crawl home to her: on his deathbed, inej asks kaz to stay. who is he to deny her?
whumptober: flatline/don't go where I can't follow
prologue (ao3)
cw: coughing blood, major character death
Many have speculated about how Kaz Brekker will die. The most popular was that his dirty deeds would catch up to him and that when he did die, it would be because he had finally bitten off more than he could chew. There were those in the Barrel who thought they would best him, be the champion who took down Dirtyhands. Some believed he would go out as he lived; a weapon in his hand and blood on his shirt. 
And then, there were the rumours that Kaz simply could not die. It was certainly plausible; after all his close brushes with death, the daring escapes that shouldn’t have been possible, it had become a serious rumour in the Barrel that Kaz Brekker was simply immortal, and anything that tried to kill him would simply slide away. 
Well, Inej has the answer now. Kaz can in fact die, and what kills him is not a random act of violence or a righteous hero. It’s an illness; one that made a home for itself some time ago in Kaz’s lungs and stayed unnoticed, hidden in plain sight. And Kaz went about his days, scheming, collecting, heisting, all unaware that the parasite had embedded itself in his body. When the cough developed and never left, he brushed it off as a mere cold. When his chest rattled as he breathed, he simply tightened his coat and told them he was fine. 
When he began coughing blood… he hid the handkerchiefs from them.
She’d cursed him at the time. Damn you Kaz she’d shouted, throwing the bloodied rags in his face. Why the hell would you do this? Why would you hide this from us? Kaz remained silent, eyes hidden by the brim of his hat. It was only after she had stormed out of his room in a rage that she realised he had been crying and she fell to her knees. 
Kaz doesn’t cry.
Inej went back into his room, and he told her everything. And since then, they had taken each day as it came. Kaz coughed more, Inej prayed. Kaz wheezed while walking, Inej prayed some more. Kaz collasped in the middle of the Crow Club, Inej spent six hours in the chapel, reciting every prayer she’d been taught a hundred times over. 
Slowly, Kaz was spending more and more days in bed, gradually growing too weak to even stand properly. Eventually, he relented and let her bring in a medik, who did nothing but listen to his chest and then confirm their worst nightmares.
“Make the most of the time you have with him,” they had told her.
That night, Inej climbed the church spires and screamed until her throat was raw.
Afterwards, she moved into his bedroom. Neither complained, and so they both stayed, him sleeping and her praying, as the new reality crept in and made them both prisoners. Inej would watch as her Kaz, her brilliant, ruthless Kaz, slipped further away from her. His eyes grew dull, his skin white, his frame reduced to skin and bones, until little remain but a shell of the boy she’d met at the Menagerie. 
And all that brings them to right now. Inej sits at the foot of Kaz’s bed, dagger clasped in her hands, and begins another cycle of prayers. In the background is the ever-present sound of his wheezed breathing, along with the scattering of rain against the window. Inej touches the tip of the blade with each finger, her Saint’s names muttered under her breath. 
“Inej.” The weak, strained sound of her name has her discarding her thoughts, her heart leaping to her throat. Kaz’s brows are furrowed, his pale lips pressed in a thin line. He shifts, legs twitching beneath hers, and his chest stutters like a failing engiene. He frowns, gasps, and tries again, “Inej.”
“I’m here.” In a heartbeat, she sheaths her dagger and crosses the bed until she’s beside him, brushing his hair from his face. It’s hard to tell whether he’s awake or dreaming these days, but either way, she’ll be at his side. “I’m here, Kaz, it’s okay.” 
It takes some more laboured breaths before Kaz can open his eyes. Just as he does, a coughing fit storms through him, causing the whole bedframe to tremble. Swallowing her panic, Inej grabs his outstretched hand, and continues to stroke his hair, his cheek, all the while telling him it will be all right. Her muttering continues, even when the coughing turns wet and a new instinct kicks in. One hand pulls him into a sitting position while the other snatches the cloth from the table to hold against his lips. As he shudders against her, her arm is around his shoulders, her knuckles grazing his hair. The fabric muffles the sound, but the bed continues shaking. Like a little dinghy caught in a vicious storm. 
When the coughing becomes hacking, Inej buries her face in his hair and presses thoughtless kisses to his head. It should be to comfort him. But the reality is less selfless than she likes; she can’t bare to see the crimon that stains the cloth.
Eventually, his shaking slows and the coughing dies down. Inej waits until its completely quiet before daring to lift her head. The cloth in her hand is almost completely scarlet. It squelches in her palm, blood oozing between her fingers. 
Quickly, Inej discards it, wipes her hands clean and returns to the bed. As she sits down, legs crossed, her hands are closed into tight fists.
Kaz is at least settled, pillows wedged between his back and the headboard. At first glance, he looks peaceful, but then she sees how pale is skin is. Even in the weak light, he looks almost translucent, punctuated by dark shadows beneath his eyes and a faint blue tinge to his lips. His watches her, eyes unfocussed, head cocked to one side. Low, shallow breathing fills the silence, minute by minute, until Kaz has the strength to talk.
“You’re sad.” Inej shakes her head. Her hair falls over her shoulders.
“No I’m… I’m fine.” She looks up, forces herself to smile. Her hands remain clasped between her knees. “How do you feel, Kaz?” 
He blinks at her, processing what she had said. Inej tries to think how he’d form entire heists in mere seconds. People had called him the most brilliant mind in Kerch.
He still is a fierce voice tells her. But that mind has been slowed by illness, by the medicines she’s tried and failed. A simple question now takes far too long to answer.
“M’alright,” he says. His hand, ungloved, moves across the blankets and sits atop her knee. She doesn’t know exactly when he took the gloves off. But when she rests her hand over his, carefully, slowly, he doesn’t flinch. Instead, he nods, and she thinks she sees him smile. 
Rain falls in steady, heavy sheets against the window, saving them from complete silence. She won’t force conversation, not when words feel so useless and talking takes so much out of him. She makes herself content and waits until he feels strong enough.
“You were praying.”
“I always pray,” she says with a shrug. Kaz nods and hums in agreement and at first she thinks that’s all there is to it. 
“What were you… praying for?” he asks. It’s a trick question. Inej bites her tongue to hold back the curses, because you already know Kaz, why are you making me say it?
“I’m praying for you to get better,” she tells him. “So that when you do, I can laugh at you for ever mocking my Saints.” He nods then, the movement so miniscule anyone else would have missed it. When he breathes out, its unsteady, laboured, his face tight like he’s refusing to scream. Before now, she had never heard such a thing come out of a human being. 
While he gathers himself, she touches her concealed knife and prays again.
“Inej…” he begins. He gasps, licks his chapped lips, squeezes her hand. Very slowly, as if it’s made of lead, he lifts his other hand and places it over hers. It’s cold as ice, colder even, but Ketterdam has made her very good at staying still. 
“Inej,” he says again. “It’ll be okay.”
“I know,” she tells him. She nods, smiles, even if none of it feels real. It’s all just orders to brain sends to her face. “I know. You’ll get better, and it’ll be okay.”
“No… Inej.” Kaz pushes himself up then, and panic catches like a match on a tinderbox. Before she can think, her hand is on his shoulder, helping him into whatever position he needs. He looks up at her, gasping, wet eyes glistening in the candlelight. “Inej… you’ll be alright.”
And now it’s her turn to blink. She turns the words over in her head, wondering what he could mean, wondering if he’s dreaming. Then, the words solidifies, and she jerks as if he had slapped her. 
“No,” she tells him. “ We will be alright-”
“Inej-”
“You’ll get better,” she tells him. “And if I have to fight the Saints themselves, then I will.” Her voice trembles, such conviction that she surprises even herself. “I will not lose you, Kaz.”
“Inej…” he mutters. “I don’t… I don’t want to… leave you like this.”
“Then don’t,” she replies. She sniffles, swallows the lump in her throat. In one quick motion, she plants her knees on either side of his legs, their hands still clasped. “You don’t have to.”
“I… I might.” Inej freezes. Kaz has rarely done anything he did not want to do, much less admitted to it. He ducks his head, squeezes his eyes shut. When he tries to breathe, chokes on it. Dry coughing shakes his shoulders and makes tears gather in his eyes. Inej rubs his back, whispers assurances, holds a cup of water to his lips.
And though its superstition, she looks over her shoulder, as if Death might be standing in the doorway to take him. 
When he finally finishes, his head falls back and his eyes slide closed. 
“Might be… time…” he pants. “Time to… pay the debts…” The words trail off, blurring into a drowsy haze. For a moment, she freezes, a sob or scream caught in her throat. Then she hears the rattle of his chest, sees the flutter of his lashes, and she forces it down. 
Soundlessly, she pulls herself a few inches closer. If he wanted, their foreheads could touch. After a nod from him, she takes his face in her hands. 
“Stay,” she pleads, repeating the words he said to her so very long ago. Her throat feels so dry, but she makes herself say it. “Stay here. Stay with me.” Despite his closed eyes, he smiles, though it’s little more than a twitch of a muscle. Slowly, his arm comes around her waist. She doesn’t miss how he sinks into the mattress as he does so. One gesture took so much from him. 
Kaz coughs again and she moves to get him water. Before she can though, he pulls her closer and moves so that his nose rubs hers. It took her by surprise, the first day he did that. She had laughed and told him he was like a kitten. Kaz hadn’t commented but afterwards it wormed its way into a million little moments between them. It brings her back to before this illness, the quiet moments they never thought they’d have.
With his face in her hands, Inej wills the moment to stay. For them to just be this, a girl cradling a boy’s face in his bed. 
“Please,” she begs him. “Don’t go where I can’t follow.” 
“You could… follow anyone… anywhere,” he wheezes. He whimpers. “But… maybe not… this time.” He coughs again, heavy as the rain outside. In seconds, she grabs a clean cloth and holds it to his lips. Blood doesn’t come this time, Instead, she dips it in water and cools his flushed cheeks. 
As it subsides, Inej settles him back against the pillows. His chest is heaving now, and a low graon escapes him as he curls inward. For the first time, Inej forces herself to keep looking at him. Regardless of the guilt piercing her heart, she must keep watching him. Because he is still here.
Blindly, his hand reaches and she takes it between her two, rubbing the skin like she can force warmth back into him. Slender fingers curl around hers and hold tight. Before he fell ill, he had started pressing kisses to her knuckles. When his hand twitches, Inej thinks for a moment he may be about to again. Perhaps he was. But then he grunts, wheezes, and their clasped hands remain still upon his chest.
Inej’s throat tightens. She tightens her jaw and bites her tongue until she tastes metal. She will not cry because he can’t kiss her anymore. She will not. It’s not about her.
(But how much of him has this illness stolen form her?)
Between her knees, Kaz’s legs shift. Inej stirs in time to see his eyes open weakly and his gaze turn towards the window. As watery light falls over his face, Inej finds herself wishing he’d look away. She doesn’t want to see the hollowness of his cheeks, or the red tinge in his eyes. But at the same time… he’s almost smiling. These days that smile is rarer than shooting stars. Can she really want to take this from him?
“It’s… it’s stopped… r-raining,” he gasps. Her hand in his, Inej turns and, for some reason she’ll never know, a faint smile touches her lips. It has indeed stopped, and what’s more; the sun now peeks through the clouds in small, silver bursts. It catches the raindrops on the glass, and an array of shimmering colours falls onto the windowsill. Their own little rainbow, she thinks.
“Yes,” she says softly. “It has-”
She turns, possibly to say something else or maybe to show him the rainbow, but the words halt in her throat. Kaz’s eyes have closed, his lashes resting against his gaunt cheeks. His hand is stiff around hers. Blood pools at the corner of his lips. Dazed, Inej rests her hand on his chest. Beneath her palm, there’s no beat of a heart, no broken breathing. Just silence, stillness.
Ever-patient, Inej waits. Just as she used to wait for a signal, she waits to hear something from him. She waits, blinks, waits some more. She counts. One minute. Two minutes. Three.
Four.
Five.
“Kaz?” Inej makes a small, choking sound. She sees, rather than feels, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek. He doesn’t react to her touch. Under her touch, his skin is cold, and hard. Like marble.
“Kaz?” she asks again, even though she already knows. It’s just her and a body, and Kaz Brekker is, at long last, gone.
Slowly, Inej falls to the bed. She moves as if following instructions; her arm wraps around Kaz’s waist, her head on his chest, her leg hooks around his. It’s the way they always are, the way they have learned and helped each other to be. It was this very room where they began shedding their pasts, piece by piece, intending to build something with what was left behind. It was here they began exploring themselves and each other, taking risks, being bold. Moving forwards, stepping back. Offering, giving, searching, finding things in each other they never thought possible. After those months and then years together, there was still so much left for them to do. A road untravelled, now closed off to her. Forever.
They were meant to have more time. 
It’s only when a wet patch grows on Kaz’s shirt that she realises she is crying. Silently, endlessly, a way she hadn’t done since she was fourteen and realised no-one was coming to save her. Hopelessness comes to meet her, just as it did then, and when it slithers beneath her skin, she knows without doubt it will stay.
She lifts her head and looks at Kaz again. 
“You were meant to stay,” she tells him. She balls up his shirt and says again, “You were meant to stay!” 
If he is sorry for leaving her, he doesn’t show it. There’s just her, and the tears that fall like rain against his cold skin. 
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fairytalesofforever · 5 months
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I feel like a proud parent watching my characters' growth, both individually and in their relationships. like, they're so much more grounded?? and better at communicating?? and they have so much trust now??
yes this is about tbwksik kanej and their 15+ years of emotional maturity and how they have achieved the goal of giving jordan a better life than they had
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tough-n-dumb · 12 hours
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maybe they could try again
Kaz hadn’t planned on holding her hand—not that he hadn’t wanted to. Ghezen, he wanted to touch her constantly. It was a foreign feeling, but one he indulgently let wash over him. Ever since the Geldrenner, the night he walked to what he thought would be his death, he was consumed by the memory of his lips on Inej’s throat, the small swallow he felt her take, the sweat beaded on her soft skin. So, wanting wasn’t the issue. With Inej it never had been.
or, five reunions, and five times of growing together and learning to touch. Post-Crooked Kingdom and all the years after.
Read on AO3
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thecrxwclub · 2 years
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kanej fic rec! (with a little bit of helnik tacked onto the end)
i’m going to continuously update this, so if you have any rec’s let me know!
canon compliant
wax strangers by QHQ  (T) 3.1k
a good ol’ “the crows figuring out kaz and inej are together on their own time” fic, because i love them
Needle and Thread by QHQ (T) 1.5k
I absolutely love fics where they’re patching each other up; the trust that they have in each other is something so special to me
on the job by feelinglikecleo (M) 3.7k
MID-HEIST SEXY TIMES!!
One Thousand and One Nights by Trogdor19 (M) 10.9k
very sweet very hot !
back and forth; sneaking in your bed by butterflywings6 (M) 3.7k
I’m sorry but the line “He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. “And a good morning. I woke up to find an Inej in my bed.” will never not make me want to CRY i love them your honor
stay by phybe (T) 1.6k
like “patching each other up” fics, i love a good sick fic!! this one is very sweet
Manners, Mannerisms, and Misdirection by rainstormdragon (E) 6.3k
this is so soft (and steamy) and one of the first kanej fics i read!! 10/10
show me where my armor ends (show me where my skin begins) by kingsandqueensofthebarrel (M) 24.5k
idk how to sum this one up but it’s just SO GOOD trust me, this is a must-read
I saw him see me by Rivkah94 (T) 3.9k
kaz is jealous that inej has nicknames for everyone but him AND IT’S SO SOFT I LOVE IT SO MUCH
Homeland by unfortunate17 (T) 7.6k
i really love outsider-pov fics, and this one takes the cake. i love everything about it, from the backstories they created to the fact that they make everyone in town think that jesper is “mr. brekker”
two solitudes by sixappleseeds (G) 2k
bed sharing is one of my favorite kanej tropes it’s just so good (takes place right after crooked kingdom)
Behind Closed Doors by rainstormdragon (E) 13.7k
grab a fan and some ice water because this fic is HOT!! kaz is both a simp and an asshole, and no one is suprised. 
— updated 6/30
treacherous by downn_in_flames (M) 29/30
30 out-of-order vignettes of kanej post-ck. this is my absolute FAVORITE fic, it just makes my heart so happy!!
this love is a permanent mark (this love is glowing in the dark) by peterpan_in_neverland (T) 7.5k
kaz goes to visit inej’s family in ravka and i just LOVE this. i love anything about kaz interacting w/ her family, and the writing in this is soso good!
Hail to the King and Queen of the Rukus by alethae (T) 7.4k
i’m a sucker for any 5+1 fic, and lucky for me kanej has a lot of them. this one is 5 times the dregs were confused by kaz and inej’s relationship + 1 time it was made abundantly clear and i LOVE IT
this love will spin, now and always by whynotcherries (T) 4.4k
hey look another 5+1!! beauty told 5 times through kaz’s pov and 1 time through inej’s
through wide oceans, back home to you by wishingforrain (G) 1k
a quick little one-shot about how inej feels safe around kaz that is guaranteed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy
Between the Lines by unfortunate17 (M) 7.2k
5 times other people realized kaz was in love with inej + 1 time where he realized it himself
forever is the sweetest con by downn_in_flames (T) 2.3k
literally anything by this writer is my favorite, and this is no exception. just the quote “no i’m marrying inej for the tax incentives, the fact that i love her is entirely separate from the fact that kerch law favors married partners” tells you everything you need to know
Dirtyhands by feelinglikecleo (E) 2.3k
i think the title speaks for itself on this one. *wink wink nudge nudge* 10/10
die for you in secret by downn_in_flames (T) 5.3k
it’s another 5+1 no one is surprised!! 5 times kaz didn’t say what he was thinking + 1 time he did. this is definitely one of my favorites, and with the amount of times i’ve reread it it might be #1
it’s just a fantasy by buries (E) 7.7k
yes this is really just 7k of smut but it’s also just so in-character and i love how they write them!!
begin again by downn_in_flames (T) 2.4k
I SMILED THE ENTIRE TIME I READ THIS IT’S SO SOFT AND MAKES MY HEART SO HAPPY!! i love a good kanej kid fic and wholeheartedly believe that kaz would be such a good dad and love that kid so damn much (this is also the epilogue to treacherous, which i linked earlier!!)
It’s Something to Me by EdmundPevensiesQueen (T) 3.3k
kaz taking care of inej when she has debilitating cramps, this is so soft and i love it
canon divergent
Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Another_Local_Dreamer (T) 10.3k
Jordie lives fic! I absolutely love this one, it’s one that I read over and over again because it just makes me smile, I absolutely love how Jordie and Kaz are written.
full in all your veins by southslates (T) 1.5k
soulmate fics are my bread and butter, and this one is just so good
pick apart (the pieces of your heart) by midnights (N/A) 6.2k
the takes place in the universe of the show right after they get back to ketterdam and i’m obsessed with it
farmer kaz by cafatonin (G) 7k
the crows actually learning about kaz’s backstory isn’t a want, it’s a NEED!! a fic where everybody lives and no one dies!!
text fic
best of times, worst of crimes by clevernotbrilliant (T) 57/?
good ol’ college text fic, my one true love!! i usually don’t love oc’s in fics but i really love the character they created and how she fits into the crows!!
Nothing’s changed at all by whynotcherries (T) 64/?
the crows go to summer camp!! also jordie lives!!
Birds of a Feather Flock Together by laufeydottirs (T) 10/?
ofc i have to rec my own text fic :) if you squint you can see some plot, but it’s mostly just chaos
helnik
lover by lostinthelightss (T) 15/30
thirty (eventually) modern au oneshots that fill the helnik-shaped hole in my heart
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ravenyenn19 · 8 months
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A Quote to embody each Crow + One for each love story 🐦‍⬛🌌
Nina Zenik & Matthias Helvar:
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🐺🫀
Jesper Fahey & Wylan Van Eck:
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💣🃏
Kaz Brekker & Inej Ghafa:
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🗡️🐦‍⬛
Working on my uploads but I figured tumblr might appreciate this lil tiktok post I made, too. 🖤
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lunarthecorvus · 2 months
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Just read a brilliant 27.5k word Kanej regency au fic in an hour... It was amazing
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malconnorsupremacy · 3 months
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love is a ruthless game (unless you play it good and right)
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Pairings: Kanej, mentioned Wesper
Rating: Mature
Summary: Inej is kidnapped, and it doesn't help when the abductor is the man she walked away from a year ago.
Chapter 1: never saw you coming
Inej woke up in an unfamiliar room, disoriented and with a headache the size of Ravka.
She blinked- once, twice. When her eyes adjusted to the pitch darkness of the room, she tried to gauge her surroundings. Someone had taken her shoes off, and her hands were bound by a rope.
She felt the ground beneath her with her bare feet. Cold, tiled, uncleaned for a while.
Before taking action, she unwound the happenings of the night before. Her mind decried for details she might have missed, with great difficulty. Hell, it hurt to think.
~~~
Inej had just finished her routine walkthrough of the ship, reminding everyone of their duties and giving pointed looks to those slacking off. It was then when she heard a knock on the door of her captain’s quarters and the head of a small brunette poked in.
“Sana! Beta, what are you doing here?” Inej offered her a pleasant smile.
Sana was barely 11 years old, and was intercepted by slavers on the streets of Ravka. Her parents had left her to fend for herself just two weeks before her abduction, too poor and sick to give her anything to meet a level of subsistence. They were Suli, too, and were driven to such poverty by the treatment of the horrible government. Inej wondered sometimes, if her parents would’ve ever abandoned her in times of such crisis. If they knew how bloody her hands would be in the future.
“I brought us some tea, will you have some with me?” Sana enquired, holding two cups of tea in her small hands. Inej was replete with a strange warmth and automatic affinity towards this young girl. Well, it wasn’t like she had anything better to do.
“Of course beta, tell me about your day.”
~~~
That tea.
That fucking tea.
Someone had put something in that tea, not enough to make her unconscious on the spot, but just enough to knock her out in another two hours’ time.
Oh Sana, Inej thought ruefully. What did you do?
Her hands had been working on the rope for a few minutes now, and with a sense of triumph, she finally wriggled free of them. Now, free and unbound, her eyes wandered around the room in the proper sense.
A faint glint caught her eye on the far left of the room. A lock.
Bending towards it, she pulled out a bobby pin from her hair and began picking the lock. A few clicks, turns and the lock gave in. With a satisfied smile, Inej got up to open the door when the air around her shifted. Her neck trickled with a trail of goosebumps as she heard a raspy voice speak behind her.
“You’ve gotten so much better at that.”
It was like glass shattering on a marble floor, like a stone scraping a jagged wall. It was the voice Inej had craved to hear for a year now.
Reflexive and nimble as ever, she turned, grabbing a knife on her thigh and holding it against his neck.
She stared at the mosiac of hard lines and sharp edges, and felt a strange sense of relief upon hearing his salt voice.
“Good to see you again, Wraith.”
~~~
The early sun, high and mighty in all its glory, shone down upon the sea and cast its light on a ship- The Wraith- bobbing its way along the glistening waters. Just ahead, were the beginnings of land; of a city most feared- Ketterdam. Inej stood at its hull, her posture stoic, her pride unwavering as she gazed at the Land of Sinners, as most called it. Ketterdam had countless names, all dark and unwelcoming just as the city itself.
But for all its imperfections, for all its flaws, for its abrasive cracks and irascible shortcomings, she’d found a place among its people. She’d found solace in the constant clatter of heels on cobblestones, in the clink of two kvas-filled glasses between strangers, in the sight of a labyrinth of dark coloured coats and boots. She was arriving at the place that had made her who she was today.
Her maiden voyage had been eventful, she had spent the first three months learning the ropes of the role, under the watchful eye of Specht. She had begun her mission of rising to the pinnacle of her crew’s trust as they circled her cautiously, aware she was inexperienced, and testing if she could cut the mustard.
She did, as it turned out. Their first attack was in Shu waters. They had the most extravagant ships with technically qualified sailors and mechanised equipment. This made them simple to spot, but tedious to overwhelm. But Inej was the Wraith, and she was nothing if not headstrong in proving herself. And so she strategised. And she planned. And left the rest for her to show her skills. She shadowed the Shu Captain, translated his words with the help of her Shu crew members, and that night, they freed 30 innocent boys and girls.
That was the night Inej truly earned the respect and admiration from all her crew members.
Over the course of the next six months, she took down 3 more ships. By the time she returned to Ketterdam, she had already created quite a fearsome reputation for herself.
Inej climbed atop the mast and peered through her spyglass as the dock revealed itself beyond the morning fog.
She spotted familiar figures at Berth 22 and could not refrain from grinning. Jesper stood with an obnoxious suit and an even more vibrant hat flailing his lanky arms upwards. Tucked beside him was a bundle of red curls and freckles. She could not see Wylan’s expression distinctly, but could tell he was smiling too. She looked around them in vain, hoping to catch sight of gloved hands, hats or crow-headed canes. Disappointment sunk in quickly, dissolving in her ecstasy, leaving her with a bittersweet, lingering taste. When Inej had left Ketterdam, she had left with a promise to return, if he tried. But she would give him his time. To be ready.
Inej had flushed cheeks by the time she was released by Jesper while Wylan chuckled at his boyfriend’s exaggerated reactions.
“No letter! For two months! Two whole months, Inej. Was it because I asked for more of those spiced muffins from your mother? I understand I overstated my desire to raid her kitchen of those flavours…”
Jesper’s voice was blanked out by another rising point of disdain. Kaz never wrote back. Every time she wrote letters, she wrote to the Van Eck house, to Nina and to the Slat. Did he ever even open those letters? Did he just skim through the points important for business and discard the rest?
Jesper seemed to notice her awry expression and slipped in a nonchalant comment.
"And Kaz has been working himself to death with all those new clubs opening up, man barely has time to breathe."
Inej gave him a good-natured smile. Leave it to Jesper to assure her with those knowing grey eyes.
"Well, " Inej said as she clapped her hands together. "I'm starving."
*
The first stop Inej made after a hearty lunch at the Van Eck mansion was the Slat. She'd had a lovely time catching up with the couple, sharing her adventures at sea and dodging certain innuendos thrown in by Jesper while he explicated details of the developments in their relationship.
Her feet scaled the rooftops, easy as butter on a hot pan. The waves of nostalgia cascaded over her because nothing had changed . The tiles on the roofs. The crooked pipes. The crows outside Kaz Brekker's window.
Inej noticed the attic window was open, meaning he had known she would come. She quickly slipped into her place on the windowsill. The crows cawed at her presence and nipped at her hand as they used to. Crows don't forget, Kaz had told her once. They hold people who nurture them close to their heart. They remember the faces of those who had wronged them, and coddle their thirst for vengeance.
After a good bell of sitting in silence, Inej decided to finally speak to the man seated at his desk.
"Hello, Kaz," She said, her eyes boring into the back of his head.
"Hello, Wraith. What business?" He clipped. Ever the businessman, she thought wryly.
"You didn't come to see me at the docks," she accused.
"I didn't see the reason for doing so. Was there something important?" He asked, his tone showing no sarcasm.
"I was gone for nine months, Kaz. You didn't even write me back."
"What did you expect me to write you about? About how my day was? About how many people I had killed that day? About how I felt so righteous but at the same time deafened with guilt because of the number of souls I had sent to the Saints?"
Inej felt hurt. His tone was mocking, ridiculing as he mimicked one of the lines from her letters.
So he had read them. He had probably laughed at them.
"No, Kaz," She said as she pulled her hood over her head. "Even a simple 'Hello, Inej' would've done."
~~~
"What business, Dirtyhands?" She tried not to let her anger show, of being drugged and then tied to a chair by him.
He only raised a brow in response, which fueled inej’s annoyance.
She backed him until he sat down on the chair right behind him. Then using her leg, she shoved open the door with the picked lock. What stared at her was an unwavering brick wall.
She couldn't help but huff a laugh.
"Whose idea of a cruel joke was this?" She asked, as she watched him curl one end of his mouth.
"Rotty's. Hope before the torture; callous, wouldn't you say?"
It then dawned on her that this was a Dreg safe house. It wasn't one she had been in before, so it had to be a new one. Which also meant there was a hidden escape somewhere in this room.
"You make quite a lousy abductor. You didn't strip me of my knives." She stared right at his brown eyes, swirling, brewing the most bitter coffee she'd ever seen.
He grinned at that but didn't say anything, and Inej hated it. Hated how he made it look like it was part of his plan. How he still rendered her completely flummoxed, even while she was the one who wielded the knife.
"I will ask you one simple question, Dirtyhands. Why did you bring me here?"
"My answer to that has never changed, Inej. Money. Always money."
The urge to spit on his godsforsaken face was so overwhelming she had to clench her mouth shut. She had given up on him a long time ago, and yet he managed to spew such bullshit that she was compelled to want to give up on him all over again.
"What were you going to do? Hand me over to my enemies at sea? Or maybe you'd do me a clean kill yourself? Anything to earn you a quick buck."
Inej thought she saw Kaz's face morph at her words. To something of sadness. Of guilt.
But he went back to wearing a poker face the very next second.
Some deep-rooted part of her screamed vehement denials at the accusation, but she shoved it to the bottom.
This was too much. All of it. It was a bubbling wave of frenzied emotions coupled with anxiety, threatening to burst through her stoic dam.
"No," Kaz said slowly, testing the cracks in her fortress. "I've been paid to bring you here. To get you away from the ship."
When Inej shot him a pointed glare, demanding an elaboration, he sighed.
"Gheller, the man whose ship you raided 7 months ago, has a son- Revanch. Now, Gheller's ship had a signed contract of transfer of 3/4th of his business profit to Revanch. It was a plea to amend the demand in his will, since every other asset he owned went to his bastard son in Kerch, Gewild.
"So you see, Mr. Revanch was furious he wasn't getting anything from his father and commenced a fight with Gewild, demanding he give Revanch his share of the assets."
"And Gewild didn't agree," Inej guessed, painfully nostalgic with how this was the way Kaz always narrated his ventures before the Ice Court heist.
"Of course not, which is why he turns to you, the woman who had stolen his wealth in the first place."
"He wants revenge. And he wants to loot my ship." Inej pieced it together, jaw clenched.
"And that is why he paid me a hefty price to bring you here. You see, your ship is disorganised without you. They wouldn't hold a strong front, unprepared and without the support of their Captain. They’d lose, giving way to Revanch to ransack your ship," Kaz explained, his eyes glinting with a familiar light of mischief.
Inej caught on immediately. The lie in his eyes. The upward tilt of his lips.
Because her ship was the complete opposite of disorganised. Inej had given first importance to making her crew as disciplined as possible. Attacks should be coordinated, and every member should remain alert in case of an emergency.
She narrowed her eyes at him. What was he playing at?
“What did you do? Is my crew in danger?” Inej hissed, tightening her hold over the hilt of her knife. It was starting to make a scar on his pale skin.
Kaz remained baring his ridiculously infuriating smirk.
“No, Inej,” he whispered, as if trusting her with a secret, “because I didn't follow the plan.”
on ao3
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manikas-whims · 1 year
Text
Bed Sharing– a Kanej Fanfic
[Read on AO3]
He didn't want her to placate him with an embrace. He just wanted to sleep next to her without the threat of her arms and legs, and her insanely silky hair suffocating him. But he complied nonetheless and lowered himself towards her, letting her wrap her arms around him.
...
In which Kaz just wants to share a bed with Inej but she has some peculiar sleeping habits that might cause discomfort to him.
Light humor and fluff cause i simply adore the canon fluffy Kanej :3
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Sharing the same bed, falling asleep right next to each other, arms and legs casually tangled together. It was another act of intimacy that was of utmost significance for the both of them.
Kaz had given up on ever experiencing such trivial yet invaluable moments of life due to the nature of his sickness. At least that's what he believed until a petite suli girl dared to not just sneak up on him but also offered to help him. The notorious Dirtyhands! She wasn't just another girl with pretty ribbons or a sort of sidle in her walk. She was kind and forgiving despite her circumstances. And like the graceful acrobat that she was raised to be, Inej Ghafa smoothly scaled her way into his heart.
Unfortunately, it took her getting stabbed by the rival gang for him to realize that his Wraith had become his reason. He had never given thought to what would come after he was done with his revenge. After he had defeated Rollins in his own game. After he had brought that wretched son of a bitch to his knees. But Inej, with her Suli platitudes and soft brown eyes, made him truly wonder about the prospect of a future. Of actually living for more than just money and contempt.
And so, after years of struggles in working towards healing from their respective traumas, they laid together in bed.
Kaz had imagined this moment being far more dramatic and exhilarating. Expected it to bring a sense of fulfillment. A warm and heady sort of contentment that Jordie used to read about in his story books.
However, when Kaz woke up in the middle of the night, he could not associate any of those endearing descriptions with his current predicament. No, it wasn't the sensation of waves lapping at him. They hardly ever bothered him anymore. It was just the general discomfort with the way Inej's leg draped on his belly and her impossibly long hair spilled over his face. And to top it off, she seemed content. Peacefully asleep in her peculiar position.
Kaz didn't remember falling asleep like this.
He tried fidgeting away but she crept closer to the warmth that his body radiated. He tried gently moving her off of him but mere moments later, she turned towards him and resumed her oddly-comforting position.
He puffed out an annoyed breath to blow her hair away from his face and sat up, her leg sliding down into his lap.
“Inej” He called.
Unfortunately, she didn't even budge.
Kaz frowned. He was nothing if not vengeful. How could she coax him into getting some proper sleep then not let him have any?
He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her. “Inej”
This time her brows knitted at the disturbance. “Saints..”
“Not your Saints”, He grumbled. “It's me.”
“Something..happ..ened?” Inej mumbled as she rubbed her eyes and pulled out her cherished bone-handled knife from under the pillows.
“No.” Kaz replied, watching her hand immediately tuck the knife back. Then drily added, “I just can't sleep thanks to you throwing your limbs all over me.”
Inej chuckled and drowsily gazed up at him.
“Come here.” She beckoned with open arms.
He didn't want her to placate him with an embrace. He just wanted to sleep next to her without the threat of her arms and legs, and her insanely silky hair suffocating him. But he complied nonetheless and lowered himself towards her, letting her wrap her arms around him.
Inej pressed her lips upon his. Lightly. Sleepily. And by the time he finally decided to give in to the affectionate gesture and return the kiss, Kaz felt her arms loosen from his back. He moved away slightly to find that she had drifted back into a calm slumber.
For a moment, Kaz stared at the sight of her beautiful face glowing under the foggy moonlight of Ketterdam. Laughed to himself about the suddenness of it all and then laid down next to her. Within moments he felt her scoot closer, a leg coming to rest upon his belly. Only this time, the bastard of the barrel didn't have the heart to rouse her from her sleep.
SOC Masterlist
Custom Divider by @skylightlantern
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linearao3 · 7 months
Text
Served Me Well
E; 7/10
Chapter 7: White Cambric, Firelight
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She reaches for the dessert – a little plate of bonbons, cast into leaf-shaped molds – and stops. “What else?” she says.
“What do you mean, what else?”
“I said we should do something else. And you agreed.”
“Oh,” he says, and his mind is blank. Or rather, it’s impossibly full, spilling over with pictures he’s conjured up for himself alone in his room, and it would be hard enough to put them into words even if she weren’t sitting across from him, untouchably precious in gold and blue, with her dark eyes so open and earnest.
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