Anyway, since grisha typically live long lives and assuming how powerful a grisha is=how long their lifespan will be (since Zoya practically became the grishaverse’s avatar) that means she’s gonna live years (maybe even decades) after Nik’s gone.
(please tap for higher quality and also to read my tiny handwriting :))) )
another snippet from chapter 6 cause it’s been hard to write lately, so enjoy Nikolai’s witty little sister Linnea as she enters the scene, more zoyalai banter and an exasperated Zoya. (and funny mentions of the Dregs)
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They reconvened in what looked like a study, except it was twice as big as Zoya’s sitting room in the Grand Palace and she doubted Kirigin had ever dedicated himself to paperwork. Nikolai and Tamar were sorting through reports while Zoya read the signed documents Nikolai had brought back from the Merchant Council, trying to soothe the brewing anger in her heart and the pulsing pain in her temples. Zoya lifted her head toward the door when she heard Nadia’s voice in the hallway, showing their guest the way. Nadia entered the room first, coming to sit beside her wife; behind her, a girl gracefully walked through the door, her steps light and her posture straight.
Linnea Opjer appeared older than her twenty-two years of age, with a knowing smile dancing constantly on her lips, her look quickly scanning every place she entered and studying every person she met. The analytical intensity of her gaze was eavened out by the soft quality of her voice and movements. Linnea was made of inconsistencies that weirdly fitted perfectly together; the lethal quiet with which she swayed through the world rivaled the ravenous chaos of the gears constantly turning in her mind. She looked the spitting image of Nikolai, to the point of absurdity considering they were only half-related; her golden curls were messily held at the top of her head by a pencil she kept adjusting with ink stained fingers. Some strands fell on her face, framed by a sharp jaw and a slightly crooked nose that only added to the memorability of her features. The handsomeness clearly ran in the family; the only difference between them were Linnea’s clear eyes, azure like a river caught by the summer sun. The gleam of brilliance and cunning in them, though, that was all too Nikolai’s not to be noticed. Linnea crutsied in Zoya’s direction.
“Your Highness,” she greeted. Zoya glared muderously at Nikolai, who cautiously averted his gaze.
“Did your brother not advise you that there is no need to do that?”
“He probably did,” Linnea admitted, joining her hands behind her back. Her look kept darting to every corner, lingering on details, as if she was assessing something. “Then again, as I am sure you are aware, my brother tends to provide an excessive amount of talking. I usually tune out the things I consider unnecessary.”
She locked eyes on Zoya’s, a corner of her mouth twisting in a comradely smirk. Her tone was affectionate; even knowing each other for such a brief time, she and Nikolai were already growing very fond of each other. Zoya liked Linnea. She was quieter than Nikolai, more practical, but she had the same creative and restless energy, the same optimistic outcome on life and a convolutive mind. This would be her last year at Ketterdam’s university before graduating in naval engineering. Linnea, like Nikolai, was an inventor though; engineering was just one of her many talents. A small wishful part of Zoya had wanted Linnea to like her too, from the first time they met.
“You’d have to ignore roughly half the things he says.”
“At least,” Linnea shrugged her shoulders. “Sometimes more.”
Tamar laughed, bobbing her chin at the girl. “I like her,” she stated.
“I told you,” remarked Nadia, casting a fond smile at Linnea. Nadia had given her an extended tour of the lab when the girl had visited Os Alta, cushioning her from the incessant enthusiasm Nikolai was showering her with. Linnea had gracefully taken it. Zoya distinctively remembered the night the three of them spent discussing the cooling system for the newest model of flying ship’s engines, while she had drifted to sleep lulled by their muffled excited voices in the sitting room.
“I am standing right here,” came Nikolai’s retort, his tone slightly offended. “And I feel the need to remind you that everything I say has a purpose.”
Zoya would have preferred to entertain this light banter, to grab some lunch on the docks with Linnea and Nikolai, to hear the girl tell them about her university days, about a life Zoya and Nikolai never knew. Ravka demanded everything but lightness, though. She gestured for Linnea to take a seat, ringing for some coffee; Linnea enjoyed it bitter and strong. The girl strode to a chair, taking off her refined wool coat. Underneath, she wore a loose blouse and practical pants and boots; despite her casual attire, she glowed with confidence and surety. Every inch Nikolai’s sister.
“Why has your brother dragged you away from your studies?”
Linnea downed her coffee, adjusting the pencil in her hair. “I asked to come, actually. I knew he would be in town, and I jumped at the chance to update him on some interesting discoveries I made.”
Zoya arched her brow in Nikolai’s direction. Whatever had the fool pulled his sister into? She reminded herself not to underestimate Linnea. The smug sparkle in her look suggested she was not an innocent girl being deceived into action.
“Is it something we need to worry about?”
“Part of it, not anymore. The rest, maybe.” Linnea grabbed a leather briefcase in front of her, pulling out some files. She extended them to Tamar, who began sorting through the papers, growing more worried with every turn of the page. An uncomfortable feeling creeped in Zoya’s stomach. More trouble brewing.
“Tell Zoya what happened, Linnea.” Zoya peered at Nikolai: he was practically beaming with pride, shifting in his seat, barely restraining himself from unleashing an avalanche of words on them.
“Please Linnea, do, before your brother steals the spotlight and doom falls upon us.”
At least Linnea could be a bit more concise than Nikolai and cut straight to the point. The girl straightened her spine and held her chin high. You could witness her clever brain at work, disguised under her sheer beauty. She flicked the pencil from her curls, leaving them to unfurl on her neck. While she talked, her hands scribbled mindlessly on a piece of paper, sketching as if she needed a practical way to soothe her energy and focus.
“As you know, I work at the university. Some laboratories are located in the older buildings, outside the chaos of the city. I used to go there to…experiment with some inventions.” Experiment with some inventions was clearly an elegant way to refer to fiddling with dangerous mechanical devices that could explode. Zoya was sure she was not imagining the envious look on Nikolai’s face. Then again, he had been the one to drop his studies and travel the world as a damn privateer. “One of my colleagues is an expert chemist with a big mouth. She let it slip that they were experimenting on parem.”
A bolt of renewed fear and anger shot through Zoya’s chest. Flames of rage ignited in her lungs, cutting the air short, as her power began stirring. Parem. Her mind drifted back to the stocks hidden in the warehouse. Both West Ravka and Kerch dallying in parem could not just be a horrific coincidence. She felt Nikolai’s hand discreetly brushing her thigh under the table, a reassuring touch to prevent her from summoning another storm inside the room.
“They were trying to make the drug more bearable for Grisha. More serviceable, marketable. The quantities were small, the remnants of a previous stock held in the basement under the laboratories. It was supposed to be shipped here, to Os Kervo.”
Her temper was barely controlled now. Every word Linnea spoke felt like a thorn breaking the skin. More suffering for Grisha at the hand of their people. Linnea sent a reassuring smile her way, no doubt noticing the way her knuckles turned white on the wooden table.
“It’s not a problem anymore,” she declared, firm and confident. Zoya shot her a confused look, sweeping her gaze from her to Nikolai.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say someone might have stolen it.” Nikolai was not able to contain himself anymore. “And destroyed it.”
“With the help of some very expert thieves.” Linnea added.
Zoya’s eyes widened in shock, and her disbelieving gaze snapped to Nikolai. “You let her associate herself with those reprobates? Your younger sister ?” she seethed, utterly stunned. “Are you out of your mind to involve her in this?” Nikolai held his hands up in a surrendering gesture and outright laughed in Zoya’s face.
“You assume I have any kind of influence on what she does. Or that I even knew what she was planning on achieving.” Zoya could not decide which of the two siblings deserved her glare more right now. Perhaps it would be better to disguise the faint admiration for Linnea’s venture and rely on the common annoyance that came along with Nikolai’s recklessness. Yet she really admired what Linnea had accomplished.
“You did this on your own?”
Linnea shrugged her shoulders again. “One needs to know how to navigate the perilous waters of Ketterdam. It was not particularly challenging to find the Dregs, nor to understand which one of them you associated with. Pleasant fellow, I have to say.”
The opinion was given with a satisfied nod, leaving no room for considering its honesty. If there was even the hint of a doubt about Nikolai and Linnea’s parentage, it would be very well swept away by their mutual liking of that disrespectful Brekker individual. Only someone with Nikolai’s same blood and twisted brain could find the thief pleasant.
“Besides, it was threatening my brother’s fianceè’s rule. Could not ignore it.”
Zoya rolled her eyes, anticipating Tamar’s overly amused comment. “Not his fianceè.”
Linnea arched a brow in Nikolai’s direction. “Have you not asked her yet?”
“Just drop it”, suggested Tamar again, throwing the files on the table. “Nikolai is stubborn like hell and Zoya is getting impatient. But you won’t get this out of them.” Zoya clicked her tongue, refusing to admit how accurately Tamar grasped the absurd situation.
“I have to say I’m feeling cornered to justify myself, but I am courting her.”
“You are such an idiot.”
“I kindly suggest romantic.”
“Are you sure we’re related?”
“Can we go back to the business at hand?”
Linnea shot him a look that clearly read they would be resuming this conversation. She turned thoughtful, keeping her attention on him. “The sharpshooter kept asking about your flying ships. I revealed to him I knew Sturmhond just for the sake of seeing him squirm with excitement.”
Thrill sparked on Nikolai’s face. Nothing like a boost to his ego to raise his mood even more. “I know. I already promised I would take him for a ride, before we caught up with you.”
“Don’t bother.” The girl crumpled her sketch, twisting the pencil up in her hair once more. “I told him I could build him a small one.” Of course she could. Should Zoya even ask? “He practically proposed to me on the spot, much to his boyfriend’s amusement. Oh,” she seemed to remember Zoya’s presence, “you know he’s a Fabrikator, right? Not that good at hiding it, might I add.”
At this point, the queen was rendered speechless. Linnea smirked at Nikolai; she propped her elbows on the table and leaned her chin in her joined hands, in a pose that could pass as childish but looked nothing but mischievous. His brother grinned back with an eerily identical expression and winked at her.
Saints, Zoya realized with an exasperated grunt, there’s two of them.
Kaz: doesn’t post or use his real name but follows everyone to get as much blackmail as possible
Inej: has a private account that only the crows can follow, posts the occasional group photo, which nina always hypes up
Jesper: has a vent/spam account where he posts obscure memes about his personal life with regular updates of him and Wylan, works with Nina to keep the groupchats alive
Wylan: uses text to speech to openly campaign against his father and the entirety of capitalism, with the occasional cute update photo of him and Jesper or his art
Nina: regular selfies and group photos, most of her pictures are waffles bc she can’t help but post a picture every time she has them, keeping the groupchat alive with Jesper
Matthias: refused to get social media for the longest time, now barely checks his notifications except to like the crows’ photos, pretends to hate being tagged in group photos
BONUS
Kuwei: Wylan reported his account for being too young until it got taken down
Hanne: messages Nina regularly, has pretentious, promotional purposes main account and a secret private account that only Nina can follow
Copying@xan-drei ‘s caption because I can’t think of a better one
a zoyalai illustration for @nekonamicosplay‘s @grishaversebigbang fic, From Eden! def check out the other amazingly talented artists in my group: @strawberrylark @octopiconsortium @hakubasaguwu @xan-drei
and ofc a special thanks to the beta readers/editors: @forthegenuine @kestrel221!!! i had a lovely time working with all of you and i’m so glad we had another great GVBB!
“He would not beg Zoya to stay. It was not in his nature to plead with anyone, and that was not the pact they shared. They did not look to each other for comfort. They kept each other marching. They kept each other strong”
At the edge of the world, through the eye of a needle that takes up all of space and time, there is a liminal space where a dock exists. The sky is purple-blue and filled with all the stars that there ever was, are, or will be. The dock is made of all the materials that do not exist. And on that dock stands the Ferryman - Adrik.
GRISHAVERSE BIG BANG 2021: When Good Loses Its Grip
Synopsis:After holding back Calamity Volcra for 100 years after the Great Calamity and defeating the monster alongside her trusty knight Dimitri, Leoni Hilli is back. With a spring in her step and a feeling of hope for the first time in a century, Leoni is feeling happy… of sorts.
There are mysteries to unfold, caves to explore, and dungeons to master. When Leoni and Dimitri stumble upon a book that contains the secrets of Hyrule’s creation, the descendant of the goddess Hylia and the triforce of courage must descend into the depths of an ancient civilisation in order to find the source of unearthly tension. There, a monster is revived, Dimitri changes, and Leoni is left facing a threat bigger than she ever imagined.
Morning Doodle: “Zoya finished the business of freeing him from his bonds, taking care to touch his sleep-warmed skin as little as possible, then left the king to wash and dress.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “They’d slipped back into an easy routine after the near disaster in Ivets, but she could never quite accustom herself to the intimacy–the dawn quiet, the rumpled sheets, the tousled hair that made Nikolai look less a king than a boy in need of kissing.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: She greeted Tolya, rang for a breakfast tray, then entered the king’s bedroom and threw open the curtains. The morning light had turned pale and rosy. Nikolai cast her a baleful glare from his place among the pillows. “You’re late.” “And you’re chained to a bed. Perhaps not the best time to be critical.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “She knew the way they sighed over their poor king. He’s never been the same since the war, they whispered, swooning and dabbing their eyes whenever he was near. She couldn’t blame them. Nikolai was rich, handsome, and beset by a tragic past. Perfect daydream fodder.” (Leigh Bardugo King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “As Zoya strode through the Grand Palace halls to Nikolai’s chambers, she cast a look at two servants lingering outside his door that sent them shrinking up against the wall like frightened anemones.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “She’d gone deeper within the borders of Fjerda and the Shu Han, pierced the shores of the Wandering Isle and the frontiers of Novyi Zem in search of Grisha” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “The Darkling had built up the strength of the Second Army over generations…When his coup attempt had failed and some of the Grisha had dared to stand with Alina Starkov against him? He’d murdered them. Without hesitation or remorse.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “The palace looked like a bride before her wedding, its white stone terraces and golden statues cloaked in mist. It should have been peaceful, this soft gray hour before dawn. But all she could think of was the khergud, the Zemeni, the Fjerdans, the Kerch.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “She emerged to the manicured hedges and sprawling lawns that surrounded the Grand Palace, lanterns casting light over the still-dark grounds in muzzy halos.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
They would bloom white, then pink, then red as blood when spring came, but for now they were only gray wood and throns. (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
Morning Doodle: “A cold mist had crept over the grounds in the night, covering the trees and stone paths in a veil of cloud. She passed through the woods, beneath a canopy of twisting branches.” (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 7)
