Bewilderingly, all the breath seems to go out Kaz at once. He slumps back, almost boneless, into his chair as Wylan begins to explain the physics of night and day. At first, Inej is pleased with her victory, but something about Jesper’s grin is far too conspiratorial for her liking.
She peeks over at Kaz, who is very clearly trying to avoid looking at her. Slowly, in a manner of scheming she has learned from Kaz and Kaz alone, her mind begins to turn.
—
Or, the two nicknames Inej gives Kaz and the one that he contemplates giving her.
Words:~2.7k
This was my entry for the SOC mini bang, thank you so much to the folks at @sixofcrowsbb for organizing this.
Also thank you to @rivkah94 for beta-ing this mess ❤️
which got beta’d by none other than the amazing: @monrohakay
[Image ID one(1): Its a Picture of Jesper Fahey, holding Sankt Milo wearing a Fjerdan Disguise in Green&Grey, looking extremly happy, beside him is a speech bubble “Look! Its Milo!” End ID]
[Image ID two(2): Its a Picture of a tailored Matthias Helvar, frowning in confusion, wearing the fluffiest cloak ever, saying “Thats not–” but is interrupted by Nina Zenik next to him, with “Shush.” She is in a Fjerdan Disguise, one hand lifted in an awkward wave, while looking confused herself. End ID]
[Image ID: a traditional art featuring Wylan van Eck, Jesper Fahey, Nina Zenik and Inej Ghafa in the foreground. Wylan is worriedly looking at Jesper, who is equally worried looking at a letter, fully unreadable signed by Kaz Brekker, next to them is Nina, one hand on her face and one on her hip, staring questioningly at it, with Inej next to her, arms crossed and quite concerned. In the Background is a Painting of the Ice Court, a Missing Poster, multiple Wanted Posters and another Painting. End ID]
the great kerch bake off bakers have some very tasty treats! check out the fic these tasty bakes come from by @verdisaster, beta’s by @solarpqwer right here!!
it was so fun to work on these for you <3
[IMAGE ID: six digital drawings of various baked goods on an open book. the first image is of Kaz’s baked good, two bear claw pastries with icing drizzled on top with almonds sprinkled on them. the second image is of Inej’s coconut macaroons, two coconut treats with chocolate drizzled over them and on the bottom. the third is Jesper’s treat, a stack of profiteroles with chocolate melted on top and a handful of halved hazelnuts scattered on them. The fourth image is Wylan’s lemon fruit cake, topped with lemon icing, sherbet powdered dusting and several lemon sliced gummy candies. the fifth is Nina’s two heart shaped waffles, half coated with pink icing and a cherry and pink edible flowers on the icing, along with a dark cherry drizzle on the plain side. the sixth is of Matthias’ rosemary and sea salt focaccia, two slices of the bread cut in half with rosemary and sea salt flakes sprinkled on top. END ID]
and a bonus kaz talking about how he rejected the darkling’s Iconic handshake
[IMAGE ID: Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows is standing against a medium grey background. he is wearing a dark turtleneck and a beige apron over the top. his hands are folded in front of him and are resting on his crow cane. he is looking off to the right hand side of the image. above him is some text that reads “i don’t care for the darkling, or his handshakes” END ID]
[image ID: a landscape image of a schooner-style ship on the ocean at sunset. The water is a deep brownish tone, the sky is orange and slightly cloudy, the ship is just right of the centre. On the left side going top to bottom reads the words “Saint and Saintless” in a hollow italic serif grey font, and a shadow drop of the same words in a faint maroon colour. end ID]
Friends this is an absolutely stunning fic by my name buddy Alyssa for the @sixofcrowsbb mini bang and I’m obsessed. It’s gorgeous, and it’s so heartfelt and intimate. Please go read it.
Moodboard and quote edit for the fic below.
[image ID: A moodboard of nine square images in a grid on a grey background. The top left is an open book with a thin dagger and a pair of glasses sitting on top of the page. The top middle is an old viking-style boat in cherry-toned wood sitting on calm waters. The top right is a silver filigree topped cane and a pair of sunglasses sitting on an open book. The middle left is a pier with brown brick buildings close by. The centre image is two pairs of hands reaching out, barely touching at the fingertips. The middle right is a colourful set of squat buildings set behind a dock. The bottom left is a pair of black leather gloves sitting discarded on a wooden surface. The bottom middle is a shot of a pier leading out to the ocean with a wave crashing over it. The bottom right is a pair of black leather boots left at a doorstep. End ID]
[image ID: A landscape quote edit set over an image of a long jetty at dusk, all in blue tones. The jetty is to the right, and the ocean covers the centre and left. Over the left side in text that indents further on each line in a gradient of grey tones is the text “May I take off your armor? May I see you? May I have you as you are, laid bare? May I, may I, may I?”. End ID]
Kaz falls into the harbor during a freezing winter. His crows rescue him from the waters and use blanket piles and cuddling to stave off hypothermia. Kaz drops hints of his sketchy childhood. The crows are second-hand traumatized. Let’s pretend Nina still has some of her heartrender powers in addition to the necromancy. For plot reasons.
Heyo! In case you missed the post from ace-in-a-shopping-cart earlier, here’s my fic for the @sixofcrowsbb mini bang! It’s a Young!Kaz and Jordie in Lij fic. Wholesome on the outside, full of angsty foreshadowing on the inside!
-
Summary:
“Can we go one day?” Jordie asked excitedly. “Please?”
“To Ketterdam?” Da asked, eyebrows raised. “Why would you want to go there? And who’d milk the cows while we’re away? Or water the crops and tend to the fields?”
The excitement on his face quickly turned to a scowl.
“I’ll take you one day. Maybe after the harvest. Ketterdam is a grand place, but it can also be very dangerous if you’re not careful. People can get swept up in that city by false promises and swindlers.”
-
A story of how two farm boys learned about the big city, and how one of them got the idea to leave his farm life behind.
i’ll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way (2/2)
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 3277 (both chapters)
Warnings: death of both main characters (suicide in one case), blood & gore, haphephobia, non-consensual restraint, mentions of sexual assault
Summary: The Wraith, they called her. A feared highway robber of the Kerch countryside, launching her own attacks on the rich & the slavers- masters of exploitation, the lot of them- to free those in their vile clutches, to save the innocent from lives of forced servitude and labour. A Kanej AU of Alfred Noyes’s poem “The Highwayman”, in which the two are forbidden lovers: Inej, a feared, well-known highway robber; Kaz, the brother of a local innkeeper.
[Image ID: A digital drawing of Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa, both wearing the uniforms of the 75th Hunger Games. They are surrounded by green, grey and black, perching in a tree and Kaz is lying on the ground while Inej is kneeling, holding him by the hair in one hand and pressing her blade to his throat with the other. end ID]
The sun was setting outside his window, painting the roofs of Ketterdam orange-gold. The Barrel was never truly pretty, not really, but this came close. A faint salty breeze brushed against Kaz’s skin, graciously warm, as spring was just around the corner. Inej would be home soon. Based on her letters to him, which he read religiously, he understood it had been a long, hard winter for the Wraith. But she wasn’t due for another few weeks, maybe a month. The waiting felt too long, as always, but he didn’t dare pull her away from her life.
[Image ID: a digital drawing of a horse and Inej Ghafa at dawn, in a semi-wooded area. The horse has a dark brown coat, and is rearing back. Beside them, Inej lies on the ground, still clutching onto a knife, bleeding out and nearly dead. end ID]
i’ll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way (½)
Rating:Teen
Word Count: 1240 (chapter 1)
Warnings: death of both main characters (suicide in one case), blood & gore, haphephobia, non-consensual restraint, mentions of sexual assault
Summary:The Wraith, they called her. A feared highway robber of the Kerch countryside, launching her own attacks on the rich & the slavers- masters of exploitation, the lot of them- to free those in their vile clutches, to save the innocent from lives of forced servitude and labour. A Kanej AU of Alfred Noyes’s poem “The Highwayman”, in which the two are forbidden lovers: Inej, a feared, well-known highway robber; Kaz, the brother of a local innkeeper.
Author’s Note: So it’s finally here! This is my piece for the Six of Crows Mini Bang 2022 (& my first official fic). Shoutouts to Saanvi (@idk-im-weird) for beta'ing, Soup (@soup-enjoyer) for making art, helping assign roles to their respective characters, & being a hype man in general, and Jester (@bees-in-a-bucket) for extra suggestions & helping me figure out the identity of Tim the ostler. Link to the poem is here, and Loreena McKennitt’s gorgeous musical rendition here (the latter is where the idea for this fic came from, truthfully!). Title is from the song (edited ever so slightly by McKennitt). Enjoy, dear readers.
image id: a digital drawing of a stronghold at sea at nighttime, encircled by Zoya Nazyalensky in her dragon form. There are flashes of blue lightning all around, and leaping to another deck and illuminated by one is Inej Ghafa. end id
This is my art for the stunning fic I Met You In The Dark by@nuclearnik! You can find it here on AO3!
My favourite part has to be- [gets stabbed] ;)
I am just crying a little about it.
Also, this is for @sixofcrowsbb’s mini bang! Thank you so much for hosting this event, it was great fun! :D
■ ■ ■
IMAGE ID: [a moodboard of nine square images. the pictures in the left column have light blue overtones, the right column has light green overtones. in the middle column, the top picture is blue, while the bottom one is green.
top row: the picture in the top left corner shows Calahan Skogman in his role as Matthias Helvar, wrapped in a fur coat in front of an icy background. he looks serious, and he is looking to the viewer’s right. the picture in middle shows a deep blue ocean up close, while the sky is grey and cloudy. the picture in the top right corner shows green mountains that are completely overhung with fog. they have an eery feeling to them.
middle row: the picture on the left shows blue ice with cracks in it; the biggest crack splits the picture in half. the picture in the center of the row shows two hands touching; the people they belong to are not visible. the background is a clouded sky. the hands are barely touching, only two fingers of each hand interlocking. what can be seen of the arms of the people is covered with sleeves in beige and light brown. the picture on the right shows a dark green forest, overhung with fog. the angle of the picture is taken from a similar height as the treetops, so it appears as if the viewer is looking down onto the forest.
bottom row: the picture in the bottom left corner shows a night sky over a forest. the picture is taken from the ground, so the trees open in almost a semi-circle to reveal the dark blue sky with some stars in it. the colour of the sky becomes lighter towards the horizon. the picture in the middle shows a plant with its leaves covered in frost. the plant’s colour is dark green, but the leaves are almost completely covered in white frost, making them appear lighter. the picture in the bottom right corner shows Danielle Galligan in her role as Nina Zenik, wearing a fur coat in front of a light green background. she is making a serious face and is looking towards the viewer’s left.]
Matthias waited for the shock of pain, the heat of the bullet. But there was nothing. No pain, or heat. Not even an impact. He looked down, in awe of the adrenaline coursing through him, numbing it and where he had expected to see blood, he saw nothing. Not even a tear in his clothing.
No impact and no blood? Had Djel spared him?
When Matthias is late to a rendezvous, Nina goes to find him
Platonic Zoya & Inej | Rated general | tw for discussion (non-explicit) of racism against the Suli and human trafficking, at approximately canon levels
Summary:Five times that Inej doesn’t (quite) trust Zoya, and one time she does.
(Canon compliant, post-CK and post-RoW, platonic Inej & Zoya.)
[image id: a digital drawing of a stronghold at sea at nighttime, encircled by Zoya Nazyalensky in her dragon form. There are flashes of blue lightning all around, and leaping to another deck and illuminated by one is Inej Ghafa. /end id]
[Image ID: a moodboard of five images. The first takes up the top left corner of the moodboard, and displays different bushels of spices. The second image, directly to the right of the first, is of some sort of metal silver-and-green machinery. Below these is a strip of dirt road with the caption “Market at Lij” done in dark green lettering, with a mirror image of the caption just below it. There are three images below the strip, and the first is of various liquids in bottles. The second is of a bunch of waffle fries, and the third is of beets on a wooden surface, roots pointing at the place it was taken. end ID]
[Image ID: a picture of the sea, split by the horizon, which is the sky with a sunset. The text, “You watch out for your brother, hear me? You boys always watch out for each other.” is set against the sky in black, and “Kaz nodded. It was an important task to be trusted with.” is set against the waves in a pale orange that matches the sky below the setting sun. end ID]
I participated in the @sixofcrowsbb this year! This is art I’ve done for the minibang, I’ll also be doing art for the big bang later this year.
The fic for this art is “To Market, To Market” (Read it HERE on AO3) by @teacup-tyrant here on tumblr. The fic is about young Kaz and Jordie having a few little antics at a market in Lij.
[Image ID: Photos of a two-page beige leaflet, split into three sections each. The first photo is the front of the leaflet, the second is of the back of the leaflet, and the third and fourth are of each side of the unfolded leaflet. At the top of the first page, taking up the left and middle sections, there are Ravkan and Kerch articles of clothing on display, and to the left, the text reads “CLOTHING | Nastasya’s Wardrobe | Traditional Ravkan clothes” and “Vinke’s | The latest Kerch fashions, tailoring and alterations”. Below that, there is text that reads “ENTERTAINMENT | For the children, Stegenga’s Puppet Show - starting on the hour, every hour!”, and to the left of the text there is an image of a puppet show taking place. Below the puppet show section, there are two images; one of various postcards & the other of thick, somewhat round pieces of bone, and to the left of those is text reading “AND MORE! | Postcards from Kerch and abroad. Saint’s bones and other religious icons. If you can imagine it, someone here might sell it!” On the third panel, the text at the top reads “BLOEMSTRAAT PARK MARKET | Ketterdam’s most diverse market!” with the second part of the text in cursive. There is an image of a grassy park with trees and some people with the text “OPEN DAILY!” splashed diagonally across the bottom right corner. Beneath that, there is text reading “Opening Times | MON-FRI 9AM-4:30PM | SAT-SUN 10AM-3PM” (first part of text is in cursive) and more text underneath reading “Location | BLOEMSTRAAT PARK | GOVERNMENT DISTRICT | KETTERDAM, KERCH” (again, first part of text is in cursive).]
[Image ID continued: At the top left of the second page, there are two images: one of two bao buns and the other of lemons, limes and oranges arranged on a plate. To the right of them, text reads “FOOD | Zihun’s Street Food | Hot, fresh Shu style food” for the buns and “Haruna Grocers | All manner of citrus fruits, and other Zemeni imports” for the fruits. Beneath that is text reading “BOOKS | The Book Cabin | Books and pamphlets from Kerch and beyond”, and to its right are two images, one of various colourful pamphlets and the other of a stack of brown leather-bound books. Below this are two images, one of a collection of spinning tops on a table and the other of two dolls. The text to its right reads “TOYS | The Toybox | Dolls, wooden toys, puzzles, flags - all sorts of toys for young and old”. On the far right panel, the words “SACRED IS GHEZEN AND IN COMMERCE WE SEE HIS HAND” have two swirly teardrop shapes, swirls pointing to the text, above and beneath them, and below is a map of the Government District of Ketterdam, with a star near the Stadhall and a line pointing to it, with the caption “WE ARE HERE”. Below the map is text reading “For general inquiries or to sell at the market, contact Luuk Braam, Ketterdam Mercher Council, Stadhall, Ketterdam” and at the very bottom of the panel, the text “Printed by de Hass Printers”. end ID]
This is so cool! I’ve seen it before and am still totally floored by the detail in it; this seriously looks like a real market pamphlet–the map, the printer info, homage to Ghezen… just so cool. I was so lucky to work with @benjaminrusselland@elledritchorror.
Tags: Post-Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, Domestic, Chores, Trans Wylan Van Eck, Genderfluid Character, Body Dysphoria, Eating Disorders, Shopping, Kittens, Fluff and Angst, Recovery
Summary: With Ketterdam beginning to come out of quarantine, Jesper and Wylan visit the market to find lemons. Just lemons. Distractions in the form of other market stalls, one another, and stray kittens turn what should be a quick errand into a veritable quest. Meanwhile Wylan is trying to define his identity as a genderfluid trans boy.
Six of Crows mini bang was organized by @sixofcrowsbb (signups for the big bang are still open! It’s a super friendly and chill environment with very cool mods. And I’d say that even if they weren’t tagged in this post!)
A/N: Written for the @sixofcrowsbb <3 it was a pleasure joining everyone was super nice !! thank you so much Kenny ( @sunshinebunnie )for being an amazing beta and helping me bring this. meme to life <3 and cai (@bisexualoftheblade )! I am still going to take lessons from you after this on coding and thank you for the lovely podfic (link here) - working with the two of you were lovely and was a great experience <3
-oh. there’s a body.
Nina kneels beside her, nudging the boy, before looking back up with wonder.
“He’s out cold,” she voices, oozing concern, but Inej can tell that there’s a very small part of her that’s desperately trying not to laugh.
oh, Inej thinks again, rather belatedly, as she finally processes the leather jacket, the studded ear, the vaguely familiar face. I just knocked out Kaz Brekker.
\\
-Or, where he’s a punk, and she does ballet, what more can I say?
[Also featuring an overzealous Nina Zenik, an overly flirtatious Jesper Fahey, and a too-blushy-for-his-own-good Wylan Van-eck. ]
[Image ID: Photos of a two-page beige leaflet, split into three sections each. The first photo is the front of the leaflet, the second is of the back of the leaflet, and the third and fourth are of each side of the unfolded leaflet. At the top of the first page, taking up the left and middle sections, there are Ravkan and Kerch articles of clothing on display, and to the left, the text reads “CLOTHING | Nastasya’s Wardrobe | Traditional Ravkan clothes” and “Vinke’s | The latest Kerch fashions, tailoring and alterations”. Below that, there is text that reads “ENTERTAINMENT | For the children, Stegenga’s Puppet Show - starting on the hour, every hour!”, and to the left of the text there is an image of a puppet show taking place. Below the puppet show section, there are two images; one of various postcards & the other of thick, somewhat round pieces of bone, and to the left of those is text reading “AND MORE! | Postcards from Kerch and abroad. Saint’s bones and other religious icons. If you can imagine it, someone here might sell it!” On the third panel, the text at the top reads “BLOEMSTRAAT PARK MARKET | Ketterdam’s most diverse market!” with the second part of the text in cursive. There is an image of a grassy park with trees and some people with the text “OPEN DAILY!” splashed diagonally across the bottom right corner. Beneath that, there is text reading “Opening Times | MON-FRI 9AM-4:30PM | SAT-SUN 10AM-3PM” (first part of text is in cursive) and more text underneath reading “Location | BLOEMSTRAAT PARK | GOVERNMENT DISTRICT | KETTERDAM, KERCH” (again, first part of text is in cursive).]
[Image ID continued: At the top left of the second page, there are two images: one of two bao buns and the other of lemons, limes and oranges arranged on a plate. To the right of them, text reads “FOOD | Zihun’s Street Food | Hot, fresh Shu style food” for the buns and “Haruna Grocers | All manner of citrus fruits, and other Zemeni imports” for the fruits. Beneath that is text reading “BOOKS | The Book Cabin | Books and pamphlets from Kerch and beyond”, and to its right are two images, one of various colourful pamphlets and the other of a stack of brown leather-bound books. Below this are two images, one of a collection of spinning tops on a table and the other of two dolls. The text to its right reads “TOYS | The Toybox | Dolls, wooden toys, puzzles, flags - all sorts of toys for young and old”. On the far right panel, the words “SACRED IS GHEZEN AND IN COMMERCE WE SEE HIS HAND” have two swirly teardrop shapes, swirls pointing to the text, above and beneath them, and below is a map of the Government District of Ketterdam, with a star near the Stadhall and a line pointing to it, with the caption “WE ARE HERE”. Below the map is text reading “For general inquiries or to sell at the market, contact Luuk Braam, Ketterdam Mercher Council, Stadhall, Ketterdam” and at the very bottom of the panel, the text “Printed by de Hass Printers”. end ID]
the great kerch bake off bakers have some very tasty treats! check out the fic these tasty bakes come from by @verdisaster, beta’s by @solarpqwer right here!!
it was so fun to work on these for you <3
[IMAGE ID: six digital drawings of various baked goods on an open book. the first image is of Kaz’s baked good, two bear claw pastries with icing drizzled on top with almonds sprinkled on them. the second image is of Inej’s coconut macaroons, two coconut treats with chocolate drizzled over them and on the bottom. the third is Jesper’s treat, a stack of profiteroles with chocolate melted on top and a handful of halved hazelnuts scattered on them. The fourth image is Wylan’s lemon fruit cake, topped with lemon icing, sherbet powdered dusting and several lemon sliced gummy candies. the fifth is Nina’s two heart shaped waffles, half coated with pink icing and a cherry and pink edible flowers on the icing, along with a dark cherry drizzle on the plain side. the sixth is of Matthias’ rosemary and sea salt focaccia, two slices of the bread cut in half with rosemary and sea salt flakes sprinkled on top. END ID]
and a bonus kaz talking about how he rejected the darkling’s Iconic handshake
[IMAGE ID: Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows is standing against a medium grey background. he is wearing a dark turtleneck and a beige apron over the top. his hands are folded in front of him and are resting on his crow cane. he is looking off to the right hand side of the image. above him is some text that reads “i don’t care for the darkling, or his handshakes” END ID]
![IMAGE ID: [a moodboard of nine square images. the pictures in the left column have light blue overtones, the right cloumn has light green overtones. in the middle column, the top picture is blue, while the bottom one is green. top row: the picture in the top left corner shows Calahan Skogman in his role as Matthias Helvar, wrapped in a fur coat in front of an icy background. he looks serious, and he is looking to the viewer's right. the picture in middle shows a deep blue ocean up close, while the sky is grey and cloudy. the picture in the top right corner shows green mountains that are completely overhung with fog. they have an eery feeling to them. middle row: the picture on the left shows blue ice with cracks in it; the biggest crack splits the picture in half. the picture in the center of the row shows two hands touching; the people they belong to are not visible. the background is a clouded sky. the hands are barely touching, only two fingers of each hand interlocking. what can be seen of the arms of the people is covered with sleeves in beige and light brown. the picture on the right shows a dark green forest, overhung with fog. the angle of the picture is taken from a similar height as the treetops, so it appears as if the viewer is looking down onto the forest. bottom row: the picture in the bottom left corner shows a night sky over a forest. the picture is taken from the ground, so the trees open in almost a semi-circle to reveal the dark blue sky with some stars in it. the colour of the sky becomes lighter towards the horizon. the picture in the middle shows a plant with its leaves covered in frost. the plant's colour is dark green, but the leaves are almost completely covered in white frost, making them appear lighter. the picture in the bottom right corner shows Danielle Galligan in her role as Nina Zenik, wearing a fur coat in front of a light green background. she is making a serious face and is looking towards the viewer's left.]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c97305f5f7c955ddc01b511a018bcd97/b13eefa177cb6d16-db/s640x960/fa1eef2028274aa8d06357c27e866306cf2161a1.jpg)
