F A T E D

[obrechenniye]

обреченные — private and selective multimuse, featuring canons and ocs for the grish.averse.  penned by katya  ( she/her, 30 ). carrd. memes. ( also found at @gaerlhoss & @owedfavors )

[averrse]

Kaz hasn't doubted that she's one of them, not since she came to him about Rollins' plan to make her betray him, and she sounds more and more the part each day. There is something gratifying about that, although he wouldn't admit it. She's not like the rest of them. She could live a legit, above-the-board life if she wanted. Never fully mundane--she was grisha after all--but it didn't have to be the Barrel either.

It takes a certain kind of person to choose this place. It's why he doesn't really blame Inej for leaving. Even if Nina leaves eventually, for now she's choosing this.

"I think we're gaining a reputation for doing the impossible," he says with a shrug. "It'll keep things interesting, at least."

[obrechenniye]

a reputation for the impossible might keep things interesting, but nina can also imagine the myriad of ways it might also serve to endanger them. do too many impossible things, and people start expecting it — you start expecting it, and then you get careless and they get greedy. neither are ideal. ❛ what’s the newest impossible thing someone would like us to accomplish? ❜

her eyes narrow. ❛ or, is it the newest impossible thing you would like us to accomplish? don’t get greedy on us: both jesper and I like our lives and limbs safely in tact, thank you very much. ❜ but she only teases. mostly.

[averrse]

If Kaz believed in any gods or saints, he'd ask them all to save him from idealistic people and their convictions. Inej had gone after him too, and she should've known better. She knew better now, at least, not to follow him.

"I assure you," he says, a hint of danger in his voice. "I can take care of myself. And anyone on my team can take care of themselves. And none of us need someone who decided to be part of this life five minutes ago to tell us how to run a job. Whatever you believed in the Second Army doesn't carry over, and it doesn't seem to me it worked out very well for you there either."

[obrechenniye]

❛ oh, trust me. they weren't exactly the touchy-feely types either. ❜ she bristles beneath his words, for all there’s nothing worth getting offended over. but she does so hate being dismissed.

so, if she is too curt when she continues ( she had, after all, only wanted to help ), it’s not truly her fault. ❛ but I’m not telling you how to run a job, brekker. I’m telling you how to run a team. and given that you have the emotional intelligence of… ❜ — she cuts off abruptly, metaphor failing her. she filters through toadstools, but the interconnectedness of fungi probably gives them a higher emotional intelligence than him, and arrives at — ❛ a doorstop, you could do with a few lessons in running a team. ❜

the sort of team that finds value in staying together, in working together, because they find something there worth protecting and worth maintaining. not the sort of team that fractures once a job is over and the material benefit of the allegiance is past.

[sankted]

@obrechenniye liked for a mouse starter.

It's a chilly night, and the wind is coming up off the water in the 5th harbor and bringing the scent of fish and salt and refuse and death and, if he's not mistaken, a cargo of coffee beans from one of the ships. That's the smell of home, for better or worse. One of them, anyway. He's not sure his lungs would know what to do with fresh air.

Might as well be at home when I'm making maybe the worst mistake of my life, he thinks to himself.

He's meeting one of Dirtyhands' people in Dregs territory, by the 5th Harbor. Alone. Nobody in the Black Tips knowing about it, and definitely not approving it. In fact, Geels will likely kill him if he finds out. The man hates Brekker, won't stop talking about showing him who's boss one day. Mouse would never say it, but he's pretty sure Geels wouldn't like how that ended up.

Of course, he only knows Brekker by reputation, but he's relieved when he sees the person approaching him isn't Dirtyhands himself, although he hadn't really thought it would be. A woman instead. Not Suli either, so not the Wraith. He's heard she skipped town anyway. Lucky her.

Deep breath. Doesn't matter who he sent. I accepted his request to meet up with someone from his crew, obviously. He's got no reason to have them kill me on sight. And I'm nobody . Less than nobody.

He manages a meager smile, even with his heart in his throat. "You haven't been sent to kill me, have you?" he asks, in spite of himself. What is she going to do? Say Why, yes I have! brandish a pistol and shoot him in the street? "I-I mean, I do better work alive, so..."

[obrechenniye]

nina’s not quite sure she approves of playing errand girl, especially considering just how little she’s been told about tonight’s meeting. then again, better her than kaz brekker, and better her than jesper, who remains his unusually sullen self in all defiance of his personality. they’ll both get over it, sooner or later.

and, if not, then nina is going to slam their heads together as hard as she can and hope that some common sense and human decency dislodges from wherever it is clearly locked away in their skulls.

but she’s not irritable, doesn’t share their current short temper. mostly. mostly, the shared irritability of her companions just makes her miss inej more. which, really, isn’t at all fair.

she snorts, though the sound is scarcely lady-like and though, probably, concern for his continued survival deserves a little more serious acknowledgment. especially considering the company she keeps. ❛ I don’t think I’m the one kaz brekker sends if he wants you dead. not that I couldn’t drop you dead where you stand… ❜ she adds the clarification severely, a quiet warning that for all her unassuming demeanor, she is far from defenseless. ❛ just so we’re clear where we stand. I just happen to take a little more convincing than most of the people in his employ. ❜

[obrechenniye]

hey hey! so, I don't think I actually owe anyone other than aj, but this is just a heads up to promise that I haven't forgotten about this blog! insomnia's been kicking my ass, and what energy I have had has been going into my main girl @owedfavors. but I am hoping to be back here as soon as I can get a few decent nights of sleep. <3

[obrechenniye]

we're going to be moving ellie off this blog and onto her own blog at @mcgnificat!!

[stcrmhund]

Well-accustomedto the cat's temperament, at the first undignified squeal, Nikolai took a step back, readying himself to protect his face from the inevitable attack. It never came. That horrible, twisted creature stayed in her arms, annoyed, yes, but not murderous. There is no time for him to relax. Just as it quieted down, the cat curled around her neck, its sharp claws far too close to his liking to her artery.

❛⠀⠀ ⠀ I never felt the inclination to say his name before,⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀ because until five seconds ago, it remained nameless, ⠀⠀ ⠀ ❛⠀⠀ ⠀ and until I have concrete proof that it won't try to kill me in my sleep, as it tried before, I shall continue to refer to it as I please.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

Folding his arms across his chest, a satisfied smirk spreads across his lips, delight palpable as he lifts an eyebrow in her direction. ⠀⠀ ⠀ ❛⠀⠀ ⠀ Should I remind you of the rules of the sea, once again? You, as my guest, are welcome to provide suggestions, ask for things, as long as they are accompanied by please and thank you. Demands are reserved for the captain's lips.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

That argument was as senseless as it was delightful. She was catching on quickly.

For a brief second, the thought of telling the truth flickers through his mind as a possible retort; leaving her speechless was a tempting idea, but in the long-run, would be disastrous, so instead he just shrugs, playing along.

❛⠀⠀ ⠀ The world does not have an unlimited supply of princes.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀ Nikolai says, a familiar glint entering his eye,⠀⠀ ⠀ ❛⠀⠀ ⠀ and as a privateer, I think I would have heard a rumbling or two about it. He'd fetch a handsome price on the market. Tell me, how certain are you of that theory?⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

[obrechenniye]

a frown creases her brow, and in mock defensiveness, elia takes a step back, reaching to scratch boris' neck, as if in reassurance, where he perches on her shoulder with eyes alert. ❛ you're not selling my cat. ❜ and he is hers. sturmhond had already given his permission ( all too willingly for a man who protested her making demands after acceding to one without hesitation ), and pirate privateer though he may be, surely he would not go back on his word.

( surely he would, if it would benefit him, but he would quickly, elia vows to herself, find himself with ample cause to regret it. )

but it is all in play regardless, and her indignation quickly fades, replaced by a grin that is, if anything, smug. ❛ but as I am the one with a cat who scares even you ❜ — and he can scarcely deny it, not when his increasing distance from her and concern for a midnight assassination attempt tell a different story — ❛ are you sure you want to deny me such a simple request? ❜

he might well describe it as a demand, but if he wishes to toy with the definitions of words ( 'guest' indeed ), then so too may she. it is, after all, only fair.

[stcrmhund]

❛⠀⠀ ⠀ I can't help it that luck handpicked me as its favorite.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀Luck made him another battleground in the eternal fight it waged against fate. He was a prime soldier; dealt with the worst deck of cards the universe could conceive, a second son, a bastard, and clever enough to recognize the barriers which would try to keep him locked in place. With no future, he had to create his own, with nothing but luck to keep him going after the first stumbles.

Smile widens at her mock-disapproval as he bends down to kiss that silly suggestion out of her lips.

❛⠀⠀ ⠀ It was never theirs to begin with. It is my luck, and I have a penchant for losing battles. Though, I have to point out,⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀he says, unable to the play on words they've fallen into, ⠀⠀ ⠀ ❛⠀⠀ ⠀ what's a losing battle other than a battle that hasn't been won before? I think that's just something losers created in order to fluff up their egos.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

[obrechenniye]

together, the kiss and his possessiveness over 'his' luck banish the thoughts which had so briefly intruded and restore her earlier laughter. she leans in to stage-whisper into his ear, ❛ are you sure it's not something people like you ❜ — those all too disproportionately fortunate, and with more than a dash of arrogance to their name — ❛ created to brag about when you win them? ❜

she pulls away, as much as his hold upon her and the rail at her back allow, and slides her arms from around his neck to rest her hands upon his chest. only then does she argue her point. ❛ it's your ego it fuels, not theirs. theirs, it only soothes. ❜ which is the more compelling reason? elia cannot say; they seem equally plausible in the grand scheme of things.

[stcrmhund]

Good, she understood him. Her willingness to play along so far had started to worry him; he needed someone who would do as he asked, that was certain, but someone too willing was just as dangerous as a naysayer. It spoke of an... instability of the mind. No sane person wanted to be played with by a pirate privateer, and the sooner she understood that he was selfish, cruel and in charge, the easier their misadventure would be.

❛⠀⠀ ⠀ I'm a privateer, Miss Elia. Do you think this beauty doesn't require upkeep, that these lads don't require money when we reach port? It is an expensive life, and friendship is not a good enough reason to do anything. I wish it was different, I truly do, this is a dear friend I'm talking about,⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀ he trails off, as there is no need to add a 'but alas'. It was plainly understood. ⠀⠀ ⠀ ❛⠀⠀ ⠀ And I'm not the only one who is being unkind here. Calling me a pirate! That is slander, in some parts of the ocean, I could have your tongue for it.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

Without lingering too long on that latest thread, he moves back to the story, leaning in closer to share his secrets and lies. ⠀⠀ ⠀ ❛⠀⠀ ⠀ What anyone wants. Gold, and ways to get even more of it. He had in his possession the map to an old cave, used by Fjerdan sailors in the last century to stash their purchases between trips, or to hide their real cargo. Those trade routes were disrupted by the Shu, who supposedly were never able to find this treasure trove in all of the years since. There were countless expeditions. Licensed privateers, a group I'm proudly part of, searched rock formation and cove without any luck and people stopped believing in the story.⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜

[obrechenniye]

they are here, in the middle of the open ocean, with none the wiser to her location. if he truly desired it, were she to infuriate him sufficiently with such slander ( as he terms it ), technically there would be nothing to stop him from any retaliation he deemed necessary. parts of the ocean scarcely seemed to matter when, if she never returned to shore, none save those who bore witness would ever know.

it ought to be a more chilling thought than it is, yet he has been nothing but — well, perhaps courteous was the wrong word, given the hours she had spent imprisoned, chained, below deck — but, civil. there’s half a dozen additional, less flattering adjectives she might select to describe the man responsible for her kidnapping, but immanently threatening to her physical well-being has not yet seemed to be one.

❛ I object to the assumption that all anyone wants is gold. perhaps try, hmmm, all anyone like you wants? ❜ surely, quibbling with the premise of his tale is not the response he desires of her, not the fascination of one enamoured of tales of adventure, nor the dramatic indignation of one truly naive enough to be shocked by the affront to her worldview. but she will set him straight, and then he might have her interest in his tale. and while she is at it… ❛ and friendship is one of the only good reasons to do anything. but, I will concede that you must do things for less than good reasons. ❜

he ought to consider that quite the generous concession.

❛ but if your fjerdan had the map in his possession, why had he not yet claimed the treasure for his own? ❜

[notmorbid]

the guest.

dialogue prompts from the guest: a novel by emma cline.

you've always been good at seeing things clearly.

compared to the city, this is heaven.

what are people seeing in my aura?

i have no memory of it, but it's possible.

things i touch start to seem doomed.

it's always best not to know too much.

we had fun, didn't we?

you're nice, in your demented way.

a date? an actual date?

this is real, you and me. or it could be.

isn't it better to give people what they want?

you aren't close with your family?

i'm no longer vulnerable to your opinion.

do you need anything, before i head out?

this is a convincing substitute for a life.

no problem is unsolvable.

who could be threatened by a girl scout?

people just want to hear their own voices.

certain places make you feel like all problems have solutions.

what would it take to get you to break character?

i don't really think it's that kind of party.

am i misreading the vibe?

there are many ways to keep knowledge for yourself.

i should've put on real clothes. shoes, at least.

do you have something you want to tell me?

we were friends, weren't we?

i think we've met, maybe, right?

my life before seems a million miles away.

everyone here has known me too long.

do you want a beer?

i'm a vegetarian, mostly.

it would make sense if none of this were real.

whenever i'm scared, i just make myself believe it's all a movie.

i actually like cooking. it relaxes me.

i'd rather sit in here with you.

you don't seem old enough to have a kid.

you can kick me out whenever you need to, really.

come sit with me. please. i'm lonely.

i can make literally anything you want. i went to bartending school.

who would want to fuck ____?

what do we think? good or bad?

i did something that can't be undone.

just get out, okay?

do you think it's not obvious, what your deal is?

sugar doesn't grow your bones.

sorry, i'm visiting. i don't know the rules.

i'm not even a grownup.

i have you. you're okay.

wait. are you feeling sorry for me?

i didn't feel well. i left early.

i'll bet you were one of those kids who never seemed young.

you're, like, really pretty.

people's unhappiness can infect you.

what's your accent?

i kind of wondered if i'd see you.

you don't actually care. you care about seeming like you care.

it's easy to be nice to you.

good to see you out and about.

where'd you go? i missed you.

is there some place quieter?

what bad things could ever befall you?

when you cover something up, it makes people look harder.

i'm gonna kiss you. yeah?

how come you don't tell me anything?

i wish we could just stay here and never go home.

most people never feel how they're supposed to feel.

i'm tired of you keeping tabs on me, acting like i'm a kid.

it looks worse than it actually is.

where are you? how come i'm all alone?

you can't just make this disappear.

it sounded true when i was saying it.

all is good. all is well. lovely, even.

you'll forget it all, with a little effort.

[periodcostumefantasylover]

Nina Zenik's red-brown corsage and skirt in Shadow and Bone Season 2

[obrechenniye]

I think I’ve done everything I owe here, except for a few ask memes for jesper. so, if there’s anything I missed, please give me a holler! and, if you’d like to start things, feel free to send memes / like this post ( & specify muses ) and I’ll send some memes / pop by my inbox or messages to chat <3

[stcrmhund]

❛⠀⠀⠀I think I'll be pleased as long as those rumors don't have the word spiders on them. Sturmhond, the scourge of the sea, who lost his first ship to a roving band if spiders. I can work with the other two.⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀The truth is a malleable, willing little thing, and if people are already willing to believe in rumors, influencing them in the direction he wants is the easiest step. As long as the rumors included a reference to pirates, the sea and a great big ship, the details of who won or lost are irrelevant.⠀⠀⠀❛⠀⠀⠀But I didn't really answer your question, did I?⠀⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀ ⠀

It is not about what he can do. It really is about who he wants Sturmhond to be. Is he fearsome? Dangerous? Charming? The best parts of all of these, or none of the above, more of a figure to scare children than tempt maidens to take a walk at shore unaccompanied?

❛⠀⠀⠀⠀What exactly terrifies you, my dear Tolya, about my upcoming alliance with the spiders?⠀ ⠀ ❜⠀⠀

[obrechenniye]

getting straight answers out of their dear captain could be an adventure in and of itself, and tolya raises his eyebrows at the way nikolai acknowledges his lack of answer — only to fail to supply one. he’s quick enough to shrug, however. it’s not a question he needs an answer to, as much a rhetorical response to nikolai’s own query as one existing in its own right.

it does not affect their job here, nor change the bearing of their path.

❛ well, I suppose they’ll make me irrelevant. who needs my select skill set when you have an army of spiders at your command? ❜ a grisha of his ability became defunct in the presence of a hoard of spiders which were more than capable of stopping hearts by their very presence. and, what good was a blade when your enemies all ran away on sight. ❛ it would be embarrassing. ❜

as if that’s what he had meant, and not that he’d rather not have to babysit his traumatized captain and friend.

[withaknife]

Inej finds herself taken by surprise by the intensity of Nina's reaction. Has she become so used to a lack of reaction from those who knew her--met with the roll of the eyes and a joke or a silence that filled the room--that she doesn't know how to face a response that matches what her statement implies?

And even still, there is something unspoken. Inej sometimes feels that she could fill a book with all the things that hadn't been said to her.

"Pain is inevitable," she says, keeping her voice even. Kaz had told them the plan, then he and Jesper had left for their part of it. It was a few hours yet before she and Nina would need to leave; Inej would have to scale a wall covered with spikes and razor wire, and they all knew it was unlikely she'd get over without some injury. "So... what's wrong in making meaning from it? Even if it's a lie." She manages a small smile, hoping it will be enough. "I'll be all right. You'll make sure of that."

Now it's her turn to leave something unsaid. I've survived a lot worse.

[obrechenniye]

it baffles her, that this is the plan. that the default isn’t finding a plan that doesn’t involve almost inevitable pain. that, instead, it’s oh, nina can patch her up. she doesn’t mind being the tag-along medic, and she’s objectively relieved that inej is not going into this alone. it is, however, absurd that this is the definition of acceptable in which they operate.

nina does not approve. she also does not have the clout for her loudly voiced protests to have much sway in altering the plan. not that that had kept her from voicing them.

and maybe it’s that her life has been different, that while she’s used to pain in its own forms, she’s less accustomed to physical pain, to the scoring of limbs and broken bones. oh, she’s healed plenty of them, but that’s different. the pain she knows too intimately is emotional, and there’s no quick cures for that, no grisha power that could truly alleviate the ache ( the mere temporary deception she could manage did not count, it left the wounds no less gaping than before ).

maybe they are in the right, and she is wrong to make a fuss.

❛ but if you know it’s a lie, ❜ she argues instead to deflect her own train of thought, ❛ doesn’t that defeat the point? ❜

[withaknife]

Inej finds herself smiling. There's something easy about smiling with Nina, in a way that it's never been easy before. Even if she tenses slightly when Nina takes her arm, she quickly relaxes, quickly finds the touch comforting rather than threatening.

"Something that isn't too noisy?" she asks. She imagines somewhere far away from the Barrel. Somewhere with fresh air and no reason to look over her shoulder. Somewhere impossible, tonight. "Maybe we can just walk for a bit?"

[obrechenniye]

nina laughs, and it’s not really all that funny, but there’s something ridiculous in it. quiet, in this mess of a city? nina sometimes misses the open ocean, but the ocean isn’t quiet either. and maybe it’s the openness of ravka, the open distance between settlements. green and brown and unfettered sky and all the inexplicable things that made a place home. ❛ is there anywhere that isn’t noisy in this city? if so, I’m not sure I’ve been there yet. which, is as good of a reason for a walk as anything. ❜

it’s not home though, not really: ketterdam has as much claim to that title as anywhere ( here are her friends, and what is home if not her friends? ).

[photografya-deactivated20230917]

me and who

[stcrmhund]

@obrechenniye

[averrse]

"You negotiate like you're native to Kerch," Kaz says. Perhaps it could be a compliment, under some circumstances, but she doubts she'll take it as one.

He stretches out his bad leg. One might assume that it's sore from everything they'd done in the past few days, or from the movement of the ship on the water, but he's really only buying himself a little more time in a way that no one ever calls him on.

"You should do the same thing you'd do if I were killed or unconscious; you stick to the task at hand and finish the job. And if the job is done, you leave. We don't stand around holding hands if one of us gets... lightheaded." He can't help but sneer to himself, disgusted again (again, again, again) at his weakness.

[obrechenniye]

❛ I’m a quick study. ❜ kerch, ravka, fjerda… aside from varying degrees of disdain for the very nature of her existence, what was the difference, in the end? each followed their own ridiculous set of rules, equally deserving of a roll of her eyes. people were people, after all, no matter where you went.

and she had been trained for it, to learn those rules and fit in, to speak languages fluently in a way that went far beyond the words that left her lips.

❛ I had no more role to play in in the job, if you’ll remember. that was on inej. ❜ not to throw the woman beneath the weight of responsibility. ❛ and I don’t believe in leaving people behind while they’re still breathing. and, frankly, from what I’ve seen, you could all do with a little more standing around holding hands. ❜