#gss21

[hauntedsuns]

Merry Christmas to @klicksalt who was my Giftee for the Secret Santa(@grishaversesecretsanta )

[milo-my-beloved]

we'll be okay (set sail for home)

Summary:

The job doesn't always go to plan, but Kaz will always be there to pick Inej up, no matter how bloody and bruised they are.

The thought of a festive dinner waiting for them at home helps, too.

Read on AO3!

Merry Christmas @rivkah94! I've loved running @grishaversesecretsanta this year, everyone has been so lovely and I can't wait to see all your gifts!

[daveyjacobsthepotterhead]

A Merry Christmas Vinetkalla Market

Happy Holidays @hanorganaas! Hope you enjoy this bit of fluffy holiday goodness for Nina and Matthias for @grishaversesecretsanta These two got the short end of the stick when it came to their time together, so I thought I'd imagine a world where they get to enjoy the simple things. Hope you enjoy, and Merry Grishaverse Secret Santa Day!

Spoilers for the Six of Crows duology.

(Do not read on if you haven't finished this duology or you care about spoilers, the AU description alone will spoil some major plot points)

AU where Matthias doesn't die and Nina retains her Heartrender abilities, and they can return to Djerholm in a time of peace...

The culling of the seagulls beckons Nina toward the waterfront, tugging at that place inside that can feel the mess of life before her.

"What's the rush for?" pouts the druskelle a few steps behind her.

"The rush," she stops only for a moment, to impress on him the importance of their journey, "Is that we're going to miss all the fun!"

"Fun? In Djerholm?" In two long strides, he catches up to her. "Wait, I should know you could find fun even under a rock in Tsibeya."

"I make a point of it." She grasps his hand without breaking her stride. "Now come, we musn't miss the one week of the year this cold bloody country of yours allows itself an ounce of fun."

"We have fun!" Matthias holds a hand over his heart, as if in feigned offense. "We have village dances, and -" He stops at the look on Nina's face.

"Was that sarcasm?!" she's stopped now, open-jawed.

"What?" A word in Ravkan he had yet to pick up perhaps?

Nina imitates his hand-over-heart gesture. "I have taught you something!" she jumps from the ground in excitement.

"Oh-" Matthias thinks for a second. Maybe he had let the drusje rub off on him a bit.

He didn't mind so much anymore.

As they approach the quay, the street widens and they are greeted by the warm smells of freshly baked bread, sweets, the punch of spiced cider, all echoed by the tang of salt and sea. The watery winter sun makes the harbor appear glassy past the blur of color and light.

Nina loosens the reins on the power inside her, drinking in the feeling of life surrounding them. Carts line the high street as it tumbles its way down to the harborfront. Shopkeepers and traders display trinkets, wools and linens, spices, tools, furs, fresh meat and winter vegetables, small bits of jewelry and dried flowers, anything that may be needed in the preparations for Vinetkalla.

Matthias offers his arm to Nina with a raised brow. She takes it with a contented sigh, not quite believing after all this time that they finally get to do this. This completely normal thing, surrounded by completely normal people going about their completely normal lives. They'd spent so much of the last few years, all the time they'd known each other, really, fighting: Barrell bosses, a handful of corrupt and poorly-opinionated governments, witch hunters, that sly cane-carrying snake, not to mention each other. It's hard to forget that much of that fighting had taken place just a bare glance from here. They had spent countless hours back in Ketterdam pouring over maps of these very streets, but being here now, with no maps, no plans, no secrets, was much changed. Much better.

As they wander down the street, Matthias points out a stall flush with wool garments. "That," he says to Nina, "is what Fjerdan wives wear at Vinetkalla." Nina stops to look more closely at the stall. Really? They know layers of clothing don't have to look so...frumpy, right? The stall is stacked high with bobbly wool vests, skirts, and shawls in traditional, dark Fjerdan colors, the combination of which Nina imagines could only cause one to look like a stifled pile of dusty yarn.

"Isn't that...lovely," Nina fakes a smile for the shopkeep, who she can tell from his heartbeat and wide grin is eager to sell. But she has never been able to hide her true feelings from Matthias, skilled as she is. As they continue on, she says, "You know it gets cold in Ravka too, right? And we don't feel the need to drown our women in wool to keep them warm?"

He smiles knowingly, the slightest tug at his lip curving into a smirk. She is very pretty when she has a point to prove.

"Oooh!" Nina cries, suddenly pulling Matthias from his thoughts and toward a stage set up in the square, where a large crowd is growing and a somber-looking man is taking the stage.

Nina snatches up two steaming cups from a cart near the back of the crowd before hurriedly tossing the woman behind it a few coins and dragging Matthias to a seat. She plops down, eyes focused as if she were trying to burn a hole through the back of the stage. She can't do that, right?

Thoroughly confused, Matthias waits a moment for an explanation. None comes.

"What's going on?"

"Shhh..." Without breaking her gaze, Nina reaches a finger to place over Matthias' lips, taking a sip of her drink with the other hand. The somber man starts speaking.

"Welcome, ladies and gentle folk, to the Tale of Djel and His Messengers." Polite applause scatter across the crowd. "This afternoon, you will see..."

Nina leans over and whispers to Matthias, "If our plans worked, there may be some new 'messengers' in the play now. We just have to hope there's been enough rumors to catch public attention this close to the Ice Court."

The somber man concludes his introduction and two young women walk onto the stage, dressed in blue. They begin waving their arms in arcs as if they were dancing, and blue streams of paper flit about behind them. The somber man begins his tale, of water rising up to save a village.

Realization dawns on Matthias. Those are drusje. Grisha. Well, not real Grisha, but women pretending to be Grisha. Here. In Djerholm. As the messengers of Djel himself. And a whole crowd of Fjerdans is ok with that.

Nina's and her friends' work had finally paid off. This wasn't peace in a final sense, but it was a grand step in the right direction. Grisha seen as people, not monsters, and even saving a village of innocents. It had taken Matthias all these years to unlearn what he had been taught. He scoots closer to Nina, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She sinks into his side instinctively. Maybe her people can teach the rest of his people a thing or two, too.

[hanorganaas]

and like an anchor in the sand, I was forced to stay

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO @saintofnotbroken​

PARING: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa RATING: T SUMMARY: After their bathroom encounter, Inej takes a moment to think about their relationship. WARNINGS:  None NOTES:  This was written for the @grishaversesecretsanta and I was very happy to write my first Kanej Fic

Hello Joanna! 

This gift is a little special because it was really the first fic I managed to crank out after having trouble finding my writing muse for months. So I hope its special to me as it is to you! I decided to take a little spin on my favorite scene of Crooked Kingdom, Enjoy it!

To fit the mood of the fic I high suggest listening to "Wind and Anchor" by National Parks because it sets the mood and it's definitely a Kanej song =D

HERE @ AO3

[nonbinarychaoticstupid]

THE SANDS OF AN HOURGLASS written for @hauntedsuns for the @grishaversesecretsanta!

she smiles, and he feels it on the back of his neck. “i would never do that, kaz. i care about you too much to leave without telling you.” now, that - that makes him duck his head and stare at his feet for a minute. sometimes he misses being good at shutting off his emotions. “i - yes. you - you’re - okay. wonderful. yes.” inej laughs. “kaz brekker, are you flustered?" “altitude sickness at this height, inej?” he gets out. it isn’t his best retort, but it makes her laugh again, and that soft thing in his chest sings in response.

read here! rating: T pairings: kaz/inej, minor jesper/wylan

[sirehren]

Trust Fall

Summary: “Kaz,” she says quietly, “what’s the plan here? I won’t call a medik without your agreement, but there’s no way you can hide this. Even if you could – it leaves you too vulnerable. You can’t defend yourself like this.”

Just saying it feels wrong, like she’s bringing down a curse on their heads.

When Kaz gets injured and can't - won't - look after himself, the task falls to Inej.

Length: 3.4k

Pairing: Inej Ghafa/Kaz Brekker

Rating: T

Tags: Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort

Read it: AO3

Written for @semicolonsandsimiles as part of the @grishaversesecretsanta 2021!

[eifort-alchimique]

[eifort-alchimique]

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