Since I have seen a few people try and frame Tolya being aroace as just a headcanon, or point out the (valid) fact that being aroace doesn't completely negate that someone can be in a relationship as a reason why having him be interested in Inej in the show isn't erasure, I feel like it's important to point out that he very specifically states in the text of one of the books that he has no interest in forming a romantic relationship or attachment with anyone and never has:
So yes. Shipping him with Inej, or anyone else, is erasing his canon sexuality. That's it.
We are happy to announce our rarepair exchange event for Shadow and Bone/the Grishaverse! It will run during the week of June 11th to the 17th!
First things first:
What is an exchange?
An exchange is a fandom event where participants sign up to create fanworks for other participants! All participants must send their requests to us event moderators through the sign-up form, and we will then assign you another participant's exchange request!
We'll be accepting fics, artwork, gifs, edits, videos...just make sure to post all of your exchange creations with the tag #grishapairexchange!
What counts as a rarepair?
Only non-canon ships with less than 150 fics posted on AO3 will count for the event. The rarer the better! Polyships encouraged!
We'll be evaluating this number based on the "otp: true" search listing of Grishaverse ships. Some examples: Inej/Tolya (4), Mal/Nikolai (7), Mal/the Darkling (10), Nikolai/Alina/Mal (18), Genya/Alina (46), Nikolai/Darkling (71). You can do this yourself by looking up a ship on ao3 and adding "otp: true" into the Search within results function box!
How do I sign up, and how does the assigning work?
All participants will fill in a form requesting basic information (contact options, tumblr name, age*). They must then state 3 rarepair options, each with their own prompt. Please take into consideration that your creator may fill your prompt by fic, art, gifs, or videos! If it helps to keep things simple, you may specify with trope tags. Example:
1 mal/the darkling: hurt/comfort scene, established relationship, the darkling is badly injured and mal stitches him up
2 nikolai/tolya/mal: intimate moments and shared looks between all three, or - all three of them having to watch the other(s) fighting and loving it
3 zoya/nina: zoya and nina shown deeply caring about each other, ex: their season 2 conversations about love and fighting to protect each other fiercely!
If you have any hard-nos, triggers, or squicks, you may write them into the specified text box.
*Participants under 13 are not permitted to participate. If a participant is under 18, they cannot request any mature or explicit content.
Sign-ups are open here!
Please share this post and tell any fandom friends who might be interested! We want as many participants as possible to share in the rarepair love! Rules and scheduling are under the cut!
Content Rules
Any type of fanwork is allowed and encouraged, so long as it is tagged appropriately and it correctly fulfills a prompt.
Writing fanworks must be between 500-5,000 words.
Art fanworks must be between 1 and 5 images, short comics allowed.
Edit fanworks like gifsets and image edits must be collected into a single post, with a maximum of 10 gifs/images.
Video fanworks must range between 1:00 and 3:00 minutes in length.
All posts must be tagged appropriately for ships, characters, and warnings.
Participant Requirements and Rules
As mentioned, participants under 13 are not allowed. Any participant under 18 years of age cannot request mature or explicit content.
All participants must state at least 3 different pair and/or poly ships to choose from. Exchange prompts are encouraged to be short and varied to allow for any fanwork type.
All signed participants must fulfill at least 1 of the 3 exchange prompts they receive.
Completing more than 1 prompt is allowed, but it must be part of its own separate fanwork/post.
Keep your assigned person and prompts a secret until posting week! Once the event is rolling out, mention your assigned person in your posts and tag #grishapairexchange.
No character or ship hate will be tolerated. This is an event centering on rare ships, all of which deserve some love!
If you find any kind of personal conflict or need help with the event, please privately contact the event mods (@seventfics/@jaskierian and @mal-zoya).
Schedule
April 22: Sign-up opens
May 5: Sign-up closes
May 11: Participants receive their exchange prompts
June 11-17: Grisha Rarepair Exchange posting and sharing
spoilers for sab s2 below the cut, read at your own risk
I've seen a LOT of freakouts over the fleeting ~tension~ between tolya and inej during the final moments of episode 8, and as a self-professed kanej stannie i am here to say to all my fellow shippers: please take a deep breath and then remove the large wooden stick from wherever it's currently residing dwjdkwehdw
first of all: eric heiserrer is, in his own words, a kanej shipper. there is only one endgame in sight and that's kaz and inej. end of story.
that said, please consider: a little bit of external tension (wherever it may present itself) is good, healthy even!
inej and kaz both have been living in a bit of a vacuum of their own feelings for each other for a long time. it's high time they get a reality check of sorts.
because the reality is: to anyone with functioning eyeballs, inej is a beautiful, admirable, desirable woman! of course she would draw attention from folks who aren't kaz!
and you know what? she deserves to see that's possible! and in a respectful way, at that!
i'm not saying she's going to be in a full-blown relationship with tolya (friendships, crushes, and unrequited feelings all still exist, btw), but he does present a sort of tempting vision of the man she probably envisioned being with, as a young girl: someone who's strong, brave, spiritual, and a fundamentally good man. in many ways, the exact opposite of kaz brekker.
and if after being exposed to ALL OF THAT - if she still finds herself drawn back to kaz and kaz alone, well, that's how you know it's the real deal. i, for one, wouldn't want it any other way.
i have WAY more thoughts on this but anyways, justice for my girl inej 2k23, let her be coveted by many (but remember that her heart is reserved only for one)
A/N: Well, Shadow and Bone S2 blindsided me with a new "I don't know how the hell this would work but I'm here for it" ship and I had to write something, even if it's just a quick 10-minute ficlet. Why the hell my brain insisted on Kaz POV I have no idea, but I hope it works.
Name, as is my tradition, from a Diablo Swing Orchestra song.
---
When the Volkvolny returns to port, he's there. Of course he's there. A distance away from the pier, perhaps, but he's there.
Oretsev gives him a nod as he strides past carrying ropes and hollering orders at the disembarking crew. He nods back -- already distracted.
She's walking down the pier in confident strides, hair blowing in the breeze, sun glinting on her daggers. Tolya's big arm rests around her shoulders and she's not shrinking away. In fact, hers is curled around his waist, fingers tucked into his belt.
His jaw tightens and his fingers ball into tight fists around his cane. He plants his feet and locks his knees, forces himself not to be a coward for once.
Her gaze lands on him. And brightens, softens.
His follows suit, with a warm, knowing smile.
He blinks and takes a breath, momentarily reeling.
-
When she's standing in front of him, she squeezes Tolya's arm. The pirate's gaze sweeps her face before he gives them a gentle nod and steps away.
Not far. And while his gaze ostensibly searches for his sister, he knows he's still tuned into her, listening for her breathing, her heartbeat. He can respect that.
"Did you find your brother?"
She exhales. Relieved, but her smile is bittersweet. "Yes. He has a new family, now. We... promised to write."
"Hmm." His gaze bores into her. "And you?"
She tilts her head in that familiar, exasperated way and sighs, challenge heating her eyes and sharpening her voice.
"I came back, didn't I?"
The to you is silent and he wonders if he imagined it. He blinks slowly and glances five steps away and to the left. "Yes. You did."
This time she does not fail to roll her eyes. She reaches out her left hand and Tolya is there at her side, fingers intertwined with hers, his gaze steady and warm on her. And then on him.
She lifts her right hand in front of her, palm open, eyes burning. Willing him to figure it out. Willing him to swallow the dregs of fear and pride and accept.
