WRAITH QUEEN

independent INEJ GHAFA as understood by mel

[wraithqveenarchived]

“The problem was that the creatures who had managed to survive the city he’d made were a new kind of misery entirely — Brekker, his WRAITH QUEEN, his rotten little court of thugs. A fearless breed, hard-eyed and feral, hungrier for vengeance than for gold.”

independent, mutuals only, canon compliant INEJ GHAFA from leigh bardugo’s grishaverse. book & show verses available. loved by mel (24, she/her, GMT -3).

rules /  memes / carrd 

[wraithqveen-a]

❝ The problem was that the creatures who had managed to survive the city he’d made were a new kind of misery entirely — Brekker, his WRAITH QUEEN, his rotten little court of thugs. A fearless breed, hard-eyed and feral, hungrier for vengeance than for gold. ❞

independent INEJ GHAFA from leigh bardugo’s grishaverse, sideblog to warwaged loved by mel

[wraithqveenarchived]

hey besties I can’t keep up with more than one blog but I want to write inej again SO you can find her at the same url but it’s a sideblog to my multi now c:

[warwaged-moved]

I'll be back this week! I was sick then busy with work and uni but I'm better now and itching to write 🥺

[wraithqveenarchived]

WHAT CRYSTAL ARE YOU?

black tourmaline

you have a strength to you that has been hard earned. you don't hesitate to cut out the parts of you you despise, you're unafraid to call out others. your bluntness can off-put people at times, but you're unwilling to compromise your personal code. once your loyalty has been earned it is not easily shaken. you're a protector and you purge away anything you believe could harm you or those you love. when was the last time you relaxed, though? when was the last time you let down your guard? there is just as much strength in vulnerability.

TAGGED BY: @kcrclrezni​ thank you!! ♥ TAGGING: @pistolslinger​ @heartrendes​ @clpdwings​ @vejrtok​ and whoever else would like to do it!

[wraithqveenarchived]

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑  𝐃𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  𝐎𝐅  𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐊  𝐌𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘  .

bold  what  applies  .       italicize  what  somewhat  applies .     tag  some friends  to  play  along   !        repost ,   don’t  reblog .

𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒  :    scornful jealousy •  pink  •  presents a certain decorum  • heavy air in a nightclub •  has a tattoo they regret (does it count if it wasn’t by choice rip)  •  sex & love therapist for their friends • juvenescent • uses enchantments •  aloof  •  wears rose-colored glasses •  velvet, latex, & lingerie •  milk baths with champagne bubbles • impetuous in love  • intense eye contact is a sport  •  kinky  •  soft lips •  wears stacked rings  • sets fashion trends • graceful movements  •  marble floors •  heavy perfume or cologne • deeply emotional • born glamorous

𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄  :    prefers canine companions  •  wears symbolic jewelry  •  can see spirits • melting wax  • uses hexes  •  feels most comfortable at night •  smell of cinnamon  •  moonlight • red wine  • understands poisons & herbs • collects bones or feathers  •  partakes in rituals  •  black  •  fog at night  •  is aware of their shadow self  • embraces the unknown  • enjoys collecting secrets •  approves of necromancy  •  meditates  •  has prophetic dreams  •  lace • knowing too many secrets • fishnet stockings

𝐏𝐀𝐍  :    enjoys poetry & prose  •  wool •  smell of decaying leaves in autumn • prefers to be barefoot  • tends to overindulge •  easily excitable  •  thriving in social circles  •  loves being around campfire  •  antlers  •  dirt paths  •  the sound of wind chimes  •  penchant for sticky fingers  •  pine trees  •  stamina for days •  falls in lust  •  vagabond  •  physically stronger than given credit for •  foxglove •  welcomes luxury  •  non-confrontational • charming words •  talking to animals •  nature for jewelry

𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒  :    angry •  protective of their values  •  balance & harmony  •  looks like an angel but isn’t  • more perceptive than people realize  •  snow capped mountains  •  grey  •  wears leather  •  silver jewelry  •  likes snakes  •  can’t stand ignorance  • believes in retribution  • analytical of own emotions  •  well read •  marble columns  •  has very rigid morals  • bruised knuckles  •  humorous under the sarcasm •  clean workspace  •  everything in moderation  • cold morning air  •  resting glare face  • fluent in curse words

𝐇𝐘𝐏𝐍𝐎𝐒  :    serene demeanor  •  easily overwhelmed  •  relaxation is their vice  • transactional friendships  •  has a soft voice  •  head in the clouds  •  carries drugs with them • has a sibling they’re close with  •   drawn to winged animals  •  lavender  •  has plush furniture/blankets •  starry-eyed  •  horrible money management  • gives amazing hugs  • dreaming big as a full time job  •  wears comfy or loose clothes •  existential questions  •  not good at memory-based skills  • fairy lights  •  can’t sleep somewhere unfamiliar  •  crystalline chandeliers  •  dislikes bright sun  • fluttering eyelashes  

𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐒  :    life’s a technicolor spectrum  •  has a lot to say  •  beaming smiles  •   always has candy with them  •  flirting by accident •  walking to the beat of their own drum •  gossamer curtains  •  has a surprising amount of connections  •  blushes very easily  • confident laughter •  uses a staff  •  fresh fruit slices •  decorated handwritten letters  • a social chameleon  •  blood made of honey  •  treating people with kindness • sentimental heart • vases full of wildflowers  •   feels fulfilled when helping others  •  has a healing aura  •  always traveling  •  stained glass windows  • just trying to be a good person

TAGGED BY: @heartrendes​ ty ♥ TAGGING: @kcrclrezni​ @melnchly​ @clpdwings​ aaand whoever wants to do it and wasn’t tagged yet!

[wraithqveenarchived]

WHAT FLAVOR IS YOUR SOUL?

rosemary

ah, the old soul, nice to meet again. the time of ages is etched into your bones, you see clearly. you've watched the heartache in this realm and sworn to solve it. but kindness without limits is self destruction. oh little leaf, strong and wise, you seek to bring peace with your presence. I'd be wrong to say you fail at this effort, but you mustn't set yourself on fire to keep others warm. you wish to please everyone, to protect them all. but if you shield the saplings from the sunlight they will never grow, and you one day will wither. protect yourself too. you know there are no happy heroes, so don't be one. be a friend. your loved ones will not forsake you for not being perseus slaying all their demons. you have your own monsters, why not meet them first before you conquer anyone else's nightmares. oh true-hearted paladin you are brave, and you are good enough. you know that right? be true to yourself, one cannot do anything saintly if they did not tend to their own wounds first.

TAGGED BY: @pistolslinger and @vejrtok ♥♥♥ TAGGING: @heartrendes @kcrclrezni @kaerinio @clpdwings​ @sanktalensky​ and whoever hasn’t been tagged yet!

[wraithqveen-archive]

She had dreamed of it, the comfort of being surrounded by familiar faces, the warmth of the fire, the scent of skillet bread. Her mother’s presence, bright like summer, and the long, dark braid swaying as she damped the fire. When she was still fourteen, a girl ripped from the only world she had ever known, she had longed to have her hurts soothed by her mother’s hand, steady and reassuring as no one else could be. Inej had longed for that safety so badly the hurt in her heart felt physical rather than metaphorical; and it never went away, even as the years passed, even as she became someone else, even as she felt heart was something she lost along the way, drowned in the tears she never shed.

Her hopes had begun feeling distant, after a while. To be here now, hearing the crackling of fire, the slightly spicy scent of dill mixing with that of the bread’s dough, few feet away from her mother as they cooked together, still made her feel as if walking into one of those dreams. It took reminding herself it would not all just disappear, that this was real and she was real and she was there. Oddly, the happiness had made her feel as if she would vanish as she had so many times before, dragged from present to exist only as if an echo, a ghost, there but not.

Her mind had raised the question of what it would be like to return plenty of times before. Even as she longed for it, Inej knew it would not be the same. Even as she hoped for it, she dreaded the reunion, what they would think, if they would still love her if they knew she was a killer and a thief, if they could still love her with blood in her hands and a hardened heart. Once, she had told Jesper to open up to his father, tell him the truth – but even then, when he asked her if she would, all she had been able to reply was she would give anything to have the chance, even if the words would not be spoken.

There had been explanations, of course, after their teary reunion in Ketterdam’s harbor. She had told them the slavers had ripped her from bed and dragged her to the ship, that she had been sold, but not to where. Courage failed her when it came to speaking of Tante Heleen buying her, of the Menagerie with the room full of silks and incense, a mockery meant to represent their caravans. She could not speak of being made into a lynx, a girl in purple silk, their culture made into a costume. She could not tell them of the men who made her not want to be touched ever again. Of Heleen taking away the safety and comfort her parents had always taught her to find in hugs, when she would offer kindness only to follow with cruelty. 

All of it had been left unsaid, a chapter of the story skipped because she wasn’t brave enough to voice it. Then Inej told them after a year she had been able to leave, thanks to Kaz. Initially, she hesitated to tell about the Dregs, to say she had been part of a gang; but perhaps she needed not specify at all, having said enough in letting them know they had worked together ever since, often in less than lawful ways. 

If Inej failed to find her voice and speak of what she suffered, she feared their reaction to what she had done. The daughter they knew did not wield knives, had not taken lives with them. The daughter they knew would have been horrified at the prospect, but she had long since stopped shedding tears for the lives she took. The girl she had been would not abide hurting innocent people, threatening them for information, stealing from them for survival; she still hated to harm those who had done nothing to earn it, but amidst all the blood Inej had found a taste for it. There was a reason she wanted that ship; justice may be a worthy goal, but hunting slavers would still be killing and destroying.

There was no part of her sincerely apologetic for doing what she had to do to survive. Innocence had been taken from her long ago; she had faith her Saints did not demand it. Still, the prospect of facing her father’s disappointment, her mother’s judgment, left her terrified. She did not care for other’s approval, but she would not bear to be hated by them.

And perhaps it weighs more than she thought, all the things she had not been able to tell. The fear of what would happen if they knew hung around her like a shadow, making her heart beat anxiously even in what should have been a moment of peace, respite found at last, happy and safe close to her mother, home once again. It still feels incomplete; or maybe she is incomplete, unable to be entirely happy anymore. Inej isn’t certain — there is no prompt, no request, no prodding. They had not been discussing it; her survival and return were still news, still cause for celebration, but not topic of conversation. The words come unbidden, a confession more open than any other made so far. 

She had survived, but she had not been spared.

Her mother is quick to offer comfort, as she had done countless times before. There is only kindness in the gentle touch to her cheek. Inej is suddenly grateful for Nina and Jesper, first to make her feel safe enough with touch again, safe enough not to flinch in face of a hug, not to expect violence in touch meant to be gentle. It would have hurt much more not having been able to let her own mother close like this, and it is only because of them she can find the intended comfort in mother’s gesture.

No words follow. In spite of her sudden bravery, there is no new tale told, no more details revealed. She wants to, this time. Wants to tell what she had done, wants to beg forgiveness for it even if the possibility of not having it breaks her. Inej finds that she cannot. The words are there, in her mind, at the tip of her tongue, fighting to be said. It feels like even as part of her had opened up a second before, now she’s once more entirely locked away, the walls impossibly high even for the one hidden behind them. 

Nevertheless, no questions follow, either. The skillet bread all but forgotten, they sit beside a fallen log, Inej allowing herself to be guided by her mother’s hand as if she was a little girl again. And as if she were a child, instead of simply sitting beside her she lays down with her head on her mother’s lap, seeking comfort and protection she barely remembered what it felt like to have. The hand running through her hair is soothing, though the calmness does not make her truly less anxious, terrified even as she wishes again to plead for forgiveness.

Instead, she listens ever quietly, the rise and fall of her chest sole indication of her breathing. Inej can feel the swell of tears, soon enough making her vision blurry. It won’t matter to me, Rajani says, and it is only her surprise as the words continue that prevents Inej from sobbing. All the time she had struggled with her own feelings, they had seemed to her well and truly kept concealed, a secret hers alone. Head snaps up, reaction saying enough; it had not occurred to her there was even a chance her mother would know of her shame before she spoke of it. She had tried hard to keep it within, not to let it show… the Wraith had learned plenty of tricks at the Barrel, a thousand ways not to let other people read you, but here she was only Inej, and Inej had always been an open book to her mother.

Slowly, she returns to her former position and listens, her mother continuing to speak as if returning to a story. There is plenty that demands forgiveness, Inej thinks; would you still think there isn’t if you knew, mama? The words remain in thought alone, but the tears return to her eyes, unable to be stopped this time. Their fall is slow, at first; one after the other, slowly streaming through her face. And then Rajani says the words that irrevocably break her.

I forgive you.

Perhaps it is unfair, to have this forgiveness without asking, without making her sins known. It doesn’t matter. Inej’s body shakes with each sob, not so quiet any longer. Those are the tears that had filled her heart for years, night after night in the Menagerie, when she had not been allowed to cry. Those are the tears for the lives she had taken, the wrong she had done, the people she had hurt without wanting to. They are for herself, too, for the girl she no longer was but mourned all the same, bright and sweet and incapable of doing harm. She had died aboard a slaver ship, been reborn as a Wraith in the Barrel, and though she did not regret changing to survive, she grieved being forced to.  

They are tears of relief, too, bitter and sweet at once. Relief for being forgiven, for having that shadow banished, that weight finally sliding off of her shoulders. Relief that even knowing of her shame, even seeing her regret, her mother was able to love her. Maybe she mourned her daughter, the parts of herself she had lost along the way, much like Inej felt for what was torn from her, the pieces she could not recover. But there was love still, love for who she had become, even if there was much for her to discover.

She wept in sorrow for what had been, in relief for what it was, for her mother’s love, infinite and boundless, regardless of how worthy of it Inej herself felt. Reunion had made her heart full; this was different, though not bad. It was reopening wounds to let them heal proper. It was washing away all she had carried for so long without even fully realizing it, letting the tears cleanse her heart like rain washing over the land.

Inej does not know how long it takes for the sobs to ease, the tears to dry. Through it all, her mother’s steadying presence keeps her grounded. Unsure as she had been there could be complete love for who she was now, the limitless reality of that support seems almost daunting. She doesn’t want to lose it; not now, not ever. 

Their people had a saying that dictated there were only three things one needed in life; a full belly, an open road, and an easy heart. The last one was the difficult part. In this night, however, beneath a starry sky, as she rested her head on her mother’s lap, forgiven at last, that almost seemed possible again.

@heartales hi

[wraithqveenarchived]

me, on inej’s blog whenever is sunday and people are talking about ns.fw: hm idk maybe hold her hand after at least a year of pining

[wraithqveenarchived]

“  what you taught me kept me alive.  ”

𝙱𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝚆𝙸𝙳𝙾𝚆 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴.

"What could I possibly have taught Nina Zenik to keep her alive?” Though the shadow of an amused smile graces her lips, there is something genuine in the question and how it is said. Disbelief that Nina, clever and powerful and funny and loving, Nina who was everything and more, had anything to learn from her -- much less something important enough to keep her alive.

Friends were difficult to come across in a place like Ketterdam; Nina was one of her few exceptions. She had been fundamental for Inej to be where she was; her confidence had been inspiring, and her support meant the world. Whatever happened, the suli girl knew the other would have her back, and that trust had proven monumental whenever, little by little, she shared with a friend what she had been through ( when, little by little, that friend helped her move on, perhaps without even knowing, through each hug and demonstration of open affection ).

“If there is reason for this at all, I only have to say we’re even.” Her hand reaches for her friend’s, then. A simple gesture, really, small thing it was; something she would nevertheless have avoided before, if not for the support others gave her allowing her to move forward. “I wouldn’t be here without you either, Nina.”

[wraithqveenarchived]

“  what you taught me kept me alive.  ”

𝙱𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝚆𝙸𝙳𝙾𝚆 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴.

“I’m usually the one who turns conversations serious, you know.” Despite attempt at lightness, accompanied by her shoulder lightly hitting his arm, there is no part of her that does not feel the weight of his words. Is this how they felt when she did it? This tugging at heartstrings, a weight within the heart that wasn’t quite sadness?

Maybe having your life saved by another lost some of its weight when it happened over and over again, link after link added to a chain of keeping each other alive. Maybe it simply stopped being a debt, something monumental and life-changing, and became one more thing strengthening the bonds of a mismatched group, a tie that could scarcely be severed at this point. Regardless, this felt different -- not like she had protected him in a fight, not simply a matter of bleeding and spilling blood for someone. It was something else entirely to touch someone’s life in a meaningful way; in a way that impacted their lives even when you weren’t there.

She had only returned a short while ago, and in spite of all the little ways things changed, being with them all still felt like being home. Inej knew it always would; Ketterdam in itself had never been her sole reason to return every time she departed. “I’m glad my suli wisdom ended up being useful.” Her gaze meets his, soft and full of love. He is her best friend, and there is no measure for the contentment she feels for being here, together again, and to see him well. Healing may be an ongoing process, possibly endless one, yet all progress is progress, and should be regarded ( and celebrated ) as such. “Most of all I’m glad to see you well. You deserve good things, Jes. It makes me so happy you’re getting them.”

[wraithqveenarchived]

“  i’ve got your next target. i thought i’d hand deliver it.  ”

𝙱𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝚆𝙸𝙳𝙾𝚆 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴.

When she was a little girl, Inej had dared walk on the high ropes in spite of fear and danger, until steps grew as certain as if she had been born up there. This had been a similar path. If her early days aboard a ship had required guidance and support, she’s since learned to chart her course herself, hesitation left behind in favor of confidence. 

Now, the prospect of having a proper target causes anticipation to grow within her chest, her dark eyes shining with predatorial interest. Though plans of her own were in motion, they required careful timing before she could strike; and, until then, it would be nice to have a target to hunt down so easily handed to her, regardless of the amount of information Sturmhond could provide.

After all, Ketterdam had honed her skills in secret-gathering well enough.

Unexpected as this cooperation may have been, it came naturally, mutually beneficial as it was. Neither Ravka’s leaders nor the Wraith would suffer other people being taken from there as she once had been. “You have my attention -- is it important enough you had to do it yourself, or are you just taking the opportunity to tag along?”

[wraithqveenarchived]

HI I MISSED U IM SO HAPPY UR BACK 😭💖

I MISSED YOU TOO YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY IT MADE ME TO BE WELCOMED BACK LIKE THIS 😭🥺💗

[fleurdalacour-deactivated202201]

@sixofcrowsnet heist: favourite character - inej ghafa

Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. 

[arkhitektorarch]

𝙱𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝚆𝙸𝙳𝙾𝚆 [ 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙼 ] 𝚀𝚄𝙾𝚃𝙴𝚂 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴.

contains spoilers.   trigger warnings:   mentions of guns, death, pain, wounds

“  get up. you’re okay.  ”

“  your pain only makes you stronger.  ”

“  i don’t wanna go.  ”

“  you remember when i told you that one day we would have that big adventure? well, today’s the day.  ”

“  [  insert name  ], you’ve got blood on you.  ”

“  please, please, i beg you. no more undercover work.  ”

“  never let them take your heart.  ”

“  you’re gonna need to hand me that gun.  ”

“  you’re embarrassing yourself. it looks desperate.  ”

“  i wouldn’t worry about me.  ”

“  you’re in my bed.  ”

“  [ …] got passports, entry visas, a couple of local drivers licenses… mix and match. you should be able to stretch it to twenty or so identities.  ”

“  i’m actually better on my own.  ”

“  you can tell me, you know. that’s the way the whole friends thing works.  ”

“  i know you’re out there.  ”

“  so, we gonna talk like grown ups?  ”

“  put it down before i make you.  ”

“  i’m not here trying to be your friend, but you need to tell me what that is.  ”

“  i don’t wanna be here. i’m on the run. you could’ve gotten me killed.  ”

“  you don’t actually believe that, do you?  ”

“  if you’re so sure, then, tell me what happened.  ”

“  don’t move. you’re hurt. let me help you.  ”

“  do you believe me now?  ”

“ so, you want me to chase him down and un-steal it?  ”

“  you got a plan or shall i just stay duck-and-cover?  ”

“  that’s a shit plan.  ”

“  great plan. i love the part where i almost bled to death.  ”

“  the truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details.  ”

“  where did you think i was all this time?  ”

“  i was trying to actually do something good.  ”

“  what is your story?  ”

“  i never let myself be alone long enough to think about it.  ”

“  you’re going to give me some big hero speech, i can feel it.  ”

“  that sounds like a shitload of work.  ”

“  the point is, i’ve never had control over my own life before, and now i do.  ”

“  i like your vest.  ”

“  i thought you were supposed to be the best. like a real pro.  ”

“  i take exception to impugning my professionalism.  ”

“  you are sensitive.  ”

“  you’re a very annoying individual.  ”

“  are you calling me a liar,  [  insert name  ],  huh?  ”

“  just don’t make a scene.  ”

“  we’re both doing a really good job.  ”

“  this would be a cool way to die.  ”

“  you don’t have to get so clinical and nasty.  ”

“  it means so much to me that you came back for me.  ”

“ whoa, look at you, huh. all business.  ”

“  you cannot kill a fox that swift.  ”

“  i swear, if i hear one more word from him, i will kick him in the face.  ”

“  let’s have a drink.  ”

“  hey, no funny business.  ”

“  you’re just as beautiful and as supple as the day they staged our marriage.  ”

“  please don’t do that.  ”

“  finding  [  insert name  ]  is not a fantasy. it’s unfinished business.  ”

“  okay, you’ve made your point. that’s enough.  ”

“  now you go back, back home where it’s safe.  ”

“  shut up! you are an idiot.  ”

“  in my heart, i am simple man.  ”

“  that wasn’t real. who cares?  ”

“  don’t say that. please, don’t say that. it was real. it was real to me.  ”

“  the best part of my life was fake.  ”

“  and those agents you chemically subjugated around the globe? that was me.  ”

“  i came in here because i didn’t want to talk.  ”

“  i wish i could believe that you cared.  ”

“  i’ve always found it best not to look into the past.  ”

“  those walls are all i know.  ”

“  i was never given a choice.  ”

“  tell me, how did you keep your heart?  ”

“  what you taught me kept me alive.  ”

“  there is a reason why i’m telling you this, okay? trust me.  ”

“  you have done nothing but tell me how bored you were. i was the chore, the job you didn’t want to do. to me? to me, you were everything.  ”

“  my god. look at you.  ”

“  this is a much less cool way to die.  ”

“  now, now. don’t go breaking my new toy.  ”

“  i need you to know that i’m sorry.  ”

“  you know, i thought i was being very brave. possibly the bravest. but i wasn’t being brave. i was coward.  ”

“  you couldn’t have told me sooner?  ”

“  don’t throw a fit.  ”

“  you are aware that you’re still a global fugitive, yes?  ”

“  is this your haunted past?  ”

“  i want to break something.  ”

“  so, what now? you’re gonna fold me into your pathetic little puppeteer act?  ”

“  when was the last time that you had a conversation with somebody that wasn’t forced to talk to you?  ”

“  you didn’t fight in the shadows. you hid in the dark.  ”

“  real power comes from undetectable influence.  ”

“  if i don’t tell you when to stop, then how will you know when to shut up?  ”

“  come on. think i can’t take a punch?  ”

“  you seem desperate to impress me.  ”

“  oh, you find this amusing?  ”

“  i don’t wanna hurt you. you don’t wanna hurt me.  ”

“  that looks like it hurts. okay. i take out on three. ready?  ”

“  you get to make your own choices now.  ”

“  we gotta get out of here.  ”

“  i know you’re still in there and i’m not gonna leave you, okay?  ”

“  this was fun!  ”

“  i should’ve come back for you.  ”

“  you don’t have to say that.  ”

“  you got something to say?  ”

“  we can’t split up! you’re so pigheaded.  ”

“  okay, well, if you’re leaving, i guess you should take this. i know how much you like it.  ”

“  hey, you take care of yourself, okay?  ”

“  see what i can get you with a bit of time and money?  ”

“  go on, say it. i wanna hear it. it would really be good for me to hear it. really.  ”

“  i’ve got your next target. i thought i’d hand deliver it.  ”

[wraithqveenarchived]

❝ The problem was that the creatures who had managed to survive the city he’d made were a new kind of misery entirely — Brekker, his WRAITH QUEEN, his rotten little court of thugs. A fearless breed, hard-eyed and feral, hungrier for vengeance than for gold. ❞

independent INEJ GHAFA from leigh bardugo’s grishaverse loved by mel

[wraithqveenarchived]

hi today my only thought has been about inej reuniting with her parents and how infinitely happy all of them would be to be together

but then I also started thinking about the fact they haven’t seen her since she was fourteen. and the fact one day she was just. gone. maybe someone heard her scream before they gagged her, but everyone was too far to try to do anything. when they get back, she’s gone. they could try looking, but they are suli. they wouldn’t have help, and if they even learned she was taken to a ship at all, they wouldn’t be able to follow or even learn where it went.

for a group as closely tied as the suli caravans are, having one of them taken was probably a hard blow to everyone, not just inej’s parents. because she thinks of them – the uncle who told her stories, the older cousins that admired her bravery on the high wire, but I was thinking they must have felt her absence too. maybe they stay longer than they should where the camp was when she was taken, be it in the effort of searching or the hope she’ll find her way back. eventually, though, they have to move on.

in more than one sense, too. maybe some of them accept she is gone, maybe dead, and won’t return. whenever inej thinks of her family, it’s clear she was closest to her father. it’s his teachings she takes to heart, it’s him she thinks of when she nearly dies at the docks. and at least the way she remembers him, he always seems patient and calm and wise and I feel he’d be the one who never gives up. he’d always believe they’d be together again.

the fact they were found by ravkans, allowed themselves to be identified and agreed to board a ship to kerch supports my theory her parents never lost hope they’d find her… any of this could be a lie, they didn’t really have proof she’d be in ketterdam but they went anyway. and they are reunited! and inej is so absurdly happy to be with them again the moment they are reunited she doesn’t even think about the fact it’s been years, or that she’s changed, or that she’s suffered and done things she doesn’t even know how to speak of. all of those worries – worries she’s considered before – disappear in a moment of impossible happiness.

she never lost hope to see them again, either, but it was a distant hope. she was fully aware it wouldn’t be easy to find them. and she never expected for it to not take a long maybe impossible search. most of all, she didn’t expect it to happen how or when it did. it’s enough to make the worries irrelevant then. but of course, given time they return. and I feel… none of them really know how to deal with all the changes at first. inej is a very different person, and that’d be pretty obvious for them too I think. but she’s still their daughter, and she still loves them infinitely, and they love her too. I feel they’d be concerned and want to know what happened, but specially at first she would only be able to tell it in very broad strokes, and even then, not everything. given time for them to grow closer again and learn to navigate the whole situation better, she might tell more – but I also feel her parents wouldn’t pressure her to speak of it before she was ready to.

interestingly enough, in my head I picture them being really as comprehensive as humanly possible because they’re just glad to have inej back and it’s still inej and they love her no matter what so there’s not. any real disagreement or judgment or anything like that going on, and then eventually you get to the fact she doesn’t intend to go back to the caravan anymore and will go to the sea instead and at this point I feel there’d be? Issues™. because I feel they entirely believed she was going home with them and she isn’t. not to stay at least. she would want to go back with them to reunite with her caravan again, but it wouldn’t be permanent, and I feel that might make them upset aksdnfkasdnf