CHARACTERS OF COLOR: Inej Ghafa → six Of Crows

Cardan looks like he would play an instrument like the piano or something but all he does is play with his heart

haha

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dramione fic rec list

COMPLETED SERIES

this is my first deep dive into dramione and i wanted to share these amazing series i’ve read in the last few months. no particular rank or order to this list. enjoy!!!

Manacled - @senlinyu / @senlinyuwrites  if you’ve delved into Dramione at all, you’ve most likely heard of this incredible dark epic. it takes place in a Voldermort Wins!AU and takes inspiration from the Handmaiden’s Tale about population control in this new frightful era of the Wizarding World. be prepared for all 77 chapters to consume you in this tale of love, loss and hope in between. 

+ emphasis on dark epic. the writer themselves have acknowledged that with such dark and heavy themes, there are large aspects of the story that may be triggering for some people and therefore manacled might not be the fic for you - and that’s totally okay! (what’s important is that you take care of yourself) as always, read the tags and know your limits. + senlinyu is a phenomenal writer, often collaborates with @elithien, pairing their artistry together. @avendell is also another great digital artist who has worked closely with senlinyu, even creating multiple companion art pieces for Manacled (but try not to let the art spoil some parts of the fic for you!!!) + senlinyu has soo many Dramione works, just follow them & dive into it!

Bone Mortar - @mightbewriting enemies to lovers is a given in everything i’m about to talk about in this post, but this short and sweet series takes us to a modern!au setting of academia. what’s not to love about these two professors who are about to go head to head over a little administrative conflict at the start of the new school year?

Keep reading

@sixofcrowsnet heist: tragedies

“wylan understood then that he would never reach the school in belendt. he’d never been meant to. there was no secretary. no account in his name. no one was expecting his arrival. the supposed enrollment papers in his pocket might say anything at all. wylan hadn’t even bothered to try to read them. he was going to disappear, just as his father had always wanted, and he’d hired these men to do the job. (…) black spots filled wylan’s vision. he thought he could hear music”

How Six of Crows taught me that it was okay to not always feel fine

Since today is World Mental Health Day, I wanted to address a side of Six of Crows that has always been quite an important aspect to me.  

Mental illness and awareness is a huge topic in today’s society, and right of the top of my head, I can think of some brilliant YA novels that talk about the subjects; The Perks of Being a Wallflower, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Turtles all the Way Down, and so on. The list is endless. But there seems to be a distinct lack of YA fantasy books that deal with mental health topics. I did a google search, and sure, you could argue that Harry Potter suffers from PTSD (controversial topic which I’m not going to express my opinion right here), or that Frodo Baggins suffers from depression (not a YA book, but you get the point), but the actual amount of YA fantasy novels where we can actually all agree that the protagonist or a side character suffer from a mental illness is incredibly small. Yes, it does exist, and a quick shoutout to all the fantasy authors who do write about mental health issues. I’m not gonna name any out of fear for forgetting any, but feel free to reblog this with any fantasy YA mental health awareness books you’d recommend (my personal favourite apart from SoC would probably be the Raven Cycle).

But honestly, Leigh Bardugo shows us that it is very much possible. A couple of her protagonists suffer from actual mental illnesses, others are insecure, or non-conforming in some way. Their issues are smoothly integrated into the story and help advance the plot by creating problems and secrets. It makes the characters incredibly interesting and round. It creates the least-cliché romantic side-plots I’ve ever read in a YA novel. And you know what? I think we, as readers, can learn something from every single one of the Crows.

Kaz Brekker teaches us that mental illnesses shouldn’t stop us from achieving our dreams. He teaches that you can not be able to touch anyone but still be powerful. That a horrible childhood doesn’t have to drag us down. Kaz teaches us how to be determined.

Inej Ghafa teaches us that faith can get us anywhere. She teaches us how to stand up to the people we’re afraid of, and that things that have happened to us in the past don’t have to define us. Inej teaches us how to be strong.

Jesper Fahey teaches us that it’s sometimes okay to go off the rails. That people make mistakes (and sometimes make a lot of them). Jesper teaches us how to be human.

Wylan van Eck teaches us that we are not our parents. He teaches us that we have the right to be our own people and don’t have to follow in anybody’s footsteps if we don’t want to. He teaches us to not listen to mockeries and insults. Wylan teaches us how to be independent.

Like Jesper, Nina teaches us that sometimes, we make terrible mistakes. she teaches us how to make them right. But she also teaches us to not be ashamed of who we are, even if we are different or special, and that our body weight does not define us. Nina teaches us to be proud.

And Matthias. Matthias Helvar teaches us that the way we we were raised doesn’t define us. You don’t have to follow the morals and the values and the hatred that may have been burned into your head. He shows us that people have the ability to change. They have the ability to forgive and be forgiven. He shows us that sometimes it’s okay to not know whether you’re doing the right thing. That sometimes, humans lose their way and have to find it again. Matthias teaches us how to develop.

Determination, strength, humanity, independence, pride, development. You know what? Those are some values I can get behind. And these six anti-heroic criminals teach us so much more. Of course, they teach us that it’s okay to not be heterosexual. They teach us that love isn’t always easy. That sometimes our pasts catch up with us. That we can’t always do what we want. But they also teach us that there are always people out there for us. A family. Friends. People who love us.

And I guess I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you to Leigh Bardugo, for creating such wonderfully human characters that I cried for and smiled for even though the real world was trying to drag me down. Thank you for creating characters who helped me understand that it’s okay not to feel fine.

And I also wanted to say, to everybody who is reading this horribly long monologue of mine (thanks for that, by the way), that you’re an amazing individual and you too can be a total badass like our favourite criminals if you put your mind to it. Stay safe, folks. And stay strong.

Happy World Mental Health Day.

canon things that Kaz has said/thought about Inej that I always forget about until I reread:

she is his greatest weakness

“I’m going to get my money, Kaz said. And I’m going to get my girl.”

his breath catches EVERY TIME that he looks at her

“I couldn’t bear to watch you fall”

he imagined watching her braid come uncoiled and wrapping it in his hand and rubbing his thumb over the pattern of the plait

he has had thoughts of Inej that involve moonlight and silk and hair

he trusts her and knows she is the one person who would never betray his weaknesses

he would die to see her smile /that way/ again

he bought her a warship (I haven’t forgotten this part but I couldn’t leave it off the list because the Bastard of the Barrel literally made her dream possible even though it means she will be away from him)

“say you’ll return” (!!!!!!!!!!) (I always, ALWAYS forget this line and it kicks me right in the gut when I reread it. He. Said. THAT.)

“IS MY TIE STRAIGHT”

Kaz in Six of Crows: 

Kaz in Crooked Kingdom: 

Am I he only one who just doesn’t get why people flop their shit over Leigh Bardugo? Alina was forgettable chosen one, the Darkschlong a total stereotype bad boy, and Kaz brekker is an abusive asshole with a sad wittle backstory yet everyone drools over him. Now i can’t be on twitter bc everyone I follow is shitting themselves over the Netflix announcement.

the books are certainly not without their faults and they obviously won’t appeal to everyone (i used to date someone who disliked SOC bc he found the heist required too much suspension of disbelief), but i really enjoyed both series and they’ve made Leigh one of my favorite authors. plus, i’m glad they’re doing these books over most of the other popular YA fantasies out there–although i would kill to get a Winner’s Curse show bc can you imagine the epic?!?!!

Cross out everything you’ve ever done:

Had a beer

Smoked an entire cigarette

Written on a bathroom wall.

Read a George Orwell book. 

Had a physical fight.

Used Twitter.

Listened to Lady Gaga

Been in a car accident. 

Gotten suspended. 

Gotten expelled.

Been allergic to something.

Got a computer virus.

Touched a real gun

Had a dog

Had a cat

Been pregnant.

Camped out

Swam in the ocean.

Wore a bikini 

Driven a car

Been sent to the principal.

Ever liked someone.

Failed a class.

Failed a test.

Went to summer school.

Got worse than a D

Got A’s and B’s.

Read an entire book.

Recorded my own music

Had an xbox.

Worn heels more than 3 days in a row. 

Wore fishnets.

Wore skinny jeans.

Hated someone.

Been cheated on.

Cheated on someone.

Practised Christianity. 

Worn makeup.

Lied to my parents about where I was going.

Had surgery.

Had my license.

Self harmed.

Worn coloured contacts

Painted my nails black.

Broken someone’s heart. 

Had my heart broken.

Cried for an hour straight 

Lost something very valuable.

Got separated from one of my parents as a kid.

Broken a bone.

Gotten stung by a bee.

Eaten something bad/expired

Threw up from being so drunk.

Saw someone throw up from being so drunk.

Danced with someone of the same sex.

Owned an ipod

Owned an iphone 

Fell for a best friend.

Stole a friend’s significant other.

Went far away from home for more than a week

Moved out.

Ran away.

Had a job.

Been fired.

Lied to a friend.

Lied to a family member.

Had a Facebook.

Posted a video on Youtube.

Started a rumour about someone.

Talked bad about someone

Deliberately failed a test.

Been skinny dipping.

Counted to a million.

Counted to a thousand.

Ate rabbit meat.

Ate duck meat.

Had fast food.

Been to Church.

Been to Canada

Been married.

Had a divorce.

Broke a glass.

Hugged someone today.

Texted someone today.

Received a phone call today.

Threw something out of the window.

Ignored a text from someone.

Wished you were somebody else.

Had my feelings hurt by a friend and never told them.

Been to a concert

Seen your favourite band live

Met a celebrity

Met your favourite band 

Own more than 10 CD’s

 samwinchesterwantsme done!

Kaz is such a fucking SOFTIE deep down, it cracks me up every time. “My mother is the harbor, my father is greed” and then turns around to make sure the flowers they use in their escape are Inej’s favorites. Gets Jesper’s guns back for him even though he doesn’t have to. Allows and in fact encourages Nina to embrace her new powers. Goes out of his way to mentor Wylan. Asks Matthias to keep Mrs. Van Eck calm and comfortable even though it would’ve been easier to torture her. Essentially said he *missed* Jesper. Like??? What a soft little murderous gangster.