#I want to keep getting crows backstory and see them establish themselves as the barrel kings | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

serene-victory-77 · 3 years

Text

I was thinking about Kaz Brekker, as one does, and realized something interesting about him. (tl;dr at the bottom cuz I rambled a bit)

So, this is about that “crows remember human faces” conversation between Kaz and Inej (book version, not show version).

The negative part we know to be true: Kaz holds grudges, in those terms he’s absolutely a crow. Boy hunted down every single person involved with Pekka Rollins’ con.

But what kindnesses is he talking about?

It’s a pointed statement that he believes applies to himself, and because it’s with Inej, it likely applies to her too.

But the problem is that he’s clearly thought that for a while, and there’s no kindness in the books that I think applies. It seems to be about the past (I mean, it’s about remembering, too).

When people help Kaz in the books, it’s usually:

- From already long-established feelings, so not based in “just because” but “I’m invested in this person” (Inej and Jesper)

- Just not being cruel and hurting him on purpose (all the Crows) which is like, basic minimum

- Sacrifice, which is too messy to count and not something Kaz acts kindly about anyway (Jesper, mainly), and more forced than not

- Practicality, or keeping him alive because they can’t afford to let him die, plus some odd attachment (Matthias and Nina) (Also Inej’s “I can help you” was done entirely out of self-interest, thus it doesn’t count)

Essentially, there is no spontaneous act of kindness. It’s all established from past actions or based of necessity, and Kaz’s line seems to reference the past rather than the actual events of the books. There’s no point in which the characters just... are kind to him for no other reason.

(Well, that I can remember. Hit me up with “unselfish kindnesses that has nothing to do with anything” if you can for them. If it’s because they care for him, it’s definitely kindness but not an inciting incident so I don’t think it counts”)

But that means there must be a basis, for example, for the reasons he watches out for Inej and Jesper to some degree. Some kindness they did for him that makes him remember their faces of makes them his “favorites” that isn’t in the books.

But what is it? I don’t think it’s Inej’s companionship, because that only started since Inej knew no one else and kinda just tagged along with him. That’s not a kindness, even if Kaz eventually gets used to it and likes it.

Most people don’t pry at Kaz anymore, so I don’t think he thinks her not pulling his secrets out of him is a kindness, because no one else does either. It just makes her bearable to be around. And looking over him during heists is literally her job that she gets paid for, not kindness, even if she doesn’t mind doing it.

And he doesn’t test any of the others the way he does Inej (and Jesper) with letting her see the R tattoo or his bare hands. It’s an established action, but what was the inciting incident to trusting her specifically? What made him decide to risk showing her, almost rewarding her, with that vulnerability?

Their flashbacks and backstories seem to be almost entirely “They just met, Inej is learning” and “Kaz is falling in love” and there’s no in-between, and I guess I just want to believe that there was a period in which Kaz just liked Inej (platonically) because somehow she was kind.

Her praying and ethics and morals don’t really apply to him, either, so I don’t think that would convince him of her kindness. Plenty of people in Ketterdam pray or refuse to kill themselves. Her being “good” in general terms doesn’t mean anything to him.

But the kindness bit in his explanation is so purposeful to me, that it feels like there must have been some point in with Inej was just easily doing nice things for Kaz not from necessity, not because she felt she should, not because she knew she’d hurt him otherwise, but because she just was kind to the Bastard of the Barrel and that stuck with him.

Maybe I’m looking for something where there is nothing and over-complicating things, but I just sincerely want there to be a moment after the “you’re dangerous” from the beginning, and before the “drunk on her laugh” from later on, in which Kaz is like, “She’s different, she’s kind” and it sticks with him. And it has to be kind at him.

(*cough* clearly he’s not good at paying it forward until later, regardless of how he says that he, as a crow, remembers kindness *cough* calling her an investment *cough* being kinda mean, but hey he gets better *cough*)

And he turns down help and betterment a lot, but it’s usually tied to expectations and his need to get through stuff himself, but if it’s literally no-strings-attached actions, how would he react? The same standoffish way?

tl;dr Kaz says crows remember the faces of people who are kind, but in the books there’s really no time for casual kindness, so was there a point in their past in which Inej did something for him that he still remembers that was “kind,” for literally no reason other than she was, and if so, what was it?

#kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanej #six of crows #six of crows duology #soc #the crows #kaz brekker analysis #kanej's backstory #crows remember human faces and apparently Kaz is a crow so tell me Kaz what did Inej do specifically that makes your remember her as good #My posts #my crows

50 notes · View notes