I Think One Of My Favorite Aspects Of The Six Of Crows Duology Is The Fact That Kaz And Inej Do Not End

I think one of my favorite aspects of the Six of Crows duology is the fact that Kaz and Inej do not end up together.

And that’s not because I don’t ship them.

It’s because Inej, unlike so many YA heroines, isn’t what “heals” Kaz. Her love doesn’t magically fix him or make him a better person. He wants to change for her– he wants to get over his phobia of human touch. He wants her to love him. But it isn’t some overnight happening. He doesn’t suddenly overcome his affliction because of his love for her.

In the end, Kaz is still morally ambiguous, sometimes outright corrupt, and still has severe PTSD trauma.

And while Inej might love Kaz despite those things, she is not willing to lower her worth to accept them in a relationship. “I will have you without your armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.”

That was one of the most powerful YA heroine lines to her love interest that I’ve ever read. So many fictional girls (and real girls, for that matter) stay in the hopes of fixing a man, of healing his brokenness. Inej wants to heal him, but she understands that she cannot. Only Kaz can heal himself. Only he can want it enough to change. And it won’t be some overnight affair. Wanting to change and actually changing are two entirely different things. Kaz will have to go through agonizing changes if he ever wants to grow.

So far, he has accepted that he is the “demon of the barrel”. He still wants to burn the world down. He is still angry and hurting. He talks about wondering why over the years, with every violent turn his life takes, why his phobia has only gotten worse. It’s because he’s let himself rot in it. He’s stripped any and all goodness in the world down to the barest threads.

That’s why he is not ready for Inej. Inej, who might have her own issues and flaws, but who still has hope for a better world. Who is still willing to fight for it.

It’s not Kaz’s inability to touch her that she wants him to work on. It’s his mindset. His finality in the evil in his heart and his acceptance of it. He will never get over his phobia until he can understand goodness, the goodness of touch, the goodness of man.

And Inej will not accept him while he still holds on to that armor of hatred. And I think that is beautiful. It is healthy. It shows a level of self-respect that is often sadly absent from our fiction today.

To the person reading this, I hope tonight treats you gently, and that tomorrow looks brighter

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readingsmessingupmyback

4 years ago

Crooked Kingdom is a goddamn masterpiece and I’ll preach that everyday but I think the best thing in it which is clearly not talked about enough is that whole fucking chapter with Wylan where the ENTIRE time he’s just like:

What the hell... what am I doing here? Who are these idiots? What the fuuuuuuckk... I’m a human fucking being, Kaz

And I think that’s beautiful

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readingsmessingupmyback

3 years ago

WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT FALA

Tags

I love him jude duarte jude x cardan cardan greenbriar the queen of nothing tfota

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readingsmessingupmyback

4 years ago

six of crows duology— flower symbolism

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readingsmessingupmyback

4 years ago

CHARACTERS OF COLOR: Inej Ghafa → six Of Crows

CHARACTERS OF COLOR: inej ghafa → six of crows

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. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.

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readingsmessingupmyback

4 years ago

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?!?!!

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readingsmessingupmyback

4 years ago

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.

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readingsmessingupmyback

3 years ago

🛑Rule of Wolves Spoilerrr🛑

The line in Rule of Wolves that goes something like she picked you Zoya, not me, not Kaz Brekker has the same energy as Ron saying it’s you that has to go on not me not Hermione youuuu

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nikolai lantsov zoya nazyalensky rule of wolves zoya supremacy

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readingsmessingupmyback

4 years ago

ALSO, there’s a difference between stanning Joost - who was an innocent boy who literally didn’t mean to harm anyone and was just caught in the crossfire of an experiment gone wrong - and stanning an entitled white woman who wanted to harm a girl of colour because she thought she would find glory in her death.

Basically: Dunyasha stans don’t try to excuse away your bad behaviour and learn reading comprehension 🙄

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