#Inej POV

[neptune-scythe]

branching out from my incredibly specific brand and writing some Inej pov everyone cheer

[achillesleftheel]

So I'm re reading six of crows for the millionth time, and I just wanted to share Matthias's first impressions of the crows (not including nina because shes already met him but if you want me too I can) because I can't stop laughing. This guy has no chill. And I know these are here for our benefit too to give us more description for the crows.

-

Kaz: - "Gravelly voice" "Dark eyes" "pale demon with his black-gloved hands"

Inej: "small girl" "dark hair" "deep bronze suli skin"

Jesper: "long limbed boy" "bony knees" "deep brown zemeni skin and incongruous grey eyes. "He was built like a stork" 😭

Wylan: "Ruddy gold curls." "He's about twelve"

[ramen8008]

Okay so.... how's Kaz gonna propose. Because I am sure that no matter how much Inej wants to she will 100% make sure it's Kaz who proposes. Because that's how she was raised and she won't let anything the world threw at her from thinking she deserves any less.

But like...

Kaz: so I have a... proposition for you. This benefits both of us I mean there's tax benefits and all and I believe that if you say yes to this it will...uh be very... favourable to you.

Jesper: .... You know you are practicing for a proposal right?

Wylan: This is a marriage proposal right?

Kaz: yes.

*Nina in the corner shaking from trying not to laugh.*

Wylan: Maybe try being a little more....I don't know...direct?

Kaz: I am always direct.

Nina dying in the corner holding back her laughter.

Jesper: okay try being really straight forward...ask her in one sentence maybe?

Kaz: will you sign this legal bond between us tha-

Jesper: wait right stop there.

Wylan: just ask the question and be more... enthusiastic

Kaz: will you sign this legal bond between us tha-

Jesper: Okay stop right there. We can make this work

Wylan: Yes try being more...happy about it.

Kaz: *stares at Wylan*

Wylan: Nevermind... Saints! He's never gonna get this if he doesn't even try. Do you even want to propose?!?

Kaz: *Glares* Of course I do why else would I even bother being here with you-

Jesper: Okay shut it! Wylan I need a glass of water this is going to take a while. And Kaz do as we say or you're not getting my blessing

Kaz: I don't need your blessing. What are you? Her father?

Jesper: If you really think Inej will marry you without our blessing then you shouldn't even bother proposing

Kaz: *sighs in frustration* fine

Nina, pokes in: yeah he's not getting my blessing

Kaz: What?! Why?!

Nina: I am sorry I might be mistaken but weren't you the one who referred to Inej as your "investment". *Blinks innocently*

Kaz: THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO!!

Nina: Your fault that you just happen to call the love of your life that, maybe if you weren't such a dense idiot-

Jesper: I said shut it! Nina go back to your corner and Kaz I need you to pay close attention. Make it short and simple where you ask her to marry you and also tell her how much you love and cherish her, alright? Can you do that?

Kaz: *sighs* yeah...

Jesper: okay start!

Kaz: ....

Kaz: I want to-

Jesper: wait...what was that pause at the start

Kaz: well you said to keep it short so I was shortening it.

Jesper: what do you mean "it"

Kaz: I never speak without filtering and around Inej there's too much to filter so I keep it short but since there's so much I want to say sometimes it takes awhile to gather my thoughts.

Jesper: and these things are like what? Compliments?

Kaz:....sort of I guess. More complicated though.

Jesper: YES! THAT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD DO! Tell her all you think about her without filtering or changing anything. Just let your heart speak for itself. Don't think about it

Kaz: What do you mean "don't think about it" that's what I d-

Jesper: that's the problem. You dwell on it too much and don't let yourself be vulnerable but you love Inej right? So what's a better way to show it then be exactly that! Omg I am a genius

Kaz: No, you are an idiot. Why would I want to be vulnerable

Jesper: To show Inej you care! That you are willing to let down you guard for her

Kaz: That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard. I did that once, I spoke without thinking. It was fucking embarrassing

Wylan:*raises an eyebrow* and what happened?

Kaz: ... Shit he's right

Jesper: SEE I was right, the last time you did that you got Inej

Kaz: I still think that's a stupid idea

Nina: and you wonder why it took you so long to get anywhere. You need to show her love and romance but since you dwell so much on your thoughts you treat her like everyone else MEANING you treat her like shit.

Jesper: Shush Nina! Don't say that to him, poor guy just wants to propose.

Wylan: Kaz like you said you have a lot to say about Inej to her that you don't. So when you propose just tell her everything you want her to know. Don't dwell on it or anything just listen to your heart and speak

Nina: yeah like he has a heart. My waffles are capable of more human emotions than him.

Kaz: FINE! WHATEVER I'LL DO IT ON MY OWN!

Jesper: just listen to what Wylan said. We know Inej and as much as you might think otherwise we want this to work.

Nina: I-

Jesper gives Nina a look

Nina: What? I just want Inej to be happy and if it's with him then fine

Kaz: Whatever I'm going

Wylan: Just remember! Let your heart speak and don't think about it!

---------------------------------------------------------

Kaz:*thinking* shit shit shit shit

Inej: *Lands behind him*

Kaz *turns around*: Hello... hi? Hey?

Inej: *amused* ...hey?

Kaz: ...

Inej *smiles*: so why did you call me here?

Kaz: *thinking*: shit she's smiling what do I do

Inej: Kaz?

Kaz: *thinking* shit okay I need to stop thinking, just say anything that comes to mind, okay you can do it

Inej: Kaz? Are you alr-

Kaz: Iloveyou!

Inej: *confused* ...thanks? I love you too. But seriously are you alright Kaz? You look like you're about to pass out.

Kaz: No I'm not. I just need to tell you something

Inej: okay.... I'm listening.

Kaz, deep breathes: okay. Here goes nothing

Kaz: I need to tell you that you are lovely and brave and better than anything I deserved. That I am twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that that I can't pull myself together into some semblance of a man for you. That without meaning to, I'd begun to lean on you, look for you, to need you near. I love your laugh and if I could bottle the sound and get drunk on it every night I would. It terrifies me.

I memorized your favorite flower, favorite song, favorite sweet, just to see you smile. Your smile is one thing I would die to earn again. No saint has ever looked after me...but you have, Inej. I want you, Inej. And I'll have you anyway you want, without gloves, head turn your way so we can kiss. I'll give you myself without armor for you to have.

Please, my darling Inej, treasure of my heart, will you do me the honor of marrying you.

[maidenofcrows]

“…but he held steady as she launched herself from the cradle of his fingers”

I need people to understand how important it is that Inej launched herself. Kaz held steady and provided the foothold, but she launched herself.

Kaz gave her a ship and a place to return. He holds steady in a different way waiting for her return. He supports her fully. But she launched herself. This is her mission, her endeavor, her drive, her purpose.

[19burstraat]

The rest of the Crows: can't even imagine the complex machinations of Kaz's diabolical mind. He must have the ultimate control over his thought process and emotions. What can the inside of a mind like that even look like? We will never quite understand his motivations or his worldview.

The complex machinations of Kaz's diabolical mind:

[jeremysknoxes]

jesper your pining is showing

[thejudeduarte]

aka, the crow who's the most funny without even trying to be😭😭

[fantastic-nonsense]

SAB/SOC twitter is talking about how the lead character of Six of Crows is Kaz and like...even disregarding the fact that it's very explicitly an ensemble work with six leads, the 'main lead' of the duology is pretty clearly Inej. She gets the most POV chapters, she gets the most character development, she's called 'the lodestone and heart' of the Crows multiple times, several vital pieces of the plot and everyone else's character motivations basically revolve around her, and the Crows' story begins and ends with her narration. Show some respect for my girl!

[padfoot-lupin77]

This morning I started reading crooked kingdom after finishing six of crows just to realize the font in ck is several times smaller than in soc. Let’s hope my eyes survive.

[barrel-crow-n]

One side of me: Kaz loves Inej so much and he thinks about her so much and he is her no.1 supporter and he is the man ever™

The other side: Kaz is being reduced to constantly thinking about Inej when in reality that isn't true and Jordie is just as significant but people reduce Kaz to only thinking about Inej anyway. It especially hurts when Kaz is trying to pretend he doesn't care about Inej but will never allow himself to forget Jordie

[capinejghafa]

One day, someone will realize Inej's dad value in her story... not today, though 😔

[neptune-scythe]

" As they exited the restaurant she closed her eyes and breathed in the salty harbor air as the breeze danced around her. "Do you mind if we stop by Jes and Wylan's before we go home?" She opened her eyes as she finished her question, meeting Kaz's gaze. And for a brief moment she saw a look in those dark eyes of his, something she'd never seen before ... almost fear. But before she had any time to process it, it had passed and was replaced by his usual mostly unreadable expression.

"Of course" He replied with almost a hint of relief in his voice. Everything he did tonight confused her more and more. But she would get to the bottom of it. She would say hello to Wylan and Jesper, catch up on their lives since they last spoke, and inevitably stay much later than intended and end up staying the night in one of the spare rooms that was always reserved just for them, and then she would insist Kaz tell her the truth. "

now on AO3

[wylanslcve]

I can’t stop thinking about how Inej tells Wylan that “we are not our fathers” after he apologises to her for J*n kidnapping her. Wylan has spent his whole life believing that he's the problem, taking responsibility for his father’s wrongdoings due to how much J*n shifted the blame to him (a behaviour typical amongst abusers). For instance, his immediate response to Inej's abduction is self-blame despite knowing that "he couldn’t have prevented his father from double-crossing the crew and kidnapping her. He knew that, but he still felt responsible." The guilt is eating away at him because he's so accustomed to taking the blame for J*n’s actions, then Inej reassures him that he isn't the man his father is and it's like something inside him shifts. Imagine the relief that would have flooded through him hearing Inej’s words: for the first time in his life, someone isn't dumping that responsibility onto him. Instead, someone is telling him that he isn't the problem, that he has no debts to pay, that he's only human and not defined by the faults of his father. All he's ever wanted is to do something right, to not be the problem he's been constantly told he is and believes himself to be. It's as though this suffocating weight he's been carrying with him his whole life has been lifted off his chest and he can finally, finally breathe.

(That's not to say that those words alone heal him entirely, because trauma doesn't work that way - nevertheless, it's a start. It's given him a gentle nudge in the right direction of his path to healing.)

[0-k-4]

he's so d4rk i love him

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Don’t Go Blindly Into The Dark

Summary:

To hide that he can't read, Jan Van Eck has been forcing his son to pretend he's blind since he was eight years old. Wylan is now attending Ketterdam University, and meeting Jesper Fahey may very well be about to change his life. But is he safe to tell Jesper the truth? And what will Jesper say if he does?

Jesper is struggling to weigh up his life in the Barrel and his life at the University of Ketterdam, and there's a good chance that his growing debt is about to make the decision for him. He hasn't attended class consecutively for months, but maybe that will change when his newest project includes partnering up with Wylan Van Eck. But can he really leave the Barrel behind him? And how long can he keep up the pretence of who he thinks Wylan wants him to be?

Meanwhile there is a darkness growing in Ketterdam, and it seems a killer may be stalking the streets of West Stave. An unknown evil is closing its jaws over the city, and it’s starting to feel like nowhere is safe.

Tags: @justalunaticfangirl @lunarthecorvus @i-need-help-this-is-my-obsession @devoted-people-hater

If anyone else would like to be tagged let me know :)

Content warnings for this chapter: ptsd references, implied abduction references, death references, grief, loss of loved ones

AO3 link

Chapter 58 - Wylan

Wylan didn’t want to go to work. That, in and of itself, wasn’t particularly unusual - especially not in the week following the bridge collapse. But for the first time since starting his work with Kaz Brekker, it was for a different reason that Wylan felt nervous to step over the threshold of the demolition workshop. 

Raske hadn’t said anything about Wylan collapsing, but he was sure that he knew. How couldn’t he? Wylan had woken alone with his back against the concrete floor, his head aching and his vision even blurrier than usual as he managed to pull himself up by pressing his weight into the nearest table and keeping his arms slightly raised for balance until he’d reached a chair. A brief moment had passed before Raske appeared round the doorway, frowning, claiming to have heard a noise and was wondering what had happened; Wylan just about managed to tell him it was fine, but he’d actually thought he might be about to throw up. 

He didn’t want to see him again; didn’t want to wonder if he was thinking about it, or what he might have thought in the moment, or wonder if he thought it was going to happen again. Ghezen, please don't let it happen again. Wylan didn’t know why this kept happening, but he was not enjoying it. 

Clouds were rolling in over the street like a great, dark blanket trying to smother every last breath right out of the city and the threat of rain was imminent, but still Wylan dragged out his walk for as long as possible. The cold air prickled on his skin, but it gave him no desire to hasten his step. He was near the Slat when he saw two figures that he recognised turning a corner ahead of him, making their way in his direction; Jesper and Nina. Nina didn’t seem to have spotted him as she bid Jesper and began to walk in the other direction, back up towards West Stave, Wylan acknowledged, but Jesper had definitely seen him. He called his name as they approached each other, Wylan of course hadn’t changed his stride because there was no feasible way other than sight that he could have known Jesper was there yet, and both of them drew to a stop as they exchanged vague greetings; Jesper had just come from a coffee shop, Wylan was on his way to the workshop, Jesper was working tomorrow night, so on and so forth. 

“You know,” Wylan teased, when the cafe cropped vaguely up in conversation again, “you do still owe me a coffee,”

Jesper smiled as he replied:

“That’s true. Do you… I mean, would you still like one?”

Wylan had nodded before he’d even processed the question. 

“Were the flowers-?”

“It’s okay, I think, for future reference,” Wylan said, before his cheeks flooded crimson and he stammered: “Not that I’m expecting you to- I mean, wait, I mean-”

Jesper laughed. 

“I’ll remember that,” he squeezed Wylan’s fingers, “for future reference. How’s tomorrow morning sound?” 

Wylan nodded. Tomorrow morning sounded wonderful. 

“I’ll meet you at the Slat,” he managed, thinking it might be easier to go to Jesper instead of having Jesper come to him, “Nine bells? I promise not to run away this time,”

Jes laughed again, sparking light back into something deep inside Wylan’s chest that had been lost to darkness for a long time. 

“Nine bells,” he agreed, “But you should know that you can always leave if something’s too much for you, Wy. I’m not trying to pressure you into anything here,”

Wylan nodded, not sure whether or not he should be surprised that he genuinely believed him. Jesper felt safe in a way that Wylan didn’t know how to quantify, and he wanted to cling to the feeling for as long as possible. He gripped Jesper’s hand a little tighter, running his fingers over the shape of the other boy’s rings like he was trying to absorb their image into his very being. He leaned up, ever so slightly, tilting his face towards Jesper’s. 

“It’s a pity I don’t know how pretty your eyes are,” he murmured. 

“That’s my line,” Jesper teased, “And how do you know they’re pretty?”

Wylan smiled. 

“Oh, they definitely are,”

Jesper’s hand snaked around Wylan’s waist, just for a moment, before he dropped away. Wylan tensed. Had he said something wrong? 

“Kaz is waiting for me,” Jesper sighed, his eyes falling somewhere over Wylan’s shoulder as he stepped back. 

Wylan didn’t dare to turn and look, of course, but he could guess that Brekker was close by. 

“Nine bells?” 

“Nine bells,” he agreed, pretending not to watch for every moment before Jesper disappeared from his eyeline. 

Tomorrow morning. Coffee. It sounded so simple. It sounded like it could change the world. Wylan made it all the way to the workshop before he realised that he was still smiling. 

*

Wylan didn’t have many outfits to choose from, but it still took him longer than he’d care to admit to decide what he was going to wear this morning. He walked to the Slat fidgeting with his sleeve, the button of the cuff nestling repeatedly in and out of the exact right shape on the edge of his hand, a comforting synchronicity constructed between it and the movement of his fingers. Why was he so nervous? 

Jesper wasn’t there yet, but Wylan was fifteen minutes early and Jesper was sure to be at least five minutes late, so he hadn’t really been expecting to see him straight away. He drifted to the edge of the room, not sure if he should take a seat or not - the Slat was busy, of course, but not the busiest he’d seen it and there were a couple of free chairs nearby. Wylan doubted anyone would think it strange for him to take one - they might even think it stranger that he was hovering over by the door without moving to a table - but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do so. Besides, if he took a seat maybe people would wonder how he knew that it was empty. It was safer to hold back and wait. 

“You seen her?” someone was asking a boy sitting at a table not far from Wylan. 

The boy was alone, studying the table or maybe his own hands quite intently, apparently unaware of the newcomer behind him. She nudged his arm. 

“Pietro?” 

The boy - Pietro - looked up sharply, his shoulders tensing slightly as he was pulled back into the world. Wylan wondered where he’d been. 

“I - Jade, sorry, I just-”

“S’okay,” Jade sat down next to him and thumped two glasses onto the tabletop, “Just wondering if you’ve seen Layla?” 

Pietro shook his head, taking one of the glasses and downing it in a single gulp. 

“Convinced Anika to let us write each other messages, but she’s struggling even to read them,” he pulled a bit of paper out of his pocket and passed it to Jade, “Anika wrote that on her behalf, apparently,”

Wylan drifted away into his thoughts as Jade began to read the note, letting the sounds and conversations of the room wash over him in long, vague waves as the minutes ticked slowly by. 

“You’re not still on that?” someone complained across the room. 

“Girls don’t just vanish, Vi, there has to be-”

“No, they don’t, what they do is run. She’s back in Shu Han by now,”

Wylan didn’t know who they were talking about, but he supposed it didn’t really matter. There was another conversation about a murder, and this one he had heard about - the Zemeni Trade Ambassador, in broad daylight, had stepped into a washroom; no-one came in or out, but later he was found with a knife in his back, the tap still running. There was also a hum of conversation about something happening at the Exchange tonight, which was news to Wylan but he supposed that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. And anyway, whatever it was, he probably didn’t want to know. 

“Wylan?” 

Wylan paused, turning slowly towards the source of the sound somewhere to his left. It was too early for Jesper, surely, but anyway that wasn’t his voice. That was Nina’s voice. 

She was crossing from the other door, looking a little surprised to see him there - and something else as well. Her hand drifted to play with the neckline of her blouse, and then the little necklace half hidden beneath it; her eyes flicked over him, then away, then back again; her throat quivered slightly as she swallowed and tried to give him an unconvincing smile. 

“Wylan, hi, it’s Nina,” she said, as she approached, “I didn’t realise you’d be here… erm, can we… Can we talk for a minute?”

Wylan nodded warily as Nina quietly directed him to an empty table in the quietest corner of the room. She shuffled out a chair so that they could sit directly opposite each other, without the obstacle of the table in between them, and laid her anxious hands still in her lap as they sat down. 

“I don’t really know what to say,” she murmured, “Wylan, I’m so sorry, I really hate that I have to tell you this…”

“Just say it,” he whispered, and that was when he realised that he already knew what she was going to say, “It’s easier that way,”

Nina pursed her lips slightly, nodding. 

“I found out everything that I could about Anya,” she said, slowly, “And I don’t know everything, but…”

It was somewhere around this point that Wylan stopped hearing her. He didn’t need to. He could hear the shape of the words, the tone of her voice; he could feel the soft brush of her hands against his, the little circle she’d begun to draw just above his thumb, over and over again. He knew. He didn’t need to hear the words. 

He knew. 

He knew. 

[19burstraat]

I think often of the last chapter of crooked kingdom. not the one everyone considers the last chapter, the last last chapter, the pekka chapter. weeks (months?) after kaz scared him out of ketterdam, pekka starts making moves to salvage his businesses. not much, just reading papers and correspondence, maybe answering letters. and that very night, like he's summoned her, inej appears to warn him off. if he ever thinks of coming back to ketterdam, she says, they'll meet again so she can make the second cut. I love love love it. we know that kaz didn't send her ('I have my own message to deliver'), so her knowledge of pekka's attempt to return suggests she's been keeping tabs on him for her own means. or she has supernaturally good intuition, which is probably the sort of thing she'd want pekka to think-- he worries that maybe she isn't entirely human after all. but regardless, this scene serves a couple of purposes-- it hammers home exactly how scared the slavers should be of inej (very lol), it illustrates the contrast between the complacent old ketterdam (pekka & jan van eck) and the frankly feral new one (kaz & wylan), but I think it also draws a pointed line under the closeness of kaz and inej that we saw in the last chapter.

the only witnesses to the kaz-pekka showdown were pekka's men, and inej. we know that pekka's men will have taken pekka's weakness & kaz's monstrosity from it, but what did inej take from it? because put mildly, kaz lost his absolute shit in that chapel, and let slip more than he probably would have done if he'd just been talking to inej alone. inej, at that point, had been aware for a while how obsessed kaz was with rollins, but that probably put into a hard perspective exactly how badly his presence and involvement affects kaz. kaz describes it as a 'dark door' that's opened in him; if rollins was to come back, there's a good chance kaz would be dragged back into that (to use an inej phrase) undertow, of obsession and revenge and irrationality. they don't really discuss it, and we don't get much of inej's perspective on it, but I think it's not surprising that she wants pekka out of kaz's way permanently. he's a threat to any progress she has made or might make with him. he's the tangible reminder of the worst and least reasonable side of kaz that always teeters on the edge of going where inej can't follow.

so yes, we talk a lot about how inej influences kaz... but maybe less about how kaz has influenced inej. inej takes a page out of the kaz playbook, here, probably because she's doing this for him (even if I'm not entirely sure he even knows that she's gone there). she gets into pekka's head, plays on the potentially supernatural and the impossible, sets up a 'what if?' and plants a seed of paranoia. she uses the nickname kaz gave her, 'the wraith', and rollins thinks of her as kaz's 'wraith queen'. kaz says to her that 'sometimes fate needs a little assistance', and clearly she took that to heart. we know that when kaz needs extra morality, he often draws on inej; but when inej needs extra monstrosity, she often draws on kaz.