#also to the people saying to stop bbg-ifying wylan

[dirtytransmasc]

Hi! SoC fan here, I think you nailed the Kaz/Wylan dynamic beautifully. I haven't read the book in a while and I need to read it again but their dynamic is one of my favourites, and it totally has that father/son or older sibling/younger sibling vibes to it. I always liked how Kaz is the person that Wylan confides in, and how Kaz reassures him because he sees so much of himself in Wylan. He's not infantilized at all. He's the youngest in the group and he comes from a very, very different background to the crows, so he's naturally just very awkward and naive but the more time he spends with the Crows, he becomes a lot more badass and assertive, especially in the King of Scars duology.

I think the reason I love them so much is because they're a mess. like the blend between father figure, big brother, and mentor is just so satisfying, cause they just make it work which makes it 10x sweeter in my opinion. I'll be honest in saying I just started listening to the audio books very recently, and I typically have to listen to it a few times over to fully comprehend it (cause my attention span is hot grabage), so I know I have so much more waiting for me in terms of watching their dynamic grow, but I thought their general vibe was quite obvious, but I tend to look way to closely at characters I like right from the get-go, so that's not saying much.

(I'm gonna repeat myself a bit from my last post, cause I wrote that while tired and I feel much more confident in my explanation now)

like, kaz is just a nuturing character (in his own *special* way lol), he naturally takes a stereotypical "man of the house" role within the crows, and we see that this effects each of his relationships differently; with wylan it puts him in a caretaker position. wylan is the youngest of the group, has likely never been truly supported or loved, he never had a big brother to shield him from the world, or a father to aspire to be like, to learn from, to be loved by. kaz, wanting to 'protect his investments' aka, wants to take care of the people he loves, fills those voids, while also finally getting to be the big brother he needed after losing jordie, and helping wylan be what he never got the chance to be. he actively plays both roles, plus the role of mentor, and you can see the distinct edges; the 'dad' makes sure he eats, is safe on the streets, going out of his way to give wylan every opportunity he can. the mentor pushes wylan to be better, stronger, more independent, even if he comes off as brash at times. the brother not only protects, but stands like a shield, like a guide, a light in the dark that is the barrels. its everything wylan needs and more (cause its that relationship that allows wylan to find a home within the other crows and to find his confidence in himself that his piece of shit father attempted to squash) and its healing for kaz himself.

its nice seeing kaz have a bond with someone that outright forces him to loosen up, it looks nice on him, he serves those pockets of vulnerability and happiness. I nearly choked when he went to see wylan in the first episode and asked the last time he had eaten cause it just felt so... odd, and then to watch kaz really step out of his typical cold persona to make sure other's respected wylan. I was floored, it was everything to me. he really takes care of wylan like he needed someone to do for him and it hurts in such a sweet way. he makes sure wylan never has to break himself, to fight and bit and scratch to make a name for himself, because he just wants him to succeed.

then there's wylan himself. he takes after kaz so much (he's basically just kaz with a weaponized baby face/innocence and speck of mercy, fight with the wall), growing more and more confident with his guidance, finding his footing in the barrels, surpassing every demeaning expectation his father set for him, having this soft bond with one of the scariest men of the barrel wylan proves himself to himself, stops seeing himself as weak or broken or shameful and embraces his skills. there's also no bigger ego boost then being the unofficial 'kid' of the big and scary kaz brekker, especially when he's got that baby face to use to his advantage. kaz is someone he can trust, to confide in, to be protected by, to be able to fall back on, to understand when no one else does. kaz stepped up for his shitty dad and lack of big brother, stepped up when wylan was alone, stepped up and was the closest thing to family wylan would have until he got accepted into the crows, and even then, their bond runs so much deeper beneath the surface that it outweighs the other crows (besides maybe jesper). kaz made sure he was safe when he was unprepared for the barrel, allowing him to be come our bomb loving, baby face having, downright terrifying when he wants to be, baby girl, that we know and love.