#wylan nearly blows his cover just thinking about a terrible guy kaz killed in front of him. THIS is your ruthless killer

[six-of-cringe]

I think that one of the reasons why people misinterpret Wylan's character and arc, among others, is because they misinterpret the relationship between him and Kaz. This post has kind of mitosised off from the BFWP (Big Fucking Wylan Post) I'm writing because it's a bit of a different focus and constitutes its own post.

A lot of people talk about Wylan's character and development as though it's meant to match Kaz's - starting out as a nice kid who the city forces to become amoral, indifferent to violence, and well-versed in crime. These qualities are usually talked about with a weird reverence as an irrefutable symbol of "badassery", as though it's always a positive development for any character regardless of the story's narrative, which annoys me but is not the topic of this post. That's part of the BFWP's job.

Following Kaz's exact development is not the point of Wylan's character. The point is that Kaz and Wylan narrative foils - very similar in many ways, but with a fundamental difference that creates the "broken mirror" effect/shows how they could have turned out if they'd chosen differently. I think that difference is how they respond when they climb out of the harbor after their respective betrayals. Narratively, Ketterdam represents a very harsh system that presents the people struggling there with very few options. You can either choose to ditch decency, play by the Barrel's rules, and live, or you can hold on to decency and die.

When Kaz returns to the streets after Jordie's death, he chooses the first option. He copes with what happened through ideas of revenge, and to survive long enough to see it he quickly turns to thievery and violence. He thinks to himself after he robs a kid for money and food that it was much easier to survive when you've left decency behind. He survived through violence, creating the Dirtyhands persona around himself for protection.

When Wylan has to fend for himself, he choses the second option. He finds "honest work" at the tannery, where they exploit workers and expose them to toxins. He wonders if he'll live long enough to use his savings to leave the city, or if the chemicals would kill him first. He was smart enough to steal and survive, but he chose decency, and with it, he chose death. There are a number of reasons why he chose differently than Kaz despite their similarities - his older age and thus more developed moral code, having no one to avenge but himself when he believed himself worthless, his more privileged upbringing, and his relatively low drive to live. Alone, he would have died.

Then Kaz steps in. Kaz's role in all the crow's lives is that, intentionally or not, his ruthless rule of the Barrel creates a sort of haven that allows them to survive where they would have died had they stayed alone. Wylan is a really clear example of this, and though Kaz's intentions were at least partly self-serving, his involvement both kept Wylan from dying of exposure or street violence as well as prevented him from needing to do the more terrible things that it takes to survive in the Barrel. Throughout the books, we see Kaz kind of taking the brunt of enacting violence in Wylan's place - traumatizing Smeet's daughter, killing the clerk on the lighthouse. Wylan could get by making explosives in the workshop rather than having to shoot or stab or beat the life out of people. And at the end of the series, Kaz sees to it that he never will have to. Of course Wylan did bad stuff to survive when working with the Dregs, it's the Barrel. But the extent is greatly lessened because of Kaz's involvement.

Wylan's arc was never about becoming comfortable with violence, or becoming just like Kaz - the way people characterize him as some sort of ruthless murder mastermind is inaccurate and redundant with Kaz's character. He isn't nonchalant or celebratory about crime or death or violence by the end of the book. He doesn't HAVE to become like Kaz, because Kaz himself gave him the space to continue being decent, intentionally or otherwise. Understanding that dynamic is important to understanding what Wylan is like as a character and as a person. If you assume Wylan's trajectory is to become "Kaz 2.0", then you're going to mischaracterize him. I've seen posts about how Kaz was the Jordie that he didn't have to Wylan, and I think that makes a lot more sense. Because Kaz is willing to do the horrible things in his stead, Wylan has the third option otherwise impossible in the Barrel - maintaining his decency and surviving.

[klbwriting]

Pirate’s Heart - Chapter 3

I’m An Albatroaz

Fandom: Six of Crows

Pairing: Kaz/female!Reader

Summary: Kaz plans a heist that goes disastraously wrong

Taglist: @sixofshadowandbone @thedelusionreaderbitch @itsemy01 @angelicdanvers @marinettepotterandplagg @screen-to-stage @aysegust @sagewrites111 @lilyoflower @hey-peeps @starjane312 @spawn0fsatan @myalupinblack @ameliathackray @moondustmarauder​

Let me tell you all a story about a mouse named Lorry Yeah, Lorry was a mouse in a big brown house She called herself the hoe, with the money money flow But fuck that little mouse 'cause I'm an albatraoz

It was early in the morning, the sun was just starting to rise and Kaz hadn't slept all night.  It was hard to sleep when a person named Lady Heartless was sharing a room with you and she hadn't been sleeping either.  They had seemed to be staring at each other the whole night, studying the other.  It was when the light of the sun was just peaking into the window that one of them finally spoke.

"I know a secret about you Kaz Brekker," she said softly.  He tried to keep his face blank but she saw some curiosity in his eyes.  "I know something happened to you, something bad."

"I'm a pirate, we don't exactly because pirates because good things happen," he said, mocking that she thought she knew him so well.  He was trying to keep himself calm, the look on her face was pity and he had a feeling that she did know what had happened to him.

"I know what happened to you on this ship...what the others did before you killed the captain and took over," she said.  Kaz could feel his face get paler but he tried to ignore it, swallowing hard and scowling.  

"How the fuck do you know any of that?" he asked, gripping the dagger that was hidden under his mattress.  He didn't want to kill her but if she planned on trying to use this secret against his crew he would gut her without a thought. 

  "I don't have a heart, so I learned how to read other people's hearts.  In their words, their mannerisms, their eyes.  A few years ago when we were stuck in that hallway together, hiding because my job had gone back and you made it worse, I touched your arm, just for a moment but the look on your face I have only ever seen in the faces of the girls I release from the pleasure vessels.  That kind of horror is unique," she explained.  Kaz felt his breath hitch in his throat.  He could see now in her eyes the pity but something else, admiration.

   "Why tell me this now?" he asked.  

"Because this is a job we're working together on, and its only fair, you have a secret hanging over my head and I have one over yours, we're even," she said.  She sat up, the night shirt she wore slipping down her shoulder.  Kaz had never seen a woman in his shirt before and he couldn't lie, he didn't hate it.  He noticed that her skin looked soft and smooth until it got to the target like scar on her chest.

  "Is that where it happened?" he asked even though he knew the answer.  She looked down and pushed the shirt up to cover the scars, nodding.  "What did it feel like?"  She barked out a dark laugh.

"It felt like someone was ripping a vital organ from my body and before I could recover someone put a knife through it," she said.  "Your uncle is a fucking prick."  Kaz laughed himself at this, showing a rare smile.  Y/N caught it and smiled a little herself.  His smile was nice, bigger than she thought it would be. "I can't argue with that," Kaz said, getting up himself.  He stood, stretching his limbs, shirtless and Y/N watched, the light hitting him just so that she thought for a moment that he was shining.  It was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.  She quickly moved to stand, grabbing her pants to hide her blush before he could see it.  Lord, she had laid with men before, and women, why was this one boy making her feel like a virginal maid.  She slid the pants on and stripped off his shirt, pulling on her own.  Kaz had slid his on also and watched her finish dressing, sliding on her boots and putting her long hair up in a bun on her head.  He liked it better down but he wasn't going to tell her that.   "So we should probably wake the others and tell them the plan," Y/N said, moving towards the door.  Kaz nodded and followed her out.  He requested that only his first mates and her mates join them in the lounge.  

"Now Rollins' home is a fortress, heavily guarded at every entrance except for the waterway.  It has wide bars that they assume no one could fit through," Kaz explained, showing them a drawn up blueprint of the fortress.   Y/N glanced to Inej.

"Think you could fit?" she asked.  Kaz looked at her surprised.  He would have just commanded Inej to go through the bars or miss out on the money but she asked.  He was going to ask her about that later.  Inej nodded.  "Alright, after Inej gets in what's next?"

"There is a pulley system inside to raise the bars for releasing the bodies of the executed that can pile up there, she will need to use a device that Wylan is creating to blow the levy and raise it for us," he explained.  "Once we're in we split into two groups, one group goes to the treasury on the second flor and creates a diversion, that group will be Inej, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias.  You and I will go directly to the sea witch being kept in main cell here in the basement.  The diversion should have them low staffed and we should be able to handle anyone who's still there.  Exactly half an hour after we enter we should be meeting Wylan at the entrance of the waterway to head back to the Crow."   Y/N looked at the plans again and squinted some.

"How will the group at the treasury escape if they are creating the diversion?" she asked.  Kaz smirked.  

"Another feat for your Inej, she will have to be a phantom in the room.  When the others are caught the guards will be heading back to their stations and should only leave one or two guards to handle transporting the rest of the group.  She will sneak behind them, give Matthias the lockpicks I will provide and take out the guard in the rear.  Matthias will free himself and handle the other guard.   Y/N nodded and had to admit it was a smart plan.

"You know a lot about this place," she said.  "How it functions."

"I grew up there, I should know it," he said.  Only those in that room knew of his origins and he looked at the women.  "That information doesn't leave this room."  They looked to Y/N and she nodded.

"We can keep secrets just like you," she said, eyeing him close.  He stared back at her.  "But Brekker, remember, you better not just be ruining my life again."

"O I only want to fuck up your night," he said.  Jesper rolled his eyes.  

"Lord you two have a catch phrase," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" Y/N asked, glaring at the man.  His dark eyes danced with laughter.

"Please, every time we meet you two say that.  'Kaz you better not ruin my life' 'O Y/N I just want to fuck up your night' you guys just scream power couple..."

"Enough of that talk," Kaz snapped, cane coming down on Jesper's hand and making him yelp.  "Rest up we leave at 9 tonight."

Inej studied the bars in the waterway, swimming in front of them pushing to find any weak spots, testing the width with her head.  Just when Kaz thought the girl was going to shrug and give up she slipped through the bars and climbed on the narrow walkway just beyond.  She held her hand out and Wylan handed her the small bomb from the rowboat they were in.  She light the device and put it on the levy mechanism before hopping into the water.  The bomb blew but the bang wasn't startling, it sounded like someone had shot a gun for target practice.  They hoped no one would really notice as the bars rose and they rowed in.  Wylan stayed with the boat as the others made their way through the waterway and up the stairs.  This led to a morgue and the smell hit them all hard.  Jesper and Nina gagged, nearly losing their dinners.  Kaz took a deep breath through his mouth before pressing on and out the door.

"Jesper, up the stairs down there, will take you to the treasury.  Half an hour don't be late or we're leaving without you," he said.  Jesper gave him a look that said he didn't believe him before disappearing with the others.  Kaz looked at Y/N who was waiting by the door towards the cells.  

"How did you find out about this?" she asked as they snuck down the halls, looking for the sea witch.  Kaz rolled his eyes.  He didn't like talking during a job, but he remembered that Y/N was a chatterbox during a heist.  

"I was in Port Hilib and it was a rumor, I bribed a guard here and they confirmed it," he said.  Well that was clearly not what she wanted to hear.

"This seems foolish, are you sure that he wasn't lying?" she asked.  Kaz growled.  He had thought of that just now.  He knew he had a need for revenge against his uncle but he didn't realize it had given him tunnel vision.  She was right, this could be a trap and he had just brought not only his crew but her.  O fuck, his uncle thought she was dead.  He would know immediately who she was now and she would be in more danger.  Kaz didn't often care about his competition but he liked Y/N and didn't want her dead.

"Guess we'll find out," he said with as much bravado as he could muster.  He could see that she didn't believe him but she was still following.  

"Guess we will," Y/N said, knowing that they were probably running into a trap.  She could only hope that the others got out and that her and Kaz's brains combined could get them out of this one.  They turned the corner of the final row of cells to find all of them empty.  Now Y/N knew they were in trouble.  The only people in the cells were Pekka Rollins and his second in command Barcham.  

"Hello nephew...O I see you've brought a guest..." Rollins froze then as Y/N came further into the light and he realized who she was.  " Y/N, how...you're supposed to be dead!"   Y/N actually just laughed.  Pekka looked so old.  

"Ok, how long have I been dead?  You look terrible Pekka!" she said, still cackling.  Kaz looked at her worried.  He had been on the receiving end of a beating from Pekka and though it had been years he still felt a twinge of fear in his chest at the look in his uncle's eyes.  

"How long have you been around?" he asked, snarling.  

"About 5 years now, the Menagerie?  Lady Heartless?  Ring any bells ya prick?" she said.  Now Kaz was panicking a bit internally.  He wanted to survive this encounter and she wasn't making that an easy task.  

"So you were dead 15 years and suddenly you came back? How?" he demanded.  She rolled her eyes while Kaz tried to back out of the hallway.  Barcham slid in behind him and held up his pistol.  Kaz froze and glared.   "Pekka, I traded my heart for legs...then you stabbed me in an empty chest cavity.  I literally have no heart, that was not a figure of speech the sea witch was using," she explained as if she were talking to one of her younger girls.  Pekka looked positively livid, she could have sworn steam was coming out of his ears but this was just too much fun.  

"Um, Y/N, I would really like you to shut the fuck up now," she heard Kaz say from behind her.  She turned to see him with a pistol aimed at his head.  She nodded and held up her hands, dropping her own pistol.  Pekka moved over and grabbed her arm roughly.  She felt herself getting sick but held it down.  Kaz looked just as sickened when Barcham took his arm and started leading them out of the cells.

"So the sea witch story?" Kaz asked.

"Just a trap to get you here.  Your little friends will all be on a prison ship to the Outer Isle in the morning, and you Kaz will hopefully learn your place in this life.   Y/N, I might just make sure you're dead this time," Pekka said.   Y/N looked at Kaz and he stared at her as they were led away into captivity.