#yes this is about kuwei

[heartrender6]

everyone loves a traumatized unhinged witty character until they're not white

[anabetel35]

If you like Kuwei, whatever you do, just don’t think about how he probably grew up isolated from his peers because of his father’s status. How he probably took to reading because no one around him could spare a single second for him. How, when he and his father had to flee the country and were captured by the Fjerdans, he probably realized that what happened to him was a perfect backstory for a main character of some epic story. How, when he had to watch his father try to create a drug that could enslave and kill nearly all Grisha in the world, people just like the two of them, his biggest comfort came from the silly belief that at the end of his story, he too would have everything that he wanted — a family, a lover, a friend, just anyone who would finally care about him. Recognition. Joy. Love.

How, when his father died and he was left alone, a small, delusional, cruel part of him was almost sure that it was necessary for him to then be loved. How, when the Crows came for him, deep down, he fully expected them to be his new family. How, even when everyone was cold to him on the ship, he still tired to convince himself that it was because one of theirs was on the brink of death. How he dumbly tried to tell himself that they won’t actually turn him over to the merchant that wants him because they’re reasonable people. How he spent his days and nights in a cold tomb, pushing down the memories of his now dead father and his grim future, all alone, curled up in a corner.

How he had developed a crush on Jesper, bright, kind, warm Jesper, as if he could do anything else, and then had to watch helplessly as that ray of sunshine ignored him, as he got closer to the boy that had his face. How his skills and efforts were ignored just because what he might know seemed far more important to the people around him. How, not more than two days before the auction where his death would be faked, he got kissed by the man he began to adore and then was disliked for it by the only member of the team that actually tried to befriend him for a while.

How he had to stand tall in front of all the people, all those merchants, the royalty, the warriors, the guards, the farmers, the children, everyone, all the people who came to the Church of barter just to see who he’d be sold to. How he had to trust the six teens who only had qualms about killing him because he was worth a whole lot of money, with his life as different governments called out numbers that could feed the whole world for an entire lifetime. How the last thing that he could’ve seen before he died if the bullet that hit his chest missed his button even by a single hair, was the chaos ‘Brekker and his Crows’ started.

How, when he woke up, he barely had any time to calm down because one of the teens, the Drüskelle, was dead. How he now had to mourn him now, too, along with all that he lost. How, when he was laying down on the ship to pretend he’s dead, he realized that the people he saw as his saviors less than two months ago, and as the thing that he wanted more than life, didn’t care for him at all anymore. That they might even be happier if he died. How, as he neared the sea, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d let his one chance at happiness higher along the canal and that he was now destined for a life of despair.

How, when he arrived to the Little Palace, he wasn’t met with kindness or friendly faces. How he had to hide the fact that the thing he worked on day and night was the cure to a drug that his father had created, a drug that could’ve destroyed Grisha all around the world. How he was their only hope in the war against Fjerda. How he spent his nights awake dreaming of being a part of the family that the Crows clearly were. How he couldn’t seem to fit in anywhere he went.

Most importantly of all, don’t think about the fact that he’d been alone all his life.

[sprnklersplashes]

I hate when your least favourite character in a piece of media is objectively not the worst but they annoy you. because then everyone's like "oh so you hate X more than Y even though Y has done A B and C" and I'm like yes because they committed the high crime of irritating me personally

[dcvina-claires]

i think the six of crows fandom has a real problem with acknowledging complexity in the characters which is ironic because it’s literally a book about morally grey characters. like yes kaz is a cold blooded murderer who cares more about money than being a good person but he’s also a dumb teen boy with a crush and a bad haircut. inej is a knife-wielding spy as well as a deeply religious girl who never stopped believing in kindness. jesper is a confident, reckless sharpshooter but he’s also incredibly scared and angry. wylan is an empathetic and kind artist along with being a dangerously intelligent explosives expert. nina is a fun, food-loving girl but she also stands up for the oppressed and struggles to recover from an addiction. matthias is an angry druskelle but he’s also the boy who learned to love grisha unconditionally. even kuwei has more depth than we give him credit for. he’s the flirty troublemaker as well as a grieving kid who’s had too much pressure put on him. they all have nuance, please don’t take that away because it’s such an important theme in the books

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

A few interesting parallels in the SoC duology that I don’t think I’ve seen anyone talk about yet

(Analysis/discussion of these parallels/quotes may come later if anyone's interested)

“These creatures were made to be weapons” - Jarl Brum on Grisha, Six of Crows chapter 35

“He looked like what he truly was: a weapon” - Jesper Fahey on the Khergud, Crooked Kingdom chapter 36

“Welcome to the Hellshow” - Kaz to Nina, Six of Crows chapter 6

“Welcome to the Ice Court, Nina Zenik” - Matthias to Nina, Six of Crows chapter 34

“Is this a play?” - Alys Van Eck “Yes love, and you’re the star” - Jesper Fahey, Crooked Kingdom chapter 8 when Alys is taken captive

“What was this but a play Kaz had staged, with that poor sucker Kuwei as the star?” - Jesper Fahey on the auction plan, Crooked Kingdom chapter 36

“he looked like a priest come to preach to group of circus performers” - Inej on Kaz’s appearance in comparison to the rest of the Barrel, Six of Crows chapter 2

“started to preach” - Inej on Kaz leading a coup against Per Haskell, Crooked Kingdom chapter 27

“Whoever he had become, Matthias was not going to shoot someone unarmed. He'd not yet sunk so far” - Matthias Helvar, Six of Crows chapter 29

“I am unarmed” - Matthias Helvar, Crooked Kingdom chapter 38

"I didn't even know the rules of Makker's Wheel" - Jesper Fahey on his first night gambling in the Barrel, Six of Crows chapter ()

"He knew his guns better than he knew the rules of Makker's Wheel" - Jesper Fahey on the concept of aim and its relationship to his life and his zowa/Grisha abilities, Crooked Kingdom chapter 36

“a tiny voice inside him said he should offer to take the drug as well […] maybe he could have helped to draw the parem out of Nina’s system and set her free. But that was a hero’s voice and Jesper had long since stopped thinking he had the makings of a hero” - Jesper Fahey, Six of Crows chapter 44

“Matthias gave you the remaining parem, didn’t he?” “So?” “[…] I can’t let my father down again. I need the parem as a security measure” “No” “Why the hell not?” - Jesper and Kaz in discussion about the auction plan, Crooked Kingdom chapter 30

I'll probably be back to add more, feel free to add your own as well

[drieddpetals]

do y'all ever think about the fact that Wylan literally bet Kaz money that Jan wouldn't care if he died, and then went, "Pay up, Kaz." after Jan blew up the ship?? i love him so much he's such a smartass.

also i think about Wylan saying "Maybe you can pray to Ghezen for understanding, Father," when Jan was confused about the whole Kuwei situation about fifteen times a day. it's genuinely one of my favorite Wylan quotes like yes get his ass‼️‼️

[heypax]

one day ill write the post about how the most annoying mischaracterizations of wylan always stems from people not being able to recognize/understand the contradictions in his personality. yes hes the “we could wake them up” guy but he’s also “who’s mark?”. he threatned to push kuwei in the canal, and inej said that jan has the same eyes as wylan but without wylans kindness. yes he was the one who said “just girls?” and initiated the kiss but hes also blushes at half the things jesper says. he’s the demo expert and the guy who wanted to ring for tea after he’d nearly been killed. he doesn’t want to be a criminal but the moment he finds out its for inej it’s all good. and if I were writing the post id go into how I read this as a consequence of growing up in a privileged & abusive household which meant in some ways he’s never taken care of himself and other ways he’s had no one to take care of him. if i was writing that post.

[lilisouless]

Nikolai pushing Zoya and Genya out of the palace

Nikolai: have fun on girl’s night!

Genya : are you sure you don’t want-

Nikolai slams the door

Zoya: he is always so eager to make us leave early in girls night. I think he and the guys are too enthusiastic about doing whatever they do when we are not with them

Genya: well it´s good they have their own thing, surely they need their boys time without their girlfriends

(twenty minutes later)

All the boys sitting in a circle while crying.

Nikolai: why do they even need a "girls night" are we now enought?

Adrik: don't they know we don't have a life without them?

David: i just solved my colored cube, it´s got all the faces now (sobs) but what´s the point if none of this faces are Genya´s

Mal crying: i don't know why i came, i don't even like you

Nikolai: i don't like you either

Both hug each other in tears

Jesper sobbing: oh the loneliness is killing me so badly

Wylan: Jesper, i am right here

Jesper holding Wylan: Shh! do you want to fit with the cool kids or not?

Wylan: not really, there are like five empty rooms in this palace and we are here with them

Jesper: i...good point

"both run away"

Kuwei: yes! go away! leave me here alone with this needy "cool kids"! (dries tears out of his clothing) last time i come

Kaz: look at them, crying over their sweetiepies, pathetic...

Kuwei: i am not even going to ask why you have been stroking your face with a blade since we got here

Tolya taking the knife away: you can get hurt, let´s just

Kaz makes striking strangled sounds while he tries to reach back for the knife

Tolya quickly gives it to him: for the saints, it´s like a baby with a pacifier

[reve-writes]

—come running; kaz brekker.

ʚ kaz brekker x reader | grishaverse | 1k words. ʚ slightly inspired by this prompt. | after your payout, you decided to leave everything behind. the gang, the jobs. until your old crew is in a bit of a pickle and you come running back. ʚ set roughly in crooked kingdom; mild spoilers; light angst. ʚ a/n this is a short one and i wasn't sure how to end it.

“You should not be here.” Kaz rasped, visibly confused that you were standing at the Black Veil instead of being at Ketterdam University. You should be in your cramped dormitory room, perusing thick textbooks to cram for your tests. You shouldn't be with them—the most wanted people of Ketterdam.

The rest of the Crows were running errands, taking their gondels off of the island. Aside from a sleeping Kuwei, Kaz was the only other living person there.

You swallowed. “I heard that you're forced into hiding from Rotty.”

“He shouldn't run his mouth to anyone.”

You winced. You were just anyone now. “He didn't tell me where, Kaz. You did, back then. Remember?”

He did. Before a particularly risky job, if anything went wrong, he told you to come to the Black Veil. No one ever went there anyway. An island housing the tombs of the wealthy wasn't a point of interest to both locals and tourists.

“You shouldn't be here.”

His name fell from your lips pleadingly, simultaneously familiar and foreign. It had been seven months since your last job with the Crows. Seven months since you left and enrolled at the University. The payout was abundant—it would support you until your graduation and then some. You had even taken a job. An actual part-time, away from the Barrell and the pubs and the scams. Kaz had pulled a lot of strings, getting fake documents for your application, creating a whole new persona for you to be.

He made you promise to stay away from the Barrell. For seven long months, you did. Jesper would swing by occasionally. He was supposed to be a student here anyway, before the gambling and the sharpshooting. You usually got the news about the Crows' happenings from him. Until Jesper stopped coming, so you had to ask Rotty.

Once a liar, always a liar. You had lied through your life in the Barrell. You lied to get into the University. It didn't seem far-fetched that eventually you would break your promise to come back here.

“What happened, Kaz? Rotty only said something about Van Eck. I thought we were supposed to stay off of Van Eck.”

Kaz clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Again, I should tell Rotty to shut his trap. Leave, ___. Go back. This doesn't concern you.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Kaz recognised your stubborn quality. He had always found it endearing, your relentless approach to life. The two of you were alike in that sense. What he disliked was that you didn't know when to step back.

“No. Why are you here, ___? You can't have forgotten already. Stay away from the Barrell.”

You picked at your cuticles. “I don't know. I just—”

“You don't know?” He asked incredulously. “You know that I'm a wanted man. We all are. Do you not find University to your tastes anymore? Are you trying to be a criminal, again?”

He was being unfair. “What was I supposed to do then? Go and study my textbooks, not knowing if any of you would still be alive tomorrow? Should I wait for the newspapers everyday to see whether or not you had kicked the bucket?”

“Yes! You should. You should've kept your word and stayed away.”

Kaz was at the edge of telling you everything, despite everything logical in his being telling him no. Ghezen knew he was at his limit, especially after Inej had been taken and everything else. What if you were spotted when you came? What if someone found the two of you right now? What if Van Eck took you as well?

You were supposed to get out. He got you out of this Ghezen-forsaken place. You gave him your word that you would stay out. Why were you so eager to return?

“I don't know, Kaz,” you admitted. Your voice was quiet. “Old habits die hard. When I heard that you were in trouble, I wanted to immediately come running. The way we used to have each other' s backs. It was foolish of me, but you can't seriously expect me to turn back and continue on as if everything is alright.”

He pursed his lips. “You chose to leave.”

It was as much your choice as it was his. “You encouraged it. I said that I wanted to go to Ketterdam University in passing, and you got me enrollment forms. You made me a whole new identity."

The inside of the tomb was hollow, your voice echoed through the chamber. Kaz leaned back against the mossy stone wall, closing his eyes and taking a frustrated breath. He slid down to sit, and then patted the empty space beside him.

“How's university? Is everything to your liking?”

You sat down, not close enough for him to be uncomfortable. “It's a routine. Repetitive weeks. It's funny how the only thing everyone is excited for is the weekends.”

It was definitely all the death in the air on the Black Veil Island. He swore he didn't mean to say anything. He had a thousand thoughts going through his brain, but instead he said, “I can feel the lack of your presence.”

You wanted him to say it. “Feel what, Kaz?”

He turned his head to look at you. “You know.”

This was what it always came down to, wasn't it? You were picking up breadcrumbs that he left, treating them as if they were a feast. Then, he would vanish, leaving you yearning for more until eventually—as always—he would do it all over again.

“Say it, Kaz,” you pleaded. “Say you want me to stay or leave forever and never come back.”

It should've been easy. Leave. Leave and don't look back, but his hand twitched and his heart leaped at the word stay.

“Stay,” he rasped out, tasting it in his mouth tentatively. “Stay in this dump. Stay with me.”

“I will stay.”

His eyes widened. He was envious of how easy it was for you to say things that you really meant and held your heart out in the open. For the first time in months, the constant weight in his chest was lifted, the worry lines in his forehead whenever he thought about you were smoothed out.

“For as long as you like,” he whispered.

You nodded vehemently. “For as long as you want me to.”

[ ]

[catdoingblep]

today I am obsessed with thoughts about Wylan, Marya and Jesper destroying Jan's stuff

Jesper proposed to destroy something that reminds Wylan about his father, and he was thinking that it would be like 3-4 things that they would ruin together to release tension, and then they would do some declutter like normal people do: sell something, throw something out

And then they destroyed a few things of Jan, and Wylan looked so happy after it, all smiling and flushing, and he said that it was really helpful, so Jesper was just glad that he proposed something that actually helped Wylan, who still sometimes moved around the house like he is expecting Jan to enter the room every second

he totally thought about this as about one-time thing, but the next day he woke up to see Wylan sitting on the bed with a scheming face. Then Wylan understood that Jesper was awake and asked: "What do you think about drowning something in the canal tonight?"

"Are we talking about a person? Because I'm pretty sure that Kuwei is in Ravka", joked Jesper, and Wylan hit him with a pillow. "I am talking about those awful figurines from my father’s cabinet"

So they drowned those absolutely tasteless and ridiculously expensive porcelain figurines

And then Wylan asked next week in the middle of the breakfast: "What about some skeet shooting?" and this is how they got rid of the favourite dinner service of Jan

And then, one day, Jesper found himself helping Wylan to take out to the garden table from Jan’s cabinet, and Marya, who is sitting in the garden and having her afternoon tea, just calmly watching her son and his boyfriend setting the table on fire (this is one of the good days when she almost sure that she is remembering everything)

And Wylan came to her and kissed her on the cheek with: "Mom, is everything fine?"

And she smiled into the cup and said: "Yes, fire is very cosy, Wylan. Actually, what do you think about bringing Jan's formal portrait here?"

[abluepaperghost]

honestly i feel like one of the most underrated moments of the kaz & nina friendship is when nina is pretending to be johannus rietveld's heartrender assistant for the auction job and they meet with van eck in the geldrenner.

basically after van eck told colm he'd confirm the "investment" of the jurda fields with the merchant council for kuwei's auction, van eck addresses nina and asks her about her involvement with the dregs. nina then asks van eck about wylan's "kidnapping" and then proceeds to throw the shadiest insult at van eck (that is very iconic of her btw):

like, even though nina finds kaz infuriating and inmoral and has threatened him a couple times, we also see that she cares for him and also respects him a lot, even if she doesn't give a flying fuck about his opinion.

nina literally (though subtlely) calls van eck an idiot and shades him for having crossed kaz and i really love moments like this that show the mutual respect nina & kaz hold for each other in spite of their rocky relationship.

(take also as a supporting point when, in the sweet reef job when nina is cornered by the dime lions, she begins negotiating with them to buy inej time, and she tells them that if they wanted her to go with them they had to go find a way where kaz wouldn't go after her; yes she was bluffing but she's absolutely right: one does not cross kaz brekker and people who do it (insert van eck) are complete idiots)

[appolinyou]

Yes, Kuwei can be considered a crow, but the same black sheep in society that they tried to kill simply for the very fact of existing.And then society kidnapped this very black crow, tortured him, killed his father, and this very hated black crow had to do the impossible in order to stay alive one more day in prison.Until she was saved by a flock of noisy crows who had claims against each other, who until that moment still weakly trusted each other as a full-fledged unity,And only with the rescue of this white crow were ordinary crows able to become exactly those whom everyone loves so much:Those who respect other people's past, their own and other people's traumas, who understand that a person can make mistakes, has made and WILL make them.Who desperately feels this life, constantly being on the edge of a knife between life and death, genius and madness, who is on the path to either survive or live.Those who endured difficulties, those who learned to be bolder and angrier, more cunning and agile, louder and brighter despite their complexes. Who lived with a target on his back.

АNow think about it, did I only describe the Six of Crows? Wasn’t it the same with Kuwei? The answer is yes, he experienced the same thing, and he was experiencing it all at the moment. He deserves to be in the ranks To this newly formed flock of ravens, being part of it means doing or not doing the same things as them.

АAnd also regarding the ravens. I would like to remind you that these are precisely the birds that beat their chick that has fallen from the nest to death with the whole crowd. They are not as good as you idealized them. However, this also applies to the Ravens team, they are criminals. Heroes. Young and desperate teenagers who live and love as they want, and no one can stop them from feeling differently.

How can you scold for feelings? Then this is hypocrisy, if only because someone likes Wesper to humiliate and HATE another character for his feelings and initiative, attempt, experiment in this area.

Don't.Hurt.Mine..Boy.

[anabetel35]

here, have a few paragraphs of one of my WIPs that I really like :D

Fandom: Six of Crow, Shadow and Bone Pairings: Wywei, Wesper, Kuwesper Main tag: Alternative universe - hanahaki disease

'Tomorrow,' he thinks, 'tomorrow I will try to get us out of here. Tomorrow, I will find a way to a new home.'  The words shouldn't carry as much weight and comfort as they do. One more empty promise, is all they are, a not so new addition to the ever-growing pile of lies and half-truths and delusional lunacies that Kuwei keeps, collects, even. And yet… And yet, lying on a cheap, ancient bed, in a cheap, ancient house, in a cheap, ancient part of a huge, boisterous city that carries legends older than perhaps even some of the saints, staring at the slow, hopeful sunrise from a small, dirty window, lends them some sort of a deep truth. 'Tomorrow,' the essence of Ketterdam, the concept of a new beginning, whispers back. 'Of course, tomorrow, I will guide you.'

here's the link, if anyone's interested :)

(or, if the link doesn't work, it's called the worst thing about burnt fower petals (is that, darling they are yours))

[bestgrishaversequotes]

longer quotes under the cut!

Kuwei turned to Jesper. "You should visit me in Ravka. We could learn to use our powers together."

"How about I push you in the canal and we see if you know how to swim?" Wylan said with a very passable imitation of Kaz's glare.

Jesper shrugged. "I've heard he's one of the richest men in Ketterdam. I wouldn't cross him."

(Crooked Kingdom, chapter 42)

--------

"More money, more mayhem, more scores to settle. Was there never another dream?"

He said nothing. What had carved all the hope from his heart? She might never know.

Inej turned to go. Kaz seized her hand, keeping it on the railing. He didn't look at her. "Stay," he said, his voice rough stone. "Stay in Ketterdam. Stay with me."

She looked down at his gloved hand clutching hers. Everything in her wanted to say yes, but she would not settle for so little, not after all she'd been through. "What would be the point?"

He took a breath. "I want you to stay. I want you to... I want you."

(Six of Crows, chapter 42)

[polycrowtruther]

"Hold on a fucking minute," Zoys said, setting her fork down with an audible 'thunk'. "You've all done some pretty monumental things, I admit, but you can't seriously think we'd believe you're the ones who broke into the Ice Court . That you lot are the ones who started the current civil unrest within Fjerda, or single handedly put an end to the jurda parem crisis. Sure, you were impressive during the Echange months before, but this is the Ice Court we are talking about. Not even the Darkling was foolish enough to try breaking in. I think we must just be talking about two different Kuwei's, I'm sure the name is somewhat common.”

"Zoya, dear, you are underestimating just how greedy our Brekker is," Jesper grinned devilishly, "We most certainly broke into the Ice Court, I can promise you that. There was money to be made, after all. Any subsequent fallout was, while unintended, merely the price of doing business."

" How ," her eyes were wide in shock, "It's impossible."

"It's impossible for you , your majesty," Kaz shrugged. "Like I said before, I am above such trifling things. And unlike the Darkling, I am successful at them, as well."

"No, I think it's just impossible," Nikolai looked between them all for a moment, fighting hard to maintain a straight face. It seemed he was thrilled at the implications of what exactly the Crows got up to during their business pursuits, "You do realize you all are the first people in history to have pulled it off, yes? Saints, it's kind of terrifying to picture, actually. I'm realizing just how lucky I am that none of you were serious about kidnapping Alina."

"We did kidnap her," Jesper jabbed his fork at Nikolai, "We just weren't serious about keeping her kidnapped. The semantics of it all are very important, Sturmhond"

"It's rude to hold your friends hostage," Kaz squinted, "Or so I have been told. Multiple times."

“Because it is rude, you twat,” Alina scowled, punctuating her statement with a bite of her potatoes, “And no matter how much fun I had, I very much did not enjoy being held hostage.”

"To be fair, you came willingly for the most part,” Inej tilted her head, “I don't think it counts as kidnapping if the target climbs into the getaway carriage of their own volition. It's more accurate to say we 'smuggled' you out."

Read the whole thing at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47964844/chapters/125134003

[smolandweirdwriter]

Castle on the hill is so SoC coded like

“One friend left to sell clothes” = Wylan, became a merchant and went home. Jesper who left to discover himself and who he wants to be and decided to stay with wylan in the end. Also Kuwei who left to find the cure to parem!

“one works down by the coast” = inej

“one had two kids but lives alone” = Kaz, who started the gang/crew but is now the loneliest of them, his purpose scattered now that he has what he wants, waiting for Inej, distant etc. also about Matthias, who had a vision of a future with Nina and in the end could not pursue it

“one’s brother overdosed” = about Jesper’s addiction and also Jordie

“one’s already on his second wife” = Nina

“One’s just barely getting by” = all of them simultaneously

am I reading too far into this? Yes definitely but I’m crying about it anyway