Y’all I Was Just Thinking Idk If This Has Been Done But Six Of Crows Enemies To Lovers:

Cruel prince reader here: NOPE can't do it! Valerian forced her to the ground and made her eat fearie apple which makes her lose control of her body and mind. Sound very similar to date rape drug. Like I know it's called CRUEL prince but I figured the way everyone was stanning Jude and Cardan that he wasn't gonna be too bad. Sure he wasn't the 1 who did that but some shit just crosses the line and he has to be help responsible for the actions of friends trying to impress him. Tumblr is fucked up

Okay. 

I’m going to start with the Faerie apple scene, and then I’ll discuss Cardan and Jude.

Faerie is a dangerous world, right? So dangerous for mortals, in fact, that they cannot eat the food without salt, they can’t eat certain apples, they must go around with rowan berries to avoid charms, etc. etc. The world Holly Black creates is scary, and cruel, and one you would not want to live in. 

However, this is Jude’s home. She’s been forced to grow up here. She’s been forced to live and survive despite the cruelty around her, and she’s survived. In fact, she’s incredibly brave for not only learning how to live in this world, but also standing up to those who aim to hurt her. 

And Jude, for so long, has been keeping herself safe. This moment of eating the Faerie apple, then, while horrible, reminds Jude, and by extension, us (the readers), that Faerie isn’t a safe place. Any safety that Jude had felt up to this moment is gone. She’s vulnerable and can’t stand up for herself and it is cruel. Horrible. Terrifying. It’s a reminder that this world is not meant for mortals, that dangers lurk in every crevice, and even out in the open. It’s a reminder to us, too, that Jude isn’t invincible. She’s human, just like us. 

Now, onto Cardan. 

I’m not just going to say ‘Faeries are cruel,’ because sure, they can be, but Cardan does need to be held responsible for his actions. He and his behavior shouldn’t be written off. 

He’s a bully. He causes pain. And yes, when Jude and Taryn were thrown into the river, he does try to end it sooner. If I’m not mistaken, too, he does try to get his friends to stop their actions in the Faerie fruit scene. But yes, he is cruel, and treats mortals terribly, and treats lots of people terribly, actually, but he was also abused. Is abused. That’s not an excuse for his behavior. Don’t get me wrong: he treats others with immense cruelty at times, and that shouldn’t be ignored or excused. But, it is all he knows. There’s more about why Cardan’s the way he is in the sequel, The Wicked King, but the little moments we catch of how he’s treated by Balekin helps to explain his cruelty. 

That all being said, I think the characters of Jude and Cardan are very dynamic, and as the book (and sequel) show, they aren’t just the badass and cruel characters that we originally met. They are both vulnerable and have been through traumatizing and horrible experiences and that does, inevitably, shape who they become. Ultimately, though, it’s not who they have to be. And I think that both Jude and Cardan are learning that. Particularly Cardan. 

So yes. There are incredibly cruel moments in the book. I think that was going to be unavoidable, particularly when Holly Black’s created such a dangerous world. But those moments don’t necessarily undermine the rest of the book, or the series. 

I think one of my favorite things about how Kaz is written is that his limp was caused by something so mundane. He fell. He broke his leg. It healed wrong. That’s it.

There’s no special cause, and we’re not meant to care about how it happened. It’s not written as a tragedy or some sort of marker of being a chosen or anything like that.

I’m not saying that it’s bad to have a tragic backstory for a character’s disability, but too often that veers into bitterness and demonizing a disability. We also just don’t get boring causes very often. And it’s almost always: something terrible happened to this pure and good chara, usually done to them by someone horrible and evil, because our baby hero is too good and cool and perfect to have been injured otherwise.

Kaz fucked up and fell off a fucking roof. And it’s certainly not his fault he has a bad leg now, but it does show that he wasn’t *always perfect,* the way some protags are written.

And he’s not perfect or portrayed as perfect at all. He’s a jerk. He is absolutely an awful person, but he’s not *just awful.* He has a very strong sense of honor and fairness, even if it’s been twisted by Ketterdam. Despite being described as ruthless and willing to do anything for the right price, we see him bluffing whenever innocents get dragged into things.

He constantly fights not to care about people because he thinks attachments are weaknesses, but very early on he ignores his phobia of touch to carry Inej at least thirty feet. That’s a lot even with his gloves on. He is definitely calculating, but he’s not heartless.

Even with Matthias, despite Kaz’s irreverence, he reassures Matthias about the sacred ash. He tells Matthias that it was only a metaphor, and that depite its significance, he shouldnt feel guilty in having brought it down. It’s somewhat cold, which I don’t really fault him for, because Kaz is not a soft character.

And Kaz is not a fuckboy. Because fuckboys are a very particular kind of gross. They’re womanizing, arrogant, entitled, and sexist. Most of Kaz’s behavior is tied to his trauma - he has severe PTSD and understandable trust issues, and he shouldn’t be demonized for holding people at arms length.

He’s not beingnstand-offish and secretive to be an ass. Kaz genuinely believes that he has to act that way to survive, and nothing about Ketterdam has proven otherwise. He still maintains a deeply trusting relationship with Inej - he keeps very few secrets from her and consistently allows himself to be vulnerable in her presence.

Kaz’s entire moral scale is balanced on what Inej will forgive him for. Theft, violence, scheming: all of this is fine. But killing an innocent woman? Exploiting sex workers? Burying Pekka Rollins’s son? Absolutely not.

He never pressures Inej into staying with him, though he does ask once. When she tells him she plans to leave Ketterdam, he works to make that possible, because her wants are more important to him than keeping her close.

When Kaz has a chance to bargain with Nikolai Lantsov, to ask for literally anything, he asks Niko to find Inej’s parents. He does things for her and does not ask for thanks. When it comes to Inej and the rest of the Crows, Kaz never thinks in terms of debt - none of the Crows owe him anything. He only makes bargains with them twice - once with Matthias, and once with Nina, and in both cases he is bargainng for their help. He pays Inej’s contract - pays, not buys - because he can and that’s what she deserves. He ruins the Menagerie for the same reason.

And when shit hits the fan, and everything looks like it’s going to come down on their heads, he doesn’t try to save himself. He offers to turn himself over to the mob to let the others go free.

GUYS THIS IS NOT A DRILLL

YALL KNOW WAT THE CLOCK MEANSSSS

Kaz :

Inej :

I think now I am losing my mind, noticing all these parallels between Kaz and Inej.

I recently reread Cruel Prince/read the B&N short story, and I had THOUGHTS:

Keep reading

FIRST (second if you count ‘next’) LYRIC VIDEO FOR STARBOUND IS UP!!!!! My Six of Crows inspired song featuring four beautiful pieces by @eerna whomst I love with my WHOLE HEART. I hope you guys like it!!!! Click the video link for more of Jo’s social media and my pre-order link in the video description!!!! 

Take on the World | Kanej

Summary: post-Crooked Kingdom. // Kaz Brekker is the King of the Barrel, with nothing and no one standing in his way. He has it all. But he soon realizes that “all” is not quite enough when he thinks he might loose Inej forever.

A/N: It’s finally here! Ngl, I struggled a LOT with this fic, specially with Kaz’s pov. I wanted these characters to stay true to the books, so it took me a very long time to perfect this. All the lovely people who wanted to be tagged will be at the end. I want to thank you all so, so much for your support and enthusiasm. It makes the struggle worth it. Thank you, thank you thank you. Also, this one-shot was inspired by the song Take on the World by You Me At Six. It has Kanej written all over it.

Finally, let me apologize for this being RIDICULOUSLY long. Some of you already know I have no control over this, it’s useless for me to try and cut down on the writing - it ain’t gonna happen. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this! Comments are always appreciated, I respond to every single one!

Warnings: Crooked Kingdom spoilers!

Word Count: 6,722 (See, I told you. Someone PLEASE get in my ask box and say: “BRUNA, STOP WRITING SO MUCH, YOU’LL HAVE SO MUCH TO REVISE.” Because I clearly need an intervention.)

Find my masterlist here. Requests are open!

Happy reading, lovelies! <3

- All characters belong to our queen, Leigh Bardugo - 

Kaz

               She was leaving today.

               Inej hadn’t explicitly told him so. But Kaz knew – he felt it in his bones, in his veins, in his very heartbeat. He’d known there would be a day when he would have to fight through the tangled knots she’d skilfully, yet unconsciously, formed around his heart and let go of his selfishness, of his desire, so as to finally untie her from his life once and for all.

               He just didn’t think it’d have to happen that fast. That soon.

               There was still that part of him – that foolish, miserable, pathetic, hopeful part that longed to consider the possibility of Inej staying permanently in Ketterdam. With him.

               He had thought that she would, briefly.

               He had let himself hope, stupidly.

Keep reading

So, everyone keeps complaing about what Cardan did in the end of twk but I'm like??? I have never been more proud of someone in my life like HELL YES Cardan is THE perfect High King, where he bleeds things grown. He had such amazing growth and he is so strong now and I am proud proud proud I love him

I love Cardan’s story arc. Like, love love love. 

And I won’t complain about what Cardan did when he exiled Jude (though it did break my heart a little because THEY MADE SO MUCH PROGRESS). BUT I also understand that he was trying to protect her. And, looking at the language, I mean…Jude is royal! She can say “hey my exile is over I’m coming back now” and she can. She’s just way too stubborn to even realize it. She’s just all “oh my god I’m so mad” and I mean I would be too, like being exiled from the place you call home is heartbreaking. 

I digress. 

Point is, I agree with you about Cardan. He’s opening up, we’re learning what he’s been through and why he’s had to become what people would consider a monster, and we learn that hey, maybe he doesn’t want to be cruel or wicked. Maybe, deep down, he wants to do good. And the land thriving off of him, the power he’s receiving, well, I think he wants to do good with it. He wants to be king and wants to do right for his people. And Jude. 

But he still has a long way to go. 

oh, to be the owner of a small bookshop on a cobblestone street with roses climbing the front of the building, where books are stacked about in piles and there’s always coffee brewing and a sleepy shop dog lifts his head at the sound of the door’s bell and thumps his tail against the hardwood

I admit, while reading , I kept forgetting that they are 17 year old teenagers. And it was because of scenes like this one, where that realisation came back to me in a huge wave.

This confusion in Inej's heart and mind. Her thoughts, her doubtfulness , her questioning herself. I have also doubted myself when it has come to matters of heart. And I think everyone does.

But even beneath her confusion, I can see a sign of maturity there. I know that they were all forced to grow up and mentally mature earlier due to their past. And by her maturity, I mean, how she understands, that just like her, Kaz has also gone through unexplainable stuff. The need for his armour. The need for her own armour. And it's not like she turns a blind eye to the things Kaz was trying to do for her. The net. She noticed it. Even though she had accepted and even tried to make peace with the fact that maybe she will never have him like she wanted to. She didn't shut him out.

I think all these little things, they talked to me more about her character. They made me live her and absorb her character more.