It’s gone midnight and I’m thinking about Six of Crows so y’all know what that means: it’s time for a long rambling thought process that will hopefully have some interesting insights into the books in it.

I want to talk about the animal, mostly bird, symbolism of these books because although it’s obviously something we’re very aware of I also think it’s something that runs a lot deeper than we necessarily always realise/talk about. Even when people aren’t being directly involved in bird metaphors (crows, pigeons, peacocks) they are often described as “squawking”, “flapping”, or with other phrases that further this semantic field.

Now the crows is obviously the main source of the symbolism, and it’s openly talked about in the book with the speech on how the recognise human faces and how they support each other. I’ve also seen a few people online talking about the Crows in conjunction with a poem/nursery rhyme about crows (it’s one of those that has many different versions spun of it, some know it was counting magpies rather than crows) wherein 6 crows symbolises gold, of course greatly linked to the plot of the novels as well as their anti-extreme capitalism message. It’s also key to mention that crows are massively underestimated birds in the general public view; they’re far ‘smarter’ animals than we would typically expect. Crows have a very high brain to body mass ratio, I believe the highest of any birds but don’t quote me on that, and although we understand very little about the brain the size ratio is currently considered a very good indicator for the general intelligence level of the animal. Crows can make tools, hide their food, mate for life, and - VERY interestingly for this book analysis - have even been suspected to hold funerals. Now I want to be clear I’m working on a mix of random knowledge and the first helpful looking website that came up when I googled ‘fun facts about crows’ so I am by no means an expert here, but to my understanding the practice that was initially considered to be a ‘crow funeral’ is actually a process wherein crows will gather around a dead crow to look for potential danger. So I feel like the links I’m establishing here are relatively obvious, the point is that, like the birds themselves, the Crows are undervalued, underestimated, and unexpectedly successful. But the symbol of the crow in these books arguably goes even further.

The crow-headed handle of Kaz’s cane represents everything about the crow I’ve already mentioned on top of his own symbolic layering to the cane as a sign that no part of him has not been broken, and no part him is not better for having been broken. So in Chapter 27 of Crooked Kingdom, when Kaz returns to the Slat and fights the Dregs before leading a coup against Per Haskell, the cane with the fake crow’s head that Haskell has contrived to mock him effectively represents the failing of everything the Dregs represent. They’re last, the remnants, the people with nowhere else to go: they are the people who have been broken and have made something new for themselves. Except Haskell. So the sheer ridiculousness of him mocking Kaz’s cane, something he clearly thought would win him favour and success, in the end becomes one of the biggest aspects of his downfall. Inej describes the moment when the Dregs begin to support Kaz, the way the look at Per Haskell with discomfort - “the feathers in his hat, the canes in his hands” (and then she goes on to highlight how they’ve seen Kaz use his cane in fights, “wielded with such precision”, whereas Haskell is washed-up, pathetic, never could have taken the fight Kaz did and walked out the other side). Of course they realise, then, how completely and utterly wrong all of this was. Because when they’re confronted with both of those canes they realise something. They know what Kaz’s cane represents; it’s power and strength in spite of a world that has that has scorned him, it’s taking something that was broken and not fixing it but emphasising it and making it into a threat, into a symbol, into a strength. They know that, even though they don’t know what happens in Kaz’s head, because they see themselves in that. The Dregs; the literal bottom of the Barrel, who have been broken and who have clawed their way to survival. They cannot see themselves in Haskell’s mockery cane. Haskell is not a man who reflects what the Dregs are at their core, but Kaz is. The emphasis on the feathers is also really interesting, because I think it’s implying a sort of gaudy, colourful feathering that (despite fitting in with the style of the Barrel) does not represent the symbol of the crow; it is not something shadowed, something half hidden that could have an unexpected bite. It’s almost more akin to Heleen’s gaudy peacock feathers than it is to anything the Dregs understand, or represent through being Crows.

The pigeons I don’t really see anyone talking about, but I think it’s pretty interesting. The idea of ‘the pigeon’ is the same as ‘the mark’; they’re the victim, the fool who’s easy to swindle. I think the imagery of the fools being pigeons, ie being everywhere and massively populating big cities, is really clever to show a divide between the few, the Crows, and the many, the pigeons. However, it’s not only the Crows who remark on others being ‘pigeons’, but other gangs as well. When Kaz confronts Pekka about the scam he ran on him and Jordie, he says “you were just two pigeons, and I happened to be the one who plucked you”. I’m not gonna lie to you guys I’m losing my point slightly, but I just googled ‘crows and pigeons’ and the first thing that came up was about how crows sometimes eat pigeons so I reckon that’s pretty relevant.

Ok I’m really tired and I feel like I’m clutching at straws here, so I dunno I guess if this does well then I’ll cover peacocks, lions, and the general semantic field of birds in another post. I hope at least some of this made sense, thanks for reading it if you bothered to get this far

(PS. This isn't an attack on OP, just an extension to the last bit)

There's a difference between shipping a toxic ship and acknowledging its toxicity, and framing it as healthy

For instance I see the appeal of Darklina (not a ship I personally ship, though) however, it is 100% unhealthy. I see the appeal in the shadow king and the sun queen, and the power dynamics and the whole "You could make me into a better man" "You could make me a monster" but the Darkling has hurt her and hurt her friends and they are enemies for a reason.

These are fictional characters. If I want to, I will mash their faces together like dolls and/or play about with their dynamic. But this is still a toxic ship, and I separate fiction from reality

It genuinely frustrates me when people ship character’s with their abuser.

Particularly when the character’s entire storyline is about escaping an abusive relationship.

Particularly when the abusive relationship was founded on grooming.

Particular when the ship only exists because the reader thinks the abuser is hot, and is using the protagonist as a self-insert.

I don’t attack people over what they ship, I never have and I never will, you can ship those kind of fictional ships if you want, no, seriously, go ahead, I won’t stop or judge you, but I am asking you to be aware. Be aware that they’re unhealthy. Be aware that the ship you like was never going to be “endgame” by the author. Be aware that you have no right to bully or belittle anyone who doesn’t ship what you ship, particularly if it’s abusive. Just be aware. That’s all.

Kaz or how i like to call him 'Kazik'

my art insta: sparks.street

You know as much as I will always love Darklina (more the potential of what it could have been but whatever)...

There is something remarkable to be said about Darkolai too.

Like... Every once in a while, I will completely fall down this darkolai rabbit hole. And just devour so many things, and think of different potentials and what ifs and all that.

But I mean, if not the whole sun/shadow and light/dark motif...

You have the whole "will do anything for my country/people" between the Darkling and Nikolai and... While Aleksander is far more radical (due to so many other variables and lifetimes and persecutions and all), their goals are the same.

And I think that's great.

Nina treating Inej's wound

Nina: You know, Inej, my mother once taught me to kiss a wound so it will heal faster ^-^

Matthias overhears

Matthias:

Matthias: Kaz.

Matthias: I want you to punch me in the face. As hard as you can.

Kaz: Say no more, bitch.

I've seen a lot of people say how hilarious it is that the Crows feel like they can trust Kaz with their wildest secrets because he's probably seen an done worse, and I fully agree...which is such an extra L for the guy Kaz dropped off the building lmao

It's like...

Nina: "I've falsely accused my crush of being a slaver"

Kaz, wiping the blood off his gloves after he literally just ripped a man's eye out: "Haha nice."

Jesper: "I have so many debts that my father might lose the farm"

Kaz: "I beat a man to death with his own bone once."

Wylan: "I can't read :("

Kaz: "Then?? Hire someone who can?? I can't walk properly, was I NOT supposed to get a cane I can bust peoples' kneecaps with??"

Inej: "I KILLED someone!"

Kaz: "LOL, tell me about it. Wait why are you crying."

Random asshole: "There's a girl in the Menagerie that will do anything for me because she'll die if I tell on her"

Kaz: "What the fuck is wrong with you"

starting to think you two may be in love

That is actually a typo in the books

I like to think that Kaz is sort of like Wylan's and Jesper's cat. Like they hear some small noise downstairs at 3 AM, and they'll roll their eyes and say "It's Kaz again".

One day Wylan leaves the house and screams in terror because Kaz is casually chilling on the roof. "For a better view on my targets," he says. What targets does he mean? No idea. How did he get up there? No one knows. Can he get down on his own? No. Will he climb up again tomorrow? Absolutely.

He comes by- uninvited!- just to eat their food, and when they ask him to stop, he gives the "You told me to take better care of myself!" response. Oh, and he pushes things off tables, just to be an asshole. Once Kaz is more comfortable and has learned to trust his friends and be vulnerable around them, they randomly find him napping in strange places of the house as if he pays rent.

When he's sick or hurt, he hides and hisses when approached.

Sometimes he kidnaps people that annoy or threaten Wylan and Jesper and drops them at their doorsteps. As gifts ❤

The final straw is when one day Wylan and Jesper plan to take a romantic bath together, and when they enter the bathroom- surprise!- Kaz is already in the bathtub with a glass of brandy in his hand, having the audacity to look scandalized and be like "Can you KNOCK?!"

It has come to the point where he's their mean, murderous, asshole roommate who just eats all their food and breaks all their locks constantly lol

This was how the scene went, right?

I like to think that Kaz is sort of like Wylan's and Jesper's cat. Like they hear some small noise downstairs at 3 AM, and they'll roll their eyes and say "It's Kaz again".

One day Wylan leaves the house and screams in terror because Kaz is casually chilling on the roof. "For a better view on my targets," he says. What targets does he mean? No idea. How did he get up there? No one knows. Can he get down on his own? No. Will he climb up again tomorrow? Absolutely.

He comes by- uninvited!- just to eat their food, and when they ask him to stop, he gives the "You told me to take better care of myself!" response. Oh, and he pushes things off tables, just to be an asshole. Once Kaz is more comfortable and has learned to trust his friends and be vulnerable around them, they randomly find him napping in strange places of the house as if he pays rent.

When he's sick or hurt, he hides and hisses when approached.

Sometimes he kidnaps people that annoy or threaten Wylan and Jesper and drops them at their doorsteps. As gifts ❤

The final straw is when one day Wylan and Jesper plan to take a romantic bath together, and when they enter the bathroom- surprise!- Kaz is already in the bathtub with a glass of brandy in his hand, having the audacity to look scandalized and be like "Can you KNOCK?!"

It has come to the point where he's their mean, murderous, asshole roommate who just eats all their food and breaks all their locks constantly lol

Thinking about how cool it would’ve been if the Soc spinoff used Wylan’s knowledge of Fjerdan to expand on his friendship with Matthias, like when Matthias didn’t know the Kerch word for snow goggles in the book and he didn’t want to ask Nina he just pointed to them and said “keep your eyes covered” instead, but we could have had him turn to Wylan and say:

“Lamb. How do you say snow goggles in Kerch?”

And then Wylan would say “snow goggles” in Kerch (/English for audience purposes) and then Matthias would tell everyone to put their snow goggles on and we would see both Nina and Jesper seething right up until their eyes were covered - especially because Nina would understand what Matthias had just said.

sometimes I headcanon inej as bi but sometimes… but sometimes I think she’s that straight girl you think is a lesbian for so long, until you finally meet her boyfriend who’s just a weird little guy.

I think many of the Crows are subject to unbelievable humiliations, and in turn create their own dignities. Thinking of Kaz in particular though, it's like his own resolve to put up with literally anything that serves his needs, no matter how hard or how low, is a form dignity. His actions may be detestable sometimes, but his perseverance itself is worth its own respect. The little boy who scrubs piss pots. The bastard son of the city of filth and violence. King of the rats. The best. The survivor.

no thoughts just KAZ'S FACE WHEN HE REALIZES THAT INEJ KILLED THAT DUDE FOR HIM AT THE PALACE 😭😭

Trying to be edgy in those stupid goggles. ok emo boy

something something about how inej was terrified that she wouldn't be useful to kaz anymore if her legs were broken, but if kaz's hands were broken??! his sleight of hand and lockpicking is integral to how he views himself 🤭😈 it would be a shame if that was taken away

a comedian™️

DANIELLE GALLIGAN as NINA ZENIK in season 2 of SHADOW AND BONE (2021-)