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#i need to see the ice court heist
jespermybeloved · 2 years
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This picture of the crows
Yes
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1997eitheror · 1 year
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i respect anyone who doesn’t want a crows spin off after all the changes but i’m literally clinging on out of spite lol if we’ve had to watch 2 seasons of them inserting them into the sab plot and changing their stories around and we don’t even get to see an attempt at their actual story i’ll die
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The thing is, I can forgive a lot of it. The scene where Kaz tries to help Inej with her wounds? I guess it was a nice nod to the CK scene, if slightly too soon. The "I will have you without Armour?" Fine. We all wanted to see that anyway. Rushing Wesper into a relationship rather than keeping as the slow-burn from the books? Okay. I really loved them on screen despite that. Kaz beating up the dregs? Definitely could have done without it for obvious reasons, but whatever. I can brush it off.
But the two things that are really grating on me are Kaz's face-off with Pekka Rollins and Inej leaving to hunt slavers. Because the POINT of these things happening towards the end of the second book is that there's a build up.
These characters go through so much. We learn everything about them, we see their struggles and we root for them. We spend SO much time learning about Kaz's thirst for revenge. We see moments where he starts to lose it when it comes to Pekka, and slowly start to learn why. And at the climax of Crooked Kingdom, there's so much on the line. We finally see him snap. There's a build up there of something that he's spent his entire life and two whole books working towards.
The first season of Shadow and Bone consisted of 8 episodes. So we can estimate that the crows had probably less than 4 hours of screen time. And we learned nothing about them, really. They were the mysterious trio that were hired to steal something. And then suddenly S2E1's "Brick by brick" turns into the peak of Kaz's character arc. It takes away the impact and the reasoning behind it.
And the same for Inej. Where is the journey? Where's the trauma that was inflicted by a woman who was truly evil? When we see Inej running into Tante Heleen for the first time in the duology, she freezes. She can't do anything. Are you telling me that the same girl who is so terrified of this woman can face her without a problem?
Again, there's so much of a development here as well. Inej has this realisation and this epiphany about what she wants to do. She wants to hunt down these slavers. She wants to make sure that nobody goes through the same stuff that she did. And when she sees Heleen after that, it's when she slowly starts to lose power over Inej. I mean, she steals the necklace straight from her neck, for crying out loud. Erasing Inej's trauma from S1 was a problem but they dug themselves in a deeper hole by killing off Heleen. She can't go through the journey that she's supposed to. Her entire character arc was just completely erased.
And the thing is, in the duology, Inej still goes through even more hell before she can get free from her indenture. The Ice Court Heist, Van Eck's torture, Dunyasha, etc. And yet... she's free before the start of the heist?
The heist is an important job for each crow. They all have a reason for being there, and they all have something on the line. None of them really think they're going to survive it, but they're trying anyway because, at this point, what do they really have to lose? And for Inej, this is her chance to get the money to leave the barrel. So... are you telling me that she's going to willingly come back to help on a life-threatening job for freedom that she no longer needs? What's going to happen with Kaz now that he's already had that stand-off?
Would love to know because right now I'm as lost as the rest of the book fans.
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manikas-whims · 3 months
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26/02/2024: Nina and Matthias’s son asks Kaz if he’s a bad person
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“Uncle Kaz, are you a bad person?”
They were walking down the bustling streets of Little Ravka.
Unsurprisingly his four year-old nephew, Soren, had acquired the same love for waffles as his mother. From his father, had merely acquired the sparkling blue eyes which he weaponized quite a lot whenever he needed to coax Kaz into doing his bidding.
And so, after ignoring Soren’s adorable pleas and big, blue, sparkling eyes for hours, Kaz had agreed to take him out for a snack. As such, they were heading towards this famous local diner in the area to try some ravkan-styled waffles.
Kaz had expected the child to show his excitement over it. Expected the little one to constantly persuade him into buying delectable sweets on their way. But questions about his morality were the last thing he had imagined. And from a child at that.
“Why do you ask?” He spoke in an even tone.
The child replied without a beat. “Cause a lot of people in Fee-eda say so.”
“I see.”
It’d been years since the Ice Court Heist. Despite never being able to prove it, there was a common tale spread around the Fjerdan folk about a sinister Demjin named Kaz Brekker who had come from the land of Kerch and broke down the formidable walls of the Ice Court using his dark powers. That he had peeled off his gloves inside the court and cast a sinister enchantment with the devious motions of his fingers to corrupt the sacred tree. That he was a mad man who had stolen the Shu child on a whim, and then decided to sell him off to the highest bidding nation for further entertainment.
“Wanna know what I think?” Soren asked, waving his hands in excitement.
Kaz smirked. “I honestly don’t care but you’ll tell me anyway, won’t you?”
The boy giggled. “I will! I will!”
“Well..?” Kaz waited patiently, both gloved hands now resting on his crow head cane.
“I think you’re a good person.”
The words stupefied Kaz more than they should have.
“And what makes you believe so?” He asked. He was expecting some sort of innocent and childlike response such as: because you spoil me with candy, because you show me magic or because you defend me when Papa gets mad.
The boy however, tilted his head, cheeks puffing up as he collected his thoughts and formulated a response.
“Because Aunt Inej likes you.”
Once more Kaz was left stunned. And a little flustered by the child’s words. He could only hope no one else heard it for the mere idea of someone liking Dirtyhands could stir the entire barrel with some spicy rumors. And he would not want to deal with them when his little nephew was around.
Soren’s eyes twinkled as he went on. “Aunt Inej likes me too! And, and..she told me she only likes good people. So that means Uncle Kaz is good too!”
“Alright then, ” Kaz coughed to compose himself and offered a gloved hand for the boy to hold. “Let’s get you those damned waffles.”
Soren bounced with joy at that and accepted the proffered hand as they continued their walk.
» 15/? of Manika's Mini Fics «
Read my previous mini fic with Kaz and Soren HERE
SOC Masterlist
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true-bluesargent · 6 months
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how are people deluding themselves that the six of crows spinoff could have in any way shape or form been faithful to the books. it's already so ridiculous how they were like "guys sorry shadow and bone season 2 sucks BUT if you want us to make a six of crows show that we promise will actually be good then we need renewal!!!!" like first of all why would we trust you to make a good six of crows show after this and second of all. the existence of shadow and bone netflix makes a good six of crows adaptation impossible anyway! the casting is not good (no matter how much you try to convince yourself that 30-year-old, able-bodied freddy carter is the perfect kaz brekker), and they used up all of the meaningful scenes from six of crows and crooked kingdom as surface level throwaway moments in season 2. i don't know how people can't see that the end of shadow and bone season 2 did NOT in any way set up the story ready for the ice court heist. why would inej even need to participate in the heist now? she's free she is killing slavers on a pirate ship that was her ENDING at the end of crooked kingdom. wylan and jesper are already together and happy so there's no reason for jesper to join the heist out of misplaced love and loyalty to kaz, and he could get money to pay off his gambling debts from smaller jobs in ketterdam. we already saw kaz's entire backstory and he already GOT REVENGE ON PEKKA ROLLINS. that is literally his primary motivation for the entire duology so why would he now go on a ridiculously dangerous and near-impossible heist when he got what he wanted already and the money doesn't matter to him anymore. and nina only wanted to do the heist in the first place to help get matthias out of hellgate, but if nobody else needs or wants to do anything about it what the hell would be the point. in conclusion it's good that they didn't get to make a six of crows spin off show because it would have fucking sucked! just reread the books
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restinslices · 5 months
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Mortality
Jesper Fahey x Spouse (no gender specified) Word count: 2150 Summary: You and Jesper aged differently. You aged as any Otkazat’sya did. Jesper on the other hand is Grisha and ages much slower. As your mortality gets closer and closer, you and Jesper have a much needed talk. Wrote this on my phone at midnight😀
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People could say a lot of negative things about Jesper Fahey. 
He was a shit gambler, a flirt, a drunk, he didn't think, he could be selfish at times, he could give you a headache with one sentence, among other things that could make anyone go in the opposite direction. 
But it was impossible to say he wasn't loving. Jesper held onto people and treated everyone like family, even when there were conflicts. There were plenty of times when you and Jesper would have a disagreement, yet he still looked at you like he'd both die and kill for you. Jesper could sometimes make promises he'd easily break for the right price. The promises he made to you though? There was no card game, no shiny gun, no heist, no amount of cash that could make him turn on you. 
Jesper supposed that's how he got himself to where he was now and honestly? He wasn't sure he liked it. 
Was it selfish to say apart of him wished you two never became something more or maybe that he never met you? Was it selfish to look at your aging body and wish he walked away and stayed away after The Ice Court heist? Maybe. He wasn't sure he cared though. 
Aging gave him a tap on the shoulder, but aging slammed into you. That didn't mean you were unattractive in his eyes, it just meant your body felt the stings of aging. Bad knees, hips, shoulder pains, wrinkles, all that was normal and expected. Jesper practically looked the same as he did when you two met. You were closer to death but he felt like the true ghost; forever stuck in a single moment. No changes to himself, only to his environment and the people around him. 
Or maybe even a time loop, but only for himself. Everyone else was free and moved on. Not him though. 
Jesper didn't realize he was staring until you said something, 
“A penny for your thoughts?”. 
“What?”
“You're staring”
“Oh” Jesper said with realization, “an accident”. Partially true. 
He smoothed out the blankets in front of him to distract himself but that worked as well as anyone would imagine. Your face was imprinted on his mind, and although Jesper could've just laid down and went straight to sleep, he knew it'd be all he'd see when he closed his eyes. 
Jesper heard you close and set your book down, then felt your eyes on him. 
“What're you doing?”
“Smoothing these blankets. They're quite wrinkly”
“Why?”
“Why? Why does anyone do anything?”
You sighed, “why won't you look at me?”
“I'm getting rid of the wrinkles on this blanket like I said”
“Because you can't get rid of mine?”. Jesper's hands stopped moving and he finally looked at you and another wave of sorrow hit him. Why did your inevitable death hit him so hard? 
Maybe it was because you were the last one left. 
Kaz, Inej, Wylan, Matthias, they were all gone by now. Matthias’ death was the first hit he received since his mom passed and as time went on the rest of his family, even if not by blood, passed on. Sure, he had Nina but Nina’s home was Ravka. Nina was more often busy than not and she was not the fondest of Kerch. Many times you suggested moving to Ravka for a “change of scenery”. He knew the truth though. You wanted him to get used to living somewhere else so he could be closer to Nina and not alone. You were the last consistent thing attached to his younger life and by some twist of fate, he'd be doomed to outlive majority of the people he met. He wondered if he did something awful in a past life to deserve this. 
“You've gone quiet again Jes”
He shook his head. “I don't know what to say”
“Too much on your brain? Don't know how to get it out?”. He assumed you took his silence as an answer because next you said “just say whatever, even if it doesn't make sense”. 
He took a deep breath then. It's not like you two hasn't talked about this before, but it was usually a small conversation that he'd slip his way out of with some dumb excuse. 
“I have something to do”. “I'm tired”. “Let's go eat”. “I have to go write a letter”. The list went on and on. This time though he couldn't think of an excuse and with limited time, he knew he had to speak to your living body now instead of a tombstone. 
“I don't think I'm ready to do this without you”
“Do what?”
“Live”. It came out breathy and quiet. He could tell he had upset you by how deep your frown was. Or maybe that was another sign of aging. He couldn't tell. 
“I can't do it”. 
“Yes you can”
“I can't”
“Jesper Fahey you can break into a Fjerdan Ice Court, escape, survive months at sea with Kaz Brekker, go toe to toe with every gang in Ketterdam and you still use the words 'I can't’?”. In any other circumstance he would've laughed and made some comment about how amazing he is. He didn't this time though. Nothing really felt enjoyable or funny anymore. Not when you could have some attack at any moment and be gone. 
“You're beautiful,” he said. “Absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever seen anything as beautiful as you”
“There's the stars and sea yet I’m the most beautiful thing you've seen?”. 
He nodded. “Absolutely”. 
“Is that why you're with me then? My charming looks?”
“You could look like all things wrong with the world and I'd still want you”
“Jesper the poet? I think I like it”. Your fragile hand held his and your eyes locked onto his. “You can live without me-”
“I can't”. The tears he had been fighting so hard to keep away finally slipped. He didn't bother wiping them away, too scared to let go of your hand. “I wanna be able to but I can't”
“Why?”. 
“Why?”, he  repeated. “I just can't”. 
Your thumb rubbing over his hand soothed him for a moment, but only a moment. That calmness died when you spoke again. 
“If this is hard for you, you can go. You don't have to see me like this”
“Where would I go?”, he asked with furrowed brows and a mix of hurt and confusion etched on his face. 
You shrugged. “Ravka maybe? Make it your new home-”
“My home is here. With you”
“You'll have to find a new one when I go”. 
His hand slipped from yours, frustration building in his chest. It all sounded so easy but it was only easy because you were the one dying. You wouldn't have to feel another part of you ripped away. You wouldn't feel anything anymore. He would. 
He'd think about it almost everyday and a hole would form in his chest and pull him into this thick fog and within this fog he'd hear the future. He'd hear a heart monitor go flat. He'd hear your breathing become shallow before it eventually stopped. He'd hear his own crying. Yet you would come along and act as if everything was alright. You'd be calm and fine while he was breaking on the inside. 
“Jesper Fahey, I am going to die and there's nothing you can do about it”. 
“What?”
“Jesper Fahey, I am going to die and there's nothing you can do about it”. 
“Stop”. 
But you didn't stop. You repeated it again and again and he thought he must've been hallucinating and finally reached his breaking point. He covered his ears but you grabbed his hands and intertwined your fingers with his. You opened your mouth but he cut you off with a broken voice. 
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you don't understand you can't control this”
“I understand fully” he said quickly. “That's the whole problem. Can you stop being calm and show some sort of emotion for once?”
“What do you want me to do? To cry? To think about it and stress myself to a migraine like you do everyday?”. He hated how you looked at him then; with pity. It felt like with one foot in the grave, you'd always use the other to stay near him and soothe him and it made him feel selfish. “You wanna know how I feel?”. He didn't answer but you continued anyway. “I am terrified of death. Faith exists to calm us of this fear but honestly, I'm still scared. I don't know what's next. I don't know how it'll feel. I don't know if I'll see a light or if I'll be in darkness. I don't know how I'll go out and I don't know how it'll feel to take my last breath. I'm terrified but worrying about it everyday? That's not living. I'll be on my deathbed slipping away and all I'll think about is how I should've lived more”
“You are so stressed about me dying but honestly Jes? You're just making yourself live through the inevitable every single day. We should be loving each other now more than ever when we have the time. We're gonna get to my final moments and we'll both have regrets, the only difference is you'll have to live with yours”. 
Jesper couldn't help but let tears fall from his eyes. He knew you were right and that he should be holding you close during this time, but he couldn't help but listen to the tiny voice in his head that drove him insane everyday. Everyday was a reminder that for some unknown reason, he'd live much longer. Years would pass and he'd forget your face and always have to look at pictures or letters to remember you. One day he'd even forget your voice. How long would that take? 10 years? 20? 30? 
The more he thought, the more his breathing became erratic and his vision blurred. Blinking away tears didn't work. They'd just come back. You guided his head to your shoulder before your hand found its way to his back to rub circles on it. Jesper wasn't known to cry, but he cried. Hard. And you let him. When his breathing returned to normal, it wasn't because he was no longer sad. It was because he was exhausted. His eyes and nose had gone red by now and his face felt incredibly sore. 
When he quieted down, you spoke again. “I want to love you while I still can but if you don't want to see what'll eventually happen… I’m… I'm willing to let you go”. It was hard for you to say. He could tell because of how quiet it came out. Were you willing to? Probably. Did you want to? Absolutely not. He didn't need to ask or look at you to know. 
Jesper had a big choice to make. He stayed, spent the rest of your life with you and eventually buried you or he could leave and try to get a jumpstart at a new life. He wouldn't see age continue to eat at you and when your time came, he wouldn't be there. He'd be leaving you alone. He probably wouldn't know exactly when you died. Years would pass and he'd just guess that you were gone. 
Jesper was ashamed of how long it took him to make a decision. Leaving seemed so good. The pain of watching you continue to grow old would be no more, but then he'd be left with another pain; the pain of never seeing you again. Of knowing he abandoned you when all you wanted was to hold him close. You had no family and no notable friends besides him and Nina now. You'd probably be found and with no one to identify you, who knew what would become of your body in Kerch. A body with no name. And he'd become a body with no home. 
“I'm not going anywhere”. He finally lifted his head up to look at you and although he still felt that pang in his heart, he didn't look away and try to avoid your gaze. He just looked at you, mapping every detail of your face so he could look back and remember just how beautiful you were when you're gone. 
“I am so going to miss you”
“Of course you will” you said with a small smile and you finally got a chuckle out of him, even if it was small. 
You didn't have forever. You both knew you were on limited time and one day you'd be apart, but you both promised to love and cherish the time you still had together and maybe, just maybe, you'd see each other in the next life when the sun finally set on the both of you. 
I am feral for this man in the most wholesome way possible. Legit just wanna hold his hand and hear him talk about dumb shit.
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I want a love like the movies- give me a trope/character dynamic from this list, a song (or a specific lyric from a song that you want me to base it off of, or even a poem, anything that is seen as art is acceptable here) and a time of day. I’ll use that to write a fic with a minimum of 1k words. 
kaz brekker with 29 (from the list) anddddd almost by hozier?? idk first song to pop into my head haha
Love- K.B x gn! reader
okay, this is the last of your requests and it's coming out on my official two year fic-iversary! I posted my first ever fic on maliciousbrekker two years ago to the day, and it's been a wonderfully wild ride in things ever since! No regrets with anything I've done here, honestly!
As for requests generally speaking, the goal is to have at least one more coming out over the weekend! My two year anniversary requests are taking precedent right now because I've been demotivated and haven't posted many of them, but after the two year anniversary requests are done, I'll go through my inbox and decide what I want to write vs what I don't and then I'll proceed and hopefully my requests will be open again by the date in my bio!
The prompt you chose was: reader/writer
Fic type- this is fluff!
Warnings-Kaz is probably a little ooc
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"You and your books," Kaz observed as he came into your place. You lived in a flat not too far from the Barrel, one that was simultaneously within walking distance of the Crow Club and the Slat as well as Wylan and Jespers place.
You'd bought it to own it with a portion of your money from the ice court, spruced it up to your liking and saved a room to turn into a library. Bookshelves lined the walls, covered in every book you owned and organized to your preference.
You'd bought a desk for Kaz to use, and within it were countless heist plans, countless letters to Nina, Matthias, and Inej, and even a couple of the journals that Kaz had bought two years before but had only begun using in the weeks after the Ice Court job had been completed.
"I have my books and you have your heists, love," you said, shrugging as Kaz sat at the opposite end of the velvety couch you'd kept in the sitting room. "Everyone has their vices."
"How is it?" Kaz asked. You jabbed at each other for your hobbies occasionally, poked fun and delighted in the sounds of scoffs that eventually turned into barely amused laughter, but in the end, you cared about the other persons hobbies, too.
No matter how much you may have poked fun at Kaz and his love for unlined leatherback journals, for the expensive ink he purchased from a Fabrikator near the heart of the city, you always bought him the ink when you noticed he was running low before he did.
You bought him new leather journals when you saw one that he might've liked in a windowsil and bought him ones engraved as a gift on his birthday or during the holidays.
And, in turn, Kaz did the same. He bought you books from the authors you loved whenever he'd heard that a new one was releasing, took your most beloved books to a book binder when the covers were wearing out and the spines needed re-gluing.
He asked how you liked the books you were reading when he noticed you were reading a different one, bought you the books that your eyes lingered on whenever you'd see something in a bookshop window.
"It's good," you said. "How're the heist plans coming?"
"Decently enough," he responded. "A hundred thousand kruge per person on a seven person crew, if you're in?"
You grinned as you closed your book, looking at the cover for a moment.
"How convenient it is that you ask me to join you on a heist when the book I'm reading involves one."
"Is that your way of saying yes?"
You shot him a look, and he nodded. "Yeah. It's your way of saying yes."
You watched him stand, heading for your office, a pen, and one of his journals.
"Love you!" You called after him. You heard Kaz's amused laughter in response and smiled to yourself.
He didn't need to say it back for you to know he loved you in turn. If anything, he'd likely be the one to turn down the lamps and blow out the low-burning candles when he was done planning the heist he'd asked you in on.
He'd be the one to find you with a book in your lap, having told yourself "just one more chapter" even as your eyes were drooping and sleep was on its way
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sleepless-crows · 1 year
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the way greed is a big theme in the grisha trilogy. we even have the quote "what is infinite? the universe and the greed of men." and how with the crows, as much as we joke about them doing it for the money, they aren't greedy. kaz goes on the ice court heist to seek revenge. inej goes on it for her freedom and those of others. matthias and nina were bound by honor for the most part. jesper may have needed the money but he isn't greedy for it. and same goes with wylan. but we can see how much greed indirectly influenced them to be in those positions.
as much as inej said that greed was kaz's god. it really isn't. he works for justice, for revenge. against whom? pekka rollins. the one who shows greed more than kaz ever will. pekka duped two young boys and countless many others out of their money, and some out of their lives. he did all the dirty work for the money. and kaz dedicated his life to avenging jordie and later making sure people like pekka don't do it to anyone else. and he goes on the heist for the money, not because of his greed, but to seek vengeance for what greed has done to this world.
the villain in inej's story is tante heleen. through inej, we see how people like tante heleen care about money more than anything else. she makes sure the girls in the menagerie never earn out of their indentures. she physically abuses the girls and then tells them she has to take from the money that they earn whenever there's blood on their bedsheets. and the second that kaz bought out inej to work under per haskell, tante heleen didn't even care and let inej go because she was given a sum. and she even taunts inej that she'll have her back because she knows she can earn from her. she's incredibly vain and greedy and i'm glad inej stole her diamond necklace in the ice court.
jesper's encounter with greed is probably the most common in ketterdam. people in ketterdam feed off of greed and all the dirty desires of the people. jesper's fallen into a lot of debt because of the casinos scattered all throughout ketterdam. and gambling houses are such a dirty means of profit but that's what ketterdam thrives off.
wylan, on the other hand, was disowned by van eck because of his dyslexia, because van eck didn't believe that wylan could properly carry on his legacy if he couldn't read. van eck goes to such severe means to build his empire, to earn as much as he can, as it is the religion of ketterdam. van eck ordered two people to kill wylan and drive him out to keep his reputation clean because if the merchant council only knew his dishonest ways, he would be kicked out and lose everything. he manipulates kaz into thinking he wants to save the world when he would gladly bring it to chaos if it meant he would have the power and the control. and his greedy and selfish ways are how he falls. and wylan helps bring him down.
nina and matthias are the most noble of them all. they went on the heist for both their people to be saved from the dangers parem could cause. but we can trace their place in the crows back to when they met. he was a druskelle and she was a grisha. a generations long prejudice, a war they've always had to face, because of the incredibly warped mindset of the fjerdans. as matthias says, what must it feel like to worship djel, knowing that he gave gifts to another? grisha power could be djel's hand and maybe the otkazat'sya were jealous and couldn't wrap it around their heads. and so with that came greed for control, greed for their god's favor to the point that they've missed what djel truly stood for. trying to justify all inherently evil actions they had to take when it all stemmed from envy and greed.
the greed of men is infinite, ancient, and common. i just find it intriguing how the crows are always described as criminals who will do whatever it takes for the right price but they are the farthest from greedy. they were shaped by greed, not their greed, but the greed that inhabits this world. and throughout the duology, we see how they all work against it in the end.
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19burstraat · 7 months
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proving kaz is a tidemaker, even tho it's not canon and shouldn't be, but I'm gonna argue for it anyway
I already made this post ages ago and now this has been in my drafts for even longer, I just unearthed it... but I'm making it again, more in depth, bc I didn't hit on everything I wanted to last time. obviously this isn't canon bc the point of kaz is he's Just Some Guy and how that really really pisses off more powerful people, and I think that's definitely best, Kaz NEEDS to be otkazat'sya for his function in the story... but if you ever wanted to prove it in a fic, shit is EASY. (I am vaguely considering how it might work out in a fic. we'll see. I've done stuff that couldn't/I wouldn't want to be canon before with my jordie-lives fic, so...) I'll mostly talk in the context that he'd be a tidemaker bc I feel like that's the conclusion a lot of this comes to, but some of the points are more generalised.
obviously the basic argument everyone makes for this is that the reason kaz was able to get back to shore from reaper's barge is bc, subconsciously or not, as a tidemaker he could control the currents to help him, since that's one of the most basic tidemaker powers. in the harbour scene, he notices that the tide has moved to work against him, but it doesn't seem to prove much of a problem; he attributes it to his new will to survive, but... Well. Kaz is exceptionally good at withholding information, even in his own POV.
grisha not using their powers become ill or weaker; kaz isn't really physically ill but he has an element of the underfed and sallow about him that's generally attributed to living in the barrel.
kaz is also ESPECIALLY horrified by the state of mikka, the tidemaker under the influence of jurda parem at the start of SOC; this is attributed to his past trauma and his dislike for things he can't rationally explain, which, yeah, but he is thrown in a way we don't really see again for the rest of the series. he instantly thinks of jordie, and it's maybe the one time he succumbs to superstition in the whole series.
the obvious explanation for how kaz knew that coffee extract and paraffin hid the scent/evidence of grisha is that he's very clearly involved in smuggling (jesper mentions how coffee grounds were used when packing smuggled jurda shipments) but the second explanation,,, is that he uses them himself. he comes up with the solution with IMMENSE speed and he just like, has the coffee extract around. ok, sure, not that hard to get hold of, but still. and coffee gets mentioned in relation to him at least a few times, most noticeably the 'bitter coffee eyes' thing inej uses, which is amusingly romanticised, but also... inej why do you associate coffee w kaz... something you've noticed abt him?
(but then, you wonder why he didn't suggest this to jesper previously; the answer I'm sure he would give you is he did, when it was a problem. before that it wasn't a problem and jesper was doing fine at staying hidden on his own)
the gloves can also add to this one, since they presumably at least cover his wrists and therefore his pulse somewhat, though obviously that's not their main function.
recovers with startling speed from nearly drowning at the ice court; matthias has to get his breathing going again but he's almost immediately fine after. I know yk, heist fantasy book, gotta keep going, but still
kaz is almost completely correct about the methods, powers of, and appearances of the council of tides (one single thing, the method of hiding their faces, is wrong.) impressive, no...? he is also shockingly apathetic in the face of their threats; they fill his lungs up with water and he just coughs it up and then is like "lol" immediately after. this is funny no matter what the fact of the matter (major general of the idgaf war) but the fact his link to them is left hanging is also a thread that could be easy to pick up. I think it would be hilarious if he was secretly in the council, but I won't stretch it that far bc they clearly don't like him lmao, that would have to be a proper AU.
in the dregs, kaz has a corporalki (nina) and a materialki (jesper) but no etheralki. wouldn't it be prudent to recruit one, if he could find one? or maybe he doesn't need one. if he already has one around, for an emergency of emergencies... for a rainy day... (ha ha)
the way kaz's trauma is often described as manifesting, is with the rising of the harbour waters; so it's pretty reasonable to suggest that in suppressing that, he'd also, inadvertently or not, suppress any kind of tidemaker/etheralki impulse or power. possibly he can't even tell the difference between the two, or they're so tangled up he can't really separate them anymore, which is why he doesn't so much as even think to attempt to use it. still, if this was the case I think improvement with one would not necessarily improve the other, or vice versa. kaz hypothetically using grisha power he'd had suppressed would not magically make his touch aversion go away, I think that'd be weird, and I'd not want his PTSD to be passed off as solely being the sickness from not using grisha power, that's reductive as hell. but I can see them certainly being two things very much intertwined.
we don't know a lot about grisha who are native to kerch, but assumedly he'd not have had much cause to use it in his childhood, on a farm somewhere inland, so most, if not all, of his experience with using it would likely be irretrievably tied to ketterdam and jordie so no wonder he just wouldn't use it. I don't think he'd even see it as feasible. perhaps it would be a very very final resort, but he'd never let it get to that point, he'd always want to try something else first. and anyway, he'd not be trained.
the sankt vladimir story is also thematically quite close to Kaz; holding back the harbour waters until he's finally too exhausted and lets it drown him. I like this regardless of this analysis actually it's a good comparison. patron saint of the drowned and unlikely achievement....
even if kaz wasn't an otkazat'sya, after all that happened, I think he'd try very hard to pretend he was. it couldn't save jordie, therefore in his extreme as hell thinking around that entire thing, I imagine he'd reason it wasn't useful, that he could get on better without it, and, like jesper, think it was a liability.
this would add a wild layer to him being the one to have the jurda parem on him for almost all of crooked kingdom; it would make it feel like his plan z was to take it himself. certainly he'd sooner do that than let jesper take it.
and finally: thematically, it slays. like half of the imagery around kaz (and kanej) centres around water (think the bathroom scene, how he only washes in front of her, etc) and that plays into both of their trauma, plus religious imagery, all this... it's a fantastic bit of extra theming. it just doesn't really work with how his character operates.
basically I think you could DEFINITELY make it work and it'd be a killer fic but again it's one of those things, like jordie living, that I don't really want to be canon because it undermines something about kaz's character that I consider pretty critical; in this case, that kaz is not really endowed with any special power or circumstance, he's just bloody-minded and clever, but that's enough for him to pull off almost impossible jobs anyway.
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meiishu · 1 year
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i have a theory on wylan and kaz in shadow and bone (the show)
Contains major spoilers for six of crows book if you havent read that and dont want spoilers about wylans backstory keep scrolling!
Rewatching episode 2 and im at the scene where the crows are at the diner, and kaz is teling the others that they cant just kill rollins. When kaz says “killing him wont clear our names…. and then we wont be able to protect you” he looks right at wylan who flinches back. I didnt catch it on my first watch (interpreted it as him talking to both wylan and nina in general) but now my brain is whirring
I think that, if we get the ice court heist, we are going to learn that wylan struck a deal with kaz for protection when he left his fathers home. If they stick as close to the book as possible for his backstory, then wylans dad tried to have him killed because he was in jan van ecks words “an embarrassment”. So when wylan escapes his fathers hired hands in the books he is protected by kaz *because* kaz knows who he is and decides to enlist the dregs protection on him since he thinks a merchers son could be useful
However
In the show, kaz doesnt run the dregs, i believe he just ran the crow club (evidenced by him first meeting and striking a deal with per husksoll in the early episodes of season 2). He wouldn’t have had the means or the power to just decide to protect this random boy who showed up in the barrel without a reason for it, even if he thought he might be useful someday
So i believe in the show, after he escaped his fathers hired help, wylan found kaz and struck a deal with him for protection from his father. And so in exchange, kaz can go to wylan for the bombs he needs, even though wylan doesn’t *really* want to help because he doesnt like what kaz uses them for. This would set up:
A) kaz knows wylans true identity. Hes always known since before even season one and also this is how kaz and wylan are already on personal terms AND how kaz knows he can trust the things wylan makes for him despite wylan’s reluctance to help
B) wylan’s hostage moment in the ice court heist. Although in the books its kind of surprising to the whole crows that jan van eck actually doesnt miss or care about wylan, the show could deviate slightly from this, or kaz could figure out the truth but not tell anyone and use it as his plan to expose jan van eck especially if jan tries to pull the pity card for his son
C) when it does come out that wylan is a van eck, especially since jesper doesnt know, when jesper finds out that kaz knew the whole time i can see that causing a huge rift between them, especially if kaz planned to use wylan as bait and *especially* if wesper is in an established relationship. Not only would jesper be upset if wylan volunteered himself for this, but that kaz even tried this at all when he knows that wesper is together. It will feel like such a betrayal to jesper. *especially* if the show has kaz almost coerce wylan *into* being bait — although i lean more towards wylan volunteering himself because i feel as though he would do that knowing kaz’s plan. Plus, wylan and kaz working together to one up jan??? PLEASE
Sorry for ranting on main cant help it im in shadow and bone brainrot i need the ice court heist and wylans backstory SO BADLY s&b NEEDS to be renewed
Also i just want to say that i highkey LOVE that wesper will be an established relationship going into the ice court heist. We have slow burn with kanej and helnik and certain scenes will hit so much harder with wesper as an established relationship. I cant wait to see how the show takes their story from here tbh since now we’re very deviating away from the books
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bookishbunnies · 1 year
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Okay. I'm finished. Finally.
I have thoughts. Many.
First, holy shit it's a heckin good time to love Wesper.
And they've clearly set it up for the ice court heist. But, they've fucked up parts. Theyve fucked up the Wesper slowburn, the 'not just girls' scene (which is probably why Kit and Jack did it in the interview). Also kinda fucked up the Kanej slowburn but not as badly. Kinda fucked up the Jesper is a durast thing, but it'll be interesting to see the heist with a Jesper that is proud of his powers and knows how to use them. Interestingly they've still got the Helnik part of the plot pretty much on track.
They've fucked up hopes for Crooked Kingdom. They could still do it sort of. But Rollins position has changed, Inejs position has changed, and they've already used up like half the book.
Tho noticeably they did not say a thing about Wylans family. That is still completely under wraps. And that'll be very interesting to see on screen.
They've also fucked up any hope for King of Scars. Sure they've got the Nikolai part, but my hope for KoS died with David.
All in all, I know a lot of people probably aren't gonna like the last episode and how a lot of different things ended. And I definitely understand that. But more importantly we all want to see the Ice Court heist. So we need to ignore our feelings about how this season ended and stream this season as many times as we can this month to make sure we get the Ice Court heist.
We need to see Matthias and Nina's story play out.
With the changes we might actually eventually get to a healthy Kanej relationship (as healthy as it can be anyway
With the changes it'll mean we get to see many many amazing scenes of Jesper and Wylan, being absolutely adorable and also being absolute badasses and so incredibly proud of each other.
And we might even get to see Zoya and Nikolai.
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seasealwaters · 1 year
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It's just rude how I have yet to see a Now You See Me! Six of Crows AU.
NO BUT WAIT, WAIT. Bear with me. The Crows as illusionists and magicians brought together to create elaborate performances that may or may not be a way to extract revenge on a few people (Jan, Heleen, and Pekka, we're looking at you) and steal a lot of money in the process. The group could be either formed by Kaz himself, or like in the movie, they're brought together by a mysterious individual for a job (in this, it could be Jan to commit the equivalent of the Ice Court Heist, until the Crows turn back on him).
Like. Imagine. Kaz would definitely be an amazing escape artist and the master mind of the operations. He would have the best sleight of hand ever. With his flair for dramatics, I think he would also be a great performer, and have a whole "character" for the show: you know, Dirtyhands, with his all black clothes, raspy voice, dry wit, slight smirk, scary monologues and taunts. He's not even pretending, really, but it works really well on stage, and the public loves it, loves when he's taunting them, and legit creeping them out.
Inej would be into the escape thing as well, and she would love the tricks where she vanishes and then apparates in a different corner of the room, or just behind someone in the audience (they wouldn't even notice until one the Crows points it out or Inej taps them on the shoulder. The number of times they almost had to call an ambulance because she legit gives them heart attacks). I feel like she would also be a contortionist who's able to fit in small boxes and cupboards, to the point where you start to ask yourself if she even has bones. She would incorporate acrobatics in her performances.
Jesper would love flashy tricks with cards, coins, and so on. I know that sleight of hand is more Kaz's thing in the book, but I feel like it would suit him well, too. Kind of like the Jack Wilder of the group. He would do tricks with guns, bullets and shooting, of course. Also, I feel like he would be the one the Crows rely on to distract the crowd, to catch, hold, and redirect their attention where it's needed. Kaz is good at that, too, but Jesper is really the one who can put them at ease and charm them (especially if it's a single person or a few they call on stage).
Wylan would handle technical aspects: light, flash bombs, smoke bombs, fireworks, visual and sound effects, music and sound, material, etc. I think he would know exactly what type of soundtrack and light to choose to create maximum effect and efficiently hold/distract the crowd's attention. I don't see him as a main performer, but I think there would be one memorable occasion where he would "blow himself up" or set fire to himself on stage and then reapparate, completely fine. It remains one of the Crows' most watched performances.
Nina would definitely be the Merritt McKinney of the group. She would be all about hypnosis and mentalism, and I know that real-life hypnotism doesn't work like it's portrayed in the movie, but let's just pretend. With her knowledge of anatomy and medicine (she could be an ex med student or nurse), she would know exactly how to use the human body, mind, and blood flow to her advantage – it would be a nice parallel to her canon powers. She knows how to gather information from her targets, is amazing at subtle interrogation, and she, too, would be very good at charming the crowd (her and Jesper as a the sexiest bi duo ever). Also, I think she would fight tooth and nail to incorporate a dramatic quick change sequence on stage. ("Nina, we don't need that." "Shut up, Kaz, you don't understand, I have been waiting my entire LIFE for this moment").
I admit, I have trouble deciding what Matthias would do in this universe. Like Wylan, I don't see him as a main performer, I think he would remain more in the shadows and act as an assistant to the others (catching Inej, helping Nina change, setting Wylan's material, etc.). If the Crows need animals for their show, he's definitely the one to take care of them. However, in the books, he is our guys' main source of information on the Ice Court, and I feel like in a modern au, he would parallel this: he would be the one tasked with research on the Mark, digging up everything about them, their background, family, habits, the lay outs of a place the Crows intend to rob, etc.
Or alternatively: Matthias is their inside man in the FBI. This would work even better, I think. So yes, he's the Dylan Rhodes of the AU, minus the revenge.
Feel free to add anything if you have other ideas!
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I need everyone to calm down a little bit about the Six of Crows plot😭
I want to see it as much as the next person, but think about this logically. It would not make any sense to do it right now. The two storylines cannot co-exist—as long as the darkling is running around causing problems there's no way they can bring in jurda parem. Are you kidding? They wouldn't stand a chance. It'd be over before they even began. The world would end.
The creators have said that the Ice Court heist is too big to merge with Shadow and Bone. They said that they recognise it as its own thing and that they have plans for it. The only thing we can do is try to get it renewed. The SoC story cannot run parallel to SaB if they want to do it justice. For now, let's just enjoy our criminals being completely in over their head when it comes to international conflicts and shadow monsters. They'll get their time to shine, and they'll be back in their own elements before we know it
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nerdy-girlramblings · 6 months
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Ok I need to vent so here it goes.
So, Shadow and Bone season 3 and the Six of Crows spin-off have both been canceled.
I am so sad that this has happened, but I'm not surprised after Netflix also canceled Lockwood and Co. I, like so many others, have been impacted by the Grishaverse. The books and the show have gotten me through some of the hardest times in my life that I have gone through from when I first read them in 2021 to when season 2 come out. I relate so deeply to some of the characters and seeing them on screen is a blessing that I am thankful for.
On one hand, I am so sad that I will never be able to see "I would have come for you", Matthias' journey, the six crows on screen together, the Ice Court heist, Zoyalai, Alina's corruption arc, Wylan's backstory, and so many other things on screen.
But on the other hand, I'm not sure I could have trusted Netflix to accurately portray these characters' stories after some of the plot choices done in season 2. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise that season 3 and the spin-off were cancelled so I can still have those character arcs and moments in my mind as Leigh Bardugo wrote them and not tainted by having those moments changed or taken out of context.
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aquitainequeen · 1 month
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Aside from news on how things possibly stand for a Shadow and Bone/Six Of Crows renewal (basically no news is good news, keep going with the campaign!) there's also a short interview with Eric Heisserer, which sheds some interesting light indeed on the writing and making of Season Two, and it explains a lot of things:
Here are the questions posed for Eric's interview: 
"I'd like to know if there's a way to liberate the pre-written scripts if Netflix doesn't plan on using them" - Christian Thalmann (creator of the Fjerdan language)
"In my view, 'The Crows' have the potential to revitalize the Grishaverse. Unlike "Shadow and Bone", this new show could rely less on elaborate visual effects and offer a fresh narrative angle. Heist-themed shows are currently in high demand, adding to its appeal. Am I mistaken in thinking that our focus should primarily be on 'The Crows'? The likelihood of 'Shadow and Bone' returning seems slim, but I've always believed that 'The Crows' had a greater change of success." - Joleen
"If/when the spinoff is back (finger crossed) was there anything he had planned that would completely surprised, for good reasons obviously, the audience? And we should hold our breath for that twist/turn??" - Rti
"What are the difficulties you mentioned about filming S2 in that Reddit comment? Don't want to sound negative, but what went wrong?!" - Mitra
"How long was the sizzle reel ready to go but he had to keep it secret?" - Discord Team
"I would love to know his perspective on the impact of streaming on storytelling. Would we have had to launch a campaign like this 10-15 years ago for a show like this? What are the main points when it comes to streaming models and telling unique, diverse stories?" - Acorn_Bri
Eric's Responses: 
1) "There is a way to liberate the Crows scripts from Netflix, yes, and in fact that would be part of the buyout for another streamer when acquiring the rights to Leigh's novels. It would be a package deal." 
2) "The focus on the Crows is helpful in two ways -- first, those scripts were written, which lets us get a running start at production, and second, just from casual analysis of book sales, it's far more popular worldwide than other Grishaverse titles. So it will be a bigger draw for viewers. The trap though is the cost. It's more grounded than S&B, sure, but the Ice Court is a unique location that either requires a really costly set build, or set extensions and VFX work to make it look authentic, which means nearly every shot of the heist once our crew gets there could be a VFX shot. My guess is the budget would be on par with S2 of S&B.
3) "Yes, there is a surprise or two in the Crows spinoff season, but overall it's as close to the novel as we could make it. And Leigh's novel is such an amazing story with natural cliffhangers that work as episode "out" moments, etc. I think the biggest move we made was to feature every single Crow's backstory to go with their episode. So that was fun/sad/exciting." 
4) S2 kept throwing challenges at us, and it started long before we got to production. Like months earlier, when we learned the location we needed for the Little Palace in S1 was closed to us due to the pandemic. So right there we lost out on a ton of S&S scenes, because it wouldn't be a match. But we also had written a compelling side arc for Ivan and Fedyor in S2, these two Grisha trapped on either side of the civil war. Each of them played a big role in the story, but Simon (Ivan) had a feature film that overlapped with our schedule and couldn't move, which meant we lost him. So Daegan worked to revise the season keeping Fedyor and leaving Ivan like dead from the end of S1. He was Kirigan's right-hand man for the season. But poor Julian caught COVID just when we were to shoot out most of his scenes, and after tyring to ake the schedule work, we had to come to the brutal truth that there wasn't a way to keep Fedyor in the story. Our only option was to bring him in at like episode 8, which would've been too little, too late. 
COVID continued to be a monster all through production, requiring us to juggle schedules and miss out on days, and it was madness for the cast, who had to pivot with almost no notice whenever someone was ill and quarantined. This isn't unique to our show of course---it happened with everyone. It's just the challenge. 
Beyond that, we had been given the go to write a special standalone story: The Demon in the Wood. This would have been released on its own around Christmas, like a BBC special but for Netflix, and would help bridge seasons 1 and 2 by showing a little of what Kirigan was doing before we seem him in S2, and also provide more character context, etc. Christina Strain wrote that and did great work adapting Leigh's short story. But it never went the distance. 
There was a lot more to S2 as well, scenes and side stories and little interactions that were lost due to budget or time restrictions. Again, not unique to our show, but agonizing all the same, since what you get is not what we had written, or in some cases even shot. I'm incredibly proud of the cast and the team, and Daegan did the heaviest lifting while I was off finishing the Crows writing room. But we had a lot more thrown at us." 
5) That sizzle reel was put together four months before the second season dropped. 
6) Streaming is a challenge to serialized storytelling in that it looks at 'content' often with a different agenda and uses metrics that can take a creative issue and exacerbate it. Like in broadcast, if viewership and thus ad revenue has slightly declined, the show will ned to find a way to make their 22 or 13 episodes on a proportionally smaller budget. What is not done is reduce episode order. But if a streaming series underperforms or doesn't meet expectations, an the streamer doesn't cancel it outright, the go-to budget reduction idea is to reduce episode order for the next season. When you just have 8 episodes and continue to deal with notes to compress, pace up, or omit for what you'd scripted for a longer season, reducing further to six or four episodes is exhausting. 
This happens due to a slide in autonomy from what the showrunner position has been. What the chatter on the picket lines revealed to us is that most showrunners today don't get to see their own show's budget, and thus don't get the freedom to make budgetary decisions that could better protect the story they're telling. More and more, showrunners not at a legacy network aren't the final say or at times even involved in hiring key roles. I don't have any ideas that aren't already in contract language, I just see how the job on this side has gotten harder and there isn't much of a way for us to make it easier for each other like we could with having writers on set or in post production, because the streaming model has made that impossible." 
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romantichopelessly · 1 year
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Shadow and Bone Season 2 Crow Plot Predictions:
Because I’m mentally unstable and NEED to know what the crows will be doing in season 2 even though it’s only three months away, I will be over analyzing the short teaser and few stills that we have to nail down a couple things I think the crows will be doing next season.
First. Hellgate Prison Break.
This one is pretty much agreed upon among the fandom. At the end of season 1, Matthias was sent to prison and Nina was joining the crows. Based on the books she’s going to start pestering Kaz about breaking out Matthias and based on what we’ve seen so far, I’m thinking it’s likely that this will be one of the bigger plot points for the crows this season.
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Both of these shots are very likely from Matthias’s stint in prison. Judging by the crowd in the background of the second picture, this is probably even when we will see Matthias fight the wolves.
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This still is also very obviously 5 crows preparing for or engaging in a heist, and I think it will be breaking out Matthias. Honestly if they didn’t reconnect with Matthias, scenes of him in the show would be pretty redundant.
Next! I’m about to get real detailed here
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I believe that these two shots, the first from the teaser, and the second a still dropped today, are connected.
Automatically, you can see in the background of both the DeKapple that we see in Kaz’s office in season one, and that book fans know he stole from Jan Van Eck.
I am focused on the differences in these two pictures. In the first, the wall looks smooth, in the second, damaged. In the first photo the painting is in a frame, in the second it is not. I brightened the first image so that you could also see how different the distance between the mantle and the painting is. It’s hard to tell, but I also think that the lanterns on the walls are different.
In the teaser, and the first photo here, we see Kaz flip out a knife in front of the painting.
I think that that scene will be a flashback to Kaz stealing the painting from the Van Eck mansion. He’s going to cut the painting out of its frame and steal it.
I believe the second picture is when he and Inej take the painting back to his office and hang it (sans frame), and he gives her his knife. Maybe this is even one of their first jobs together?
I think including these flashbacks will be how they also introduce Wylan’s character. He’ll be introduced as Hendriks, but that’s how they’ll get the audience to know Van Eck, since I don’t think he will ask them to go to the Ice Court this season. And if we know who Van Eck is. I can see the Wylan Van Eck reveal happening towards the end of this season as well.
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