i know we always talk about how inej represents magic to kaz but i just wanna say beyond the fact that sheâs the disappearing coinâwhere as soon as he knew she could sneak up on him he figured out how she did itâthe real essence of the magic he sees in her is her optimism.
throughout their entire time knowing each other, kaz couldnât wrap his head around why someone who was dealt such a horrible hand by the world could still have faith in it and thatâs what turns him back into the obsessed kid who stays up all night trying to figure out what makes the trick work (you know, the reason he fell in love with magic in the first place)
the best part? itâs not only not a trick, but kaz in turn becomes the thing that is magicked, just like the coin. the determination to heal and work through his trauma along with the belief that happiness still exists seem to appear out of thin air within him after years of being a pessimistic grouch. and just like how the coin is never actually gone, neither was that part of him!!! he just needed a little help finding it again.
idk i just love how in a world full of grisha who can literally stop a heartbeat or shift tides, inej is the one thing that makes him feel like anything is possible again.
I don't know if "optimistic" is the right word to use when talking about Inej. This whole chapter is her thinking: "I'll leave him behind, there's nothing to be done here, I have to leave, I'm not coming back, this is impossible, etc etc". And then at the end of the story, Kaz surprises her (not me though, I've been inside his head), and she thinks this. Maybe it's mutual.










