☕ kaz brekker
Kaz is the EXACT kind of bastard I would have stanned hard when I was 16 or 17 like I know this for a fact. I would have replaced my entire self concept with that little shit. “Kaz” would have been a name I would have gone by. I know this for certain because I still stan that little shit now. call me predictable but I just love characters like him. he’s so edgy and dramatic but at the same time I can totally believe everything he gets away with -- sure, some of it is pushing his luck a little but it doesn’t matter because I love him so he gets away with it!
something I love about Kaz is the fact he has his limitations and these are consistent. not just with his trauma and his disability, but also the limitations of the people around him. something I appreciate about Kaz is the fact that he knows his own limits and if he can’t work them into something he can use, he does his best to work around them; with the people in his gang he’s aware of everyone’s weaknesses and instead of trying to bully people into just Getting Over It he works around it and ensures that it’s an issue as little as possible -- not out of any goodness or empathy, but because he’s practical and he knows to choose his battles. he’s an incredibly ruthless asshole and I love how it’s evident in everything he does. I see a lot of people complaining that he gets away with too much and everything always goes right for him and yeah, in the end it does, but I think people forget just how much goes wrong for him, too. I can really believe he’s as scheming and strategic as he’s said to be because that’s proven time and time again in the narrative and it’s all believable enough.
I just really love that he has these things he has to deal with and they don’t go away. I cannot state that enough. it’s so refreshing to see a character with trauma that doesn’t go away when it’s convenient, and who genuinely becomes a terrible person because of it. even when he sees how Inej deals with her trauma and thinks to himself that she’s a better person than he could ever be, he doesn’t have this epiphany and change. he’s just like “well that’s her” and carries on, and he’s not happy about it and he does wish that things were different, but they’re not and he’s going to just roll with it. as someone with a lot of Baggage™ from childhood trauma and the situations dealing with it led me into, I appreciate seeing that. yes, it’s not like that now, but to see it even acknowledged is very, very nice to see. so many other narratives paint that kind of thing as bad, and kind of lecture on the idea that being traumatised should make you into a better and kinder person -- but sometimes it doesn’t, and that side of things needs to be explored as well.
speaking of Representation™ and whatnot, I was also super psyched to see a character who has to deal with the same physical limitations as I do. I’ve always thought my limp makes me look rather mysterious and distinguished (double for a cane) but it was really cool to have something so specific in common with a character I love. my biggest annoyance is people saying he’s bad representation because he can still run and climb and stuff, because those people seem to think that we’re all helpless and a limp just ruins everything forever. not the case. Kaz’s abilities are well within range -- if I see something I can climb I’ll climb it, and I can sprint faster than almost everyone I know. I just do so a little more lopsidedly.
send me a ☕️ and a topic and i’ll talk about how i feel about it
