some people’s mischaracterization of kaz and inej irritates me.
kaz was born and raised on a farm. kaz does indeed smirk and grin. kaz jokes and teases [especially inej]. inej is a dangerous person. inej does indeed do bad things as well. no, inej is not a “sweet little cinnamon roll uwu”.
From what I’ve gathered, there are two kinds of fans when it comes to Kanej:
There are those who love/ glorify Kaz and minimise Inej’s trauma and own issues with touch/ intimacy. They can admit that Inej’s armour speech, especially in the show, was not fair to him. She used “your armour” instead of “armour” as she did in the books, meaning her own too.
There are those who say Inej gets mostly forgotten, criticise her vision in the show and think she should be treated as her own person. Simultaneously, they say she’s his light and he needs her more than she needs him, generally and especially when it comes to healing. She can do nothing wrong in their eyes.
Then there’s me who is writing what could have happened in the Six of Crows spinoff and especially Kanej’s long journey of healing with each other afterwards and has discovered throughout that process that both are flawed, traumatised, imperfect, morally grey human beings who mess up, who make (stupid) mistakes and decisions, who hurt each other. All this does not hold them up from being madly and hopelessly in love with each other, though.
The more I wrote, the more I tried to find their (hidden) fears, doubts and insecurities. With Kaz it was mostly easy.
With Inej it was harder because until now, she has a secure attachment towards her friends. With Kaz once he opens up, is vulnerable with her, gives her is unconditional love…that will change. It can overwhelm her nervous system that is not used to being treated this respectful, fond, careful way. It can also scare her to death. Trust issues she does not have with the others can occur with him, triggering in response his own fears and insecurities.
I think the reason why so many people overlook/ minimise her trauma is because it shows up in subtler ways than his (a flinch, a step back, a sharp intake of breath, the tensing of her shoulders).
The armour speech in the show was not fair to Kaz and Inej will realise it just as in the books once she admits to herself that she is not as healed/ unaffected by her own trauma as she would like to be already.
And in unpopular believe, I think that seeing him in her vision was exactly what she needed. Of course she could have hallucinated about her time in the Menagerie, but it would not have hurt her as much as seeing Kaz almost kiss her. He asked for her consent what no man surely ever asked before. The vision made her realise what she wants, but simultaneously broke her heart. Not just because Kaz acted in her vision differently than he did in real life but because I think thoughts of being with him/ intimacy fills her with shame and guilt. How could she even let herself think this far after everything she’d been through?
Of course Inej has to learn to love her body again, but this does not mean that she does not need him. Kaz can overcome his touch aversion with Inej but also with their friends. He can learn to give hugs to Jesper, Wylan and Nina too. However, intimacy (emotionally as physically) is something different. It only involves two people. This means Inej will need him — more than she realises right now.
The light and darkness question is not that easy at first glance. Both have blood on their hands and darkness in each other. They save each other’s life over and over again. They understand each other on a deep level. They believe in each other. They have respect for each other’s past and still open wounds.
We are aware Kaz sees Inej as his light, his magic, too good for him, someone he does not deserve.
But who says Inej doesn’t or won’t see him as too good for her at some point, that she had never let herself belief in deserving someone like him after the Menagerie?
Kaz saw Inej when no one else did. He and his voice pulls her out of her past too. He gave her the hope back she nearly lost in the Menagerie. To underline that, I intentionally let her call him the light of her life.
Both see each other as their equal.
Why can’t we as fans do the same?
Kaz started to change in the end of Crooked Kingdom as in the end of season two when he bought off Kesh’s and the other girls’ indentures. This shows that he can be someone different. Why do most fanfic writers still portray him the same as in the books in future fics, though? Of course this does not mean that he will not have set backs and moments where his walls are back up and he shuts Inej out.
Why can’t we let Inej in fanfics be the one who messes up, who makes mistakes, who acts out on her own fears and insecurities, who pushes him away. It does not demonises her. It makes her human.
every time inej gets back from sea, kaz and her become inseparable again and they’re together the whole time she’s on land. they’d have to do so much work together, but they’d be together anyway.
I'll do Kanej because despite having read the books, I'm honestly not really familiar with Mal's character and therefore not likely to write something accurate.
Also sorry not sorry this is half angst because it's Kanej
First of all, they both think the other deserves someone better/more suited to them;
Inej knows that Kaz needs someone who'd be willing to be with him despite not being able to touch. He needs someone with patience and who wouldn't mind waiting forever for him.
On the other side, Kaz thinks Inej OVERALL deserves someone better than him, someone who would be able to hold her, comfort her, kiss her...
Despite that, if Inej ever gets approached romantically by another man, Kaz will beat him up later, threaten the dude's mother, then frame him for a murder Kaz committed and get him sent to Hellgate, far far away from Inej
Inej doesn't ever worry or get jealous over Kaz speaking to other girls because she knows he wouldn't be interested in a million years
Ok so we all remember when Inej said “I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.” and Kaz didn't budge, basically a silent painful rejection
Inej said that because she 99.99% knew that Kaz wouldn't instantly take off his "armor" for her
She WANTED him to "reject" her because her goal was to go hunt slavers, far far away from Kaz
Sure, they could send letters, but they could never be genuine in the letters lest someone intercepts them and finds out Kaz's weakness
As long as there wasn't an unspoken "rejection" between them, Inej wouldn't feel completely free to leave after the whole Ice court heist and all
Obviously she will still love him, but she needed a way to let go of that attachment enough to go and follow her dreams
Inej thinks about Kaz every single day since she left him
She's always reminded of him in every single thing she does or thinks;
"That's exactly what Kaz would say/do"
Inej goes to visit Kaz in Ketterdam whenever she passes by with her ship
Whenever she leaves again, Kaz sends her off with a pair of gloves or a coat of his
After the events in Rule of Wolves, when Zoya tasks Kaz with finding the heart of St. Feliks (I think that's the name?), Inej was the first person he asked for intel. Since she travels around so much she surely heard something
Of course, when he's going outside of Ketterdam for jobs or other stuff, Inej is the one who takes him on her ship. He wouldn't trust anyone else
Inej once said a few affectionate words in Suli to him and Kaz immediately searched through all of his contacts for someone to translate it for him
Inej once stole a wealthy slaver's fancy watch and brought it back to Kaz;
Not because Kaz needed yet another one but more as a symbol that she was still what Kaz made her.
When Kaz bought her the ship, he made the captain's room look like a better version of her room at the Slat so that she would always have a reminder of him and the Crows
Because her "magic slippers" got burnt while scaling the incinerator in SoC, Kaz got her a nice pair of more practical boots and commissioned yet another Fabrikator to modify the soles and make them excellent for climbing
Kaz made Wylan work on cannon blueprints until they were perfect and had them installed
He basically went all out with that ship
Inej got a little tattoo that said "the Crow" with "The Wraith" under it on her back despite her issue with branding
She didn't get it as a label, she got it as a reminder of who she was
"the Wraith" was everything the Menagerie's Suli lynx wasn't. For Inej, the tattoo was a symbol of her strength
Kaz didn't know
He found that out when one day, she came to visit him and was wearing a backless top;
He'd gotten (stolen) a necklace for her and she asked him to put it on for her;
At first Kaz was really hesitant but he *GASP* took off his gloves, and gently brushed her hair out of the way and that's when he saw the little tattoo
This man FROZE and didn't even realize his UNGLOVED index finger was tracing her bare skin along the lines of the tattoo
When he realized it he quickly stopped and hurriedly clasped the necklace around her neck
He still isn't over his touch aversion, but he's doing better. He still quickly stepped back though, putting some distance in between them
He noticed the faintest flush on Inej's cheeks and that's how he knew she still loved him, he felt relief in knowing so
These days, amongst Kaz's men, the Wraith is a myth. They don't know that Inej is gone, they think she's always there in the shadows, spying and reporting back to Kaz
Only the OGs know the truth
To Kaz, this was a way of forever having a piece of her within the gang
I hope these are to your liking!!! It's hard to write Kanej without angst
I can't imagine Kanej being overly intimate, skin-to-skin wise, mostly bc of both their trauma with touching other people.
^^ Maybe simple things like Kaz doing Inej's hair, or tracing / kissing her faded Menagerie tattoo is the maximum they can go.
^^ (a kiss would be great tho).
Kaz likes cooking for Inej, knowing she doesn't usually eat eh hem speak for yourself man . Kaz makes sure every night he's with Inej she eats a hearty meal.
^^ Kaz's specialty being a warm hutspot with bread for her
Hugs. And more hugs. Its one of the only ways they can be intimate with each other without actually touching each other's skin.
^^ Also Kaz is way taller than Inej and I can totally imagine him being like "you're missing out on some great weather here, Inej"
Quality of time and Acts of Service are definitely their love language
Kaz (at some point) calling Inej his "beloved" >>>>
Inej makes sandwiches for Kaz like Jordie used to do for him.
Kaz easily gets jealous (and doesn't realise what the emotion is, he just knows he wants to go kill someone. real. bad.
****
requests are openn~!!
feel free to request more headcanons / fanfics of SoC
my current headcanon is that inej makes kaz read to her to help her fall asleep:
when she’s docked in ketterdam, she misses the sound of the ocean lulling her to sleep
the city feels loud and overwhelming again, and it reminds her of her first few awful weeks in the menagerie, and she lies miserably awake till dawn
but one night at the slat, when kaz is reading off some account numbers under his breath, inej’s eyes start drifting shut of their own accord and she realizes—
the raspiness of his voice is so distinctly him that it’s just as comforting as the crashing of waves
so she asks him to read things—paperwork, newspapers, novels, old letters he’d sent her—on nights she can’t fall asleep
(and he’s quite happy to oblige if it means he gets to sneak glances at inej’s face as she drifts off, peaceful and perfectly content in kaz’s sheets)
(and when she readjusts to the city noise, she asks him to read to her anyway. they lay together, her head on his chest, so she can feel the rumble of his voice beneath her and know that it is no stranger she shares a bed with now—it is just her kaz, familiar, safe, and close.)
hi! i'm sorry these are incredibly short. i feel as if this is basically just the same except more defensiveness over the LGBTQ+ community. i'm sorry if these weren't satisfactory
HEADCANONS FOR TRANS!KAZ
Dude this is honestly just kaz except he has even more of a reason to kill people, and inej is a little more protective and murderous
Kaz has cut his hair to be more "masculine" if there is even such a thing
He wears more "masculine" clothing
Like, everything is the same, but if anyone makes note of his more feminine features, then they’re dead.
Anyone disrespects ANYONE’S pronouns (he knows how that feels) they’re dead.
Seconding everyone else requesting Kanej smut! I loved your HCs :)
well well well dear Anon, here's some more of Kanej Smut HCs ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Part 1
Kanej Smut Headcanons Pt. 2
Based on several Kanej related questions a friend of mine asked & our discussion.
Q. Once Kaz and Inej are okay with doing everything, who do you think gets easily horny? Like the first to be turned on and initiate sex.
I'd say Kaz more easily gets turned on and he's the horny one but Inej initiates things more. She's kinda the possessive and needy one, asking him to do her, touching his thigh, biting her lips and all.
Meanwhile Kaz doesn't ask for it much but is always ready to do it if she wants. But the times he does ask, ohh you know he wants it bad..grabbing her by the waist, pulling her to his lap or backing her in a corner.
Q. Okay, so from the two who likes suggesting weird places to have sex?
BOTH.
Inej dragging him by his tie to the nearest corner, Kaz bending her over his desk, in the alleys, during missions..once they get more used to touch, they won't be able to keep their hands to themselves.
Kaz seems like the cheeky type.
Like if someone were to find out and makes a sour face, he'd not be ashamed, very smug actually 😂
Jes: Don't tell me you guys did it in the kitchen during the job 😶
Kaz: 😏
Q. Okay so who from the two would seduce the other when they’re busy?
Definitely Inej.
Imagine future Kanej entering politics and they're having some kinda meeting with some higher ups.
And Inej is touching him underneath the table. Kaz trying to maintain his composure but Inej can totally guess from his clenched jaw and stoic expression.
And he hurriedly ends the meeting with some dialogue like "my wife doesn't like staying too long at such events".
Q. Okay, so who from the two would suggest new things in bed?
Me: Kaz more openly. Inej will be shy at first but Kaz will make her tell him cuz he'll do anything for her.
Friend: YESSS! I think Inej would like to suggest things but she’s shy to admit it cause some stuff is unholy and I can see Kaz teasing Inej like “Am I still speaking to the pious and holier than thou wraith??”
Q. And I think we all agree that they both masturbate when they’re not with each other right? 😳
THEY DO.
Me: Inej trying her best to keep quiet in her Captain's Cabin as she gets herself off.
Friend: Kaz going into his room and locking himself in, doing stuff while he’s in bed trying to keep it down cause of the people at the slat.
Q. Okay who from the two enjoy sleepy sex?
Both.
Me: Sometimes Kaz is too tired and Inej just tells him to lie down and sucks him off then rides him.
Friend: AGREED! Inej is always the one sneaking up on top of him dead early in the morning or she slips beneath the blankets and sucks his 🍆
Me: And sometimes Inej is back from the sea and tired. So Kaz helps her bath and change, takes her to bed, fucks her good and then they sleep 🥺
Friend: YES!!! Him slowly slipping off her clothes, lingering his fingers over her smooth skin and leaving tiny kisses on her shoulders. And she just lets him take the reins and do whatever he wants to her. I can picture her saying “go on, don’t hold back.”