History YMMV / SixOfCrows

** The extensive description of the Ice Court, what the drüskelle do to the Grisha they've imprisoned and experimented on, and their plans to enslave ''all' Grisha with Jurda Parem.

** Jan Van Eck is a sociopathic businessman who [[AbusiveParents treats Wylan like absolute shit]], but his plot to kidnap Kuwei sets the plot of the second book in motion and makes him a dangerous adversary to root against.

* EvilIsCool: While he is more of an AntiHero, Kaz is the biggest crime lord in Ketterdam and possibly of all the Grishaverse...as well as one of the most revered fictional characters of all time for his cunning mind, intelligence, ruthlessness, and badass design.

* MagnificentBastard: [[VillainProtagonist Kaz Brekker]] is a gangster, {{conman}}, bank robber, {{blackmail}}er, and all-around criminal prodigy who uses his extensive knowledge of Ketterdam's secrets to shame richer and more respected men and women into helping him with his schemes. Kaz's plots range bluffing gunmen into backing down with fictitious threats against their families, to arranging breakouts from the two most heavily guarded prisons in Ketterdam and Fjerda respectively and running a con on the entire government of Ketterdam that drags in King Nikolai of Ravka as a coconspirator. Utterly unscrupulous, Kaz proves to [[TheDon Pekka Rollins]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jan Van Eck]], and all his other competitors that he is the true kingpin of Ketterdam.

** Wylan after his [[spoiler: father´s abusive treatment is expossed]]

* NeverLiveItDown: Kuwei for the scene when Jesper kisses him after mistaking him for Wylan and teasing Jesper afterward. While not a lot, some people take him into DieforOurShip.

** [[AbusiveParents Jan Van Eck]] is a seemingly-respectable merchant who turns out to be an [[ItsAllAboutMe egotistical sociopath]] obsessed with his own glory and reputation. Callously disowning his son Wylan for his dyslexia (that has made him illiterate), Van Eck divorces his wife, throws her into an asylum to get rid of her, and tells Wylan she's dead so he can steal all her assets. When his new wife (who's [[OldManMarryingAChild only a few years older than Wylan himself]]) becomes pregnant, Van Eck tries to have his son murdered. After enlisting [[AntiHero Kaz Brekker]] for a job and learning Kaz has Wylan hostage, Van Eck attempts to betray Kaz in order to have Wylan murdered via having his ship sunk. It also turns out Van Eck is behind a scheme to cheat his fellow merchants and distribute ''[[FantasticDrug jurda parem]]'' to enslave the Grisha, or those with magic, subjecting them to addiction or a painful death. As long [[{{Greed}} as long as he profits]] from the chaos he inflicts, he doesn't care about those he hurts.
** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], is the cruel owner of the brothel known as the Menagerie. She buys trafficked teenage girls from foreign nations and brutally trains them to be [[SexSlave prostitutes]]. From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]], with Heleen repeatedly having her [[ATasteOfTheLash whipped]] and beaten. She even has a girl [[CruelAndUnusualDeath violently murdered]] as a "[[DeadGuyOnDisplay lesson]]" with all of [[PublicExecution the other girls watching]] after learning she was "wronging" her by keeping some money from a client. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is [[InnocenceLost intensely scarred]] by her time at the Menagerie - to where she couldn't even ''walk past'' the brothel without having a panic attack. Heleen, knowing Inej's trauma by her hand, [[KickTheDog gleefully taunts her]] whenever they meet and even tries to have her killed. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless young women, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.

* MagnificentBastard: [[VillainProtagonist Kaz Brekker]] is a gangster, {{conman}}, bank robber, {{blackmail}}er, and all-around criminal prodigy who uses his extensive knowledge of Ketterdam's secrets to shame richer and more respected men and women into helping him with his schemes. Kaz's plots range bluffing gunmen into backing down with fictitious threats against their families, to arranging breakouts from the two most heavily guarded prisons in Ketterdam and Fjerda respectively and running a con on the entire government of Ketterdam that drags in King Nikolai of Ravka as a co-conspirator. Utterly unscrupulous, Kaz proves to [[TheDon Pekka Rollins]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jan Van Eck]], and all his other competitors that he is the ''true'' kingpin of Ketterdam.

* {{Adorkable}}: Most of the fandom see Wylan as this due to his naivety at the beggining and his constant tendency to prove himself despite being way out of his element most of the time. The fact that he blushes quite often certainly helps.

** [[AbusiveParents Jan Van Eck]] is a seemingly-respectable merchant who turns out to be an [[ItsAllAboutMe egotistical sociopath]] obsessed with his own glory and reputation. Callously disowning his son Wylan for his dyslexia (that has made him illiterate), Van Eck divorces his wife, throws her into an asylum, and tells Wylan she's dead so he can steal all her assets. When his new wife becomes pregnant (who's [[OldManMarryingAChild only a few years older than Wylan himself]]), Van Eck tries to have his son murdered. After enlisting [[AntiHero Kaz Brekker]] for a job and learning Kaz has Wylan hostage, Van Eck later attempts to betray Kaz and have Wylan murdered via having his ship sunk. It turns out Van Eck is behind a scheme to cheat his fellow merchants and distribute ''[[FantasticDrug jurda parem]]'' to enslave the Grisha, or those with magic, subjecting them to addiction or death, all [[{{Greed}} as long as he profits]] from the chaos he inflicts.
** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], the cruel owner of the brothel the Menagerie, buys trafficked teenage girls from foreign nations and brutally trains them to be [[SexSlave prostitutes]]. From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]], with Heleen repeatedly having her [[ATasteOfTheLash whipped]] and beaten. She even has a girl [[CruelAndUnusualDeath violently murdered]] as a "[[DeadGuyOnDisplay lesson]]" with all of [[PublicExecution the other girls watching]] after learning she was "wronging" her by keeping some money from a client. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is [[InnocenceLost intensely scarred]] by her time at the Menagerie - to where she couldn't even ''walk past'' the brothel without having a panic attack. Heleen, knowing Inej's trauma by her hand, [[KickTheDog gleefully taunts her]] whenever they meet and even tries to have her killed. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless young women, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.

* OneTruePairing: Pretty much the whole fandom ships Kaz and Inej. Wylan and Jesper are a close second behind them.

* TheWoobie: Inej was kidnapped and made a sexual slave at a very young age and has left [[InnocenceLost mentally traumatized]].

** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], the cruel owner of the brothel the Menagerie, buys trafficked teenage girls from foreign nations and brutally trains them to be [[SexSlave prostitutes]]. From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]], with Heleen repeatedly having her whipped and beaten. She even has a girl violently murdered as a "lesson" in front of the other girls after learning she was "wronging" her by keeping some money from a client. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is intensely scarred by her time at the Menagerie, and Heleen gleefully taunts her of it whenever they meet, even trying to have Inej killed later. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless young women, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.

** [[AbusiveParents Jan Van Eck]] is a seemingly-respectable merchant who turns out to be an [[ItsAllAboutMe egotistical sociopath]] obsessed with his own glory and reputation. Callously disowning his son Wylan for his dyslexia (that has made him illiterate), Van Eck divorces his wife, throws her into an asylum, and tells Wylan she's dead so he can steal all her assets. When his new wife becomes pregnant, Van Eck tries to have Wylan murdered. After enlisting [[AntiHero Kaz Brekker]] for a job and learning Kaz has Wylan hostage, Van Eck later attempts to betray Kaz and have Wylan murdered via having his ship sunk. It turns out Van Eck is behind a scheme to cheat his fellow merchants and distribute ''[[FantasticDrug jurda parem]]'' to enslave the Grisha, or those with magic, subjecting them to addiction or death, all [[{{Greed}} as long as he profits]] from the chaos he inflicts.

** [[AbusiveParents Jan Van Eck]] is a seemingly-respectable merchant who turns out to be an [[ItsAllAboutMe egotistical sociopath]] obsessed with his own glory and reputation. Callously disowning his son Wylan for his dyslexia that has made him illiterate, Van Eck divorces his wife, throws her into an asylum and tells Wylan she's dead so he can steal all her assets. When his new wife is pregnant, Van Eck tries to have Wylan murdered. After enlisting [[AntiHero Kaz Brekker]] for a job and learning Kaz has Wylan hostage, Van Eck later attempts to betray Kaz and have Wylan murdered via having his ship sunk. It turns out Van Eck is behind a scheme to cheat his fellow merchants and distribute ''[[FantasticDrug jurda parem]]'' to enslave the Grisha, or those with magic, subjecting them to addiction or death, all [[{{Greed}} as long as he profits]] from the chaos he inflicts.
** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], the cruel owner of the brothel the Menagerie, buys teenage girls from foreign nations and cruelly trains them to be SexSlave prostitutes. From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]] with Heleen repeatedly having her whipped and beaten, even having a girl who kept some money from a client cruelly murdered in front of the other girls as a lesson. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is intensely scarred by her time at the Menagerie, and Heleen gleefully taunts her of it when they meet, even trying to have Inej killed later. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless young women, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Colm Fahey,for being one of the few positive parental figures in the duology (And even the whole Grishaverse)

** When they're putting together the plan, Jesper calls Wylan useless and Nina calls him an idiot for running away. It's harsh but not entirely unfair given how out of his depth Wylan is. On a reread, Wylan's defensiveness makes a ''lot'' more sense. Telling Wylan he was useless and stupid because of his dyslexia was a staple of his father's [[AbusiveParents parenting style]].

** Jesper and Wylan flirt. By the end of the book, it's become more than subtext, since Wylan explicitly asks Jesper if he's into guys, and Jesper shows that he cares for Wylan much more than he'd like to admit when he defends him to Van Eck and later admits at the end that he likes Wylan's face.This in hindsight counts more as blatant ShipTease, since they get a RelationshipUpgrade at the end of the second book.

* MagnificentBastard: [[VillainProtagonist Kaz Brekker]] is a gangster, {{conman}}, bank robber, {{blackmail}}er, and all-around criminal prodigy who uses his extensive knowledge of Ketterdam's secrets to shame richer and more respected men and women into helping him with his schemes. Kaz's plots range bluffing gunmen into backing down with fictitious threats against their families, to arranging breakouts from the two most heavily guarded prisons in Ketterdam and Fjerda respectively and running a con on the entire government of Ketterdam that drags in King Nikolai of Ravka as a coconspirator. Utterly unscrupulous, Kaz proves to [[TheDon Pekka Rollins]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jan Van Eck]], and all his other competitors that he is the true kingpin of Ketterdam.
* MemeticMutation: The "what's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet" bit has been used in many incorrect quotes posts and in other Six of Crows related fan content. It help's that Kaz's questions and everyone's answers help [[EstablishingCharacterMoment establish each Crow's character]].
* MoralEventHorizon: Inej fears that Kaz has crossed it when he claims to have [[spoiler:kidnapped Pekka Rollins' son and [[BuriedAlive buried him alive]]]], and the narration states that "[[ThisIsUnforgivable This she would not forgive him]]". She's relieved when Kaz reveals that he was lying about the whole thing in order to scare Pekka Rollins.

** The extensive description of the Ice Court, what the drüskelle do to the Grisha they've imprisoned and experiment on, and their plans to enslave ''all' Grisha with Jurda Parem.

--->[[spoiler:Sometimes his son was crying from somewhere in the fields but he didn't know where to dig.]] Sometimes Pekka was the one lying in the grave, paralyzed as the earth was piled on top of him- light at first, a pattern of rain, then in heavy clods that filled his mouth and stole the breath from his chest. Above him, he could hear people laughing- boys, girls, women, men. They were silhouettes against a blue dusk sky, their faces lost to shadow, but he knew who they were. All the people he'd swindled, duped, killed.
* OneSceneWonder: Well, two scenes actually. Dunyasha Lazareva proved to be a memorable antagonist, even though she was only a secondary villain introduced late in the second book, for being the best fighter the Crows had to contend with. Indeed, she gave Inej a run for her money the two times they had to battle, and she's responsible for two of the most suspenseful fights of the book.

* ParanoiaFuel: The con that Pekka Rollins pulled on Jordie and Kaz, if for no other reason than for how elaborate it was and how many people were involved. ''Everyone'' was in on it: his fake wife and daughter, the employees for his fake business, even the boy who claimed to be looking for a job as well and suggested that he and Jordie try Rollins [[spoiler:working under the alias of Jakob Hertzoon.]] And Kaz finds out later that this was a ''common'' con in the Barrel.
* TheWoobie: Inej was kidnapped and made a sexual slave at a very young age and has left mentally traumatized.

** Matthias persuading Nina to show mercy on the drüskelle, and her merely rendering Jarl Brum bald instead of killing him, looks very naïve and short-sighted when a) [[spoiler:Matthias is murdered by a fanatical drüskelle in ''Crooked Kingdom'']] and b) it's revealed in ''Literature/TheNikolaiDuology'' that [[spoiler:Brum and the drüskelle were planning to breed an army of enhanced and subservient Grisha via captive Grisha women]]. In the long run, things would have been a lot better if Nina had gone with her first impulse and destroyed the Ice Court.

** Matthias persuading Nina to show mercy on the drüskelle, and her merely rendering Jarl Brum bald instead of killing him, looks very naïve and short-sighted when it's revealed in ''Literature/TheNikolaiDuology'' that[[spoiler:Brun and the drüskelle were planning to breed an army of enhanced and subservient Grisha via captive Grisha women. In the long run, things would have been a lot better if Nina had destroyed the Ice Court.]]

** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], the cruel owner of the brothel she named the Menagerie. She kidnaps and buys young girls from foreign nations and violently trains them to be [[SexSlave prostitutes]], forcing them to work at her brothel in order to pay off the "debt" she wrongfully puts on them. From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]], with Heleen repeatedly having her whipped and beaten, even having a girl who kept some money from a client brutally murdered in front of the other girls to make an example out of her. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is intensely scarred by her time at the Menagerie, and Heleen gleefully taunts her of it whenever they meet, even trying to have Inej killed later. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless young girls and women, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.

** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], the cruel owner of the brothel the Menagerie, buys teenage girls from foreign nations and cruelly trains them to be [[SexSlave sex slave]] prostitues. From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]] with Heleen repeatedly having her whipped and beaten, even having a girl who kept some money from a client cruelly murdered in front of the other girls as a lesson. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is intensely scarred by her time at the Menagerie, and Heleen gleefully taunts her of it when they meet, even trying to have Inej killed later. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless young women, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.

** Matthias persuading Nina to show mercy on the drüskelle, and her merely rendering Jarl Brum bald instead of killing him, looks very naïve and short sighted when it's revealed in ''Literature/TheNikolaiDuology'' that[[spoiler:Brun and the drüskelle were planning to breed an army of enhanced and subservient Grisha via captive Grisha women. In the long run, things would have been a lot better if Nina had destroyed the Ice Court.]]

** Jesper and Wylan flirt. By the end of the book, it's become more than subtext, since Wylan explicitly asks Jesper if he's into guys, and Jesper shows that he cares for Wylan much more than he'd like to admit when he defends him to Van Eck and later admits at the end that he likes Wylan's face.This in hindsight counts more as blatant ShipTease,since they get a RelationshipUpgrade at the end of the second book.
** Nina flirts with everything, and Inej is the most openly tender with her than with any other of the Crows, even cupping her face between her hands in one scene.
* MagnificentBastard: [[VillainProtagonist Kaz Brekker]] is a gangster, {{conman}}, bank robber, {{blackmail}}er, and all-around criminal prodigy who uses his extensive knowledge of Ketterdam's secrets to shame richer and more respected men and women into helping him with his schemes. Kaz's plots range bluffing gunmen into backing down with fictitious threats against their families, to arranging breakouts from the two most heavily guarded prisons in Ketterdam and Fjerda respectively, and running a con on the entire government of Ketterdam that drags in King Nikolai of Ravka as a coconspirator. Utterly unscrupulous, Kaz proves to [[TheDon Pekka Rollins]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jan Van Eck]], and all his other competitors that he is the true kingpin of Ketterdam.
* MemeticMutation: The "what's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet" bit has been used in many incorrect quotes posts and in other Six of Crows related fan content. It help's that Kaz's questions and everyone answers help [[EstablishingCharacterMoment establish each Crow's character]].

--->[[spoiler:Sometimes his son was crying from somewhere in the fields but he didn't know where to dig.]] Sometimes Pekka was the one lying in the grave, paralyzed as the earth was piled on top of him- light at first, a pattern of rain, then in heavy clods that filled his mouth and stole the breath from his chest. Above him he could hear people laughing- boys, girls, women, men. They were silhouettes against a blue dusk sky, their faces lost to shadow, but he knew who they were. All the people he'd swindled, duped, killed.

* HarsherInHindsight: When they're putting together the plan, Jesper calls Wylan useless and Nina calls him an idiot for running away. It's harsh but not entirely unfair given how out of his depth Wylan is. On a reread, Wylan's defensiveness makes a ''lot'' more sense. Telling Wylan he was useless and stupid because of his dyslexia was a staple of his father's [[AbusiveParents parenting style]].

** Jesper and Wylan flirt. By the end of the book, it's become more than subtext, since Wylan explicitly asks Jesper if he's into guys, and Jesper shows that he cares for Wylan much more than he'd like to admit when he defends him to Van Eck and later admits at the end that he likes Wylan's face.

** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], the cruel owner of the brothel the Menagerie, buys young girls from foreign nations and cruelly trains them to be [[SexSlave sex slave]] prostitues. From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]] with Heleen repeatedly having her whipped and beaten, even having a girl who kept some money from a client cruelly murdered in front of the other girls as a lesson. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is intensely scarred by her time at the Menagerie, and Heleen gleefully taunts her of it when they meet, even trying to have Inej killed later. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless young women, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.

** [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil Heleen Van Houden, or Tante Heleen]], the cruel owner of the brothel the Menagerie, buys young girls from foreign nations and cruelly trains them to be [[SexSlave sex slaves]] for her own profit. (Not to mention forcing an indenture on them buy "covering" for their transportation to her brothel (which was them being ''abducted'') as well as charging them for room, boarding, and basic needs as a means to force them to continue working for her by "owing" her.) From Inej Ghafa's backstory, we see this involves horrific abuse, both physical and [[MindRape psychological]] with Heleen repeatedly having her whipped and beaten, or violently punished when she so much as cried after being raped. When a girl kept some money from a client, Heleen had her cruelly murdered in front of the other girls to make an example out of her. Even after being freed by Kaz, Inej is deeply scarred by her time at the Menagerie, and Heleen gleefully taunts her of what she knows to be life-long trauma when they meet, even trying to have Inej killed later on. Utterly reprehensible and dedicated to making a fortune from the sexual enslavement of countless children, Tante Heleen is one of the worst that Ketterdam has to offer.

* NeverLiveItDown:Kuwei for the scene when Jesper kisses him after mistaking him for Wylan and teasing Jesper afterward. While not a lot, some people take him into DieforOurShip.

* Adorkable:Most of the fandom see Wylan as this due to his naivety at the beggining and his constant tendency to prove himself despite being way out of his element most of the time. The fact that he blushes quite often certainly helps.

** The fates of Councilman Hoede’s guards after the prologue. Under the effects of Jurda Parem Anya orders them all to "wait"… which leaves every one of them in a [[ExactWords catatonic state they’re unable to break out of]]. All they can do is stand and wait until they drop dead one by one.
** This [[SarcasmMode lovely passage]] describing Pekka Rollins' nightmare from the end of ''Crooked Kingdom'':
--> [[spoiler:Sometimes his son was crying from somewhere in the fields but he didn't know where to dig.]] Sometimes Pekka was the one lying in the grave, paralyzed as the earth was piled on top of him- light at first, a pattern of rain, then in heavy clods that filled his mouth and stole the breath from his chest. Above him he could hear people laughing- boys, girls, women, men. They were silhouettes against a blue dusk sky, their faces lost to shadow, but he knew who they were. All the people he'd swindled, duped, killed.