〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Kate
AGE: 30+
JOURNAL: koalopus
IM / EMAIL: gkn001@gmail.com
PLURK: givemedragons
RETURNING: N/A

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Kaz Brekker
CHARACTER AGE: 18
SERIES: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom duology
CHRONOLOGY: the end of Six of Crows
CLASS: Anti-hero at best... definitely more of a villain or opportunist.
HOUSING: Random is fine, but he might fit well in Maurtia Falls

BACKGROUND: Here

PERSONALITY:
Ask anyone that's crossed him: Kaz Brekker is the deadliest boy in Ketterdam, a city that does not tolerate weakness even at the best of times. The firepox fever burned the gentleness out of him and the freezing water of the harbor washed whatever was left of the country boy away. When he emerged from the harbor, just nine years old and still fever-weak, Kaz began to build himself into something to be feared. He grew into something cold and ruthless, all sharp edges and tailored lines.

It's difficult to sift through the myths to find the truths about Kaz. He knows the value of a well-time gesture and the power of rumors. Kaz wears gloves as a concession to his haphephobia, he walks with a cane because he has a limp, and he has turned both of these weaknesses into things that work for him. Kaz's cane is notorious, capped witha silver crow's head and lead-weighted to break bones when he swings it. But who would deprive a cripple of his cane? His black gloves are as recognizable as the cane: ask around Ketterdam and you'll hear that Brekker wears gloves because his hands are burned, broken, ugly, permanently bloodstained, or because he has claws instead of fingers. He's called Dirtyhands for his willingness to get the work done, regardless of how nasty a job it might be. These rumors are a shield against the truth: Kaz Brekker can't stand to be touched. Any skin to skin contact reminds him of the corpses that buried him on the sick barge, of his dead brother's bloated body. But nobody touches Kaz because no one dares to touch Kaz.

Ketterdam eats people whole and Kaz has bent the worst part of the city to his will. Almost single-handedly he has dragged the Dregs from obscurity up into the powerful hierarchy of gangs in the Barrel, making them a force to be reckoned with. He keeps the books for the Crow Club and Fifth Harbor, which he owns significant shares in.

For nearly ten years, Kaz has been driven by nothing but dreams of vengeance against the man whose actions led to his brother's death. He obsesses over how to take Pekka Rollins apart, brick by brick, how to ruin his life the way he's ruined Kaz's. Death is too good. He has to lose everything first. Normally Kaz is level-headed and entirely business-minded, but Pekka Rollins wakes something murderous in him and there have been times when Kaz has allowed this to get in the way of his carefully laid plans. For all his scheming, he is still a boy driven by spite and rage.

There isn't much about Kaz that anyone would call redeeming. He's a shrewd businessman and any deal he strikes in good faith, he'll hold to. He's loyal to few and doesn't allow anyone too close. He's capable of terrible acts of violence, he's willing to bully, intimidate, threaten, and blackmail to get his way. He's spent so long as the Bastard of the Barrel, as Dirtyhands, that he barely remembers the country boy he once was. He is too damaged, too scarred, to ever be him again.

Possibly, there's a scrap of softness somewhere hidden deep, some part of him that remembers a happier life: a part worth saving. But it hasn't seen the light in years and in neglect has shriveled. That's the way Kaz likes it.

POWER:
Darkness Manipulation
Kaz can create, shape and manipulate darkness and shadows. It works best when he manipulates shadows already in existence, but with some effort he can create darkness. With this power, he can also create and dispel shields and teleport himself via shadows, with the caveat being that there must be some shadow wherever he is trying to get to.

Contact Telepathy
When he touches someone, Kaz can project and receive thoughts/information mentally. At first, this will be limited to the thoughts a target is currently thinking; with practice, he will be able to dig past that or actively search. There is the potential for empathic transfer - Kaz could project his feelings if he isn't careful, and worse, he can receive feelings that his target is feeling. This is most likely to during lapses in concentration or during unintentional contact.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE: here

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
Kaz adjusts the scarf around his neck as he makes his way down a quiet sidewalk. The cold snap has his leg aching sharply but it doesn't slow him down, even if it should. Maurtia Falls has strange echoes of Ketterdam everywhere, including a canal. When he's feeling particularly contemplative, Kaz leans on a rail and watches the water. He hasn't been here long, but he's found this particular city to his liking: they aren't as frenzied about imPorts here and that suits him fine.

He ducks down an alley, partially to get out of sight but also to cut some time off his trip. He isn't afraid of anything that might be lurking there. If anyone thinks they'll take advantage of this poor cripple, they have another thing coming. He's been feeling particularly murderous, if only because he hates being trapped in a place not of his choosing. Even a large cage is still a cage, and as far as he's heard, there isn't any obvious way to get back to where they each came from. He has things waiting for him in Ketterdam: plans, a haul, revenge. Inej. No, he tells himself. She isn't waiting for him or for anyone. Nor should she.

Kaz hasn't allowed himself time to sulk, however. He wants to find a gambling den that will hire him. He's a good dealer - the best - and they would lose a lot of money if he ends up on the other side of the table. That's how he made scratch in his early days in Ketterdam, until he was banned from the tables in every single gambling house in the Barrel. In his short time here, he's paid attention. He's learning which cops are on the payroll and which ones are better avoided, the vague territories that gangs or businesses always sketch out. In the meantime, Kaz has taken any job that comes his way. He needs to build his reputation all over again and Dirtyhands will do well in Maurtia Falls, one way or another.

He thinks, briefly, of the last time he'd been new to a city like this. That boy died in the harbor and Kaz will never let himself sink that low again.

With a quiet huff, he shakes off the memory of Jordie and the nine year old boy he'd once been. Kaz forces himself to slow as he comes out on another side street. Pain throbs up his leg. All he wants to do is sink into a hot bath, but that will have to wait. Business first.

FINAL NOTES: Kaz will arrive with his cane.