#and also i'm full of love for aki

[brayneworms]

i'll fetch you anything you like.

featuring. aki hayakawa x gn!reader

content. MDNI, smut, riding, begging, crying, smoking, light masochism, burning (reader puts a cigarette out on aki), mild codependency, pet names (loverboy, darling), gender neutral reader, agab not mentioned, sub!aki + dom!reader, a little angst, pining, kissing, vague love confessions.

word count. 3.2k

synopsis. aki's smoking is a nasty habit, but you're certain you can get him to quit. also, aki pines.

notes. minors don’t interact. anyways how’s this for a first post ( totally normal abt aki hayakawa )

Aki Hayakawa is an orphan in every sense of the word.

Literally being the one most people associate him with, but—Aki comes to a realisation when he's maybe thirteen or fourteen that the word runs deeper than that. It's not as if your entire life is defined by your relationship with your parents, after all; even people who have ones that are alive become something other than offspring in their life. Husband, brother, uncle, father. But orphan sticks, no matter how many people you fill your life up with to replace the parents you lost. Aki thinks there is something in the word that rings of loneliness; he could father a hundred children, become grandfather to two hundred more, gain friends and a partner, and still he would be Aki Hayakawa, orphan.

Alone.

"That's a bad habit."

Aki's fingers don't pause in their ministrations, thumb pressing down on the jut of the lighter as it zips to life. The cherry of his menthol cigarette glows in the blue-dark of the office. The sky outside the thin window is pale with the gloaming, and he breathes a haze of gritty smoke over it, sullying the view.

You've made yourself at home on his desk, legs swinging leisurely. You must be cold in only his work-shirt and boxers that cling to your hips and thighs. You watch him passively, head cocked.

"One of my least dangerous ones," he intones, which is true enough for a man who has three years to live at most.

"Oh? What tops the list?"

Aki eyes you serenely. "I dunno if you've heard, but I work for this place called the Public Safety Division."

Your laughter breaks the delicate quiet like a flock of birds taking off from a tree. "Put it out. I hate the smell."

Aki's dark brows crinkle. "I'm not wasting a perfectly good cigarette. If it bothers you so much, eat it."

"Eat it? You freak."

"At least then someone's getting something out of it."

You hop from the desk, yawning. In the dim light that is starting to grow just a little brighter, Aki can see the beginnings of bruises on your throat and collarbone, vanishing in an ugly rainbow trail down to the hastily-down buttons of his work shirt. Your socked feet pad along the threadbare carpet on your way over to him, and Aki inhales deeply. Maybe if there's enough smoke in his lungs it will encourage him not to breathe; that way, he won't do that god-forsaken embarrassing thing he does when you get close. His heart stutters, and it makes his breath hitch audibly. The worst part is you seemed to be goddamn attuned to it—there seems to be little you like more than knowing you have an effect on him.

Aki doesn't stop you when your fingers come up to encircle his cigarette, brushing his as you pluck it gently from between his lips. He hates that even the smallest kiss of your skin against his still sends liquid lightning zipping through him, like he's that seventeen-year-old he was when he met you, the one full of spite and anger who hadn't been held since his mother died.

You pull the cigarette away, still lit; the butt glows red and angry between your delicate hold, gleams in the reflection of your eyes. When Aki meets them, he feels his mouth go dry; your pupils are large and black, engulfing iris, barely blinking as you look up at him.

"Bet I can make you quit," you say.

Aki snorts. "Better men than you have tried."

"Anything can be unlearned," you counter smoothly. "All bad habits go away with a little punishment."

Aki feels his heartbeat quicken, tries not to let the way that one word sets his blood alight show on his face. "Hm," he says noncommittally, but frustratingly, he doesn't think he's fooled you for a second.

Your serene smile curved into something sharp as easily as breathing. "Gimme your hand."

And Aki does, though he knows where this is going. You turn his hand over gently at the wrist, leaving it palm-up, fingers splayed in your grip. You hold him so gently it makes him shiver. Carefully, slowly—Aki thinks, giving him much time to pull away—you raise the burning end of the cigarette and plant it in the centre of his pale palm, a stinging kiss. Aki hisses, grits his teeth, but dutifully doesn't move even as his hand twitches involuntarily at the contact. Just as tears start to needle at his eyes, you twist the butt and pull away, leaving a shallow pool of grey ash, a black soot mark, and a stinging red welt like a patch of burning leaves.

His eyes are glued to the masterpiece you've made of his boring skin. The burn throbs unpleasantly, but something low and hot has come alive in his abdomen at the lingering kiss of pain. It satiates something inside him just smoking the thing could never hope to touch. He likes the futility of feeding himself his own death, sure—makes him feel like he has marginally more control over it, despite what the Curse Devil might have to say about it. This sort of pain is different; it goes straight for the gullet, and it makes it all the more sweet that it's you doing it.

A stupid, lonely part of Aki—orphan—wants to believe you're doing this because you care for him. Because you want him to live as long as possible. The grown, cynical man he supposes he's become thinks you must be just as fucked up as he is. It doesn't really matter either way; Aki's loved you for years, and he's astonished he's even gotten this far with you, and he'll take anything you deign to give him, pleasure or pain because it's all sort of the same to him anyway.

You unscrew a bottle of drinking water and hold it over your discarded blazer, soaking the lapel before pressing it to the burn. Aki grunts, eyebrows knitting up as a strange cocktail of relief and pain throbs slowly through his body. Your hands holds the wet fabric over his one, like a ribcage encasing a beating heart. Oh, Aki would let you hold his heart in your hands, and who cares what you decided to do with it? It's hardly his business; it belongs to you anyway.

He leans in to kiss you, gets close enough to brush his lips against yours and feel his pupils dilate before you turn your head, ducking. Aki feels his heart stutter anxiously as you turn your serene face up to him.

"Hate the taste," you say.

Aki frowns. "I barely smoked it for thirty seconds."

"It lingers."

Aki isn't stupid; this is part of the punishment. And the goddamn annoying part is that it's working. Even as you take his other hand to hold the soaking blazer against his burn and turn away, every fibre in his body wants to stop you. Turn you back around, pin you against the wall, swallow any complaints with his lips. He wants to make you melt against him, wants to melt himself under you in that way you always manage to do to him. He likes feeling like he doesn't have to think with you; just await whatever comes next, pain or pleasure, and he'll take it because it's you.

But Aki doesn't move. He's not a problem dog. He stands quietly and nurses his burn, tracking you with his eyes as you re-dress yourself, his shirt tucked into your slacks, tie wound through the collar, work boots laced up to the ankle.

"I gotta run home and shower," you say, tugging your blazer on. "I'll see you back here in, like, an hour."

Aki nods. "Okay."

The grin you flash him is little more than poisonous; it makes it heart skip a beat. "How's your burn?"

He swallows around a dry throat, holding your stare with a touch of timidity. "What burn?"

Delight shivers over your expression like wind ruffling a field of grass, and you stride the length of the cramped office and kiss him. Aki grunts, rendered thoughtless the moment your mouth touches his, your hands in his collar and his hair; his hands go slack, blazer fluttering to the ground, and the welt on his palm stings horribly when his hands come up to latch around your shoulders and neck. He pulls you closer, a little frantic, and he has barely a moment to reflect on how worrying it is that he's this desperate for your touch after being denied only once, but before he can think to dwell on it you're parting your lips and he's tugged your body flush against his own. He's so close he could drown in you. For a moment, he wants to.

Far too soon, you pull away. You're delighted. "Good," you murmur, and he hates how his heart leaps into his throat. "You're so good, Aki."

His face is on fire. "I'm not a dog," he manages.

"Sure you are," you say matter-of-factly. "And I'm Pavlov. I'll break that nasty habit of yours if it's the last thing I do. Give you something else to focus on. Okay?"

Aki licks his dry lips. "You can try," he says hoarsely, hoping it doesn't sound as much like an invitation as he thinks it does. The impish smile you give him implies he's shit out of luck.

Aki is in hell.

He knows this, because every time the two of you have hooked up since your little conversation in his office, he hasn't been allowed to kiss you if you detect even a whiff of smoke on his breath. It's killing him a little, to be honest. Fucking without kissing just feels wrong. It makes him forget it's you, sometimes, his vision of you sliding out of focus 'till you could be just anyone. And Aki doesn't fuck just anyone. He fucks people he loves.

He loves you. But he can't have you. And he can't even kiss you so he can pretend he has you, if only for a minute. It's just fucking, a tumble of sweating limbs and gasps and grunts, of a thrilling cocktail of pleasure and pain and almost-confessions bitten back at the last second, hidden in the crook of your neck.

Your shitty wooden headboard creaks into the shitty thin bedroom wall, and Aki spends a moment in lucidity to send a silent apology to your neighbours. One arm braces against the wood, flexing with every fast jerk of his hips, and you're under him, eyes clenched shut and meeting his thrusts in a way that has Aki wondering why anyone could think being on top had to mean being in control. He's oiled to your machine, matching the rhythm of your hips and trying not to drown as your back arches up from the sweat-damp sheets, stomach curving into his, one arm holding fast around his neck.

You feel so good he could cry. Not that that would be an irregular occurrence, or anything—he'd practically sobbed the first time you fucked, and back then you'd been all fluttering concern, stopping even though he tried to sputter please, Christ, don't stop, I'll die if you stop, please. He supposes you're kind, in your own way. You'd stroked away his tears and kissed his damp face.

"Aki," you groan, bringing him forcefully back to the present; his dark bangs dangle in his eyes as he looks down at you, mouth agape and head cloudy. "Wh-what's got you so wound up?"

As if you don't know. Aki grits his teeth.

Your hand makes patterns on the damp nape of his neck as his rolling hips slow, as he breathes deep to try and regain a semblance of his dignity. "Loverboooy," you croon up at him, your free hand gripping at the junction between his hip and thigh. Aki grimaces; he hates that nickname. "Talk to me."

Aki glares at you. "You know—I want—you know. St-stop it."

He whimpers somewhere high in his throat as your body tightens around him, free hand coming up to scrub down his face. "D-don't!"

"Sorry, sorry," you laugh. "I'm sorry. Why don't you tell me what you want? Maybe I'm feeling nice."

It feels like a trap, like luring his feelings into the light just to snap a bear trap over them. But Aki wants, he yearns so deeply and desperately that he's just about willing to risk it. "Want to kiss you."

Your eyes gleam. "Do you?" you ask, as if this is news to you.

His arms shake. "Please."

God, he's pathetic. He's so used to being in control, to tailoring every facet of his life meticulously, grooming and tidying and cleaning. He knows the exact amount of calories he should eat per day. He puts his shoes on a rack so he never tracks mud onto the tatami mats. His shower utensils are organised in the order he uses them—shampoo, conditioner, face-wash, scented gel. He likes being in control. He thinks, anyway. You make him reevaluate. You make him reevaluate an awful lot.

You toss your head back against the pillows; you have the audacity to laugh. "Saw you smoking earlier," you tell him, and Aki's stomach goes cold. "Mm... full pack, too. A new one? When'd you buy that."

"Th-that was hours ago." And it's true; when Aki learns you're coming over, he puts his cigarettes in a locked draw and puts the key somewhere difficult to reach. "It won't still taste. I've eaten. I brushed my teeth."

That's just good manners.

"It's the principle of the thing, loverboy," you say, and your hand comes up to his chest and rolls him over. Aki gapes, whining at the loss of contact only to choke on his own voice as you sling a leg over his hips and slide him back into you. Your nails scrape red railroads down the pale skin of his sternum at the stretch, and Aki watches, mesmerised as you start to move, the flex of the muscles in your thighs, the vein bulging in your throat as you toss your head back. He wants to be all over you, a hand on your neck feeling your pulse go berserk for him, his teeth in your skin as proof he was there, nose buried in your hair, dirty and rough and the exact opposite of the way he usually wants you. That is—soft and kind, romantic, slow and heady as syrup.

He wants kisses that taste like tears, whispered confessions into bedsheets. He wants, painfully, the constant assurance he can never ask for. I love you. I love you. Oh, Aki, I love you.

"Kiss me," he gasps instead, writhing against the bedsheets, head thrown back at the brutal pace you set him. He's so close, teeth gritting and muscles locking up but without a kiss it feels cold and incomplete. "Please, please, kiss me, please—"

"You're a brat, Aki," you hiss, and Aki's heart twitches in his chest; he can hear his pulse in his skull. "You ignore the one rule I gave you, and you still think you get to ask for what you want?"

"It's a bullshit rule," he snaps. "I—I can't just, hah, I can't j-just turn it, off, oh, fuck—"

"You okay?" you ask in a fleeting moment of mercy. Aki's eyebrows knit up. "Am I—is it too much?"

Aki shakes his head. "I'm okay," he mumbles pitifully. "I'm close."

"I know, darling," you murmur. "It's okay. I'm gonna give you what you want. And you're gonna give me what I want. Deal?"

"I—I..." Aki chews the inside of his cheek till copper floods his mouth. "I'll try? I'll try, I swear."

You still for a moment. "You mean that?"

Aki nods frantically. "Yes, I—if that's what you want, anything, anything you want, please..."

The beam that breaks out on your face is a million watts. "Aki," you breathe, and finally you lean forward 'till your chest brushes his. Aki can't breathe, transfixed by every swoop of your eyelash and chap in your lip as you lean close. When you speak, you're so close that your lips brush his, and he has to keep every muscle taut to stop himself leaning forward and closing the gap. "Aki, I want you to live a long, happy life. You get that, right? Why I'm doing this?"

He feels his stomach flip, can barely comprehend the words through his dazed mind. His glazed eyes follow you, thunderstruck. "What—what d'you mean?"

"I care about you," you murmur. "I want you to live as long as possible. Want you to stick around with me."

With you? It's a wonder his heart doesn't explode. For a fleeting moment, there exists a future beyond the Gun Fiend, beyond Denji and Power and Nyako, one where he can love you freely. Tears needle at his eyes. It all seems so impossible.

Aki forgets himself, surges up to capture your mouth, but you turn at the last second, planting a kiss to his cheek before focusing on his jaw, his ear, capturing the lobe between your teeth and sucking gently as your hips resume their rhythm. You're faster now, gasping for breath, Aki's hands sliding over the skin of your hips and torso for a lifeline. You tongue at the cords in his neck, the shell of his ear and the sensitive divot just underneath till he's squirming.

Your hands are everywhere—scraping nails across his twitching abdomen, running up the valley between his pecs, tweaking a nipple and pulling. And Aki groans and gasps, every hint of pain from your lovely hands sending him rocketing closer towards the edge. Tears bead at his lashline.

"'M close," he gasps again.

"That's okay, loverboy," you say sweetly, words buzzing against the skin of his throat, and Aki shudders, arching impossibly closer to you. He can feel every nerve in his body sawed open and set alight, impossibly sensitive, boiling with love, and as he comes he buries his face into the crook of your neck with a hoarse cry. Two lone tears streak down his flushed cheeks.

You're not far behind, and Aki wouldn't dream of pulling out, so he squirms and gasps and whines with the prickling of overstimulation as you chase your own high. "Sorry—fuck—you okay?"

"I'm, I'm good," Aki whines. He cracks one steely blue eye open. It stands out against his red skin; he's so flushed as to look sunburnt.

"'M almost, fuck, almost there. Hang on for me?"

Aki raises shaking hands to grip your hips in answer. You laugh between pants, baring down at him.

"That's my boy."

You don't kiss him when you finish, but it's alright. You flop down beside him, taking in deep lungfuls of air, nuzzling your lips to the salt-sweat cooling on his chest. Usually, round about now, Aki would roll to reach his bedside cabinet where his open pack of cigs lay in wait. The lighter is right beside him, open and tempting. He can almost hear the flick of it, the zip of the flame bursting to life, the sizzle of the cherry scorching beneath that controlled flame. The grit of smoke in his mouth and down his throat, emptying his lungs of fresh air.

The pack goes untouched. Aki winds an arm around your shoulders and holds you close, your cheek against his thudding heart.

You don’t kiss him, but it’s alright.

Aki’s not a problem dog.

He's going to earn it.

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#🫀.scribes #chainsaw man x reader #aki hayakawa x reader #csm x reader #aki x reader #hayakawa aki x reader #hayakawa x reader #chainsaw man x gn!reader #gn!reader #chainsaw man smut #csm smut #aki hayakawa smut #aki smut #hayakawa smut #hayakawa aki smut #dom!reader #sub!aki #sub!aki hayakawa

[angelltheninth]

Car Sex with Aki Hayakawa

Pairing: Aki Hayakawa x Fem!Reader

Tags: nsfw, smut, blowjob, handjob, teasing, fingering, cock riding, condoms, horny Aki Hayakawa

A/N: Not gonna lie, car sex doesn't sound like much fun, mostly cause my brain just starts listing the many ways it could go wrong, but I'm sure plenty of people have had fun doing it so let's go with that.

Aki knew you were up to something when you got into the car wearing that smirk and that skirt

While suspicious of your intentions he started driving lest you're both late to work and have to get a lecture

He almost rammed into another car when you put your hand on his groin

You looked at him with you innocent eyes, well innocent to you, a challenge to him, how much self control does he really have?

Aki has never backed down yet, he's not gonna start now

He fixes his eyes on the road and doesn't glace back even when you undo his zipper and fish out his cock

You can see his jaw clench as you start running your hand up and down his hardening length, squeezing at the base and then slowly without letting up sliding your hand up

Your thumb circles his cockhead and runs across the slit every time your hand moves up, gathering the cum he released to make your hand movement smoother

A loud groan echoes around you when you replace your hand with your mouth, swirling your tongue around him, as you briefly lock your eyes on his

There's no time for him to think, his hand is already on the back of your head, the movement so familiar he didn't even have to think about it

His chest heaves as you bob your head up and down and fill the car with lewd, slurpy noises and hums of pleasure

You know he's not gonna last for much longer, especially when you also introduce the noises of your pussy being fingered, spilling your juices all over the seat

The moments he notices that you don't have any panties on his resolve is broken, he looks for anywhere he can park that would have you shielded from traffic and eyes

Aki does not come, he holds it in knowing he's gonna need a condom unless he doesn't want to get in trouble for ruining the car

He doesn't want to put it on now, he wants nothing more than to feel your cunt around him after all this teasing, even more when he sees you put in on his cock with your mouth

The moment the condom is on he pulls you in his lap and pushes you down on his cock

There's not that much room for you to move up and down but you can still comfortably grind your hips against his lap, your clit brushing against the material of his pants

Doesn't care if his pants get ruined, he usually has a change of clothes ready because the jobs do get messy

Also this way the two of you can sneak in some quickies at work and have no one be none the wiser

His hands grab your ass, urging you to roll your hips faster, you don0t have a lot of time and he needs to come, otherwise he's gonna have to shove you into the first closet and work and fuck you right there

While he knows you'd love that he has a very important mission today and would rather not get distracted

You feel his cock twitch and pulse with need, you wish you could feel him completely, his girth still fills you up nicely but you want the warmth too, his warmth

Maybe if you're a good girl at work he'll let you ride him all night when you get back home, or maybe he'll rail you from behind, or fuck your mouth as a punishment for this little surprise session

Regardless you know you're gonna get his cock again later

Even if he has to shoot his cum inside of the condom now there's nothing stopping you from drinking it down once you get off his cock

That is exactly what you do while Aki hastily pumps you full of his rough fingers, making you shake and squirm in the seat while his cum drips down your lips and chin

You're gonna be late for sure, but just this once he'll admit it was worth it

#chainsaw man #aki hayakawa #aki hayakawa x reader #aki hayakawa smut #chainsaw man x reader #chainsaw man smut #aki hayakawa imagine #chainsaw man imagine #aki hayakawa headcanons #chainsaw man headcanons #csm #csm smut #csm x reader #aki x reader

[sugar-grigri]

I was wondering what you think the likelihood is of an actual canon Asa/Denji romantic relationship is? I mean obviously they're building that Asa has feelings for csm/Denji (separately) and Denji has shown passing interest as well. I wonder if it's feasible at all or are they going to be pitched against one another now that Asa's getting seen more in the public eye while Denji is forcibly pushed aside.

Love your blog and enjoy reading your analyzes of the chapters/characters/plot!

Denji and Asa will have a romantic relationship 

I'm sorry to answer so late (almost 2 months later) and without justifying my delay, I think it's the right time in view of the last chapters to answer !!! I think Asa and Denji will have a romantic relationship. Before explaining my arguments, I would ask that we all put our personal preferences aside. I'm only interested in Denji and Asa's writing and story arcs. Now that that's been cleared up, let's get down to business.

First of all, I'd like to reiterate a few points about Denji's development and objectives.

In part 1, Denji understood what it meant to be loved properly, the different facets of love, how to protect and pamper a family, just as his response to the antagonist was driven by his love for Makima. It's important not to deny that Denji has become attached to Makima, and the paradoxical aspect of this affection is what made the end of Part 1 so brilliant and memorable.

Firstly, it confirmed that CSM's main theme from the outset was love, and secondly, it proved that Denji's response was extremely sensitive and mature. Instead of locking himself into a cycle of revenge and hatred, he forgave.

But above all from a narrative point of view it's interesting because in the first part, Denji grasped his value as a human being, knew what it was like to be considered and loved by Power and Aki. I've always seen Part 2 as a response to Part 1.

After the character has grasped that he can be loved, Part 2 places within it, consecrating it as the pivotal protagonist: Denji's beloved, Asa Mitaka. Instead of simply mystifying the love interest as a deuteragonist, as many works do, and depriving us of her point of view, Fujimoto places her with equal narrative importance. Which makes sense, since love is a central theme, Denji's love couldn't take a back seat.

All this to say that the very fact that Asa is also the protagonist puts us on the right track. But there's nothing to stop it all being a trap? Just as there's nothing to stop the relationship between the two protagonists opening up to a lovely friendship, is there? From a personal point of view, I'd have found it interesting if Denji had struck up another platonic friendship with a girl, with no undertones.

But that's not what Fujimoto has in mind...

Asa and Denji are written to complement each other. And when I say complementarity, I make it clear that the writing doesn't imply that a relationship between the two of them would solve their internal problems. Their flaws are put to the test by the external scenario.

For example, Asa's lack of trust in others is underlined in her development compared to other characters such as Yuko and Yoshida.

Yuko and Asa had a sincere friendship, although this drifted into moral combat as the young girl wanted to be as beneficial and useful as Chainsaw Man. As for Yoshida, he torments Asa, playing the game of promiscuity in order to create distance between the two of them, motivated as he is by Chainsaw Man. But his aim is not to become like him, but to prevent him from acting to the full.

Whether it's to inhibit Chainsaw Man or to become like him, Chainsaw Man has occupied a place in Asa's relationships with the others. But again, this only serves to underline the extent to which the destinies of the two protagonists are intertwined. Instead of hating Chainsaw Man even more for disrupting her relationships, Asa Mitaka unknowingly experienced his profound kindness.

During the aquarium arc, Denji simply occupied a special place regarding this issue. While the young girl mortified herself about being a good-for-nothing, a loser like Denji, it was he who paradoxically helped her. Firstly, because he'd listened to her explanations, boring though they were, about starfish and the fact that they're edible. What's more, Fami can control those she would have starved, so subconsciously the fact that Denji offered her food saved Asa.

But this is implicit writing, as it doesn't make sense until well afterwards, when Fujimoto spells out the conditions of the famine demon's power. When we read the aquarium arc, the one who finds the solution is Asa. Denji was merely a springboard.

This episode is central because Fujimoto, in developing the relationship between Denji and Asa, also clarifies the way in which he will write it: one will not overshadow the other, and he has not placed Asa as the protagonist so that she is not a pivotal point in the scenario.

But before this good experience, Asa only sees Denji's little flaws, the fact that he's a fan of Chainsaw Man, that he rips off homeless people and even goes so far as to dehumanize him, considering him somewhere between a cat and a criminal. Instead of idealizing Asa as Denji's great savior, she is first presented as a threat to the boy. But this chapter only confirms the future romantic (and tragic) aspect of their relationship.

I'm putting my theory back on the cat, because it's this symbol that heralds a perhaps not-so-pretty ending between the two of them. Fujimoto takes on the characteristics of a Greek tragedy, with a game of identities, intertwined secrets and a series of misunderstandings, with two camps, characters also preventing their relationship (Nayuta and Yoshida). But above all, it's tragic: Denji is somewhere between a cat and a criminal, just as Asa lost her mother while trying to save a cat, just as the first being Denji saves in Part 2 is a cat.

The cat is a figure that links Denji and Asa (the fact that they both saved one, that it is linked to their family (Power and Asa's mother), the metaphor of cat and criminal being what characterizes someone as morally gray as the two of them TO SUM UP their relationship will end in sacrifice. The ultimate proof of love. Isn't it wonderful to have a boy as the protagonist who pursues love, only to die for it? The reverse is just as beautiful: a young girl who closes herself off in solitude finds self-fulfillment in dying for the sake of another.

But back to something happier: Asa is the only one who has a healthy love (or rather, attachment) to Denji. Firstly, because she first faced Denji's and Chainsaw Man's flaws before seeing their good sides.

First, she doesn't project anything onto the boy, and sees him exactly as he is. She experienced his obscenities, his interest in sex that repels her. This was something I'd considered a flaw until now, to be honest; I was afraid that if the two protagonists ended up experiencing intimacy together, it would "save" Asa from her rejection of sex. But I was reassured by Fumiko's development, which parallels that. Fumiko has an unhealthy interest in Denji and is constantly contradictory in her dealings with him.

As I said, chapter 142 sets up a fairly simple idea: no one respects Denji's limits, above all, no one sees him as the teenager, the child he is. With Chainsaw Man, the same thing happens: people, faced with their powerlessness against the demons, project their grief and frustrations onto the machine man, to the point of pushing him to live again and again to kill his loved one, his big brother. 

No one hears Chainsaw Man's cries for help 

Asa stands out from all this: first, she's the one who wants to save Chainsaw Man 

Fumiko already had an idealized image of Denji before she met him, has an ascendancy over age, a manipulative strategy, but beyond these problematic issues she respects no limits, thinks Denji's sexual desires, which do exist (let's not deny it), are watchwords. 

She, who considers him a child, doesn't act at all in the spirit of protection that she acclaims. 

Asa has the opposite reaction, but purely the opposite. When she meets Denji, she's not at all interested, even distressed. She'll have exactly the same reaction to Chainsaw Man. She doesn't like him, so she has nothing to project onto him. And even her first reaction to him was far from idyllic. 

Fumiko's presence is also intended to underline the way she and Asa differ in the way they deal with Denji's limitations. 

Asa respects Denji's limits, or rather those he has set as rules dictated by his little sister. But Yoru crosses a boundary by kissing him. Without the desire to justify a non-consensual act, what Yoru is doing is crossing a boundary not set by Denji but by Nayuta, who is trapping her older brother in a certain solitude by wanting to protect him. The control devil is obsessed with a happiness that can only be found in the number of two, which is the common trait that links Makima and Nayuta, although they are not exactly the same entity. The first kiss between Yoru and Denji is then an act of rebellion, rather than Fumiko's constant overstepping of boundaries. 

(Again, these are two non-consensual acts, and I'm not justifying them, but they don't have the same narrative function).

But above all, the limits set by Nayuta have another meaning - they're there to consolidate the fact that Denji and Asa's relationship is a romantic tragedy inspired by the ancients, as Shakespiere was. The breaking of rules is a major theme in Romeo and Juliet, especially in the case of Juliet, who must choose between morals and her love, her family destining her for another marriage (symbolized by Nayuta). 

But we'll come back to the symbolism of Romeo and Juliet in a moment... 

Asa has met the purest version of Denji - whether it's Denji revealing his identity, or his profound kindness at the aquarium - and she's also witnessed the flaws of Chainsaw Man, this perverse monster, not good with words, who not only tried to reassure her, but actively protected her.

In other words, when we see her disturbed by her growing feelings for both Denji and Chainsaw Man, they are more than sincere, for she has seen them both as they were. But above all, she is the first character to love both sides of Denji's identity. Whereas Makima was obsessed with Chainsaw Man or Reze focused on Denji's weaknesses, Asa became attached to both the human and the demon.

Denji's dual identity is central, with the public hunters trying to annihilate Denji's demonic identity while the church relies on it, confusing the boy into having to choose one or the other, while the one who intends to help him unknowingly loves both sides. She likes him doubly. Asa is proof that Denji has to claim his two identities.

Not only is the girl also two, harboring a demon within her just as Denji has fused with a demon, but the way their demons are linked to each other and have a history between them only reinforces the destiny that binds them.

Asa is someone who intellectualizes her emotions to the extreme, so her love is more cerebral than Denji's, who thinks primarily through his senses, having a more instinctive love. Yoru occupies half of Asa's brain, while Pochita replaces Denji's heart, totally in line with this symbolism.

Above all, Yoru is disturbed by Asa's budding feelings, which also affect her. We've seen that Yoru hasn't succeeded in transforming Denji. We all stopped to think that she couldn't transform a hybrid, a demon. Yoru is a knight of the apocalypse and has a natural ascendancy over other demons, just as Fami had the falling devil under her control and Makima had controlled many demons. No, the reason why Yoru can't transform Denji is twofold: she's disturbed by Asa's feelings, which are also her own, and doesn't have the will to make him her weapon; but above all, they're not yet together, and the feeling of belonging to each other hasn't yet been established. It's not certain that Denji will ever become Yoru's weapon, since as soon as their relationship is established, he will symbolically offer her his heart.

In the current arc, Fujimoto places Asa in Denji's initial situation, so as to better parallel them: she becomes the church's new flagship image, her popularity competing directly with Chainsaw Man's. But while the current arc shows us the downside of these parasocial relationships, with Denji completely paralyzed by his existential crises, Asa experiences the opposite.

She who has always felt isolated is finally beginning to be appreciated and loved by the majority. In short, one begins to learn something that the other is just experimenting with. Denji and Asa are two very isolated teenagers who project themselves into the recognition their audience has in them. 

What's certain is that Denji's existential crisis doesn't just concern him, insofar as his experiences can serve as a lesson to Asa, that to become a hero is above all to be alone. The church intends to sacrifice innocent people to spur Chainsaw Man into action, a church that Asa now represents. Asa hasn't yet seen this side of the church, so Barem mocks her by presenting her as a naive young girl. However, Asa has the intuition that tragedy will strike, since she has a nightmare of it.

Asa's going to have to go beyond her moral limits, to take the brunt of her own popularity, and even if she intends to save Chainsaw Man as he saved her, I think it's he who's going to help her more, not to eclipse her but as a springboard to push the heroine to save herself.

Denji's development isn't slow, flat, in this arc, it just reaches its conclusion. What's left for him to do to end it all is to prove his love.

Even if it means dying for it.

#csm spoilers #chainsaw man #csm part 2 #csm #denji #asa #asaden #my thoughts #csm 98 #csm 103 #csm 110 #csm 112 #csm 114 #csm 115 #csm 134 #csm 136 #csm 139 #csm 140 #csm 142 #nayuta #makima #aki #yoru #barem #A very long analysis yes...

[chaepink]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Works in Progress! ❤ - 25

last updated: 11.29.23

- this only include requests I've received and not my own ideas - i can choose to write your request into a drabble instead of a full fic if i feel like i can't write it into a fic (or if you don't really specify)

disclaimer: i reserve the right to combine requests if they're similar

Haikyu!!

♡ tsukishima kei

bratty tsukishima w edging and overstim pls bae :)

Aha ay Can I request edging and overstimming Tsukki as punishment after a whole day of him being a brat? Maybe some dacryphilia if you're up for it Ty so much for your time! I love your work

♡ kenma kozume

Kenma as a part-time stripper? Or just a stripper please

♡ osamu miya & atsumu miya

Can I request one where we peg osamu in front of atsumu as punishment for being a brat, we just keep calling osamu a good boy while completely ignoring atsumu, and once we're done with osamu we pound the fuck out of atsumu 😫🙏

My Hero Academia

♡ midoriya izuku

Hey, Can you write for Midoriya with a mommy/Daddy Kink where Midoriya had a bad day and wants to be pampered

I AM BEGGING YOU TO WRITE ABOUT FEM!READER PUNISHING (SPANKING) A SENSITIVE AND SPOILED IZUKU MIDORIYA EVEN THO HES BEING THE GOODEST BOY AS ALWAYS

♡ iida tenya

can i have a iida being hit by sex pollen and reader helping him out please

request numero dos idk but iida with nipple piercings has me reeling. tbh the chance of him actually ever getting them is zero but he actually does and reader discovers them? hoo boy. Imagine he got them all for reader too

♡ dabi

hiii can i request a sugar baby!dabi x sugarmommy!reader were dabi weres the most sluttiest things every day just so people can compliment him and so that the reader punishes and fucks him everyday cause reader is possesive and is turned on by what he wears and dabi also trys to stick his ass almost everywere cause reader is an ass person

♡ shigaraki

hey I was wondering if you could write about sub tomura shigaraki whose a virgin and like being humiliated and degraded? Thanks<3

Chainsaw Man

♡ aki

hi chae!! can i request a sub aki w bondage ? he'd look so good tied up ughngnng..,.,

♡ denji

can i request first time w denji??😊 he would be so pussy drunk n dumb n begging for more loorrrddd

Demon Slayer

♡ rengoku

hii so can you do a sub!rengoku x femdom!vampire reader one? details: y/n is having a bad day and rengoku wants to see whats up with her yk? and when hes finally sick of seeing her bottling all this anger up he wants her to take out her anger on him. Like he just offers her his neck with no hesitation yk? AAAA im down bad (pls include choking and her marking him as well)

Jujutsu Kaisen

♡ gojo satoru

If you're up for it, I have a request or a concept you're more than welcome to add on to or take away from! Please and thank you <3 You know how Gojo thinks he's all that? He's rich, charming, and the greatest sorcerer. He should be worshiped and praised at all times for it, right? Basically, he's being annoying so you punish him by riding him and while acting tired and disinterested at the same time since he lives for attention and praise. It should totally eat him up the fact that you're not praising him for being a good boy, for making you feel good- paired with your lazy movements, pretty much edging him the whole time. You bet your ass he tears up when you fake yawn lmao

Bully reader with nerd virgin Gojo please

ALRIGHTALRIGHTALRIGHT- Can I request making Gojo keep a remote vibrator up his ass for a day. Like you'll go to meetings and missions with him while fuckin around with the remote kicking up the intensity to make him squirm and hold back moans.

Sub bully gojo like he was planning on fucking and bullying reader when the opposite went way? Like reader had enough of his bullshit and makes him cry and overstimulates him?

Can i request sub yandere Gojo hcs , him as a boyfriend

♡ sukuna

Request for fem!reader × sukuna. I'm sick of these fanfictions where a character humiliates, insults, changes and the reader accepts it with adoration. Why not put bully!sukuna in its place? It can be a Sukuna king or a Sukuna at school. Facesitting, strangulation or a strap that will make a Sukuna regret

♡ geto suguru

Hi! I'd like to request for something with Geto Suguru and dumbification please. How about a scenario where gn!reader (with yandere undertones if you're okay with that) gets jealous when Geto was just being too nice with someone else, and takes him home to fuck him roughly until he's drooling all over himself. <3 Thank you if you do this!

♡ megumi

Coyld u pls write megumi with dom and mean reader with mommy kink. Then the reader's overstimulating him till he cry or smthng. (Then there's a fluff in the end?)😭 LIKE PLLSSS

♡ toji

Hi I was the anon who asked about requests- may I request Toji being a brat so you edge him And if you're up for it some knifeplay too with his own cursed dagger Tysm in advance and I love your writing!!

♡ yandere

Could you write sub!yandere/dom!reader where the reader doesn't actually feel sexual attraction but likes to watch their reactions to things like overstim, edging, object insertion, toys, etc?

BABE ILY AND YOUR WORK PLS PLS CAN YOU MAKE MASC!DOM READER WITH A HAREM OF HEAD OVER HEELS YANDERE BOYS!! reader is teasing, cheeky, taunting, etc, yk the personality like a fox? Yeah! And reader is a experimentalist master who is a really addictive sadist? -love you♡♪

Just another brat Yandere w strict gn/m!dom🤭 look straps are very versatile too you know sizes…

#chaepink.wips #dom!reader #sub!character #dom reader #sub!mha #sub!haikyuu #sub!csm #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! #mha x reader #mha smut #csm x reader #sub!ushijima #sub!kageyama #sub!kuroo #sub!tsukishima #sub character #sub!hinata #sub!kaminari #sub!yamaguchi #sub!izuku #sub!oikawa #sub!aki #sub!sugawara #sub!denji #sub!kirishima #sub!kenma #sub!bakugo #sub!bokuto #sub!midoriya

[inkblackorchid]

What the hell happened with Crow: an autopsy (Part 3)

Trying my absolute damnedest to finish this one and part four sooner now that I've finally covered the Pearson backstory. *Ehem* Hello again! I hope you're ready for more yelling about a certain spiky-haired Blackbird aficionado, because I sure am.

To get some things out of the way first, though, here come the usual disclaimers:

This is part three of a series of posts about hpw Crow's character was handled during 5Ds' whole run. You can find part one here and part two here. Reading them technically isn't required, but things sure will make a whole lot more sense if you do. (Bring snacks, they're long.)

This post isn't meant as a Crow hate post, nor is it meant to convince people who didn't vibe with his character to change their mind. This is my very long winded-attempt to analyse the writing decisions surrounding his character as best I can, without too much bias. That said, full disclosure, I do personally like Crow, so there's a good chance that will shine through whether I want it to or not. But also, I'm trying to have fun here, so please cut me some slack.

In case you haven't read my previous Crow posts (no shade there) and/or still believe the many, many production rumours that have been haunting the 5Ds fandom since the show's original run, please let me burst your bubble(s) with some insanely comprehensive research by someone over on Reddit (thanks again to @mbg159, who's also here on tumblr): No, Crow was not meant to be a dark signer, or the final boss of season 1, and his spike in screentime has nothing to do with his cards. And also, No, Aki didn't get less presence in the narrative because her VA got pregnant. What if you don't have the time to read either of those long posts? In that case, please take away this simple, very easy rebuttal of why the above theories are bullshit: Their would-be "key points" don't line up with the 5Ds production timeline. At all. Not even vaguely. So please, ditch them, let them die, seeing them still talked about makes me feel like I'm gonna break out in hives. And for the love of god, don't use this post or in fact anything else I post to pit Aki and Crow against each other. Both characters have their strengths and their reasons to love them. I am not the least bit interested in starting any character discourse. So please, spare my sanity. Ok? Thank you.

And now, we can get to the good part at last. In my previous post in this series, I stopped my analysis at episode 95, a.k.a. part two of the Pearson backstory. In this post, I will thus be picking up right after, at the very start of the WRGP—with the Team Unicorn match. The goal for this post is to analyse Crow's part in this particular arc, then provide some food for thought/ideas on how things that rubbed some people the wrong way could have been improved.

More below the readmore, and I give you not just my usual warning, but an extra warning, too: The universe will not let me write short things, so tread with caution, stay hydrated, and expect a veritable dissertation below, because this post feels long even to me, who has long since lost her sense of length when it comes to text. (But I'm well aware this is the result of me refusing to split the WRGP part into two separate posts, so I take full responsibility for that.)

Since we left off right after I chewed through all the issues with Crow's rather belated backstory and especially Black-Winged Dragon last time, we jump right into the thick of things now, with episodes 96 and 97, which serve as the preamble to Team 5Ds' first WRGP duel against Team Unicorn. Crow only gets two major things to do during this short stretch of episodes, the first being that he's Team Unicorn's gateway into roping Yusei into a duel during practice, which helps them set up a ruse that baits the 5Ds gang into sending Jack as their first wheeler because they think Jack's deck is best suited to countering Andre's—which, as it later turns out, it is not.

(Arguably the screenshot where Crow gives off the strongest Youngest Sibling Vibes during the entire show. Look at him, all chastised.)

Crow's second role is an odd one that I argue only he out of the main three guys could fulfill at this point: He's the one to get injured right before the Team Unicorn match, rendering him unable to compete, which leads to Aki offering to take his place for that particular match.

(Pictured: Bird Boy regretting all his life choices up until that point simultaneously.)

Here's the first moment I have to talk about in greater detail. See, the thing is, I don't know what the fandom consensus on Crow getting injured here is, but I argue that this moment was a (rare) strategic decision made by the writers at this point. Crow's injury accomplished several things: 1. It sets up the mystery of why his back wheel locked up out of nowhere, which is later paid off through Team Catastrophe's shenanigans. 2. It organically allows Aki to take his spot without introducing any argument about which of them is "worthier" of having that third spot. 3. Through this, it also allows him to actually bounce off Aki for once (a point I will come back to below, during the Team Catastrophe section). And 4. It allows the show to (TECHNICALLY) pay off the setup they did in letting Aki get her turbo duelling license and train with the boys. (Generally, Crow's and Aki's character writing intersects a bit during the pre-Diablo incident WRGP section, something I'll touch on below.)

Moreover, I think this is also the only match where they could have done something like this, and the reason for it is very simple: Team Unicorn are one-off opponents whose presence in the narrative is only relevant as far as it concerns the WRGP, and they are also one of the first teams the 5Ds gang faces. If we think about the opponents Team 5Ds has after this, it becomes very obvious why Crow could only be injured during this duel: If they had tried pulling this stunt later, it would have forced the writers to pull Aki centre stage during a much more plot-relevant duel than this one (which they were apparently allergic to, but let's not go there), not to speak of the fact that it would have forced them to sideline someone they were definitely trying to sell as the third portion of their protagonist trifecta, which would have probably been awkward. (If not for the fact that they literally did this to Crow later in the show, but I'll get there. Yes, I know there's a lot already that I'll still be "getting to".)

The thing is, whether or not it feels like an awkward writing choice to make so early in the big tournament of this arc (you be the judge of that), Crow's injury finally allows him to have a few interesting character moments for once. For one, there is his immediate disappointment about being forced to stay on the sidelines. Aside from the fact that this is a human and relatable reaction to his injury, it stings even more for the character than it does for us as the audience, because Crow got a moment where the Satellite orphans he previously took care of cheer him on for the tournament literally within the same two Team Unicorn preamble episodes.

(Say what you will, this is just stupid cute.)

So when Aki eventually offers to take his place during the match, he's understandably apprehensive—and again, this is human. It may seem mean in the moment, but from a character writing standpoint, it's a natural response. Plus, it's certainly more interesting to watch the group have a bit of conflict among themselves, rather than everyone immediately jumping straight to acceptance. It introduces tension, and, for however brief a moment, raises the question of whether Crow might refuse to let Aki take his spot. This is also the point where Aki and Crow's character writing officially intertwines, at least for the stretch of episodes between the Team Unicorn duel and the Team Catastrophe duel. And you know what? Say what you will, but I think it does a world of good for both of them. The 5Ds cast, as lovely as it is, doesn't get a lot of room to bounce off one another where it concerns personal matters anymore, once the WRGP starts. Arguably, they get little time to bounce off one another outside of plot-related discussions at all once this portion of the show comes around. The characters are treated as "fully developed", and thus, the writing largely doesn't take the time to show us how the group naturally interacts with one another anymore, especially not with how many side characters (chiefly Bruno and Sherry), antagonists, and duels the show now has to juggle. So Aki and Crow getting even a smidgen of personal conflict here is honestly a breath of fresh air. The interaction kicked off by Crow's injury isn't completely plot-irrelevant, like most character interactions during the pre-WRGP were, but it's not something that feels like it's only there to explain the machinations of the antagonists to the audience, either.

Let me go through this in a little more detail to illustrate my point.

So, episode 97. Crow storms off after Aki offers to take his spot, while Aki heads out to prepare her runner, intent on helping her team. The personal motivations here are already very nice and reflective of these characters as we've gotten to know them up until this point: Crow's angry and disappointed (mostly at himself, which is noteworthy!) because he can't compete. And specifically, he's angry because not being able to compete in the first match means he can't show the kids his duelling like he wanted to. Then there's Aki, whose offer to take Crow's place is every bit as much of a strategic suggestion as it is a bid for acceptance from her. Acceptance, which is the thing she's been all about ever since she was introduced, basically. So she pleads with her friends to accept her, see her as an equal, and allow her to duel for the team, which they do. And Crow initially throws a fit, but then...

(Listen. You have no idea how much Crow and Aki getting to actually be friends means to me.)

He comes around to the idea and not only gives Aki his express permission to take his spot, he even coaches her a bit right before the match. Moreover, as his text states above, he literally entrusts her with the kids' hopes, as well as his own. This quickly brings both of them full circle: Crow, who already has a theme of legacy attached to him, passes the torch to Aki for this match, and in so doing, offers her the acceptance she asked her teammates for. (Frankly, stuff like this makes me wonder why on earth people were so eager to pit these two against each other, when their shared moments are actually some of the best-written during the often rocky WRGP arc.) So, though this injury pulls Crow out of the duel, it, funnily enough, ties him better into the story and to the other characters.

From there, we then dive into the Team Unicorn match proper. And well, being injured as he is, Crow doesn't exactly get a whole lot to do there. However, since we're in the portion where his and Aki's writing overlaps a bit, I do need to go on a quick tangent about what Aki's portion of this duel means for Crow.

(Sigh. Okay, buckle up for a quick and rough detour.)

First, something I need to get out of the way and off my chest: I have made no secret out of the fact that I hate Aki's portion of this duel, save for the moment where she summons Stardust. Hell, this duel segment is pretty much universally hated by anone who has even a smidgen of sympathy for Aki. It's regarded by many as the very moment the writers axed Aki's character, and for good reason: After all the buildup surrounding her getting her turbo duelling license, the supposed "payoff" of it all is that she gets to duel against Andre for a depressing four turns before being defeated immediately, which leads into Yusei's frustrating portion of this duel, which, to my knowledge, isn't regarded any more kindly by fans than Aki's segment. It's a massive let-down, simply put. But the thing is, it's not just a let-down for Aki. After all, the brief character conflict she had with Crow about taking his spot here can and should be regarded as part of the setup for this moment, and as such, it can also be considered to be wasted the second Aki leaves the track after barely making an impact whatsoever.

However, I do need to mention that I have a theory on why this segment was handled the way it was, mostly because I feel like Crow's later interaction with Aki, shortly after she's out of the duel, underlines it (mind that this is just my personal theory, though, after having watched the show perhaps more times than can be considered sane): I think there is a cultural aspect to this duel. See, the word ganbaru, which anime subtitles often like to translate with "do your best" or something along the lines, has a greater significance than the translation implies. Though it's not inaccurate per se, there's more than just the idea of doing your best behind ganbaru, because it's something like an umbrella term not just for doing your best and succeeding, it's also the idea that you have to keep trying, even if you don't succeed. It's related to tenacity, to persistence, even in the face of terrible odds. And make no mistake, I don't mean the Japanese equivalent of "if at first you don't succeed, try again" here. I genuinely do mean "you have to keep trying, even if you fail". There is no guarantee of success here. And for that reason, the idea behind ganbaru is also that it's not simply the success that has value, but the effort made in the attempt to attain it, regardless of the result. (Side note: I tried to scrounge up a resource I could link to that nicely explains this concept, but unfortunately, all the promising articles were paywalled and the ones I learned it from require institutional access to lecture materials.) And this is where I will posit the tentative theory that this is exactly what the 5Ds writers were going for with Aki's segment of the duel—it was very much meant to be the payoff for her turbo duelling license setup and her plea to take Crow's place, but it wasn't so much her success that was meant to be valued, as the effort she (and by extension, Crow) made for and during this duel. And this is where Crow's little pep-talk with Aki after she's out of the duel comes in, because it feels like it supports exactly this interpretation:

(This is essentially the whole sequence. Note how Crow, despite so fervently entrusting Aki with his and his kids' hopes prior, doesn't admonish her for making a bad showing in the slightest.)

I don't think it gets any clearer than it is here. During this sequence, Aki is painfully aware of how poor her performance was against Andre, especially after she was so insistent on duelling at first, and despite having been entrusted with Stardust by Yusei, to boot. Yet, Crow doesn't have a single word of criticism to offer her. Instead, he even tells her she did well and that nobody's perfect. It very much reads as valuing Aki's effort over the result she achieved to me, and thus seems perfectly in line with the idea behind ganbaru.

However, if we assume I'm correct about the intentions behind this writing choice, we come back to why Aki's segment of the duel is so hotly debated and why it may have arguably been a disservice not just to her, but to Crow, too, character-wise. Because the majority of non-Japanese watchers of the show culturally don't have a 1:1 applicable concept like ganbaru, this writing choice was more likely to fall flat for them, because to someone who wasn't raised to understand the idea behind it, Aki's portion of the duel doesn't register as a payoff; it registers as a massive disappointment, because it feels like the writers, who had so much setup already done for her, let her fail on purpose, just to later let Yusei attain his arguably dumbest victory of the entire show. Thus, they also essentially waste the conflict she had with Crow about whether she would be allowed to take his spot in the first place, because with how little she achieved during the duel, she may as well not have gotten on the track. (Figuratively speaking. Please Do Not take this to mean I would prefer a version where Aki hadn't duelled at all. That would be worse. It would be infinitely worse.)

(Also, side note: If this post reaches anyone who's actually Japanese and still remembers this duel, I would genuinely love your input on whether my interpretation is feasible or just wishful thinking. Did you interpret Aki's part of the duel the way I did here? Or did it fall flat for you, too? If what I'm saying here feels like an absolute reach, please tell me. I'm honestly just trying my best to make things make sense here and remembered this concept from some classes I took in Japanese studies at uni.)

With all that in mind, it doesn't come as a surprise that some people were just as frustrated with the way Crow was barred from duelling here as they were with Aki's segment or Yusei's later victory. But it is what it is—the Unicorn duel concludes the way we all know it to, and with that, the show begins setting up the following duel with Team Catastrophe.

The only other, non duel-related, noteworthy thing that happens between the Unicorn and the Catastrophe match is a brief appearance at the Poppo Time by Sherry, who admonishes the signers for celebrating their victory early and warns them about Iliaster. Why do I bring this up? Because it's one of less than five times that Crow is in the same room with Sherry. Remember, Sherry. The girl he later, during the finale, talks out of working for the big bad evil guy because he suddenly seems to have such a deep understanding of her motivations and character that he can accurately deduce what argument will make her understand that working with Z-ONE won't give her what she's looking for. So, does Crow get a meaningful interaction with her during this scene, then? Nope. Not even in the slightest. Crow says exactly one sentence that is aimed at Sherry during her appearance, and that sentence is this:

(What a meaningful conversation!)

And yes, I will come back to Crow and Sherry's dynamic in particular. But we'll save that for the Ark Cradle arc post. For now, just keep it in mind as we move along to the other WRGP duels.

So. Team Catasrophe.

During the duel against this team, which was previously only hinted at ominously, the writing for Crow and Aki overlaps again, and this starts with the writers essentially doing a complete switcheroo of what came before: Instead of Crow getting injured and being unable to compete, it's Aki who crashes, ends up in the hospital, and is thus forced to give up her spot during the duel. (This also goes hand in hand with her suddenly losing her powers, which we are given absolutely zero explanation for, but let's not talk about that clusterfuck here. If you're interested in my opinions about that particular trainwreck, I have a rant for you.) Additionally, it's during this stretch of episodes (103-105, which is a whopping four episodes less than Team Unicorn got) that we find out that not only Aki's crash, but Crow's previous one, too, were both sabotage, caused by the rather unscrupulous Team Catastrophe by way of a special card that can cause real damage even when there is no psychic duellist present. (A card we also find out was given to them by Placido/Primo, but this is irrelevant for both Aki and Crow.) Crow's reaction to this piece of information, particularly once Aki gets injured due to the same thing, is where things get interesting for him again, because he gets pissed, to say the least.

(A moment I imagine firebirdshippers must have been positively delighted about.)

Here, I have to reiterate an earlier point: Think what you will of Team Catastrophe, of Aki's crash, and of the sequence where her powers suddenly don't work, but this moment here, where Crow gets angry on her behalf and swears to duel Team Catastrophe into submission—not because he wants his kids to cheer for him, or because he wants to prove himself, but as revenge for his friend—is one of sadly only a handful of moments the writers use to show the strengthened relationships between the individual members of Team 5Ds after the dark signers arc. It's one of the precious few scenes that actually shows, rather than tells us or lets us search for scraps in the subtext, that the signers, and the members of Team 5Ds as a whole, care for each other outside of revolving around Yusei like planets around the sun. Even if it's laughably small, it's at least a hint that there are individual friendships between the other signers, too, that they all stick around one another for reasons beyond gravitating towards Yusei for one reason or another. And for that alone, I'm grateful that they put this here, even if Team Catastrophe was otherwise so ridiculous and made such a bad showing at their actual match that they could barely be taken seriously as antagonists at all.

Speaking of which. The actual meat of the matter. The Team Catastrophe match. What does Crow do here? Well, he duels! Even though he wasn't supposed to, for injury-related reasons. What both his participation as well as the actual duel accomplish, though, are that they not only showcase previously established character traits of Crow's again, but they also make a (possibly unintended) callback to a previous, major duel Crow took part in: His dark signer duel against Bommer/Greiger. Where and how? Let's see.

Firstly, Crow's participation. The reactions of the other characters to this make it very evident that Team 5Ds did not plan for this, with Yusei and Jack even going as far as to say they "had no choice" but to let Crow duel, because he insisted. This is perfectly in line with the stubbornness we already know from him at this point—a stubbornness that was also a major reason for why he took Bommer on and later continued his duel with said man, despite Yusei showing up and telling him he shouldn't be duelling a dark signer.

Secondly, there's the manoeuvring thing, and here's where I can call attention to a fun tidbit: The WRGP isn't what introduces the concept of manual mode during turbo duels to the audience. It's Crow. During his duel with Bommer. Being crafty and a bit shrewd as he is, Crow, during said duel in the DS arc, purposefully switches to manual mode when he duels Bommer, because he figures that attacks that can deal real damage can probably be evaded if you actually have control over your runner and aren't stuck in autopilot.

(Don't believe me? Here it is. And frankly, it is somewhat hilarious, yet also very fitting that Crow is the only one who thinks to do this during a duel with a dark signer.)

The reason this particular bit is relevant during the Team Catastrophe duel is because Crow essentially repeats this trick here. Of course, it's a bit less impactful now, given that manual mode is standard for WRGP duels, but still: Due to Hook, the Hidden Knight, Crow is forced to pay attention to the track and manually evade the monster's attempts to make his back wheel lock up during the duel, mirroring how he thought to manually evade Bommer's attacks during the DS arc.

Thirdly, there's the revenge angle, and this one is a particularly juicy callback. Remember, Crow's major reason for taking on Team Catastrophe, despite being injured, is that he wants to get revenge for Aki. This directly parallels how his major reason for duelling Bommer during the DS arc was that he wanted revenge for his kids, whom he believed to be dead at that point in time. (It also, interestingly, establishes a bit of a connection to his deck, which boasts a fair amount of revenge effects, but I'll not get into that here, seeing as I've talked about Crow's cards a bit before.)

Keep in mind, despite all the things listed above that this duel accomplishes, it's also by far the shortest WRGP duel. It lasts a whole six turns, total, which is ludicrous compared to the likes of 27-turn Team Unicorn, 26-turn Team Taiyou, or 25-turn Team Ragnarok. And I don't think it's controversial to say that the Catastrophe guys are probably the most forgettable WRGP Team, too. Yet, somehow, despite all its shortcomings in terms of memorable antagonists and plot relevance, this is one of the best duels of the WRGP where Crow's character writing is concerned. Now, I'll be perfectly candid: Coming into this post, I did not expect the Team Catastrophe duel, of all things, to end up being as good at actually showcasing Crow's character and his ties to other characters (who aren't Yusei) as it was, but here we are. And we had better hold on to the good the Team Unicorn - Catastrophe segment did for Crow, because the next thing that's coming up is a harsh break from the WRGP, starting with the sudden appearance of Placido's home-engineered army of killer duel robots. And what does Crow get to do during this part?

Uh. Well.

(Pictured: Bird Boy being demoted to benchwarmer while the city's being ransacked by murder duel robots.)

Nothing. A whole lot of nothing, is what.

During the duel robot invasion, we only ever flash back to Crow to ascertain that he is, in fact, useless during this part of the show, something he shares in common with Ruka, Rua, and Aki here, because all of them get pretty much nothing to do while Yusei finally gets the hang of accel synchro. Granted, Aki gets to save a little girl at the hospital, but in comparison to Yusei's lengthy, plot-heavy duel with Placido, this feels like a consolation prize. And for once, Jack is only marginally better off, too, because sure, he gets to beat up a couple of robots, but that's it, really.

Where Crow is concerned, his plot relevance doesn't actually resume once the Placido duel finishes, though. (And neither does Rua's, Ruka's, or Aki's, while we're at it.) Because wouldn't you know it, the next big thing directly after the duel robot invasion are the Red Nova episodes, where three out of five signers (Crow, Aki, and Ruka, unsurprisingly) are removed from the screen almost in their entirety again while Jack gets his much-needed dragon upgrade so he can keep up with Yusei, in order to uphold his status as a classic, almost-evenly-matched yugioh rival.

Speaking of upgrades and dragons, let's make a quick detour while our protag and rival duo take their express vacation to the Nazca plains. It is, of course, no secret that no signer outside of Yusei and Jack ever got a dragon upgrade within the anime. (No, I'm not forgetting about Life Stream Dragon. But that one, unlike Shooting Star Dragon and Red Nova Dragon, was a.) teased all the way back in the DS arc and b.) didn't have a unique summoning method or some other gimmick that made it an "elevated" synchro. So I'm discounting Life Stream as a "proper" dragon upgrade on purpose.) Is this the point where I start arguing that Crow should have gotten one, then? Well, not quite. Not with the writing the show canonically gave us, at least—after all, with how late Black-Winged Dragon was introduced, it would have been bonkers to upgrade him here already, if even at all. However, I do argue that the way the show hands only Yusei and Jack upgrades seems a bit... off. Now, I know why only those two get upgrades, or at least I think I do. After all, they're the central protag/rival duo, and within the framework of the character archetypes the larger yugioh canon has created for itself, this would have always made them the first, if not the only candidates for dragon upgrades. What feels a bit off to me, though, is that specifically the 5Ds cast feels like it... chafes a bit against those character archetypes, for lack of a better word. The problem is this: The signers, as far as the first two arcs are concerned, are sold to us as equals who all have very powerful ace monsters. Yes, Jack and Yusei are still undoubtedly the best duellists among them, but not on account of having uber-powerful extra special monsters that were acquired through supernatural means that are categorically inaccessible to the other signers. However, with the appearance of Shooting Star and Red Nova, this changes. While Yusei and Jack were previously and would have always been the two guys who had a Special dynamic with a capital "S" on account of their character archetypes, their acquisition of the dragon upgrades—and even more so, the lack of upgrades their fellow signers receive—now decidedly puts them in a different power bracket and skews the balance between previous, supposedly "equal" characters. (Which, unfortunately, is yet another thing that makes everyone else easier to sideline.)

Why do I bring all this up in a post dedicated to Crow? Because this new power imbalance arguably impacts him more than the other signers—because he's Team 5Ds' second wheeler and doesn't miss another WRGP match from here on out. Thus, that power imbalance is felt in the upcoming duels, where Yusei and Jack bust out Shooting Star and Red Nova like it's nothing, while Crow is left manoeuvring with the somewhat underpowered Black-Winged Dragon and whatever else he can come up with. This is also why I claimed that the show did sideline Crow in some aspects further above. Because while some parts of his writing go to great pains to establish him as part of a protagonist trifecta that is now supposed to take centre stage before the other characters, he also permanently lives in Jack and Yusei's shadow, ultimately barred not just from reaching equal status as a signer (due to his late and rocky introduction and dragon acquisition), but also barred from becoming the equal of his foster brothers as a duellist. Frankly, I'm surprised the show didn't make this a plot point, because the first thing my mind jumps to when I think about this is whether Crow felt left behind after his brothers acquired such immensely powerful, special cards. But more on my personal writing ideas later. For now, let's just put a pin in the power-imbalance thing.

So, when is Crow back on screen in any meaningful role, then? (Note that I mean this as literally as possible. As per my discussion about "screentime" and my gripes about it in part two, I gloss over the parts where Crow is on screen, but could be traded for any other signer or even a lamppost without affecting the scene at all.)

Well, the next thing Crow gets to do isn't exactly glorious, but it sure is funny.

(I want you all to remember that he has to wear this costume and play this part in Team 5Ds' absurd plan to capture Yaeger/Lazar because he lost at rock-paper-scissors. This will never not be funny to me.)

Ignoring the hilarious outfit and Crow playing the bait at a fabricated cup ramen promo event meant to lure Yaeger in, bird boy does actually get something that's not just for funsies to do during the two episodes where Team 5Ds is trying to get more information about Iliaster: He gets to have a duel revanche against Yaeger, who, if we remember the DS arc, ditched him the last time they squared off. Much like the Team Catastrophe duel, this one, too, calls back to previous duels Crow has had: For one, it's the obvious conclusion to his unfinished, first duel with Yaeger. And for two, Crow repeats a "trick" (for lack of a better term) here that is also unique to him: losing on purpose, which we remember from his duel with Lyndon.

(Identical-looking clown family jumpscare be upon ye.)

And again, much like getting injured for the Team Unicorn duel, I argue that this story beat here is something that could also only have been accomplished with Crow. Because he's the only one who has previously duelled Yaeger, firstly, because not wanting to make a child cry by beating their dad in a duel makes sense for him as a character due to him being a family-oriented person who loves children, secondly, and because losing on purpose in this scenario is a tactic that would seem out of character from anyone else, thirdly. (We recall, the only times Jack and Yusei, respectively, ever consider/offer to lose on purpose is when the lives of people close to them are on the line, in the shape of Carly/Rally. As for the others, aside from not being present, Aki, Rua, and Ruka are so heavily sidelined at this point that they would have never been an option for this. And if his writing is anything to go by, Bruno is mostly purposefully forbidden from accomplishing Plot Things, especially through duels, while he's Bruno.) But hey, due to the way this episode is set up, losing on purpose works out for Crow, because it convinces Yaeger to stop hiding and actually share his knowledge about Iliaster. This, by the way, is the second scene where Crow gets to be in a room with Sherry for a longer stretch of time. And look, him joking that Sherry might kill Yaeger if he doesn't spill the beans about Iliaster soon is fun and all, but in light of the Ark Cradle duel later, I have to point out that he, again, doesn't get to have so much as a shred of a meaningful conversation with Sherry here. Again. But moving on. The scene with Yaeger at the Poppo Time then leads us first to the small sequence in the arcade where the gang has to win a simulated duel to get Yaeger's encoded intel, then to episode 116—the Moment Express episode, where, due to this being a Yusei, Sherry, and Bruno-focussed episode, Crow gets nothing to do again. (And also doesn't get to interact with Sherry again.)

Congrats! We've survived the WRGP break. This leaves us with three more WRGP duels before shit hits the fan and the Ark Cradle arc commences. And full disclosure, I'll be doing a bit of a quick-fire round of those three duels. Why? Because despite them all having their merits in their own rights (they're the better liked duels of the WRGP for a reason), there honestly isn't that much focus on Crow during them. He duels, yes, and I've seen people point this out over and over again as the supposed smoking gun that shows how Crow had so much more relevance and screentime than Aki and yadda, yadda. We've been there. And it's not that I can't see where this argument is coming from—I'll be the first to tell you that it's a travesty that Aki never got to duel in the WRGP again outside of the Unicorn match. But I want to use the final three matches to dig into how the way these matches—and especially the opponents to go with them—were set up made it nearly impossible for Aki to replace Crow again during any point of the WRGP finals.

First, episode 118. This is the only preamble episode we get for the first two WRGP finals teams, and here, our group is split in two: Yusei, Bruno, and Rua introduce us to Team Taiyou, while Jack, Aki, and Crow introduce us to Team Ragnarok. There isn't much to say here, because the only thing this episode does for Crow is a shallow repeat of what the Team Catastrophe duel did: By putting him in a group with Aki and Jack, and letting them decide among themselves, independently, to check out the exhibition match, it implies that he voluntarily spends time with signers who aren't Yusei. Thumbs up. Gold star. You made an effort (I guess). Then, the real fun starts.

Round one. Team Taiyou.

(Pictured: The sweetest country bumpkins to ever grace this earth. Yes, I'm biased.)

So here's the deal with Team Taiyou, from a narrative standpoint, as best as I can grasp it: They are a callback to Team 5Ds' roots. Specifically, to the boys' Satellite roots. The Taiyou boys come from humble origins, have only one, mostly home-engineered duel runner, and play using old cards that are widely considered shitty, as 5Ds canon tells us. They are essentially the non-signer, countryside version of what Jack, Crow, and Yusei once were, which is why this is the first duel where the duellist constellation on Team 5Ds' end couldn't possibly have been altered. Team Taiyou is there to remind us where our boys started, so it has to be our boys duelling them. This also goes for Crow, even though this duel otherwise doesn't accomplish much for him, character-wise. Instead, it's more of a narrative wink at the audience, as well as providing a breather between otherwise extremely tense, plot-focussed duels. But yeah, Crow's part in this match isn't much to write home about; he doesn't get any verbal interactions that are very meaningful to his character, can't get so much as a scratch in on Zushin, even with Black-Winged Dragon, and is defeated so Yusei can take out the legendary giant.

Round two. Team Ragnarok.

(Behold the pizzazz of at least two contenders for Haircuts With The Most Spikes in the show.)

Though this duel is framed as being even more so aimed towards bolstering Jack's character writing than Crow's, given the inclusion of Dragan's personal history with Jack, Team Ragnarok gets significantly more interesting for Crow again than Team Taiyou did. This is, of course, mainly because of Brave/Broder. Where Team Taiyou were a callback to the 5Ds boys' roots, Team Ragnarok are their narrative foils. Dragan is the duellist who lost his pride to contrast Jack, who's brimming with pride at all times, and Harald/Halldor is essentially the rich, "destiny isn't bullshit, actually" version of Yusei. Meanwhile, unlike the first two, who highlight our 5Ds boys' characteristics by contrasting them, Brave acts as Crow's mirror. Through Team Ragnarok's flashbacks, we see that he gets almost exactly the same, lovable-rogue-type backstory that Crow did during the DS arc, just in a different setting. The only, major difference between them is that while Crow is more down-to-earth, Brave likes to be pretty flashy.

(Keep in mind that he's doing this on a runner. Is there such a thing as courses on how to do acrobatics on your runner? Like there are courses for vaulting on horseback irl? I'm overthinking this again.)

Unsurprisingly, the duel thus ends up addressing the similarities between Crow and Brave, mostly through two things: One, the duel essentially becomes a contest of who can out-trickster who, culminating in the famous, ridiculous-in-the-good-way sequence where Crow activates a trap from his graveyard, to the shock of pretty much everyone present. And two, despite being on opposite sides, the two bond over their concern for the children they took care of and their concern for children in general, which is expressed most clearly in the scene where Crow's kids, in an attempt to hold the poster they made for him higher, very nearly fall over the barricade in the WRGP stands. Despite the hefty length of the full duel, these are pretty much the only things actually related to Crow's character that come up, though. They're good, don't get me wrong, but in a duel that is otherwise this dense with plot, Aesir shenanigans, and Iliaster foreshadowing, it's no surprise that the duel doesn't add that much to Crow's character, outside of giving him someone he can bounce off very well and relate to. Again, though, we are faced with the same situation as with Team Taiyou: Due to the way the members of Team Ragnarok are written, meant to contrast/parallel one male duellist each from Team 5Ds, nobody other than Crow could have taken the third spot here, either. It would have felt awkward from a narrative standpoint (as much as I would have loved to see Aki duel more).

Now, finally. Round three. Team New World.

(Welp. Here come the robots.)

I had to check to make sure I wasn't misremembering this, but due to the way this duel was set up so José/Jakob could bust out Meklord Emperor Granel with a ridiculous amount of attack points, Crow gets a resounding four turns total in this duel. (Gee, I wonder which other character got this treatment during a WRGP duel.) During those four turns, there are only two things he accomplishes: One, leaving behind two combo pieces Yusei later uses, and two, showcasing the shrewd tactics that earned him the label of "trickster" during the Ragnarok duel by bringing out a non-synchro monster that can take advantage of a synchro monster's attack points and effects—Aurora the Northern Lights. And arguably, this is a very smart play, moreover, it's the only time anyone in the show has the bright idea to not use synchro monsters against the known and feared synchro-killer Meklords. Unfortunately, as smart as it is, the narrative doesn't reward Crow for this play—José all but shrugs what could have been a turning point in the duel off, then proceeds to steamroll Crow the next turn, leaving Yusei to score the win, as usual. To get back to the "Crow got so much more screentime than Aki during the WRGP" thing for a second, of all the duels in the WRGP finals, this is arguably the one where Aki could still most easily have taken Crow's spot again, because here, it doesn't matter whether it's him or someone else, as this duel isn't tied to his character in any way. Unfortunately, due to the Granel-steamroller-strategy, this is also the duel where letting Aki take his spot again would have been the biggest shot in the foot, because unless they had changed Team New World's strategy, Aki would have gotten brutally guillotined here, same as Crow—something I can't imagine anyone, not even people who hate Crow, being happy about.

With that, though, we've finally made it through the WRGP. So, what's the bottom line here? Frankly, speaking from my own interpretation, Crow occupies an... odd spot during this tournament, to say the least. Though he does get to duel the majority of the time, few of the duels actually cater to his character in any way. Moreover, he only gets to be the star of the show in a WRGP duel once, during the by far most forgettable match against Team Catastrophe. And mind that I use the term "star of the show" very loosely here, because the problem the WRGP arc as a whole has, in my opinion, is that the rather lame Team Catastrophe duel is the only one in the whole tournament that isn't won by Yusei, which categorically means that any of the other character's big moments are usually undermined by the fact that they ultimately still need him to save the day. Thus, moments like Aki summoning Stardust Dragon and Crow using an anti-synchro-killer strategy that for once actually forgoes synchros are somewhat cheapened by the fact that they're not actually the turning-point moments they're initially painted as, because ultimately, Yusei always has to be the one to save the day. What's worse is that this almost feels like a bit of a non-issue that could have easily been fixed—given that the show tells us that teams can shuffle around their line-up for a match any time. But unfortunately, the writing never interacts with this as a possible strategic element, nor does it ever seem to consider letting Yusei lose, or forcing him to give up his spot for a match. I feel the need to say that I don't put the blame at Yusei's feet here, though: This strongly feels like an oversight by the writers, and perhaps a disproportionate need to have a nigh-infallible protagonist (on the duelling side of things) that their audience would never run the risk of calling "lame". For Crow, though, this chiefly means one thing: In any duel other than the Catastrophe one, it was always clear that even if he partook, he would never finish the match. And yes, this is technically an issue Jack has, too. But this is where the character writing outside of the duels comes into play, too.

Unlike Jack, who actually gets to do something during the Diablo invasion (albeit very little), who gets his very own dragon upgrade and who gets a very personal, pre-duel plot with Dragan, the show's writing doesn't bother giving Crow a lot of plot- or character-relevant things to do, once the WRGP starts. This is also why I was so surprised at how much the Unicorn and Catastrophe duels embrace his interactions with Aki—compared to the later duels in the finals, this portion still makes Crow feel genuinely relevant and interwoven with the other characters. Meanwhile, out of the three final duels, only the Ragnarok one actually tries to establish a connection to his characterisation, through Brave. The Taiyou duel only sets itself up in such a way that Aki partaking instead of him would have been awkward. Meanwhile, the New World duel just has him being treated like a floormat in a sad parallel to Aki during the Unicorn duel, seeing as they both get a nice moment where it looks like they might turn the duel around (Aki summoning Stardust Dragon and Black Rose Dragon onto the field at the same time; Crow summoning Aurora the Northern Lights, which couldn't be absorbed by the Meklords), only to have their hopes dashed as they're mercilessly cleared off the track. Outside of the duels, many scenes sadly give the impression that they may as well not have included Crow, though—he often gets so little to contribute to a moment or even to say at all that substituting him with a cardboard box seems like it would not have impacted the scene in any way. And that's without addressing his non-existent connection to Sherry, which feels extra glaring, given his later interactions with her on the Ark Cradle.

All in all, the WRGP feels like a very mixed bag, where Crow's character writing is concerned. His belated backstory, which I talked about in part two, is front-loaded and asks as many questions as it answers. Then the tournament commences, gives him some actually decent character interplay with Aki for once (at the cost of letting her succeed in the tournament, it seems), only for him to be basically irrelevant during the WRGP pause again. And once the whole thing resumes, it becomes this hot-and-cold thing where some duel aspects seem tailored to him, while others treat him as completely expendable. The end result is an arc where I'm left wondering why exactly the writers felt the need to make it seem like Crow made up one portion of a protagonist trifecta, if they never actually bothered treating him as equal to the other two. (The answer, I believe, lies somewhere between the fumbled setup they did for him during the Fortune Cup and DS arc, and the way yugioh in general treats its character archetypes. But that's just speculation on my part.) The one, saving grace the WRGP (outside of the Pearson backstory) has for Crow is that it at least doesn't introduce any new character- and/or timeline inconsistencies. In fact, his character stays remarkably true to form once the tournament begins.

Okay, onto the final bit, then. As I've done in both previous posts, let me delve into completely subjective territory and offer some ideas on how this arc could have been handled to make it seem a little less all over the place with Crow. And since his writing here canonically intersects with Aki's several times, let me try to do it while offering the best of both worlds to both characters, if I can.

As far as Crow's backstory is concerned, I've already offered my solutions to that in part two. Now, to stay consistent with my own suggestions, I'll try to branch off what I wrote in the last post. This means that, as per my previous two analyses, we're dealing with two scenarios again: One, Crow stays a signer and we try to touch canon as little as possible. Two, Crow isn't a signer and we adjust canon in whatever way we need to to make him feel interesting and necessary despite/because of that.

First, though, let's get two adjustments I personally would have made in both versions out of the way:

The way the WRGP is structured puts every character that isn't Yusei at a massive disadvantage, where character moments in duels are concerned. Thus, I propose an overhaul. Among the changes I think could have benefitted the characters (yes, all of them) are: One - Aki actually getting to accomplish something during the Unicorn duel (she can and should still have her moments with Crow, but maybe let her portion of the duel end in her thanking him for coaching her, creating a more upbeat scene that strengthens their friendship, which could double as good setup for their later double-duel against Sherry). Two - letting the Team Catastrophe duel actually play out properly (as in, they become more meaningful as opponents by having a better strategy, for example, and Crow could stick it out longer against them, in order to make this more so his win than Jack's. Also, why not let Aki actually see him get back at Team Catastrophe for her?). Three - giving Crow an actual character moment during the Taiyou duel (what if one of the country boys had played a card or two of the ones he learned to read from? It could have helped drive the parallel between the two teams home.) Four - letting Crow's anti-Meklord strategy get at least a little payoff, if only for two turns (show us at least proof of concept, damn it!). Yes, the Ragnarok duel is the only one I wouldn't rewrite (unless special circumstances are introduced, see below). Additionally, let Team 5Ds alter their line-up more than once, damn it. Let them actually strategise about the duels, let them take into consideration who should go first when and whose deck might be better suited to which scenario. Also, remove Yusei from at least one duel. Doesn't matter how, just let him not partake once. Perfect setup to let Aki duel again, and would also allow for spicy character interactions. (Arguably the best duels where this could have been done would have been any of the final duels, though it would have also required rewriting the antagonists somewhat in any case.)

For the love of god, give Sherry and Crow some setup. Let them actually interact, let them introduce their philosophies to one another, just do something, anything to make Crow understanding and talking sense into her during the finale seem earned. A few chance meetings, or maybe even a tiny side-plot could have done so much here. And if you can't let them interact outright, at least let Aki and Crow talk about Sherry! Double whammy! The two characters who end up duelling against her are made to seem even more like a team, and Crow actually gets to find out what Sherry's deal is on-screen. Just. Set. it. up. I beg you.

There we go. Now, onto the two branches.

Option A: Crow stays a signer and obtained Black-Winged Dragon.

Seeing as Crow's signer status, funnily enough, isn't all that relevant during the tournament itself (save for two notable exceptions), there aren't that many fixes to be made here. Crow can still get injured, miss out on the Unicorn duel and be the star of the Catastrophe duel. But giving him something to do during the duel robot invasion that isn't standing around and hoping Yusei will fix everything would also be nice. It's fine if he can't drive out there and duel, but why not let him do something else? He's a crafty guy, why not let him find, say, a way to fry the Diablos' runners, taking a few of them out even from a semi-stationary position without duelling them? He could at least get as much of a consolation prize scene as Aki got with her saving that child. Then there's Team Taiyou, which, save for what I proposed above, is a duel that doesn't feel like it needs changes. Crow does his thing here. That's it. The same goes for Team Ragnarok, especially given that they're specifically written to oppose an all-signers Team 5Ds. Finally, there's Team New World, which, if I'm being completely candid, I would personally overhaul to change the cyborgs' strategy entirely in order to actually let all three members of Team 5Ds shine. But this is the version where I touch canon as little as possible, so... Aside from what I wrote above, no changes needed. Just make Crow seem a little more relevant, make his strategy have at least a little payoff, even if Granel's back out and menacing literally two turns later.

Option B: Crow, as per my previous posts, isn't a signer and doesn't have Black-Winged Dragon.

This is the version that would categorically require heavier changes, though they honestly don't arrive until the break in the tournament. Unicorn and Catastrophe stay the same, I would still propose that Crow gets to be a little more useful during the Diablo invasion. But! In this version, seeing as he never acquired BWD, the break in the WRGP would be an excellent spot to let Crow acquire an upgrade for his beefy Blackwing ace monster of choice. Give him a little side-plot, too, something to do, something where he proves himself. Maybe let him run into Iliaster here, or maybe call back to Pearson again and introduce the new Blackwing upgrade as a treasure Pearson stashed away before he died (maybe this could have even been the card Bolger was actually after; the world is our oyster here). Then he's beefed up, too, and actually feels a little more on the same level as Jack and Yusei. The tournament recommences and again, the Taiyou duel could stay mostly the same, I think. Ragnarok and New World are where it gets really interesting, though. The way I see it, Ragnarok could go two ways with Crow not being a signer: Either he partakes as he did in canon and his non-signer status is called out as a peculiarity by our Swedish boys who happen to be obsessed with fate (which would make his performance against Brave seem all the more impressive), or, due to this being a duel all about destiny and celestial pissing contests, Crow's spot is given to Aki again for this duel due to her signer status (this would, obviously, require rewriting Brave, perhaps even switching him out for a Ragnarok lady instead). As for Team New World, this duel would honestly be a lot more juicy with a non-signer Crow, because much like he was for the dark signers, a non-signer Crow would essentially be an unknown in their plan for the cyborgs. He would be the guy who's Not Supposed To Be Here. Granted, he would still be beaten, but he could still get an excellent moment where his out-of-left-field anti-Meklord strategy genuinely seems to turn the tables for a bit, angering José and providing even stronger setup for Yusei to win later.

Aaaaand that's that. Somehow, I get the feeling the WRGP had the least things that needed fixing because it also had the least actual character writing. But that might just be me. It's late and I have been writing for A While. But hey, I got out part three faster than part two! I consider that an achievement.

Now, while I get my talking points in order for part four, I hope you'll have fun chewing on this one. See you in the grand finale to my Bird Boy dissertation.

#yugioh 5ds #crow hogan #ygo 5ds #5ds #yugioh meta #team unicorn #team catastrophe #team taiyou #team ragnarok #team new world #holy shit my brain is smoking #so. much. stuff to talk about. #the irony that I'm posting an analysis of this length about crow #on a blog with an aki theme is not lost on me #listen I love them both. they are so good. #and tbh I think I made it abundantly clear that I do here #they are friends. they don't need to fight. #also again if anyone wants to use my fix suggestions as fic premises #please do and tag me if you publish it #anyway *yeets this out into the wild* take it

[you-can-call-me-fangs]

Maybe some nsfw hc with angel or aki form chainsaw man? I haven’t seen you write anything for them so idk if you do write for aki and angel. Top Male reader pls.

-🧀anon

Sorry this took so long to get around to besides me just being lazy as shit it also takes me like three days to make a post after I'm done doing drafts, re-reading, finalising, etc. but whatevs enough excuses! I hope you still enjoy! 💙💙

Angel and Aki NSFW Headcannons

Contains: manhandling/borderline dub-con, belly bulging, mention of mirror sex, exhibitionism/chance of getting caught, Aki being touch starved?

° I wish I could have more nsfw headcannons for these pretty boys but I can't help but see them as vanilla as fuck, but they've still got some things that they like to do and that turn them on

° Angel likes it if his partner is bigger than him (which luckily for him is most people)

° This leads to Angel really being into being manhandled, like full on pick him up and throw him on the bed

° Angel is really into you forcing him to do things in whichever way you see fit, whether it be forcing his head up and down on your cock grabbing onto his hair while you do so, or using him as a glorified fleshlight by just holding onto his waist and forcing his body to move in any way you want on your dick

° Pretty much anything else you could think of that forces Angel to pleasure you in some way where you have all the control and there's nothing he can do about it he's probably down for it

° Angel especially loves positions where you have to pick him up and hold him in place, lifting his legs up wrapping them around your waist and fucking him like that? mmm✨delicious✨

° You can definitely expect some belly bulging with this one (maaaybe Angel wouldn't mind if you spread him out in front of a mirror so he could see the bulge you were making in his stomach too...just a thought 👀)

° Angel likes to be tied up

° I don't know why, I guess I just like the thought of Angel being tied up, whenever I think of him in shibari he's just so cute~

° Angel doesn't mind loves getting called pretty boy AND pretty girl

° I like to think that Angel, as a devil, doesn't care too much about gender or presenting as one particular gender so using either or works for him, so please don't hesitate to call him a good girl as you fuck him against the wall

° In between Angel's moans you can hear him cursing in a foreign language, probably latin

° I know I said Angel is pretty vanilla but just because of his nature as a demon I could imagine he's seen and/or is into some pretty freaky stuff that he'll want to divulge in with you in from time to time, but he doesn't want it to become a staple, Angel believes that sex should be quick and easy why complicate it with all the extra kinky stuff?

° Speaking of quick and easy I believe with my whole chest that Aki is into quickies

° Honestly just the thought of you pulling him into some unused office at work bending him over the table and taking him right there and then turns him on enough, imagine if you actually did it? He'd be over the moon

° Aki won't tell you this but he does get off on almost getting caught or being right out of sight or ear shot of someone seeing or hearing you both

° Aki's moans are pretty damn loud and noticeable he tries to hold them back but he's terrible at it, if you two did decide to do it in public somewhere it would be very ovbious what you were doing even if it was behind closed doors

° Two words (well maybe three): Househusband Aki. Need I say more

° Aki really enjoys foreplay, he likes having and knowing that all your attention is on him even if that sounds a little selfish to him

° Having your hands all over his body as you prep him, fingering him, playing with his nipples, kissing him, it doesn't matter

° Pretty much any sort of touch between the two of you is nice for Aki it's reassuring and comforting to him, he's a bit of a softie in the bedroom because of this, he doesn't like to be all rough and forced like Angel

° Aftercare with Aki is spectacular, you already know he's super sweet about it

° He gets both of you all cleaned up afterwards, taking a shower telling you how good you made him feel, rubbing, massaging, cuddling, you name it your doing it!

° Aki for sure enjoys cuddling the most though, being able to run his hands on your body

° Aki also most definitely expects you to do the same, he wants your hands on him as much as possible, running them up and down his sides, putting your fingers in his hair, etc.

° And this doesn't just apply to aftercare but during sex too, wrapping one of your arms around his waist while you thrust into him, letting Aki hold onto your biceps or even putting his arms around your neck, it doesn't matter as long as Aki gets to touch you

° Both of them aren't very good with dirty talk, Aki isn't good at hearing dirty talk and Angel isn't good at speaking dirty

° When Angel tries to dirty talk it usually comes in the form of him trying to decribe all the dirty stuff he wants you to do to him, but it normally comes out like a confused mess, he'll hesitate once with what to say next and then it goes off the rails from there

° Ironically in the spur of the moment when Angel is half out of his mind from overstimulation he might actually say something really sexy that turns you on, he doesn't even know he's doing it, it will just start to happen naturally, guess he needed your help :)

° Aki on the other hand just gets easily flustered so hearing dirty talk will make him turn bright red almoat instantly, it would be a really nice way to tease him

° Aki's way of blushing is also super adorable, it's one of those blushes that reaches all over there face and down their neck, you can even see him get red on other parts of his body like his shoulders, chest, knuckles, all in all Aki just lights up if you can find a way to fluster him (which shouldn't be too hard)

#🧀 anon #devils speaking latin is a thing right? i didn't just make hat up? #aki x reader #aki x male reader #aki hayakawa x reader #angel x reader #angel x male reader #chainsaw man x reader #chainsaw man x male reader #top male reader

[meownotgood]

(zooms in) AKI TATTOOS. I HAVE THOUGHTS

i already love love loooove tattoos and i like giving a shitton to aki when i draw him but its like. i dont feel like hed be the kind of guy to have full sleeves or anything yk? its hot to imagine but i dont think hed fully commit like that and hed end up getting just a few tattoos that have an important meaning to him.

like maybe he has the date of his familys death on his wrist? like either the very inside near his hand or along the side of his wrist. i feel like itd be in roman numerals. or maybe he gets his family name as a tattoo to honour them? he definitely has a tattoo for his family bc its meaningful to him

i also feel like he got matching tattoos w himeno when they were both drunk, something silly he kind of regretted at first but now he cherishes. like a silly frog or smthn.

he also definitely gets either your name tattooed or gets matchies with you like the last anon said, i feel like thatd be really cute! maybe he also gets your favourite flower tattooed, but thats just because of my Aki Flower Tattoo Agenda. like imagine him w a pretty floral piece on his shoulder blade .. itd be so pretty ……………

- 🐙

I'M SO GLAD YOU MENTIONED IT BECAUSEEEEE THAT'S JUST WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT

I totally agree that aki wouldn't get a ton of tattoos, but I brought it up because I imagined him with a shoulder tattoo... like the kind that goes from your shoulder down the arm or across the back... god

and I love the thought of him having a drunken tattoo of something silly, he gets shy whenever you bring it up or touch it (it's just so cute, and you love how he makes an embarrassed face whenever you notice it)

#I agree so much of him having a sentimental tattoo to honor his family #what are the thoughts of him having tattoos to cover up particularly noticable scars? #I feel he wouldn't care about his scars too much #but I like the thought #a flower tattoo would be so pretty... #ask mags

[possiblylando]

I kinda wanna write about sexuality in chainsaw man and how it plays into the stories and characters without ever being "explicit" about any given characters sexuality but it would also probably mean rereading all of csm which I do not want to do right now ! Instead heres a tierlist and brief thoughts and we can see how much of this changes by the time I get around to the full thing.

-Anyone showing interest in Makima (outside of denji) won't be counted towards their sexuality because pretty much all of them were being controlled by her to find her sexually attractive. -Bi Aki is totally fair, however he never seems to show interest in women outside of Makima. Despite Himeno's active romantic advances he never take her up on it. Angel is his only somewhat romantic relationship. -Pochita is the one who conjured up that image of Angel in lingerie. no further comment. -I've seen pretty decent arguments for Denji's misandry being used to cover up homoerotic feelings + the fact beam touching him makes him very uncomfortable most of the time. It might be explored, It might not be. Who knows. -I could probably write an entire fucking essay on whatever the fuck is wrong with Makima because there is way too much to unpack there. Does her manipulation of others into them feeling love for her stem from lust or just lack of emotional closeness? It's probably the latter but with the way she has them act it could be the former aswell. It could be that she can't even comprehend true platonic love due to having been raised without it and so her only way to see love is sexual (would be a near possible parallel to denji). It's a fucking lot I'm not touching with a ten foot poll cause this is supposed to be short. -Power and the Doll Devil are definitively have sexualities but I'm not sure what they are. lmk if you have thoughts (supporting evidence would be nice but vibes are fine tbh)

#chainsaw man #csm

[chryso0]

I'm doing a chapter analysis that nobody asked for on the chapter. “The Boss’s Secret Fur Ball Life” — Aka the iconic aki-kitty extra

This chapter lives rent free in my head, but there is some other stuff going on that i just love about this episode, other then the very obvious fan service.

Lets start off with the fact this is one of those rare episode where everything is actually from Asami’s POV. It’s his dream we are seeing and its a nice window into his own thoughts, and feelings about his relationship with Akihito. And i think if we dig deep it also shows his own fears, insecurties and worries about their relationship too.

The first few pages start off with what the real Asami does on a day to day basis when he returns home from work, which we’ve seen in many different formats through out the series. It goes something like this - the standard greeting at the doorway (which is based on classic anime domestic troupe, where typically the wife greets her husband at the door when he’s back from work), they eat dinner together, and Asami always takes a shower, etc….

In the lense of the dream that all remains the same - but of course with the twist that Akihito is a cat! In this version Akihito is waiting at the door for Asami to return home- though if you point that out to him he will promptly deny having done something so clingy (very aki like). Then Akihito eats happily from his little cat bowl (aki do be loving his food!) (on another note given Akihito is usually the one cooking for Asami, i find it funny that in this version Asami is the one feeding Aki) And then Asami takes his shower, and like many cat owners can attest the cat (aka Aki-kitty) follows his owner into the bathroom, so that when Asami steps out of the shower Aki-kitty is staring right at him.

At that moment, i think there is a brief second were we all recognize that it’s a prime oppertunity for things to divulge into something we’ve come to expect from Asami. I mean Aki-kitty is blatantly staring right at it and then he waves his little feather toy and asks if its playtime. If this was real life - there’d be no question of what would happen next. But it doesnt happen, because suddenly theres an incoming call, and it interupts any thought of fooling around with his kitty.

So the question I ask is why? This whole dream is supposed to be Asami’s fantasy, right? One where Akihito is hanging on him, begging for attention, and doing things that the real life Akihito would never do?

So why in this moment, in his own dream, is Asami’s thinking about work?

Is it because dream iteself is a reflection of whats happening in real world. When he wakes from his dream later we find out that he’s been on a business trip for the last week and hasn’t been home, hasn’t been able to see Akihito. And just like in the dream, in the real world he is techincally “home” (aka returning from his business trip) but despite being “home” there is still work that has to be done. Just like in the dream. He still has obligations that prevent him from being with Akihito.

Back in the dream, he takes the call, even while Aki-kitty persistently clings to him. Again though, remeber whose dream this is? Who is the one truly frustrated and wants attention? Is it Akihito? or is Asami the one thats subcousiously frustrated?

Aki-kitty continues to give signs of wanting attention, he brushes the feather in Asami’s face and still he is ignored. Eventually the continued snubing, leads Aki-kitty to lash out and he swats not at Asami - but at the phone. And yes Aki Kitty is selfishly demanding attention when he does this act, but I also think he is subvertly pointing out the fact that Asami’s work life is never ending- even at home. That even after a full day at work, Asami is still preoccupied with it, to the point that he can not give his fully attention to Akihito. That is private life is suffering as a result of him always putting work first.

I am not saying this is a real problem they face as a couple, as its never been discussed as a problem in the storyline. But its not as if Akihito would ever admit to it being a problem, as he is far to stubborn to say so. But I do simply find it interesting that Asami seems to be subconiously aware of this. As if he too doesn’t want work to get in the way of his relationship with Akihito, and he is at least conscious of how it can disrupt his relationship. Luckily, The dream itself almost serves as a reminder for him, as when he wakes up and Kirishima reminds him of his meeting - he decides then and there that those obligations can wait because he wants to see Akihito.

But back in the dream world, after Akihito’s little fit, Asami still chooses work over him and picks up the phone again. And it only leads to a disaster. The cat knocks over some food and breaks a dish. Whether Aki kitty does this purposfully to finally catch Asami’s attention is simply beside the point, because the act does stop Asami in his tracks.

One a little detail you might not have noticed with that particular scene is the bottle of ketchup on the ground, and what I believe is meant to be meatballs and tomato sauce- meaning if this image was in color Akihito might look like as if he was covered in blood. Which explains why Asami looks genuinely worried and carefully kneels down next to Akihito to check if he is hurt.

This part always gets me 🥺 because I can only imagine the things he is thinking about or remembering when he sees what he thinks is a bloody Akihitio *COUGH COUGH naked truth arch COUGH COUGH* and Maybe this is a bit of a stretch, but i almost feel like when he sees it he just goes rigid. That fear he feels of seeing Akihito getting hurt. It just trumps all things - even a god damn phone call!

After that Asami priorities get straight and he finally gives Aki-kitty the much deserved attention he wants. Even after battling the cat in the bath, Asami is still expressing his relief that Akihito was not harmed.

Then of course, just as things are about to get good - Kirishima wakes Asami up 😠

Though it ends as it should with Asami admiting that he wants to “priortize” Aki 🥹🥰

#finder no hyouteki #asami ryuichi #takaba akihito #you're my loveprize in viewfinder #finder series #finder metas

[starlitcorgi]

Hi......If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hmmm 🤔 my favs are always changing but at the moment.

1. Gokurakugai: Alma is a precious cinnamon roll who loves his mentor Miss Tao like a sister. I really love their platonic relationship and the fact that Alma is incredibly emotionally balanced. Like he's not this typical macho guy. Probably because he's surrounded by strong female role models. It's really refreshing for Shonen and I really hope it gets an anime series because I think it has the potential to be as big as JJK and Demon Slayer.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen: I love Yuuji as a ML and I'm usually a side character gal. So it's great to actually like the lead character. I've noticed in this current generation of Manga and Anime that our Male Leads are becoming much more well rounded and likeable. I love Yuuji's strength and his resilience, he definitely deserves all the love and hugs. I also of course love Gojo and I kind of hope Mappa deviates from the manga in regards to his fate because man that hurt.

3. Demon Slayer: I read the manga start to finish and loved every minute of it. The anime series is just as good. I love all of the characters in this in their own rights. From the protagonist to the villains for me at least the author got everything right. It's Shonen at its best. To be able to make your audience love Rengoku in such a short time is an amazing feat. To care so much that you feel as devastated as Tanjiro to me the Mugen train arc is a masterclass in story telling. It's sad that the series will be coming to an end soon but I think for me this will always be in my top 5.

4. Ghost in the Shell: This is the movie that started my love of anime/manga. It's a cinematic masterpiece and everyone should watch it at least once. It was well ahead of its time and it's not surprising that it inspired the Matrix.

5. Hells Paradise: I love the manga and the anime. Gabimaru is so relatable to me, I think we share the same sarcastic and apathetic nature lol. I love it as well because it gave us one of the best disabled characters in current manga generation. Shion is an epic character for the disabled community, being partially blind myself it's nice to be represented you know? And he's not full of loathing or self pity, he embraces his blindness and uses it to his advantage. He's funny, kind, strong and handsome. He never questions Sagiri's competence, he doesn't try to send her of to the kitchen like his colleagues. He recognises her talent and encourages her to achieve her goals. In short Shion needs to be protected at all costs.

6. Chainsaw Man: when I first saw this pop up on Shonen Jump I didn't have high hopes. It seemed like a crack series but this is exactly why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. I love this series even though it hurts me 😭. Denji is a typical hormonal teen, power is a ball of chaos and Aki is just trying to keep everything together. Plus Angel 😇 is one of my fav characters of all time maybe because he reminds me of my daughter lol.

7. Elfen Lied: this is another classic anime the violence is on par with AOT but once you get past that you have this heart wrenching story. Lucy is a monster created by her environment and the abuse she suffered. This is also one of the most beautifully animated series of all time. The art is phenomenal.

8. Solo Leveling: I fell in love with the Manwha and was so excited when it got picked up for a series. I'm loving the anime so far, though I'm two episodes behind. Due to my sight loss I have to wait for the English dub but dubs have gotten way better than when I first started watching anime in the early 2000's. I love Jinwoo's tenacity and the fact that he just cuts through the villains. He never really worries about whether that makes him a bad person. Sometimes you just want to see bad people get what's coming to them. Plus this has some of the most epic fight scenes, I can't wait to see them animated.

9. Tokyo Ghoul: I spent most of Tokyo Ghoul crying ugly tears 😭. Ken Keneki has one of the most heartbreaking storylines in all of anime. It's just painful to read/watch Gege definitely took a leaf out of the Tokyo ghoul book when writing JJK. Yet still I couldn't put it down, I'm a sucker for punishment. It's a great mix of characters as well, I love that we see goth culture mixed in there as well. You do get those Crow vibes the way it's so gothic in inspiration and the art work is stunning. I think the only illustrator that tops it is Yuta Sano.

10. Attack on Titan: AOT has been deemed controversial because of it's fascist themes. However I think it's only problematic if you think Eren is the hero in this story. I actually really can't stand Eren, it's pretty obvious that he's been radicalised by his experiences early on. The foreshadowing is strong with him you know he's not going to turn out well from the start. The real protagonists for me are Armin, Levi and Hange. Like these three are definitely trying to save their comrades and people. Whereas Mikasa is constantly having to save Eren and Eren jumps to mass genocide pretty quick. Levi almost feels like he's representing the audience with his snarky commentary. I also love Levi and Hanges platonic friendship. They really get each other and their banter is a joy to watch especially in the first season.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #demon slayer #anime and manga #manga #gokurakugai #tokyo ghoul #ghost in the shell #elfen lied #attack on titan #hells paradise #solo leveling #chainsaw man

[songsofadelaide]

 ₊˚ʚ₊˚✧ ﾟ. Fic Masterlist

My AO3, where you can find my full work.

 ₊˚ʚ₊˚✧ ﾟ. Fics I have shared here. Please use the tag #songsofadelaidewrites💛 for easier access.

💛 My Hero Academia

✦ Providentia [iida x reader, AO3 fic] ✦ A craving [bakugou x reader]

💛 Haikyuu!!

✦ Solstice [kageyama x reader] ✦ Covet [atsumu x reader] ✦ Invisible String [oikawa x reader]

💛 Jujutsu Kaisen

✦ Up The Winding Stairs [gojo x reader au] [WIP] ✦ The Loneliest Time [gojo x reader au] ✦ There Will Be Rain [megumi x reader au] ✦ In Your Dreams [geto x reader au] ✦ Paraselene [yuuta x reader au] [WIP] ✦ This City at Night [gojo x reader] ✦ Collections (Published on AO3) Year 2006 Fics | In The Wind Fics

✦ Asleep Among Endives [gojo x reader] — Masterlist Twilight, The Sun, Ordinary Days, Interlude— In the Quiet, Side by Side

✦ From Here to There [jjk x reader fics, also on AO3] — Masterlist gojo - rilakkuma stickers | fever dream | oranges | be cool | joined in a dream | luminescence megumi - what is a family? | shadows as one | shadows three | papa's girl nanami - 17:35 geto - glamorous sky | promise ring yuuji - embrace you higuruma - waltz of four left feet

💛 Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes

✦ Dear Love, Dear My Home Series on AO3 ✦ Windburn [Holst Sigiswald Goneril x Reader, AO3 fic] ✦ Luminous [Faerghus noblemen x Reader ficlet collection, AO3 fic] ✦ Marigold [Adrestian noblemen x Reader ficlet collection, AO3 fic] ✦ Suncatcher [Claude von Riegan x Reader, AO3 fic] ✦ Atmospherics [Balthus von Albrecht x Reader, AO3 fic]

💛 Other fandoms I love

✦ Blue Beryl + Return to Versailles [triangle strategy | roland x reader, on AO3] ✦ Meet me in the Afterglow [chainsaw man | aki x reader] - Tumblr fic ✦ Call it Magic [attack on titan | jean x reader] - Tumblr fic [WIP] ✦ Means Something [dungeon meshi | laios x reader]

✦ Mari's Masterlist ✦ Mari's Prompts ✦ Mari's Archive ✦

 ₊˚ʚ₊˚✧ ﾟ. My Linktree, where you can find my other writing-related socials.

#songsofadelaidewrites💛 #songsofadelaidewip📝 #mari's masterlist 🌻 #mari's archive 🌴

[deaths]

ill edit this to be read more later SORRY. also sorry its messy i wanted this idea out of my HEAD im running on 2 hours of sleep

~~~~~~~~~~

He's having a day. Aki gets this way sometimes. Rio will know right away, as first thing in the morning instead of the usual morning coffee together, Aki will be in a rush to get to work. In no mood for their morning routine of getting up before Denji and Power, going onto the balcony, and watching the sunrise. He doesn't talk unless he has to, even when Denji and Power are being extra loud and annoying, he doesn't yell like he usually does.

Throughout the whole shift, from their morning patrol through the city, to getting lunch, to filling paperwork. Aki is uninterested in anything Rio has to say to him.

They stayed behind, Denji and Power took a earlier train home, Aki and Rio waited for the last train home.

"What do you want for dinner?" Rio asked in a curious tone.

Aki seem in his own world, his usually affectionate eyes he has towards Rio isn't there. "Fend for yourself tonight." He answers quickly, bluntly. "I'm not hungry."

Rio makes a small hm sound. He knows in some way Aki is lying, he didn't touch his food at lunch. But he doesn't want to pry. Aki will simply shut himself off if he prys.

The train stops, they board, since it's late they in the evening they are able to get a seat together.

There is a long silence in the air.

Rio clears his throat, "How was your day?" putting on a tone of genuineness and affection.

"It was okay." Aki says, he seems deep in thought. Not fully there. His tone is cold and distant.

Rio feels like he's put a wall between them. A wall words cannot break down. He takes another look at Aki's uninterested face.

He slowly reaches his hand to hold onto Aki's. Aki's eyes widen at the sudden touch, as Rio whispers, "I love you."

Aki's face softens, his expression turns from apathy to sadness. His voice wavers, "I love you too."

Rio strokes the back of Aki's hand with his thumb, he continues to speak in a soft voice, "Want me to make you some tea when we get home?" his tone is full of compassion.

"If you would, please."

#devilhuntershipping

[callmearcturus]

No it does not but wow you're pretty. I'm really sorry for macking on your sister, please don't kill me.

Each door has one of the bosses of the game behind it, which is pretty fun. I did the original Priestess--

wait I did the Priestess before I started recapping. Y'ALL NEED TO SEE THE PRIESTESS, IT IS PEAK MEGATEN SHIT.

why yes her tiddies are the columns of solomon's temple. well i think it's strongly implied her vajaja is the temple itself but yanno, whatever, it's MegaTen

(if I was a navel-gazing nerd, I would point out its interesting in theory to see the Priestess, who is the protector of the wisdom beyond the Veil, who works to reveal what should be revealed and the hide what should remain unsee, for her to become the veil itself and to lose her power in that way, unable to ward off transgressors and only to be seen, it IS interesting, but also they made her tiddies the columns, so we're just buying into the Sacred Feminine i guess lmao)

ANYWAY it was fun to go waaaaay back to when FemPC, Yukari, and Junpei were so young and stupid and trying to stop a runaway train.

Otherwise, I am working my way to the top of Tartarus.

I REALLY LOVE THIS ENEMY TYPE, THE FLOATING EYEBALLS, bc when you hit them they do this

and the first time I saw that I was like "GAH!" IRL which is very fun

also also i keep talking about how fucking brokenly OP Akihiko was. like, many levels ago, his Fist Master skill replaced his ONLY special physical attack, Sonic Punch or whatever, and i was like "did this game just make Akihiko useless?"

but no

This is the kind of bonkers fucking damage Akihiko does. On a Crit, he's nearly at 500 dmg. On normal hits, he's usually around 325 dmg. Even Yukari, who has extremely high magic stat, hitting an enemy's weakness with Garudyne does, like.... flat 270?

HE'S JUST THAT POWERFUL. Also just for the comedy of it, I put the Omega Drive accessory on him, so his crit rate is through the roof. The CLOSEST I can get to matching him is the FemPC using Deathbound.

Akihiko + Omega Drive + start every battle with Revolution = comedy gold.

Sanada Akihiko cannot be contained, I don't know what to tell you. When he says "Yeah, we're going to defeat Nyx" I'm kinda like.... aki honey the ONLY reason you cannot beat Nyx is I bet they have some stupid Plot Armor shit. in a fair fight, yes. I have full confidence you could punch Nyx to death.

#persona liveblog

[venusvity]

can you maybe do like a little run down of aki’s gfs/crushes >.<

To start off, Aki has a very messy love life. She hasn't dated a lot but has "practically" dated a lot of women and often hooks up with women but being in a full-on relationship is something she really struggles with which always ends in miscommunication with the other girl. A girl could say her and Aki were dating but Aki would say they were just talking. You get the gist, right? For time sake, I'm not going to list every girl Aki has hooked up with simply because she's a whore like the other members, it would take too long lol! Let's get started!

.ﾟ۪ ♡ ۫  ...   JENNIE KIM ! /// EX-GIRLFRIEND /// 2016 - 2021 (?)

Jennie is one of the two girls Aki will fully admit to dating. She's also one of the two girls she properly asked to be her girlfriend. There was a lot of love shared between them but with both of them being so busy, they often struggled to find time for each other, leading to an on-and-off relationship in 2018. Aki remained loyal to Jennie the times they were on but when they were off she'd often find flings or hook-ups to waste her time with. Their relationship became so frequent on and off, neither one of them knew when the relationship was on, leading to a lot of miscommunication and hurt feelings.

After five years of their on-and-off relationship, the pair finally called it quits in 2021 though have remained close friends since. VENUS members will give various answers on if the girls are still dating however as Jennie still frequents the dorms and Aki still has her saved as "my love jennie" in her phone.

.ﾟ۪ ♡ ۫  ...   AOKI YAZUMI ! /// KINDA GIRLFRIEND /// 2022 - CURRENT

Yazumi and Aki met while Aki was producing a song for NCT XX. Originally started as friends, the two formed a relationship that is hard to label for Aki at least. Sometimes Aki says Yazumi is her girlfriend, and sometimes she says she's just a friend though Yazumi will say they're dating unless she's told otherwise. It's very confusing for anyone who isn't them. Aki isn't that loyal to Yazumi, often hooking up with other girls and talking to other girls as well.

VENUS members don't hate Yazumi, if anything, they feel bad for her. Most of them don't approve of their relationship and want them to break up. The relationship is bordering on toxic primarily on Aki's side due to improper communication.

.ﾟ۪ ♡ ۫  ...   JUNG YOONAH ! /// ??? /// 2018 - CURRENT

Yoonah is Aki's self-admitted soulmate. She loves Yoonah very much and Yoonah loves Aki very much. Their relationship however is very convoluted. They've never officially dated but if Yoonah asked, Aki would leave any girl without hesitation with the exception of Jennie. The pair are best friends, obviously, and spend almost every moment they can together. Aki's relationship with Yoonah has caused problems between her and any potential girlfriends due to Aki's unwavering loyalty to Yoonah.

While the pair have a very close and intimate relationship, they have both come to terms with the fact they will probably never officially date.

.ﾟ۪ ♡ ۫  ...   MYOI MINA ! /// SITUATIONSHIP /// 2022

Mina was too headstrong for Aki. She was not putting up with her bullshit and stopped talking to her after they went out a few times. Very quick relationship that ended quickly as well.

.ﾟ۪ ♡ ۫  ...   MIYAWAKI SAKURA ! /// SITUATIONSHIP /// 2022

They saw each other briefly but Aki ghosted her after Sakura persisted about them becoming official. Their ending was quite bitter on Sakura's end but silent on Aki's end as she is a professional ghoster at this point.

#╰ * VENUS : development ⧽ burn it to the ground . #idol oc #kpop oc #kpop fanfic #idolverse #fictional idol group #fictional idol community #fake kpop oc #oc girl group #kpop au #idol au #kpop addition #bts addition #fake kpop girl group #fake kpop idol #oc kpop group

[nanaminokanojo]

do u ever think you would add more parts to Pest? maybe make it a full story and not just a oneshot? im obsessed! (obviously if you don’t want to that’s totally cool too)

i love your work! hope ur having a good day

Hi, anon! Thank you for this ask and thank you so much for reading my work. Highly, highly appreciated. 😊🥰

"Pest", huh? 🤣 Why did I type it like that? Srsly stared at that sentence for a full minute and then spaced out. Welp, we're putting it there.

So, yeeeeeaaah, I have a thing for roommate Sukuna. However, I wrote it with nothing in particular in mind, so I have to say, for now, I don't have a full plot for it, but I was thinking of making it a random series. Like, you know, just roomie shenanigans but always the same characters and their general dynamics on certain matters. But for a full plot, not really. Which also makes me sad. I just can't think of anything to do with it for some reason, at least not how I pictured it in my head. 😭💔

The same goes with "Maniac" although I'm cooking up a prose version for that one.

Anyway, yes, I am having a good day and you're factorial to that, so thank you soooo much! I hope you are having an awesome day, too! Keep slayin'!

-Aki 💕

#reader asks #omg anon i'm so sorry 😭😂 #but you're awesome! #my endless thanks! ❤️ #sukuna as your roommate being al sweet though 😩🍻 #jujutsu kaisen

[inkblackorchid]

Hello! First off I want to thank you for these amazing stories you’ve written! Admittedly the best Yusei/Aki stories I’ve ever read, in my opinion. This is actually how I discovered 5d’s. I came across your story ‘Snapping jaws and piercing horns’ and no kidding I thought Yusei and Aki were a couple in the anime. (I was also confused on how Aki lost against Andre - you wrote it so precisely I thought it happened in the anime also!) However, I was wondering if you could make a scenario where they have an argument, which of course happens in relationships. I wanted to see what they were arguing about and how they dealt with it. Thank you and have a nice day!

Hiiii! Thank you for reading my stories, I'm glad you enjoy them! And wow, that's really, really high praise. It makes me super happy to hear the stories almost tricked you into thinking they were canon, haha. (I'll admit I wrote them wishing they were, lol.)

Now, as far as an argument between Aki and Yusei is concerned—I'll admit the idea has tickled my brain from time to time, but believe it or not, that's harder to set up than you think. And not because I don't think they argue (everyone does, whether they're a couple or not), but because of the understanding I have of the canon characters and the way my stories play out. I have a feeling this answer might get longer than it strictly needs to be, so uh... Hope you're up for that.

Here's the thing: I think these two have fairly different tempers when it comes to arguments and fairly different priorities in that regard, too. I'd go as far as saying it's canon that Aki definitely has the shorter fuse between them. She's more likely to get worked up at all, and she's more likely to get worked up about things that may not be super important, either. Meanwhile, as far as my memory of canon serves, it's hard to get Yusei worked up at. all. Full stop. And that's not because he doesn't get angry, but because it seems like he only expends the energy to argue with someone when it's about a really big thing. We see him argue with the Goodwin brothers about fate. Big thing. We see him argue with the prison chief about the value of cards. Big thing, because we know believing no card is worthless is a central aspect of Yusei's character. We also see him argue with Rudger/Roman about the Zero Reverse, which is a very big thing, because it's the most personal topic in the entire show for Yusei by far. However, we don't see him partake in any of Jack and Crow's squabbles or otherwise argue about minor things. You get the gist.

What's more, we only see Yusei argue with Aki, specifically, a whopping three times in the whole show, maybe four if we're being generous. Two of those times are during their two big duels, where Yusei's arguing with Aki for the sake of her own well-being, because he's trying to convince her she's not a monster, the third time is when Aki is literally jumping from a moving vehicle to another because he's—understandably—concerned for her safety, and the fourth time is when he's technically arguing with the whole 5Ds team by insisting he should go to Ark Cradle alone, which everyone else justifiably insists is a terrible idea. (What's noteworthy is that this is, again, a matter of safety. So we know there's one thing that reliably gets Yusei worked up: The worry that people he loves might be in danger.)

Here's where my personal interpretation of these two comes in, then. I think that frankly, for any person with a halfway "average" temper, Yusei is an absolute nightmare to argue with. Because unless the topic's big enough to get him worked up, too, he just won't argue. Worse yet, if someone's just picking a fight to let off steam, I see him as the type of guy who immediately figures out the underlying issue and starts talking about that instead. And if you've ever been in the position of wanting to snap at someone about nothing because you needed to let off steam, you'll know that a person like that is the worst. target. of all time. for that kind of outburst. Because they start poking at the vulnerable thing you didn't want to talk about instead, and this is exactly how I see Yusei. This is the same guy who, within his very first duel with Aki, figured out that try as she might to pretend she does for Divine's sake, she doesn't actually enjoy hurting people with her powers, after all—something we know she wasn't thrilled to hear at the time.

Aki, on the other hand, I could see occasionally get frustrated with something and then short-tempered with other people because of it. I don't think she can be moved to an outburst of truly catastrophic proportions unless it's about something big, either. But Aki would be a hundred times quicker to snap at someone without really meaning to, and wouldn't need world-shaking reasons to start arguing with people, either. But with Yusei on the other end of the argument? Unless it was about something fundamental, she wouldn't get much of a reaction because he'd be quick to guess she's actually upset about something completely different than she claims to be. He'd see right through her, which would possibly only piss Aki off even more.

So, let's finally get back to your central question: In what scenario would these two genuinely argue, then? The closest to it I've personally ever gotten in my stories was in chapter two of Be Careful what you Wish for, and that was similar to what I described above: Aki was high-strung for a completely unrelated thing and wanted to kick off an argument to let off steam. Except that time, she caught herself because she knew she'd basically be yelling at Yusei for no reason.

If I wanted a situation where they'd genuinely fight, though, it'd have to be about something big. About some moral dilemma, about someone's safety, or hell, about one of the few topics that get under both their skin. Something even Yusei would consider worth the effort to get worked up about, and something that isn't a front for something else. I don't think it'd be the most explosive argument, at least not from both sides, and I don't think it'd be overly drawn-out, either, but it certainly wouldn't be any less heart-wrenching for it. Because when you argue about big things, you inevitably argue in the worst of ways. Aki would probably be louder and meaner, but Yusei's arguments would cut deeper. I think they'd both feel bad about it fairly quickly, too, but who would apologise first would depend on what the argument was about, I think, and whether either of them was more "in the right" from a purely logical standpoint. I think generally speaking, Aki would be a little more hesitant about apologising, not because she can't admit she's wrong, but because she has a harder time swallowing her pride than Yusei when she knows she's wrong. Between the two of them, I think Yusei is also less likely to hold a grudge; when he forgives someone, he forgives them, period, whereas Aki sometimes has a slightly harder time letting go due to her own past experiences.

But yeah! That's how I see these two, at least. As for whether a full argument between them will ever feature in my writing, that depends on whether I could properly set it up. (It looks like there might be an opportunity to let them clash in the fic I'm currently writing... maybe. If the rest of the plot doesn't end up taking up an unreasonable amount of space already.)

Sorry for the long answer, these kinds of questions just really make me think ^^"

#yugioh 5ds #aki izayoi #akiza izinski #yusei fudo #faithshipping #ask the orchid #thank you so much for your kind words I'm so happy you like my stories!! #orchid rambles