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python333 · 8 months

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your writing is literally the best in the cod fandom. we need more injured reader angst. it's too good

don't breathe — python333

— — — —

synopsis [reader] gets buried alive after refusing to give intel to enemy soldiers and *slips up and writes reader almost dying again* oops how did that happen haha

relationships platonic!price & gn!reader.

characters cap. john price.

word count 2.7k

warnings suffocation [reader], just generally really depressing thoughts, near death??, 2nd person pov [you/yours/yourself], usage of c/n [code name/call sign].

note aww tysm :(( dont say its the best im gonna get a complex LMAO but i appreciate it!! and yes i agree injured reader angst ftw :3 i present to you: reader gets very injured and theres a lot of angst and its basically just you suffering for a good 3/4 of the fic while the last quarter has the actual comfort!

“Hello?” You try again, your voice cracking and your tone as desperate as it can get, “Please, God, say someone can hear me.”

You’ve been trapped in a casket for about five minutes now—at least, you woke up five minutes ago. God knows how long you’ve been stuck in the stupid thing, but realistically, it’s probably been much longer than five minutes.

The last thing you remember from before you were buried is being in the interrogation room of some small terrorist group’s facility, one you and the others were led to believe was abandoned weeks ago.

Unfortunately, whoever gave you the information must’ve either had incredibly outdated information or was setting you all up for failure, because the facility was very much not abandoned and was instead full of enemy soldiers.

You all had already gotten into the building before you knew that, because of course you all had to be in the same spot at the same time—practically sitting ducks for the enemy—and of course you all had to be clueless about the possibly hundreds of people in the facility until it was too late.

As far as you know, everyone managed to escape. Everyone but you. They didn’t mean to leave you behind, of course they didn’t, they were more focused on just booking it out of the facility. However, because of that, you were now stuck—you assume—several feet underground in a casket that has a limited amount of oxygen that drops every time you take a breath.

You let out the breath you’re currently holding and suck in another deep breath, holding it as you think. Your strategy of holding your breath until you no longer could mostly worked, but it wouldn’t for long, you knew that soon you’d suffocate in all of the carbon dioxide gathering in the enclosed casket.

You don’t know how long you’d been unconscious in the casket, breathing in oxygen carelessly in your slumber, which made the whole situation worse. You didn’t even know how much time you had left.

You hate to waste your breath checking your comms, but the enemy soldiers had accidentally left your earpiece in your ear—the small device apparently going undetected under their radar—and you wanted to make the most of it. You move your arm from your side and press onto the PTT button on your earpiece, wincing a little at how cramped the casket was.

“Does anybody copy?” You ask again, staring up at the almost pitch black space above you, “I repeat, does anybody copy?”

It’s a vain attempt at contacting your team, really. You don’t know if they’re thinking about you, if the signal is going through, if they even have their earpieces on—you know nothing, and that terrifies you because you really don’t want to die right now but there’s literally nothing else you can do besides helplessly talk into your earpiece, not knowing if anyone’s listening.

Your lungs start to burn and you let out the breath you were holding, taking another deep breath and beginning to hold that one. The air feels… thick. It’s starting to get harder to breathe, and you know you shouldn’t panic but you can’t help the few worried thoughts that come to the forefront of your mind.

What am I going to do when I run out of oxygen and the only thing left for me to breathe in are my own discarded breaths? What will I do when all there is to do is suffocate? Am I going to try, in one last desperate attempt, to break out of the casket, or am I going to just lay here and die? Will my team try to find me, or will they forget about me? Have they already forgotten about me?

Before you can listen to any more of those depressing thoughts, a voice comes from your earpiece.

“H—lo? [c/n]?” It’s hard to tell with the static and the cuts in between the words, but you think it’s Price talking.

“Price?” You ask immediately, all thoughts of preserving your breath forgotten. “Holy shit, you can hear me?”

“Je—s— whe—e—” He cuts out for a moment and your stomach drops when all you can hear is static for a moment.

“You’re— You’re cutting out, Captain, what did you say?”

“Wher— —re you?” It takes you a moment to realize what he’s saying, your mind working much slower than it usually does, but once you do you shake your head negatively despite him not being there to see you.

“I don’t— I don’t know,” You respond, taking a deep breath before adding on, “I think I’m underground, I just know I’m in a casket and it’s getting harder to breathe and—”

“Okay, o—y,” You hear Price’s voice crackle, his voice becoming more distant and sounding almost muffled to you, “Sa— —ur bre—th, I’ll try to g—t some—e to track your— —tion.”

With the constant cutting out of his words and the distortion of his tone, you can barely register or process what he’s saying, and that only panics you more but you refuse to let your emotions get the better of you even in the state of disorientation you’re in, so you keep holding your breath.

A minute later, Price’s voice crackles through your earpiece again.

“Okay, we’ve got your loc—tion,” Price’s voice sounds… oddly far away, “We can—”

His voice slowly becomes muffled, and you release the breath you were holding without realizing it, slowly blinking up at the ceiling of the casket. A sort of haze falls over your mind and you can barely even hear Price anymore before you suddenly snap back to reality and hear his now much clearer voice loud in your ear.

“[c/n]? [c/n], are you still there?” You recognize his tone now, and you’re just a little shocked at the sheer amount of worry in it.

“Haven’t moved an inch,” You breathe out, before lying, “You cut out for a second for me, sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s okay,” Price reassures you, “I said we got your loc—tion and we’re hea—g out th— —w. It’s not t— far away from where —e alre—dy are, we’re ba—ely three clicks away.”

“… Clicks?” You ask, your eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

“Yes, clicks,” Price replies, sounding concerned, before hesitantly asking, “… You know what those are, right?”

“I don’t—” You struggle to find words for a moment before you speak again, your own voice starting to sound distant, “I don’t think so?”

“What do y—u mean you don’t thi— —o?” Price asks, his voice sounding freakishly close, “Are you okay?”

“No, yeah, I’m fine,” You lie through your teeth, not wanting to worry Price further, “I just… how far away are you?”

“Just ab—t two cli—ks now,” Price says, before pausing and clarifying, “Two kilometers.”

Two kilometers… how far is that? “And that’s… is that far, or?”

“No, it’s not too far. It’s just a mi—te away, we didn’t ge— —o far before Laswell got your loc—tion,” Price tells you, “We’ll be there soon, ok—y? We’ll get y— —ut of there.”

“A minute—” You cough and feel tears pricking at your eyes from how hard it is to take another breath, “A minute?”

“Yes, a minute— [c/n], are you okay?” Price asks again, before laughing nervously, “You know what a minute is, do— —ou?”

“...” You struggle to answer the question, thinking long and hard for a few seconds before hesitantly answering, “… Yeah, I do, sorry. It’s sixty seconds.”

“Why’d it take you so long to answer?”

“I don’t know, I’m sorry, I—” You take a few shallow breaths, and feel a headache start to build up, “How far away are you guys?”

“We’re alm—t there,” Price promises you, “The heli’s ab—t to l—nd, and we’ll dig you up, and—”

Why is it so cold? Price’s voice cuts off and when he stops talking you realize that you’re shivering. You ball your fists up and can’t even feel your nails digging into your palms, your hands having gone numb from the cold, and realizing that makes you discover that your lips feel numb too.

Your ears start to ring and you feel that uncomfortable pins and needles feeling in your hands, the sensation slowly traveling up your arms, making you both wanting to peel off your own skin and also grateful that you can at least feel something besides the cold.

In the midst of your thinking, you hear muffled thumping coming from above you—whoever buried you couldn’t have buried you anything below six feet.

“—llo? [c/n]? Are you still there?”

You bring your hand up, the movement slow and sluggish, and you try to search around the side of your face for your earpiece. You eventually find it and when you do you press against it until you feel the PTT button being pushed.

“Still here,” You confirm breathlessly, coughing again as you take a few more shallow breaths, “I think I’m running out of— of… what’s the fuckin’ air that you can breath in, it starts with an o…”

“… Oxygen?”

“Oxygen, yeah,” You slowly blink up at the ceiling of the casket, “There’s— I think— I don’t… I think… I think I’m gonna pass out, Captain.”

“[c/n], don’t you fucking dare,” Price growls, “You stay awake, I swear to fucking god.”

“I can’t—” You take a few more shallow breaths, before coughing, the tears escaping your eyes reaching the corners of your mouth.

You can hear Price briefly talk with someone else, his voice the most serious you’ve ever heard it, before he talks directly to you again, “How much longer do you think you have before you run out of oxygen?”

It takes you a moment to register the question, but when you do, you answer, “Uh… I don’t— I think… maybe a few more minutes? I can’t tell, it’s just hard to breathe, I can’t…”

“Okay, okay,” Price softly says, gusts of wind blowing into his mic as he talks, “Give me a second, okay? We’re almost there, kid, we’ll— we’ll be there in just a minute, we just passed over you, I just need you to stay awake.”

“In a minute,” You repeat to yourself, before taking a deep breath, hoping that you have enough oxygen to make it out of this casket because you really don’t want to die here, not when there’s help just a minute away.

After what you assume is a minute or two, instead of thumping, you hear something cut into the dirt above you. The sound, however, is heavily muffled, so muffled to the point where you don’t know if you’re hallucinating or not.

Is that a symptom of CO2 poisoning? Hallucinations? You lay still in the casket and can’t help but release the breath you’d only just taken, the ringing in your ears starting up again and growing louder faster than they had before.

Your entire body is numb, your chest is heavy, and you can feel a sort of fog fall over your mind. You can distantly hear Price yelling through your earpiece, but you can’t find it in yourself to respond, instead simply laying there, your blinking starting to slow down before it eventually stops, leaving your eyes closed.

—

For a moment, you think you died and went to heaven, which would be weird, considering all the things you’ve done in your life. Not saying you’d go to hell, just saying God would probably hesitate for a second before letting you in through the pearly gates.

You blink awake, slowly but surely, and the first thing you realize is that you can feel things again. You tilt your head down to the bump under the white bed sheets laid on top of you, and squeeze your hand into a ball, watching the bump move and feeling your fingers dig into your oddly sore palms.

You let out a sigh of relief and pull your hand out from the sheets, bringing it up to your face and feeling the oxygen mask that’s been placed over your mouth and nose.

“Don’t mess with that,” You hear a voice say to your right. You turn your head and see a very tired Captain Price, dark eyebags hanging under his eyes and arms crossed, his hands having a white knuckle grip on either one of his elbows.

“…” You don’t say anything, instead you simply stare at him until he sighs and gets up from his seat. You watch silently as he leans over your bed and bends down, before pausing, and then quickly snaking his hands under your back to pull you up just enough for him to properly hug you.

You reach up with shaky hands and tentatively hug him back, not nearly as tightly—not that you don’t want to, but you physically can’t with how weak your arms are right now—but with just as much sincere affection. You can feel Price’s beard rubbing against your neck and hear his small sniffles as he embraces you tightly.

Maybe it’s his sniffling, or the way you can finally feel warmth for the first time in what feels like forever, or maybe it’s just the fact that he’s holding you with so much care and affection that it almost makes you burst at the seams, whatever it is, it causes you to tear up as well.

Those tears quickly become sobs that bubble up in your throat and crawl their way out of it, forcing you to tuck your head into the crook of Price’s neck and muffle your sobs in it, muttering a small ‘sorry’ after each one.

After each ‘sorry’, Price responds with, “It’s okay, let it out, sweetheart, you’re okay,” and those reassuring words only make you cry more because God, you didn’t even think he’d find you, yet here he is, letting you cry into his neck and is reassuring you after every apology that it’s okay.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry—” You mumble a litany of apologies into Price’s neck, your breath stuttering and hitching as you try to hold back your sobs. Price only shushes you and rubs his hand up and down your back in a comforting gesture, bringing his head up to kiss the top of your head.

He tucks your head under his chin, “Don’t apologize, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

And fuck, you know it’s just words, but it only makes you cry more.

Your sobs eventually stop, leaving you hiccuping against Price’s neck, silently crying as he continues to rub your back.

“I thought you died,” He whispers, his hand stuttering on your back, “I thought you died and I was going to dig up your dead body, when you didn’t answer me.”

You stay silent, letting him continue, “I thought you were dead when we dug you up and needed to feel your heartbeat for myself to confirm that you were still alive.”

He pauses for a moment before continuing, “I’ve been here ever since they put you in here. I haven’t slept, I’ve just stayed here, waiting for you to wake up so I could tell you that I—”

He chokes up for a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing, “I’m sorry for not even thinking to drag you out of the facility with me when we all ran out. You were— you were right there, and I couldn’t just grab your arm and take you with me, I just had to leave you behind and I—”

“You watched me while I was asleep?” You ask quietly, your eyebrows drawing together.

Price pauses and pulls his chin off of your head, and pulls you away from his neck so he can properly give you the most incredulous look he can pull, before saying, “I’m pouring my heart out to you and apologizing for practically leaving you for dead, and that’s what you’re worried about?”

“Well, I’m not worried, I’m just—” You shrug, not knowing how to explain it. Price sighs and chuckles quietly before tucking your head back under his chin.

“You’re insufferable,” He mumbles, sniffling a bit.

“… I forgive you, by the way,” You say after a moment of silence, “I didn’t really blame you in the first place.”

“You had the right to.”

“Sure I did.”

“But you didn’t blame me.”

“Right.” “…” Price stays silent for a moment before pressing another soft kiss to the top of your head and saying quietly, “You should blame me.”

“Maybe,” You mumble back, “But I won’t.”

Later, maybe an hour later, if the others see you asleep in Price’s arms while he keeps your head tucked under his chin and rubs your back affectionately—no they don’t.

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rillils · 3 months

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STEVE & BUCKY'S LOVE STORY, UNABRIDGED SOMEWHAT ABRIDGED, part 2/3 (here is part 1)

picking up from where we left off:

some 65 years into the future, steve's plane is fished out of the ice, and they find him, frozen like a sexy hot-dayum popsicle, but still alive thanks to the same super serum that made him go from Smol to Lorge.

steve is thus brought back into the world, but it's a world he no longer recognizes after all these years; a world where all the people he used to know and love are long dead, and his own face has been turned into a tool for propaganda over the years. obviously, he has a hard time adjusting, and he turns to fighting again, joining this group of kinda possibly superheroes, aka the avengers.

lots of exciting new things happen, sure; but steve is still pretty miserable. until one day, a mysterious masked assassin dressed in bondage gear (but not really), and sporting one very shiny metal arm (!!!!), is sent to kill steve's sort-of-boss. and then to kill steve himself. oh no!!

in what is possibly the most gripping, most visually pleasing hand-to-hand fight sequence in the history of cinema,

(NO BUT SERIOUSLY, all jokes aside, if you've never watched it then please do bc it's!!! *shrieks* so fucking good!!!)

a fight sequence which also happened to unlock both steve's and an entire fandom's competence kink with that little sexy knife-flipping trick alone -- i know you know what i'm talking about, don't you lie to me babes--

as i was saying, steve manages to knock the mask off of his opponent's face. and who do you think appears before him? can you guess??

DING DING DING!!! EXACTLY!!! IT'S HIS LONG-LOST BAE BUCKY! who apparently doesn't recognize him??

confused and upset, steve fights to uncover the truth. turns out, the man is indeed the very same bucky he grew up with and loved. only, he didn't actually die in that tragic fall in the ravine; rather, due to the experiments performed on him while he was a war prisoner, he survived long enough to be found and captured by the enemy. who then proceeded to torture and brainwash him, using him as a tool for murder against his will, and literally putting him back in the freezer when they didn't need him.

which, as it happens, is how he stayed so young in the first place: he, uh, spent the better part of 70 years frozen. yeaaah, are the parallels paralleling or what, hmmmm?? preserved in ice like your mom's best lasagna from last week? plunging to a 'death' that isn't really a death? waking up in the future kinda screwed over? :D

ANYWAY

steve is even more devastated than before, now that he's learned that while he was asleep in the ocean, bucky was out there suffering. when he finally confronts bucky again (and it's fucking epic and also fucking heartbreaking, believe you me) steve is desperate to bring bucky, his bucky, back. knowing in his heart that his bae is still somewhere in there, no matter how deeply buried.

in the most critical moment(TM), steve chooses to stay behind, on a plane that's about to fucking blow up around them - just like bucky did for him all those years ago - because if he can't save bucky, then he'd rather die with him.

only, bucky is scared and confused af at the moment, and he attacks steve, because 1) he has a mission after all, he's supposed to kill this guy dammit, and 2) wtf is even going on here??? who IS this man, WHY does he keep saying that they've known each other their whole lives?? and WHY does bucky feel like he's actually seen him somewhere else before?????

AND HERE IS THE PIVOTAL MOMENT OF ALL PIVOTAL MOMENTS: for the first time in his life, steve refuses to fight back. like he literally drops his shield out of the plane and into the river underneath, in a very powerful and symbolic gesture, signifying his surrender: he's not going to hurt bucky anymore, no matter what. THIS FUCKER LITERALLY LETS BUCKY BEAT HIM TO A PULP, WITHOUT EVEN TRYING TO DEFEND HIMSELF, 100% ready to let bucky kill him if that's what's gonna happen here, because that's still better than living in a world where bucky's gone - a world where bucky will look at him and only see a target, or a stranger at best.

and then!!!!

no this is like, this is THE most romantic shit, okay, like you could try to convince me that it isn't for the next hundred years and i wouldn't buy it, because. BECAUSE.

at the very last moment, steve finally manages to break through bucky's brainwashing, breaking the metaphorical spell bucky was under. and do you know how he does that? i ask you, do you know how steve does that, my love?

by repeating to bucky the very same words bucky offered him way back in the beginning, when he proposed asked steve to move in together. till death do us part the end of the line, baby. romeo could NEVER

bucky, who was about to deal the fatal blow, freezes instantly, finally recognizing the man under him.

and when steve falls out of the plane, bucky jumps after him, instinctively saving his life instead.

but bucky can't stay. confused, wounded, vulnerable, and only just beginning to remember who he used to be and what was done to him, he slips away and hides from steve - and from all the other people who might be looking for him, and probably want him dead. you think this is gonna stop steve, though?? now that he knows that bucky is still alive, and that he remembers him??? now that he knows that bucky's not lost to him forever?? AS IF!!

(to be continued in part 3)

#stucky #stevebucky #i have literally no idea how to tag this but???????#the silly stucky recap you didn't ask for #part 2 :D #catws #rillers scribbles

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spaceagebachelormann · 3 months

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zigmar i come to you humbly on this fine evening with the simple request that you give me some sort of might duck sustenance por favor and muchas gracias

they can be incoherent and stupid and goofy and silly to the max i just need to rotate this little kids like rotisserie chickens in my mind (esp fulton portman and julie)

random miscellaneous tmd thoughts !

✧ warnings: some of them may be ooc ngl

✧ additional info: u got it pookums 😈😈😈🙏 also these can be read as either platonic or romantic (not luis)

✧ m.list — nav.

♡ charlie conway !

the most insane taste in music literally ever

bro goes from madonna to death metal SO FAST

but ngl his playlist is always the best and he always gets to play music whenever u go anywhere

but oh my god he’d love pierce the veil in present day

HES ALSO LIKE SOMEHOW AMAZING AT MATH. but he cannot do science for literal shit

also his clothing style changes js like his music taste

will literally be kurt cobain one day and morrissey the next (hed hate morrissey though)

♡ adam banks !

every team sleepover/event/literally anything could js be a spontaneous hangout is always at his house

it’s because he’s rich and his house is huge as fuck and he has every board game known to man

just do not play uno because a fight always breaks out (charlie is always part of it)

he’s always the one who ends the fight also

he has this very calming presence that’s so nice to be around and him js talking to whoever got into a fight immediately helps calm them down

also weirdly good at comforting in the middle of the night but never during the day??

♡ lester averman !

he would watch full house religiously prove me wrong

his favourite character is obviously joey because they are one in the same

everyone on the team and their mother has been forced to watch full house while he’s been at their house/vice versa

he can also cook like. decently well !! it’s not something he’d prefer to do but he will for his friends if they’re tired or smth

♡ fulton reed !

this little shit

he is so unbelievably competitive over the smallest things it’s actually insane

typa guy to race u to see who can get to one side of the room first and start genuinely tweaking if he doesn’t win

at sleepovers he refuses to fall asleep first even if it’s just by a few minutes

he could be dead to the world but still have his eyes open cause he refuses to let u win (unless ur his s/o cause he might consider it that way)

♡ connie moreau !

she is definitely a theatre kid idc

her favourite musicals are probably grease, hairspray and heathers

she likes female main characters!!

everytime she gets into a new fandom she immediately starts thinking abt what it’d be like a musical and probably wanted to be a composer at some point

would 100% beg to use the aux on a road trip and then blast hamilton loud as balls

she wholeheartedly believes six is a top tier musical and she will DIE on this hill

(fun fact i’ve met andrea macasaet <3)

♡ guy germaine !

modern day guy would’ve loved basic white girl music

“life is too short to pretend to hate taylor swift” —him

also 100% a britney spears girlie. and nsync and every stereotypical white girl artist

but i wholeheartedly believe britney would be his favourite and he has her whole discography on cassette, cd, vinyl, u name it he has a britney spears collection

also his ass is NOT straight 💀 i’ve never met a straight man who listens to britney spears

♡ julie gaffney !

lowkey a regina george multitude if she wasn’t kinda. yk. a bad person

she’s a mix of cher and regina

everyone at the fancy ass boarding school literally loves her because she’s calm, smart pretty nice etc etc she’s just a really great person to be around

shes that one student who has every assignment finisher a week early, all a’s and 100% in every subject WITHOUT being mean abt it!!

her ass is friends with the whole student population and knows every well and knows all the drama but won’t tell everyone if she thinks it’s too personal (it’s it’s random petty nonsense she tells the team)

♡ ken wu !

secretly rlly good friends with julie but nobody knows even though they do not try to hide it at all

literally wander the halls talking abt whatever just for everyone to be like “y’all are friends???”

also this man secretly loves lana del rey

him and julie will sit on his bedroom floor and literally tell him the most insane and jaw dropping gossip she heard that day while lana is playing in the background

everytime someone asks his favourite lana song he says grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing on did you know that there’s a tunnel under ocean blvd to fuck with them

♡ dean portman !

is actually very very good at math!!

he was a tutor for the 9th/10th graders for a bit to get volunteer hours and also cause he just likes doing math

you’d expect it to be like doing homework with ur dad and the poor kid is in tears while deans like “WHATS NINE. TIMES TWO.” but he’s actually surprisingly patient

if he’s explained something a few times and they still don’t get it he’ll just try it a different way until they get it and work them through the problem

has rlly strong relationships with the 9th and 10th graders cause of this and is essentially their older brother figure

the amount of 14/15 year olds that he’s given relationship advice too is insane (id be one of the 14 year olds probably)

♡ luis mendoza !

his type is secretly quiet girls cause he finds them rlly interesting and likes the thought of them being happy around him but quiet around everyone else

he’s like yes girl be urself with me

it all stemmed from the girl he liked in 8th grade who helped pick up his pencils when she accidentally knocked his pencil case out of his hand (she was a quiet nerdy girl)

like a whole year later and he’s still trying to rizz her up 💀

he’s one of those guys who takes forever to lose feelings

the girl is actually good friends with him btw

♡ dwayne robertson !

i feel like he is fucking AMAZING at baking

his icon is dolly parton and he heard berry pie so he immediately learned how to bake

if someone he knows has a birthday he either bakes the birthday cake or brings them something he made depending on how close he is with them

and holy shit it’s the most amazing thing u will ever taste and nothing will ever compare

yes he’s one of those guys who will go on an 18 minute tangent on how amazing dolly parton is if someone talks shit about her (same i love dolly)

#mars writing 🧈#lee 🐴#mars silly little mutuals <3 #the mighty ducks #tmd #the mighty ducks x reader #tmd x reader #charlie conway #adam banks #lester averman #fulton reed #connie moreau #guy germaine #julie gaffney #ken wu #kenny wu #dean portman #luis mendoza #dwayne robertson

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inkblackorchid · 2 months

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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.

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ninjagracee · 6 months

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what’s ur favorite scenario to dream about with mtsk and death (kou dying, specifically)

YOU. YOU GET ME.

i’m gonna start this off with saying that kou minamoto is literally my favorite character ever so don’t think i’m doing this because i hate him i just think about him way too much and this is where i end up after thinking for too long

i have SO MUCH to say about this but i’m gonna throw it under the cut bc i don’t wanna catch ppl off guard with my insane bullshit

if ur reading this and u get upset it’s ur own fault /hj

alright SO

first off kou definitely should’ve died during the pp arc just for shits and giggles. it would’ve been like a “what the fuck just happened” for every character and the whole fandom and the chaos that would’ve ensued from the death of a major character would’ve been absolutely WILD- like bitch just killed himself. he straight up committed suicide. there’s no way of rephrasing that bc that’s what he did. it would’ve been a plot-shattering moment and really just heartbreaking and awful and aidairo could’ve done so much with it.

for one, mitsuba would’ve been very Not Ok because he would’ve blamed himself for kou dying and he’d definitely try to gaslight himself into believing kou was still alive- that would not work btw he’d just be in insane denial

anyway imma move on from that arc even though i could go into it so much deeper and focus on things that i could see happening just to make the story hella interesting (i’ve been very tempted to write a fic about this so beware)

i think the most likely ways kou would die would either be suicide or being killed by tsukasa. we’ve already seen him attempt to kill himself, thwarted by mitsuba then brushed aside for some reason, and i’m about to do a full ass analysis on why tsukasa should murder our boy :3

reiterating that I LOVE KOU MINAMOTO WITH MY WHOLE HEART HES PERFECT

okay so tsukasa. hes a silly guy. one of his main traits is he loves to fuck with people, right? right yeah whatever get to the point IM WORKING ON IT ok sorry anyway he’s silly right. he thrives off fucking people up as much as possible. since he knows fucking everything i’m gonna assume he knows how important kou is to mitsuba and, given the fact that it’s so easy to fuck with mitsuba, he’d know that messing with kou in some way would make the biggest impact. every way he messes up mitsuba’s (after)life doesn’t emotionally impact him for too long, given the fact that he and kou with it out every time. but what happens when we take out the support system? that’s what we wanna know.

so ofc tsukasa feels all silly goofy and takes out kou just for funzies. mitsuba is absolutely fucking destroyed in every way. he blames himself, duh. this splits off into 2 possible scenarios that i’ve created lol.

possibility one: mitsuba stays in his boundary for god knows how long, refusing to talk to anyone. eventually he goes to shijima, begging for a replacement kou. even if hes fake, it’s better than nothing, right? shijima understood his grief, in a way. so, she gave in. boom. kou copy. the rest was none of her business.

kou copy only knows what shijima knows about him, so let’s go with everything up until the end of the picture perfect arc. he has no idea about anything after, including the aquarium date, the far shore incident, and the supernaturals being banished from the near shore in the first place, and it’s fine that way. …right? well, that means he also doesn’t know that he’s supposed to be dead.

he keeps asking mitsuba when he can leave the boundary and go home, when he can go see senpai, when he can see his brother, and he’s very upset. mitsuba has no idea what to do. he was overjoyed to have his crush best friend back that he didn’t even think of what would happen after… he couldn’t let kou out of the boundary. that was out of the question. keeping kou here would make him miserable and make him hate mitsuba. so at this point they’re stuck in a cycle of shouting matches of wether or not kou is allowed to leave, periods of silence, and occasional truces because they both need someone to keep them sane, and who else can do it but each other?

possibly 2: supernaturals are a thing in this world, so why can’t kou be one too? even though tsukasa is the one who killed kou in the first place, mitsuba begs him to bring kou back, to make kou a supernatural just like mitsuba. mitsuba knows what being a supernatural feels like. he knows that just letting kou go would be so much better for the dumb blonde boy. he knows that kou deserves better than to be forced to live in a world that doesn’t want him anymore. but mitsuba is selfish. so tsukasa makes kou into a supernatural. for funzies, you know? he’d never worked with a human corpse before, so why not try out making one into a supernatural?

the process of making a supernatural is… messy. mitsuba now knows this, as he couldn’t look away from his boyfriend being made into one. it was horrific. i’m not gonna delve into it because i really don’t wanna think about that i’m so sorry my poor baby

just like with mitsuba, tsukasa didn’t have kou’s actual soul to work with, just supernatural parts and kou’s body. it was simply an animated puppet that looked like kou minamoto. “it’s fine,” mitsuba said, “it’s okay, he’s back, that what matters, right?” “it’ll be fine, right minamoto?” and as he looks to kou for support, all he gets in response is a blank look. he realizes, after staring in horror at the jagged scar on kou’s neck, that his vocal chords are absolutely fucked up beyond repair. he’d never hear kou’s voice again.

thanks for reading and i’m so sorry <3

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jazzythursday · 5 months

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6 & 16!

6. Are there any aspects of a character or plot that you wished had been delved into more in the duology?

Jesper and Kaz’s relationship maybe? Both that I wish we had more background on it but also how it changes post-ck?

Ooooh! oooh! I know! I wish we’d gotten to know more about Jesper’s life before the Barrel, his apprenticeship with the gunsmith, and also maybe how being bi-racial and growing up in Novya Zem affects him? What it was like acclimating to Kerch culture, how much he’s connected to his Kealish heritage vs Zemani etc, that sort of thing.

Hmmm… Maybe I do want to revisit that Jesper character study in my docs one day…

16. Got a hill you'd die on about a particular character trait/scene/ship/etc?

This isn’t a very new or groundbreaking opinion I suppose, but I really hate how the fandom polarizes Wylan’s character and insists that basically to not infantilize him, he must be thought of as some badass crazy bomb maker who blows things up for fun?

Something I love about Wylan is how full of inner conflict and contradictions he is. I love that he’s kind and empathetic and, yeah, soft! He doesn’t take to the rough-ness of the Barrel or the intensity of gang life well at all, but he keeps trying his best because he has to!

He’s both compassionate and clinical. He’s genuine and honest and a good liar when he needs to be. He’s an artist and a chemist. He doesn’t want to make bombs and he’s proud when they work. He’s offended when people insult his abilities and he refuses to believe that he’s smart or competent when people tell him. He IS soft, and scared, and bad at a lot of things. He’s also talented, and a genius, and able to adapt.

Being soft or sincere isn’t being weak, and I think in a lot of ways that’s the point of Wylan being the way he is. He’s not a mini Kaz or an evil genius. When Kaz survives the plague, he decides that his humanity, his morals, his old life—they have to die for him and his anger to live on. But Wylan, when he lives through his father trying to have him killed, keeps hold of it! I always think about how Wylan acknowledges that keeping his flute and his satchel slows him down in the water, but he can’t bring himself to let go. When faced with the same decision as Kaz, Wylan clutches onto his identity and his morals and his sentiment that much tighter, and I think that decision is a major catalyst for what really sets them apart.

That… may have gotten away from me… a bit.

TLDR: Wylan’s soft-ness and kindness is what makes him strong, and that’s the hill I’ll die on.

Thanks for the questions! 💖

#can you tell I have a favorite blorbo?#is it obvious #wylan van eck #shadow and bone #six of crows #jesper fehey #ask games

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imhidingonceagain · 1 year

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The teen wolf fandom hates Scott McCall:

Honestly, I love teen wolf but the fandom pisses me off to the core because of their hatred for Scott McCall.

(It doesn't surprise me though, it always happens with shows that have POC as the main character)

And listen to me, Scott doesn't have to be your favorite (he's not my favorite character) but the things people say about him are ridiculous.

The amount of videos people make about Scott and Stiles' fight and the comments blaming Scott exclusively baffle me.

Let me tell you about the amount of bullshit people make up about Scott. I've heard the following statements (I'm sure there's more but I'm only thinking about S5 right now):

1. Scott should've Believed Stiles instead of someone he just met:

Scott didn't just meet Theo! The show clearly states that the three of them were childhood friends so why do people insist on believing that Theo was a stranger. HE WAS NOT. And even if he was, Theo was looking for a pack, Scott was just trying to help someone who was in danger for not having a pack because lone wolves are in danger of dying in the Teen wolf universe. Did you see the show? That's why the alpha twins were so desperate to be accepted by Scott!! Scott didn't want someone who he met in his childhood to be left alone and die.

2. Scott should've Believed Stiles, he's always right:

Contrary to what a lot of Stiles Stans believe, he's not perfect or invincible, he's not right all the time either. He's the same character that accused Derek of being a murderer, he's the same character that thought Liam was cheating in Lacrosse. He's the same character that kept making insensitive jokes about Isaac's abuse.

Why is it so difficult for people to understand that STILES IS AN AWESOME CHARACTER WITHOUT BEING PERFECT?

His flaws make him interesting and realistic (and before you come from me, Stiles is in my top 3 of favorite characters so no, I don't hate him, in fact I LOVE HIM).

3. Scott should've understood Stiles because he had Killed before so there's nothing to blame Stiles about:

Believe it or not I saw someone saying that Scott had KILLED someone when the fight happened and their comment had 300+ likes from people who clearly didn't watch the show.

Let me clarify. I will never, NEVER blame Stiles for killing Donovan because he was defending himself and my poor boy was scared, he didn't have another option.

Yeah, that's clear... BUT WHY ARE PEOPLE suddenly saying that Scott killed?

One of the reasons why Scott kept his status as a true alpha is because he refused to kill (even when they deserved it).

I saw some people calling out the person for saying that bullshit and they proceded to say that Scott has indirectly killed someone.

By that logic EVERYONE HAS KILLED SOMEONE.

4. Stiles was going through a lot so Scott should've just understood:

Scott was going through a lot as well. His girlfriend at the time (Kira) was loosing control. His asthma came back, his beta with anger issues was loosing control as well.

HE WAS KILLED THAT SEASON! SCOTT LITERALLY DIED and his mother had to bring him back!!

I think people forget that Scott was a TEENAGER trying to do his best.

That fight was originated by poor communication skills projected by BOTH characters (Scott and Stiles).

Scott asked!! He asked and Stiles kept being secretive so why is it only Scott's fault? Scott was trying, Stiles was trying, everyone was but somehow you guys blame Scott only.

And, ultimately it was THEO'S FAULT!! He's the villain in that season NOT SCOTT (And I'm saying this as someone who loves Theo).

If you dislike Scott that's your problem, your opinion and it's fine. We all dislike characters, but stop making up bullshit to fit your twisted narratives about him.

#teen wolf #teen wolf movie #scott mccall #stiles stilinski #theo raeken #liam dunbar #kira yukimura #derek hale #tyler posey

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dreaming-of-the-reality · 2 years

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The fandom: Oh My God! I love Daemon! He’s a feminist and is my favourite character! Team Black all the way cause they’re the good guys!

Daemon:

- Beats a messenger who’s only job was to deliver a piece of paper

- He makes fun of his brothers newly deceased son because it means he has a higher chance of claiming of the throne, celebrating it in a tavern and brothel

- Stole a dragon egg by lying to his whore and to his brother saying he was marrying her and she was pregnant

- Took Rhaenyra out on a nightly stroll to then lead her into a brothel, dry hump her and then left her by herself (a 14 year old) in the silk streets

- Tried to ruin Rhaenyra’s reputation for the sole purpose of having her to himself

- Killed his own wife who was innocent in this whole situation and was disrespected by him so many times, by bashing her face in with a rock after scaring her horse

- Took second best option which was Laena but didn’t really love her as she deserved, took her away from her home, denied her request to go back to see her parents to which she then died.

- Barely pays any attention to his twin girls

- Married his niece after planning the murder of her husband (again innocent) and In the books he was murdered but the series let him get away - this meant that Rhaenys and Corlys were left without children all thanks to Daemon

- Had his daughters attend the wedding of their aunt/cousin and their dad a few days after their mothers funeral

- Didn’t care too much when his own daughters came in with their faces covered in blood after fighting with Aemond and instead tended to Rhaenyra’s kids

- Sailed away to Dragon stone with Rhaenyra

- came back to Kingslanding only to not believe anything Alicent says despite the fact he has been absent for the last 6 years and has no idea what’s going on

- Kills Vaemond for stating facts after taunting him to say them

- Accuses the greens of killing Viserys because again he doesn’t like them, the man literally had a hole in his head… he couldn’t walk, like barely talk, and Daemon still won’t accept the fact that maybe he just died?

- Leaves Rhaenyra alone during her childbirth despite her wailing and calling his name, instead he just wants to plan the war he’s always dreamed of

- Tries to push for a war by disobeying Rhaenyra’s commands

- Doesn’t say a word to Rhaenyra after she just squeezed out their stillborn daughter by herself, instead he goes to mope on the beach

- claims another dragon - probably to be more powerful when one of his daughters still doesn’t even have one.

- Strangles Rhaenyra because she doesn’t want to have a war and refuses to make the first move.

(In the books or history of ASOIAF)

- Sends assassins to kill one of Aegon and Helaenas children as a “son for a son” after Luke is killed by Aemond, these assassins then torture Helaena into picking out of her 3 children which one should die, when she refuses to make a decision they threaten to rape her like 3-6 year old daughter. She chooses her youngest as she thinks it will be better as he won’t even know what’s going on, they end up killing the older one which ultimately leads Helaena killing herself.

And again I’m left wondering why people consider him good? How people honestly think Alicent is worse than him, or even Aemond. Daemon is a horrible character, he’s an asshole, only wants for himself, and his actions in the last episode (episode 10) makes it seem as though the only reason he married Rhaenyra was to sit on the throne as she was his last and only option left.

I think Rhaenyra knows as well, considering she was eyeing him as he stared at Viserys crown, then was watching him wearily when he placed it on her head.

And don’t get me started on Rhaenyra either, Daemon is more violent and self-centred but Rhaenyra is more spoiled and self-centred.

Just to list a few of the reasons why Rhaenyra isn’t all good no matter how bad you feel for her now

- Constantly got away with the notion of refusing to marry despite the fact if she was in any other house and their father demanded their daughter marry, they would have no choice

- Lied to her father and Alicent about the night Daemon took her to the brothel and implied Otto was lying (he technically wasn’t) which ultimately got him sent away

- Claimed she was still a “maiden” after sleeping with Ser Criston, again, something she got away with as the Maester claimed the tea was from Viserys meaning he didn’t believe her but kept quite

- Refused all advances Alicent made in order to regain or at least heal their broken friendship after being told she would marry the king (something she couldn’t refuse, and was manipulated into doing by her father)

- When told to marry Laenor, she claimed she would do her duty to the realm by having his child, which she didn’t do and even admitted they barely tried for one.

- Cut her tour off early cause she was bored

- Seeked her own pleasure from Harwin, setting her bastard kids up for defeat by trying to persuade people to think her and her husband, both having white hair birthed three dark haired boys.

- Refused to ever admit it even though it was obvious

- Got away with it considering Viserys always tried to deflect Alicents advances to do something about it

- proposed her bastard child should sit the Driftmark throne, which would mean the death of true house Valeryon

- After seeing her son cut out another boy (her brothers) eye, she instead (not asking her kids why he did that, or told him he shouldn’t) wanted action be taken because her sons were called bastard by a 10 year old but no action against her son because in her eyes they did nothing wrong

- it was 4v1 and he was supposed to be asleep? Why does he have a dagger Rhaenyra?

- Was satisfied with “making peace” even though all her son got was a broken nose, and Alicents son lost an eye

- As Alicent said, Rhaenyra never had to sacrifice anything, to get where she was, vs Alicent who had to sacrifice everything

- Conspired with Daemon (after having sex with him again commuting adultery for the second time) to kill her husband so she can marry him

- Left Kingslanding which meant she only got to spend a day with her father after not seeing him for 6 years, and then left him to die alone again

- Got Vaemond killed for again stating the truth

- Accused the greens of killing her father who was on the brink of death before she left

And yeah, that’s just a few. I’m not going to start on Luke either, that will be a different day, different time.

So if you have gotten this far, which I’m sure no one has lol, you can tell I am 100% team Green. It’s poetic because the team your drawn to side with is team black because it has the main characters, they are made to look like the good guys where as team green is made to look evil.

If you really put it into perspective with everyone’s actions, team black has done worse things than team green by far.

#house of the dragon #alicent hightower #daemon targeryan #game of thrones #house targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #aemond targaryen #hbo series #hotd spoilers #team black #team green #rhaenys velaryon #haelena targaryen

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dannyphantom-justiceleauge · 6 months

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I kinda wanna see Jason & several others get a bit of a reality check.I've seen comments that Bruce trains kids as 'child soldiers' &??? The only child soldiers are Damien & Steph?? And they didn't become them because of Batman??

From what I recall, Dick, Jason, & Tim all insisted on vigilanteism. Like, Bats TRIED to get them to just stay home where it was safe, but they refused!

Like, what do people expect Bats to have done? Lock them in a dungeon & never let them out?

It's about a 50/50 that would've even worked & on the 50% chance that they did get out, they would've immediately started crime fighting again!

Or, should Bruce have just left them to their own devices, like "not my problem?" They would've either died trying to be heroes on their own & without guidence or grown up to hate the Bat even more for his apethy towards their problems.

Like, whether Jason, or anyone else, likes it or not, Bruce training them was a best case scenario.

All Batman did was try to heard them in the least dangerous direction that he could by giving them the tools to not die a horrible death.

Obviously, it didn't always work (i.e. Jason), but what does Jason expect Bruce to have done in his situation? What would've been the better alternative?

Honestly, I think the problem is that his anger is too big to pin onto just one person, but at the same time, he doesn't want to admit that he got himself into the situation that got him killed. Jason decided to chase after his birth mother without Bruce's aid. Jason went to Ethiopia. Yes, it happened because the Joker believed that there was some sort of connection between Todd & Batman, but how could Batman control that?

Like, I'm not saying that Jay doesn't have a legitimate right to be furiously angry at Bruce. I just think that he should focus on the things that the overgrown furry could actually control & did not handle correctly.

Like, the fact that he was hurt about Tim becoming Robin is understandable, but he didn't really have all the facts to understand the context surrounding Tim becoming Robin. Like the fact that Bruce was not functioning well without a Robin or that Tim refused to just stop when he wastold to. There was more to the situation than what Jay was aware of.

At the same time, his arguments about Bruce not avenging him or burying him with the Wayne name. I can understand that & actually very much agree with him.

Batsy should've killed the Joker or, at least, walked away while Dick did it if he wasn't strong enough to do it himself.

But, he didn't. And I get not wanting your kid to have to walk around with that kind of guilt hanging over his head, but reviving the effing Joker went WAY too far.

At the same time, Jason also should've just killed the Joker the moment he got the chance to. Deciding to use the sack of shit to punish Bats, was a dumbass idea. He should've shot his ass & then double, triple, & quadruple tapped, just to make sure.

Then, if he wasn't to be a dramatic asshole, put the Joker's head on a pike in the most visited part of Gotham with a sign with some sort of literary quote. Something to the tune of "Hey ho, the Wicked Witch is dead" or something with that sort of message.

As for the rest of the Joker's body? I'd suggest going the route of John Haigh. Just to be safe...

Gruesome, I know, but you know what? Whatever it takes to clean out the garbagio.

I know what you mean. I think the fandom and people outside the family give brice greif about the child soldier thing more than the kids themselves do. As far as ive seen dick, jason, tim, damian, and even steph own that robin is something they chose. It wasnt sething batman necessarily made them, its something they needed to do. Batman gets a lot of critism, like wise the league has argued about having sidekicks and teams like the titans and yj because theyre children. More often than not i see conflict about the adults trying to take the hero persona away, than about being given the cape in the first place.

But it can be complicated. I have heard the kids regret being vigilantes and regret what they've been made into by the job. So dick will never regret saving lives but he does regret his inability to settle down, the trained to a fault paranoia, the physical scars and mental wounds. The blame of that doesnt fall on batman or bruce. But on some level all kids feel like their parents are supposed to protect them and there's a point where you realize they can't. This is even more true when your a vigilante and exposed to untold danger. Bruce is a man and he isnt perfect so he can't protect his kids from everything. That hurts him more than it hurts his kid. But its still difficult to get hurt and be disappointed that yoir dad, that your hero wasn't there to save you.

Which brings me to jason. I recognize where you're coming from with jasons anger being irrational and all over the place. But what you gotta understand is that

1. He went through a rediculous amount of trauma. Like the time line of events is: bruce accused him of murdering a guy who commited suicide, jason got mad and found evidence of his birth mother, so he ran away to Ethiopia, he and bruce met up their almost coincidentally because bruce was tracking the joker and that communicate bruce didn't care that jason ran away, jason gets beaten with a crowbar and his mother also gets hurt because the joker is a bastard. The joker sets up a bomb and jason struggles to get he and his mom out despite his wounds. The bomb goes off and jason dies right as batman arrives. Then 6 months later jason wakes up and has to literally claw his way out of his own grave. Afterwhich he is catatonic qnd living on the streets until talia finds him

2. He was being manipulated. Talia found jason and trained him with the league and put him in the lazerus pit so he could recover higher brain function. She gave him everything he needed to train and get vengeance and framed it as a favor to her beloved. But she didn't tell the whole truth and didnt have all the information. Her actions here weren't altruistic. Its heavily implied she was sending jason as her loyal soldier to get rid of tim to clear the way for Damian.

3. The lazerus pit is essentially a drug that amplifies emotions. You could think of it as jason being on steroids. While his actions and emotions are his own they were amped up and irrational. So a lot of his irrational behavior and half thought out plans and stupity can be tied back to him having this 'drug' in his system. Emotions take the wheel and make people stupid without drugs amplifying things

But as i said his actions and the root of his feelings are still his own. So as to the why jason is so angry... well its not just that he was replaced or that he died. It that his death seemingly meant nothing. Jason died and seemingly nothing in gotham changed. He didn't see bruce greive. He didnt know that bruce almost killed the joker twice or that dick temporarily succeeded. He didnt know tim wasnt chosen but decided for himself to be robin. What jason aw was that within months of him dying there was another kid in his cape running around gotham and making quips like jason never existed. He saw the joker, his murderer, still on the steets still torturering and killing people. He saw bruce wayne with a new adopted kid. He saw his tenure, his life, the job that he died for reduced to a memorial in the bat cave with a plaque saying "a good soldier". Not a good son. No one but bruce and alfred were at his funeral.

So jason wasnt mad that tim replaced him. He wasnt mad that he died trying to save his mother. He was made that it seemingly effected nothing. That his death meant nothing to his family and it meant nothing to gotham.

If he wasnt mad at tim than why did he almost murder him? To send a message and to teach a lesson. He wanted tim to understand that robin is dangerous and that Bruce's protection was an empty promise. Jason could have killed tim in titans tower, but he didnt. Because tim dying wasnt the goal.

Why go through a convoluted plot to make batman do it? Well, initially it was jason being irrational. He got it into his head that bruce needed to prove that he loved him, to prove that hed protect him by defeating the monster. Jason wanted Bruce to choose being his dad over his no kill rule. And bruce chose the rule.

So that seemingly said, bruce doesnt love him, possibly never loved him. And this is further exhasperated by bruce sucking at communication. Bruce didn't just chose not to kill the joker when given the ultimatum, he threw a batarang at jason. Bruces will said jason was his biggest mistake. Bruce meant it in a 'i fucked up' way but jason took it as further 'adopting and you was a mistake'. Its shit and with the magic equivalent of .drugs further clouding things. Jason having tantrums and always shotting on bruce and the fam is understandable even if its not fair.

Why not kill the joker himself? Well part of that is fear. Jason has tried a few times to kill the joker and between the fucker being somewhat immortal for convoluted reason, trauma making jason freeze up, and outside interference it just hasnt taken.

As for bruce himself not killing the joker or bruce reviving the joker after dick killed him... well that comes back to the rule itself and bruces motivation for never killing. When bruce was younger he wanted to kill the guy who killed his parents. And alfred explained that taking a life is permanent and puts a weight on your soul. Its something you cant take back and something you have to live with forever. Showing people mercy, giving people a second chance is always the kinder option. Bruce made his rule initially because hes a kind person and he didn't want to carry the weight of murder. Likewise he revived the joker after dick killed him because he doesnt want dick to live with that weight, to live with that regret. Later on the rule took a more sinister tone because batman has seen who he becomes when starts killing. He also knows that if he starts killing hed never stop. Its a weird moral absolute but he knows if he could excuse killing the joker he could excuse killing anyone. And eventually anyone would include people who can change and innocents.

Its a little dumb of a moral absolute but its part if Bruce's character. I think its important to recognize the strength that it takes to show mercy to someone a shitty and undeserving as the joker. That kinda why theyre locked into being nemesis. The joker is ar his core nihilistic. He creates suffering because life is hopeless and nothing matters so may as well laugh at the pain. Batman is someone whos felt a lot of pain and is angry at the world that hurts people, but he is someone who gave himself hope and he is someone who sees the good in people even when they dont recognize the good in themselves. He is merciful and that is an act of kindness.

I do think the joker is beyond redemption at this point. It's the trolly problem at the end of the day: is the jokers recovery worth the lives of everyone hes killed tortured, drugged, and maimed? No. If the joker were to get suddenly better and regret his actions, it wouldnt bring anyone back and very few people would forgive him. Hed never be able yo reenter society or have a normal life. Hes never been a character who deserved mercy, but mercy isnt something you give because it's deserved. Personally i'd be more merciful to the jokers victims and put the fucker down.

But thats not my call. It isn't even really batmans call. At the end of the day batman is just a man in a suit. He isnt god and he isnt judge, jury, or executioner. To kill is a choice and batman chooses not to.

A better question is why the jokers life and death is considered batmans responsibility? And why is murder what jason needs for bruce to prove he loves him? I think thats where jason needs the wake up call. Murder isnt a normal response to having your kid murdered, even if im sure all parents going through that think about it. So why does jason need bruce to kill him so bad?

To feel safe. Jason can never feel safe so long as the joker is around and a dad is supposed to keep you safe. Bruce didnt.

Murder and mercy is where their breakdown of communication is. Bruce choses to be merciful to the villains he's fighting. Jason choses to kill the monsters so the victims can feel safe again.

- Hestia

#dc #batman #bruce wayne #jason todd

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dragynkeep · 7 months

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not the rwby fandom vilifying anger even when it's completely justified and a completely human emotion that everybody feels and something that even the most shoddiest or basic of characters should feel if you want an at least half way engaging story. even when it's fucking hypothetical

let ruby be fucking angry the same way jaune can be. let her slam him into a wall and yell in his face while consumed with grief. her best friend just died at the hands of her other best friend, she should be allowed to be upset. especially after practically destroying an entire kingdom to save her because that's how much ruby refused to sacrifice her only for someone else to let her die anyway. especially when she's in the kind of mind set she has been since falling into the ever after.

and okay, i get it if that's not the direction the writers wanted to take ruby’s character, but they didn't even let her find out how penny died in any proper way at all. show the audience her character and state of mind by directing her anger in herself. anything as simple as "i can't believe i let this happen" would work. or show how much ruby should be feeling angry and upset about it but chooses not to be. or just idk TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE

but no. the head fucking writer practically says "ruby's too nice to be upset at jaune so we won't even bother lol" like be fr, eddy. how little could anyone care about their own protag istg

The writers have shown that they fr don't know how to write human emotions and real reactions to things. Just because we as the audience saw Jaune and Penny when she died, and know exactly how it went down, and how the writers "wanted" it to come across as Jaune giving Penny her final wish, that does not extend to Ruby.

Ruby wasn't there when Penny died. She wasn't there to say goodbye, to be there for her best friend, and now has to grapple with the fact that one of her oldest friends was the one to kill her. I don't care if the audience, or the writers, can see this logically, Ruby is not us.

None of these characters react as fucking people and any chance we get for some revelation or development, the writers throw it off screen. We might as well have them defeat Salem offscreen too with how much of the meat of the show is not there or made up by the fans.

#rwby #rwde #ruby rose #jaune arc #penny polendina #answered #luke.txt

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bluejaysandblackbats · 2 months

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Almost There

Fandom: DC Comics, Flashfam

Summary: Everyone always knew Bart was eccentric, but the family becomes concerned when he starts talking to someone that doesn’t exist.

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Bart Allen, Thad Thawne, Owen Mercer, Don Allen, Meloni Allen, Digger Harkness, Iris West, Barry Allen, Max Mercury, Helen Claiborne

Relationships: DonMeloni, BarryIris, WallyLinda

Additional Tags: Bart Allen-centric, Thad Thawne POV, No Powers AU, Imaginary Friends, Misdiagnosis, Blind Date, Hurt Bart Allen, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Chapter One: We Were Six

We were six years old when Bart nearly died. Six. He was in the hospital for four days. It was the longest we’d ever been apart. I might’ve lost my mind if Owen hadn’t been there. I still feel like that sometimes when we’re apart… Like he’ll die and leave me missing the other piece of me. Bart’s never been careful, and I guess that’s why I’m sitting here writing all this. Someone has to write Bart’s story, and it should be me. Maybe it’ll help me be less afraid of losing him. Maybe it’ll make him more careful.

Okay. How do I start? Let’s try this:

We’re mirror-image twins. An extremely rare occurrence among twins. He was right-handed, and I was left. He had a birthmark on the left side of his chest at the bottom of his ribcage. I had the same birthmark on the right. Bart had a crooked grin where his lips curled up toward the right side of his face, and my grin curled up toward the left side. We did everything together, but we couldn’t be more different. I was shy, boring, and prone to emotional outbursts, while Bart was outgoing, odd, and unruffled. I wanted to be him sometimes. Absorb the best parts of him and walk around smiling his smile and laughing his laugh. But that’s beside the point. We’re mirror-image twins… And no one knows my twin better than I do. That’s why I know he’s not hallucinating. So don’t assume I’m writing this about my poor sick brother. I’m writing about the tragedy of strange gifts.

Bart was sick with pneumonia when we were six years old, and I was sure he’d die. I could feel it. It felt like the moment before you pass out, and your heart flutters and your head goes all fuzzy. I remember gripping the hospital bed's railing as the doctors tried to separate us. I couldn’t leave his side. The monitor beeped, alerting the nurses to his low oxygen level, and his eyes rolled back. I was twinless for eighty-five seconds. Eighty-five agonozing seconds. My body went cold, and Owen dragged me out of the room, kicking and screaming, but I couldn’t hear myself.

Then Grandpa Barry came out, and he rubbed my back. “It’s okay. Bart’s okay… They’ve got him back. He needs to rest, but he’ll be better once they stabilize him,” Grandpa Barry reassured me. He got us a pizza, and we ate in the parking lot that night because I refused to leave the hospital. Bart slept in a medically-induced coma for two days until the doctors said my brother could breathe without assistance, and I visited him on the third day. He sipped warm apple juice through a straw, and Mom held the cup.

None of us spoke. The room was eerily silent as we waited for Bart to speak. “Don’t go,” Bart rasped as he stared straight ahead. None of us moved. It was like he saw straight through us.

“Who’re you talking to, Bubba?” Dad asked.

“My friend… The lady,” Bart whispered, “She’s right there.”

Mom smiled and exhaled gently. “Oh, is she your age?” Mom questioned.

“No. My friend’s almost a grownup… Like Wally… Do you know her, Wally?” Bart asked. Wally knit his brows together and shook his head.

“Is she cute?” Wally asked. I couldn’t speak. They were all making jokes, and Bart was serious. I think he knew they didn’t believe him.

“She’s not laughing,” Bart muttered. I climbed into bed with him and laid my head on his shoulder.

“Bart? Do you want me to stay?” I asked. I wanted him to ask me, but I knew he wouldn’t. I wanted him to tell me he needed me, but he didn’t speak. He linked pinkies with me. That gesture meant everything to me. It was our I love you. It was our Never leave me.

It was the first time he mentioned his friend, but it wouldn’t be the last. To be honest, I was so preoccupied with being jealous of her that I never once doubted her existence. Bart didn’t get released from the hospital until the end of the week, but no one told me why he couldn’t come home. Not the real reason anyway. I was much older when Grandpa told me Bart had a brain examination. I felt terrible for all the years I joked about him getting his head checked.

Grandpa stayed home with Owen and me, playing games with us, while Mom, Dad, and Grandma stayed with Bart. We sat on the floor, gluing jigsaw puzzles with wood glue and small wooden boards. The jigsaws taught me a lesson. You start with the edges to see the picture. That was how people had to see Bart. Once you got Bart’s outer pieces, you could see him for what he was. And that’s how I managed to make sense of Bart’s gift my whole life.

Everyone thought he came back wrong, but no one would have known this was his gift all along. Even when the hospital discharged him, Bart didn’t get to come straight home. He got to stay with Uncle Max and Aunt Helen. Mom said he needed the extra attention and the wide-open space. I cried constantly during that time.

It wasn't until I stopped eating that they brought him home. I never had the words to say what I wanted from my parents, and it frustrated me to no end. Owen tried to understand, but no one knew the bond I had with Bart. No one could possibly understand how I felt. Not even Dad.

I had to be there when we picked him up at the airport. His eyes never fixed themselves on me. He always looked elsewhere. I wanted him to see me. Run to me. I wanted him to show signs that he loved me like I loved him. "Helen, she is real! You can't see her, but she's there! And she's not-!" I touched his hand.

"I missed you," I whispered, "Could you-?" I couldn't ask him for a hug. I was so terrified he'd say no.

"Let's go play," Bart replied angrily as he grabbed my hand. He led me away from the adults and toward the treehouse Grandpa built. We climbed up the ladder and shut the door. "They want to make her go away… I like her." He muttered something after that, but I couldn't understand it. To anyone else he would've seemed crazy, but I couldn't see him like that. It seemed strange to me that the adults were so frightened of Bart's friend. He liked her and they wanted her to go away. It didn't make any sense.

"Bart? Are you angry?" I asked. Bart looked away from me and nodded at the window before cradling my cheek and kissing my forehead. It was such a tender and compassionate gesture. Completely out of Bart's character.

That's how I knew she wasn't imaginary. I smiled our crooked grin and threw myself into his arms. "I can't see her, but I know she's there," I thought. I wanted to say it aloud, but I couldn't.

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eriexplosion · 4 months

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5 6 7 10 for Star Wars violence 👀

OKAY TIME FOR THE VIOLENCE (I don't know how actually violent these opinions are but pretend I am Very Vicious)

5. Worst blorboficiation?

sdfsdifj REGRETTABLY... OBI-WAN.... I love the man but fandom characterizations definitely show some Popular Guy Character Syndrome where it's all about how sad and tormented he is and while I respect that as a lover of tormented men, it is certainly an experience when you're like, reading a CodyWan fic and Cody is comforting Obi-Wan through his tragic past like he's never gone through anything difficult in his life. Also some of Obi-Wan's fun edges are sanded off, he's more generically sassy but considerate of others feelings and kind, etc, and like. He's not UNkind. But this is a man that faked his death and did not tell his emotionally unstable best friend like that was going to do anything but drive Anakin absolutely batshit insane. He watched like ten clones in a row die without a reaction and then the instant a Jedi died they all had to stop for a funeral. He tried to get Luke to kill Vader WITHOUT telling him who he was. He's kind of an idiot and can be kind of an asshole. Let him hurt people's feelings! Let him be socially inept! He is a dipshit not a harmless weep blob!

(This ties in with my desire to see CodyWan fic where they straight up get in a fight but is not ENTIRELY connected to that)

6. Opinion on canon and/or fanon use of the secret child trope? Discuss.

It works for Luke and Leia and I think it should have stayed at that. I'm not a big fan of the Palpatine reveal for Rey but I didn't want her to be a Skywalker either, sometimes you want a main that is Just Some Guy, doesn't need to be a secret child of anyone. In fanon I just REALLY do not like it, partially because it's plugging in a blood relation where it doesn't need to be. The other part is that I have mostly seen it for Obi-Wan and Satine with that Korkie kid and with how utterly repressed those two are at each other I refuse to believe they ever successfully fucked.

7. What is the weakest piece of canon writing?

It feels like cheating to say the sequel trilogy mostly because I never finished it so a thing that I definitely finished and loved but makes no sense - AOC is not the strongest movie but ROTS was like, fully just a series of cool scenes stitched together to approximate a movie. And don't get me wrong, I adore the prequels. But the only one that I think succeeds as a Movie is TPM. ANAKIN'S FALL ESPECIALLY IS NONSENSICAL AS SHIT. Like the underlying motivations are there but they were not pieced into anything resembling a coherent narrative. You have a start point, an end point, and everything in between just kind of jumps around with I think the weakest point being the Tusken Massacre - it's treated more like a sign of Anakin's potential darkness than anything when like. That's a whole village. He killed a whole village and it never comes up again! Lucas apparently didn't consider it that big a deal!

It's to a point where I actually think the massacre can't be addressed from a fully in universe perspective, because there's no actual way to twist it around so that it makes sense for that not to be enough to Make Anakin Fall without breaking the already very loose rules of the universe. Most other Star Wars points I can figure out some kind of justification for how it works in world, but to explain how Anakin wouldn't fall here you just have to kind of confront that Lucas is both not a very good writer and also approached the Tuskens with an incredibly racist viewpoint given that he doesn't appear to see their deaths as fully Counting, unlike the Jedi younglings in ROTS. It's a plot choice that, if treated with the full weight it would narratively deserve, completely unravels the entire rest of the series, the only way to make the storyline of everything else WORK is to take it out or change it so much as to be an entirely different scenario, and I can't think of any other things that fuck it up THAT bad.

10. What’s a ship you've unwillingly come around to?

I think 'unwillingly' is overstating it (but then I rarely DISLIKE a ship, so there's usually not much Unwillingly about it) but I thought Tech/Phee was cute at most until everyone started being Like That about them. Now I want them to kiss and get married onscreen. I hope that she hits that every night. Phee deserves whatever she wants.

Also Anakin/Padme probably counts because I did not actually go into the clone wars watch WANTING to love Anakin but Whoops. WHOOPS. So that meant I got An Affection for the two of them in all their messy stupid as shit glory.

#Eri Answers #star wars

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ellethespaceunicorn · 1 year

Text

Bright Like The Moon: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Love Me At The Ungodly Hour

Rating: Explicit, 18+, Minors - DNI

Fandom: Night Hunter

Pairing: Walter Marshall x Black!OFC

Word count: 4.2K

Summary: Kamaria Mansfield is hired at the Minnesota Police Department as an intern. Detective Walter Marshall is overworked and unsatisfied. Takes place post-film.

Chapter Summary: Kamaria and Walter take things to the next level in their relationship.

Chapter warnings: oral sex (m receiving), Dom!Walter, dacryphilia, Daddy kink, non-barrier contraception (no condom usage), choking, creampie, breeding kink, spanking

A/N: Another time jump in this chapter, from Monday morning transitions to Friday evening, skipping Tuesday-Thursday. Does everyone know that ‘trousers’ are like a pair of jeans, and ‘pants’ is the same as underwear? I went English, I figured Walter wouldn’t say boxer-briefs. And yes I imagine he is a boxer-briefs kind of guy. Don’t @ me. Also, this chapter marks about two weeks of time since Chapter 1. Un-beta’d, we die like people who tried their best.

Dividers: @firefly-graphics

Support/Reblog banner by me

Cover Art by me

Cross-posted on AO3

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist

Walter’s POV

Monday Morning

The first thing I did on Monday morning, after kissing Kamaria on her temple and walking her to her desk, was to hunt down Rachel. I promised Kamaria that I would be speaking with Rachel about her attitude. There was no point in waiting until she offended my girlfriend again. And yes, we are officially titled. After a weekend of pampering her and treating her like the Princess she is, I asked her to be my girlfriend yesterday afternoon. She answered with a little yelp, jumping into my lap. She addressed me as ‘Boyfriend’ the rest of the day.

As her boyfriend, I believe it’s my job to make sure she stays happy. And if something displeases her, I’ll kill it with fire. Or, the next best thing.

I make it to the Cybercrimes office and spot Rachel speaking with her team. I steady my breath, clear my throat, and walk up to her. “Can I speak to you for a moment?” I ask, interrupting her morning meeting.

“Walter, I’m kind of in the middle of something, can it wait?” she tries to blow me off and any other day, I might have let her. But this isn’t any other day.

“Actually, it can’t wait. But I can make it quick for you,” I assure her, not requesting for the team to give us privacy and continuing, “You’re to keep your distance from Kamaria. Whatever your problem with her is, sort it out yourself. She’s my girlfriend and I’ll do anything to make her happy. And that includes informing my ex that we’ll be going to Human Resources if you so much as look her way or mine for that matter outside of strictly professional business. I hope I’ve made myself crystal clear, I won’t be repeating myself.”

With that, I leave her, mouth agape in surprise. I pray, for her sake, that was the only time we need to have that conversation. She is smart enough to know I’m serious, I refuse to believe otherwise. I can’t afford to think of whether or not her feelings are hurt, if she was embarrassed, or anything of the sort. I can only take care of what’s my responsibility. And Rachel is no longer my burden.

Before reaching my office, I get Kam’s attention to meet me there. No one else could tell it would be for our previously agreed upon ‘scene’. As I enter behind her, I shut my door and lock it. I lean back on the door, hands going to my belt, unfastening it, and unbuttoning my jeans.

“I seem to remember Daddy promising someone that they could give him a special treat if she let me handle a certain something for her,” I remark, watching as Kam’s eyes light up and she is on her knees in front of me in seconds. We agreed that she could refer to me as Daddy whenever she wanted, now that I know she has that kink thanks to my talented tongue and hands this weekend. She refers to me as ‘Daddy’ when she needs a more intense and feral session, and ‘Sir’ is when she needs intimacy and passion but with a softer approach.

“May I take out your dick, Daddy?” she whispers, no doubt excited to touch me for the first time. I purposefully denied her this since we only just started being intimate. And only oral for now until she feels 100% comfortable going further. I am more than ready to have her over every surface in my home until she can’t think of anything but her pussy molding to my cock.

She has been salivating over the chance to suck me off. I’ve let her palm me through my pants and we’ve done a healthy amount of dry humping where we both get off.

“Go ahead and take me out, baby,” I reply, watching as she is carefully pulling down my zipper. She tugs my trousers and pants down until my cock springs free in her face. Nothing compares to the way she lights up, trying to wrap her small hand around me.

“I can’t believe you were hiding this pretty dick from me, Daddy,” she moans, marveling at my girth.

I capture her chin and tilt her head up, “He’s not hidden from you now, so what the hell are you waiting on?” I press, releasing her and crossing my arms while I peer down at her.

She presses those glossy lips along the underside of my cock, leaving satiny kisses across every inch. When she snakes her tongue out to lap at my pre-cum, I am beyond aroused as she moans at the taste and takes in the head past those perfect lips of hers. The slide of her lip gloss and her wet little mouth makes it easy for her to make a mess. The fucking sounds coming from her have me trembling.

She pulls off, inhaling sharply, drool hanging from her lips. “Please fuck my face, Daddy,” she whines, and I can’t deny her when she begs so beautifully.

“If it gets to be too much, you tap my hand, ok?” I watch as she nods then takes me back into her mouth. I lock my fingers behind her head, not wasting time and getting right to thrusting deeply into her waiting throat. She mentioned loving being face-fucked and since then, I have thought of nothing else. “Fuck, baby, this fucking mouth of yours is Heaven. I guess it had to be if you’re my Angel.”

I feel her reach around my hips to my ass, a favorite of hers. She likes to comment on how shapely it is, I never really put much thought into it. But if she enjoys it, I’ll make sure to do my squats. I realize she is trying to go deeper and I take the hint and hold her down on me until she sputters and gags. Tears trickle down her cheeks as she catches her breath but I don’t let her go for long.

“So fucking beautiful when you cry for me, pretty girl,” I praised, shoving my cock back between her lips, chasing my release. My balls slap her chin and her nose is buried in my pubes. She has yet to tap on my hand, she must be enjoying this as much as I am. As that thought springs to mind, I feel the unmistakable tightening of my impending orgasm. “Gonna cum for you, baby. Fuck fuck fuuuuuck.”

She rewards me with an earth-shattering orgasm that has me weak at the knees. Snatched my soul straight through my cock on that one. Even as I heave a sigh of contentment, my cum still leaks from me. She is making sure not to waste a single drop and helps to tuck me back in. She stands to her full height and I wipe at the fallen tears on her face before capturing her lips.

What I can’t manage to verbalize, I try and push through my kiss. How much I enjoyed myself, that I don’t mind kissing after a blowjob, and how fucking lucky I am to have her be mine. We pull apart and I rest my forehead against hers.

“You are so fucking perfect. And that is not just the orgasm talking, trust me,” I say, laughing along with her when she has a giggling fit at my words.

“I think the orgasm might have a little bit to do with it,” she chuckles, kissing the corner of my mouth, “but either way, thank you, Daddy. Never thought I’d be called perfect.”

“Get used to it, I’ll make it my mission to get you to believe in your perfection.”

“The only thing I need to be perfect right now is my face. God forbid I go out there with dicksucking evidence. Tear stains and messy gloss? Not for long.” She pulls out a compact mirror and her lip gloss tube and gets to work.

I’m done stretching my limbs as she finishes up her face. I kiss her forehead and straighten myself before unlocking my door and walking her to her desk. Nina and Sophie exchange glances before simultaneously waving at me. I smile and nod my hello before whispering in Kam’s ear, making her laugh as I make my exit.

I get a call from Faye at the end of the day, wondering about visiting this week. I agree after she admits that she and Angie are fighting again. I let her know I will pick her up for dinner and she can stay as long as she needs.

After the call, I inform Kam about Faye staying over and that our usual after-work time would need to be rescheduled. She seemed upset for a moment but then smiled up at me and had me promise to have fun with Faye while she was over. I remember that she doesn’t have a relationship with her father as I have with Faye. She doesn’t want me to miss a single opportunity I can get with my daughter.

That’s only one reason I say she’s perfect. I have a new reason for every day I get to spend with her. And it only makes it easier to fall for her. But I’m 1000% fine with that.

Walter’s POV

Friday Evening

This week goes by like a tornado, fast and chaotic. Life with a teenage girl is like…actually no, there is nothing quite like having a teenage daughter. I have heard her yell at her mother over FaceTime for two hours straight. I’ve seen her scroll through TikTok at a ridiculous volume laughing her head off. I’ve had to talk her down from wanting to cut off all of her hair when her curls wouldn’t cooperate with her.

I have never been happier to drop her back off at home. As soon as I get back home, I kick off my shoes and melt into the couch. I send a couple of texts to Kam, checking to see if she is still awake. I know today was a long day for her with work and therapy.

Me: Back to an empty house

Me: How’s my Angel?

Kam: Missing Daddy 🥺

Me: My baby girl

Me: I miss you too

Me: I’m right here

The typing bubble starts and stops a few times before I see a new text appear, and it stops me in my tracks.

Kam: I need Daddy here

Kam: [image sent]

Me: Fuck

Me: Look at that pretty little pussy

Me: Does baby need Daddy’s cock?

Me: You ready for that?

Kam: [video sent]

I click on the video she sends and my dick swells. My sweet Princess sends me a video of her playing with that flawless cunt of hers while calling out for Daddy to fuck her. I’m putting on my shoes and coat in record time. With keys in hand, I send another series of texts.

Me: Daddy is on his way

Me: I’ll be there in about ten

Me: Keep playing with that perfect pussy for me

Me: Get it nice and wet

Me: NO CUMMING, is that clear?

I wait with bated breath for her to respond.

Kam: Yes, Daddy

Kam: Need Daddy inside me please

I can hear her little whimper as if she said it aloud, reaching to squeeze my dick to calm it down.

Me: Daddy is in the truck already

Me: Ten minutes baby

Me: Then you’re all mine

I drive for the next eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds. I may have ignored some speed signs and lights, but I honestly couldn’t care less. I’m out of the truck and walking up the steps of her apartment building, lucky that someone was coming out at the same time. I raise my fist to knock on the door when it opens. A panting Kam greets me, a light sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead and neck.

“I followed your location, you got here fast!” she gushed, pulling me into her apartment and closing the door behind me. I notice her satin nightie that leaves little to the imagination and I pounce on her.

Reaching in to cup her face, I slot our lips together. We both smile into the kiss when we feel a little spark as our lips join, no doubt from our feet shuffling on her carpeting. As my hands wander, I pull back from the kiss.

“Scene break, baby,” I insist, watching as Kam steadies herself to pay attention, “Now, I wanna make sure of a few things before we do this. I need to know if you still want this. I also need to know if you need Daddy or you need Sir.”

She takes a deep breath, steadying herself before answering, “I want this and I need this. I need Daddy to beat this pussy up. Please?”

Instead of answering, I pick her up and she wraps her legs around me. I carry her to the bedroom and put her down. I take off my layers and she watches, patiently kneeling on her bed. Once I’m down to just my pants, I crawl onto the bed and my brain registers there is music playing. As I kiss her, I listen to the lyrics.

‘Love me at the ungodly hour

I don't have the time

To teach you how to love all over again

And let me ask you this

Are you givin' all that you could give?

Once you get it right

Baby, just know I want you here, come here

Right here’

I push through the raw emotion this song brings up and bring myself back to the present. I lay on my back and turn to Kam. “Come sit on Daddy’s face, baby,” I instruct, stopping to remind her of my rule with that, “And you sit down on Daddy’s face. I promise Daddy can take it.”

Her smile is so brilliant, like a lighthouse. My beacon. She sits down on my face, following directions so well for me. Her delicious nectar is coating her pussy and has me already ready to fuck into her, but I have to make her cum at least once before I’m inside her. I hold her open as I lick and suck at her, silently proud of her as she doesn’t touch me without permission.

Pretty soon, I have her right where I want her. She’s babbling and begging to cum, her hips rocking against my mouth. I reach down, pulling my throbbing cock free, and allow her to take me into her mouth. As I tell her to cum for me, I feel her moan around me, the vibration going through me like a tremor. I moan around her clit and she loses it. I watch as her walls contract around nothing and my cock twitches in her mouth.

I help her sit up and lay down next to me, taking off my last layer and helping her out of her nightie. Fuck, those beautiful tits look delectable. I lean down, burying my face between them as Kam pushes them together. I tell her how much I love these tits but it comes out in a mumble causing her to laugh. I lean up and smile down at her as I reach down to rub the head of my cock along her folds. Her laugh dies in her throat as he eyes roll up in her head.

“Are you ready for Daddy, baby girl?” I challenged, pressing the tip in just slightly.

“Wait,” she yelps, and I stop and wait for her to continue, “I’m just nervous…and I really wanna do this. And I already told you about having that awkward talk with Yada about using condoms. And we both got tested and I have an IUD so I don’t have anything to worry about. But yet, here I am.”

“I want you to know I am not going anywhere. Whether or not we have sex tonight or ever. Whether or not we have an…’accident’. I know this can be daunting, being with someone after so long. Trust me, I am right there with you. But one thing that makes it not so scary is that it’s you. I care about you so much, and I can tell you care about me. And the fact that I get to experience any level of intimacy with you is a gift. But this? This is a big step. And as ready as I am, I want you to match me. I don’t want you to have any doubt about anything, baby. Least of all, how well I’m going to take care of you.” I finish, suddenly feeling like I had just rambled on as my dick throbs and hangs between my legs.

“I want this. I want you. You make me feel so safe. And I wanna feel all of you, nothing between us,” she confessed, her hands finding mine, “You always know just what to say to make me feel better. I love that about you.”

“What can I say? You inspire me to be better, baby. Now, where were we?” I ask, raising her left hand to my lips to kiss. While she is trying to hide her obvious enjoyment of my gesture, I slip my hands under her knees and pull her closer to me. The look of surprise on her face is enough to send a warm feeling through me.

I hold her right leg over my shoulder and place my left hand on her face as I lean down to kiss her. As our lips touch, I slap my cockhead on her clit. I am rewarded when she opens her mouth to moan directly into mine. Collecting some of her moisture, I line myself up with her entrance and lock eyes with her as just the head disappears within her.

“Shit, Daddy. Fuck that dick is so big,” she moans, arching off the bed.

I pull out just enough and then slide back in further. “You want me to stop, or you gonna be a good girl and take it?” I dare, pulling out so just the head is in and slam back in deeper.

“Oooooh shit. I’ll be good, just please don’t stop,” she begs, moving her hands to her breasts.

I pull out again and thrust in until our hips are flush, her low moan rumbling through both of us. When I’m fully seated inside her, I lean in and kiss and nip at her neck. Using my right hand, I pull her left leg over my shoulder so I can lean down on both hands.

I angle my hips so I can start a rhythm digging out this pussy. I change the focus of my lips from her neck to her mouth and kiss her passionately as I begin to pound into her. My tongue mingles with hers and my cockhead and her cervix become friends.

“Fuck, baby. This fucking pussy is perfect,” I grunt, watching my cock disappear over and over into her, “Who’s pussy is this, baby girl?”

“It’s yours, Daddy,” she sobs, unshed tears at the corners of her eyes.

“Yes, baby,” I coo, reaching up and holding the back of her head, “Now, fucking cry for me.” I pull out harshly and start a punishing stroke inside her. Her cries mix with her moans and soon, I feel the fluttering of her walls around me for the first time. I fuck her through her orgasm and have to praise her. “Such a good girl, taking Daddy’s cock. Creaming all over it too.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” she beams, her hands roaming down my chest to rest on my hips, ��Want you to hit from the back now, please?”

I growl, pulling out and flipping her over on her hands and knees. “Ass up, head down, baby girl.” She gets in position and I can’t believe how lucky I am. She is all mine, and I am hers.

She wiggles her hips, no doubt to get my attention…as if I could forget she was here. I massage her ass lightly before landing a few slaps upon her ass. I lean down to place kisses and bites before I lean up and enter her swiftly, gripping her hips, her welcoming warmth like coming home after a long day.

While picking up the pace, I revel in the sounds our bodies make. Almost like a round of applause and my exhibitionism kink raises its head for the first time in ages. The thought of fucking her in the mirror is floating through my mind at high-speed. For now, let’s just focus on this experience.

“Fuck this pussy just like that Daddy,” she whines, and her back arches, allowing me a new angle to pound her g-spot over and over until I feel her squirt all over my cock and balls.

“Fuck! And I thought it couldn’t get any fucking hotter than you squirting on my hand, baby girl,” I hum, slapping her ass hard enough to make her yelp, “Fuck you’re gonna make me cum in this pussy so fucking hard.”

“Yes, please cum inside me Daddy. Breed this fucking pussy, please!” she pleads, and what can I do but give her what she needs.

I lean forward and wrap my arm around her neck, pulling her back against my chest. “My sweet baby. Beg for Daddy’s cum like a good girl.”

“Fuck, please Daddy. I need it. Need to feel it filling me up,” she urges, and I can hear the tears in her voice before I see them roll down her cheeks, “My pussy was made for your cum. Just want you to keep me always full of you,” she moans, reaching back to grab a fistful of my hair before she fucking decimates me, “Please, Daddy, fuck a baby into me.”

I have never been hit with an orgasm quite as hard as the one I am experiencing right now. To say I saw explosions behind my eyelids would be an understatement. I saw galaxies being born, or were they dying? My ears perk up at a loud sound that I come to realize is my own moaning as I fill Kamaria with my release. I continue to fuck into her in what can only be considered muscle memory. I also don’t remember falling forward onto her back, but I’m currently holding her down.

My cock is softening inside of her and it feels like I’m pushing wet rope at this point. I pull out of her and watch as she leaks with the evidence of my orgasm. I get off the bed, going to the bathroom and grabbing a towel to clean our bodies. When I come back to her, she is on her back and smiling lazily at me. I reach down and wipe away my cum, making sure to be gentle with her now swollen netherlips. I throw the towel over my shoulder and head back to the bathroom to empty my bladder.

Once I’m done, she enters and uses the bathroom after me. At this point, we’re more than comfortable being in the bathroom together. It’s just another bonding experience for us.

We go back to the bedroom, change the sheets, and lay down under the blankets. She cuddles into my side and I wrap my arms around her. I debate bringing up the ‘baby’ line but I’ll let her slide for now. I mean, it was the perfect thing to say and I wasn’t expecting it at all. It excited me. And I am not ready to have that conversation with myself yet so I won’t.

I kiss her forehead and slide to my side so I can spoon her. “So, how did this old man do?” I query, holding her close to me.

“Bruh, you’re like five years older than me, at best, so if you’re old then I’m old. And I squirted on your dick, I think you did fucking amazing.” she replies, making me laugh in her ear. “So, how did I do then?”

I lean up over her and lift her face to look into her eyes. “I can’t articulate the level of emotion I have for you right now, seeing as you stole my soul through my dick. But if you’re patient, I will try to tell you later.”

“I can be patient, but don’t make me wait too long to hear it,” she informs, making it sound like she was waiting for me to say something specific, like a certain phrase. I shake the thought from my head, not ready to believe that she is ready to hear that.

Instead of thinking too long about that, I smile down at her and lay down on her breasts while she plays with my hair. I love this. I love laying with her in silence as we just breathe. I love the way she always finds a way to make me laugh at something when I’ve had a long day. I know where my brain is going with this train of thought and I don’t even care because it’s the truth.

I love her.

Chapter 6

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