#SOLOMON MUTO NEWLY RADICALIZED LEFTIE ARC THAT WE DESERVED.

[kisaraslover]

first thing first Kaiba's blamed for his godlessness, lack of faith. a pretty conservative notion if not for the. uhh. canon gods and magic everyone frequently witnesses. but when i rewatch the first episode again for the 85th time i cant ignore the dichotomy drawn first, not between Kaiba and Yugi, no, between Kaiba and Grandpa Muto.

as annoyed as he would be to hear this, i think the biggest reconciliation he needed to have was with the only man with "Father" in his name, who preached faith, who sicced his loyal and faithful offspring on Kaiba to take him down, and the man who Kaiba fought for the fundamental symbol both of them claim. the impertinent youth scorned by traditional elder is such a classical, parental tale.

but since the compromise most mainstream family movies reach fucking sucks and is more often than not tipping the scales in the favor of -sometimes just straight up awful- parents, Kaiba would take 1 single step towards Grandpa Muto and not budge an inch. his whole entire story culminates in this: Blue Eyes IS more than power. ONLY Blue Eyes White Dragon. its his pride and soul, its his sole blessing and its the only thing he knows and believes in. which HAS to mean Grandpa Muto gives it up, by his own logic. the boy believes. the image of godless shameless drug addict sex pest youth suddenly melting down to something much less offensive. its the aging tradition finally accepting change. its the old man finally letting go of iron grip over the young man. illusion of control that was long rejected by the youth finally fading in the old mans mind. its him accepting kids will be alright, that there is strength and honor in their way of living, that scolding will never achieve what accepting and supporting definitely will.

its not that Kaiba is such a benevolent, generous, perfect good man worthy of forgiveness and approval suddenly. its that he, like everyone else, will live a life and be shaped by it, and the only thing this father figure can do is offer support. Kaiba would spit on his face if he knew Solomon Muto came to these, rather paternal, conclusions about him while handing over the taped BEWD card. but the old man is fine with that. he keeps his mouth shut, not to further shame the young man taking the card with his head bowed, eyes sad with reverence and regret. he isnt who the boy is bowing down to. hes happy to witness his faith at all. hes happy knowing he wont even mourn his own loss of the card from the joy of seeing the boy's love for it. that Kaiba didnt even ask for it, that he assumed Solomon would give it to him. thats what makes him happiest.

Kaiba's people first come to his shop a week after. they brought documents. deals with KC for his shop to be a minor partner, with selling privileges. he laughs heartily.