talisman-casualty-lawsuit-blog

[uraharasandals]

ALSO YO IDK IF YOUVE SEEN THIS YET BUT HERE

https://twitter.com/Numasan0704/status/1598287615287242752?s=20&t=zREuMXOvGF90Ogins5xUnA

😳😳😳😳

no words, no thoughts, head empty, screaming only

and yes this is absolutely 100% recommended reading material for LITERALLY EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWS ME

[furicookiebndz]

Lucifer x !FemReader : My old friend

Hello everyone, it is my first time writing this, i hope it will be good enough, have fun! This fan art isn't mine. Full credits to the amazingly talented artist/creator.

It has been thousands of years since evil began.

Lucifer, whose pride blinded him, attempted to dethrone the creator, only to ultimately fail and be banished from Paradise.

Lilith, who refused to submit to Adam, in turn fled from this magical place, but which hides many facades.

Yet few people know that with them, a third person flew out of Paradise. And even rarer are people who know the cause, 3 to be precise.

However, behind this unusual act lie very dark secrets, seen as…

-Can you stop, Vag'? You're giving me a headache.

The young woman turned her head towards the source of this execrable voice, a spider who was visibly lying carefree on the sofa, arms behind her head, a bored expression on her face.

Refraining from answering him, she continued:

Tragic, some thought it was another rebellious woman, others a fallen angel because of a serious crime, but that wasn't logical, what's worse than to confront the creator?"

-That doesn't help all of us, the young woman noted, running her hand through her hair, frustrated.

-It would be beneficial to have her on our side, especially if she has such a significant influence on the world of the living and beyond, Charlie concluded thoughtfully.

-But she hid from the world, living as a hermit. Many think it's a myth, but given what's been happening lately, I believe it's much more present than sinners think.

Vaggie rubbed her temples, trying to come up with an idea.

-Who the hell are you talking about? I hate it when you pretend to be Sherlock and leave me like the old cookie in the back of the cupboard.

-Are you interested in what we do? retorted Vaggie sarcastically

-No, more about why you were busting my balls, joked Angel.

-You don't even have one, asshole, mumbled quietly Husk, taking a sip of his cheap booze.

-Want to check~? It is free for you kitty cat.

-Not even for a thousand balls, growled quietly Husk, who was beginning to lose his patient.

-Ouuh finally a price there is progress, Daddy, the spider sent him a kiss

Alastor, who was reading a book by the fireplace, decided to speak

-Charlie, Darling, you seem concerned about this person Let me see…

He seemed surprised for a moment, before smiling more, if possible.

-My my, what a terrible coincidence. The person you are looking for is one of the most sought after. Didn't Lucifer tell you about Lady (Y/N)?

-Um… We're not exactly talking about all that-

“Daddy issues,” Husk muttered.

Alastor continued:

-As reported in this document, she flew away shortly after your parents. She was a person living in Heaven, she was not human, but not an angel entirely though, she had two pairs of wings, although she is the appearance of a mortal, yet she had her own power, not to be underestimated. She embodied humor, justice and determination. In short, all these things that are way too boring-

-Cut it short, Alastor, Vaggie said, snapping her fingers.

-But when Lucifer challenged God, she did not follow him, not because she had to beat him, but because he knew just as well as she did that what he was doing was wrong. For the first time in her life she felt an immense disappointment in the love he had once inspired in her, and the semblance of a relationship that was perhaps tending to end disappeared with the appearance of the first demon, your father, Charlie.

However, you are aware that shortly after the creation of Lilith, she quickly became friends with your mother, and when she flew away from Paradise, and she learned the cause, she entered in a black anger, so black that Gabriel had difficulty in containing it, Until then, she had always been obedient, never contesting the decisions, which were of infallible Justice, but this departure had torn away part of her herself. She confronted the lord, she tried to rally the others to her cause, but nothing changed. Disappointed, she left that place, and no one ever saw her again.

There was a heavy silence for a moment, before Angel said:

-So…Is she still a virgin?

Vaggie rolled her eyes before Charlie had an idea:

I'm sure she's not that far away. Maybe I should ask my father to contact her again. She must care about him, at least I hope so, and if I convince her, Gabriel won't be able to object!

Vaggie refrained from adding a comment, she knew it was too good to be able to do it, but in front of her girlfriend's adorable face, she couldn't refuse anything.

______________________________________________________________

-No, Lucifer said firmly, before Charlie could even finish his idea.

-But dad-

-End of discussion, I don't want to hear anything, he turned around and mechanically squeezed the rubber duck in his hand, like an anti-stress ball.

Lucifer seemed elsewhere, deep in thought. His friend, his old friend…

.

.

.

“Luciferrrrr!” A burst of joy appeared as she walked towards him, a smile on her lips, a book in her hands.

Lucifer as usual had a lyre in his hands. He looked up at Y/N and smiled.

One discussion led to another, he shared his ideas about the mortal world, while she agreed with some and shared her opinion on others. They would sometimes just stay silent, or she would read aloud from a book, and he would then accompany her with his lyre.

Such a beautiful memory…

.

.

.

Why Lucifer?! Why did you do this?

This same friend was there with her eyes filled with tears, disappointed in him.

Lucifer looked down. One mistake, just one mistake, had caused him to lose those he considered family, and his closest friend.

He wanted to tell her that it was just a misunderstanding, that it was for the best, but the damage was already done.

He took Lilith's hand and without a word, left for their new home.

The young woman, in tears, could only watch them leave, the man she loved and her friend, without being able to do anything, because her principles prevented her. Gabriel placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and said nothing. If she knew, he couldn't imagine how she would have reacted

.

.

.

-Dad?

Lucifer seemed to come out of his thoughts and focused on a family portrait. Lilith was already gone, after their separation he only had his daughter left, and after a second of thought he sighed and said:

-I'll see what I can do…

-It's true? Oh thank you Dad, thank you thank you thank you!, cried Charlie enthusiastically.

She took him in her arms, and Lucifer said to himself that finally, if having a hug from his daughter meant having to seek the 7 rings of Hell and even the beyond, he would do it without complaining.

Now all that remained was to find it, the most complicated part…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucifer, Charlie and the hotel members thought for several days, using all their knowledge and powers to find her. If she was neither in Hell, nor in Heaven, or even in the mortal world, she must be between the latter options-

Lucifer suddenly had an idea, remembering a conversation they had shared long ago, and he cast an incantation, which opened a portal to a world- no, a unique place, so messy and blurry, and yet so… familiar, as if he were…

“In the middle of a dream,” Charlie whispered softly. The rest of the team followed her, looking around curiously. Lucifer asked himself so many questions, was it a place where souls rested between life and death? He did not know it. After all, the soul left the body for a while when it slept, that would explain the place.

-Who are you? I sense human souls, but something else…

They saw several women advancing, of great beauty, similar to fairies, but armed, ready to defend themselves, if it was not for another who stopped them by raising her hand, she advanced slowly, and Lucifer recognized her completely. right now.

-(Y/N)..Lucifer seemed upset to see her, and tried to pull himself together by talking to himself. "Ok, Ok. It's going to be okay buddy, you can do it, you can do it", When he met her gaze, he lost all his courage and hid behind Charlie.

-Dad!

-What? I-I'm just covering your back Charlie.

-At least what I thought of you is true, you're just a sissy Lucifer, Alastor sneered.

You looked at him for a moment, the man you had loved for thousands of years, it was..strange. You didn't know whether you should greet him or hit him.

-Lucifer, what is the honor of this visit worth to me? In 10,000 years you have never had the decency to come visit me.

Sarcasm. Something unusual about you, he couldn't help but admire you. Your two pairs of wings were now grey, but your eyes were still this soft (e/c) shade, but now full of resentment, and perhaps.. mockery?

-And you, you must be his daughter, mhh?

You moved closer to her and observed her suspiciously, while she was sweating profusely, and Vaggie seemed on the edge on attacking you, and to her surprise, you smiled widely and took her in your arms, with surprising strength.

-My lord you are his carbon copy, so pretty~, you squish her cheek cheeks and gush about her, while she laughs awkwardly.

Everyone was stunned by how fast the tension dissipates, and the women behind you giggle, seemingly aware by how fast your emotions tend to change. Lucifer smiles, maybe he still had a chance..

-But you seem so polite, unlike some, you cast a dark look at Lucifer, and greeted the others with a sympathetic and curious look, their offering to sit down for a while to talk.

...maybe not finally.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

-If I understood everything, you created a hotel to rehabilitate sinners… and are trying to convince Heaven, is that right?

She nodded and Lucifer tried to add something, but you stopped him:

-I don't speak with traitors and liars, especially if they forget to send me a life message for eons.

Lucifer doesn't say anything wanting to make anything worse. He knew he was wrong, and sighed heavily.

(Y/N)-1 Lucifer-0.

-Damn, this girl is awesome, Angel whispered excitedly.

Vaggie continued:

-Lady (Y/N), you still have decent relationship with heaven.Could you try talking to some highers-up about it? Like Gabrie-

-No, this thing is no longer part of my circle of close friends, I can still try to talk about it again with Sera and Emily, but I can't do anything with the other weirdo.

Charlie felt hopeless, and she took your hands and looked at you with a miserable expression.

-I beg you, you must speak to him, my people are dying every year at the hands of the exorcists, and I-I cannot stand by and do nothing. Can you try..?

At his beaten puppy look, you widened your eyes, it was exactly-

Please don't tell them where I was, Lucifer pleaded with adorable eyes. You sighed but smiled, nodding your head.

-Well, i will. But I'm not promising anything though-

-Thank you thank you thank you, she hugged you, and you hugged her back with a smile.

Lucifer felt his heart beat faster, these two women who are precious to him have finally met, and got along better than he expected.

Now all he had to do was sort out one last problem.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Explanations were made. You listened patiently, and after a while you answered:

-Why Lucifer, didn't you tell me before? I-I thought I was your friend.

Lucifer held her gaze, and for the first time in millennia he took his courage in both hands and took hers:

-I didn't want to see your disappointed look, I know I made a mistake, but I only thought about doing the right thing. And I-

-You got scared?

He nodded, and you sighed:

-I don't blame you, at least not anymore.

He raised his eyes, feeling a bit of hope, and feeling Charlie's encouraging look, he continued:

-So, can we try again? I mean our relationship- Well our friendship!

He blushed slightly and you chuckled softly:

-Yes, always Lucifer.

[kitchenisking]

Day 4

Seires Fic Rec part 14

Queer Your Coffee by alisvolatpropiis - (Queer Your Coffee) - (Rating: Not Rated, Words: 3,084, sterek)

Derek's just over the city line when he sees a sign for an independent drive-thru place, Full Spectrum Brew. There are three cars in line when he turns in, which annoys him but gives him hope. Not that he really trusts the people of Beacon Hills to have much taste when it comes to coffee (god, he is a snob), but the shop’s popularity does seem to bode well. The line of cars moves way more slowly than he’d like, each customer in front of him seeming to take way too long to order, and then lingering when they get their coffee. He’s irritable from lack of sleep and an even more detrimental lack of caffeine, anxious to get out of the car. Finally it’s his turn and he slowly rolls up to the window, turning the radio down.

For a second, he thinks he must have fallen asleep while he was waiting, because what he sees when he looks in the window surely must be a dream.

Stunning brown eyes like glowing honey and sweet little nose, slightly upturned; a shapely pink mouth, bottom-lip pierced by a thin black hoop that he's worrying with the tip of his tongue as he smiles a gorgeous hello.

He's the most beautiful man Derek's ever seen.

And he’s shirtless.

It's a Beautiful Night by khasael - (Hale and Hearty) - (Rating: T, Words: 2,887, sterek)

Just because they're all almost used to fighting against the Creature of the Week and assorted other Bad Guys, doesn't mean it doesn't get Stiles's heart rate going.

Dream a Little Dream by Yoiko - (A Little Dream of Me ) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 1,101, sterek)

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. And since this is my dream you’re going to let me do it.”

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man. by devilscut - (There are nights when the wolves are silent and the moon howls.) - (Rating: Mature, Words: 11,687, sterek)

A shell-shocked Stiles regroups with the pack to find his father who has been kidnapped by the Darach. Their search leads them to the Nematon, where their confrontation with the Darach reveals her plans and that there is more to being a True Alpha than they know. Derek and his family's legacy is at the heart of her schemes and when the Darach has him under her control Stiles begins to realise the extent of how much he really cares for the sourwolf. In true Scooby-doo fashion, the villain has told them of her plans but more shockingly to Stiles she also reveals a very important aspect of his and Derek's relationship.

The virtue of patience by nofeartina - (Patience) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 11,827, sterek)

Stiles isn't afraid of admitting his feelings to Derek, but that doesn't mean that Derek wants to hear it. 

Or the one where Stiles knows that all good things come to those who wait.

I Feel Like You Can't Feel the Way I Feel by i_might_be_in_over_my_head - ( Einherjar MC ) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 14,087, sterek)

“Fuckin A, dude! The last time you gave me that look I ended up in the woods in the middle of the night, lost my inhaler, and almost died. Please tell me why you’re always trying to get me killed?” Scott shook his head resigned. He knew Stiles was going in and nothing he could say would change that. “If we wake up dead tomorrow just remember this was your idea.”

Stiles threw his fist in the air enthusiastically, almost punching Scott in the face, and turned to the door. He knew if he didn’t go quick Scott would probably change his mind and he’d have to start all over. “Dude that was sophomore year of high school, let it go! Plus dead body! We had to go. We’ll just have a drink and check it out. It’ll be fun!”

fingertips have memories by thatworldinverted - (let's talk about sex ) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 1,800, sterek)

Pochemuchka (Russian), noun: a person who asks a lot of questions. 

"I saw the way you watched me, when I was home last month. How long have you been dreaming about getting me on my knees?"

seems to me it's chemistry by HalfFizzbin - (covalent bonds) - (Rating: T, Words: 4,153, sterek)

Awkward Nerd Derek has been crushing on Handsome Jock Stiles since forever—so getting paired with him on a Chemistry project is definitely the best/worst thing that's ever happened to him.

These next two fics go hand in hand. 😇

The One with All the Kids by Itsreallyjustforresearch83 - (Rating: G, Words: 6,527, sterek)

Derek didn't know what he did to deserve to have this again. A house full of people, of family. He's going to be forever grateful to that rouge witch for what she did for him and Stiles, because after all the hurt they went through together, many years later, they're standing in the Pack house, in their house, surrounded by their family.

A New Hale by Itsreallyjustforresearch83 - (Rating: G, Words: 4,543, sterek)

The Pack meets the werewolf cub that Stiles and Derek gets placed with them on Christmas.

[melodrangea]

hello i hope you’re doing well, may i request a black star or soul x shy!reader? maybe something like they’re out on a date and she’s struggling to order for herself?

Soul and Black Star x a Shy!Reader

Soul "Eater" Evans

-Soul overall doesn't typically mind you being shy

-I mean he's pretty laid back and isn't into the whole 'party scene'

-and neither are you so it works out perfectly!

-you both prefer to spend your days lounging around the house or going out on more private dates

-like motorbiking through the city or having a small dinner in a 'hidden gem' restaurant

-I'm totally convinced that Soul follows several blogs about 'hidden gem' places because he thinks they're cool and you like them better than big crowded places

-Soul isn't really a big fan of pda in the first place other than hand holding or guiding you around with a hand on your back or waist

-he just likes keeping things private (except when it comes to bragging about how awesome you are...that you cannot escape)

-he doesn't mind doing things like ordering for your necessarily

-he will think its endearing yet a little silly, he would rather you learn to overcome your fears instead of constantly reminding you

-but he won't particularly patronize you for it, just try and gently nudge you into ordering for yourself

"And they'll have the pasta with, wait babe which sauce did you want?"

-he will do small things like that which will put you on the spot but won't require you to directly give your order to the waiter

-it's ok, baby steps!!

Black Star

-god this kid

-if you're shy in the slightest, I apologize deeply for every considering dating Black Star

-he is not only incapable of sharing spotlight, but just being quiet in general

-though you both find crowds to be unpleasant, he doesn't like being surrounded by "extras" while you find it hard to function due to so many being in close proximity

-and unfortunately without some explaining he doesn't get it at all

-by trying to discreetly ask him to order for you, Black Star will draw even more attention to the two of you

"Wait, why do you want me to order? Do you not feel good or something?" he says very loudly as neighboring tables turn to stare

-black star = having no sense of voice level control

-he will then get very huffy when you obviously get a little passive aggressive with him

-its probably Soul or Kilik that knock some sense into him since Tsubaki "doesn't know how having a girlfriend works" (he says to the lesbian)

-they probably set him straight and make it very clear that you being anxious isn't something your can control and you don't just do it because you want to

-he will be VERY apologetic after, fully understanding why you might be angry at him

-but after about 1,000 punishment sit-ups you come around and forgive him

-from then on he tries to keep your feeling in mind, trying to keep his volume in check, ordering ahead and eating somewhere private instead of ordering at the desk

-he still won't order for you unless he has to because "you can at least order your own food"

-but we take what we can get and this is definitely an improvement from before

---------------------------------------------------------

-melodrangea <3

[alespov]

Never set you free.- A.Wesker 18+

Tw: wesker is a toxic baby daddy, kinda yandere, possessive, swearing, fade to black sex,

a/n hope you enjoy loves <33 feedback is highly appreciated! For my follower special, I decided I was doing comfort character letters, which will be linked to my ko-fi. I had a post talking about it, had to take it down because some people asked me to include cod characters, which I will. But if you want one from Resident Evil, just go to my ko-fi. 🫶🏻 If you have questions please reach out!

Hmm, quite a step-down, isn't it? But I suppose it's the best one could expect from you." He stood nonchalantly against the doorframe, observing as you hurriedly packed your daughter's bag for her stay at her father's house and her cheerleading practice session. 

"Excuse me? What are you trying to imply?" Whirling around too quickly, you accidentally knocked the neatly folded clothes onto the floor. With an exasperated sigh, you bent down to pick them up.

The man smirked and responded with a biting, sarcastic tone. "I'm merely stating the truth – he's no match for me. And eventually, believe me, you will realize your mistake and come crawling back." 

You were going to reply, but you heard light footsteps and decided against your statement.

“Daddy!” You heard your daughter scream while running into her dad's arms. He picked her up easily and gave her a tight hug.  He sat her down gently, and she ran to you and gave you a tight hug. You smiled and kissed her forehead. She let you go and you grabbed her bag and handed it to her. 

“Have fun at practice sweetheart and make sure you behave for your dad. She skipped out with her dad, and you fell on your bed exhausted. Wishing it didn’t have to be like this. 

There are many things you could say about Albert Wesker, starting with his questionable morals and his overall manipulative personality. Despite the character flaws, he was the best dad, he’s always been there for Wren. 

Your phone buzzes and you reach over and grabbed it. 

Unknown Number : 

“Remember what I said dearheart, you’ll come crawling back to me. Besides I’m not so fond of another man raising our daughter… 

Frustrated, you forcefully tossed your phone onto the plush bedspread. Thoughts raced through your mind – who did he believe himself to be? 

Patrick had proven to be an attentive and caring boyfriend, always treating you with the utmost respect and demonstrating a strong bond with Wren. 

Wesker, on the other hand, could take a hike; ultimately, his own arrogance led to the downfall of your relationship. His perpetual absence and inflated pride were insufferable.

You inhaled deeply, striving to regain composure and evict thoughts of Wesker from your mind. 

After all, you had a romantic evening arranged with Patrick – a far more deserving focus for your attention.

You simply had to effortlessly slip into your elegant dress and step out of the comfort of your home. With a sense of anticipation, you gracefully slid your feet into your stylish shoes and draped a coat over your shoulders. The destination Patrick had chosen was a charming restaurant nestled an hour away, allowing for a pleasant drive filled with anticipation.

Until your phone started ringing, you sighed and pulled your car over. You glanced down at your phone and sighed. ‘Unknown Number’ 

You clicked the accept button hastily and brought the phone to your ear. 

“Hello?” you asked annoyed, you already knew who it was. 

“Dearheart? Where are you?” He demanded 

You scoffed and groaned “Seriously Wesker, I'm heading to my date.” He made a noise and added. 

“Well looks like you'll have to cancel. Our dear Wren is missing her mommy.” 

“Albert for god's sake, be her dad. Besides Wren is eight, and I highly doubt she misses me. You’re fucking jealous. I've had it with your remarks.” you shouted at him, you quickly clicked off the call and resumed driving to the restaurant.

Once you arrived, you parked your car and made your way to the modern restaurant. You noticed Patrick was waiting outside for you. You smiled and rushed up to you, with roses. 

"Hey, dear" he whispered into your ear as he pulled you into a warm embrace, causing an uneasy feeling to grow in the pit of your stomach. Perceptive as always, he noticed your reluctance and gently inquired about your discomfort. "Oh, it's nothing major, darling. It's just that I'm not particularly fond of that nickname." His eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at you with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "Seriously?" he grumbled, "But it's just fine when your baby daddy calls you that, huh?"

‘Patrick what the hell is up with you.” You distanced yourself from him. “You know what it doesn't fucking matter. I didn't want his sloppy seconds anyhow. 

As tears welled up in your eyes, you hastily wiped them away. "Where on earth did this come from?" you inquired in a hushed tone. The air around you seemed to thicken with tension. ” You asked quietly. “Oh? Your daddy baby has been bragging about how you and him are getting back together.”

“That's crazy, we’re not.” you cried out. Without listening to you Patrick stormed off.

Rushing to your car with a heavy heart, tears streaming down your face, you contemplated dialing Wesker and unleashing your fury. But deep down, you knew it wouldn't change anything. So, you gripped the steering wheel tight and navigated the lonely roads back home, accompanied by nothing but the deafening silence.

Exhausted from the day, you parked your car and trudged towards your front door, unlocking it with a feeling of relief. The moment you stepped inside, you kicked off your tight, uncomfortable heels and carelessly tossed your bag onto the couch. With a heavy heart, you made your way towards the bedroom, needing nothing more than to let out a good cry while indulging in some sweets or even that tempting fruit platter you had picked up earlier.

Entering the kitchen to gather your comfort snacks, an eerie sensation washed over you – as if someone was watching your every move. You noticed someone in the shadows moving and you shakily called out. 

“Who’s there?” your voice trembled and you grabbed the closest object to you; which happened to be a can of Lysol. Which caused you to roll your eyes.

“No need for that dearheart, it's just me.” Wesker emerged from the corner of the room and you gasped annoyed, yet thankful. 

“Get out!” 

“You don't mean that, I was just checking in on you after all. I suppose your date wasn't man enough for you.” Wesker explained. 

“Where Wren? “ you asked impatiently 

“Such a good mommy, she's with grandma.” He cooed at you while walking toward you. He grabbed your hips and pulled you closer to him. “Now c’mon dear, you know as well as I do, we haven't lost feelings for each other.” 

He began kissing your neck, tenderly. You tilted your neck giving him full access. He began to leave love bites and pressed you up on the counter. “Don’t worry dear I haven't forgotten what you liked.” 

He picked you up carried you to your bedroom, and laid you on the bed. 

sorry for the cliffhanger, will be part two :)

[majorproblems77]

Sacred realm update! And We have LORE!

Hello!

We get the information on what that carving is! And I love it! Lore is my fave and I am just buzzing to get my teeth into this because oh man yes lore.

Alright, now for the important stuff! Sacred realm belongs to @zelda-the-sacred-realm, and all art from the comics belongs to the comic artist. I've got their permission to do these! I love the comic so much its so good and so well done!

The link to the update can be found here! You should go reblog it, it's great, give it some love, please? [but remember this is its own Zelda comic, so please tag it as such! <3]

Now, Get some snacks and a drink, and lets go!

Link is literally me, exactly my thoughts my man exactly my thoughts.

Oh? That's interesting! So my theroy on the last update was incorrect, i like this better come on then Time,

Leans forward - Tell me everything.

He calls him Birdbrain

I repeat

Time calls Sky birdbrain

Time calls Sky birdbrain i love it so much Oh my god these guys know each other from something 100% you wouldn't call someone who you've known for like 5 minutes that.

Also more innocent Cinamon roll link alert. This isn't a drill

Oooh cool spell! It appears to appear from his amulet.

Time also appears to embody an Ice/water element. A pure opposite/neutraliser of Fire.

You know I think I can see more why Sky and Time might not get on as much. there's friction between them And I see these elemental powers as not only their source of power but as a metaphorical representation of relationships.

Time dosent appear to like Time, and Fire dosent like water.

[This is another theory that I need more information about before I can talk about it more. But when we get it I shall share more.]

What a fascinating explanation. Ice is wack and really cool. But you know what Ice also does.

Hides.

And I think Ice, is used deliberately, Let me explain.

So When I think of Ice I think of two things, small crystals and Icebergs. Small Ice does something very specific, but is also VERY detailed.

[I have a science background so I won't go into too much detail, but I will say, the structure of ice, Is VERY pretty. Just think about a snowflake, they are just ice crystals.]

Then on the opposite end, you have these MASSIVE structures of ice which are even larger under the sea. This information we have here to me could just be that initial bit we can see. As Time says It has "Numerous facets, each different from the others."

Time even says that what we have on this wall, are only the main ones.

Something to think about.

Do you mean like that realm covered in water where you fight Demise in Skyward Sword? That's the vibe I get from this.

Maybe when Sky feels better we should speak to him about this?

So we all can see fierce deity here. And that other guy, now that I think about it looks an awful lot like someone we know, no?

He looks like the Black knight

I went looking for information on the black knight and found this page (black knight information from the artist)

So like The black knight and Fierce Deity are brothers?

Cause if I've understood that right, and that's correct. This changes A lot of what happens next. And we are going to need Time and Sky to get along to be able to fight it. You know, As they've both fought gods. And are the most experienced to do so.

Is that where our big bad from RIGHT back at the start of the comic lives. It would certainly make sense.

Have I ever mentioned how much I like Hylia's and Fierce Deity designs in this AU cause I love it.

Well we know what happens to Fierce, at least at the moment we can assume he's safely secured inside the deity mask that Time carries.

Hello not friend

who are you? what are you doing

Did Fierce betray this mystery figure, or did this mystery figure betray Fierce? I have so many More questions!

Why are you laughing?!

Oh man

I hope you enjoyed my rambling! And that you have as many questions as I do because I have so so so so many questions about this new character.

Hope you have a good day! :D

[call-me-a-simp]

No one hates you more than I do!

Locked Up (Part 1)

Enemies to lovers (Rhea Ripley x fem. Reader):

You're a well known wrestler in WWE and Rhea is your worst enemy. You hate each other in and outside of the ring. Rhea always flirts with you, not that she means it, she just knows it makes you furious and wants to annoy you. But one day everything changes and you start to feel like all of this isn't a joke anymore and that there might actually be something between you two.

You're walking backstage, just wanting to find the next best sink to wash your face. You challenged Asuka for her Women's Championship title and lost because she used her poison mist attack and you couldn't see well for the rest of the match.

"Hey y/l/n" you hear a familiar voice shout in your direction. Of course it had to be her, you think to yourself. "Leave me alone idiot" you snap back. You hated her, you were sworn enemies and she never missed an opportunity to let you know that.

"Aw someone's mad" she mocks you. "Argh Rhea please, I just want to go to the fucking bathroom to wash my fucking face" you say and try to push past her.

"Ye ye, let me help you" she says and picks you up in one swift motion. "Hey!" you yell. "Rhea Ripley, you're letting me down right now or we're gonna have a serious problem!" you try to wind free from her grip, hitting your fists against her back and kicking with your legs but to no avail.

Rhea chuckles at your efforts, she knew how much you hated getting picked up, especially if it was from her. You try to open your eyes a little to see if there's someone who could help you and spot a tall man in black ring gear.

"Hey Damian! Tell your stupid friend to let me the fuck down!" you shout over to him. "Sorry Bae, gotta go" he winks and walks over to the gorilla. You mutter something inaudible and eventually just accept that Rhea is carrying you over her shoulder now.

As you reach the bathroom she let's you down roughly and you stumble backwards, hitting a sink. "Thanks for nothing" you grumble, not realising that Ripley already closed the door and locked it from the outside, making it impossible for you to get out again on your own.

You try to wash off the poison mist from your face and out of your eyes. It burns heavily and tears are streaming down your cheeks but you had to get it out, not wanting to risk any long term injuries.

Several minutes later you finally had a somewhat clear vision again. Your face was still green and black from the mist Asuka used on you. Your make up everywhere but where it used to be and your eyes red from crying and rubbing.

You just wanted to get out of here, change into some comfortable clothes and get home into bed. You walk over to the door, just to find it locked. You try to open it, rattling the lock and throwing yourself against the door but it doesn't move even a bit.

"God damn it" you curse under your breath. "Rhea! RHEA! LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" you scream. "took you longer to notice than I expected" you hear her laugh outside. "sorry sweety but I can't do anything, I lost the key. Well, see ya!" she chirms and walks away.

"What?! No, NO LET ME OUT! HELP!" you scream on top of your lungs. You hated being locked in some tiny room. Not only that, but your claustrophobia didn't exactly make it any better.

You kept screaming but no one seemed to hear you, nor walk past the door. You wondered where she put you, in which part of the building you where and eventually just gave up, sitting down on the floor crying until no more tears were left and you sat in silence.

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You didn't know how long you stayed in that room but it must have been hours. The sounds of the people in the arena had stopped since the show probably ended. You hear footsteps approaching the door and get new hope.

"Hello? Can anybody hear me? I need help, I'm locked in here!" you shout and bang against the door with your hands. The person outside stops, probably confused until you hear them knock on the door. "Hello? You in there?" you hear the janitor outside. His voice rusty and old, probably because he was smoking so much.

"Yes, yes please, can you open the door?" you plead, glad someone finally found you. The janitor was a very nice man in his late 60's, you liked him, he always brought a smile on your face as he knew exactly what to say to cheer you up.

The lock clicks and he opens the door." Oh my god thank you!" you sigh and hug him. "Woah Woah, how long have you been in there kid, it's almost two in the morning!" he chuckles, but you can still see the concern written in his face in the dimly lit hallway of the basement.

So that's where she took me, you think before explaining to your savior how you ended up there. "Thank you so much again, good night Joe" you say as you leave to find your locker room.

You're glad Joe found you, you don't even want to imagine having to spend the whole night in there without food or anything to change, having to lay on that uncomfortable, dirty floor. Oh Rhea is gonna regret this, this time she won't come away with it.

Maybe you could report her to Triple H, your boss. But on the other hand, what if everybody thinks you're weak then, reporting your coworker for a little incident which can be seen as an accident. No, you weren't going to take that risk, there has to be another way.

You enter your locker room, quickly change into comfortable clothing and wipe off your makeup and the remains of Asuka's poison mist. You grab your bag and keys and head out to at least get a little rest before tomorrow.

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Part one of my new series No One Hates You More Than I Do, hope you like it. I'm planning on making longer chapters than in the last story. Again, comment if you wanna be added to the taglist, as I deleted the last one, not knowing who wants to be tagged in this one too.

And also, look at that picture I found of Mami 😍

Taglist: @specialinterestshows

[inkblackorchid]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(What a meaningful conversation!)

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

So. Team Catasrophe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Uh. Well.

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

Nothing. A whole lot of nothing, is what.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round one. Team Taiyou.

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

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

Round two. Team Ragnarok.

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

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

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

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

Now, finally. Round three. Team New World.

(Welp. Here come the robots.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There we go. Now, onto the two branches.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[dootznbootz]

Hello. I honestly don't know how to prep this but uh, why do I feel like MM's Circe had so much potential? Like, MM did the lazy thing that is "making Circe's life a living shit show because that's the only way her actions would be justified" which... Is the annoying thing most modern interpretations do.

One good example would actually be EPIC: The musical. But in EPIC it only works because Circe isn't exactly a vocal point. And Circe having a motive plays into a pretty big theme of the show (Specifically in the song "Monster" where Odysseus is basically just... Contemplating everything)

But when you have 400 paged book, focusing around Circe, you have so much potential to focus more on the godly elements of these people. Someone else has said this before but ama say it too. The Greek gods had REASONS for acting the way they did. Zeus misused his power, that's what a king does. Artemis's wrath was unmatched when you wronged her, that's how nature is. Hades took a young girl from her mother, that's what death does.

And I'd like to add some of my own.

Aphrodite is a completely morally gray character, that's how love can be, it can go againts you sometimes. Dionysus was all over the place, sometimes good sometimes terrible, that's what madness is. Hermes is swift and a trickster because that's what people we deem 'messengers' can be like, via rumours.

When you notice these complexities to the characters, you start to realize. Circe misused her magic on innocent people for entertainment, that's what black/evil magic does. But at the same time, she helped Odysseus. Because even evil magic, or the 'worst possibilities' can be useful sometimes.

I think it is SUCH a missed opportunity MM didn't focus more on this aspect. Because that would've made for such an interesting story an unique story. Most of these modern retellings try to push modern ideologies on ancient works, which doesn't work. No retelling tries to tell these stories in a ancient Greek perspective (which is actually fairly easy you just have to do your research)

And with an author as skilled as MM is, I'm sure she could do it. But honestly, I don't think her writing is good in the perspective of Greek mythology. She could probably do a great modern story but let's face it, that wouldn't get as much money.

A story focusing around a goddess, and what it means to be a divine personification of nature and a concept, not to you but to the humans you exist for.You can really focus a lot on that and it could be such an interesting story.

All of these writers to me just seem like they're exploiting Greek mythology, which bugs me. If miller wanted to tell these stories, she would've told THE stories with her own twist. Not completely change them to the point they lose their charm.

If miller couldn't do that, if she wanted to write a complex feminist character she wouldn't have chosen Circe.

Something I really admire in your work is how you characterize these guys. It's obvious you're extremely passionate. I also love how you give Penelope clear flaws. You don't have to mortify everyone else to make her 'stand out' or to be 'more likable'. I really love your fic and I'm wishing you nothing but success in the future! :D

Anyways, enough about MM's book.

What do you think is one of Penelope's favorite little quirks od Odysseus', like something he does she finds really cute? :)

I hope you find pretty flowers today and get a sweet for free, dear anon. This ask made me so happy as it's like, perfect. As you gave a Circe rant that will be fun to dissect but also gave me a silly lil question for me to feast on and for the balance and the silly and I love it. You also sent it at the perfect time as I was getting a wee bit sad about how women from Greek Mythology get treated by retellings and fandoms. This really cheered me up 🩵

And thank you so much for the sweet compliment! It means so much to me that you love my silly lil guys as I love sharing them! And don't worry I am working on stuff! ;~; I know I'm taking a while but I am!

I'll do the cute stuff Penelope loves about Odysseus :P

(I do have them "mirror" each other a lot with "like-minded" so they often have SOME similar traits in some ways that both find endearing about the other. (both love watching the other brainstorm/think/swindle/winning/etc., both love (and are sometimes annoyed by) their stubbornness.) Stuff like that :D Also in general. Thank you, Anon. You've made me realize I've been going a wee bit too crazy with Penelope and kind of forgot about Odysseus.

1.) This is a past post that goes into it more but she just adores his freckles. She has counted them and memorized them. She's going to kiss every single one. He mostly has them on his face and shoulders but they are peppered a lil everywhere (he gets it from his mama). She uses the freckle pattern he has across his nose as "stars" for her tapestries.

Rando: Hey, that's not how the stars are mapped. Penelope: They're my stars, asshole >:(

She has to do a "recount" when he returns as some of his "stars" are covered by scars now :')

2.) She loves his hair and how well-groomed he usually is. He also is a bit like a cat in how he loves being pampered. (lil post about that) She loves scratching at his scalp and at the tiny hairs that are at the back of the neck. She loves the pretty grays he has when he returns as well :') She really loved how he looked without and with a beard. (It doesn't end up growing too long anyway)

3.) He's very warm. She's not really affected by temperature too much (she's used to freezing rivers and she herself is naturally cold. Her average temperature is colder than the average person. She only really has to worry about "drying up".) she loves his warmth. She wraps herself up in blankets while he's gone despite not really needing them sometimes as...she misses her furnace. (also his snoring) He also wraps himself in her blankets while away but sadly wakes up to them tossed about because he gets too hot. He needs his lil iceblock wife.

4.) She just adores his big laugh. The laughing so hard you cry one. Hearing it was kind of a "...Okay, I wanna hear that again." for her.

5.) He tends to bite his lip. Sometimes it's endearing and hot but he also will often rip at them. She tries to help him with this habit by distracting with kisses...Though with her teeth, it doesn't always help. Fun fact: For their first kiss on the lips, they were so stupid excited that he knicked himself on her teeth. She felt awful but he just kissed her again. It was bloody and bad but they were so happy. His bad habit returns when he's away because he's not getting his kisses 😔

6.) He whistles while he whittles often.

7.) So ancient Greece had yo-yos (probably in Odyssey but I'm getting silly with it)...and Odysseus is a nerd who WILL do tricks with them. (they can be made with wood and string so... odypen lol) He has fun trying to show other people how to do it too. It's a nice fidget. (modern day he would have definitely been that guy with that rubix cube lol)

8.) So Penelope is better at getting more for less, (lowering prices) and Odysseus is better at giving less for more. (selling shit for good things) They both can do it but they have their strengths.

9.) He got big eyebrows and with his weird "face shifting" thing he inherited from Autolycus, he can make a lot of silly faces.

10.) He tends to make sandcastles whenever he waits for her at the banks of rivers.

11.) He's a "heavy stepper" when he's not sneaking. It's not because of his scar. He just likes walking like that. :) Not so much "stompy" but she finds it cute that she knows it's him coming based on the footsteps she hears.

Some things that annoy her >:3

She's incredibly ticklish and he's not so much and he keeps doing it. STOP IT >:(

So she's smaller than him in mine and in general, he loves draping himself across her (he's like a cat remember?). Most of the time she loves that weight as she loves him and he's a warm weighted blanket. Though while she's strong, he'll sometimes be a brat and put so much of his weight on her just to mes with her. (mostly when they're young and dumb. not so much after he returns)

(Not this big of a size difference ofc but you know >:) )

Those are some and I have more rattling around in my head but I wanna finish this ask and I gotta do some shit :')

Thank you again, Anon. This made me happy <3

[deltastra]

Tower of God Season 2 (New Trailer with OP Theme) Thoughts

Hello everyone! I haven't done a pre-written post in a while (Did I ever?), so let me yap about the new Tower of God trailer! I wanna tell you guys my honest thoughts and initial reaction to certain scenes.

I waited so long for them to show literally anything else other than the same 12(?) scenes and even a sneak peak to the OP theme performed by NiziU. FINALLY! I will be yapping a lot so SPOILER ALERT FOR ANIME ONLIES

(Also if you guys like posts like this from me, I'll try my best to do this more often as opposed to pre-written reviews!)

Ok so first off I want to say, I was overwhelmed with emotions. I read this arc back in 2016...to see it finally animated, man. Not to mention, it has been like 4 YEARS since season 1. Time flies and a lot happened in my life in between that. I remember how I felt when the OP of the first season played and it hit me that the very first WEBTOON I have ever read, finally got an anime adaptation, which was something that felt impossible back then.

I AM HOPING THIS SCENE WITH ANDROSSI MEANS THAT THE NEW STUDIO WILL FOLLOW THE WEBTOON PROPERLY. Don't get me wrong, besides its flaws, I did love Season 1. However, I was upset with the needless changes they made and important scenes they removed. So I hope the new studio follows the webtoon. They should definitely re-establish how much Bam meant to Androssi.

Seeing Khun in season 2 artstyle is nice. Regarding the artstyle, this may sound weird but I liked season 1's a bit more. Season 1's artsyle felt more "unique" along with its vibrant colours. But, I'll admit, season 2's artsyle is definately more suitable for the long-run when considering how serious the story gets later down the road.

Okay, I'll admit. This scene felt a bit...stiff?? But that's not a big deal.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THEM AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP GROW ALL OVER AGAIN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

AND THE OP THEME FINALLY PLAYS! Now here's the thing. I listened to a few songs by NiziU and I won't lie, as nice as the songs were, I was unsure whether they fit the Tower of God tone. But I kept an open mind as I knew nothing about STRAY KIDS back in season 1 and now I listen to TOP and SLUMP so often and associate it with Tower of God due to the lyrics.

As for the sneak peak of RISE UP by NiziU, I like the song. I'm not obsessed over it, maybe I need more of it to form a solid opinion. However, I think it's fine overall! (Hopefully the song isn't wasted in the OP by the use of black screens and credits lol)

I LOVE THIS SHOT SO MUCH. THE DETAIL ON THE SHINSU IS SO GOOD. The lighting as well!

I like how they drew Viole's eyes here. He looks tired which honestly fits well given what he faced during his time with FUG. I don't remember if he looked like that in the WEBTOON whenever his eyes were shown but if it's an anime-original detail, I love it!

(I hope we see his bright eyes during the scene with Wagnan and Viole on the rooftop! Can't wait to see that animated!)

OH I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS FIGHT ANIMATED OMGGGG

Okay, this shot was kinda cool sorry guys I just wanted to say that.

AAAAND THATS ABOUT IT.

First of all, WAY BETTER TRAILER THAN WHATEVER THEY WERE SHOWING US BEFORE! Second, I feel a little more confident about season 2 now. It's alright. I feel like nowadays everyone expects MAPPA or UFOTABLE quality for every anime but this is fine. While I'll miss the season 1 artsyle that I grew to love, I look forward to see what the new studio has to offer.

ALSO KEVIN PENKIN RETURNING LETS GOOOOOO

I want to end things off by saying that when I first read this arc. I ADORED TEAM SWEET AND SOUR. I believe it was because they reminded me of Quinx Squad from Tokyo Ghoul :re...

I just love this team's dynamic and how well they play off eachother. It felt more like a found family. I understand people liked season 1's cast more but I have always been more partial to this team <3

I look forward to seeing them again in the anime cause I miss their early days so much. NOTHING BAD HAPPENS TO ANY OF THEM OKAY? HELL TRAIN ISN'T REAL </3 (SIU please bring back the active members please I beg of you. SHOW ME THEIR SEASON 3 LOOKS)

[fleurelinathehybrid]

💛[Chapter 3: A visit from the dream]💛

WARNING: Content +18. P.S. It's my best attempt at this part p0rn, so don't make fun of me.

The fatigue from university was nothing compared to the stress he had experienced at the New Inn a few hours ago. And it had all started with a stubborn customer who refused to leave.

Since he went for his third jar of beer, he realized that he would be long gone if he didn't give him the bill. The customer refused to pay and that's when the fight began. He and his waiters were forced to kick him out. Adding to the fact that he was accompanied by a teenager who was not looking for a fight and who did not even want to be in the bar with the guy, who was later revealed to be his father.

That situation led him to a state of deja vu when he remembered his son Robyn, after asking the minor how old he was. That poor boy who was the victim of a fight in a bar in the 40s.

That and a call to the police made his day a disaster.

Now he was in his apartment, freshly bathed and wearing shorts, leaving his chest almost marked and with body hair on his pectorals, arms and legs. Brushing his long brown hair so he could sleep comfortably.

Luckily, tomorrow would be the weekend and I didn't have much to do about college. So he could relax before going to sleep.

He turned off his cell phone, closed the curtain and prepared to try to rest. Which wouldn't be long, because he was very exhausted.

As soon as he could close his eyes, Hob let out a sigh that sent him into his dreamlike state like he did every night.

Hoping that his beautiful and endlessly boyfriend would receive him with open arms.

[💛💛💛]

He found himself wandering aimlessly in space. Perhaps in one of the habitats of the immense kingdom. Still wearing his pajama shorts, Hob set out to find his partner.

Which didn't take long, because he was waiting for him. That beautiful being whose appearance changes at will and pleasure. With his distinguished black hair with little stars in it. His pale porcelain skin and his eyes. Those eyes that contained one and thousands of constellations that he couldn't count.

Wearing as his only clothing, a robe that could be lost in the space around him.

—Hello, pigeon. —Hob spoke, with a crimson-tinged smile.

The response to his greeting was a smile, whose look was nothing more than mischief and flirtatiousness. Then he proceeds to approach and take his face with both hands, causing him to inertialy take hold of his small and fragile waist. The Endless looks at him, with a devotion that he had not expected to see since the first meeting they had after closing the hundred-year agreement.

—I was waiting for you, my love. I was looking forward to your arrival. —The voice of the king of dreams sounded serious but very sweet. Something that greatly surprised the immortal.

—I say the same thing, I wanted to see you. I had a shitty day. —he said trying to keep his anger inside.

The Endless, taking his cheek and gently caressing him, looks at him tenderly. —Aw, my love. Do you want me to help you relax?

The human nods, not resisting the urge to kiss him. —Okay, but first you have to wake up. Don't worry, you'll see when you do it.

He found that very strange, since it was very common for him that his meetings were in the Dreaming. However, I didn't see it as bad at all. Maybe, I wanted to change a little. He didn't think much about it and obeyed his lover's order.

[💛💛💛]

After waking up, he didn't expect to feel a little weight on him, something that was definitely unusual for him. It didn't take long to discover the reason.

He barely changed the direction of his sights and reacted: his beloved Endless, wearing a black robe, sitting on top of him.

And he was absolutely sure he wasn't wearing anything downstairs. He could feel it with his bulge.

—Oh, holy shit. —Hob murmured very astonished, with his face completely red.

—Do you see it? —spoke the god of dreams. —Now, you wanted to relax. Isn't it?

He nodded frantically, almost out of breath. Morpheus approaches, while their breaths and foreheads collide, and their gazes connect.

—Rest assured that you are going to enjoy it. —he says, and then proceeds to kiss him passionately.

Hob couldn't and wouldn't resist. His lover's touch was like a drug he couldn't refuse, and his kisses were too addictive to refuse.

Morpheus proceeds to kiss his neck and jaw, with the intention of leaving a path that would show evidence that that human already had an owner. Driving Hob crazy.

Sighs and low moans left the human's lips. Making Dream of Pride's chest grow. He didn't stop until he reached the edge of his shorts, the only item of clothing he was wearing. He probed the edge, while massaging the phallus over the fabric, causing Hob to suppress a grunt. Morpheus smiled, crinkling his eyes a little, sometimes he liked to be a little naughty.

He proceeds to remove Hob's shorts, revealing an astonishingly erect penis about to drip pre-cum. He would be lying if he said that didn't make him drool, feeling his private part get wet just by looking at it.

He didn't hesitate at all to massage it and run his tongue over it, while looking into his eyes. Lust and desire was what she could see in him. Hob felt like he would die at any moment.

However, if the pleasure did not leave him as blind as now, he would realize that Dream's eyes were not the same. Instead of having white stars, it had pink hearts as pupils. And the tiny stars in her hair were unlit.

Although of course, he wouldn't realize it. Less now that the eternal being was providing him with oral sex, putting his penis in and out of his mouth at a constant pace.

—Damn, Dream. —Hob gasps.

Morpheus proceeds to increase speed. Hob's grip on the blankets of his bed tightened as the pleasure welling up in him. Moans and gasps left his lips.

When he finally climaxed, Morpheus removed the phallus from his mouth and swallowed all traces of his lover's seed. He smiles, signaling that he's willing to keep this up for the rest of the night.

He stands up, at the same time removing the knot from his robe. He slowly proceeds to let it fall to the ground. He climbs back onto the bed on his knees, and after making sure he still has Hob's attention, Morpheus takes his phallus and begins to insert it into his vaginal cavity. Yes, for less problems, he decided to use female private parts.

Hob was stunned, he didn't know if because of the pleasure, or because of the initiative his beloved Endless was taking. What he did know was that it made him sexier for him.

When everything was finally completely inside, Morpheus tries to take the first jump. This is prevented by the immortal, who in a quick movement, leaves Morpheus beneath him, with his legs completely open and with his penis still inside his vagina.

— H-Hob? —That question is left incomplete when Gadling kisses him and places a pillow under his lower back. That makes Dream let out a high-pitched moan at the movement.

—You already gave me pleasure, my dove. Now it's my turn to give you pleasure. —His hoarse voice made Dream turn red with excitement.

As soon as the immortal made the first attack, Morpheus begins to tremble. Another thrust, his hands crumpling the blanket on the bed. Another one, his lips began to drool.

Hob couldn't help but show him a malicious smile, scaring Dream a little.

He began with the attacks, slow but accurate. Morpheus's high-pitched moans filled the room, they were like those of a cat in heat, ready to be mated.

—We haven't started yet and you're already about to cum? —he asked in a hoarse voice, making Morpheus blush. —Try to hold on a little longer, my pigeon.

He continued with the attacks, but little by little increasing the speed. The King of Nightmares moved his head from side to side while moaning and gasping, unable to withstand the wave of pleasure he felt at that moment. Hob proceeds to settle you with the pillow below his hips, making his G-spot in better reach for him. He would be very grateful to the colleague at the university where he work for giving him that advice.

—AH~!! —he let out a moan, along with a couple of tears in his beautiful blue eyes. Meaning a sign.

That was his sweet spot.

Hob couldn't help himself and moved closer to his Eternal's face to kiss and smell it, feeling the touch of his nose against his now flushed, sweaty pale cheek.

Morpheus held the back of his lover's neck with his left hand and his back with his right, waiting for more of his warmth. His ear was close and the lust was at its peak, he couldn't help it. Or rather, he didn't want to. Without thinking, he blurted out a phrase that would increase their libidos even more than they already were.

"Let me give you an heir"

Immediately, the thrusts became wild and uncontrolled. By way of inertia, Dream tightened his grip and hugged Hob's waist with his legs, for fear of becoming detached from him. While Hob distributed kisses, licks and bites on the Endless's neck.

—Don't stop, please. —Dream murmured, in the delirium of pleasure. —Aaahhh~ more, Hob. I need more~.

—I won't stop until all my seed is inside you. —Hob growled, blinded by lust and desire. Looking intensely at his lover who immediately begged for a kiss, which he did not deny.

He was very close to reaching climax, and he could feel that because of how hot his lower belly was. Morpheus couldn't resist it anymore.

Until Hob immediately decides to change positions. He leaves Morpheus' interior for a moment and, without asking, places the Endless face down with the same pillow under his belly. Hob pins Dream's legs under him, surprising him.

—Hob, what are you doing- NGK!! —He is interrupted again by a surprise attack at the same point.

He held Morpheus's hands in his own, marking the sweet spot that drove him crazy.

— Hob~ more~!! —His lips were drooling, and he couldn't even help but stick out his tongue in pleasure, as if leaving it out would help him get more air to breathe.

They continued to unleash blows, more and more accurate. Until...

—NGK!!/AAAHHH!!

That last grunt and moan made both beings ejaculate. Morpheus on the sheets and Hob inside his partner.

Gadling, panting and satisfied, kisses Dream's shoulder blades and his sweaty cheek. Carefully and without leaving his interior, he places his trembling Endless on his side. So that he can hug him from behind in a spoon position.

He inhaled his scent, and couldn't help but kiss his neck. Tentatively, he brought one of his hands to his clitoris to massage it.

—Nmmm~ Hob~

Gadling smiled. I was very anxious. —A second round?

Morpheus lets out a couple of tears, while giving him a smile.

—I beg you, my love.

An accurate attack was the response.

[kimiwonderhoy]

I want to find mutual love.

Style: Fluff

Notes: gn reader. I don't speak english so there may be mistakes. Sorry😭 And there is no point, I just wanted to write a fic with Tatsumi :)

Demon! Tatsumi Kazehaya x gn! Reader

...

You were one of those people who liked to walk around abandoned houses.

One day, walking after school through another abandoned house, you decided to rummage through old things. Among them, you found a red paper that someone crumpled. You decide to open it. Inside, a certain ritual was written in black. You didn't suspect anything and decided to check it out.

What could happen?

As soon as you came home, you immediately decided to check the ritual. Having prepared everything for this ritual, you began to conduct it. During the ritual, you began to feel someone's presence. This scared you a little, but you did not dare to retreat.

Finally, ritual was fully completed, a rustle was heard behind you.

You have summoned a demon.

"Did you summon me?~" - Demon whispered in your ear.

Frightened, you screamed in surprise and jumped up from your seat, stepping back a few steps. The Demon himself was standing in front of you. He had a neck-length mint green colored hair and purple colored eyes, as well as two moles under his left eye, demonic horns, and a demonic tail.

"You still haven't answered my question." he said. You shuddered again and, a little nervous, answered in a trembling voice:

"Sorry... I didn't mean to summon you at all.. I just performed a ritual, but it turned out to be a demon summoning... Sorry..!" - you answered. You didn't expect to summon a demon at all.

"It's okay... Since I'm a wish-granting demon, you can make a wish." - He said in a calm voice, not nervous like you.

"I don't even know what to think..."

"If so, I can give you a magical orb. It will grant your every wish when you can make it." - answered the Demon holding out a magical orb to you.

You decide to accept his strange (?) gift. As soon as you took it in your hands, the demon immediately disappear, leaving behind a gentle stream of wind, which soon subsided. You removed this orb to the regiment because you did not know what wish to make.

It was a deep night, you couldn't sleep. Intrusive thoughts prevented you from closing your eyes and falling asleep.

"Will I have love?" - you thought. Then you remembered the magic orb from the demon. Getting up from the bed and taking the orb in your hands, you looked at it.

"How long has it been since they gave it to me? Two weeks? Maybe more? It doesn't matter."

You examined the orb from all sides. "And how do I make a wish?" You took a deep breath and decided to just say your wish out loud.

"I want to find my love, I want to find mutual love." - Saying this out loud, you looked at orb. Suddenly, he began to glow, and streams of wind began to emanate from him along with a peaceful melody. You relax and start listening to a pleasant melody. It seemed that you were about to fall asleep, but the melody was interrupted at the wrong moment, when you almost fell asleep.

"I hope my wish will come true..." - you put the orb in place and went to bed.

That night, a heart-shaped pendant appeared around your neck.

A few days later, you learned that your favorite idol group ALKALOID has a new member. His name is Tatsumi Kazehaya. As it turned out, he studied at your school. But you have never heard of him or his name. A little strange, isn't it?

Walking around the schoolyard, you notice an eerily familiar silhouette and hair color. Not realizing that you are getting closer and closer to him. You were very closer to him, not knowing what to do, you decided to get to know him. With a wave of greeting, you moved closer so that he would pay attention to you.

"Hello! You are Tatsumi Kazehaya, right? My name is (Y/N)! Do you mind getting to know me?"

You said holding out your hand to him. God, how funny you looked...

He smiled at you and shook your hand.

"That's right, I'm Tatsumi. I don't mind getting to know you (Y/n)!"

He looked eerily familiar to you, and his voice. You seem to have heard it somewhere...

He noticed your heart pendant. Looking at pendant, you noticed it.

"Are you interested in this pendant?" You asked, smiling awkwardly.

"Ah yes. Could you tell me more about this pendant? I think I have something for you..."

You nodded and told the whole story with the demon, about the magic sphere, and at the end you told about the desire, and how you got this pendant. Tatsumi listened to you carefully, and in the end, as promised, he has something for you. He took the exact same pendant out of his pocket, and when the two pendants were close to each other, they began to glow with a delicate pink color.

You stared at Tatsumi and the pendants in surprise.

"Why do they glow?..."

Tatsumi looked at you with a smile.

“So it was you who wanted mutual love, right?"

"Wait... How do you know?!" you were confused.

“Congratulations, I am your mutual love. I knew you liked me from the first time we met~” he whispered teasingly.

“So you, this demon?!” You were surprised, although there is nothing to be surprised at. Appearance and voice were similar, you can guess.

"Yes it's me. Tatsumi Kazehaya, Demon Tatsumi or Wish Granting Demon. Are you happy that I'm your love?"

"I am very glad that you are my love! Then let's get to know each other better?"

He silently nodded, smiling at you. It might be weird to have a demon lover, but you don't mind.

I'm tired😭

[ask-emerys-melvinborgs]

-—-—-The Event Horizon-—-—-

Chapter 2. Overture

🫐—-—-—-—-—-— »,”☆

Melvinborg sped through the air at breakneck speed, the rocket careening through the clouds, below him his apartment, his neighborhood, his city disappearing. His grip on the steering mechanism was a little white-knuckled, his dashboard a contrasting cheery array of LEDs, and his heart soaring with determination.

—-[Start] [« Last] -,”🪽”,- [Next »] [Latest]-—

A myriad of satellites were perched in invisible orbit like birds on a wire, and as he sped past, he saw a variety of purple lights blinking at him- the friendly, neutral color of communication, a quick 'hello!' as he began his journey. Interstellar communication had gotten leagues better, and the nearby airspace really wasn't so lonely anymore. He whizzed past the air station, a few stray rockets from different independent explorers like him housed comfortably in its magnetic field. Now that he was finally out of orbit, he could calm his pace a little bit. He unbuckled his seatbelt, floating as if a petal on water, suprisingly light and graceful leaps. And heavens, did he have fun with it! Bounding about, feeling the freedom of space- though he had taken multiple trips into space before, it still was a rare treat, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Alone in his ship, he let his guard down, feeling like a kid once again. It was this kind of spirit he was going to need so desperately, for a mission like this.

Just for the sake of feeling less alone, he decided to tune his radio to the Communications section. With the clickity-clackity turn of a deliciously antiquated knob, the gentle static fuzzed in, a little warmer than usual (likely the gentle hum of the stars). "Hey, anyone online?" A voice shimmered through the speakers...

"Oh, fantastic! I'm doing quite well, thank you," he spoke into the intercom. "I'm on my way out of town- well. Way out of town, I suppose." The voice giggled a little. "And," he added giddily, "if you're oh-so-terribly-curious, I'm actually trying to-" A wave of electrical fuzz washed over the sound, and before he could begin his monologue, the connection was lost, leaving him a little disheartened. Oh well. "ETH3R, how far until our destination?" he asked his scientific companion. "We won't hit the hyperspace barrier until we get out of the solar system and its regulations, which should take about 15 minutes and 49 seconds, so accounting for that...... you've got nine hours, thirty-seven minutes, and 11 seconds until we reach the orbit of the nearest black hole, MIRAWIDIE-14." Damn. He scrunched his nose. It sounded like a long time, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that bad, eh? Nine hours until his life changed, hopefully forever, hopefully for the better. He settled into the lounge chair he had so-smartly included, ready for his journey, still keeping his general cover of ultimate in-control nonchalantness but secretly alight with anticipation. He hadn't penned yet what he was even going to say or do to his younger self- that would require a LOT of self-reflection that he was absolutely not willing to do. Obviously, expecting him to be absolutely perfect at every turn already would lead him to the same colossal burnout crash that Borg had experienced as he had metaphorically dragged himself across the bloody, gravelly pavement of life to make it into adulthood. Obviously, he was a lot better off now, but... he wanted to save himself the pain, if he could. But god, introspection isn't easy to do when there's so many layers of perfectionism and shame, mm? He didn't realize that to face himself, he would have to face himself. His thoughts couldn't keep him for long, though, because ETH3R gently encouraged him to buckle himself back into the commander's seat so that they could engage their hyperspace drive. "Ah, what would I do without you?" he asked affectionately, to which the robot replied "Let's hope we never have to find out." The shadow of Neptune was shrinking behind them, and as they began to launch into hyperspace, the reflections of the stars went from dutiful pinpricks to huge bearded comets to crystalline slices, slight differentiation in color, creme and periwinkle and peach and white cascading past in beautiful shooting lines as they went faster faster faster faster FASTER- And then, almost as suddenly as it began, they slowed back to a gentle lull, but the sky was almost entirely changed, Around them was a menagerie of dust, nebulas in every color and then some, stars of all sizes adorning the sky. Sparse enough to still have that sense of coldness, but everything was so much more colorful- it was like stepping into Oz. Little tears gathered in Melvin's eyes- there was no sight like it, and he would never get used to experiencing that glory. He settled in comfortably for the ride, gazing out the window at the breathtaking monuments, strolling through them on his way to his future.

[crackedpumpkin]

hi!!! i love your work :)

what about question #24???

Hello love!! Thank you so much for your question; I'm about to info dump all over your ass I am NOT sorry <3

How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part, or do you just want to get on with it?

When I was beginning as a writer on Tumblr, I never planned anything I wrote. It was genuinely just such a 'sit down and write whatever comes to mind' type of thing I did. It might be obvious to some when you compare my current work and my earlier ones, especially with Cherry Blossoms, Caught Red Handed, compared to 101 Ways To Live lmao

I think I put in a lot of effort planning the two fic, Black Canvas and 101WTL, this time around, though, because I really want to see these projects do well. It's also something that I learned from hitechlatte and Dork, both of whom are just stupendous writers that I can learn so much from!

Currently, for how planning stories looks like for me, I use a table in a Google Doc, which looks something like this:

Blank Canvas:

Sometimes the outline isn't really followed to a T, which you can evidently see in Chapter 1, where the last few points are a little wonky and some straight-up don't appear :) But it's such an amazing safety net for me to fall back on since I tend to veer off course, and random tidbits of drabbles hit me out of nowhere.

For example, this is a thing that hit me one night. It's yet to be determined whether it'll be in the fic, but I just thought I'd show you lol:

“Didn’t anyone ask you?” Damn it. You risk a quick glance up, eyeing his raised brow and the skeptical smile. It’s not like you could outrightly admit that you wanted him to be your date. Besides, what you’re feeling is probably just one-sided anyway. It’s not like you expect him to be happy with you asking, but he could at least react a little nicer, couldn’t he?

God, you want to smack his pretty face so bad. 

"No, so I need a date for the prom. You don’t gotta do it if you don’t want to, jeez." You mutter, looking back down and feeling your cheeks warm as you absentmindedly shade your doodle of his face in your sketchbook.

Hehe.

As for whether or not I enjoy this part, I generally do! It's so much fun to think up little moments or even entire arching plot points that gradually develop throughout the fic! However, there are definitely moments when I get stuck, but I try not to let it affect me as much. To be perfectly honest, there are just blank chapters in the Google Doc table, where It's just. Nothing. But I know that as I write and gradually develop/flesh out the story even more, it'll hit me eventually. Sometimes, all you need is time, and it'll just come to you^^

With that I hope this has answered your question love! Stay safe, and stay hydrated <33333

[harrowharks-iliac-crest]

48

Back to Gideon - Third skull, here comes Ianthe.

Her hair and skin were colourless; that pallid face brightened to see me. “Harry,” she said. Harrow, she was genuinely delighted to see you. The smile on that thin white face was real. “Harry, you’re—” I moved closer and totally fucking ruined her day. “Alive, bitch,” I said. That expression hardened like it had been dropped in quick-set concrete. [...] Ianthe flicked a lock of goo-stained hair over her shoulder, leaned against the kitchen wall, and said: “Oh—you.”

Some kind of plan has just been ruined, methinks.

There would be a goddamn reckoning. Nonagesimus, I was going to reck her. I said: “Do you want your ass kicked now, or do you want your ass kicked later, or both?” “Please, let’s address this like gentlewomen,” said Ianthe, without much hope.

Gideon, I fucking missed you.

“This can’t be happening.” “She’s not even into you, okay? It’s just the bones. She’s into bones.”

Gideon, I FUCKING MISSED YOU!!!!!

This better not be too short-lived, I really need more of Lyctor!Cav!Gideon in my life.

“You’re certain that Mercy tried to kill Harrow?” she said, after a moment. “Yeah.” “But that doesn’t— Why would she—?” “Do not fucking ask me for information. I could not be more lost right now.”

Oh Gideon. You've always been so adorably clueless. Have I mentioned that I've fucking missed you???

"Why did you ascend to be a Lyctor?” “Ultimate power—and posters of my face.” Fair.

Hahahahaha. Oh Ianthe.

But he had stopped dead, and he was looking at us. At your face. He looked at my eyes in your face in the same way the other Lyctor had, and any colour in his own drained straight away. [...] Augustine looked at us like we were the last thing he’d ever see. “John,” he breathed. And: “Joy.” And then—he fucking legged it.

What's got Augustine so goddamn scared? Hello???

At this point I'm halfway wondering if there's anyone who isn't plotting something against someone here. Gideon seems to be foiling a lot of plans here today.

“Hurry up. I have a letter for you,” said Ianthe. Harrow, it was in your handwriting. She handed me a fat, bulging envelope with your handwriting, and it said To be given to Gideon Nav, and I felt—strange. Time softened as I held it, and I didn’t even care about the barely repressed mirthful scorn on the other girl’s face.

Oh, this is one of the letters that Harrow couldn't know about!!! What does it say what does it say???

The letter was wrapped around a black, folded-up bunch of angles: smoked glass, thin black frames, mirrored lenses. A little bend in one arm, but otherwise—you’d kept my sunglasses. [...] ONE FLESH, ONE END.

Oh yay the sunglasses!!

And oh damn you past Harrow, you couldn't have written literally anything more enlightening??? Fuck!!!

Fuck one flesh, one end, Harrow. I already gave my flesh to you, and I already gave you my end. I gave you my sword. I gave you myself. I did it while knowing I’d do it all again, without hesitation, because all I ever wanted you to do was eat me. Which is, coincidentally, what your mother said to me last night.

I fucking missed you Gideon Nav!!!!!

And also, well, I'm glad we agree on Fuck One Flesh, One End.

She can’t love you. She can’t even try.” She said, way too carefully: “Oh, please, as though—” but I cut her off. “Don’t start the I was toying with her, mwah ha ha noise, because I won’t believe it. Your plan backfired, Tridentarius. You’ve got the sickness. I know the signs of Nonagesimitis. You were all lined up for a big hot injection of Vitamin H.” Ianthe scrubbed at her forehead briefly with her bone hand. “Really a corpse?” she said, with not totally believable carelessness.

Oh my god Ianthe. Oh my god Gideon. You're out here at the end of the world, and you're bonding over how you're both kinda in love with a girl who can never love you back. Oh my fucking god.

I died knowing you’d hate me for dying; but Nonagesimus, you hating me always meant more than anyone else in this hot and stupid universe loving me. At least I’d had your full attention.

I'm going to fucking cry.

now we are going to get out of my bedroom, and I am going to take you to Teacher.” The Emperor of the Nine Houses. The Necrolord Prime. I said, “No, thanks. I’m good.” “He needs to know. He can help you.” “I might lie down and see if this fixes itself,” I suggested. “Do you want Harrowhark to reclaim rightful ownership of her body, or not?” she asked reasonably.

Way too fucking reasonable. God can't help with this!!! You're taking Harrow's body to God so THE SLEEPER can take control of Harrow's body, and kill God.

That's probably, definitely what's happening here, and I really fucking hate it.

[alittlefrenchtree]

Hello, I'm the anon from yesterday. I wanted to write to you yesterday but then I didn't have time. I wanted to say thank you for your answer. I really appreciate it and it made me happy to be told that I don't have to worry if I want to talk about a movie for as long as I want. You're right, sometimes online people get into your brain and I have to remind myself that I don't know any of them and they can't decide for me. Films are important to each of us differently and each of us needs our time with these films which is different but the films have been there for centuries just for us, to cherish them as long as possible and I don't care if this is just a romcom and it's not on the level of beauty of other films. It's important to me, I'm so happy to finally have a character like Alex. Who is like me (well, I wish I was like him, unfortunately I don't have that face) and faces the same problems as me. I feel so connected to him and I'm not willing to let it go. I also suffer a lot when I read that Taylor isn't really Latino, that he's white, just tanned and they decide the percentages of how Latino he is and decide it's not enough to be Latino.

You know racism is the same for all of us but also very different. Each of us experiences a different type of racism. Black people will never suffer comments like this (unfortunately they face others) but we brown people have to be told every day by white people that we are not brown enough, they also decide our ethnicity, our origins, whether or not we are worthy of defining ourselves Latinx. It's terrible. I wish there was an Alex Claremont-Diaz out there for all of us..

Oh god how much did I write? I hope it makes sense, it's hard to write in English. Thank you again ❣️

Hi again, Anon from yesterday!

If my answer did help, I’m really happy to know 💜

You’re absolutely right! Cinema is vaste and movies are numerous and each one of them can be important to anyone for a lot of reasons. They don’t have to be awards winning things to matter. And RWRB is definitely that for many people. Alex is obviously that for many as well, including you and that matters really really much.

It takes a lot to make me angry but this kind of shit said about Taylor makes me absolutely mad. That’s so so fucked up. Taylor shouldn’t have gone through this but sadly it makes him even closer to Alex. We know it’s exactly the kind of bullshit people would tell about first son of a president. Have probably already told somewhere.

I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this kind of shit as well. This is very much not about me because I’m white and have never experienced racism (obviously) but I’m not blond-hair-blue-eyes white as my grand father was black and I already have to listen to too many questions (even without maliciousness) about my origins even if I’m fucking white. So I know it’s a thousand times more difficult for people who aren’t, who have to deal with discrimination on top of it, and with questions and suspicions that are very much offensive, unlike what I know. So again, I’m very sorry. I hope people would try to be better. I certainly hope for a future ACD helping kids (and adults) feel better about themselves, however they need.

You did make perfect sense and it’s very much okay to write a lot in my inbox, as I am, myself, someone who write a whole lot. It was great talking with you 🙏