#those dams crows

[rockartfashion]

AYRON JONES enflamme l’Elysée Montmartre, Paris - 19 octobre 2023- Concert Review

[vern-a]

I ACCIDENTALLY ENDED A WINDOWS TASK AND ALL I SAW WAS PHILZA MINECRAFT IN A VOID NO WINDOWS BAR NO NOTHING OH FUCK

[itzsana-kiddingmenow]

Hii!! 👋🏻 I just read the lee Han fic during their predut era and it's the cutest thing ever😫🥺 And it got me thinking, so the boys went to the met gala right and they looked super nervous, esp. Seungmin and Chan. And then I saw those jerk photographers comments and I had a thought. 🤭😙What if after the event, when the boys go back to their hotel rooms to rest, they sort of finish their night time routines and just gather in one room and then everyone sort of has a tickle fight to sorta get rid of the nerves and lift the mood. And like what if they all go crazy and just tire eo out and play games and have snacks and pillow fights and stuff and end up sleeping in a big pile together 🤭🥰 I really love your writing style and did love it of you could write something with this but it's okay if you don't want to as well. Hope you have a great day/afternoon/night Sana❤️❤️

Also can I please be 😛 anon? Or 🐰or 🪼?

𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙖 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙝:

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨: 1.1k

𝙖/𝙣: i put two random members for the header okay, also the photographers at the met gala what the actually fuck it made me so angry 😡

𝙩/𝙬: swearing, rough tickling, I WROTE THIS LIKE TWO HOURS AFTER THE REQUEST FORGIVE ANY MISTAKES

𝒍𝒆𝒆: skz

𝙡𝙚𝙧: skz

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕: @someone-who-loves-kpop-saranghae @jeonginsdiary @leeknowstan33 @v--143 @wereallgonnadieonedaybutnottoday @inkytornpagess @lajanaa @a-wild-seungberry @channieissocute125 @soap143 @seungsluvv @skznccmlee @moony-9

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞? 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐛s 🐾

“Those photographers were fucking jerks!!” Felix growled, shaking his head in disapproval.

Everyone watched in fear; it wasn’t often their brownie boy was upset. 

“Calm down, Lixie. I think we just need to rest.” Chan sighed, Felix sighing before setting his coat on the couch of thier private hotel room. 

Everyone filed into a line to place their coats gently over each other, throwing off their gala outfits and replacing them with tees and tank tops. 

Changbin sighed. “Finally, these are way more comfy. I loved our outfits, though.” 

Seungmin nodded in agreement. “I feel so stiff and upset about those photographers, though.” He grumbled. 

Jisung nodded, pulling his shirt on. “I hated it. They were so rude. Emma was nice, though.” He smiled, and everyone began to talk and laugh. 

After eating, Chan pounced on Seungmin on the bed. “Stop being so upset. I’ll cheer you up!!” Followed by fingers slipping under his shirt and into his belly button, earning a loud shriek from Minnie before loud laughter filled the room. 

“AHHAAAHAAA!! HYUHUHUNG!! DOHOHONT!!” Seungmin whined, twisting around with a wide grin on his face. 

“But we should.” Minho replied with a fond smile, leaning over to blow raspberries onto Seungmin’s neck, causing the vocalist to scream and thrash crazily. 

“You shouldn’t be talking!” Jeongin announced bravely, pulling Chan off of Seungmin and digging into his hips immediately, causing Channie to bark out a laugh. 

Of course, Chan was stubborn and kept his lips shut, trying to keep himself from laughing. 

His strength was zapped from the effort, making it so much more easy for Hyunjin to pin him down. 

Seungmin was still laughing crazily as Minho blew raspberries onto his belly, Jisung and Changbin helping to hold down the thrashing vocalist. 

“Tell us your worst spot and this will be easier, hyung!” Innie grunted, slipping his hands underneath Channie’s shirt to tickle at his sides. 

Then the dam broke. 

“Jackpot!” Jeonginnie crowed happily as Chan shrieked and burst into loud, uncontrollable, crackly laughter. 

“NOHOHOHOO!! AHHH AGHAH AHH STOPPP AHAAAHAHAAA!!” Channie screeched desperately, suddenly whipping his head around when he heard a high-pitched squeal. 

Hyunjin screamed dramatically as Minho found his next target, taking a deep breath before finding the ferret’s sides, blowing out as hard as he could. 

“STAHAHAHAHA—!!” Hyune begged desperately, cackles pouring out of him in an uncontrollable rate. “AHHAAAHHAAHHA!!”

Jeongin finally let up on Chan, causing the leader to jump onto Jisung, pulling him off of Hyunjin.

Felix attacked Innie’s side promptly, causing the maknae to dissolve into a puddle of messy giggles. 

“Wahahait! Hyuhung—AH!!” He squealed and fell desperately back into Felix’s arms, the small raspberries on his neck making his laugh squeaky and cute. 

Minho immediately realized the next target and left a limp Hyunjin to recover on the bed. 

“HAAHAHAHAHA!! WHY AHAM IHI BEHEHEING GAHAHAHANGED UP ON?! CHEHEHEATERS THIHIS IS SO UHUHUNFAIR!!” Jisung could barely get his words out, three pair of heads (Chan, Minho, Seungmin) pushed into his belly and blew the most torturous raspberries he had ever felt onto his tummy. 

Hannie screamed desperately as more heads joined, sending him ballistic. “STAHAHAHAHAP OHOHO MY GAHAHAHAD!!” He shrieked. 

Jisung managed to get the strength to push his fingers right into Minho’s belly button, causing the dancer to jolt aggressively and squeal, causing half the group to pile onto him and reduce him to a laughing puddle of hysterics. “AH!! HAHAHAHA GUHUHUYS AHH!!” Minho screamed. 

“AHHHH AHHAHAHAHAA!! STAHAHAHAP NOHOT MEHEHE!!” He shrieked when Changbin pushed his head onto his v-line, blowing out as hard as he could. 

Minho scratched and slammed at Binnie’s shoulders and back, screams clawing their way out of his throat one by one. 

Minho slipped his hands around and found the edge of Changbin’s shirt, slipping his hands up and drilling into the rapper’s ribs as fast as he could, leaving Changbin’s eyes to widen in surprise before a loud scream filled the room. 

Binnie fell over immediately in a fit of ticklishness, hands fighting with Minho’s as the older got onto his lap, hands still scribbling everywhere under his shirt. 

”EHEHEHAHAHAHA!!“ Changbin screeched, kicking around and screaming when Minho gained his strength back and threw his shirt up, pressing his lips to the small pudge on Binnie’s tummy. 

”You ready, Bunny?“ Minho didn’t even let the rapper respond before blowing a buzzing raspberry onto the sensitive spot. 

“NO!! NOHOHO NO NAHAHAH NOHOT THEHERE PLEHEHEHEASE!!” Changbin was hysterical immediately. 

“Oh? This spot gets you begging in no time!” Minho exclaimed, leaning back down and blowing raspberry after raspberry, causing tears of mirth to slip down the rapper’s red cheeks. 

Meanwhile, Chan narrowed his eyes, catching a certain brownie boy trying to escape the situation by hiding behind Hyunjin, who was the least likely to attack him. 

“STAHAHAHAHAP!! HYUHUHUHUHUNG!!” Changbin’s screams echoed through the room as Chan chased after Felix, the brownie boy’s squeals lost over the black-haired rapper’s howls of laughter. 

“PLEHEHEHEASE!!—I cahant!! I CAHANT HYUNG NO!!” Binnie managed to pull Minho’s head up for a few seconds, but the dancer was merciless, latching onto the boy’s belly like glue. 

“NOHOHO NONO!! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASEEAAHHAHAHA!!” Changbin let out a howled bout of exhausted laughter, cackles pouring out of him endlessly. 

Chan managed to pin Felix and slip a finger into his belly button just as Minho let up on Binnie’s pudge, the rapper slumping underneath him in exhaustion. 

“WAHAHAHAHAIT!!” 

Even Binnie’s head turned at the screech Felix let out, grabbing at Chan’s wrists as the leader dug into his clothed side. 

His thin shirt offered very little protection, not that it mattered considering the black-haired menace was pulling up at it to get the sensitive skin. 

“Hyung…DOONT!!” Felix screeched as Chan ducked his head near his belly button. 

“Everybody got raspberries today, except you. I’ll fix that!” Chan giggled, blowing out into the little button, causing Felix to let out an ungodly scream before descending into the loudest laughter Chan had ever heard from him. 

“STAHAHAHAP!! YOUHURE SO MEHEHEHEHEAN!!” Felix whined, bucking up with a desperate cry when another raspberry made its way to his side. 

“OKAHAY OKAHAHAY!! CHRIHIS PLEASE!!” Felix finally gave in, slumping under the leader and drumming his heels into the floor, throwing his head back and laughing and laughing. 

“Okay, okay. Big baby.” Chan laughed, everyone breathing heavily for air. Binnie fell off the bed and onto the pile of giggly men on the floor. 

Minho rocked the bunny to sleep, whispering sweet nothings in his ear while the others snored softly. 

Their backs aching the next morning was either because of their sleeping spot on the floor or from the aggressive wrestling coming with the tickling. 

Or it’s because Chan’s old now—

LMAOO

[valentinedaughtler]

Tainted Opal-

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

PART 1

A/N: This is a series I have posted on a few other platforms.

T/Ws: violence, romantic feelings, blood, mild spice scenes sometimes, fem!reader and she/her pronouns, sexual abuse/trauma (not explicit)

Synopsis: You are a a seductress who owns a large stolen jewelry business in Ketterdam. You approach Kaz for assistance after your business partner steals all of your money and your poison ring.

REQUESTS: OPEN✅

____________________________________________

1 - A ‘tell’ in poker

I found myself not being cornered, but on the opposite end of such a relationship.

The dark alleys of Ketterdam are for the faint of heart to be victim, but I had played that role too many times to repeat such. Instead, the Bastard of the Barrel stood before me, scrappier and more daunting than I had expected. Though, all I had to go off of were the blackened whispers of Ketterdam's constant voices.

As usual, I observed my surroundings, the alleyway in which I stand in became a map in my mind.

The silence was thicker than the fog of the docks, fear was beginning to pool like bile in my throat. Maybe this was a mistake.

"My apologies for cornering you in an alley, Mr. Brekker," my voice melted the silence like hot honey. Years of practice in my field allowed for faking demeanors to be easy. "I want to offer you a job," I cock my eyebrow slightly and saunter my way towards him.

He had a piercing stare stabbing my insides and twisting my flesh in odd ways. Showing weakness is an option that leads to downfall, I remind myself when I notice my faltering confidence.

"What job are you proposing?" He asks tersely. Tapping his cane between us, an invisible boundary being made. I cleared my throat, "one week ago, to the dot I might add, my partner went missing," I explained. "My business

partner, Arx Dam-Tres, and his wife were spotted at the nearby port, boarding a privately owned boat. Along with his dear darling, Rasmine, he took our shared wealth and my most prized ring-"

"What makes this ring so important? You're obviously willing to risk your life cornering me in an alley to retrieve it." He interrupts me. I peer at the many hiding spaces the dark night offers Ketterdam's voices. I've been told of Kaz's crow, Inej, I assume she wields her knife atop a building above me. The barrel of a gun glints in the moonlight. It comes from a window on the right, barely noticeable, but the one holding the trigger was slightly sloppy in their hiding.

"I'm aware that I have multiple threats to my flesh at all sides at the moment, so I'll get to the point. I'll pay 1 million kruge... upfront," I propose, smirking. Kaz shows the slightest hint of interest, I note that when he is intrigued, he right eyebrow raises and his lip twitches. 'A tell in poker' they call it. While dollar signs replace the pupils of Kaz's eyes, his lips part once more.

"For a price like that, this must be dangeruous. What makes this ring so special?" he rasps. His voice is rough, like coffee grounds thrown into a fire, adorned with an accent. The ignition of such flames sparked something inside me, but I ignore it promptly.

"Well, the ring was created by a fabricator and a shadow summoner," my eyes fall to one of my fingers where the ring should be. "The gold is valuable, but the real worth is on the opal stone hugged by said gold. It is infused with merzoft," I continue, noticing a slight flinch in Kaz when I state such. It's so difficult to tell what he is thinking, but I'm well known for my keen eye. "When the desire strikes me, it will poison those who kiss my ringed hand. I'm a seductress, it comes in handy." I let out a soft, sweet laugh. "My company is owned jointly between Arx and I, a luxury jewelry company of sorts... my products must come from somewhere," I say, shrugging at my implication.

"Why would Arx take the ring?"

"He knew the value, I assume, or Rasmine begged for it-..." my eyes widened as the realization fabricated its of in my mind, my faux demeanor cracking. "He's sailing to Ravka..., he boarded a ship with his wife and millions of kruge," I piece the puzzle together in a mess of words. "He is going to the Darkling, in hopes to learn he properties of the ring.... He won't stop there, Arx is going to make weaponry this way." A growing horror sprouts up in my stomach and wraps itself around my intestines like thorny vines. My panicked voice squeaks out, "I will pay you now, come with me, and we must leave tomorrow morning, I have a boat prepared. We need a crew-"

My frantic string of a tangent is snipped by Kaz's husky voice, "I haven't agreed to this yet." I notice he is getting the upper hand as my confidence is peeling like wallpaper. I calm my nerves, melding my personality back into what it was before.

"Arx had a good connection with your dear friend Pekka...," I cooed, regaining my former composure. His pupils dilate, the wall he built as a shield crumbles, but only for a split second. "You can finally get your revenge, little crow," I break the boundary he made with his cane, moving closer to him. "1 million kruge, a boat, and revenge," I whisper, "sounds like a fantastic reward."

Kaz walks backwards fluidly, his lanky body shrinking away from me. His jaw clenches as he grips his cane tighter. His knuckles must have turned white under those gloves.

"You bring all the kruge in cash here at midnight...,"

I smiled at a turned away, disappearing into the night, my heartbeat meshing with the countless others taking up borrowed space in the darkness of Ketterdam.

_________________

Word count: 919

_________________

Thank you everyone for reading, first chapters are frustrating to write due to their need for a hook, but also a yearn for explanation. It'll get better from here.

-Valentine

[anime-is-godlike]

Monster or loveable goof

Yuu: can I get you opinion on something that happened at school today

Ace: yeah sure

Deuce: of course

Yuu: I did something that will either make me look like a lovable goof or a horrible monster dammed to spend eternity in hell

Deuce: I’m sure it’s loveable

Ace: I’m gonna go with monster what do you got?

Yuu: we’ll Crowley anniversary for becoming headmage was coming so they where passing around one of those big cards for us to sigh…

Deuce: okay

Yuu: we’ll no one told me he was in a horrible accident over the weekend and what I was signing was not a anniversary card but was actually a get well card

Ace: oooh I’m liking my odds here

Yuu: so on the card in the hospital, next to the headmage who warped up in bandages are the words ‘hey crow you deserve this

Ace (covers his mouth) oooh

Yuu: and at least with you gone no one can overblot

Ace: NO!

Deuce: looks down ashamed

Yuu: LOL smiley face

Deuce: oh my sevens!

Yuu: ps good luck wherever you wind up

Ace: why didn’t I put madol on this?!

[iamthemain-character]

hi! I rlly loved ur recent Kaz Brekker fic n I was wondering if u could do one where the reader had an ED. Like how Kaz would react to it and what he would do to help?? I’m currently getting over an ED n need some comfort rn xx

Hi! Thank you so much for reading and for requesting! As someone who watched many loved ones go through recovery, let me just say how proud I am of you (and anyone reading this!) for trying. You’re amazing and doing great, I promise. <3

Not Giving Up

show! kaz brekker x reader

gender neutral pronouns

TW: eating disorder (following the symptoms and recovery for anorexia nerviosa), low self esteem, mentions of restrictive eating. nothing graphic, and there is comfort/healing in this fic, but please be careful when reading

shadow and bone masterlist

Kaz Brekker didn’t know how he never noticed it before.

When it came to you, he typically was so attentive, noticing even the smallest details. And he did technically notice all the symptoms; the way you were always cold, the way your wounds would take longer to heal, or how you would sleep too much or none at all. But it wasn’t until The Crows were gathered for brunch one Sunday morning that Kaz finally put all the pieces together.

It was a joyous occasion, and despite being some of the most secretive people in the Barrel, the seven of you made quite a ruckus. But it was joyful, everyone teasing and messing with each other. Weekly brunch was Nina’s idea, her having lamented that she never got to see everyone all together anymore. So everyone agreed that once a week, they would all get together, the true Crow Club.

And every week, you would join in on the fun, laughing and joking with everyone. But as Kaz watched you nonchalantly tell the waitress, “Oh, I’m not really hungry”, that something clicked in his brain.

As the gears in Kaz’s mind began to turn, he soon came to realize that you said that every week. And beyond that, Kaz couldn’t recall a time where you had eaten a full meal around him or any of The Crows. It was plausible that you ate alone or when Kaz wasn’t around, but when compared with some of your other behaviors and symptoms, Kaz was fairly sure of what was happening.

Not wanting to cause more distress, Kaz had the good sense enough to leave you be during the brunch. But the moment the both of you got back to the club, he uttered only three words as he walked pass.

“My office, now.”

Despite being close with Kaz, those words still brought a chill up your spine. Cautiously you followed your friend up the stairs and into his office, following his gesture to sit down. For a while, the two of you sat in silence, Kaz staring at you with his chin resting on his clasped gloved hands.

Finally, you couldn’t take it any longer. “Is there someth-“

“Do you have an eating disorder?”

You weren’t sure what you had expected Kaz to talk to you about, but it was certainly not that. Your jaw slack, you rapidly blinked, trying to collect your thoughts.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kaz’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have an eating disorder?”

You started breathing rapidly, wondering how this man had put the pieces together when you had been so careful to hide it. “I’m fine Kaz.”

“Why don’t you eat with us? Or ever?”

“I-I,” Your words failed you, your brain trying to find some way to combat Kaz’s questions. “Like I said, I’m totally fine. I’m just not hungry a lot.”

With a deep sigh, Kaz got up and moved around the table to sit next to you. When you looked into his eyes, you were surprised by just how gentle they were. “You don’t have to lie to me…or to yourself.”

As you saw the pure concern and affection in Kaz’s gaze, you felt the dams break. Tears freely fell from your eyes as the fears you had been holding in for so long finally came out. Kaz gently placed his hand on your back, trying his best to show comfort and support.

“I don’t-I don’t like my body. Or me in general. Or life. I just…” You trailed off, hanging your head. “I just thought that if I could control what I ate, everything would be so much better.”

“And did it?”

Closing your eyes, you let the truth come out in the smallest whisper. “No.”

“I didn’t think so.” Kaz responded, his voice thoughtful. “Do you want to get better?”

Slightly surprised by the question, you looked back up into Kaz’s eyes. “I—I think so. I’m just scared of what might happen.”

Kaz took his hand off your back and took your hand instead. “You don’t have to go through this alone.” He promised.

“You want to help me?” You asked, searching for any sign of doubt or falsehood in Kaz’s eyes.

But as his blue eyes pierced your soul, you felt the truth of his words. “Every step of the way.”

———————————————————————

Good to his word, Kaz Brekker was there for you through everything. He found the best physician and psychologist in Ketterdam, and he was there for every meeting to be a support. Kaz also let you tell the other Crows at your own pace, but when you did, your support system went from one to six instantly. Your little family was there for you, and even though you were scared, it gave you comfort.

Following the treatment plan was difficult. The old inner demons that had haunted you for so long constantly reappeared, making eating difficult. But Kaz and the Crows made sure that you were never alone at mealtime, and they never shamed you for struggling with a particular food or for needing more time. So slowly, with the help of everyone and especially Kaz, bit by bit you learned to heal your relationship with food and your body.

———————————————————————

It was a surprisingly clear and sunny Sunday that spring when Ketterdam’s deadliest gang walked down the street, laughing and cajoling the whole way. Upon entering the familiar restaurant, all seven of the crows managed to squeeze into their familiar booth, with only a few complaints and pokes along the way. As you all settled in, a serving girl came up to the table.

You and Kaz were sitting closest to the edge, but the girl elected to talk to you first. “Are you ready to order?”

Kaz held his breath as he watched you hesitate for a moment, looking at the menu on the table.

Looking back up at the serving girl, a bright smile adorned your face. “I’ll have [your favorite breakfast food], please.”

The girl nodded as she wrote down your order, and moving on to Nina, who launched into her elaborate waffle order. But Kaz felt his heart swell with pride, knowing deep down the effort that you were putting in. Kaz reached out underneath the table, and softly he took your hand inside his gloved one. Slightly surprised, you looked up at him, but looking into Kaz’s eyes told you everything he couldn’t say aloud.

Gently squeezing Kaz’s hand in return, you looked around at the little family you and he had built. The journey ahead was long, but your future was bright and full of love.

———————————————————————

Recovery is possible; you are wonderful and loved, and you deserve happiness. Real, true happiness. If are struggling with any kind of ED and you are in the united states, please go to this link and get the help you need. <3

[bbangsuns]

savior | k.b

requested?: yes, by a lovely mutual of mine <3

pairing: kaz brekker x fem!reader (established relationship)

summary: after a traumatic run-in with a demon from your past, you go to the one person you would always feel safe with.

warnings: mentions of past abuse, hurt/comfort, angst, mention of blood, murder, kaz might be slightly ooc as i learn to write for him, haphephobia, i think that's it? i wasn’t specific with the attack in the alleyway apart from the guy being killed. also, am i proud of this? not 100% so i might change things in the future and repost it but for now this will have to do.

a/n: some things might be wrong in terms of the location of kaz's room and stuff so i apologize. also i suck at writing dialogue but we move!

taglist: @eaudenana @hydrngea

word count: 2.106

panic. it was the only thing you could feel, washing over like a tide, but you kept running down the dark alleyways, the frantic steps echoing off the walls of Ketterdam. as you fled, the feeling that someone was still following you persisted and you couldn’t help but look over your shoulder, terrified that you’d see him. this was impossible considering his dead body was currently laying on the floor of a random alley. continuing the path back to the slat, you ignored the burning in your lungs and the aching muscles in your legs, not daring to stop until you were within those walls, with kaz.

after what felt like an eternity you finally arrived to the slat, slamming the doors open and letting them strike harshly behind you, not caring for the people who were likely asleep. once inside you allowed yourself to breathe properly, finally feeling a little bit safer knowing your people were near you, but it wasn’t enough. after taking a minute to let your body rest, you made your way up to kaz’s room, deliberately skipping the part that creaked. as soon as his door was in sight, you pushed the door open and closed it behind you, leaning your head back against the cool surface.

kaz, clearly, had not been expecting the sudden intrusion, and was ready to yell at whoever had decided to interrupt him. when he looked up, however, the words that were on the tip of his tongue died--there you stood, the front of your clothes completely covered in blood and your entire body trembling. he stood up immediately, walking over until he was standing mere inches away from you. all kaz could do was stare at the petrified girl in front of him, his hands twitching at his sides with the desire to reach out and wipe the tears away, or comfort you in any way possible; just as he was reaching for your hand, images of jordie and his bloated, cold body flashed through his mind, along with the dreadful feeling of freezing water trying to drag him down, drown him.

the boy let his hand fall back to his side, clenching his fist and internally chastising himself for not being able to get past his trauma to comfort the one woman who meant the world to him. you stared back at him through teary eyes, the silence in the room suffocating. your own hands were trembling, the blood on them having dried long ago but every time it cracked with the flex of your hands, it brought back the events of the alleyway and the demons that haunt you in dreams. having grown anxious in the silence, kaz is the first to break it.

“what happened, my darling?”

he asked it with such a soft voice, it was enough for the dam to finally break. dropping to the floor almost painfully, sobs racked your body as the weight of the nights events came crashing down, physically pulling you down. kaz was never one to be left speechless or shocked, but this managed to do so. normally, you are amongst the strongest in the crows mentally and emotionally, having only cried in front of them twice; once when you got shot on a heist and thought you were going to die, and once when you came to his office in the middle of the night after a nightmare. yet here you were, completely broken in front of him, and he can’t even comfort you because of his own trauma.

you hadn’t been paying attention to the internal battle your lover was going through, trying to calm your breathing so you didn’t pass out. taking a few deep breaths in, you dug your nails into the palms of your hands, nearly breaking the skin but oddly enough it seemed to be one of the only things that was managing to calm you down. you knew that kaz would never be able to provide the physical comfort you wanted and you had come to be okay with that. all that was needed was his mere presence, the knowledge that he was in the room and that was enough to immediately make you feel safer. so when you felt cold, shaky hands wiping the tears away from your face, it startled you and had you snapping out of your zoned out state, the sight in front of you making your heart swell and tears spring to your eyes once again.

kaz was sitting on the floor in front of you, his entire body tense. his eyes were piercing into yours, trying to focus on them instead of the water that threatened to pull him under. you found herself leaning into his touch, and just when kaz thought the water was going to drown him, it receded along with the haunting sight of jordie's pale face and dead, pale eyes staring at him; instead, all he could see was your face, eyes closed and seemingly at peace with the feeling of his hand on your soft, warm cheek. realizing that the waves were merely lapping at his feet and not rising, he moved his other hand and intertwined his fingers with your own, his thumb slowly drawing circles on the skin. after a few more minutes of silence, you finally spoke up, voice still shaky and coated in fear.

"he attacked me out of nowhere and he wouldn't let me go. i didn't know what to do, kaz."

you had barely managed to finish your sentence before the anxiety and panic washed over you again, flashes of his face twisted in anger and disgust passing through her mind, seemingly taunting you.

kaz didn't need to ask who you were talking about, thinking back on the story you had told him months ago about your tortured past; before you found yourself joining the crows, you had been forced to work in the menagerie alongside inej. after a year of being trapped there, you had long since grown accustomed to the mistreatment of your clients, the bruises and scars no longer bothering you. however, an unknown man had strolled in one day, seating himself at the bar and raking his eyes over each girl until they landed on you. something about this man felt different, more dangerous than the usual scum of Ketterdam. as soon as he had you locked away in a private room, the nightmare began; every time he came in, the beatings would be like nothing you had ever experienced before, and he had even gone so far as to carve his initials into the skin of your inner thigh in one instance when he came in furious. this went on for 8 months until one day, he stopped coming in and you were informed he went out for business in east ravka and likely wouldn't return, and he hadn't--until tonight.

with this knowledge in mind, kaz automatically knew you meant that retched man, and he felt his blood begin to boil and he was ready to storm out of the slat, wanting nothing more than to beat him bloody with his bare hands. he would have done so in that instant if it weren't for what you said next.

"i killed him. if i didn't, he would have finally killed me. so i took the dagger inej gave me and i stabbed him in the neck, and i watched him bleed out before i ran."

as soon as the words left your mouth, you felt a weight lifting from your chest and the realization that you were finally free of him made a small, relieved laugh leave your mouth.

upon seeing that you were finally calm, kaz stood up and held his hand out to you and you gladly took it, tugging yourself back up to your feet. you looked down at your hands and grimaced, the dried blood making you feel uncomfortable. kaz noticed you staring at your hands and squeezed it, gaining your attention.

"right love, let's get you cleaned up" he murmured, already tugging you towards the bathroom. he lightly pushed you inside, letting go of your hand and going back out to the room to grab you a clean change of clothes. he was only gone a few minutes but in that time, you had already stripped off your clothes and climbed into the bath, washing off the blood from your arms and face, no longer being able to stand the way it made your skin feel.

kaz simply watched you, moving to hand you the towel once he was certain you were finished. climbing out of the bath, you turned to look at the man behind you who seemed more nervous than you’d ever seen him.

you smiled at him, the mischievous glint in your eyes that kaz had come to adore finally returning.

“can you turn around please? i need to get dressed, unless you’d like to watch that too” you teased, your smile growing at the sight of kaz actually blushing, something he only ever did with you.

he quickly turned around, clumsily hitting his hip on the doorknob, pulling a soft laugh out of you.

you changed quickly, wanting to lay down and sleep to hopefully forget about tonight’s events.

“i’m done, darling. you can turn around now, or you can continue staring at the door if you’d like” the joking tone in your voice was enough to dissolve the remaining tension in kaz’s body, finally turning back around to look at you. when he did so, he felt the breath get caught in his throat at the sight of you wearing an old dress shirt of his. sure, you had done it a few times before but it never ceases to amaze him at the effect it has on him, and he’d always find himself fighting back the urge to hold you, terrified that the physical touch would suffocate him.

tonight, though, he felt something change in him; jordie came to mind once again, but this time it wasn’t of his slimy, rubbery skin. instead, it was jordie telling kaz to not be afraid, to allow himself to properly love the woman in front of him, and kaz couldn’t find it in him to disagree this time.

taking note of the way he was staring at you, you felt your face heat up and what felt like butterflies to erupt in your belly, causing you to lower your head slightly.

glancing at him through your lashes, you couldn’t help but babble out, “why are you staring at me like that?”

this seemed to snap him out of his head, his lips curling up into a smile. before you could ask him what was going on, he was in front of you, his hand caressing your cheek once again, the words dying in your throat.

“can i kiss you?” he blurted out, causing your eyes to widen. you were shocked because in all the time you had been together, not once had kaz been so open with physical contact like tonight, much less had he asked to kiss you. he noticed your silence and it worried him, causing him to start pulling away. before he could, though, you had placed your hand on top of his, ceasing his movements.

peering up at him, your eyes were flickering between his lips and his eyes, before you finally stammered out a response.

“please kiss me.”

for the first time, he didn’t hesitate and placed his lips on yours, his thumb rubbing your cheek softly as your lips moved together, his being surprisingly soft. you pulled away after a minute, not wanting to overwhelm him too much and also needing to take a moment to breathe. he leaned his forehead on yours, his breathing having gotten slightly heavier.

"are you okay, love?" you asked, wanting to make sure all of the touching was okay with him.

all he could do was let out a pleasant hum, taking another moment to bask in the feeling of you. a few minutes later, he lifted his head and placed one more kiss to your lips before pulling away, the small smile on his face still present.

"i love you, my little crow. nobody will ever hurt you again" he declared, the absolute certainty in his voice making your heart flutter.

"i love you, kaz brekker. nothing will ever change that." you admired, your voice airy but determined.

that night, you both recognized the underlying meaning of your words--if someone ever dared to hurt one of you, the other would burn the city to the ground, so long as vengeance was exacted.

[dreamerofvalyria]

Hi I love your Nikto fic! Can you tell us what a zmei is though? I've never heard of one before

That is a most excellent question, anon!

Not too many people seem to know what a Zmei is, but that's understandable, it's a bit of a more niche legend. Obviously, if you don't want any details spoiled for the fic at all then you're more than welcome to skip this ask, but it'll be a while before it's fully explained in the main story. Honestly, it's not much of a spoiler since I've already touched on it a bit in some of the baby fics.

I'll be mentioning some concepts and characters from @ghouljams (obviously lol) so head up for that!

To begin, Nikto isn't a fae himself, despite this being the fae AU. I looked at different types of fae and faeries found in Russia and the surrounding areas, but nothing really jumped out at me until I came across the legend of the Zmei.

In Russian mythology, the Zmei is a three headed hydra who typically features as dangerous, malevolent creature, intent on tricking and killing humans. There's multiple stories that have the Zmei as the antagonist and stories vary about his exact appearance, but it's typically a large, black, three headed hydra - sometimes he can breathe fire, sometimes lightning - and can vary in size from a large horse to a mountain.

As mentioned by Ghoul in one of their asks, dragons and their kin were probably a thing in the past, but have since died off because of how difficult it would be for them to hide among humans. However! An important part of the Zmei legend, is that he can change his form from a hydra to a human accompanied by a black dog, a raven/crow, and a large black stallion.

In my version, the animals are extensions of Nikto himself. Each of the three heads are all Nikto, just different parts of his mind, which I found fitting given his potential DID. When in a human form, these animals are just those other parts of his mind. The human is Nikto, the dog is Nikto, the crow is Nikto and the horse is Nikto.

Since Zmei is capable of becoming human, the lack of other dragons/wyverns/hydras in the world doesn't prevent him from reproducing, hence how Nikto was born: his sire was Zmei and his dam a young Russian woman. Hence the title of the fic, Son of Zmei.

Their human forms aren't perfect - Nikto has some black scales on most of his body, including his face, which is why he prefers to wear a mask and clothes that cover every inch of his body. He's inherited the same ego and sense of superiority that most hydras have, along with a highly possessive and obsessive nature. He collects anything and everything that he finds interesting and, recently, he's found his attention drawn to the cute human running the antiques store.

The Zmei is actually the main inspiration for the design of King Ghidorah from Godzilla! So, just think of that bad boy and you'll get an idea of what Nikto looks like in his proper form.

Hope that answers some of your questions!

[horizon-verizon]

One question, why Dany fans are against her and Euron being together? People say he is a misogynist and evil but it's not like the ones they ship her with are champions of good morals, same goes for the people around her. He is a king chosen by his people ,has a large fleet and a potential dragon rider . He even captured the warlocks who were after her. Not to mention he is handsome and totally her type personality wise (Daario but more dangerous). Who are the other candidates? Faegon the pretender, Sweet Robin the sickly and somehow one BASTARD when it doesn't make any sense even if her brother was his sperm donor.

Short Answer -> Because Euron Greyjoy is the antithesis of Dany in every way and will try to depower or debase her in any way he can. And that's not Dany's arc nor is it logical, narratively, with the direction Dany's arc has gone. This would never be a happy or constructive union.

He would never be satisfied with a a spouse--and female spouse, as if there would be any other kind in his hypothetical case--having the power of a true monarch or leader that he has enjoyed his entire life. A spouse that the armies, subjects, etc. are paying the obeisances that they would to Jaehaerys, Viserys, Aegon I, etc. One who is not merely a consort but has the authority, power, higher status, etc. of a Queen regnant and an ordinary king. While Dany is raised to goddess-like status among some of her people not because she thinks herself in that vein and thinks it her due to be their queen, Euron plainly is in the process of thinking himself as godlike and deserving of higher and the highest as possible seats of power no matter how he will get to that but in underhanded and sinister ways of persuading people that he'd be in some type of service to them or really that he'd be their way to gain power for themselves, esp how he frames himself as the way for the ironborn to conquer Westeros by invoking their heritage. And he ends up being the one to become their king. That's really his only aim--how to use people and persuade them to give him power so that he may rise to that position. that's why his never taking anything in those raids he has with his crew is also sinister--it works to inspire more loyalty from them.

Dany constantly interrogates whether or not she is doing what is best for those under her care, she feels a sense of responsibility to her people and those she observes she can protect. Power is not a luxury or a right in of itself to her; it is an inevitable tool for any possible happiness or peace.

In the leaked Winds of Winter "The Forsaken" chapter, we see that he ties a tongueless, naked, pregnant Falia Flowers--his "bedmate" from when he took the Hewetts' castle (A Feast for Crows)--to his ship. The same girl in the TWoW chapter says to Aeron that Daenerys will be Euron's "rock wife" (the ironborn's terms for their main consort) and she'll be his "salt wife" (a sort of concubine, slave wife). Daenerys is not be anyone's consort of any kind for her to be safe and able to actually exercise the power that she needs to enact great social and magical change, as Fire and Blood has shown us time and time again. We didn't even really need F&B (if we were thinking persons) to know this because Drogo would have never allowed Dany to do the stuff she'd currently doing or be at her side while she makes decisions for those she takes on as her people...they'd and she'd be "his". But F&B is great to introduce us to other characters and to reemphasize Dany's importance AND understand histiography, misogyny, and propaganda.

Back to Euron, those people that he captures, he's not doing that with the intention of being her consort, but just to bring her to feeling of comfort so she'd be open to having him later on and get him into that space where he'd do whatever he thinks of doing. Just as he's doing with Aeron and the ironborn and Falia Flowers and his own crew.

And there is reason to believe that he SA'd his brother, Aeron (Damphair) when they were children [the 3rd quote down]. Aeron is deathly afraid of Euron and most people who aren't in his crew dislike, are wary of, or are also afraid of him for good reason.

Godless? Why, Aeron, I am the godliest man ever to raise sail! You serve one god, Damphair, but I have served ten thousand. From Ib to Asshai, when men see my sails, they pray. (A Feast for Crows, The Iron Captain.) We are the ironborn, and once we were conquerors. Our writ ran everywhere the sound of the waves was heard. My brother would have you be content with the cold and dismal north, my niece with even less ... but I shall give you Lannisport. Highgarden. The Arbor. Oldtown. The riverlands and the Reach, the kingswood and the rainwood, Dorne and the marches, the Mountains of the Moon and the Vale of Arryn, Tarth and the Stepstones. I say we take it all! I say, we take Westeros. (A Feast for Crows, The Drowned Man.) That man is dead. Aeron had drowned and been reborn from the sea, the god's own prophet. No mortal man could frighten him, no more than the darkness could . . . nor memories, the bones of the soul. The sound of a door opening, the scream of a rusted iron hinge. Euron has come again. It did not matter. He was the Damphair priest, beloved of the god. (A Feast for Crows, The Prophet) Kneel, brother. I am your king. I am your god. Worship me, and I will raise you up to be my priest. (The Winds of Winter [not released yet, leaked], The Forsaken)

Gods don't answer to "mere" men, much less women. As her consort, Euron would have to "answer" to her.

Then there is the dragon horn he says he got from Valyrian ruins. Mind you, dragon horns--"hellhorns" as the Valyrians called them--are thought to have been used by the Valyrians alongside spells to control dragons by "binding" them to a person. Daenerys is the one who supplies us--in the main series, in A Dance with Dragons--with this information.

The text shows that Euron is one of the worst possible candidates as a consort for Daenerys or any female monarch--much a less a dragonriding woman who hasn't reawakened dragons and magic into the world. Every thing shows that this man will use magic horrendously and oppressively to not just those close to him but wide swaths of people. Unlike Daario, he actually presents a some sort of threat to her ideologically and numbers wise. He, of most men aside from maybe Jon, has a stronger narrative relationship and familiarity with magic and has magical secrets that may contend with Dany's. It's all so ominous and foreshadowy.

As for other candidates, people have brought up Aurane Waters, some in her khalasar, Jon Snow--if he/they manage to have his influence over others undermined or he announces/swears himself to Daenerys, so people do not look at him as a viable monarch over her. Euron, again, would never allow himself to be a mere consort. And Dany can never be a consort to anyone for her story to make sense. A story of a woman, not a man, being the "messiah" figure by crushing gender roles and tropes or subverting them under her pretty little feet.

Euron is a classic case of the a smart and devious "psychopath" always looking for power and charming people to think him less of a threat than he actually is.

[dv-kelp-face]

Have you ever felt that feeling, when even years after reading a book there are still some things about the characters that just stick with you?

To this day, any blue cookie/pastry reminds me of Percy,

Spiders of Ron,

(let's not forget Annabeth)

Ducks of Will Herondale,

Gloves of Kaz,

An actual crow of any of the Crows to be honest,

And dams, how can anyone ever escape that one

You're just going about your day and then you're hit with a force of something so powerful and profound

There is this soft yet familiar tug at your heart and for a moment it's just you and that feeling as you're slowly surrounded by all those memories, taking you back

And you're just left standing there,

Dumfounded and devastated,

With a smile on your face

Spider doodle - Freepik

[projectharbringercharacterask1]

In-depth dive into...The "Damoiseau"/ Tyr

How the name came about --

"Also fun little trivia on why Dam goes by Tyr and Odin interchangeably: "Tyr is the Norse god of war. While Tyr was not worshipped as frequently as other Norse gods, such as Odin or Thor, he was well respected. Some believe that Tyr was commonly worshiped in the ancient period but was gradually supplanted by other gods." -Google /Finch (From my chat with firenation)

"And also that when Tyr switched efforts from war to peace, Odin didn't like that and assumes his identity whenever it suited him. --Again, according to Google." -Finch

So I think this really suits Soren as his culture & faction is all about war. And thus the name Tyr -The god of war. And then he also took on the name of Odin in reference to the All-father being one-eyed (And Soren/Dam keep one eye close or both closed), having hung from the word tree as symbolic death & sacrifice (Which in Soren's case is both symbolic and kind of literal in a way...) to gain the knowledge, wisdom. Omnipotent and all-seeing, all-knowing And Soren is that/became that.

"In Norse mythology, Gungnir is the spear of the god Odin. It is known for always hitting the target of the attacker regardless of the attacker's skill." -Google/wiki"

Yep, that one. So this makes me think that Odin does use spears. Otherwise why bother making one for the hell of it?

"And Huginn (memory) and Munin (thought) - Odin's crows, for the Damoiseau could be his eyes. The ones that he sometimes makes visible to scare off.

And his prophetic abilities through Pirin--Pirin's grandpa/grandma was of the Moirai: A bloodline of prophets, oracles and seers, divinators who have lost their physical sight one way or another. And in place of the physical sight sacrificed or lost-- They have a spiritual and or future foresight.

A quote from my Unveil- "Blind Moirai/ "Blind-eye weavers" - Known for being blind, having lost their sight either at birth or getting their eyes damaged severely, resulting in gaining or manifesting their prophetic ability. Appearance vary for each individual, some look more humanoid, some less and others go full bat. Seers, divinators, oracles, prophets, shamans, spiritual communicators. 3rd dynasty."

And then Odin acts gentle towards them (Raptor), like an older brother/Mather. Likely Pirin shining through, his songs soothing lullabies that are Orphic in nature.

Or randomly gives a prophecy/semi-prophecy that isn't negative. ..Or at least is a warning of something incoming." -Finch.

"..Bold of you Soren is clueless. He already got one very suicidal mf as a literal part of him.

It's not new to him.

So Tyr/Odin will definitely catch/tell the signs the second he GLANCES at Raptor." -Finch

Odin's power level/nature

"Until he sees Raptor trying to jump as many times off a cliff in attempts to overexhaust their regeneration abilities and get themselves killed.

Because when their abilities are overused, they stop working.

Which unfortunately gives Raptor a perfect attempt to get themselves killed successfully." -V/firenation

"Cue threads sturdier than titanium catching/seizing Raptor. Like a sort of "cocoon" of colorful threads, keeping them from doing something stupid. They'd still exhaust themselves... but from thrashing and trying to break off.

Or him deliberately annoying them with those threads to make them get busy attacking and snapping at the chords, to think about trying.

Same result, exhaustion. ...And also kind of amusement to him. Careful not to kill the bird on accident." -Finch

"Raptor would try to bite through the chords like a piranha.

And/Or they'll curse him out until they get exhausted and just curl up in a ball." -Fire "Better than pulling off the attempts in Odin's book."

---

"I forgot to add on Raptor's part something. They'll first make those sounds. Then Pyro will come out." -Fire

"Guess we'll be seeing Pyro fight Odin... and most likely get/kept restrained or annoyed by the threads." -Finch

"And all of a sudden, things will turn from ' Life is Strange ' to ' Resident Evil 8/Slender The Arrival ' vibes. Because Pyro was created by Zalgo in Raptor's mind, it'll mean that Zalgo himself will get informed about the situation with the Holder of his kaiju gemstone.

... And... Zalgo is...um..." -Fire

"Also. How would Damoiseu react to Zalgo?" -Fire. Which started the whole deeper dive into Tyr's powers/abilities. When he's not holding back or his "trap card".

"Hm. They honestly seem to be on a very similar power level. Eldritch beings; Can induce insanity/Induce insanity;

Since Zalgo feeds/derives power from mankind's negative emotions/intent... Then Damoiseau -Or the Pirin part in him- Can repel him....partially. Given Pirin is the exact opposite, almost a saint in nature. And naturally seems to unite, instill virtues in others.

Like how someone will start to sing/dance and this pulls others into it. Not saying Odin can kill Zal. But can at least repel. ...And since Pirin is a SPIRIT, not a mortal, then there's a chance Tyr can try and possibly destroy his candle.

Odin vs Zalgo will be a Godzilla vs Kong sort of fight. But if both stood on the same playing field - Eldritch beings.

And best part-- Odin's powers counteracts (possibly) Zal's powers. Think of Osia and Pneuma. Or like how Rila and Venin -Meepin's Hypogean Oc- are cancelling and neutralizing each other out. At a permanent stand-still/Draw.

So Zalgo's powers hold little to no effect on Odin. No matter how pissed off that demonic entity gets. At most it could be very brief stun, but shake it off and lash viciously right back." -Finch

Another mild tangent here whoopsie-do.

"And if Pirin sees Zalgo throw/torture Raptor- It'll piss him off to no end. ("I don't want anyone to suffer in the ways I have.") And that would prompt the fusion to leap into the fray to fight off that thing.

Go full Gungnir/Eldritch/Biblically accurate/Columbina Seraphim/Fallen angel. Not to mention, Odin/Tyr sees the desert and his home- which it is- as his Domain. His turf.

And this lil dipshit (Zalgo) trespassing so blatantly, invading AND pulling stunts like that? In MY domain? NAH.

Now take all of this....And add Soren's "og" powers - The Blessing of the Dusk lord he has gained. I have a feeling Pirin would somehow greatly amplify it.

-> And if he calls upon his Moon/Sun status -Where he basically goes from a mere perpetually reincarnating, un-killable spirit of magic, to a legit HP Lovecraft eldritch entity? The type that warps reality -- Just like Zalgo?

Yup. It's messy. (The whole time Raptor is shielded by Odin after he kicks Zalgo off, yanks them out his grasp to kick-start the fight. A lot like how Merlin shielded from the cannon shots in Waves of Intrigue.)" -Finch

"Yup. And Raptor might try to land some damage, because they're stubborn, determined and suicidal af ( despite being scared af )." -Fire

"(As far as Odin is concerned Raptor is now under his eye/watch. Within his domain, HOME. Under his wing & jurisdiction. Like how a chieftain protects, leads and guides his people.) ....Aand tryin to keep the damn ''idiot'' birdie OUT of battle. Maybe keep the shield/dome/half-dome over them.

Or yoink the bird and "tuck them in the pocket of his coat". Some kind of Realm of eternity like Raiden shogun's. Plane of Euthymia. And keep the child safe there, out of battle and Zalgo's reach. (This method is very dire measure resort.)" -Finch

The Damoiseau's relations - Merlinverse & Esperia I go on a tangent about how Kojin and Krueger would react to this new amalgamation that's both Soren --And not Soren at the same time.

"You know how Soren has a biological older brother - Kojin? I think that bear would be horrified at what happened with his brother. Seeing the amalgam he's been turned to. That Soren, for all intents and purposes has technically died in that experiment... And in his place is Tyr/Odin. ..Oh hey more connections to the identity taking over thing. Huh. Fun.

Don't see Kruger being any happier, knowing what happened and that his nephew is gone. The last thread left of Orson, of his brother, gone. Burnt and replaced with... Whatever Tyr is.

And the worst part?

Odin "wears the skin and voice" of their lost relative. Uncanny, unnerving. It's Soren...but also not him. Only traces of him lingering maybe vaguely." -Finch

"Kruger might go ' Daenerys burning Kingslanding ' on whoever did this to his nephew.'' -Fire

"But there's no one there.... The camp is desolate yet untouched. Like a plague swept through as though a mist cloud of an avalanche. It's like walking into Chernobyl. Deserted, not a soul alive in sight.

And then he sees the crystalline blood? Amber? Things, with people frozen and trapped in there. Bit like bog-bodies. (Look up the Tollud man)." -Finch

Tyr and Raptor - "Grandpa"/ "patron" and his child/grandchild & "Herald, sentinel".

"Ngl. They'll be legitimately scared and go into full out panic attack. Because ' Raptor's convinced that everyone who gets close to them in any way will die '. And this 19 year old believes that they got Dam/Odin/Tyr killed.

So they'll be a shaking curled up ball in panic mode. Crying too." -Fire

"...Cue the shock when they see the dust settle at long last, Odin's figure returning. The invader driven out thoroughly.

That same soothing lullaby softly echo, flow throughout the plane of Euthymia.

"Little bird, what're you crying for?" -said in a low tone and a warm smile. You know the one, that a grandpa would give/regard his grandchild with."- Finch

"Raptor will be indeed shocked and shaking. Wondering if they're not a proxy to Zalgo anymore. Because the only believable way out of Zalgo or Slenderman's control is death.

And upon hearing that question, Raptor would hug him tightly and cry a lot. Raptor will be clutching onto him like their life depends on it. Plus, knowing that their life was mostly horror shit, this is one of the very few moments where they get some kind of comfort." -Fire

"Remember how Pirin is the protector of the home and family/families? Guardian of bloodlines/kin? --This shows through, is passed/became Odin/Try (Damoiseau). Which also ties together really nicely with another theme strongly present in Mauler culture-- Family. Kin." -Finch

"So he yoinks Raptor up and says ' Adopted '?

Again. Poor birdie is overwhelmed and confused." -Fire

"I mean.. yeah. Odin basically, unceremoniously said in every way "This child is mine now.", taken under my wing." -Finch

"Lmao. Zelda be wondering where her niephew went." -V

"To Grandpa, where else? And then she sees Raptor chilling/ hanging around Odin." -Finch "Zelda has many, MANY questions" -V

"Like 'How did my niephew find this cryptid? And HOW did this ''old man'' manage to adopt/casually yoink them from under Magda's nose so unceremoniously?' "-Finch

"TRUEEEE! Speaking about Magda... Odin... Hide Raptor from her" -V "Might even teach Raptor a trick or two on how to deal with folks the level of Magda and Zalgo-- Fight back and brush off their powers/attacks." -Finch

"Help stabilize, some kind of immunity. Get on his level, they ARE his child/grandchild now after all. And can't hide them forever. Nor plans to. Cue Raptor getting powers similar to Odin - A lot like how Sena as Pirin's patron granted him his blessings. Odin granted Raptor his own.

...I mean what better Tooth/Arrow/Eye, than your own child/grandchild right?

Not 100% one to one Patron and Herald, Sentinel... but relatively close." -Finch

"Maybe Raptor could recover their seraph wings too. And their angel powers." -V/Firenation

"I think it'd be really cool how Raptor themselves become like an omen, their mere presence an indicator Odin is either nearby already. Or is arriving/arrival is imminent.

Like Pirin being an omen that Malak is around/imminently arriving/arrived

Possible.

In this sense...perhaps they've gone through their own "death". Symbolical, but death regardless. And "rebirth". "-Finch

It's a really cute, possibly ironic, parallel of Tyr and Raptor's relation mirroring Sena and Pirin's so much. From dynamic to 'patron' & 'herald'. And how yet again the themes of rebirth, home, family protector and guardian of bloodlines/kin comes to play. It's both Soren's themes- War, hunt, strife, strength that overlap with Pirin's - Home, family and kin.

"....Funny enough I can somehow see Arlecchino pull the same thing as Odin did. The adoption thing and "patron" & "herald". " -Finch

About Odin's age- Soren was already 18/19-20 before getting fused. Not much change there, and since the age gap between him and Rin isn't as glaring-- The Damoiseau is about two years younger of Pirin's human age equivalent. 23 or 20. How/Why did Soren take on a different name? Because he's no longer the same Mauler as he was. Like how Odin went symbolic death, hanging upside-down from the tree of life (if I'm not mistaken) - Soren went through "death" and got a new life as a cryptid. There are fragments, lingering remnants of him in the fusion, but it's not the same. So the teen and Pirin agreed on a consciousness level, that adopting a new name would be better. A clean sever with the past, the previous life, instead of keep trying to brute force the new life to fit into the quo of the past one. It took some days of deliberating, moments where Soren is alone with his thoughts- with Pirin, this new part of himself in a meditation. And the Night Jin told him, showed him, a story -Story of the people of the North, buried in the pages of time. How the Norse had gods and myths, and one of them was of war named Tyr. And how his father, Odin the all-knowing, all-seeing All-Father, would take on his identity whenever it suited him. Not pleased with Tyr switching efforts from war to peace. Thus, Soren took on the names Tyr -War & Peace- and Odin given his prophetic ability gained, future foresight, and the countless eyes do help him know...So that checks out. Henche, Tyr/Odin.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Can we get a fanfic of Kai’s so loving cars. And wanting to do late night drives, every night. So he just gets Chrono to do it, but this time angel wants overhaul to drive her. And she falls asleep and kai carries her back home 💞

"I still don't get the appeal of wasting the gas of my car." He muttered while handing you the keys without actually looking at you, eyes remaining still on the job pops asked/demanded for him to do.

"Don't know. But for me is relaxing even for some reason, besides you know how I like cars." You smiled while wiggling the keys in your hand, on it it had a very small and cute Keychain of a crow you had found on the city once and gifted to him. He had replied with a number expression and to anyone else watching they would have thought that by his reaction he was gonna or thrown the gift away or just hide it in some place.

But he didn't. Even if he didn't used as much, he put the Keychain along with the key of his car.

"I'm shocked." He replied in dry sarcasm as you rolled your eyes at his usual mood.

"You sure you don't want to go?"

"Get Chronostasis to drive you, I have to finish this atrocity the old man asked me to do it."

"I hate taxes too my dear-" you kissed his temple quickly before hopping off his office, sadly missing the way he brushed the tip of his gloved fingers on the place your lips have touched with the most soft and tender look. His mood immediately softening a bit.

Just a bit.

.

.

"Love?"

"I know that look. You just on a drive yesterday. The answer is no, Chrono is not even here for God's sake. You know how nuch you're actually polluting thr planet?" He groaned while taking off his jacket and tie right afterwards.

"Dramatic." You heaved a sigh before stepping closer to him "I actually wanted you to take me for a ride silly."

"Why exactly?" He arched an eyebrow until you caressed his cheek lovingly and with the most radiant and beautiful eyes he ever saw.

"Don't get me wrong, I like Kurono and all but... I just want to have some time with you. I'm sorry, I know how much you actually hate going out... but just for tonight can you take me on a ride? Just this once? I promise I won't bother you any longer love."

He immediately cursed himself. For both allowing his barrier to broke down and for being so damn weak a woman.

His woman.

"... grab a coat then. Is very cold now that os almost eleven p.m..." he watched a smile grown on your face and immediately desdpanned when instead of one of your many coats, hobbies and jackets you grabbed his.

"Well come on! We don't have all night!" You cheered happily on the doorway as he simply heaved a sigh and searched for other jacket or coat to slip on, and on his way to the outside of the house grabbing the keys with a scoff.

.

.

It was peacefully quiet. The streets were only illuminated by the street lights and some God knows who houses that were still awake. His hands were starting to get cold on the wheel, his gloves being no use for winter protection, and he was starting to get some sorta of paranoid that some rival of the yakuza was following your guys at every damn black car he found on the dessert streets.

But that dammed smile of yours made him think... that it was worth it... that smile that he swore made his chest beat twice as faster than normal even after being on a relationship with you for long.... he was a foul to neglect that smile for even once.

How can someone like him could have the luck to score someone like you was beyond his recognition.

"Are you satisfied?" He muttered nonchantly while keeping his eyes on the road while you yawned.

"Just a few more blocks ..."

"You're falling asleep on the car (Y/n)." He muttered in a matter of a fact tone as he took a minute to watch you blink slowly while scooting closer in yourself to get more comfortable on the passenger seat.

"Am not." You mumbled with a pout as he couldn't help but chuckle at your stubbornness.

"Yes, yes you are." He replied and got into a minor battle with you in those sentences just because you refused to admit you were about to fall asleep... even with your eyes closed.

"You are falling asleep. .... " he found strange how you didn't reply like the recent minutes until he noticed you had finally took yourself into the dreamland "Tsk.. we didn't even finish the block you demanded of you brat."

The words were supposed to be a scolding. A acid one... but he scrunched his nose at hearing himself... he sounded so... soft, so calm, so mushy even...

So in love with the person right next to him.

He made a turn on a street and headed right back to his house, thanking mentally that no one else was around to greet you both and that the sound of the gage opening didn't woke you up.

Turning the engine off he sighed, golden eyes washing over your figure as he frowned... he was always called heartless by others, but for some reason he didn't had the courage to wake you up to announce you were both home.

"Damn you for making me this way..." he muttered to himself, standing up and closing gently the door and going after your side... his hands were delicately moving until he found your seat belt and clicked mindfully enough to grabbing just to prevent on hitting on your face like he saw it happened one time.

His left arm scotted behind your back while the right gently placed itself behind your knees, easily and carefully lifting you up with a huff as he bumped his shoulder on the door to close it... his right hand fidgeting to find the button that would lock his car only to fail miserably as he gave up with a sigh and made his way inside his home.

Kicking his shoes off on the entrance he made sure to be carefull enough that not even a hair of you touched any furniture, wall or doorframe.

He finally reached your shared bedroom and placed you gently on your side of the bed, being carefull to take his jacket and your own shoes off with the most care in the world just to nit wake you up from your slumber.

A sigh once again left his lips as he went to put the clothes and shoes away before returning to you and sitting on the edge of the bed just to see your sleeping face even closer... a now naked thumb made its way to your cheek and brushed a few strands of hair of yours away from your face as you snuggled closer to the bedsheets and pillows.

"I love you..." he muttered in the dark and peaceful room before lowering himself down to kiss your lips so tenderly, he made sure to enjoy the second but also ever the careful to not wake you up "I love you, even if you made me drive for one hour." He smirked at hearing you mumble on your sleep before nuzzling his nose on the top of your head.

Only on the dead time of the night he felt free to make those actions with you, and he knew how bothersome it could be to have a partner like him.

But you put up with his actions and demands and proclaimed your love for him loud enough that you could shout it to the rooftops if you wanted, your words not his, while he was more reserved but also just as much as a foul for you.

"I am going to make sure both of us have a long shower by tommorow morning. This will be a exception only because you're just gorgeous when you sleep my dearest." Kissing your lips one more time he made himself comfortable behind you on his side of the bed and dropped a arm on your waist, bringing you impoosibly closer to him as he breathed in on your scent pleasantly.

"Perhaps I should stop asking Chrono to drive you... I want to be the only man in your life to have this privilege on watching a goodness as yourself being this adorable at the same time as breathtaking."

He always fell asleep faster when you were with him...

And this time wasn't any different.

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET THIRTEEN - ROUND ONE - MATCH EIGHT

"Oath of the Horattii closeup" (1784 - Jacques-Louis David) / "Visit hos Excentrisk Dam (Visit to an Eccentric Lady)" (1921 - Nils Dardel)

OATH OF THE HORATTII CLOSEUP: Zoom in to the swords. Swords are cool. Look at how many swords those are! Swords. (@princeoftheroses)

VISIT HOS EXCENTRISK DAM (VISIT TO AN ECCENTRIC LADY): The story of this painting has always captivated me. The dead man hanging from the ceiling is supposed to represent the artist himself, and the woman represents his lover Nita, who’s family forbid them from marrying each other. The nightmarish feeling of the work; how the beautiful and innocent is contrasted by the macabre. The innocence of the approaching suitors, the beauty and humorous absurdness of the dancing lady. The onlookers and party guests, entranced by the scene. And how Dardel still chose to depict Nita as lighting up the room, even in the middle of this morbid scene. (@the-crows-are-after-me)

(The full "Oath of the Horattii" painting is an oil on canvas done by Jacques-Louis David. The entire work measures 329.8 cm × 424.8 cm (129.8 in × 167.2 in) and is held by the Louvre.

"Visit hos Excentrisk Dam (Visit to an Eccentric Lady)" is an oil on canvas painting by Swedish artist Nils Dardel. It measures 130.5 × 97.5 cm (51.4 ×38.4 in) and is held by the Moderna Museet.)

[ace-of-trppls]

「𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 -.2: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍」 Twst x Dark Deception Au

After escaping the 2nd realm you find yourself once again in Crowley’s chamber.

Once Crowley has congratulated you on surviving the second realm once again, an odd voice begins talking to the both of you

Whom introduces himself as “Malleus” he’s an ally who turns out to be Crowley’s sworn enemy to you at least and the very reason he needs to repair the mirror

“I’m sorry

Good luck”

Green flame, cold floor, empty windows All of which are characteristics of Crowley’s realm or what he likes to call it “The Mirror chamber” It was big built similar to a ballroom on side had multiple mirrors containing all the portals to the realms, the other there was a large French door it seemed to be sealed shut in the center of the door there was a an odd circle that looked similar to a closed eye

This was the place where I awoke after an accident it wasn’t that led to my demise, a distant memory and a foggy mind was AlI had when I had woken up that was a lie but now? Something’s wrong you can’t remember, the wolf? Ace? Deuce? All an odd blur

“Ah! You’ve done it again Yuu!”

“C-Crowley!”

And you saw the familiar crow man “Dire Crowley” a mysterious man whom promised to help you he’s using you

You’ll get your life back you don’t remember do you? Everything will be fine if you follow his command and get the mirror pieces

Ah Yes, everything will be fine just follow Crowley no doubt, none at all

“Oh my, is something wrong dear?”

“Nothing” No, you were so close!

“I…see”

Crowley looked as if he was eyeing you, watching each movement, each breath, each injury he was watching everything like a hawk yellow soulless eyes, a chilling gaze All too familiar is it?

“Oi! Birdman!”

Ah, grim was here right, is he alright? He looks good despite the previous fight he seems unchanged it’s just like him

“Oh my? Grim-y boy what’s wrong?”

“That wolf.. those to guys, Something’s missing! You did something did you!”

“Ah…oh my something odd with grim did the realms mess up something in your head?”

Crowley grabbed grim, DON’T LET HIM

grim seems to be struggling a lot HE’LL DO IT AGAIN

Someone’s yelling something. He’ll do what?

—

Fire everywhere

but it wasn’t grim his fire is blue this is green

my eyes hurt my head hurts my limbs feel numb Everything hurts Someone he’s here

Help he’ll help

He…? Yes

“Crowley”

The large French door I had mentioned earlier changed, the middle now had an odd center one that looked like a beautiful emerald Iris with a slit pupil similar to a cat It’s moving it…he? Glared at Crowley He called for Crowley right? Crowley looks worried his breath turned rigged he was still holding grim by the collar, but grim as well seemed scared

Am I missing something? Yes

“How many times must you fail in order to realize you won’t win?”

“Malleus…”

“Yes that is my name”

Malleus? Who?

“Child of man”

what an odd nick name, I wonder who that is it’s you

“I’m talking to you”

“Me…?”

“Indeed”

“ah”

“do not trust Crowley”

Huh…?

“You will regret it”

“Malleus! What are you doing here!?”

“Oh my now your talking you dammed bird, but then again, they always have been your trump card haven’t they?”

“You…! Don’t you dare plant ideas into my precious helper!”

“Ah yes your "precious helper" I wonder how truly precious they are if they suffered like this for how many times now?'

"Malleus"

Crowley's tone was weary like daring him to speak yet under that facade he was scared wasn't he? Malleus... I've heard that name before you've heard it a million times Where? You know where

"Child of man...may you choose the right ending"

What does he mean? But before I can say anything Crowley had muttered words under his breath like a spell and the eye of the door shut abruptly. Crowley had put grim down sighing, on the other hand grim stared almost as if he remembered something he wanted to share yet, wasn't't allowed to say

"my precious helper, we must collect the mirror prices as soon as possible there is no time to waste"

His voice sounded cold and demanding, as if he made a threat rather than a command. He grabbed my hand not caring that I had just nearly died and eaten. He gave me one last glare before aggressively throwing me into the next realm

"you better not fail me again"

[inkblackorchid]

Characters and cards

Having scripted duels that feature Aki, Yusei, and most recently, Crow in them now, I've got some thoughts about their decks that I've been meaning to get out. This is gonna be a long post. And bear in mind that this is written from the perspective of someone who is not a habitual yugioh player, but has simply had a fair amount of exposure to these characters' cards due to writing about them. I guess it's something of a thinkpiece about characters and their cards. Or advice for people hoping to script 5Ds-era duels with these characters, I guess.

So, first of all, I think we all agree that duel monsters cards in the show, aside from obvious marketing for irl yugioh cards, are also a storytelling device and a tool for characterisation. As in, duels are never just duels, they're also something else. The story is woven into the card plays, and the cards that are being played say something about the person using them. Yeah? Yeah.

With that in mind, the decks of the main cast in 5Ds become very interesting. I'll start with Aki here, since most of the duels I've scripted have included her. (And I'm only talking about cards the characters canonically own, not whatever cards were added to their favourite archetypes after the show or something. For actual TCG players, please keep one more thing in mind: Several of these characters' cards were either never printed irl or had different effects in the anime, which may be reflected in how I talk about them.)

So. Aki. Character-wise, she's got an intriguing deck, actually. Obviously, as the Black Rose Witch she's introduced to us to, her deck primarily features two things: A plant focus (primarily on roses because of course) and shrewd, witch-like tactics that would be considered dishonorable by some other characters in the show. (Think card combinations like Mark of the Rose, which lets her take control of an opponent's monster during her turns, and Vengeful Servant, which lets this constant back-and-forth between who controls the monster result in damage to her opponent. It reads much like a witch magically bringing someone in her thrall.) What's interesting is that the deck also has a fire focus to some degree, though. Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis (which burns itself to deal damage to the opponent), Rose Flame (a trap that burns the opponent every time a plant is summoned to their field) and even Black Rose Dragon (who is a fire attribute, despite her main association being plants). This fire theme doesn't consistently run through the entire deck, but it pops up often enough to suggest it was intentional—this, in turn, says some interesting things about Aki as a character. She plays a plant deck and is primarily represented by roses, yet plays cards associated with fire, which, in a real-world context, could very easily eradicate those plants. Combine that with Black Rose Dragon and her infamous board-wiping effect (which notably also destroys BRD herself) and you realise that at the start, Aki doesn't just represent the forest, she's also the fire consuming it. She tends a beautiful, if very dark garden, but she's also the one burning it to the ground, reflecting how she's tearing herself apart from the inside trying to stick to her Black Rose Witch persona even though it's actually hurting her. It's a shame they didn't let her duel much in the second half of the series, meaning that they got barely any chance to represent her character growth through her deck, either. There's more, though. Because the character decks are also interesting from a tactical standpoint to a degree. Now, Aki flip-flops around a fair bit in terms of tactics—she never really establishes herself to have a particular gimmick she sticks to in her duels, aside from maybe summoning Black Rose Dragon to wipe the field. But this is more about general stuff I noticed while working with the characters' cards, anyway. Aki has several monsters with unique effects and plenty to ways to deal effect damage (Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, Blossom Bombardment, Rose Flame and Evil Thorn to name a few). She has a few means of adding cards to her hand if she needs them (Magic Planter, Ground Capture, Offensive Guard and the speed spell Angel Baton), but her deck isn't exactly geared towards hand card advantage (especially in comparison to some other characters), which is something I often need to work around, especially when she’s duelling someone who can easily draw more cards. Of course, she also collects several ways to bring Black Rose Dragon back over the course of the series, both to use her first effect and because she's her ace monster (Wicked Rebirth, Blue Rose Dragon, Shining Rebirth and the combo between Synchro Back and Dimension Reversion), and while she's definitely not the most focussed on synchro summoning, she does have some interesting ways to interact with synchro monsters or get them on the field quickly (Urgent Tuning, Synchro Stream, Star Siphon, and Synchro Spirits). She also has some interesting traps to either outmanoeuvre her opponent, get back at them for attacking her, or protect herself from battle damage (Rose Curse, Nature's Reflection, Doppelganger, Rose Blizzard, Ground Capture, and Offensive Guard). And I really want to draw attention to the traps here, because in scripting duels, I've found that they act as extenders, especially those that end the battle phase or negate damage somehow. Inserting traps like that can be a breather to allow for some character interaction, and more often than not, that's reflected in the show, as well. Defensive traps come into play when the duel needs to be more drawn-out than it might be under real-life circumstances. (Considering the average yugioh game, from what I've heard, barely lasts more than three turns these days.) This goes double for turbo duels, by the way. Adding the character aspect and the tactical details of the deck together, it makes Aki out to be a capable duellist who doesn't tie herself down to one type of play. She's got a myriad of ways of dealing damage, she's got spells and continuous traps to make the field harder to navigate for her opponent (she's also one of the few non-dark signer characters who has a field spell of her own; Black Garden), but she also knows how to defend herself, her deck isn’t all-out aggression. Between the varying tactics and the plant theme, the deck gives the impression of being something like a living thing. It's a wild garden, at the end of the day, and accordingly, it's varied and plentiful.

Then there's Yusei. I could probably make a whole, exhaustingly long post of its own just about Yusei's cards, mostly because he gets so many during the series. The number of cards Yusei uses over the course of the show is enough to make up several other characters' entire decks. But this is about characters, themes and little strategic tidbits, so I'll try to rein myself in. Yusei's deck couldn't be a more accurate representation of his character if it tried. At the start of the show, it's all scraps and recycled things, encapsulating both Satellite, where he came from, his personal ethic that nothing's worthless, and his occupation; a mechanic, someone who fixes things. Many of his monsters, especially the synchro monsters, have a heroic aura to them, reflecting his courage and how he (mostly) stays cool under pressure (Junk Warrior, Shield Warrior, Stardust Dragon, Road Warrior). At the same time, he plays plenty of cutesy, low-level, critter-like monsters that go a long way towards showing he's still soft at heart (Sonic Chick, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Tuningware, Junk Synchron). Yusei's the guy who sticks up for others, he's the guy who will throw himself in harm's way to make sure nobody else has to. (This is also reflected in his cards; Stardust's self-sacrificing effect is well-known, of course, but it also shows in the many defensive traps he owns.) In comparison to some other characters, I would argue his deck at least outwardly appears less coherent, though; he doesn't stick to one archetype (though he has a lot of junk archetype monsters and a lot of warrior type monsters), some of his monsters don't share any design similarities at all and his spell- and trap arsenal is an interesting mixture between cards that are old and were well-established before 5Ds already and newer ones made up for the show. Plus, he always shows he's not afraid to use cards that seem like they "wouldn't fit him" (think Effect Veiler, Level Eater, Sonic Chick)—I take this to be intentional, too. After all, his deck is essentially a lovingly collected and tended box of scraps, something built under the motto "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". Tactics-wise, Yusei's character is again reflected mostly in two things: 1. His inventiveness is reflected in how all the cards in his deck often quickly slot together into a larger whole and how he plays extensive combinations of cards to reach a greater strategic goal. 2. His natural tendency to defend others and face up to threats for their sake is reflected in his wide arsenal of defensive cards. (He has the largest array of defensive traps in the show by far, and given his character, I doubt that's just because he's the protagonist. Think Defense Draw, Card Defense, Ghost Gardna, Damage Eater, Zero Gardna, and, of course, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.) He's quick on his feet with synchro summoning (and has by far the largest number of synchro monsters of all the characters), he's got a tuner for every synchro combo (Nitro Synchron, Junk Synchron, Turbo Synchron, Road Synchron, Quickdraw Synchron, you name it) and he's got several means to stock back up on hand cards when he needs it (Defense Draw and Spirit Force among them) and even more means to get an extra monster on the field when required (Junk Synchron, One for One, Debris Dragon, Give and Take, to name a few). And, of course, he's got many ways to get a monster back from the graveyard (Junk Synchron again, Graceful Revival, Limiter Break and Revival Ticket smong others). There's no play Yusei doesn't have a clever answer to and no corner he can't manoeuvre himself out of. At the end of the day, his deck reads like a toolbox, and that's what it is! Many parts, not all of which look like they belong to the same set, which he can slot together into the wildest of combinations because that's who Yusei is. He's someone who collects things others believe to be worthless, who uses any means available to him and considers aesthetics secondary, he's a guy who's inventive, who fixes things and who, though he plays defensively, never does so because he's on the back foot. If anything, you should be watching your back when Yusei's on the defence, because he's doubtlessly going to turn that into an advantage and pull off a combo you weren't expecting.

Finally, we get to Crow, whose deck was actually the inspiration for this post, because, to my slight surprise, I have found that Crow plays an absolute balls-to-the-wall deck. I will get back to what I mean by that further down, but first, character details. Crow is the only character we know of who essentially plays a deck he inherited from someone else; namely, Pearson. Though it was hinted in the show that he already liked Blackwings before ever knowing Pearson (seeing as he can be seen learning to read with a Blackwing card, I believe), I think we can agree that the reason Crow plays such an archetype-focussed deck, especially for someone born in Satellite, where this would have naturally been even more difficult, is that he dutifully hung onto the deck Pearson left him. And of course he did! Crow is a family-oriented character and Pearson was his family. Of course he'd treat that Blackwing deck (as well as the Blackbird) like his greatest treasures. (Also, crows and ravens irl are known to be fairly communal birds. Ravens are often even cited as being some of the most doting parents in the avian world, so that checks out, too.) Now, where the Blackwing monsters themselves are concerned, they also do a pretty good job of communicating who Crow is; they're full of tricks and slippery, they have lots of effects that help him outmanoeuvre and puzzle his opponent (Sirocco the Dawn, who can massively boost his fellow Blackwings' attack points, or Blackwing Armor Master, who can reduce the attack and defence points of any monster to zero for a turn, can't be destroyed by battle and from whose battles Crow takes no battle damage, or Aurora the Northern Lights, who can act like a synchro monster despite not being one). With Crow being a character who is first introduced to us while giving sector security the slip, it's no surprise whatsoever that his deck is the embodiment of corvid shrewdness. Where this gets doubly interesting is in the tactical bits. Crow notoriously has a whole armada of Blackwing effect monsters, all of which can already pose a not insignificant headache on their own (between Gale the Whirlwind halving a monster's attack and defence points, Fane the Steel Chain being able to attack directly and switch the battle position of your monster when he does, Bora the Spear being able to deal piercing damage over defence mode monsters... you catch my drift). And that's without going into his synchro monsters, of which he, interestingly enough, has the second-most among the main cast! (And which he can summon blindingly fast, considering his Blackwing monsters like to swarm the field and that he has no shortage of tuners.) What was interesting for me while rooting around in his canon cards, though, is that Crow has several cards boasting "revenge effects" (for lack of a better term; among them: Black Thunder, Blackwing - Boobytrap, Blackwing - Backlash, Black Wing Revenge and Guard Mines) and—and this is where we get back to my balls-to-the-wall point—little to no defensive traps. Crow is good at disrupting his opponents' plays (with cards like Chaos Life, Gravity Collapse, Urgent Tuning and Trap Stun, among others) and he's good at making them regret attacking him or destroying his monsters (see the "revenge" cards above), but as far as his defenses are concerned, the only "classical" defensive trap Crow plays in his entire deck is Mirror Force, and the only other card he uses to defend himself is Mistral the Silver Shield, who can nullify battle damage. Now, fair enough, this could have just been the way the character's deck developed in the show, but allow me to take this as an intentional choice for a moment. In which case, I have to say, his nickname "the bullet" suddenly makes a whole lot of sense! Crow plays a deck that likes to win fast. It affords him little to no defensive options (no cover) and also fairly little options to draw more cards (no ammo), meaning he either wins fast, or risks the chance of not winning at all. Combine this with what we know about his past and his character, and it makes perfect sense. He's a trickster, he’s cheeky, he's reckless and not one to be afraid; not with what the world has already thrown at him. (And don't even get me started on Black-Winged Dragon, who absorbs effect damage, but returns that damage along with an attack point loss of an opponent's monster, reflecting how Crow's used to occasionally taking the beating, both from Satellite gangs and sector security, but always gives back as good as he receives.) So he duels all-out, hard and fast, because he's got (almost) nothing to loose and everything to gain.

I might add onto this post if I ever find an opportunity to script duels for Jack, Rua, and Ruka, but for now, this is all I've got. Just some thoughts.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

A Poster from the Kyiv Book Fair, 2023.

* * * * *

Victoria Amelina was a Ukrainian novelist, poet and public intellectual. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of her country in 2022, she set aside most of her writing to document and research war crimes. Amelina understood the risks she ran with this work, both as a citizen who chose to stay in her country during war, and as a writer facing an invading army bent on destroying Ukrainian national identity. She moved her son to safety in Poland, but kept returning herself. When Kyiv came under bombardment in early summer she watched the explosions from her apartment and wrote: “The war is when you can no longer follow all news and cry about all neighbours who died instead of you a couple of miles away. Still, I want to not forget to learn the names.” She died on 1 July, aged 37, from injuries sustained in a Russian missile strike on a pizza restaurant in the eastern town of Kramatorsk. Two weeks before she died, she wrote about a painter, Polina Rayko, whose work had been largely obliterated in the floods unleashed by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam: “Art lives as long as the world sees it.” Below is Poem About a Crow, inspired by her work interviewing women who lived through Russian occupation. Translated by Uilleam Blacker.

Poem About a Crow

In a barren springtime field Stands a woman dressed in black Crying her sisters’ names Like a bird in the empty sky She’ll cry them all out of herself

The one that flew away too soon The one that had begged to die The one that couldn’t stop death The one that has not stopped waiting

The one that has not stopped believing The one that still grieves in silence

She’ll cry them all into the ground As though sowing the field with pain

And from pain and the names of women Her new sisters will grow from the earth And again will sing joyfully of life

But what about her, the crow?

She will stay in this field forever Because only this cry of hers Holds all those swallows in the air

Do you hear how she calls Each one by her name?

[The Guardian]