Cause it's all just chemicals anyway

( I tried to write out the whole scene that went with this, but it just wasn't cutting it for me, so you get the synopsis of events that lead to this as given in the addition to his history on his reference) 

In his life, Crow's become close to people on and off outside of the Carnages and Compound in general, but each time ends the same. He has had to cut ties with them or been ordered to outright kill them, as they are a vulnerability and such things are unacceptable to his master. He's also not supposed to make connections for reasons of turning him from the path he's been set on and influencing him to question the authority above him. For all intensive purposes, his master wants to be the sole most important guiding influence in his life and has gone to great lengths to keep it that way. Mostly, it was under control. That is, until Rita.

Crow ran into a girl from the Shot Stars Mafia by the name of Rita. Pursued and tormented by a much stronger werewolf, she needed protection and Crow couldn't exactly refuse. He offered to help her and eventually did get her to a point where she was safe once more. After being essentially her body guard and constant companion in every spare moment he had in order to watch her though, the two had grown quite close. They were great friends and continued to meet up frequently during his free time. Over the course of a year, Crow had developed love for this girl, but never told her. He always felt it was for her own good, but it was partly because he was scared and he knew that he could always lose her. He was aware that he was a danger to her just by being near her and tried on several occasions to cut ties before it was too late, but she was too stubborn and refused to let him throw their friendship away out of fear. Ultimately though, he was right.

Crow's great affections and friendship with Rita were discovered by his fellow Carnage, Claymore, who reported it all to their master, the Viper. Crow was ordered to either completely cut ties with Rita or be forced to kill her. Crow, much to everyone's dismay, did not immediately and obediently comply, but instead desperately begged for her to be spared. In the end, he negotiated a deal with Viper by convincing him he could use her as a source of information on the mafia, the organization that caused a lot of trouble for the Compound. For the time being, the Viper agreed, but made it abundantly clear that this arrangement was temporary and would only be viable as long as she was useful. For a time, it worked and it kept her safe, but then a mole was suspected within the mafia and security tightened. Information couldn't be gathered from Rita because she didn't know enough. The time had come for her to be put down by Crow, but instead, time and time again, each time he was sent, he managed to get word ahead to her so she could escape, or get help so he let her go by letting the guards with her "defeat" him. Viper isn't a stupid man, though, and knew exactly what was going on. Patience was wearing thin and Crow was running out of time. He threatened Crow to use his code words to force Crow to kill her in an excruciating manor.

It was at this time in his life that Crow also learned that his half bother, Nero, was an unwilling asset of the Viper's, meaning that he was being extorted or blackmailed into doing tasks against his will for Crow's master. This lead Crow to go to the Viper and ask him what it would take for him to release Nero from his servitude. Rita was the cost. It was only a matter of time already and Crow knew it... He'd be more merciful and quick if he did it himself anyway... So he agreed. Taking the terms of the deal, he sought out Rita under the guise of having to move her again for her own safety. When he arrived, she let him in and had her guard completely down. It was Crow, after all, her closest friend. When her back was turned, he pulled a metal knife with no hilt and drove it into her spine, conducting his electricity through it with as much strength as he could muster, draining himself at once. She never saw it coming and it was quick enough that, if she even felt anything at all, she didn't suffer long. It broke Crow. The similarities between what he'd done to his mother and now Rita were excruciating. His mother, many friends, and the first person he loved but never told...all felled by his hand. He already knew he was a killer and a monster, but it hadn't felt so real or cutting in a long time.

~~~

SO, this picture. Few things you should know. One, yes this is meant to be him right after he's just killed Rita. Two, There's a little symbolism that only people who have paid close attention to my many, many characters would know. (Worry not, I don't expect you to.) The background is sort of symbolic of the anxious struggle within Crow's mind, gone static within the moment he killed Rita.The large, white snake is supposed to be an albino viper, symbolic and not actually there. It has a hold around his throat and rests its head upon his hand, guiding his actions and holding his life in it's coils. The rest of it is basically literally how he looked when he killed Rita. He was just wearing that simple black shirt and gray pants, everything normal, and had that knife to conduct the electricity he needed to kill her. The necklace hanging down around his neck is a half heart with an arrow piercing it, one half of a set. I imagine you can guess who had the other half. 


©me. Please refrain from redraw or otherwise reposting. Thank you~

8-7-16