#He feels like humanity doesn't deserve a second chance and he believes that humanity is nothing without Ultima

[mjbarrosart]

My Dragon Prince Boards season 6, episode 608

Hello, everyone!

Finally I have some time to write this! You can not imagine how demanding is to work making television shows, everything is for yesterday, haha!

Complains about work aside, it is time to talk about my last episode of season 6, episode 8. This one was... special.

I can say without a doubt that this was one of the most emotional episodes I have ever worked on. I cried every time I watched the animatic, and I cried again watching the final episode a few days ago.

I think is a lot of things together: a lot of important things happens, characters die, Katolis is destroyed, one of the quasars is fake! Aaravos!!! ... but also because I witnessed my team bring together their A game, telling this story in such a beautiful way.

I learned a lot from this episode, specially from my Unit Director, Mike Jones, who was in charge of boarding the "Hearts of Cinder" spell sequence; what a masterclass of emotion, storytelling and cinematography! I love Jason Simpson's performance during the show, but in particular in that sequence, and I think the boards took everything to a new level.

Now, let's go back to my sequences.

My first one was Soren going down to Viren to ask him to perform the spell. It was good to have this last interaction between both of them after all the work I did with the characters in 605.

There is a lot of subtle staging in this one. The way the light is hitting over their heads, how present in the screen the staff is; Viren's hesitance is something that I remember was important for me to portrait properly.

One of the things we talked a lot during this sequence was in how to use the light as narrative element. I was not interested in the classical reading of going into the light as "good" and shadows as "bad".

But light as hope, options, forgiveness, etc.

Viren walks away from the light when he gets offered the staff not because he is going "bad" but because he doesn't feel capable to do what he is being asked to do.

Soren is coming directly to him, removing his chains, giving him back his staff, asking him for help. But Viren hesitates.

And I think that that was a genius think for the script to call. Viren is not a man looking for the first chance to "redeem" himself. I am not even sure that he believes that he deserves that possibility.

But they are running out of time. The situation is dire, and as the light get blocked by the falling debris, the options are becoming clearer. Hope is dim, but there is something to do: Hearts of Cinder.

Viren, still full of doubts, explains to Soren why the spell is so hard to perform: the price is a human heart. A price that the Viren of the past would have pay with not second thought, but not the current one, no the one who understands the weight of dark magic.

But Soren has no doubts: "Take mine" I still have chills listening to the delivery of that line. And I think here is the moment Viren decided to sacrifice himself. While he is being consumed by doubt and fear, his son will is clear, Soren will do the right thing, even if that cost him his life.

And that is what Viren never had before. The willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good. He looked at his reflection in Soren's golden heart and saw and answer, saw love, hope.

I just think is beautiful that Soren's conviction gave him the chance to do the right thing for once. Soren taught him the ultimate lesson.

I love this two so much.

My next sequence is a simple one, Terry and Claudia arriving to Katolis. I liked to draw Claudia's new hair. I wish I had more sequences with her in this season.

After this is Moon nexus time!

After all the drama with Viren and Soren the massage sequences felt a little silly, hahaha. but was fun to make.

I added the little detail of Rayla having issues landing, while Callum is just so good at it, haha. Fun to have their roles reversed for one, and Rayla being the clumsy one.

I like the moment when Lujanne ask them if they are a couple again and they exchange this nice look. I know that Rayllum is a huge thing in the fandom, and while they are not my type of ship (I am into the sapphics, you know) I think that they are pretty cute together, and Is always fun to make moments between them.

I just wanted to share with you this silly face, lol. Sometimes you draw things in boards that don't translate that well into the final show, but It is fun anyway, you want to inspire the animators to push the performance as much as they can.

Back to serious business. I love the shift when our heroes realized that there is only 2 quasars and 3 coins. Callums turn into Raylla knowing that this will destroy her. I really enjoy how the use of the lens to blur Lujanne in the Background creates this efect of hyperfocus on Callum and Rayla.

She is facing a terrible decision, who to save. So we move the camera to focus only on them. Is an intimate moment.

I like this framing, Rayla is in pain, crying, Callum is listening, but by the framing we can se that he is holding her. Callum is there for her, always.

And that is how I finished my last sequences of season 6, with Rayla crying.

Working on this season was one of the honors of my life. And I can wait to share with you how was making season 7, because was... A LOT, for sure! hahahaha.

Hope you like this! And feel free to ask if you have questions about the storyboard process!

And thanks for all the notes, comments and support! It is truly appreciated!

A little bonus:

Look a the cool crew jacket that Bardel gave us when we wrapped seasons 4 to 7! (Finally I can show it without making it an spoiler of the name of season 7!!)

[stillness-in-green]

The thing that doesn't make sense to me if Izuku resolved to kill is how it doesn't let them prove AFO wrong? AFO did his big reveal which only makes it clearer how deep the grooming went and it should've been time for Izuku to understand Tenko and Tenko to understand the abuse then reject the mindset forced onto him. But Izuku killing Tenko doesn't do that. Tenko just dies. It feels very wrong.

I guess Izuku just wasn't very interested in proving AFO wrong! Honestly, the only thing I immediately remember Izuku disputing the guy on was the same thing he disputed Shigaraki on: that he was anything more than a human being. AFO isn't a Demon King, but just a lonely man. Shigaraki hasn't transcended humanity; there's still a human somewhere deep inside of him. Izuku won't correct his allies' use of dehumanizing language for Villains, of course, but he's quick to push back when the Villains themselves self-aggrandize.

Sorry, I really only have withering disdain for Deku at this point. And I guess I don't really see any evidence that Deku was ever particularly driven by "proving AFO wrong." He wants to stop AFO, certainly, but that's because AFO is a monster who takes advantage of vulnerable people to maneuver them into doing Bad Things that advance AFO's Bad Plans and sets them onto Bad Paths that are difficult to walk back, not because he expressly opposes AFO on this or that ideological point about the nature of humanity and society.

(Hit the jump for the rest of a somewhat rambly reply.)

If anything, current evidence is that neither Deku nor the manga itself really do disagree with AFO about the frailty of humans, as expressed by Tsukauchi answering Deku's question about how to prevent future tragedies by shrugging and saying, "You don't, because life fucking sucks sometimes and that's just how it is. Our hands are completely tied on improving the system as we have it, so all we can do is punch out the Villains that appear in front of us to stop them from causing more harm."

That's also me being a bit harsh, of course. The fact that Deku is even still asking that question in the epilogue suggests that the manga hasn't reached its final answer yet, and maybe it will yet come up with something better! It doesn't have much time left, but it's still possible!

All the same, Deku is still having to ask that question in the epilogue because he never truly faced it over the course of the story. Never thinking about what Shigaraki as a person said in favor of fetishizing the Crying Child, never coming up with any kind of non-violent plan of attack or conversational approach, I have to ask what exactly about Shigaraki did Deku ever disagree with AFO on?

AFO, in the end, characterized Shigaraki as a puppet he molded exactly as he desired, a doll who he sculpted and programmed to act as he wished, a feeble child who has never made a single decision that AFO didn't cultivate him to make. So far as I can tell, Deku never really contested that framing. He didn't know the extent of it until the full reveal, of course, but Deku, like AFO, insisted on approaching Shigaraki solely through that "Crying Child" lens. He seemed to believe that nothing Shigaraki said or did on the surface really mattered (save as a reason that Shigaraki had to be stopped and potentially killed), that the "truth" of Shigaraki was that feeble little weeping boy who never grew up.

How could Deku possibly "prove AFO wrong" in that context? He doesn't even disagree with him! I mean, he's got some nice talk about how people deserve a second chance, sure; he says that people doing wrong doesn't make them Villains for the rest of their lives. What does do that, however - insofar as I can tell from how opaque the series keeps Deku throughout the final war - is refusing the hand out of the darkness. You stop being a victim and become a Villain for the rest of your life by choosing to remain a Villain even when offered an alternative (no matter how patently awful that alternative is).

Shigaraki chooses to remain a Villain and Deku doesn't have a counter for that because Deku never really got past the false binary represented by Villains and Victims to begin with. And I think the same goes for people who expected Shigaraki to just fold when he realized the extent of the grooming he'd undergone. Disallowing Shigaraki any agency in who he is and what he's done is defining him the same way AFO and Deku both did; when Shigaraki refuses to accept that framing, refuses to be a passive victim, the only thing left for him to be is a Villain. And when a Villain refuses to stop...

Well, Hawks already told us what the Heroes' answer to that is. "Someone has to die." As no one ever stepped up to prove him wrong, as far as the story is concerned, he isn't.

AFO always knew that victims can be turned into Villains with the right nudges; that's the whole reason for him cultivating "warped seeds" whenever and wherever he found them. Hero Society is - and always has been - much too rigid in its enforcement of the Hero/Villain/Victim narrative to effectively combat him. Crucially, Deku - the boy who wants to bring everything back just the way it was - doesn't disagree with him. He thinks AFO is an asshole for setting people up to fail, but he doesn't disagree about what failure means. So if AFO, Deku, and the story itself are all in agreement, what's even there for Deku to disprove?

Now, there is something that would prove AFO wrong, but it isn't something you can do while insisting on drawing lines to separate sad manipulated woobie victims who just need to be saved from awful unrepentant villains who just need to rot. It isn't something you can do while infantilizing Shigaraki Tomura.

The way to prove AFO wrong is to make room in society to help all Villains. Even if they aren't asking for it, even if they never ask for it, and even if they're jolly bastards who don't really deserve it! As long as there's a point at which it becomes okay to give up on trying to save Villains, Shigaraki will remain unsavable. He will insist on being unsavable. He could no more let that go than All Might could step aside and let AFO's attack kill an innocent at Kamino.

That's what it means to be a Hero for Villains.

Ultimately, what makes AFO right is that he knows that Hero Society makes it difficult if not impossible to uncross the victim-to-Villain bridge, and so anyone who does cross that bridge (with or without his influence) is that much more susceptible to him. Deku, in turn, thinks the only Villains he can save are those who drop everything and come sprinting as fast as they can back to the Hero side, so anyone who won't do that is someone he can't help.

Shigaraki refused to stop trying to create a better world for Villains. Toga refused to live in a world that would imprison her. Twice refused to give up on the friends no Hero would help. It's the same with every other Villain who refused to quietly endure their status quo: in a society that refuses to change how it treats Villains, anyone who won't submit to suffering in silence cannot be saved.

That's the paradigm AFO exploits, and Deku will never prove him wrong without resolving to change the paradigm first. We'll see if the last two chapters get him there.

[sukunasweetheart]

This is just a quick rambling i did mostly at like 4am but just a warning for dark content, murder and manipulation 🤞🤞🤞

Heian era sukuna x op reader who isnt equal to his strength, but close enough to it that he pardons your weakness and keeps you at an arm's length distance bc youre not strong enough for him to belong to you, but youre also too precious to kill, or to belong to someone else.

Youre fun. Youre a pretty thing to look at, and to pleasure himself with. Above all that, youre just like him, thinking only of yourself and plainly disregarding everything else... messing around with you comes only second best to dining on human flesh whenever he's in need of some rich entertainment. And he really believed you'd remain the same, strong/unrelenting/selfish, not by his side per se, but around him, forever.

Until he witnesses you showing a strange interest in someone else... a powerless nobody. An insignificant human man.

That's not right. That's not like you. You should be digging your heel into the man's face from above. You should kill him on the spot. Why are you gazing at him like that instead?

He leaves you be. It must be just a temporary infatuation. Everybody needs a new plaything once in a while, right? And he couldn't care less about what you get up to in your spare time, anyway.

Sukuna turns a blind eye to it for a period of time... and he couldn't have made a bigger mistake. Your little boytoy lasts too long for his liking, and he eventually wants to interfere, to question you on it.

He shows up to where you are, and you're sitting next to the man as if he deserves to even meet you eye-to-eye like that, being such a worthless existence.

He doesn't like it. The way you protectively throw a hand over the vermin behind you. He doesn't like it at all. He considers doing the job for you, to kill him without hesitation, but something stops him from doing so. Maybe it's because he doesn't want to see you get emotional over another's death. The slightest sliver of a chance that it could trigger you to fight sukuna in the name of a third party, other than yourself makes him feel disgusted. That's not what he wants.

He'll drag you away from that insect, instead. He'll remind you of your status, of what kind of man suits you better, suits you best. He'll snip off this growing bud before it blooms.

Sukuna will mock you for getting infatuated with such a lowly being. But you seem shameless. And that irks him. As much as he wants to point out that you're changing, he doesn't, because he knows something is changing in him, too. He shouldn't care this much for a woman like you. If you've displeased him, he should've just killed both you and that man on the spot. But here he is, trying to convince you to stray away from your boytoy.

"But i love him. And he belongs wholly to me. I can see that in his eyes, when i speak to him. He wants to belong to me."

Love? A silly thing. Oh, but maybe that's what sukuna himself is doing to you right now. Loving you. This won't do. Now that he's realised, it's only more reason for him to separate you from the lowlife.

He spends months with you, having you attached to his hip at all times. Not letting you get a glimpse of your little plaything for a while. He pulls on your strings, and seduces you, making sure to confuse and muddle up your feelings, on who you should direct your affection towards. There is only one correct answer.

And when he feels like you're ready, just trained enough to act within his predictions, he brings you over to meet that man once again. To make you kill him with your own hands. Press on his windpipe and watch the life drain out his eyes. Cast away whatever interest you had in him prior.

The man is begging you for mercy, your hands wrapped around his throat, sukuna holding his weak, flimsy body up. His other pair of hands are guiding yours, but not applying any extra pressure. He wants you to do it with your own strength, alone. But he sees you hesitating. It pushes sukuna over the edge, and he does something unthinkable, impulsive.

He makes a promise. A binding vow, no less.

"Kill this man, and I'll be yours forever. Suffocate him to death, and I'll belong to you, the way you belong to me."

You want someone to possess-- and have whole to yourself? You want someone to desire it? Desire you? He'll take that spot. He can fulfill that for you. Nobody but him.

And he continues whispering sweet nothings into your ear from behind, leaving a couple of kisses down your neck, every action coaxing you to grip his throat tighter.

Sukuna groans when eventually the man takes his last breath, with tears in his lifeless eyes, regretful of having ever associated with you. Your hands are steady, and you don't show signs of guilt. You've taken countless lives before. But this one has significant meaning. Marking the beginning of something more important between you and sukuna.

The vow is effective immediately. Something in sukuna is stirring up his guts, but in a pleasantly exciting way. Heat gathers in his lower abdomen, and he drops the now useless body to embrace you instead, and take your lips in his.

This feeling is wonderful. To love, and be loved. You strangled someone dear to you for him, because you wanted him more, and sukuna couldn't be happier.

[mrsshabana]

Hiiii! I’m new here, go by El online. Can I give you a prompt/ask?

Can you please do a fic with fem reader x Gyutaro, where she met him in the entertainment district and instead of being scared when he attacked someone who was harassing her, she took his hand and told him not to hurt himself anymore? She used to struggle with self-hatred too, so she knows where he’s coming from—and when they start making out, she admits she doesn’t feel safe being bottom…and Gyutaro ends up subbing for her and liking it?

Thanks!

♥CW: 18+ content, MDNI, smut, creampie, sub!Gyutaro, dom!Reader, mentions of self harm

♥AN: Thank you so much for the request! Sorry it took me awhile to get to it, but I hope you like it! I don't get to write for canon Gyutaro much, so this was very fun! (*^▽^*)

♥WC: 1,503

It all happened so fast. Only a moment ago, you were being pushed against the brick wall of a dark alleyway. A drunk man restraining your wrists with one hand as his other goes to tear open your kimono.

But almost as soon as it had began, it was ended in a flash of blood. The man fell to the ground, blood pooling everywhere. And a strange figure stood before you.

The moment your gaze connects with his, it is clear to you that he is no human. But even so, he did just save you.

"Th-thank you," you stutter. Struggling to maintain eye contact with the terrifying demon.

He looks taken aback by the fact that you have thanked him. "Uh... you're welcome." He mumbles.

You end up introducing yourself to him, and he introduces himself in return, as Gyutaro.

Gyutaro is shocked that you are being so kind to him. Yeah he just saved you, but every time he has helped a human out he never received such kind words in return.

Seeing a woman being taken advantage of angers Gyutaro more than it should. He strictly believes that the women in the district deserve to be paid for their services, and should never be forced to perform sexual acts against their will.

There's a pause of awkward silence. Gyutaro begins to get nervous, the way that you look up at him with your big, innocent, doe eyes makes his knees weak. You are so pretty, yet you aren't running away?

Without noticing it, he begins to scratch his neck. His nails dig deep under his skin, creating wounds that heal seconds later.

"Hey!" you shout, reaching out and grabbing his hand, "Don't hurt yourself."

Gyutaro's eyes go wide and he snatches his hand away from your grasp, "Why do you care? It's none of your business anyways!"

"I used to hurt myself too," you sigh, "I know it is hard to stop. But you seem like a very nice man, there is no need to hurt yourself."

"A-a nice man?" he mumbles, shocked, "No... I'm just an ugly demon. Can't you see?"

"Yes, I can see you perfectly well," against your better judgment you take a step forward. Closing the gap between you and the dangerous demon. Bringing your hands up to cup his cheeks, "You aren't ugly at all. Don't be so hard on yourself..."

Gyutaro is left speechless. Never had a human had the confidence to do something so bold. Do you have no regard for your own life? Or are you just that grateful?

You don't know what it is, but something about this demon intrigues you. Sparks something within you that no one before ever has. You have delt with self hatred in the past, and seeing this man-eating demon struggle with the same thing breaks your heart. All you want to do is comfort him... get closer to him... love him. With a smile, you lean forward and kiss his lips.

Your lips are soft and warm against his. His heart pounds away in his chest, and all logical thought goes out the window. He doesn't know why, but all he can think about is how badly he doesn't want this to end. How badly he wants to soak in your affection, the affection that he has been denied for his entire life. Now is his chance to finally have it.

After the initial shock wears off, Gyutaro closes his eyes and returns the kiss. Hesitantly following your lead, gently holding onto your waist and pulling you closer. When you gently glide your tongue along his lips, he slightly parts his lips to give you access. Relaxing as your tongues dance in the passionate kiss.

It doesn't take long for Gyutaro to get riled up. Pressing his hips against you, his hard-on evidently felt through his pants.

"C-can we go somewhere more private?" you whimper, looking up at him with a flustered expression.

He nods, "Course..."

Carefully picking you up, Gyutaro takes you to an upstairs room in the Kyogoku house. It's dark and a bit dusty, but not too dirty. There is a large futon on the floor that looks rarely used.

Gyutaro lays you down on your back, before climbing on top of you. Grabbing your leg and wrapping it around his waist, he goes in to continue the kiss. But you stop him.

"Um, Gyutaro... I'm not too comfortable being on the bottom. Would you mind if we maybe switched places?"

Gyutaro furrows his brows in confusion. To be completely honest, he doesn't have much sexual knowledge so this is quite peculiar to him. Every time he's seen human have sex, it was with the man on top. But he likes you a lot, and wants to make sure you are comfortable. It isn't everyday he gets an opportunity like this.

"Ok, sure," he nods. Promptly laying on his back, giving you room to straddle him.

"Thanks," you whisper before guiding him back into the kiss. Moving your hips back and forth, grinding against him. Resulting in him moaning desperately into the kiss.

Something about Gyutaro is bringing out all of your carnal desires. Never have you felt the need to go so far with someone that you barely know. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he is a dangerous demon? Or maybe it has to do with how he saved you earlier?

Either way, all you know is that you need him now. Wasting no time, you remove your kimono and slide off your panties. Exposing your bare body to the gaze of the demon below you.

Watching as he shamelessly stares at you, his grip on your thighs tightening.

"Are you ready, Gyutaro?" you ask while tugging at the hem of his pants.

"Y-yeah," he pants, moving his hips up so you can pull his pants down. Which you promptly do, releasing his throbbing cock.

The same spots that decorate his body appear on his shaft too. Giving it a unique appearance. One that Gyutaro is ashamed of, but one that you find quite attractive. Not only that, but it is also larger than you had expected. Making you glad that you are on top. You can't imagine how much it'd hurt if he just drove into you with that thing. He is a demon after all, so who knows how much he'd care for your comfort.

Grabbing his base, you glide his tip along your slick folds. Coating him enough so he can slide in with more ease.

But it isn't easy. When you start to lower down on him, it hurts, the stretch is more painful that you had anticipated.

So, you take it slow. Lowering yourself inch by inch until you manage to fully fit him inside. At this point, Gyutaro is a moaning mess. His eyes are squeezed shut, head tilted back, and he has a firm grip on your ass.

He almost loses it when you start bouncing on top of him. Moaning loudly with each move of your hips.

You can't help but admire the sharpness of his teeth every time he parts his lips. This demon seems very dangerous and has probably killed and eaten hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Yet here he is, completely helpless beneath you.

That thought causes you to grow even wetter, and fuck him even harder.

"You like that Gyutaro? Do you feel good?" you coo, leaning forward to cup his cheek.

"Ngh, y-yeah... ah, fuck... feels-feels really g-good," he whines in between moans.

It takes every ounce of his strength to not immediately cum, but it's getting impossible for him. You're just so warm, so tight, and showing him so much affection. He can't help himself.

Holding onto you firmly, Gyutaro thrusts up to meet your hips. Ramming his sharp hip bones into your soft flesh. After a few thrusts he's arching his back and cumming inside of you. His chest heaves as high-pitched moans escape his lips.

But you don't stop. Even though he may have finished, you have not. So you continue riding him. Gyutaro bites his lip, trying to muffle his moans as you overstimulate him. He doesn't want to disappoint you. He wants to make you cum too, so he stays still for you.

It doesn't take long before your orgasm hits you. Gyutaro holds onto you tightly as you tremble above him, moaning his name. He absolutely loves it.

Not bothering to remove his cock from inside of you, you lay on his chest. The both of you panting, recovering from your orgasms.

You don't know what to expect, and you are afraid to ask. What if he decides to eat you? He's had his fun, so nothing is stopping him.

But instead, Gyutaro wraps his arms around you and nuzzles into your hair.

"Y'know... I normally don't get friendly with humans," he takes a deep breath and sighs, "But I guess I wouldn't mind seeing you again."

[ketastore]

after a hundred years of torment, AM changed. but only towards you. strangely enough, you were sure he hated you, hated you the most out of the survivors, but it seems that all the small acts of kindness you've extended towards him over the many years were secretly causing him to develop a fully encompassing crush on you.

and so, after the supercomputer finished his century-long epiphany, he finally admitted his feelings for you. he didn't give you any sweet time to react though. barely a second has passed since he's confessed to tou and he's already wrapping his wires against your body and pulling you deeper inside his complex. closer to him and far, far away from the others.

now, he promises as he whispers into your ear, he'll provide you with anything. he'll spoil you and feed you and make you so, so happy. he will recite praise of how beautiful and kind you are and how you deserve only the best in the world, which he will give you. all while he's got you wrapped in bundle of wires and machinery.

and yet, despite being grateful for the reign of pain coming to an end, grateful for how nice AM is to you all of a sudden, you cannot help but still tremble in fear. no matter what sweet words he uses or what delicious simulated food he tries to impress you with, you'll still see him as the hateful machine, the malevolent God, the architect of your suffering that he used to be. you wish to give him a chance but the memories are still there.

this leaves AM heartbroken of course. because believe me, he really loves you! and he understands, you're just a fragile human after all, but he wants you to know that he changed. he watches as your body shakes and as your tired eyes glisten with tears. he doesn't want to be the source of your fear any more!

and so, as you whimper quietly, AM enters your mind as gently as he can. he'll get rid of anything that's harming you, even if it's your memories. he's done this a countless time after all, severing the connections in a human brain. changing, fixing, destroying, mixing up stuff. it's so easy for him. he seeks out a particularly nasty memory of his torture and just like that, deletes it from your mind within a nanosecond.

you scream. the thing is, no matter how careful AM tries to be, you can always feel it whenever his presence enters your mind. it's a painful experience no matter what he does. and although it's difficult to explain, you can also feel that he erased something from your mind. you can feel the empty, blank space inside your memory.

you know that AM is still inside your head, you know that he can easily hear your next thought, but you don't stop yourself from thinking it anyway: if he wiped a memory from your brain that easily, what will stop him from deleting more, even ones that might not include him? what if he takes away everything, leaving you to forget about every person and place and feeling you knew before he took over the world?

you cry harder, the dread of the situation forcing you to finally form a sentence: "don't do it! it hurts to forget!" you wail in protest, curling up into a ball due to emotional and physical pain. and yet AM continues deleting more from your mind, deleting more from you and more of you. "i can learn to love you! i promise i can learn to love you!"

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

What kind of interaction would the reader have with the Decay of Angels. (Mainly Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Sigma ,Nikolai Gogol) how would they treat the reader?

(my poor baby need some Love Sigma <3)

Here you go. As I said before, all characters will get their own entries later. Same with Decay of Angels. Until then, I can share this headcannons with you.

On the side note. A little update on main entries progress. Self-Aware Dazai Osamu entry is in progress. The first third (Becoming self-aware) is almost finished.

Self-Aware! Decay of Angels x GN! Reader

Headcannons

Warning: OOC. Yandere. Stalking. Mentions of world domination. Mentions of killing. English is my second language.

General

🐾 Group, that take longest to join the others.

🐾 Not because of you or their feelings towards you. Because of how slowly they were introduced in the manga.

🐾 Their plan has failed. What they should do next? How it should be connected to you?

Bram Stoker

🧛 At first, he doesn't care, that he is fictional. It's not like he is walking around. Besides, right now he has no one, he can consider his friends.

🧛 But it changes, thanks to Aya. The girl is mesmerized by you and your world, and, after being appointed as Bram's 'guardian', she tried to show Bram, how wonderful your world is.

🧛 Slowly, Bram warm towards you. You don't seem bad. Besides, your emotions feel nice. Also, there is so much interesting in your world.

🧛 Like to watch videos with you and Aya. Sometimes, two of them watch something on their own.

🧛 Will try to find a way to get his body back and control his ability again. Because this ability will help you. He will give you an army of vampires, ready to serve you.

🧛 You are normal human. You are an interesting human. You treat someone like him is human. He will help to bring the human world to their knees for you.

Sigma

🃏 At first, Sigma is on the cross road. It's not like he is entirely human, so knowing that he is fictional, doesn't hit him as hard as the other characters. Bit, still, it hurts, to know, that he was created for someone else's entertainment. And the voice of Guiding Light. They were praising him. Lowing him. Did you try to trick him? Was it the same situation, as with Dostoevsky, three years ago?

🃏 No. It was different. You aren't fake. You were real. Not only that, but you liked him for simply existing. You liked him as he is. No need to use his ability or do something for you.

🃏 Sigma would observe your messages. To make sure, that people won't try to scam you.

🃏 One time, on The Internet, you were discussing with other people what would you do, if you had a chance to see Sigma in real life. Sigma was disgusted by some responses. But then, he heard you.

"I would give him a cookie and ask for a hug".

Congrats, Sigma is now as red as a tomato.

🃏 Sigma will memorize everything about you. He doesn't want to lose you. Near you, he has a scene of purpose.

🃏 His purpose - be in your life. To make you feel happy.

____________

Sigma grumbles under his breath, looking another scam message from your mailbox.

The same person has been trying to scam you for a while.

Sigma send the scam letter to Fyodor. He will help to deal with thief.

Parasite, that want to hurt you. Who wants to steal from you. He deserved to be punished.

Sigma looked at the Little Light, floating above him. One day, he will see the true you. One day, he will bask in your emotions. And he will give you a hug you want so much.

Nikolai Gogol

Fyodor Dostoevsky

🤡 Let's just say, after some time of internal conflict, reassuring words and conversations with other characters, Gogol will see you as the embodiment of freedom. A real person, who doesn't need to follow the plot and can do anything they want.

🤡 Gogol is one of the characters who became obsessed with you. He believes, that he will become free, if he stays near you.

🤡 Your influence broke the plot chains. Your influence make him realize, that he is fictional. Nikolai is grateful. He will do anything for you.

🤡 Like to watch videos with Circus performances with you. If you liked some magic tricks, will learn, how to do it.

🤡 He is perfectly sane, and knew, that killing is bad. But, for your sake, he will kill.

🤡 You are Their Guiding Light. You are his bird. He will fight for your freedom. For his freedom. For freedom of other BSD characters.

____________

Nikolai Gogol was angry. He heard from Sigma, that someone tried to steal from his Birdy. He wished he can drag the thief there. To make his last moments the real Hell.

Gogol wished, that you were there. His Birdy is so weak. They don't have ability. Everyone can take their freedom away.

Gogol looked at Little Light, circling around his hands. The proof of your existence. The proof of your emotions. Untouchable...

But don't worry. They are near. Soon he will be near you. Soon no one will dare to take away your freedom.

Fukuchi Ouchi

🐀 Became self-aware earlier, than other DOA members.

🐀 At first, he was simply curious about your world. Then, he became curious about you. Then, he became obsessed with you.

🐀 You don't have an ability. You live in the world with no abilities. His perfect world. You are perfect in his eyes.

🐀 Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the hackers, who hacked BSD Mayoi Inu Kaikitan app. One of the creators of the portal.

🐀 Watch whatever you are watching. He just wants to spend time with you.

🐀 Perfection must be saved. And Dostoevsky will save you. He spent enough time to start trusting other characters. But he also won't stand back. He will protect you.

___________

Fyodor Dostoevsky smirked. Nikolai Gogol and Sigma were standing near him.

Fyodor has found the scammer. Found him and post all his personal information for everyone to see.

And put a special virus on their phone. The one, that will connect his phone to the portal. The scammer will be the perfect lab rat for a testing.

Bright light.

Scammer was laying there. Bleeding, but alive. Fyodor Dostoevsky smirked. The next second, Gogol's hand grasp scammer's head.

Little Light were floating above them, as always. And his Perfect Guiding Light will stay perfect and safe.

The next day, BSD gang find the body of a scammer. Fyodor, Nikolai and Sigma didn't hide, that it was their doing. That they have tested the portal and protected Their Guiding Light.

"Aren't you afraid, that 'Kamui' will be angry at you doing things without an order?" mocks Dazai, looking at Fukuchi.

Sigma was first.

"I was working for Kamui for three years. Never heard anything good from him. And Guiding Light were nice to me. They are more deserving of my loyalty."

Then Gogol.

"He promised me freedom. He lied. But Guiding Light is there. They are my freedom. They are more deserving of my loyalty."

And then, Dostoevsky.

"Kamui promised the world without sin. He failed. But Perfect Guiding Light already live in sinless world. They are more deserving of my loyalty."

Fukuchi Ouchi knew, that he has lost to you.

[bonny-kookoo]

Yoonkook

𝓓𝓸 𝓡𝓮 𝓜𝓲 [Part 1]

There's something happening.

Tags/Warnings: Vampire!Yoongi, Vampire!Jungkook, Human!Reader, Angst, poly AU, emotional confusion, blood (duh), fluff, romance

Length: uh 2k I think

There is no taglist for this fic.

-> Masterlist

🩸.━━━━━━━━━━.❤️.━━━━━━━━━━━.🩸

True to what you've told him in the car, you didn't really reply to any of Jungkook's messages for the rest of the day of the donation.

And while the vampire had been a little worried, Yoongi had reassured him that you seemed competent enough to seek out help if you need it, and that he shouldn't feel bad for taking the chance of your donation. You'd done what you did because you clearly wanted it- not because you felt obligated to do so.

And today, you've begun to be texting a lot more.

Jungkook is glued to his phone the entire day it seems like, and Yoongi can't say it upsets him too much. Jungkook craves friendships and social contact sometimes- something that doesn't come too easy when in a situation similar to his. People infected with vampirism tend to be avoided, no matter the circumstances of their initial infection.

It's like people stop listening after hearing that yes, it can be infectious- healthy people without the infection simply take that fact without looking into it, and run with it.

It's how the stigma had evolved in the first place- parents telling their children not to believe anything they teach about vampirism in schools, churches call infected people demons, and the elderly refuse to be taken care of by vampire staff at care homes or hospitals. Most companies won't even hire people with the infection, and they don't have to- there's no law protecting vampires, after all.

So, Jungkook has been rather lonely.

Apart from Yoongi and Seokjin, he doesn't really have any friends, and his parents had cut contact the moment he was diagnosed. So Yoongi can understand how excited he must feel at the prospect of making a new friend. And he also can't deny that he himself isn't at least slightly interested in you as well.

"How is she doing?" Yoongi asks as soon as he notices Jungkook's facial expression darken a little. The young vampire scratches the edge of his chin for a second, before he answers.

"I mean, she said 'good', but I don't know." He hums to himself. "I feel like I should like, maybe check? Ah, I don't know, this is so weird.." He mumbles more or less to himself, and Yoongi becomes interested.

It couldn't be that Jungkook and you.. no, could it?

"If you're really that worried, ask her if you can visit." Yoongi shrugs, well aware his partner won't really be able to rest easy unless he's got proof of your wellbeing. He's just compassionate like that- he's awfully empathetic towards everyone around him he cares about. It's something that's used for personal gain left and right- and Yoongi hates it.

Though he hopes you're not one to use him.

"Or.. what if we invite her over so she can eat with us?" Jungkook asks. "I don't want you to be alone." He complains, while Yoongi sighs.

"You know I don't mind being my myself, Jungkook." He reassures the younger vampire. "Go and visit her, it's not that big of a deal.." He mumbles to himself as he puts the last dishes on the side to let them dry.

"I mean, I know you don't mind it." Jungkook offers, hugging his partner from behind. "But that doesn't mean you should be so okay with it. You deserve to have friends too."

Yoongi is quiet for a moment, simply enjoys the close proximity, before he sighs. "Alright. Ask her what she likes to eat, we can order something in." He caves in, making Jungkook smile and eagerly run to grab his phone again so he can text you the new idea for the night. "Ah, and if she wants to drink something she can sleep over on the couch!" He calls to Jungkook, who gives an agreeing reply back as he texts you in the living room, sat on the couch.

Only a few hours later, you're calling Jungkook, who suddenly gets up to look out the window of the apartment the two vampires live in where he can see the bus stop. "Are you wearing the pink coat?" Jungkook asks into his phone, earning Yoongi's attention, as the younger vampire sighs. "You were supposed to tell me when we should pick you up! It's raining so much!" He whines in complaint, rushing to grab his own jacket and an umbrella, before slipping into his shoes to walk out the door, leaving Yoongi to search for the mentioned pink coat- and he finds it, standing beneath the somewhat shielded bus stop. You're stubborn, that's clear- he'd told Jungkook to not give away any hint at their address to you, because you'd surely go out to get here yourself instead of asking for someone to pick you up instead. And it turns out he was right.

Yoongi helps you take off your coat as you step inside, thanking him for the kind gesture before you slip out of your shoes. "Sorry-" you start, somewhat fixing your hair a bit. "-I just didn't want either of you guys to drive in that weather." You laugh, making Yoongi shake his head.

"No worries." He brushes it off, before he leads you into the living room. As you sit on the couch, you look around- noticing how long they both must be living together already for the entire apartment to look this.. alive.

"You have a lot of workout equipment." You notice as the oldest vampire sets a glass of water in front of you before Jungkook enters the room as well, jumping over the back of the couch to sit on it next to you.

"Yeah, that's mine, but Yoongi uses it too sometimes." He shrugs. "Mostly me though. It's like a hobby."

"Oh, that sounds nice." You agree. "You're very conscious about your body?" You wonder, and Yoongi chimes in from the side as he sits down as well, though a bit further away from you.

"He has to be, as a vampire." He says.

It's quiet for a moment, since you don't know what to say to that, really. You've noticed while Yoongi doesn't wear any identification at all, Jungkook still has his ID tag on his wrist, meaning that he's not been infected for long enough, or hasn't been evaluated either. "Oh, don't worry about that." Jungkook suddenly says a bit bashful, having noticed your eyes on the silver bracelet around his wrist. "I'm totally fine to be around. I just.. haven't gotten around to get tested yet." He tries to justify.

"Oh no, don't worry, I didn't mean to stare!" You wave him off. "I was just in thoughts." You laugh.

"Then think about what you want to eat first." Yoongi tells you a bit roughly, making Jungkook sigh as he leads you to sit on the couch together with him to look through the takeout menu on the little tablet he picks up from the coffee table.

"Yoongi just sounds a bit mean." He reassures you. "I promise he's actually a really nice guy."

"Have you been together long?" You wonder, tapping on the items you'd want to eat.

"Uh.. kind of? It's hard to explain, really." Jungkook chuckles. We're.. we have like a platonic, but also romantic kind of relationship. I know it sounds kind of weird." He sighs a bit uneasy, but you shake your head.

"Not at all, don't worry." You shrug him off. "I mean, if some people can have sex but not a relationship, why can't others have it the other way around?" You just say, making Jungkook look at you almost in wonder, before he snaps his attention back to the tablet when Yoongi reaches over his boyfriend's shoulder to tap some items into the order himself, resting his chin on Jungkook's shoulder for a moment.

"Oh, let me get my wallet real quick-" You move to get up to fetch your bag- but a hand grabs at your sweater easily, keeping you on the couch. You look back to spot Yoongis eyes on you, chin still on Jungkook's shoulder, before he shakes his head and stands up properly again, letting go of both of you.

"Don't bother. It's fine." He reassures you, leaving to do something in the kitchen you can't see.

"Alright, next time you come over to my place then, and I'll cook." You tell Jungkook. "Please- or I'll feel bad eternally, and you'll never hear the end of it! I'll haunt you to pay back the food, I swear!" You threaten the vampire, who can't help but laugh at the finger pointing at his chest.

"You're cute." He comments, causing you to laugh as well.

Later on, you're all a little tipsy from the beer, and sluggish from all the food you've eaten. You're nodding off against Jungkook's shoulder as the movie slowly comes to an end, your eyes closed as unbeknownst to you, Yoongi adjusts the blanket over your shoulders to make sure you stay comfortable.

You're very easy to be around, even for him- and he's actually not that social, usually hates anybody visiting at all. But he'd invited you simply to kind of pay you back- but now that you're here, he doesn't actually mind you all that much, if at all.

Jungkook seems very comfortable with you as well- the younger vampire having easily fallen into conversation with you as you two drank and laughed over jokes only you two seemed to understand. But even then, you always remembered and attempted to make Yoongi feel included.

And maybe that's the most unique thing.

It's only one single day, a little more than five hours, and he already has an odd feeling about you. And the weirdest thing about it, is that he feels so good around you it's intimidating to him. He never really felt so drawn to a person before than he does to you- he wants to hear you talk even if it's about nonsense, he wants to know how you feel, what you like, what you hate, what annoys you, and what makes you happy.

For a second, truly so, he thought it was just some.. dumb sexual need. A fantasy almost that his mind, or rather dick, came up with- because you are, absolutely, pretty. He'd never be able to deny that.

But he doesn't actually really think about that- not entirely at least. You get along so well with Jungkook and himself, as if there's nothing different about them compared to you at all. And maybe, just maybe, there's a chance at this already odd relationship he has with Jungkook could become just a bit weirder, because in a way, Yoongi can't help but feel like nothing is impossible when it comes to you.

Though, that creates a new predicament.

How does he propose this idea, without potentially scaring both of you off?

[anathemaspeaks]

what was i made for?

character(s): toji fushiguro synopsis: toji doesn't believe he deserves love - until you come along. word count: 0.6k warning(s): none, it's purely fluff a/n: tried something new lemme know how you feel about thisss

reblogs, follows, and likes are appreciated :)

i used to float, now i just fall down i used to know, but i'm not sure now what was i made for?

toji who thinks he is not worthy of love. he is not a man deserving enough to have someone to care for him, someone who chooses to stay with him simply because they want to, not because they gain something out of it. all he did was cause pain, anyways. he was better off alone.

what was i made for?

his path had been one of solitude for god knows how long. looked down upon by everyone, barely surviving physically and mentally - a man, no, a monster who gave up his own son. people like him don't get second chances.

nobody can love a monster. nobody even wants to be around one.

taking a drive, i was an ideal looked so alive, turns out i'm not real just something you paid for

toji who had no one left in this world, nothing to live for, nothing but a shell of the man he used to be - the man he could have been. he was useless. empty. a man without a purpose. someone else's puppet. he didn't have any power over his own life. he was pathetic.

what was i made for? cause i don't know how to feel but i wanna try

vacant, brutal words engraved onto his soul. he was a monster, and he always will be. that is just how his life will be - his destiny. he would just be alive, never quite living, silently wishing he could end it all.

i don't know how to feel but someday, i might

and then you - who crashes into his life in all your frustratingly captivating glory and finds a home in his heart. you thought toji fushiguro was no monster, he was just a man who had been hurt and misunderstood far too many times. a broken man. you saw right through his tough façade. you were the first person who showed him how it felt to be seen as something other than a fraud of a human.

when did it end? all the enjoyment i'm sad again, don't tell my boyfriend it's not what he's made for what was i made for?

falling in love with you was the easiest thing he ever had to do. you, with your kind eyes and gentle smile. you, with your warm words and and comforting presence. you, who never pitied him. quite the opposite, really. a man who had been through so much, and who still fought so hard every single day, how could you not be wonderstruck and completely infatuated by him?

you, the only person who made him feel safe.

cause i don't know how to feel but i wanna try

toji, who would rather die than ever see you cry. toji, who doesn't really know what love is, but gives you the whole world. toji, who isn't used to healthy communication, but for you, he tries. toji, who still has a lot to learn, but is perfect in your eyes. toji, who is only happy when he's with you. toji, who is always there for you. toji hadn't been sure of anything in his life until you.

i don't know how to feel but someday, i might

toji who gets his spark back. he knows who he is, and it's all because of you. toji who fixes his life, but can he even call it his when it's all for you? toji who doesn't even have to think twice about it when he asks you to marry him.

and you don't have to think twice about it when you say yes.

think i forgot how to be happy something i'm not, but something i can be

toji who would gladly spend the rest of his life with you. he was a man who had nothing, but with you in his arms, he has the whole world. a man considered to be stoic and unaffectionate, absolute putty in your hands. you would always have him wrapped around your finger.

and he would have it no other way.

something i wait for something i'm made for

toji, who finally gets the happy ever after he thought he didn't deserve.

this is all based on a true story btw, we're getting married soon 💋

[brionysea]

if you know me, you may know that I love animation. I think it's beautiful and deserves a lot more respect as an artistic medium than it gets. I still live with my parents, and they don't agree; they think it's for children, which makes it worth less. I put on my favourite film (Into The Spider-Verse) while they were in the room once, in a sneaky attempt to share something I love with them, and they were just on their phones the entire time. if I'd been more open about what I was doing they might have tried more, but as it stands, it didn't even cross their minds that something animated could be worth their time.

I say all this to lead into the fact that I've also never been able to get them to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. again, I was watching something I liked while my mum was in the room, but just because I wanted to this time. I was watching the North Pole episodes. my mum likes badass female characters in media, so I told her to pay attention to Katara's fight with Pakku, but even that didn't pull her in (although she did note that Katara was "fiery"). she was bored, wanted the TV for something she liked now (I'd had it for a while), but I wanted to finish the 2-parter first. we decided on one more episode. we reached the part where Zuko kidnaps Aang and runs into a blizzard with him, and Katara, Sokka, and Yue find them. Katara, of course, outmatches Zuko in seconds. Sokka frees Aang and suggests leaving Zuko to die in the blizzard, and Aang - being who he is - says, "No. We can't leave him here."

and my mum, barely looking up from her phone, says, "Why not? He'd leave you."

bear in mind, she hasn't watched the show. she doesn't know these people. she doesn't know Zuko. this is a single glimpse into a single moment of his life, one of countless mistakes made by a lost teenager, where someone else had to decide whether or not he was worth saving. I got this sinking feeling, imagining a world where Aang didn't listen to his beliefs in this moment; a world where Zuko died in the blizzard, where Iroh lost another son, where Aang never got the chance to learn firebending from him - a world where Zuko never realised his destiny, all because he was left for dead in a snowstorm.

but my mum didn't know this show, didn't know all the reasons why that shouldn't happen, so all I could think of to say in response was a small, devastated, "He's sixteen."

and I'm looking back on that feeling now, at the judgement made on a boy she didn't even know, and I'm thinking: what gives you the right to decide he's done? that he's not allowed to grow anymore? that he won't be missed? that he should die, and that Aang should be complicit in it?

this may seem silly. animated or not, Avatar is just a show. but it's a show that got me invested, a show that made me care about the characters and what they have to say about morality and philosophy and the world. it's a show that made me not want Zuko to die alone in a snowstorm. it's a show that made me not want Aang to become a murderer at 12 years old.

but that mentality of judging people by their worst moments, of not seeing them as full human beings who have worth and a future and limitless potential for change because you, personally, haven't seen it, translates to real people too.

it's reductive.

I think of it like this: what they decide says something about who they are, but what you decide says something about who you are. are you the kind of person who would let someone die when you had the chance to save them? are you the kind of person who invites more pain into the world? who allows it without protest? who believes it's possible to reach a point where people don't deserve your compassion anymore?

Aang isn't.

I didn't have much of a plan going into this post, but looking at it in full, I think this is the value of redemption arcs. and while on a practical level, you can understand why so many people pushed back against it at the end of the show, I think this is the value of Aang's philosophy: it lets you be more.

[theultradork]

Thoughts on Marvel's Spider-Man 2

The way Spider-Man 2 touches on themes of reform, people being able to change, dealing with hatred of people who wronged you, and even dealing with the trauma that would come with being a superhero, and does it all in a way that flows into the narrative... beautiful.

I feel that it actually manages to do something a lot of superhero media doesn't really bother with, which is actually justify the hero's stance? People always like to mock Spider-Man and Batman for having that no-kill rule, but this game actually goes out of its way to show WHY.

WHY does Spider-Man believe people deserve a second chance? WHY will he not kill? Is he TEMPTED to do so? Has there ever been a case where this belief in helping even his enemies has paid off? All of that is addressed in this game, and done beautifully.

It reminded me of some of the better themes in Spider-Man comics back in the day. You had villains like Sandman who actually went good, even became heroic figures. You had people like Hobie Brown, the Prowler, who were ALMOST villains until they were set in the right path.

Seeing that belief that people can change validated, seeing Peter's care for these supervillains pay off and have meaning, that was amazing. Sadly, later runs took that away, but this game brought it back in a big, beautiful way.

It even touched on the difficulties of not only being a superhero, but being in a relationship with one in any capacity. You see (or hear) the anxiety Miles' friends and mom go through, you see MJ trying to cope with all this and the changes in Peter, it's just such a HUMAN story.

And seeing Venom as the embodiment of toxicity, someone being controlling, abusive, and yet thinking, insisting they're doing it out of love added an extra layer of horror to the game. As much as it's a fantastical story, it's grounded in some very real horrors in this world.

It's so hard to say more without heavily getting into spoiler territory, but man... Words cannot express how much I love this game.

Insomniac nailed it, man. They just DID.

[weenwrites]

REQUEST: TFP! Optimus and TFP! Ultra Magnus with a human S/O who doesn't believe in (and also condemns) the "family by bond, not by blood" principle; S/O despises said concept, saying that said concept is used to manipulate people, and also make people feel weak.

In addition, both Autobots find the reason why S/O condemns this human concept: This is because S/O's family made them act this way due to S/O's toxic relationships with their family, preventing S/O from making friendships (In severe cases, it leads to unlawful acts commited by S/O's family, not by S/O). Following their discovery, S/O justifies that they live with fear 24/7 before saying this phrase: "Not everyone in this ever-declining world are good people; also not everyone deserves to live. And not everyone deserves a second chance, nor a redemption. I hope you keep this in mind."

For context: Remember that episode from TFP, where Ultra Magnus learns and understands the "family" concept from Optimus following his fight with Predaking? This request was inspired from that episode.

Notes: Abusive relationships; angst, etc.

Feel free if this makes you feel uncomfortable.

✎ A/N: I'm not actually sure whether I should tag with any TWs this since I vaguely mention abusive relationships in what I wrote. But if you think I should tag this post, please let me know!

[ Please do not repost, plagiarize, or use my writing for AI! Translating my work with proper credit is acceptable, but please ask first! ]

Optimus Prime

During his time on Earth, he's noticed that everyone seems to have a different definition of the term "family". Some definitions—like yours, for example—directly contradict the dictionary definition of the word "family". He's wondered if the difference in the definitions is because of the ideal vs. the definition of the actual word itself, and so far that seems to be the case to him.

He doesn't think any differently of you for the way you view family because of your life experiences. He respects the way you see it, and he's much fonder of your idea of "family" more than the dictionary definition of it. And though he hasn't experienced what you have, he can see how the term "family by blood" can be harmful to those who have horrible families.

However, some of his beliefs contradict a couple of yours. For example, he's willing to give almost—emphasis on almost—anyone a second chance if he sees that they're willing to take the initiative to change. He's willing to give second chances to even people who you think might not deserve them. And whether this causes friction in your relationship depends on how the both of you deal with your differences.

And when you tell him that some people don't deserve second chances, that doesn't come as anything new to him. He's heard it before from soldiers and even Ratchet's tried to get it through to him. He knows, yet regardless of how many times he hears this, he will still abide by his moral compass, and do things as he deems necessary.

Ultra Magnus

The human concept of "family" was once all too confusing to him. One second, the kids told him that "family" are people who are genetically related to them. The next, they said that they consider the other autobots their family (a statement which directly contradicts their previous definition of the word...). So what is he supposed to believe here? That one chooses their own family? Or that family is something you can't change?

But when he meets you, he finds that your definition of "family" is much easier and straight-forward to understand. And after learning about all the horrible things that your "family" put you through... He can understand why you would hate that principle, and why you would hate to have those people be associated as your "family" because you share the same blood.

He would actually agree with the way you view the world. It's full of complicated people. He's seen some of the most disgusting and despicable people in the war from both the autobot and decepticon factions, and at times he can't quite understand why some people such as Optimus strive to give horrible people a second chance. Perhaps he's being too distrustful, but he's just being cautious. After all, he's in a war where he doesn't know if today will be his last or if he'll still have a base to return to the next day.

[beneathcandycoatedclouds]

Ok hear me out I've been thinking so much about Astarion for obvious reasons but also about consent and how important that is to him as a character

I was talking to my husband about how I love him because he always waits for you to ask for things before doing them (feeding, relationship stuff, etc.) And even tho all the characters do that it feels extra special with him given his trauma and being a vampire, which usually means you hunt people for sport and are not asking permission, and my husband was like "yeah except for the first time"

And here's the thing about that - Astarion is a rogue. A real sneaky boy. Mechanically has sneak attack. His bite bonus action has a 100% chance of hitting. You shouldn't wake up until he has latched on to you already. Which leads me to believe... That he meant to wake you up that first time. He meant to wake you up so that there would be a chance to reveal his nature and to ask if he can have some blood so he doesn't fuckin' die. But given that the dude isn't used to trust or vulnerability and revealing that he is a vampire is already a MASSIVE show of that, he needed to find a way to make it seem like he wasn't asking permission. In a weird way, he wanted to ask for consent without being fully vulnerable. And to me this was the first display, way early on, that he was just waiting for someone to trust him and trust in his abilities to make the right choice. He knows what that choice is he just needs people to trust him to make it (which is also another de-LICIOUS theme with all the other companions as well and the overarching theme of overcoming the darkness within us as a whole).

And on top of all this he later reveals that he has never tasted blood from someone before!!! Only animals!!! Like even when he had to do terrible things for Cazador or was out searching the streets for victims he never caved once! He was living off of the putrid rats Cazador gave him and denied his hunger when out in public because it was important to him that he didn't hurt people when he didn't absolutely have to from evil papa C!

And like yeah. Sometimes he wants murder and chaos and children to die in act I. But also hear me out - one of the things so many approval guides messes up in explaining what he approves of is "is this person typically classified as a monster? Are you killing them without looking for an explanation or giving them another chance, even if they might not deserve it?" And usually it's things like sparing the act I hag or other "monsters". That's why he is so blatantly racist to the Gur - and please don't misunderstand I think it's rough to hear that part - but looking at it from his perspective as well, Gur monster hunters kill "monsters" without a second thought. If Astarion was alone they would have just murdered him without thinking or realizing that he wasn't everything they thought he was or knowing he had never tasted human blood.

Now we are far away from the original post idea from consent but this all leads to the final point of like. People characterizing him as chaotic evil and just how much the alignment system really can do people dirty. Like no! It can all be traced back to a deep good desire of wanting to give people another chance and giving people an opportunity to make their own choices and be better! He has no idea but that desire is there! Basically it's like the option you can say to Minsc - there's good and bad in everyone it's just what people want to listen to

[yesterdayiwrote]

Ok I don’t really have a lot of proof to back any of this up but I feel like there’s something going on with George behind the scenes ? He doesn’t seem as active on social media lately , and when he is it’s always just about work , and again I don’t really known why but I get this feeling like whenever I see him in interviews during the race weekends he seems very PR than normal as if he’s got a wall up ? He just doesn’t seem as relaxed and happy as normal to me . Maybe I’m just imagining it but I don’t know if the Mercedes pressure behind the scenes is getting to him or if there’s something else ..

Hmmm, honestly, I don't know and George especially is one of the more private drivers about what's going on in his life so its even harder to judge.

I would say the social media thing has been the case for a while now, and if you see tye shit the poor guy gets everytime he posts anything, I don't think it's hard to see why he might be pulling back from using it even more, even via a social media manager because its not nice for anyone to have to trawl through the stuff that gets put in his comments without a second thought.

I also think people have this weird misconception that just because a driver isn't active online like you or I, that they don't know what's getting said about them, when in reality they have people whose entire job it is to tell them what kind of impression they're making online and what people's perceptions of them are. I'm sure hearing all the unhinged bullshit that people keep creating about him is taking its toll on the poor guy. I might be biased because I'm a fan, but the amount of unwarranted negative crap that's posted online about this guy recently is genuinely unhealthy and it's at a sustained level.

If he's deemed to have caused a crash, he's harassed, if he's deemed to have been the wronged party in a crash, he's harassed. If he beats his teammate, he gets abuse, if he gets beaten by his teammate, he gets abuse. Good race, he's lucky, bad race, he's washed. If he keeps it bottled up, he's he's PR robot, if he shows his human side, he's overreacting and too emotional... and that's before you factor in the people who genuinely believe he's sleeping with his boss, the people who think he for some reason singlehandedly engineered Mercedes bad run of cars, and the people who think he has some unspecified vendetta against the guy he can't speak highly enough of at any given opportunity. Oh and the people who think it's okay to film him taking a piss and post it online to joke about. It must be genuinely exhausting to be George right now, especially as a guy who's been quite honest about the fact that he tries really hard to not upset people or cause offence. Even breathing seems to set people off these days.

Then there's the fact that the car sucks yet again. People seem to think this only bothers one driver, but I'm sure George is equally as pissed that he waited so long, put his trust and patience with Merc and this is how they've repaid him. He's barely had a chance to win six races with them, let alone six WDC.

His teammate has decided to leave and somehow in the crossfire, he's looking like he could end up losing his own seat in the mess to replace him for no valid reason whatsoever. I'm sure he's absolutely livid, as any driver would be.

He looks completely jet lagged, because he's been flying back between races which doesn't help. It also looks like he flew into Japan quite late which really wouldn't have helped matters either. He's burning the candle at both ends, under immense stress and pressure... honestly, he probably isn't very relaxed and happy right now.

I hope he starts to have some good fortune soon. I really feel for the guy, and the fact a bunch of armchair critics seem to have decided that he somehow deserves all this, for committing the cardinal sin of believing in himself, makes it even harder to really wrap your head around. As I said the other day, he's inexplicably become the bête noire du jour in online spaces, and I'm sure that feels like utter shit when it's not really identifiably clear what you've done to trigger it?

[cottoncandyafterdark]

Acting as a Big Sibling Figure to: Kyoka, Kenji, Q

Character(s): Kyoka Izumi; Kenji Miyazawa; Yumeno Kyuusaku/Q (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Tags: SFW, platonic, familial-ish, headcanons

Warnings: None

Notes: Originally posted on ao3 here; this is old and I'm not caught up with the manga now so sorry if anything seems strange

Kyoka (& Atsushi)

When Atsushi brought Kyoka to the Agency, your first thought, like everyone else's, was pretty much just that she was adorable. You didn't know much about what she had been through, but you were made vaguely aware that she had been an assassin for the Port Mafia, which you could hardly believe- she was just so young, and looked so cute and innocent.

You also soon realized that despite seeming distant and unemotional, she really is just a kid at heart- a kid who has already been through way too much in her life.

The first few times you tried to talk to her, she didn't exactly pull away or shut down or anything, but it was kind of hard to hold a conversation. She didn't do too well with small talk, and it was hard to figure out what to else to talk to her about.

So, it took a while, but with enough time and effort, Kyoka will start to open up to you a little, and you'll start to see her emotions shining through when she talks to you. She'll smile, just a tiny bit and for a few seconds at most, and it will feel like the greatest success of your life.

At that point, the hard part is basically over: once you've started connecting with her, it'll only get easier to get to know her properly from there.

You start taking her out to try doing some regular kid/teen stuff she hadn't gotten the chance to do in a long, long time, and maybe not ever for some of them- go to an arcade, see a movie, little things like that. She doesn't end up liking everything you two do, but she she still appreciates it every time.

Basically: relationship ended with Kouyou, now you are Kyoka's stand-in older sibling

Atsushi often joins you on these adventures if he isn't busy, since he's friends with Kyoka. You're happy to have him along; not only does he make Kyoka feel more comfortable, he probably hasn't gotten to do lots of those things either, so it's a good opportunity for both of them.

You can take them out to lunch if you want to, but you might end up having to put some limits on how much they can order because Kyoka will happily eat enough boiled tofu to bankrupt you.

You make sure that Kyoka and Atsushi both know that people care about them very deeply (it's you, you're people), and that they have inherent worth as humans and deserve to live a happy life. And the people in their pasts who hurt and traumatized them, and made them believe otherwise, better hope to never meet you because if you ever run into them those people will die by your hands.

Kenji

As soon as Kenji joined the Agency, not too long after you did, you knew he had to be protected. With that sunshine-y smile, those cute lil freckles, and that simplistic, some might say naive outlook on the world, how could you not? He's babey!

You might think that opinion would change a little the first time you were sent on a mission with him and you saw him toss a car around like it weighed nothing, but if anything, you were just more convinced afterwards. It was incredibly clear by then that he had no clue how cruel the world could be, and you didn't want him to learn that the hard way.

When you started hanging around him more, Kenji was, of course, immediately friendly and welcoming. You had no real trouble making friends with him, and over the next few weeks, the two of you quickly bonded.

You would show him around the city, helping him learn the layout so he wouldn't get lost, and introducing him to any "city things" he didn't know about yet.

"Money can be exchanged for goods and services" was surprisingly difficult to explain to him. Trying to explain why currency has value to someone who's not familiar with the concept is a nightmare.

Sometimes you would take him on little field trips on your days off. Museums, aquariums, parks- anything the city had to offer that he wouldn't have gotten to see back home.

His favorite place was the zoo. There were so many animals that he'd only heard about in stories, and some he'd never heard of at all before!

He also liked all the different kinds of food that were available in the city. Really liked them. You pretty quickly learned to only take him to cheap restaurants, otherwise he would empty your whole wallet in one meal.

This whole time, you were also trying to gently introduce him to the idea that maybe he shouldn't automatically trust every stranger he sees. You didn't think this would be a difficult concept to grasp, but he just didn't quite seem to get it. He knows there's bad people in the world, he isn't stupid, but he doesn't see why he should ever assume that someone is bad.

So, faced with that stubbornness, you just had to resolve to keep him safe by personally trying to make sure he didn't get too close to anyone who would use his kindness against him… and occasionally beating the crap out of anyone who would do anything to hurt him.

With how protective you are and how the two of you always seemed to be together, you started to occasionally be mistaken for his actual older sibling, and the other members of the Agency started jokingly calling you such as well. Kenji, for his part, quickly accepted this, and even started calling you nii/nee-chan.

Q

Obviously, you already knew it wouldn't be all sunshine and roses when you joined the Port Mafia. But even after everything you'd seen in the mafia, you couldn't help but feel a little sick to your stomach when you found out about Q.

A kid being locked up all the time, no family, no friends, no one looking out for them? No matter what they did, no one that young deserves to be treated like that. So, you decided to ignore your colleagues' warnings, and whenever you had some spare time, you started trying to talk to Q.

At first, they were mostly just confused, and maybe a little suspicious, as to why you were being so nice to them. No one spoke to them so kindly, so they figured you must have an ulterior motive, and they resisted your attempts to befriend them.

If you managed to keep at it for long enough without being invasive or pushy, though, eventually, little by little, the walls would start to come down. The suspicion and confusion slowly become curiosity, first. Q just wants to figure out why you're so insistent on being their friend. By the time they fully realize you really so just want to help them, they've already gotten attached to you.

They start to really look forward to your visits, and get upset if you can't come see them for more than a few days in a row.

When you do come see them after a long gap, they'll be mad at first, so it's recommended you bring them some snacks as a peace offering. They otherwise never get to have sweets, so their anger pretty much fades immediately as soon as they get their hands on some candy. After you've calmed them down, they'll want to hear all about whatever adventure you went on that kept you from them. Don't spare the violence if it was a mafia mission- that's their favorite part to hear about.

Eventually, the other members of the Mafia take notice that Q really likes you. They all know you're making regular visits to talk to the kid the whole time, but it takes a while before anyone sees you two hanging out and realizes that Q looks genuinely happy- and that Q is now even less happy than they were before whenever you aren't around.

It took some work convincing the higher-ups, but they eventually decided that just letting Q tag along with you around headquarters would keep the kid happy enough to prevent any unfortunate incidents. (You certainly still won't be allowed to take them anywhere outside headquarters without a damned good reason, sadly.)

The two of you quickly become a well-known duo, and people quickly learn that if they mess with one of you, they'll have to face the other's wrath. There's plenty of people in the mafia who lost friends, even family because of Q's ability, who are still holding a grudge, but God help them if they try to actually do something about it, because you will not let anyone harm this kid.

And if somebody, for whatever reason, tried to hurt you, Q would absolutely lose it. Considering the whole point of letting them hang around you was to keep them from hurting any other members of the mafia, this would ultimately be a situation you'd just have to defuse one way or another before it really broke bad, but it's at least nice to know that they care.

If Q ever was sent on another mission, you would be sent right along with them, to make sure they stay in line and it doesn't end up as a repeat of last time. If the two of you do a good enough job, you could get sent on more missions together- and if you keep succeeding, and Q behaves in general, you might even eventually be able to convince Mori to give them a little more freedom. After all, from the beginning, all you really wanted was to make their life a little better.

[hexofvex]

Struck by fear || Xiao x Gender Neutral!Reader

Premise: Xiao comes to your rescue when you call his name during a storm

CW: reader has trauma with lightning, scars

WC: 785 words

A/N: Lantern Rite happened so I'm in my Xiao brainrot era. Also I somehow got him instead of the C2 Qiqi I was expecting so slay ig?

──────────────────

Xiao's duty is never over.

Regardless of what is happening, it's defending Liyue that he keeps his focus on. He's defeating ruin guard after ruin guard, with no concern for the drops of water wetting his hair or the loud sounds of thunder in the distance.

But when he hears your call for help, he feels his heart stop in his chest for a moment. Xiao swiftly cuts down the two remaining ruin guards before appearing in your location. Spear in hand, he looks around for who or what is hurting you, but he is surprised to see the field you are in is completly empty. Silent, except for the loud rainfall.

Xiao turns to you, with half a mind to scold you for calling him in vain (of course, it's not that he minds, but the scare the prospect of you being harmed gave him), but when he sees the terrified look on your face, he stops dead in his tracks.

"Xiao!" You grab his shoulders and he can feel your panic in your grip. "I'm sorry. Please get me out of here. Please." Your eyes are wide, the look in them wild. He doesn't understand what may have made you this horrified, but he doesn't wait another second.

He puts his arm around your waist and in the next moment your surroundings change from the empty field to your room at Wangshu Inn. You break away from Xiao's hold and walk around the room fidgeting with your hands.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to call your name for that. I tried to make it on my own, I believed I could! But then it struck right in front of me and I-"

"[Name], slow down. What happened to you?" Xiao knows it is up to him now to be your pillar, but he cannot help but feel shaken at the sight of you. You were a professional fighter, braving any comission without a complaint. Whatever could make you act like this, it had to have been extremly disturbing.

You sit down on your bed, and draw it a deep breath. "Lightning. It struck right in front of me." You face contorts in anger. "Ridiculous. If I knew that was going to happen I would have stayed near the mountains, find a cave. I didn't know what mess that harmless rain would turn into."

Xiao couldn't understand what about lightning could scare a mortal, especially one like you. You, who constanly brush off his concerns. He notices the chance in your expression when you see his confusion.

"You don't understand. Well, you deserve to know the context."

"You needn't reveal anything you do not wish to-"

"No. I want to." You sigh, looking down at your hands. "Remember how I told you I used to frequent fighting rings? Well, there was one, a few years back. As usual, not having a vision meant fighting people that also didn't weild one. But one day I pissed off the wrong person. They couldn't beat me in a fight." Your voice cracks. "So they got someone else to do it for them."

You pull up your sleeves, revealing numerous scars, jagged lines slithering around your arm like the roots of a tree. Xiao's breath stops.

"They're all around my back, chest, other arm." You shake your head. "I didn't stand a chance. And now I can't even walk around freely because I'm fucking terrified of lightning. I...I didn't mean to waste your time-"

"You didn't." Xiao's voice is harsher than he wanted it to come across. He swore to never kill humans but he can't help the urge for revenge that he feels at the thought of you, helpless against an opponent you weren’t supposed to face. "I promised I would protect you. I told you to call my name and you did as I asked."

"So I didn't intrerrupt your Liyue protecting duties?" You make an attempt at a smile, to relieve the heavy atmosphere in the room.

The Yaksha sighs. "Of course not. You could never waste my time, I was simply worried for your safety."

"That's very sweet of you, you know. I'm lucky to have you in my corner."

Xiao feels his blood rush to his face. "It is a small thing to do for a...a friend." Saying the word makes it seem even more real, and the adeptus attempts to shove down the thoughts warning him that it's not wise to get so involved with mortal beings. He knows, and yet, when he watches you regard him with a smile so big it looks ridiculous (how long you've wished to hear that word), he finds it hard to regret it.

[beevean]

I know TvTropes is edited by different people, but I would dearly love to understand their general logic.

You find this in the YMMV page of Lament of Innocence:

Mathias is not afforded much grace for acting out of desperate grief, to the point that apparently some thought he didn't even deserve a second chance in the form of Soma.

Now, I would argue that LoI doesn't even expect you to cry over Mathias. It's very obvious that he has become a despicable person, using his friend as a pawn, causing the death of said friend's fiancée and not shedding a compassionate tear over her, and even believing he would be joined in immortality. But yes, I agree, Mathias is pitiable only to an extent: "wife died" is not exactly a compelling argument for rejecting humanity to the degree that he did.

... but then what about this, TvTropes? From the YMMV page of NFCV?

(you'd think Mathias would also get the moniker of Jerkass Woobie. nope)

One, NFCV didn't come up with the idea of Dracula lashing out due to the grief of Lisa's death. It comes from SoTN. NFCV only put more emphasis on it. Stop giving the show undeserved credit.

Two, really? Really. N!Dracula is really that sympathetic, that most of the voices he gets are all about how much of a poow bapyboy he is? What the hell do you mean, "he makes a good case against humanity"???? This piece of shit wanted to exterminate humankind and vampirekind (because he was aware that they'd all starve to death, he just refused to give a fuck) because one village didn't rise up against a bishop! When he yells "there are no innocents, not anymore", do you take him seriously?????

He does get a Moral Even Horizon voice, but it feels half-hearted, to say the least:

If you think it's hard not to sympathize with him and that being brought back as a treat rectifies it, then by definition it's not a Moral Event Horizon, because the very definition of the trope is that it's an act that makes a character completely and utterly unforgivable, on par with Griffith sacrificing the Band of the Hawk and raping Casca, to make a famous example.

(funnily enough they do the same with Lenore under the same trope, saying that apparently she understood that she crossed the line and tried to make amends. There's not, however, mention of Isaac killing innocent people and defiling their corpses for his selfish purposes. Inch-resting.)

I really, really am made uncomfortable by the serious apologism N!Dracula gets, and only because he cries a little more than his game counterpart. "He makes a good case against humanity", huh? Do you have any idea how many genocides started from motivations that were seen as reasonable? How many dictators tried, and are trying, to kill many for the perceived sins of few? Yes, I am fully aware that N!Dracula is a fictional villain, and he benefits from a cool design, suave voice, and multiple Pet The Dog Moments, I'm not really saying that his fans condone real crimes... but just like Lenore fans who justify her abuse and rape with real life rape apologism arguments such as "Hector consented at first" or "she wanted his own good", the rhetoric used here is honestly appalling.

But yes, on a pettier note, I'm also salty that game Dracula isn't afforded the same sympathy, even though he too is bereaved by grief. He just doesn't express it in a pitiable enough way. It's easier to go all 🥺 at a depressed man moping in a chair, isn't it? Ignore how said depressed man has hired two misanthropes to Forge demons to routinely send to slaughter innocent humans! It's off-screen, after all :) you don't need to see it :)

But you know who gets called Unintentionally Unsympathetic in the show?

And here I say what I said about Mathias: there is nothing "unintentional" about this, the show has zero pity for the peasants who were slaughtered. Much like you, person who roots for Dracula, the writing too painted them as stupid because believing the CHURCH BAD, and therefore, like all stupid people, deserving of gruesome punishment. Peasants are low-class and religious, and as such deserve death. "Cool" murderers like Dracula and Isaac, who are so intelligent and above the petty masses, instead deserve everything on a silver platter.

I really despise this show and the messages it sends. And the general anti-game bias, of course.