#i prolly care too much about making characters as canon-compliant as possible

[silverhands-slut]

how to explain the character-study-meets-oc-meets-horny-hours that is basically just a character study but if you made an old man a bit sluttier

[petite-neko]

Chapter Characters: Law, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin (Sugar, Corazon) Pairing: (eventual) LawLu Rating: M Warnings: Vampire AU, (Mostly) canon compliant, Angst, Survivor Guilt, Blood, (Kinda) drug use/addiction, dependency, child grooming, child abuse, abusive relationship, major character death, bullying (Other warnings may be added) A/N:  Well. I am taking some liberties here, seeing as Law's novel was recently translated. I did tweak the chapter a bit here and there. (Law meets the trio a bit later on than he does in canon, as he doesn't quite go through the same life xD) Also, I included one part of my own head canon into here, and I didn't wanna change it in accordance to the new canon. I kinda had it already integrated into my fic so :x I'd have to do a few too many minor tweaks.Again: Much thanks to Oturai for bearing through my loopy typing/writing. (I'm doped up on painkillers, and will prolly be for another week. Fucked up my shoulder)

.xxx. > Time/scene skip

.+++. > PoV change

(Wanna buy me a ko-fi? Link in blog description!)

Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6

She was no longer hungry.

She was no longer in a frenzy.

She was no longer driven by instinct.

And yet, Law still found himself avoiding Sugar. Sure, he knew. He knew all of that. He knew it would be fine now. That Sugar wouldn’t attack him. That he had no further reason to maintain a distance.

But, whenever he looked at her, all he could see was a vampire.

The vampires whispered amongst the humans in terror: Ravenous, hungry, heartless, inhumane.

Eyes solely focused on him in hunger, desperation and need. His own confusion, at first, but then that cold, creeping comprehension as her face contorted. As she hissed and growled at him. The way she had lost all control; been driven to her most basic functions. As her teeth began to extend, and the shock. The disbelief. The way that time seemed to slow down. The way Corazon’s voice echoed in his head: “We don’t turn children.” And then that realisation fully sinking in. Just as her teeth might into his flesh. And his own desperation. The adrenaline coursing through him, strengthening him. He couldn’t let her win. Couldn’t let her press forward. His hands - they were the only things keeping her from feeding on him. He could feel her breath on his face - mere inches away. Close. She was too close.

Food. That was all he was to her. A meal to sustain her into the next day. He was not another person. Not a living, breathing being. No. He was food, and she was hungry.

And even then, even as Corazon had separated her from him, she was hanging there, by her ankle, flailing and hissing and trying to escape his grasp to get to her meal.

In those moments, she had lost all humanity. Blinded by her need to feed.

And Law just could not forget that.

It was a harsh wakeup call. It only reminded him of the environment he was in. That Doflamingo, that Corazon, that - probably - many of his crewmates were vampires. That he was human.

He had dismissed that. Dismissed the danger he was actually in. Forgotten just what they were and just what they ate.

They went about it so... civilly. The blood they consumed was integrated into food, into wines and juices. It was never obvious. Disguised to hide their identities. Never did they openly consume directly from a human. Teeth hidden and withdrawn. They acted as, and appeared to be, humans.

Of course, Law knew differently, but that knowledge never truly sank in. Not until... Sugar.

Perhaps some of it, too, did stem from the similarities. Of just why he knew.

For he, too, consumed blood on a regular basis. His very survival was dependant on it. He craved and needed it, just as they did. Except, for different reasons, and for a different kind of blood.

Normally I never let my vassals become... hungry.

Sure, it wasn’t hunger that drove him, but the similarities were almost startling. That he was, all but in name, just like a vampire. That he, too, was being provided for by Doflamingo. Just from a different... source.

And certainly, yes, Law knew that eventually he could escape the confines if he so desired. (Of course, dismissing the fact that his body quite literally would not survive without the support.) But there was that thirst within him. One that could only be satisfied by the blood of a pure-blooded vampire. One that he had tasted once upon a time. Tasted and acted upon.

Law knew exactly what it was, but at the same time, there was nothing he could do about it. He was addicted. Addicted to the strength it gave him. That rush of adrenaline and euphoria. The life it gave him - both literally and metaphorically. And those physical dependencies were only exemplified by just how literally he needed it; by the mental addiction of life. That he knew, all too well, just what would happen to him if he stopped.

Thus, it had driven him, just as it had driven Sugar. It'd driven him to wield a knife and find any means necessary to draw the blood that he needed to survive.

Perhaps, if he had known how benevolent Corazon really was, he would have been a bit more... civil about the situation. But, he hadn’t, and so he wasn’t.

...he wondered just how Corazon could stand him after that. After seeing him in that state. Needy and desperate. Violent. Acting in the only way that he knew how.

But, Corazon had.

Maybe one day he, too, could face Sugar again.

.xxx.

It seemed that they would be docked here for a few more days. A lengthy supply run, because their future would soon be unpredictable. So, Law decided that he would explore some more of the island. He hadn’t really had an opportunity the last time he was out, after all; he’d been too angry at Doflamingo to enjoy it.

And yes - yes - it definitely was a way to avoid Sugar.

“You should be ashamed of yourself!”

As Law wandered about, he could hear some voices off in the distance. Part of him said that he should ignore it. This wasn’t his business and he came out here to relax, not to get involved with the civilians.

Now, there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

Oh, great, Law thought, somebody’s getting a beating.

He should just ignore it.

“You can’t even follow simple orders, can you?”

“You’re supposed to do as we tell you!”

Law tried to ignore it, but their voices were so loud. They hit too close to home. They were turning his stomach. They were only making him think of his possible fate. All that it would take for Doflamingo to...

He can make me do anything. Anything!

This wasn’t what he came out here for, dammit! He wanted to forget about that. Forget about vampires and blackmail, and the fact that he had no fucking choice in the matter anymore, and that...

But some fucking idiots thought that here and now was a perfect fucking time and place to bully somebody else!

...maybe he should get himself involved. Beat those fuckers up for ruining his day. And then he could get some peace and quiet and-

“You white monster!”

Oh. Oh. Those bastards were definitely getting it now. Not only did they fucking remind him of his current predicaments, but his past ones as well? The past he didn’t want to remember: The hatred. The shunning. The pain. The war.

Law rolled up his sleeves, marching over towards where the sounds were coming from.

The scene he had walked into was not one he would have expected: There were two boys about his age, beating up a... polar bear?

What the fuck?

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please stop...”

...wait a minute, was the bear talking?

“You’re so useless!”

They obviously hadn’t noticed him yet, continuing to kick the bear.

“Yeah,” the other boy pathetically agreed. “A freak, too!”

Pathetic the sight may be, Law still felt his brow twitching in irritation. Talking bear or not, nobody deserved to be treated like that. To be kicked when you were down, to be insulted all the while.

Law stepped forward. “Oh, really?” He said, drawing their attention. “I do think that I would reserve those names for the two of you.” He wore a smug expression on his face. “I mean, who the fuck beats up a polar bear?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, wait. I’ve changed my mind. Useless and freak certainly are fitting words, but I do believe pathetic is more apt.” And Law continued to grin at them. “Ganging up on a poor little polar cub, using uneven numbers to gain an advantage. What? Too afraid to take him on one-on-one? Are you guys that weak?”

Law knew that he was just goading them on, but that was his intent. And it was working. Their anger shifted over to him. Such a shame, though. These poor boys had no idea of the mistake they were making. He did doubt these boys were vampires after all, and injectors were such a rarity.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Yeah!”

Again, so pathetic, so predictable... Law could only roll his eyes at that. They were too easy. If he so desired, Law knew just how to play them.

But, simply because it would take no effort, and more importantly because of just how he knew to play them, he refrained. He would rather do things his own way, after all...

“Your worst nightmare.”

Those words were all it took for the boys to abandon their current victim and charge at him.

And of course, just like their psyches, they, too, were too easy. But Law anticipated it. Perhaps if he had been a regular human, the boys mighthave posed a challenge at best, but empowered by pureblood as he was? Hardly.

And, as the boys were licking their newfound wounds, Law flopped himself down onto a snow pile.

“What is your fucking problem, anyway?”

He looked over at the polar bear, who had stupidly stuck around. Why didn’t he run away when he had a chance? Oh well, not his problem.

“He’s just a fucking bear. Who the fuck cares if he can talk or not? I mean, there’s weirder shit out there. More dangerous shit.”

“Oh yeah?” A head snapped up. “What do you even know, kid?”

“Yeah, I mean, he obviously isn’t from around here!”

“And,” it seemed they were taking turns talking, “ya know what they say about foreigners...”

Law focused back on the two humans. “Actually, no,” he said, watching them cautiously, “no I don’t. And then, he let his lips curl once more. “Doindulge this foreigner just what your people say about us. I am mightily curious about your predispositions.”

Shock was the expression that greeted him.

“Hah?!”

“I’m a pirate,” Law explained briefly. It was obvious that they did not expect to find another child who was from elsewhere. “My crew stopped here for supplies.”

More shock, but there was another look there. They were starting to feel uneasy around him. A child foreigner was unusual, but they understood immediately what a pirate meant.

Law only let that smug expression grow. “Or,” he continued and cracked his knuckles, “I could beat it out of you.”

And unease rapidly turned into nervousness and fear.

“A-Ah!” It was enough to get them talking. “Th-They say to never trust ‘em!” He was fidgeting, but did not stop. “You never know who they are, or what they want, or what they carry...”

At the last note, Law felt himself tensing. He was feeling echoes of his past once more. And it was starting to make a lot of sense now...

“Ye-yeah!” the other boy continued, maybe even more nervous at Law’s obvious anger, “I mean - didn’t you hear about the country that got struck with a contagious disease? How the people there were trying to flee from it, carrying the disease with them? Trying to infect othercountries?”

Oh. Yeah. Yeah, it was definitely making a lot of sense now. Of course the rulers of the neighbouring countries would spread that rumour. Spread the fear of outsiders to justify their actions. It was making Law sick.

“So they-”

He hardened his gaze on the boys - and perhaps it wasn’t fair to them to face his anger. They, too, were victims of it in a sense, blinded by lies and rumours that were repeated so often they seemingly became the truth. That countries of people were exposed to this.

“They exterminated them.”

His voice, too, was hard. Angry. Full of rage that still had yet to be tamed.

“Slaughtered them. Lining children up against churches, and shooting them down one by one. But not before making them complacent with promises of hope and freedom. Burning hospitals down with patients still alive within them, laying on cots in pain. Hauling their corpses out, beyond the borders to run tests on them and study them... Oh, yes. I know all about Flevance. I was there, after all.”

And, if only to drive that nail in deeper, Law pulled up his sleeves to show the marks littering his arms.

Fear - that was all that was in those boys’ eyes now.

But then, Law scoffed, scoffed and laughed.

“Oh, do relax. If Amber Lead was as contagious as they said it was, wouldn’t you be hearing about outbreaks all over the place? It was just a lieplanted in your heads so they could justify slaughtering an entire country. The same could be said about the strangers you are so afraid of. We are people, too, just like anybody else. And I’m pretty sure this bear is the same. Right, bear?”

A squawk left the otherwise quiet animal.

“Yeah, you,” Law turned towards him and smiled, “you got a name?”

“I - uhh - Bepo.” And Bepo looked nervous. A little scared, too.

But Law only continued to smile. He even sniggered slightly before he flopped against the snow pile once more. “See?” He said as he looked up at the sky and the snow falling from it. “He’s got a name.”

He could feel gazes upon him, but Law didn’t care and he ignored it.

“And you? You boys got a name? Mine’s Law.”

“Uhh…” There was a moment of awkward pausing. “I’m uh, Shachi. And he’s Penguin, Peng for short.”

Law felt himself burst out in laughter now.

“You’re named after animals, and you beat up a talking one? You guys are the strange ones, not us ‘foreigners.’”

Nervous laughter was the response.

Perhaps it wasn't the most desired response, but it was a start.

[kennothythebard]

Things I’ve learned about writing DEH characters

THIS IS NOT A GUIDE BY ANY MEANS THIS IS JUST SOME OBSERVATIONS AND THINGS I DO.

So while researching for and writing “A Worthy Explanation” (pls read i crave validation) I’ve noticed a lot of little things that I don’t always see mentioned in writing guides for these characters so I thought I’d point some of these out. Idk how love this is going to be so I’ll prolly put a cut here.

General

I like to create kind of a “loneliness chart” and graph the kids on it (looks kinda like those political alignment things). On one axis theres introverted vs. extroverted, and on the other theres like polite vs. rude I guess? But in summary: Evan is introverted polite, Jared is extroverted rude, Alana is extroverted polite, Connor is introverted rude, and Zoe... is just kinda generally lonely. Where she falls really depends on what’s going on with her (but she typically is a less extreme introverted rude than Connor).

Obviously each character has their own faults, but I often see these faults viewed quite selectively, see “cinnamon roll evan” and “fucking larry” for two very different examples of this phenomenon. Evan is not perfect and always trying to be nice, and Larry is not a super abusive parent who deserves no happiness in this life. They’re both complex and it’s hard to let go of our misconceptions to write truer to the characters (e.g. I really, Really don’t like Larry. I see him as a lousy father who just kind of chose to be “the strict one” but does nothing but criticize and dole out punishment, ignoring his kids any other time), but that’s an important part of deh, is that people aren’t always what we perceive them to be.

Evan

Evan is often viewed as like a cinnamon roll, but in act 2 especially Evan gets mean. Like, he’s dismissive and rude and angry and just a jerk. Evan can be just as bad if not worse than some of the “angrier” characters

Ppl often talk about his lying as his biggest character flaw, but I’d argue that most of the lying we see in the show just stems from the one lie which he was kinda forced to make bc he was in a bad place (i mean, thats pretty much the entire point of awe).

The character flaw that I don’t see discussed enough is that he’s ashamed of his mental illness. He’d rather pretend it’s not there, even when it impacts every part of his life. He doesn’t do the letters the way his therapist assigned them, he’s apprehensive towards medication and stops taking it, and basically feeds into his self-destructive tendencies, arguing his mother sees his as “broke” or something to be fixed.

Jared

I love writing Jared

There’s already a lot about what a complex character he is and stage directions, but one thing that most people notice is his actions frequently contradict his words. Take the sincerely me reprise at the start of act 2. Why would he try to insert himself into the narrative at this point? What good would that do at this point? When evan dismisses him he gets annoyed and defensive. He says that he can’t do anything until Monday because he’s hanging with his camp friends (whom he claims are his “real friends,” a term he will later ascribe to himself regarding Evan in Good For You), and when Evan dismisses him again he tries to offer to help with the kickstarter, but is quickly shot down once more by Evan. Despite what seems to be a natural ending place in the conversation, he insists on continuing to talk with Evan, and when Evan cuts him off again he becomes rude and slightly threatening. This happens over the course of maybe three minutes and it’s one of the most insightful scenes to jared’s character

When writing a canon-compliant Jared, his actions and thoughts should conflict with his words. He cares about Evan but he’d never say that out loud (in more canon-compliant fics), and it hurts when he’s pushed away, which he responds to with anger.

Zoe

Zoe is one of the most difficult characters to write, imo.

She’s often portrayed in a slightly sweeter, saccharine way in fanon as just like a fun, silly girl who is just a tad sarcastic, but really you can tell that she’s Connor’s brother. She’s angry, blunt, unafraid of speaking her mind, etc. Yes, she is funny and kinda sarcastic, but her sarcasm isn’t always of the funny variety. She’s obviously angry at her parents, but this often comes across as a “doesn’t love them” variety of anger when her real feelings seem to be much more complex. 

Basically, I’m still learning a lot about writing her but I think just like the other kids she’s a little lonely, so Evan comes along and he’s there and that’s enough for her. She has such a wide range of emotions that I don’t feel are always accurately represented, even by me. (especially by me)

Alana

Hella, hella lonely. Covers it up by talking to people and doing extracurriculars. Sure, “college apps” is her excuse for why she does so much, but it’s not the real reason. If she keeps busy, she doesn’t have to be alone with her thoughts. But at the same time she has similar fears to Evan about people seeing the worst of her. “Close acquaintances” seems to be a statement about how little she makes friends, but I also see it as a defense mechanism. If she remains “close acquaintances” with people, she’ll never have to be their friend and they’ll never have to see the worst of her.

She’s cheerful and annoying, but in the way that pisses high schoolers off. Like, we all knew that one kid who was just way way too nice, and most of us were like “yeah ok they’re pretty cool i guess” but like some people just hated their positivity. It also doesn’t help that she tries to insert herself in situations she hasn’t been invited in, and does some questionable things to help her accomplish her goals. (Evan/Alana contrast: Evan does questionable things to accomplish internal goals, Alana does them to accomplish external goals)

Gets easily distracted. Forgets to sign Evan’s cast in scene 1. Her mind has a million different thoughts at any given moment. It wouldn’t be out of line to headcanon ADHD Alana (some of the things she does reminds me of the things I do when I forget my meds).

Connor

?????

We don’t see a lot to really get a huge insight into his personality. We know he was angry and had some serious mental illness.

We also know that he could recognize when he went too far and would go out of his way to make amends. (Why was he in the computer lab? Why did he sign Evan’s cast?) He may recognize a kindred spirit in Evan.

Clearly he doesnt hate his family (he goes to school despite not wanting to go, and seeing Zoe’s name is what sets him off showing possible concern), and it would not surprise me to learn that he thought his family would be better and happier without him. He clearly has intense emotions and reactions even to things that might seem minuscule or inconsequential. When writing him in canon, I think of a rubber band stretched too tight, and any characters action could loosen or tighten the pulling.

Heidi

Such an emotional character, I nearly break my own heart when I’m trying to writer her.

Theres two odd kind of paradoxes in a parent-child relationship like that between Heidi and Evan. For Heidi, the paradox is that the more she wants to do for Evan, the less she can actually be there for him. For Evan, he wants his mother to succeed and loves her so much that he might even encourage her to not worry about him or spend time with him, but then resents that she’s never there. Or at least when he meets a mother who can provide and be there.

Heidi pretty much worries herself sick over Evan. Evan comes before everything else in her life, and so it’s easy for her to feel like she failed him, which is a huge reason for her intense reaction in Good for you: evan has just confirmed her fears that she’s failed him.

Heidi tries so hard, but she isn’t perfect. She’s clearly very sensitive about money or about Evan’s father, and this sensitivity can easily change to anger or passive-aggressiveness. She has deep insecurities that we may never see or fully comprehend.

Cynthia

Mom. like shes completely a mom. like, “can i speak to your manager?” type mom.

Loves her kids and tries to be supportive but struggles communicating with two very headstrong, sarcastic kids

she probably wouldn’t say this, but takes connor’s death very personally. wonders why he would do this to her 

Is desperate for her children to listen and understand her. Which Evan is more than willing to do.

A little bit selfish? Like, thinks about what will make her better rather than accepting everybody grieves differently

Larry

Fucking larry. I don’t like him and he’s the hardest character for me to write.

Ok since I made such a big deal about it in the intro i’ll try to be nicer than id normally be

A masculine archetype. Sports dad, wants sports son, which Connor isn’t

He’s got some really ableist/misogynistic tendencies that causes the intense demonization of him in the fanon but I mean... he could be worse i guess? (that’s literally the best i can say about that so yeah i dont like him at all)

Really just oblivious. Completely ignored Connor’s need for help, does not know how to read a room, you could say he frequently has a foot in his mouth if it weren’t so intentional.

I mean...probably a good guy if you can get past all that stuff? just really, really self absorbed.

yikes that was long. Again, not really a guide, just some things I think about when writing these characters. if you read this far at all thank you for indulging me this much.