#fto bryan

okay. so. if you've seen my headcanons for the bryan's, then you know that i gave fto bryan a more vkei influenced look. i'm not really happy with it since the picrew does have limited options, but it does the job.

now as for the reason why he has more dragon-like features even though he's not in dragon force...

well, i was in a kamen rider mood a while back and decided that he'd be good for kamen rider ryuki, and uh [HUGE SPOILERS FOR RYUKI], the protagonist dies in the end. i think, i haven't finished it but i've seen the clips. bryan almost suffers the same fate, but he clings onto life with so much strength that he ends up unlocking a power up that strengthens his fire dragon slayer magic with the price of gaining more draconic features. he has a huge scar on his abdomen from when he almost died and almost never has it exposed.

his hair is also pretty long! it's covered by the jacket, but he has a long ponytail. i headcanon him to be more androgynous looking and that he was very insecure about that in the past. but now he has more confidence after joining grimshade, so he embraces it more. makeup, hair, clothing, it's just him embracing how he looks. all he's missing is his snake bite piercings.

Jakey just wanted a cup of coffee.

He just. Wanted a simple cup of coffee. He hadn’t opened the door himself, instead following someone else in.

He’d ordered his preferred sugary drink. And sat down at a table.

… he should head to work. He really really should head to work.

He didn’t stand up. He ordered another drink, and a pastry.

Ever since he’d started seeing the doors it felt…

Wrong. Being inside the Research Institute of Atlantide.

The visit of the spider, or web or whatever Mario called himself… had done nothing to settle his nerves

He.. wasn’t sure how long he was sitting there, staring at his coffee swirl in the cup

But when he heard the chair across from him drag across the chair, and he looked up, the sun was no longer just barely rising, but shining overhead

Had he.. been sitting here for hours?

.. his cup was cold in his hands.

… but as he looked at the man who had sat across from him, he felt it heat up again.

The man was beautiful.

His eyes were soft, and kind

And he smiled at Jakey sweetly. Almost familiarly.

He had scars on his neck, and soft brown hair. 

Jakey felt his face heat up.

“Uhm… hello?”

The man grinned at Jakey

“Hi! I’m Bryan.”

Jakey nodded, slowly.

He opened his mouth to say something 

When pain shot through his hands.

His coffee cup had continued to heat up. And when he looked down

He could see it boiling.

He flinched back, and swallowed a scream as he knocked into the cup, making the coffee spill onto his hands

It burned.

It felt like burning oil.

He flinched back again, as the man leaned forward, and grabbed his arm

His hand was warm. Much too warm.

Not quite burning. But much too warm.

“Don’t run.”

Jakey stared at the still smiling man

And something clicked.

“You’re the arsonist.”

“I’m an arsonist, thats a word for me, yes!”

Jakey could only shake, and stare at where the man that called himself Bryan was holding his arm

It felt. Wrong

Beyond the heat. His hand just felt.. a bit too soft.

“I want to make a statement!” 

Jakey startled at the man’s words

“You-.. what?”

“You have one, right? A tape recorder.”

“… why?”

“So i can make my statement!”

“But. Why would you-“

He did not get to finish his question, as the man’s grip on his wrist tightened.

And he screamed, at the heat.

Looking down, his coat was on fire

Before he could panic even more, Bryan had grabbed his cup, still filled with boiling coffee and poured it onto his sleeve

The liquid burned almost as much as the hand did, but it at least put the fire out.

“Stop asking questions. It doesn’t suit you.”

“So! Turn the recorder on, say the Watcher’s words.”

Jakey pulled the recorder out of his bag, still shakinb, but the pain felt secondary to getting this statement.

“S-statement of..”

“Bryan Divil. Regarding my first fire.”

“… right.. statement… statement recorded live from subject.. begins?”

the words that he had said before felt wrong on his tongue. Like they were no longer his.

“… I’m not going to pretend my parents’ were saints. But i probably would have turned out better if they’d raised me.

They didn’t though, given the fact they were both selfish enough to burn alive when I was 7 years old. I like to think it was on purpose, but I know that it wasn’t. They weren’t enlightened enough for it to have been.

I was taken in by an old bastard who looked younger than he was. He claimed his name was Helios, but i’ve always suspected that was some sort of inside joke. I’m not gonna claim he was abusive or anything, heck, the man never even actually touched me till I was an adult, but he wasn’t a good person either. The fact I didn’t get any issues from all the smoke i breathed in, in his home, is honestly insane luck.

My parents had an excess of wealth they never spent on much of real value, so, when I turned 18, i inherited quite a fortune.

And it was. So boring.

I never had to dedicate much time to thinking about my future, because well, I was set. I had enough inheritance that, realistically, getting a job wouldn’t be much good. I could just invest in a few things, and then my cash would be making itself cash.

And everyone always told me that would be the way to go.

I had absolutely no meaning in life…

Helios was the only one to tell me how worthless my life was. And I know he was being honest, because I know what he does to people with worth.

I found out my former guardian was a serial killer about a year after i moved back into my childhood home

I didnt really have to, but i was so bored all the time, I stared visiting his shitty apartment twice a month.

It was on one of these visits, that I found him covered in someone else’s blood. 

You wanna know the funniest thing? I wasn’t even upset about it. I was confused and surprised by it, but at no point, did it occur to me to be angry. I didn’t even want to call the cops.

I just pulled up a chair, and let him explain himself.

He told me about his calling. If you can really call such a pathetic excuse a calling…

He derived joy from destroying people’s worth. For all his posturing and justification, it was always that simple.

….

hah….

But he wasn’t worthy.

He knew of the things beyond understanding, even told me the name of The Lightless Flame.

Even though he barely understood it..

But he couldn’t commit to it. He thought himself superior to it. Thought it was something to harness, something he could use.

Idiot…

I think he was more violence than destruction though

And while he was so so so wrong… there was enough truth to his words… i found that it sparked someone to life in me.

I went home with a lot to think about…

So that’s why I locked him in a closet and burned his building down.

Well. Maybe the closet wasn’t necessary, but he made me be in a metaphorical closet so long, I found it …. poetic…

I sat in the same chair I had when he told me about his kills.

And I waited. I’m not a patient person, so that was annoying. But I was either right about what would happen

Or I was wrong, and it wouldn’t be my problem anymore.

… I remembered my parents’ faces when the fire started licking at my legs

And I realized i had been in the fire that killed them when it finally reached my face.

They say burning alive is the most painful thing a human being can experience. I’m inclined to agree.

Shame I could only experience it once….

As the fire consumed me, I held onto it

I didn’t just let it consume me.

Helios died screaming. That was deliciously satisfying, but it wasn’t filling.

He didn’t have much to live for after all. For all his talks about worth and value… he was absolutely worthless.

Fortunately, there were quite a few other people who lived in his building. Those deaths were a lot… tastier, you could say.

….

….

I think your next line is… 

Statement ends, right?”

Jakey was shaking, as the recorder clicked off… why was.. why was it even here? Did he bring it in? He couldn’t remember….

His throat was dry.

The monster kept staring at him with far too bright eyes, the kind smile still not showing any of the malice the man held

“Why?” He eventually choked out. “Why.. why tell me any of this?”