#OF THEM DECIEVING ME

[linksqueerawakening]

something i didnt realize until (relatively) recently is that the yiga in BOTW steal peoples faces. once i met a yiga and chuckled bc his face was so small for his head, and it stuck in my head. then a few irl days later i was wandering around and came across a merchant on the road and froze bc. it was the exact same guy! but this one had a name, not just unlabeled as "traveler" or something the way yiga are when you talk to them. and he was just a normal friendly npc

after that i started paying attention and realized that pretty much all of the disguised yiga along the roads in botw are using actual NPCs you can meet as their disguise. usually traveling merchants

ive been thinking about the implications for like a month now. like. can they not make their own original hylian designs? is the spell limited to only copying someone else? is the same thing going on in TOTK, or am i just not noticing it happening bc there are so many more NPCs wandering around so its harder to remember them all? if they arent copying people in TOTK, is it bc they only learned how to make new faces in the interim between the two games, or is it just that theyre copying people that link cant run into? we know there are more people in hyrule than the ones we see; several gerudo in BOTW mention their husbands who live in some other locations outside of gerudo town, presumably in homesteads outside of any town? but close enough that the married vai can reasonably send their money home and ya know. spend time with the guy they spent so much time hunting down. are some of those unseen husbands being impersonated by the yiga clan? are there more prisoners like the ones forced to make clothes in TOTK that are being kept for their faces? or have they just improved the spell? or am i just unobservant and they ARE copying NPCs we meet, and my memory is just bad? do any of the BOTW merchants know they were being impersonated? if they saw a yiga disguised as them, would they even know it IS a magical face-stealing assassin, or would they come to the far more plausible explanation that they have a coincidental look-alike or long-lost twin?

the one question i dont have is "why mainly traveling merchants?" bc quite frankly that just makes sense. someone that goes to and from settlements and stables, a face thats familiar enough to let in, to not question why theyre on the road, but not so familiar as to notice any out of character behaviors. it might just be the smartest bit of critical thinking ive seen on the yigas part, though i suppose theres always a chance they didnt think that hard about it. they could very well have just gone with the people they see a lot in their own travels between settlements and targets

[michaelatmandelacounty]

Me when Mandela Catalogue:

[grimalkinmessor]

OKAY SO I may have accidentally lied about Light's Hogwarts house—because it's not Gryffindor like I thought it's Ravenclaw by a HAIR with Gryffindor as the runner up. Meanwhile L's is exactly what I thought it'd be; Slytherin with Ravenclaw following close behind.

Mello is a Slytherin with Ravenclaw close behind, just like L, while Near surprised me by pulling Gryffindor with Hufflepuff not two questions down 🧐

The only one I guessed correctly was L 😭

[gayve-strider-man-rider]

love paying thousands of dollars so I can sit in a lecture hall and over think my identity instead of maths

[playbarbies]

𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞  𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝  𝐧𝐨  𝐦𝐚𝐧  𝐭𝐨  𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞  𝐭𝐨  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞  𝐨𝐫  𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫.  she  need  not  protection  —  not  from  a  sword  &  shield  nor  by  tongue  &  declarations.  for  justine  was  well  equipped  in  the  latter  -  weapons  capable  of  destruction  which  left  no  physical  marks  or  wounds,  which  left  no  tangible  evidence  of  the  impact  of  their  blows.  

𝚊  𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚙𝚘𝚗  𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎  𝚠𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢  𝚊𝚝  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚝.  @stablelad  and  lucy  had  accompanied  her,  scampering  off  together  with  hushed  giggles  that  had  caused  justine’s  eyes  to  roll  fondly  —  shouting  after  them  to  be  careful  before  continuing  her  stroll  through  the  market.

with  the  basket  handle  nestled  in  the  crook  of  her  arm,  justine  had  strolled  through  the  various  vendor  booths,  𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕  𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔  𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎  𝚌𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚜  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘  𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚏𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚜.  for  the  most  part,  the  vendors  and  passersby  were  kind  and  polite.  ever  since  their  dear  ella’s  rise  to  queen,  villagers  were  kinder  overall.  that  truth  made  itself  known  in  the  fact  that  most  made  no  comment  about  〝  the  undead  griswald  sisters  〞  —  𝒂  𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆  𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉  𝒘𝒂𝒔  𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅  𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅  𝒕𝒉𝒆  𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆  𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆  𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔  𝒅'𝒐𝒆𝒖𝒗𝒓𝒆𝒔  𝒂𝒕  𝒂  𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍  𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈.  

a  title  which  was  shouted  at  her  by  the  grating  voice  of  one  of  the  town  drunks.

′  oy!  ′  he  followed  it  with.  ′  dead  bitch!  ′  

justine  had  attempted  to  ignore  him,  breathing  in  through  her  nose  and  exhaling  through  her  mouth  in  order  to  remain  calm.  but  then  —  

′  where’s  that  bitch  sister  o’yours,  huh?  thinks  she’s  so  good  —  thinks  she’s  too  good  for  me,  does  she?!  ′

justine  whirled  around  on  the  spot.  her  gaze  cold  as  ice,  her  knuckles  white  as  trembling  hands  clenched  the  handle  of  her  wicker  basket.  ′  you  keep  my  sister's  name  out  of  your  filthy  mouth,  you  rotten scoundrel.  ′  she  snapped.  his  eyes  had  narrowed,  and  he  staggered  towards  her.  

′  what  about  you  then  huh?  think  you’re  too  good  for  me  too eh?  i’ll  show  you. i'll show you  both  —  ′  

justine  needed  no  man  to  come  to  her  defense  or  protect  her  honor.  but  michael  was  no  mere  man.  he  was  her  brother,  a  title  that  better  suited  him  than  it  did  jacob.  

eyes  flit  nervously  to  the  man  before  they  land  back  on  michael,  who  now  stood  between  them,  shielding  her.  ❛  mikey,  ❜  she  says,  𝐚  𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞  𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦  𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫  𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝  𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭  𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥  𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝  𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞  𝐨𝐧  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞  —  𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚  𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐢𝐭  𝐚𝐬  𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭  𝐚𝐬  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬  𝐬𝐡𝐞  𝐡𝐚𝐝  𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝.  she  places  a  hand  on  his  arm,  giving  his  bicep  a  small  squeeze  as  if  to  plead  without  words.  ❛  it’s  alright.  he’s  nothing  more  than  a  drunkard.  prithee,  michael,  let’s  go.  ❜  

[ronkeyroo]

The more i remember what my ex friend did to me while acting like the worlds kindest saint, the more I feel disgusted for believing in him, the more I feel poisoned by all the hurt he inflicted, and the more I realize just how deep the damage stayed. I cant trust anyone that remotely reminds me of him anymore. I seethe at the very thought

[n9ph]

WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON A LUCIFER ASKBLOG.... GET OUTTA THERE!!!!!!/JOKE

WHAR

[majimassqueaktoy]

People draw Nishiki so pale all the time that it makes me question my recollection but when I look at him he looks like he's got a bit of a tan to me?

[katasstrophy]

Dream anon again! I was curious if you had any questions you associate with your favorite bllk boys btw?? "Honey" by Johnny Stimson makes me deeply think of Bachira in love while the One Punch Man theme song is what I would play personally for Kunigami's intro to a game as his hero theme lmao. Ty for reading!

hi dream anon !! 🥺 (omg so sorry that i took ages with this i was a little swamped with Life™ but i hope you’re doing swell<3)

i’m gonna assume you meant songs ! :) hhmmmm that’s interesting actually, because when i write i just pull up my go to instrumental playlist ‘cause lyrics.... distract me LOL (i try to blame it on the Bilingual Brain but…. 🥹🥹 yeah no i’m not even convincing me with that one) however !!

there have been a few songs (when i was just casually listening) that very insistently made certain bllk boys wiggle in my mind 🤔 ‘the catcher in the rye’ by elephanz to me is just– sae right after he realized he’s stupidly in love with you, but you’ve slipped out of his grasp a long, long time ago now – and he’s terrified he’ll never win you back. terrified to know the thought alone of you not being a part of his life shatters something permanent inside him. (but eventually, after long, thorough, heartbreaking groveling and trail and error, he’ll win you back. and the sweeping joy of it all is worth it in the end<3) nskzjebdbdjdks forgive me that is so specific HELPP. i actually have an embarrassing amount of songs i associate with sae but we’re not gonna talk about that bc i’m not supposed to be in love with him 😤

i think i mentioned this before on here but ‘clown’ by njomza is just absolute peak making kaiser crawl on his knees for you pathetically LOL as he deserves. also – and this is so funny to me to this day – right after the nagireo break up happened in the manga i was just like imagining reo gaslight gatekeep girlbossing through it and blasting ‘mean!’ by madeline the person on full volume like yeah girl you deserve better than him sksjsbbddnjsnsn pls okay shut up river

[pregnantsecondo]

I love tumblr mobile rn bc its saying that i am following absolutely no one.

[hootbon]

TADC Freakshow AU Masterpost

May you be warned, this is a horror/gore based AU. If that’s not your thing then I’d probably not click on the links

+ bubble

(these will be updated when new ones come out! None of them are in a particular order, some of them will be and hopefully soon there will be an actual order)

Go check out @jokerskellington !! They helped me out with a lot of the designs and the concepts :D

Story comics

Abstraction

Aftermath

A little chat

Notes

Stitches

Replacement

Outside

Broken faces

Lost friend

Restart

Looks decieve

selfish kindness

needle and thread

needle and thread pt2

Bloody tracks

I don’t want to.

Rule-Breaker

Eclipse

community choice adventure

Misc

posters line-up

Freakshow&carnival templates

Q&A

Q: Can we make ocs/fanart/fics/etc.?

A: Of course you can! I love getting work of my AU from others, please tag me in them! (Do not send them in my ask box, I prefer it when people post their own work)

———————————————————

Q: Is the community choice adventure continuing?

A: Yes. You don’t need to keep asking me, I have been taking a little hiatus but I will be working on it soon.

———————————————————

Q: Do you have any boundaries?

A: Not necessarily, but my only rule is to keep things chill over here.

———————————————————

Q: can we make Nsfw?

A: I don’t mind, if it’s sexual, please don’t tag me. However, extreme gore and violence is A-okay with me (infact please tag me in those.)

———————————————————

Q: Will X character be in this au?

A: all characters seen in the show will be characters in this AU and more than likely have designs when I get the time.

———————————————————

Q: if gangle abstracts, what would happen?

A: she will abstract, simple as that. Then be replaced with an AI much like her sister.

———————————————————

Q: can or will the virus be cured?

A: no.

———————————————————

Q: what would happen if x character met y character?

A: I strongly dislike these questions, please don’t ask them.

———————————————————

Q: art requests?

A: I don’t usually take them unless I like the idea and actively want to do it. 8 times out of 10 I likely won’t do them but who knows.

———————————————————

Q: Art commissions?

A: I promise I plan to open those up for the people of tumblr soon, I am currently rehashing my prices and setting up my sheets but I will make a post when I am ready!

[sn4pozu]

😭 OFFICIAL IN-GAME DOCUMENTS OF THEM BEING FRUITY

has anyone done this with rickjer before. if they have god please i need to see it

[thebestsetter]

The hear me out cake.

It has been, for the past month, a famous trend on Tik Tok.

And today, it has proven to be the bane of your existence.

"Tsumu, please" You tried to open the door, but it was locked

"No! Don't look at me! I'm too ugly! Hideous!"

"No you're not!" You sighed audibly

"Quit decieving me! I know I am!"

This has been going on for hours now. And you don't know how to put an end to it.

It all started when you were both just chilling on the couch this morning, right after you woke up from a movie night. Atsumu's head was on your chest as he looked over at your phone, watching videos with you as you scrolled through the endless abyss of Tik Tok.

Everything was going fine: with one of your hands massaging his blond locks and the other holding your phone up, he was really starting to get sleepy. This week of training was harsh, after all. This was all he needed: a relaxing weekend with the love of his life.

It was all going fine. Really.

Until it wasn't. Until that damned video appeared on your "for you" page.

"Our hear me out cake!"

Two girl, probably barely above 16, said together while smiling at the camera. A big chocolate cake was seen next to the camera, and they held printed images of characters and celebrities.

Both you and Atsumu already knew about the trend. You're both chronically online, after all. So, you decided to watch the video.

After a while, you were starting to get bored of it. You were going to scroll, but decided against it. You kept watching.

And damn it, you really should have skipped this video. You really should have. It would have spared you of a lot of suffering.

Because the next and last "Hear me out" the girls showed was...

"Atsumu Miya. The volleyball player"

"No way" one of them laughed "No way you're into him"

Oh oh. This is NOT good.

"HUH?" Atsumu jumped off of you, snatching the phone from your hands and rewinding the video to make sure he heard it right.

"Hey, Tsumu! Give me my phone back!" You said, trying to forcefully grab it back yet not managing to. You were no match for a literal athlete, afterall.

"Atsumu Miya. The volleyball player"

"No way. No way you're into--"

"Tsumu..."

"Atsumu Miya. The volleyball player"

"No way. No way--"

"Atsumu."

"Atsumu Miya. The volleyball player"

"No way--"

"Atsumu Miya."

"Atsumu Miya--"

"Atsumu Miya--"

"Atsumu Miya!"

You "stole" your phone back, glaring at him

"You can't just grab people's phone like that! It's disrespectful and..."

Just one look at him made you forget you were even angry at him before.

He looked utterly and undoubtdely heartbroken.

"Tsumu..."

"Be honest" he started, looking at the ground "Do you think I'm ugly? Am I a... hear me out?"

"God, Tsumu, no!" You hugged him tightly "You're beautiful, my love!"

"You don't need to lie to make me feel better!" He pushed you away and dramatically put his hand on his chest. "I know I look like a homeless guy who hasn't taken a shower for the last 3 weeks - no, years!"

"Tsumu, you know that's not true..." You tried to hug him again

"Don't come any closer!" He pushed your arms away "I'm going to isolate myself in my room so no one is infected by my uglyness!"

You would've been hurt if you didn't know your boyfriend.

He looked like a highschool girl who just got rejected by her crush right now, but all he needs is time to calm down. He'll get back to normal soon enough

Except he didn't.

And that's how you found yourself in the position you've been in for 2 endless hours: head against your shared bedroom's door and trying to convince Atsumu to open it.

"Tsumu, open the door, please" You sighed, sitting with your back against the door and waiting for a response, only to be met with silence

"Tsumu, you're not hideous" You heard footsteps approaching you.

"...really?" He said from across the door

Yes! It was working! He was actually listening to you now! You couldn't let this opportunity pass.

"Yes! You're one of the most - scratch that, the most handsome man I've ever met!" You got up, resting your hand against the door "You're beautiful inside and out, I love you and couldn't be prouder to have you as my lovely, amazing and beautiful boyfriend" You smiled, praying to God that this would do. You really just wanted to lay down and cuddle with him.

The door finally cracked open, but not entirely. You could only see one of his eyes peeking through the tiny opening he made

"Say that again" he said, eyes unblinking

"What?"

"Say that last part again" he looked at you, gaze so strong you felt weak "Please"

"I love you?? And I'm proud of having you as my boyfriend??"

"Why do you sound so full of doubt?!"

"I love you." You said, laughing a little "And I'm very proud to have you as my amazing boyfriend."

Maybe this worked! He'll finally open the--

Nevermind. The door was closed yet again.

Not again! What did you do wrong this time? Maybe it's because you were laughing? Well, you'll just have to try again--

"I LOVE YOU TOO!!" Atsumu said, opening the door and literally throwing himself at you.

"AHHH!"

It was so sudden that you crashed to the floor, with him on top of you and your lungs with little to no oxygen. You weren't sure how you were even breathing at this point.

"I love you!" Atsumu said again, resting his head against your boobs in a (hopefully) not perverted way.

"I love you too" you smiled, caressing his hair "Now, why don't we go watch a movie? I missed you! I didn't see you for 2 long, torturous hours!" You said, laughing a little

"Sure!" Atsumu answered, getting up. Then, like a kid who did (or rather, was planning to do) something naughty, he suddenly began to run away

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to write a little comment on that video!"

"ATSUMU, NO!" You got up and ran after him.

"ATSUMU YES!" He began to run faster.

You were not able to stop him in time. Again, he was an athlete, afterall.

His PR team had to deal with the media later.

Whatever. It's not like any of these people's opinions on him mattered anyway.

What matters is that you think he's handsome and funny and your lovely boyfriend. And he'll do his damn best to make sure that never changes.

~ I heard we have a new Atsumu fan here! Welcome @someprettyname!!

Masterlist

[verstarppen]

pairing; lando norris x fem! star wars actress! reader [ no faceclaim ]

a/n; when i catch that mclaren social media person who wiped all their 2023 posts i will squeeze them like they're my last bit of toothpaste

[ series masterlist ]

liked by davidcorenswet, daniel3.jpg, kellypiquet and 350,421 others

yn.jpg what are friends for if not lego store robbing?

view all 81,999 comments

generalkenobi3 We're so back

angelricciardo finally some good kotor cast content

daniel3.jpg Look at me leaving your place with my suspiciously LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Millennium Falcon 75192 shaped backpack

yn.jpg 🤨

liked by y/n.jpg, davidcorenswet, maxverstappen1 and 200,872 others

lando.jpg summer break

view all 90,111 comments

y/n.jpg where's the part where you admit to the whole world you broke my cherry hairclip

lando.jpg where's your evidence it didn't spontaniously combust? catch me if you can, mr holmes

gonestappen HELLO?

tyrescreamer OPEN THE FLOODGATES OF HEAVEEEEN LET IT RAINNNNN

tatooinerat man now i have to take the "child of divorce" from my bio

liked by lando.jpg, osc.jpg, kellypiquet and 189,752 others

yn.jpg loser secured

view all 30,898 comments

osc.jpg Hello

yn.jpg do my eyes decieve me lando.jpg i can't believe it daniel3.jpg THE LINEAGE EXPANDS YET AGAIN yn.jpg the prophecy fortold our arrival

ahsokawife the sigh of relief i just let out

patiencesainz team danny don't let the door hit you on the way out

liked by yndeathtrooper, oscarpiastri, landonorris and 578,369 others

mclaren Pasta makes you fasta

view all 214,781 comments

landonorris until your teammate crashes into you

oscarpiastri Or you crash into your teammate landonorris you crashed into me oscarpiastri No, I did not yndeathtrooper guys mclaren Isn't the divorce arc over? What is this. landonorris HE CRASHED INTO ME oscarpiastri Nuh huh landonorris YUH HUH oscarpiastri Nuh huh. landonorris YUH HUH

liked by landonorris, davidcorenswet, danielricciardo and 603,021 others

yndeathtrooper monzed so hard i singapored

view all 200,321 comments

davidcorenswet Thank you guys for the wonderful weekend :)

landonorris who are you again yndeathtrooper don't listen to him he likes you landonorris i barely tolerate him

georgerussell63 Hey

danielricciardo FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT yndeathtrooper im yet to exact retribution georgerussell63 Oh silly me, whatever shall I do landonorris you're so brave for saying this george

pic credits: pinterest and instagram

taglist: @wtfisakilometer2 @aexitizen-ln4 @localwhoore @gulabjamoon @lavenderhazeeworld @redbullphantasmagoria @onecojg @cixrosie @sheridamn @thehufflepuffavenger1 @sxrcxsm26 @mellowarcadefun @deeziee @dark-night-sky-99 @multifandomwhore-003 @theblueblub @julezstinkz @imachaoticghost @coffeehurricanes @yuki-tsunodas @raizelchrysanderoctavius @ln8118 @neferaskingdom @justdreamersdream @cha-hot @dl-yum @minkyungseokie @allywthsr @eugene-emt-roe @soleilgrec @raevyng @baw-sixteen @palomaxaxaxa @cassiopeiia24 @callsignwidow @kissesandmartinis @gods-menace @iifloweringnightsii @1655clean @lanando4 @lichterfee @mehrmonga @thatoneembarrasingmoment @inloveallthetime @danielricswife @youdontknowmeshh @arian-directioner @cherry-piee @queen-of-elves (tell a friend to tell a friend SHE'S BACKKKK) (ALSO i've officially reached the tag limit so taglist is CLOSED sorry guys not my fault, there's a 50 tag limit per post)

[that-butch-archivist]

"Every time I speak at a lesbian-feminist gathering, I introduce myself as a femme who came out in the 1950s. I do this because it is the truth and it allows me to pay historical homage to my lesbian time and place, to the women who have slipped away, yet whose voices I still hear and whose V-necked sweaters and shiny loafers I still see. I do it to call up the women I would see shopping with their lovers in the Lower East Side supermarkets, the femme partners of the butch women who worked as waiters in the Club 82. I remember how unflinchingly the femme absorbed the stares of the other customers as she gently held onto the arm of her partner. Butches were known by their appearance, femmes by their choices. I do it in the name of the wives of passing women whose faces look up at me from old newspaper clippings, the women whom reporters described as the decieved ones and yet whose histories suggest much more complicated choices. And if femmes seemed to be "wives" of passing women, the feminine protectors of the couple's propriety, it was so easy to lose curiosity about what made them sexual heretics, because they looked like women. Thus femmes became the victims of a double dismissal: in the past they did not appear culturally different enough from heterosexual women to be seen as breaking gender taboos, and today they do not appear feminist enough, even in their historical context, to merit attention or respect for being ground-breaking women."

- An excerpt from "The Femme Question," written by Joan Nestle and found in The Persistent Desire: A Butch-Femme Reader. (Emphasis in bold my own.)

[sporesgalaxy]

the way 98 trigun had to rush thru the gung-ho guns left me in a headspace of just not really questioning their existence or motivations much. And early trigun manga / trimax doesnt get into their motives much either, so tbh I just kinda mentally kept glossing over them?

but finishing trimax and rereading it finally got me to wrap my head around the fact that Knives spent years purposefully looking for and/or overseeing the creation of the worst in humanity, and presumably interacting directly with humans very little otherwise, all to prove his point to Vash.

Knives never went looking for anything to change his mind because he was scared of being hurt by what he found again. He had so much hope for humanity that was dashed by discovering Tesla. The point of Trigun is that continuing to have hope and trust in the face of uncertainty is arduous and terrifying, but that its worth it. Knives refused to acknowledge that he was afraid at all, tried to ignore how desperate he was to escape his fear. The only way he saw to avoid feeling afraid and vulnerable was for him to refuse to have any hope or trust in humanity.

Which is, symbolically at least, why Knives doesn't have a single scar from humans. He never risked trusting them enough that they might hurt him again. He could avoid that vulnerability and uncertainty by threatening them into obedience, and thinking of them as tools.

The one time he let a human close enough to hurt him (post-Rem) was Conrad-- and Conrad ended up decieving Knives with what little trust he was given. And Conrad felt his deception was necessary, because Knives was making himself a threat. Which Knives did to avoid feeling vulnerable.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Knives guarantees he sees the worst in humanity, not just because he goes looking for it, but because he is constantly showing humanity the worst of himself. Because doing that makes him feel safe. Because he knows how humans will respond almost every time, when backed into a corner with their lives threatened. They'll try to survive. There's too many unknowns in any other scenario. Too many risks. He's too afraid of another nasty surprise, so he just tries not to be surprised.

Meanwhile Vash, covered in scars, still gives humans the benefit of the doubt. He is willing to risk getting hurt and IS hurt over and over again in order to show them the most kindness he can offer. In order to give humans a chance to show him their best. And he sees it. And it's worth it. man.