#i love him(derogatory)

[tragedykery]

I ❤️ self-loathing characters, characters who struggle with monstrosity (either fearing or embracing it), characters who are so lonely, who have a gaping hole in their chest, who bottle up & repress their feelings, who claw their way up & have ambitions, who fall down & lose everything, who search for identity & purpose yet can’t see themselves outside of what others want from or expect of them, who are hurt & hurt others, who long & grieve, who lie & pretend. characters who are messy & flawed & human

[captain-flint]

Tommy, what a bitch 💖 - Lou Ferrigno Jr.

[cuepickle]

I headcanon Steve as bi, for the meme I’ll allow it

[milkbreadtoast]

idk how i want to draw him yet and not ready to make a srs attempt but here's a bad kdj phone doodle lol🚶🏻

[nyaagolor]

Yknow in some ways the characters of AA4 are lucky that the trilogy cast is mostly absent because I think if Klavier called Franziska “fraülein” to her face she would just beat him unconscious

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

When discussing or analyzing Dazai, one thing I hope you will keep in mind when reading anything I write about him is that from my perspective, he is always, always both.

What do I mean by this? Well, I find there tends to be a general split among people who hold the opinion that "he's a manipulator and will always be manipulative" and "he's doing his best to be good and helpful and live up to Oda's last wishes for him", of which, neither is completely right - because he is both. But even among the people who hold to this dual-nature interpretation, I find that his individual actions and motivations still tend to be thought of in a dichotomous manner - is it manipulative, or genuine?

Again, I think it's always both.

Dazai has a very pragmatic view on a lot of things - he is always looking for the usefulness of things and people so that the situation turns out in his favour. He's incredibly adept at this, and his prediction and placement and careful reveals are all manipulation tactics to get his allies and enemies doing exactly what he needs them to. I don't think anyone can contest this since we see it over and over in the series.

But that's not all there is to it. He's not solely manipulative and he does, to some extent, sympathize with others - I think there are several instances of this in the series, but I want to stress that this has been apparent since Chapter 1!

For context, Dazai is recalling what Atsushi said to him a few minutes earlier, but it's very interesting that it should be this specific part of the conversation. He could've flashed back to the part where Atsushi said he had nowhere to go; no money, no food - he is about to trick him into joining, after all, and this is the key piece he uses to basically force Atsushi into the Agency. But instead it's Atsushi's self-deprecation that catches his attention, and it really does, because even during the conversation, he turns to look at him after he says this with an odd expression.

You could say that this makes Atsushi easier to manipulate, if that's your angle, but that can't be solely it, because in the later conversation with Hirotsu, we know Dazai was planning to bring Atsushi into the Agency and set him up as one half of the new Double Black the moment he met him. The panel shown there is the riverbank, set much earlier in the day than this scene. He was already planning to pair him with Akutagawa since he figured out he was the tiger, so what's with this reaction?

Well. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best.

He manipulated Atsushi into joining with the intention of utilizing him in his future plans. He also helped him and gave him a place to belong, and importantly, he likes this kid! It's both.

I think much of it might be that his brain just kinda works way too fast - he's such a natural at crafting these elaborate plots and seeing how things connect and gathering useful people like resources that it's practically automatic - though this is not a great means when you're trying to be a kinder person. There's an omake, I believe, that has him saying "I like using my head for justice", i.e. using these underhanded means to act for the better. Not great, but those are the kind of gifts he has. He's way more suited to exploitation, but is choosing to use these tactics to save people now, which is quite reminiscent of what he tells Kyouka. Kyouka's talents lie in killing people - when what you're good at isn't who you want to be, what do you do? Well, I expect you use what you have, even if it's not ideal.

Now, about the current situation with Sigma - I think he definitely likes him, and is intrigued by him and his situation. We did get a little thought bubble where the guy amusedly compares him to Atsushi, and you can't tell me he doesn't care about Atsushi (listen to the onsen drama cd, or read 55 Minutes if you somehow don't believe me). But also, it's undeniable that Sigma is in a very vulnerable position of being homeless and having had no one be genuinely kind to him before. His trust is very easy to earn, and with the latest chapter, Dazai has now saved his life multiple times. There is, as always, a practical purpose he needs him for. And I have to be somewhat amused because Dazai is quite literally telling Sigma everything he ever wanted and needed to hear. It's a brilliant means of quickly endearing himself to Sigma - but I don't think that's all it is.

Look. The most honest moments we get in this series from Dazai are, interestingly for an expert manipulator, when people are at their most vulnerable. In spite of every pointlessly cruel act he inflicted on Akutagawa, his first meeting with him was open and transparent; much like the orphanage director, it seems he thought this treatment would make him strong and adaptable (he's wrong but that's not the point of this). He cuts Kyouka off in irritation and says "don't give me that" when she implies that she would fail the entrance exam. He tells Atsushi it's normal to cry after losing a father figure and to feel however you feel, even if that person caused you nothing but incredible pain and cannot be forgiven. He refuses to entertain Sigma's assumptions that Dazai sees himself as a superior being to him.

Selective honesty can also be utilized to great effect; Mori does this, and undoubtedly it serves this purpose for Dazai too. But I want to stress that I do sincerely believe this is all still honesty from him. Manipulation, or genuine?

Both. It's both.

[v-iv-rusty]

*guy who definitely did not get stuck on this boss fight for several hours voice* killing and violence and maiming and torture and bloodshed <3

[nerdy-talks]

I know I keep posting about Solomon, but the Devilgram "Solomon Takes The Train" got even better :

So basically....

Solomon : I get unbearably jealous whenever I see you with anyone else, especially those brothers. I selfishly want to keep you all to myself forever.

MC : So you wanna bang, or..??

Solomon : Since you're offering, I definitely won't say no~

In all seriousness, I am a HUGE sucker for any kind of content that even hints at the tiniest signs of yandere tendencies (such as jealousy, possessiveness, etc.)

Plus I have my reasons for loving Solomon. I'll always love the brothers more than anything, but my love for Solomon has grown exponentially deeper.

So moments like this are very much welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

[slythereen]

scuderia ferrari when charles starts on pole: looking forward to a c2 fight‼️🤺 what happens on track stays on track‼️🤪

meanwhile red bull racing: hehe giggly lestappen content 🥰

[casthesixteenth]

Just finished Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix and it was incredible.

Spoilers!!

The Art, the murder, Mizu's pure and unending rage, the fact that Taigen is our 2020's Li Shang - bi awakening and all (y'all this man gave us a sexually fraught wrestling match between two supposed men that ended with him getting a bona-fide boner from being pinned down by his freind/rival/enemy/childhood victim). The discussions that will spawn about race and gender, Mizu's self-loathing quest for revenge on the men who potentially brought her/them/him into a world that was always going to despise her/them/him for even existing. Akemi "I want to be great" in response to Taigen "I don't care about being great, I just want to be happy".

EPISODE 5!! THE ONRYŌ!! EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW!!

But the thing that I'm obsessing over the most is that Mizu fucking burned Edo to the ground to kill Abijah, and then she/they/he didn't even fucking kill him! Hello? I know there's reasons and everything but still that city is burnt fucking dead and Mizu is just off on a boat to London with one of her three living potential fathers in the brig so she can better find the other two.

Also just "The biggest city in the world is burning to the ground as a blood sacrificeto your revenge. Your white half is showing." What a line Abijah you goddamn madlad.

I'm frothing at the mouth for season 2

[veggiecorner]

I'm sorry to say this but post-calamity Link probably had ZERO game when it came to flirting. Man probably made Zelda a creamy heart soup and handed it to her while nervously side eyeing her to notice the radish was the shape of a heart

[frodo-of-the-nine-fingers]

nieyao being trapped in the coffin for the rest of forever (or like 100 years) is infinitely less upsetting to me than lan xichen being trapped alone in his room/life without them for the rest of forever. like nieyao were always going to end up in that coffin together, they were always going to be the end of each other, but lan xichen didn’t have to end up alone like he did and yet

[wizzard890]

Bastian and Volo - The Antichrist and his Hound

There once was a boy who served in a castle. The noble family who lived there paid him no mind.

One day, like a blow through the heart, that boy saw God.

Something bright. Something terrible. Something holy, greater than every blazing star: Bastian, second issue of the Duke of Burgundy, seething and ambitious and wrathful.

Souls depart the body through the eyes; the boy never looked away.

.

Bastian was eighteen when he noticed Volo: the young son of a stablehand who had taught himself to read, to carry, to serve. Desperately ready to file himself into a cold and razored sword for Bastian's hand, if only that hand would close like a collar around his neck.

And so, in time, Bastian seized him.

.

It is your turn to see them now, years on, as the storm gathers.

Ecce homo: A Conqueror on a pale horse, his banners flying behind him, with a hunger for heaven on his lips and a burning crown on his head. But that which truly bears his glory runs at his heel.

Ecce canis: A chaste and brutal Galahad, rimed with frost, leading the legions of his Lord to any end, any dictate, as long as he is granted the final honor of slitting his own throat on Bastian's altar.

They are linked by a silver chain. God to slave, king to knight, love to worship. Even death cannot break it.

.

There once was a dog who served his master. The dragon who holds his leash will never let it go.

[shhhsoftnwet]

Sometimes all a bad bitch want is a silly little short king 👹❤️‍🔥

[sexysilverstrider]

hop and kieran are in the same rival spectrum except on one end he lost hope for a while but then uses his constant losses as motivation to drive himself to be better for himself and everyone around him because his rival is also his dear friend while on the other end he lost hope in the most heartbreaking and humiliating way possible and he uses his constant losses as motivation to drive himself to be better at the cost of his sanity and everyone around him because his rival is a stranger who he thought could be someone dear to him

[mr-minkles]

Art Trade with @krlsdeltarune :3 I went ham fr