#she’s twelve

[anotherpjofan]

I love how Percy is genuinely like wtf when Luke says Annabeth - who’s twelve - is head counsellor so he’s under the impression that annabeth is ridiculously powerful when in reality her older cabin mates just wanted to spend their time coming up with ways to hack the government instead of assigning cabin chores

[camscendants]

Godammit My friend’s cousin just bought a ticket to the Noah concert

I HATE her she’s horrible

[petrichara]

Trying to remember the last time I played hide and seek. The last time I said hi to everyone on the street or saw the girls I spent every day of six years with. The last time my dad picked me up, or my mum brushed my hair. When was the last time I dressed without consideration? There is so much to think about now. I remember falling on the grass at school and making stories with the clouds. Hanging upside down from the swing and realising how big the world was. I wonder on the path of growing when we stop feeling big. I am taller now, smaller still.

[river-of-wine]

Death to Dutch van der Linde!

[metacrisisdoctor]

4.12 | 4.13

[all-lee24]

Young Malenia doodles + headcanons

((A.K.A Malenia as Miquella always sees her even after she grew up and became a fierce warrior))

[tomboy014]

Damian: Move aside, Fenton. I need to speak with my nemesis.

Harley: For the last time, I. AM NOT. YOUR. NEMESIS!!!

Danny: Aw, c'mon, Harley. I think it's cute he has a little crush on you.

Cue Damian sputtering and incoherent as he's mercilessly teased out of the Asylum by his brothers. He can never face Harley again.

How did Danny do that?

Danny: I have siblings

[claraoswalds]

So what's wrong with Clara, then? There's nothing wrong with her. Why haven't you made her immortal? Well, look how you turned out.

[tardxsblues]

I like adventures as much as the next man -- if the next man is a man who likes adventures -- even so, don't-don't go native. What do you mean? I'm not. Look, there's a whole dimension in here, but there's only room for one me. Wait-wait a second, you just raved about ghosts like a kid who had too much sherbert.

[simplyavatrice]

nobody does it like her

[nightmanatee]

"she cares so i don't have to" s8!twelve should really meet "do you think i care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference" s8!twelve but they both should also absolutely run from "i had a duty of care" hellbent!twelve.

[comradekatara]

i rly don't like when ppl draw older sokka being buff or ripped or shredded or broad-shouldered, even. i know that people who design him this way are probably basing those designs off of a) hakoda b) his frankly heinous design in lok c) the logic that since sokka is hot, he must have a six pack, because hot guy have big muscle, or d) all of the above. but the thing about sokka is that he is, fundamentally a skinny scrawny little nerd. he cannot win fights with his brawn alone, so he must rely on his brain. he finds creative ways to use his weapons, he learns the technique of the kyoshi warriors (using an opponent's strength against them) and the ways of the sword (creativity, versatility, intelligence) and is an excellent fighter and warrior despite his malnourished victorian orphan physique because he is so excellent at learning and adapting and knowing how to use every resource to his advantage in creative ways during fights. and obviously he isn’t frail, he is very strong, especially evidenced when he uses his sword to slash through solid metal, or when he carries toph like she weighs nothing. but he appears frail, much more so than zuko (in books 1 and 3b at least) or even aang (buff baby). and i think it’s thematically significant for sokka to maintain that physique as an adult. people see him and think he's just a pencil-pushing non-bending nerd who weighs 10 pounds soaking wet, but they'd be in for a rude awakening if they ever actually tried to fight him. and that discrepancy represents such an integral part of his character, so it’s a real shame that it’s so ignored in favor of imagining him as being more conventionally attractive, because it betrays a fundamental aspect of his character for shallow purposes. not mention that implying that guys can only be hot if they’re buff is just plain silly.

[originalaccountname]

Mori Ougai’s belief as the boss is [...] “The boss stands on top of the organization, and at the same time, be the slave of all.” For the sake of the organization, the boss must always take the “logical optimal solution.” That is the duty of the boss. [...] “Therefore, no matter how much your heart aches, you have to ignore your personal feelings.”

Kafka Asagiri, for the BSD exhibition

On Mori and regret.

This man acts based on his perceived "optimal solution". It means relying on cold logic, detached from (his own and others') emotions. In that way, he fits right in as one of the smart characters of BSD, contrasting for example Dazai's way of working with/around people's feelings, and Fyodor's way of manipulating and twisting those feelings into monsters.

Mori remains cold, logical, distant, efficient. It meant disregarding Yosano's and the soldiers' deteriorating mental health during the war because the concept of an army that cannot be wiped out was too good. It meant following Natsume's plan and taking the old boss' place himself to fix Yokohama's underground and protect the city and its people. It also meant disposing of Mimic by sacrificing Oda in order to get the special ability business permit, despite (and perhaps because of) Dazai's attachment to the man.

The thing is, humans are not logical creatures, and will inevitably encounter conflicting emotions.

(does this look like the face of a man without regrets to you?)

Mori in Dark Era tried to pass on to Dazai his practice of putting aside his own feelings for the sake of choosing the most efficient solution that will benefit the group. It backfired spectacularly, so much so even, that Mori regrets it to this day.

For the BSD exhibition, Asagiri wrote some individual character commentaries, all very interesting insights into their characters and the writing intentions. For Mori, here's what he wrote:

“He who fell out of the optimal solution” Mori Ougai’s belief as the boss is described in the novel “Dark Era” and “Dazai, Chuuya, Fifteen”. That is “The boss stands on top of the organization, and at the same time, be the slave of all.” For the sake of the organization, the boss must always take the “logical optimal solution.” That is the duty of the boss. There is an unspoken additional point to it. “Therefore, no matter how much your heart aches, you have to ignore your personal feelings.” We can catch a glimpse of that in this scene. [the ADA-PM alliance meeting] Mori’s expressions after “Burnt it.” and “Like what you did to your predecessor”, gave us a glimpse of his true feelings that were made sacrifices for the sake of the “logical optimal solution”. (By the way, it goes without saying that Dazai is inducing Mori’s thoughts by words that will make him regret the past. It is to make him decide to form an “alliance”.) source and translation: Popopretty

(notice the inclusion of Hirotsu in this scene. Remember that later, Hirotsu suggests that Dazai knows why Mori did what he did to overthrow the old boss, which, in my opinion, is both a proof of Dazai's support in Mori's goal, and a reminder to uphold it.)

One of my favourite parts of the Dark Era light novel is a small scene during the epilogue that was not adapted into the anime. This is two weeks after Dazai defected:

To quote Asagiri again, "Therefore, no matter how much your heart aches, you have to ignore your personal feelings." Mori is conflicted about the outcome of the Mimic incident. He holds in his hands the Silver Oracle he himself gave to Oda, and reflects on its purpose: to "help the man mentioned above without hesitation in the face of any and all trials". Didn't he fail to do just that with Oda? Didn't he set him up and sent him to his doom? Didn't he abandon him to his trial?

But he rationalizes the events by saying he got the permit they so badly needed. No matter if he sacrificed one of his men. No matter if he drove Dazai away. He accomplished his priceless goal. It was a total success.

And yet, he poorly folds a paper airplane with the very Silver Oracle he gave Oda, throws it, watches it crash immediately, and mourns the loss of his right-hand man, without ever moving on.

But we have a direct example of Mori expressing regret.

The perception that Mori in BEAST is a completely different character than Mori is in canon, when that perception doesn't extend to any other character from that universe, rubs me the wrong way. The characters in BEAST are very similar to their canon selves, with some core traits getting a new twist. They are all one or two major life changes away from becoming these versions of themselves. As far as we know, Mori's only life-altering event was being forcefully removed from the Port Mafia by Dazai, and secretly put in charge of Atsushi's old orphanage.

Mori unambiguously made that orphanage a better place, as stated by Atsushi himself. BEAST!Mori is a lot softer, vulnerable and honest. That Mori offers to be a father to Atsushi while he heals. He also expresses regret in not being able to help Dazai when he was in his care.

I think it's very interesting, especially when knowing that Asagiri wrote both BEAST and Fifteen at the same time for the Dead Apple movie, because in Fifteen we have this:

The beginning of the first chapter of Fifteen is a gold mine. It is narrated from Mori's point of view, the man of logic and calculations, and yet it is full of doubt. He is alone and struggling to fix everything with so many people against him. But, throughout this scene about grasping at the Port Mafia's power, there is also this secondary thought being woven in, of Mori having started to actually care for Dazai.

The teenager is scary to him, smart enough to be a threat should he decide to be done with all this and turn against him, and yet, he immediately (and with a hint of sadness) finds that Dazai reminds him of himself. This lonely, lonely man found a kindred spirit, bright enough to grasp any situation in seconds and prone to using an uncomfortable obsession to divert and keep you guessing his true intentions. Mori entered Mentor Mode™ then. He taught Dazai his ways, he shared his struggles and thought process, he fought tooth and nail to keep him alive.

So when he asked Dazai why he wanted to die, it was with the concern of someone who has started to care. It was with the mind of someone who is trying to prevent the worst by fixing the problem at its source.

(translation: Reneray)

But it's also that self-projection/ability to relate that made him drive Dazai away, when he pushed too hard and forced Dazai to adhere to his optimal solution philosophy. Because Dazai cannot separate himself from his attachments, could not ignore his emotions like Mori does, and chose Oda over Mori's logic. From Dazai's point of view, that was betrayal. Mori and him were accomplices!

Dazai planted the idea that Mori was afraid of him taking over as boss, and Mori seems to agree with that thought (would it be because he feared for his life, or for Dazai's ability to replace him?) Yet, for a man afraid of his closest subordinate backstabbing him, he seems to be hanging on quite hard to the possibility of Dazai coming back, leaving his seat open to this day, inviting him back twice in the same arc, and...

(yeah I used this picture at the start too. "I hAvE nO rEgReTs" he says)

Mori may try to convince himself he feels no regrets and no guilt over his own actions by weighting gains and losses objectively, but he still hurts and has a very hard time moving on. He's human despite his best efforts, prone to mistakes and doubts. He's lonely and wishes to impart his knowledge onto others. His cold logic has both helped him in fixing the city, and alienated him from some of the people he most cared about.

In a similar vein, should the ADA employee transfer be of topic again, and should Mori clash with Yosano again, I wish we get to see some similar conflicting emotions in Mori between the usefulness of Yosano's ability, and Yosano herself as a person. The war was 14 years ago, that's a long time, and I want to believe that counts for something.

[wlwkiryuu]

juri is simultaneously the coolest council member and the most pathetic. she effortlessly picks up literally any skill at prodigy-level. one of her closest friends is a twelve-year-old boy. she's so confident in her identity as a lesbian that she makes the girl characters question their sexualities by just existing. despite being good at literally everything her hobbies mostly consist of long, brooding showers and projecting her insecurities onto everyone around her through cryptic speeches and stories that are sometimes so cryptic that even characters WITHIN a show as weird as rgu don't know what the hell she's talking about. she is objectively incredibly awkward (Your Ball? My Ball) but given she's surrounded by a bunch of equally pretentious teenagers she just becomes much cooler by comparison. she sees through others' bullshit by accepting her own bullshit. girl is BUILT on a card house of lies that can blow away in the wind at any moment if her own stubbornness and denial were not singlehandedly tying it down. she's just as effortlessly a sopping wet cat as she is a Cool Girl™. need more people to understand this

[thelilylav]

What do you mean this isn’t how The Hidden Oracle happened?

[dynared]

Someone made a sequel to the “Hilda murders all the stars of female targeted shows” picture and I can’t even find an artist to credit. Please let me know so I can credit them.