#system of the beast

[cantarelaria]

beast peak's shixiong 🐲✨

[mispatchedgreens]

communal spaces! are the heart of any throuple! (2 versions bc im just an indecisive baby)

it's @zukki-week and day 1 was domestic

[originalaccountname]

I saw this post again and now I'm thinking about the Fifteen arcade scene, in the context of Dazai being in the middle of a bet with Chuuya to make him be "his dog" (make him do what he wants), while the Sheep show up to make Chuuya do what they want (make him into their "protective sheepdog").

The main difference between Dazai and the Sheep is, when both are very much trying to order Chuuya around, the Sheep expect Chuuya to bend without much resistance, while Dazai expects Chuuya to bend despite his resistance.

For the Sheep, Chuuya bending to their will is seen as a necessary security. Chuuya is really the one protecting them all, they need Chuuya on their side or they're all lost. The fear of Chuuya turning his back on them is deep enough to prevent them from seeing his loyalty as unwavering. A Chuuya that does his own thing is a threat.

But for Dazai, getting to order Chuuya around is fun. It's not about safety or danger, it's about watching Chuuya struggle with his pride and dislike of Dazai and still obeying his orders because he has to, those were the terms he agreed to! That's most probably the same reason Chuuya agreed to the bet in the first place, to do exactly that to Dazai too. At that point they saw each other as entitled kids with too much power, getting to knock the other down one peg was a treat too good to pass up.

It's a small difference but it's so important. The Sheep were pretending Chuuya didn't have a will of his own to deal with the fear of their protector abandonning them, which ultimately became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dazai saw Chuuya and thought it would be funny to mess with him through a clear, established bet. That difference is the basis of their partnership and rivalry; no matter what happens, Dazai always sees Chuuya as a person, a partner, never a tool nor a weapon.

[umboocowju]

Beast peak's disciple Shen Yuan? Yeah 😌

[bearotonin-international]

Apex predator, my ass. I’m going to pet the dog 🐻🐻‍❄️🐼

perhaps now is a good time for some responsible bear programming to remind everyone that as cute and cuddly as they may seem, bears are lethal apex predators and should absolutely be treated accordingly if ever encountered.

DO

NOT

PET

[pepperpixel]

+ Butch 4 Butch +

(Except neither one of them is rlly that butch but holy fUCKING SHIT THAT SONG IS LITERALLY THEM… the version of them I made up in my mind palace… it’s them.)

Anywayyyy. Yeah! Have a tagr art dump..! aka, those vibes when you, out of a series of moments of temporary insanity, end up finding, taking in, nursing back to health and eventually falling into a tangled messy yearning situationship w the asshole tsundere alien who tried to destroy your entire planet… rlly extremely relatable vibes!!

[undertheredhood]

if there’s one thing that i know for certain, it’s that shen jiu is heavily judging bingqiu/bingyuan with the energy of a kdrama mother who greatly disapproves of her son’s girlfriend that she tries to use money to chase away

[skeleslime-phantom]

I gotta say, anyone who likes monster catchers, you GOTTA give Cassette Beasts a try. I've had so much fun w the game and I'm not even done with it yet.

https://www.cassettebeasts.com/

[cantarelaria]

head disciple shen yuan and his two little shidis who for some reason keep sneaking into the beast tamer peak ⛰️🐉

[segacity]

Dead Smash 'Altered Beast' SEGA Master System

[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.

[luck-of-the-drawings]

[<==PREV PAGES] [NEXT PAGE==>(not out yet.wait a year.or maybe more.imagine.]

saw alot of comments on prev pages; saying 'i HATE that mean teacher! im gonna FIGHT HIM!!' & i LOVE the energy!! it WOULD be nice. to have that catharsis. but the story of young tidestrider is Not one of catharsis. it is a story of being so small and so special and sucking so bad.

[subsequentibis]

having now seen the sea beast and some reactions to it: i think it is actually very important and meaningful that the story didn’t have maisie become like a sea monster biologist! i think it’s really important that they decided to simply stop interacting with the creatures at all and leave the deeper waters to them. i think people forget or aren’t aware of the ways science and scientific pursuit has propped up or been used as a justification for imperialism and expansionism and colonialism. it’s not a neutral profession or goal. of course for us, the audience, it would have been really fun and cool and interesting to learn more about the creatures and maybe even see humans bonding with them, but that’s really not in line with the message of the movie and it’s honestly refreshing that they went that route.

[inked-night]

In the alternate universe of Dead by Daylight, Shen Jiu and Cale are known to be the survivors who, unwittingly, act in a sacrificial manner, completely oblivious to their companions' concern for their own safety. Despite their reckless tendencies, they feel deeply offended when other team members suggest distraction tactics or personal sacrifice, especially if they find themselves in compromising situations during the game.

"Have they lost their minds?" Cale asked, his voice laden with disbelief and his eyes exuding serious disapproval towards their companions.

"What makes them think that risking their lives in such a way is a good idea?" Shen Jiu added, standing next to the redhead, raising an eyebrow in a questioning gesture. He crossed his arms over his chest, adopting the stance of a disappointed teacher in front of a group of mischievous students. "You can't just throw yourselves into action without thinking of the consequences"

Illyana, Penelope, and Rudbeckia were left blinking, astonished at the hypocrisy of the men before them.

'But you are the first to throw yourselves into danger without thinking twice!' Penelope had to bite her tongue to not say out loud what was screaming in her mind, maintaining an expression of regret while internally struggling with the urge to shake them into reason.

'Don't you remember that just two games ago you died in the most absurd way possible, trying to give us time to escape?' Illyana nodded in apparent agreement with the reprimand they were receiving, although inside she was torn between disbelief and the desire to hit them with the bat she had found to give them a 'gentle' reminder of their own recklessness.

'You're supposed to be the brightest strategists on the team! Where has this shared foolishness come from?' Rudbeckia, for her part, couldn't contain a groan of frustration, imagining herself tying both men with a rope and dragging them across the map until they managed to repair the generators and escape from the killer, thus avoiding the multiple heart attacks they caused her every time one of them threw themselves in front of the killer when the opportunity arose.