#And we need to wait and see what it is

[michygranger23]

I just finished watching Act 2 of Arcane (I'm in fricking shambles omg--), but I wanted to acknowledge something I'm seeing rn

Jayce DISSAPEARED for a WHOLE YEAR (I think, the implications they gave us feel like a whole year has passed) into THE HEXCORE. The guy CAME BACK with a BAD LEG, HIS HAMMER ALL MESSED UP (even the hexcore energy for it became red!!) and HIS WRIST got FUSED with THE CRYSTAL that HE GOT from THE WIZARD. And he saw WEIRD CREATURES whenever he LOOKED at SOMEONE from VIKTOR'S CULT (yes it was a cult we can't deny that)

THIS GUY IS 100% TRAUMATIZED AND SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM WHEREVER THE FRICK HE ENDED UP

We NEED to wait for Act 3 to get an explanation as to what Jayce lived and saw, because if this hadn't happen, Jayce WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT!!! Or something is controlling Jayce like Viktor said (which yikes the realization Jayce will get of what he has done is gonna hit him so hard), or he's seeing something more than what they're letting us on, something sinister in the Hexcore inside Viktor (but ending up being the reason for the creation of the monster himself)

Whichever the case is, JAYCE ISN'T A BAD PERSON!!!, HE'S A TRAUMATIZED GUY DOING ALL OF THIS FOR A REASON WE STILL YET NEED TO WAIT AND SEE!!

[sophies-junkyard]

I’m in the South. I’ve got ears to the ground. Republicans are SWEATING at the prospect of Kamala being nominated. They’re not sure Trump can beat her.

Let’s prove them right.

[egophiliac]

IT WAS ERIC AFTER ALL!!!! I'm so glad we got to meet him (before Vil snaps him away with those Infinity Gauntlets) (can't wait to see what happens when we get the matching Infinity Tiara to go with them, there will be no survivors)

(sorry to be so slow/rough lately, just got a lot of stuff on the ol' brain at the moment! alas, if only I could spend all my time drawing incredibly stupid characters I mean I do but)

[papanowo]

i think dan should get to be a little weird too. as a treat

[teaboot]

Social anxiety level: Chatting with someone experiencing a schizophrenic episode and becoming increasingly self-concious of how I'm just saying "That sounds really stressful", "I've never heard of that but it sounds scary", and "You must be pretty worried about that" over and over again

[sophsun1]

Bobby + Caring for an injured Buck

2.18: This Life We Choose | 6.10: In a Flash

[welcometogrouchland]

Disgustingly messy and crusty sketch dump but I couldn't get my own terrible theory out of my head and ended up making a bunch of sketches about it. Also at the end a bonus dickbats and Damian doodle bc I was reading an issue of their Batman and Robin run (IDs in Alt)

[bread-wizards]

I actually think Dorian and Orym should fight more.

Remember when their slowly building tension over and entire episode (full of passive aggressive remarks and blame throwing) led to threats? And how after, Orym thanked Dorian for handing over the crown sadly because he knew Dorian would be mad at him? And Dorian couldn't even look at him because he was legitimately hurt, thinking Orym was disappointed in him for doing what he thought was right? That was peak.

The fact they went from that to their current closeness and trust is the best part of their entire dynamic. Their relationship was hard fought and still will be. They will fight for it because they respect and care for one another deeply, and their disagreements don't change that, only improve it.

[anemonet]

pro tip: you can always put the bugs in little outfits :thumbsup:

[luminique]

Hey, it’s the nosebleed anon again! I’m here with more worms!

Imagine knowing lighter in his competitive fighter era…

You’d patch him up after matches, help him calm down if he saw too much blood. Watched him go from the bottom to the top.

And then one day, after he’s done it all, he leaves. He says he’s going to find greener pastures, but promises to meet you again someday. And then later; maybe weeks, months, or years later. You meet him again, as the SoC’s Champion. And he still has the biggest crush on you that he finally has the confidence to confess to you… OUGH

ANON THE VISION IS VISIONING !!!

he’d look for you during every match, making sure your eyes were on him. the underground fights were more for money, for those who had no other choice. at the time, lighter didn’t have any other choice but knowing you were in the crowd, cheering him on, made every bruise worth it.

but before he even made it to that point, he was barely climbing through the ranks. in the beginning, it was all for winning some extra dennies. then he went through his first loss and it came crumbling down on him. the blood running down his face, his hands were red and all he saw was red. his heart was thumping, a sharp pain in his head followed by a heavy fall to the ground was the last thing he remembered.

you rushed over to him when everyone else just stared at his body. immediately tending to him, bringing him to a safe zone, trying your best and hoping this wasn’t actually the end. after a while, his eyes slowly opened. his green iris and red pupils zeroing in on you as he tried sitting up. your face showed… worry? relief? he couldn’t tell, it was blurry but he knew it was you. it could only be you.

it was a few fights after this that he decided to move on from this life. it wasn’t worth seeing you concerned over his wellbeing, he didn’t want you to worry like that. without saying much, he packed up his things and left, whispers of his name followed behind him as his rivals found his departure strange, almost cowardly.

he made it clear that he didn’t want to recall his past, hence cutting off almost all sorts of connections with the ember arena. yet here he was, sitting at the other edge of the bar while you were chatting with burnice. would you still remember him? does his name haunt you like how your face and voice haunted him all this time? he loosens the red scarf on his neck, maybe you’ll remember why he has it in the first place.

even from afar, he feels something warm in his chest. maybe it’s the drink… maybe its the heat… you used to nag at him for not treating wounds right and not letting them heal. well now there’s a wound in his heart and he hopes you could patch that up.

[bakudekublogblog]

i know i watched mha specifically bc it looked like something homoerotic was happening but like oh my god??? something homoerotic is happening??? like how is this chapter real i’m

[emdotcom]

Yeah, so while I was on my "I'm going to read into Vanny/Vanessa as much as possible" journey, I noticed an odd quirk in her animations in how she moves. At first, I thought it reminded me of a ballerina, 'cause she's kinda tip-toeing, & she has this way of keeping her head & chest in one place as she moves, but I looked again & realized --

That's not ballet! She's doing a tight-rope act. Like, look at this one:

This is like standing up on the wooden boards before you do the actual tight-rope walking, & the ring leader is hyping you up as you do some fun movement for the crowds. &, then, these:

These are all instances where she walks with one foot directly in front of the other. In that third, she's doing the "woaaah" wiggly-ass balance movements & everything, as if she's swaying up at the top of the tent, even though she's down on solid ground.

Idk, I feel like the way her feet are placed isn't accurate (pretty sure they should be pointed left & right, not both forwards...) doesn't make this 100% correct, but I like it. It also connects back with her first SB teaser, wherein she's up in the rafters.

[egophiliac]

LEON

LEON YOUR EYEBALLS

[klanced]

when adam met 11yo keith he immediately knew that keith was gay and was like i have GOT to support this kid!! (runs into traffic) meanwhile shiro spent years operating under the assumption that keith had like a gender thing going on

[winnie-the-monster]

But Elain was staring over Nesta’s shoulder. At Lucien—whose face she had finally taken in.

Dark brown eyes met one eye of russet and one of metal. Nesta was still weeping, still raging, still inspecting Elain—Lucien’s hands slackened at his sides.

His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, “You’re my mate?”

Things I wanna know #253640: what was going on through Elain’s and Lucien’s mind during this moment. I need to know!

[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.