#and he doesn't really care about ''committing crimes'' as a general rule. but he lives in metropolis. he knows these assholes.

[racke7]

I've seen a few versions of this being "righteous rants", and I-... Hmm... What if we go a little bit further?

Danny knows that if the Justice League had ever gotten involved with the Amity Park situation? It would've been a disaster. They would've sent someone, they would've gotten overshadowed, and the town would've pretty much been razed to the ground.

Like, he would've still appreciated if they'd like... checked in or something? Or at least sent a message to the people of Amity Park about why they were staying the hell away.

But no, they got nothing. Radio-fucking-silence.

Danny isn't going to call the Justice League a bunch of dickheads, because they do seem to be doing good stuff outside of Amity Park. But it's very much a grudging kind of acknowledgment.

Then one of those fuckers tosses his car at one of their villains.

Did the guy need an improvised weapon? Maybe? Could he have used the light-pole right next to it? Absolutely. It would've even had better balance for if 'Superboy' wanted to continue wailing away at him with it.

It would've been a huge chunk of steel that he could've used to keep hitting the villain. But no. No, he had to use Danny's fucking car to throw at the villain.

And then he fucking misses the shot.

So, not only has he destroyed Danny's car for no fucking reason, he's also basically just chucked it through a building also for no fucking reason.

That's the kind of collateral-damage that would've seen Amity Park bring out torches and pitchfork and chase Phantom through the damn streets.

And here? Here it's just another fucking Tuesday.

Danny is-... Danny is just done with it.

No, not in the sense of a shrug and a 'what can you do'-attitude. No, Danny is done with accepting that this is okay. Because it isn't okay. And Danny is going to shove that down these fucker's throats as if it was fucking barbed wire.

This? This is the start of Danny's Villain-Arc. And he's going to make everyone responsible for it suffer.

(At least until Jazz cottons onto what he's doing and sits him down for a long talk about 'appropriate levels of retaliation', but that's probably still months away at this point. And the Justice League will rue the fucking day they crossed him.)

Short DPXDC Prompts #972

Danny is just trying to keep a stable job and pay rent in Metropolis. When Superboy takes his shitty old car and throws it at Parasite and misses. Something in Danny’s mind cracks. His wall of rage and restraint crumbles. He has words to say to Superboy for throwing his fucking car.

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

do you have any retro voxval headcanons? I love that era so much 👀

Me too!I'm praying for flashbacks in season two, I think we deserve it :") But for now how I see it

After their first meeting, Vox decided to distance himself from the personal side of their relationship. He felt it was best not to sleep with Val anymore, aiming to keep business separate from pleasure, especially given Val's instability and the danger he posed. Vox already had complicated emotions about Alastor and didn't want to add another layer of complexity.

However, sticking to these rules was challenging because Valentino provided Vox with the emotional and physical satisfaction that Alastor withheld. Vox and Alastor were close, but Vox was increasingly frustrated that their relationship didn't match his expectations. Consequently, Vox often found himself waking up after yet another "one-night stand" with Val, promising each time it would be the last.

For Valentino, this period was particularly tough. After his death, he struggled to rely on anyone other than himself, especially someone who didn't always comply with his wishes. This led to frequent arguments between him and Vox, with Val often being at fault. (Alastor couldn't keep up with refilling Vox's glass when he came to his place just to bitch about Val.) If not for the fact that Val needed Vox's resources and connections, he might have ended their partnership. It was also exhausting to be entangled in the whole thing between Vox and Alastor, but that glowing dick was just too good. Despite his initial annoyance, Val grew to somehow like this weird dynamic because he lives for chaos and melodrama.

And despite the fact that Val was unbearable 50% of the time, Vox also needed him. Vox is a dirty capitalist—he committed a lot of crimes during his lifetime. But most of them were white-collar crimes; he knew how to trick someone into giving him something, but he didn't have the guts to violently rip something out of someone's cold, dead hands. That was necessary because the lifestyle that Rosie and Alastor introduced to Vox didn't really work for him. In my opinion, Alastor is not greedy. He wants to live comfortably and desires power and respect, sure, but look at the man: he doesn't give a single fuck about his material possessions. Similarly, Rosie just minds her own business, taking care of her people.

But Vox is a capitalist—he needs to expand. This time, he didn't have generational wealth, a pretty face, or even television in Hell. So, he needs capital, a big one, quickly if he ever wants to reach the status of a corporate overlord. There are only so many deals you can make; it takes time, effort, and playing a lot of political games. Then comes Val, showing him that violence can be plan A. He basically introduced Vox to the more mobster way of operating, and that's what they did before they were able to establish highly profitable companies.

[stromuprisahat]

Question: how do you justify what the darkling did to Genya, Alina and Nikolai? I don’t even mean this to sound rude, but I’m just genuinely curious how you just brush past that when you say the Darkling never did anything he’d have to apologize for 🙃

I'd start with stating that I don't like the word "justify". Google says its meaning is "to show or prove to be right or reasonable", which to me sounds like something that's expected whenever you're about to do something that might offend or hurt anyone. Like pre-made apology you owe people even though you might not have anything to apologize for in the end.

It's really about lack of better words. Czech dictionary translates "justify" as "odůvodnit" or "ospravedlnit", out of which the first one is strictly without that moral baggage. Closer to "give reason".

Aleksander's actions are often perceived out of context, as malicious crimes he committed for his own enjoyment, or whatever suits the antis best, while there are plenty of factors we shouldn't fail to consider.

Ravka- The country he loves, even though it doesn't love him. Rarely peaceful- according to Shadow and Bone, current wars last for over a century. Drained by both its neighbours, split in two for long enough it's pretty unbelievable the West is only planning to secede, poor, with ruling class, who doesn't care and has no reason to.

Grisha- From outright hated to respected, but in constant danger anywhere else, Aleksander manged to carve out a place for them under conditions. The Crown allows Grisha to live right on its backyard (to better keep an eye on), safely train and serve as soldiers or servants of noble houses, as long as they're useful, but... also has no need or intention to take it further. Grisha are glorified, envied serfs in fancy clothes. They're used by monarchy, despised and distrusted by masses, as proved by several little things throughout the first book and instant pogroms once the Fold moves (And don't forget there were no survivors- no true witnesses-, aside from few of the Darkling's people.).

His own lives' experience- Let's be honest- centuries of watching his people- however close- die, drawbacks, betrayals, constantly repeating history... gives one quite a perspective. It's a miracle the Darkling is merely numb and tired, yet somehow hardly unfeeling. Unlike the young heroes he possesses enough self-control not to start begging, crying, screaming... He's lashing out, when he has a reason to believe it won't bite him in the ass, he's petty and hurts others, punishing them for hurting him.

setting- Forget 21st century morality. If we're talking about 19th century-esque world, it wouldn't only have fancy nobles, dashing princes to play pirates privateers and masses of uneducated peasants. The reason people think the way they do is they got there somehow. Ravka still has servitude, for gods' sake! Lives don't matter the way people want them to today! It won't be only about some being rich and some poor, there should be huge differences depending on one's circumstances of birth, bloodlines, wrongs or slights generations old... I'm aware we're suppose to pretend Alina get a pass, because she's "Living Saint", but for example slapping a member of royalty should cost her. Bastard or not, you let it slide once, and next thing you know people are getting ideas and building guillotines.

Now to your question:

Genya is the easiest. She got punished for disobeying direct order, betraying the Darkling for a girl she hardly knew and who was too self-involved to truly act like the friend Genya for some reason suddenly feels her to be.

Aleksander let Genya close enough to be considerably honest around her, at least regarding his intentions with Lantsovs. Dangerous thing to do for a man in his position (and although I have my theories, this reply is no place for them). That's why he made it personal. She didn't only abandon their cause, she hurt him, so he took what she valued most about herself, fitting his revenge into her expectable punishment.

He could've had her whipped. To death even. Instead he chose more personal approach.

Alina's the messiest, because way too many feelings got involved and Aleksander's shit in handling those. His only lasting relationship is his abusive mother, others tend to die on him. Alina's a personification of a dream. Someone to keep him company for the rest of eternity. A companion he longed for for so long, he's not able to handle the bitter truth. I don't think he ever considered his "One and Only Equal" might not be interested in his goals and while he might rationally understand Alina's so much younger, he quickly loses his patience and decides to speed up her development because her young self is interfering with his general plans.

Now, while younger Aleksander might have been more passionate, he was never allowed the luxury of recklessness or even childhood, as a consequence of which he has no idea how to handle hormonal teenagers. Alina's worldview is incredibly narrow and she has several mental mechanisms to prevent her from changing that, while Aleksander's living in constant paranoia, possibility of fight or flight 24/7. They're incompatible the way they are- Alina unwilling to change, Aleksander too rigid and lacking the luxury of choice- yet in each other's way too much to merely split up. The Darkling needs the Sun Summoner as a tool and a symbol, and as long as he breathes, Alina won't have a chance to regain her beloved anonymity.

What he did to her?

The Collar was his hand forced. Unreliable deserter possessing the power he needed to ensure ceasefire.

What else is there that couldn't be explain by simple "They're on opposite sides of a conflict."?

The only other moment that comes to my mind is him burning down the orphanage, one of my favourites. The situation is thus:

The Darkling occupies the Throne (Yay!), but he lacks wide support, numbers and resources, therefore he's forced to rule by fear, which is no way to go, when he wants to build future, where Grisha are accepted. Who does have the love of masses, is an undeserving "Saint" and rogue prince, starving his own people, while being cheered on for it, because he's thwarting the Darkling at the same time. I'll ignore Nikolai for now. So, how do you catch a single person, who could be hiding anywhere, with help from anyone, while you can count on no one? You make them come to you. You make them show themselves under circumstances you control.

Alina already fled slaughter of others three times, one she even directly caused. She might pretend to be a do-gooder, but she truly cares only about herself and her otkazat'sya past. Threatening Malyen already proved to be fruitful, but that one's out of Aleksander's reach, so he tries the next best thing. Destroying her "home". There's also poetry in it- he lost his mother for Alina, it's only fair she'd lose hers. As a symbol of the past Alina's so stubbornly clinging to, there's even some chance it WILL really hurt her, which is certainly plus for his vengeful self.

Eventually it proves to be ruthless, simple and utterly brilliant. Alina falls for his threat and meets him in the Fold.

It's a beautiful example of sacrificing a few (The Grisha teachers probably stayed with the children for their sake, and residents of the orphanage were also just doing their jobs as far as we know.) to end civil war and bring the other side to heel. Ravka wasn't able to handle two-front war, opening third one was insanity and I'm genuinely surprised the country didn't fall (or that West didn't use it to finally free itself from East). With Alina's power under control the Darkling could've attempted "Peace or the Fold" again, perhaps even succeed this time.

And then we have Nikolai.

Second-born Lantsov thwarting his plans, proposing "his" Sun Summoner, loved by masses and army alike because unlike Aleksander, he's otkazat'sya. Goals? Same. Positions? Incomparable. Willingness to give everything? Yes for both.

In better world, they could've been allies. One easily accepted, the other highly experienced. But the story doesn't want that, so Nikolai is serious contender and an obstacle in Aleksander's way to "Fine, I'll do it myself.". He needs to be gone. Killing him would be easiest and most permanent, but Kolya fucked up, when he made it personal.

Tricking the Darkling, shooting him, proposing to his "not"gf, evacuating royal family AND Baghra, starving his forces once Darkles sits on the throne... taking away Nikolai's most valuable quality, while keeping him conscious enough to comprehend it is the way to go!

There's also a POV that says showing your essence down your rival's throat to irrecoverably change him might be seen as a romantic gesture or outright foreplay, but I happen to be a Fannibal, so I'm aware the majority of Grishaverse fans might find my ideas of romance a bit harder to digest (pun absolutely intended).

To sum up: Most of the Darkling's actions corresponds with his position of 19th century-esque war general and revolutionary attempting Coup to save his bankrupt country, while hated by masses and lacking resources. Plus a drop of clever, petty vindictiveness.

(And whole bucket of bad writing, because there are things that just DON'T MAKE SENSE- both regarding worldbuilding and characterisation.)

[lakesbian]

i DO think that Aisha is Better And More Responsible than Alec, but i DOn't think that she's trying to fix him, i think she is looking for him to unfix her, because he is hot and funny and cool and she is generally rebellious and looks for boundaries and rules to test and letting Alec be a bad influence on her is a fun way of doing that in a kind of externalized way. jimmy and kim dynamic.

kind of depends on what area we're talking Better And More Responsible in. like in terms of committing crimes they're both perfectly competent but aisha will drag her feet if she doesn't think the criminal scenario is serious enough to warrant dropping the annoying behavior whereas alec is more or less always in Competent Mode while committing crimes. but in terms of just, like, general being a person:

aisha: better and more responsible than alec by default because she's less fucked up by several margins, but often consciously trying to behave in a way that sucks because she's desperate for autonomy + recognition (+ she's 13 or 14 and thinks it's funny)

alec: worse and less responsible than aisha by default because he's more fucked up by several margins, but often consciously trying to improve. still behaves in a way that sucks because he repressed literally every other method of emotional expression when he was like 9 (+ he's 15 and thinks it's funny)

(like. aisha is capable of being genuinely sensitive after brian gets bonesawed. alec's similar attempt at being nice after brian gets bonesawed is "i support his relationship with taylor 👍 i know how it feels because [recounts insane horror story from his childhood using terrible oblivious phrasing that makes everyone think he's a freak.]")

the layers of her investment in their relationship over time are like

he's hot and funny and cool and the only one here who's not boring (bonus points because brian doesn't want me to hang out with him)

he's the only person who genuinely thinks i'm funny instead of irritating and he doesn't try to control me when i do stuff that sucks

we can actually have meaningful conversations and share stories abt ourselves with each other, he sees me and i see him in a way that no one else does, we're Best Friends in Shitheadery and also maybe the first really genuine companion the other has ever had

haha wouldn't it be crazy if alec and i braided our nerves together? wouldn't that be wild. wouldn't it be so fun and interesting if he used his power on me and saw every last inch of me in the most intimate all-encompassing way possible because he's the only person who's ever really seen me. wouldn't that be crazy lol

he died for me so i'm going to live the rest of my life trying to be what we could've become together if he had lived

in conclusion. at first she's not thinking about fixing Or unfixing just continuing her usual pattern of shitheadery but then they start Bonding bonding and whether or not they realize it they're both accidentally fixing each other. which results in alec changing so much + caring abt her so much that he kills himself for her, at which point she's like "have not been a shithead for a while, probably due to grief"

which in my head is like. she's still a shithead on Occasion but she also becomes the type of person to say shit like "i love being safe" and to occasionally execute plans without whining the entire time. and In My Head that's because she recognizes on some level that any bid for attention would be pointless now that the one person who actually got her is gone--she just kind of makes the "ignore me, everyone else does lol" joke to canary and goes on accepting that there's never gonna be another alec. her jokes are still funny to her but never as funny as they would've been if alec was there to laugh with her.

[the-timeless-founder]

Why is Saeclus' nickname the Timeless / the Eternal? Is it because of how old he is or did he do something that's went down in history as timeless? 👀

A combination of both! He's known as the Timeless primarily though. Both because of his weird aging and also because of a past """deed of glory""".

Okay so, first about Demons and Aging.

They have a much slower aging compared to Humans and even regular Angels in most cases. Shu mentions that a regular Vampire would begin to decay past two thousand years. It can be extended using the power of magic, as we have Vampires that have lived beyond two thousand retaining most of their power.

Think Karl Heinz or Dong Hwa Kang.

Now, comparing the races and the respective animals representing them, I have the following headcanons for the three other subraces and then the First Bloods:

The Adlers live the longest - they are wealthy, have high living standards and their relatively small population is well provided for by their mines and society. Because of this, Adlers have an average life expectancy of 3000.

The Vibora are very similar to the Vampire regarding the aging matter - but it heavily depends which region they have been born in. They have the most fluctuating life expectancy because of their different branches, but the years usually fly between 1500 to 2500 years for them.

The Wolves would have a life expectancy of around the same as the Vibora if they had a stable economy. Because of the famine and wars and their culture heavily being stapled in violence, it's hard to say how long a Wolf would live on average. However, their most powerful Lords could live up to 2000 and then some.

At last, the First Bloods. If we view them as the humans among these beings, aka being really generous, they would have a life expectancy of around ten thousand years.

But that's not the case 😭 because a lot of them usually die a lot younger than that. Why? Because of war, accidents and troubles of society. Their Lords are the only ones who might get to live that much, but they usually won't.

So, with all that in mind, Saeclus is considered a relatively experienced person even by First Blood standards. That means he's old but also not that old 😭 he stopped counting the years when he passed 500 so he has no idea how old he is either. He doesn't even remember his birthdate anymore.

Which means by all the other standards in this realm, he's hecking old. He should look like he's in his mid-thirties. And yet here he is, looking freshly past his early twenties. And it's even more odd because he's looked like this for the past thousand years.

It's weird. Karl Heinz, however, theorizes that the rare life magic essence that he possesses makes his lifespan surpass that of any ordinary Demon.

So guess what! He thought the best way to remedy it would be to kill him instead! Isn't he a darling? <333

But now for the """deed of glory""" I mentioned - which was a battle of course, that's why it's in heavy quotations. (tw for violence!)

Context is that in the war of the Founders against the Hell Beasts that broke loose from beyond the Black Mountains - also known as the Scarlet Age because the many places the Hell Beasts ravaged and most of the battlefields would always be painted red with blood - Saeclus' oldest brother, Nocsis, was murdered by the Mhyris.

The Mhyris were a large group of people who were bound to no social rules and no morals - they'd commit any sort of crime on a person of any race and did not care at all. It's rumored the group was founded by people that were shunned by Founder society for their crimes - turns out ignoring your problems instead of solving them leads to disaster.

Saeclus had just lost his father in a scheme set up by Odissa's sister, Odette, and now they tell him his brother has also been slaughtered in cold blood. And being in the middle of a war meant that he didn't even have time to grieve properly.

So he turned to the only other viable option - fury.

He had his men lead the Hell Beasts to the Mhyris most recent hiding spot, and then proceeded to absolutely decimate both the Mhyris and the Hell Beasts in a surprise attack as they'd engaged with each other.

The attack was vicious - Saeclus used his affinity with Hell Fire to roast the Beasts and Mhyris alike, some say that the Earth split open and spat out fire, only to devour those that would fall into the gaps in its fiery chasms.

Later, his soldiers and historians nicknamed the whole thing "the Battle of a Thousand and One Fires", because of the many beings that were burnt to nothing in it. And Saeclus received the official dub of The Timeless because of this glorious victory that ended the war and disbanded the Mhyris.

He does not look back on this event with any pride - if anything, he recalls it as one of his personal weakest moments. It's an odd sort of paradox - this was and is his greatest display of physical strength, but he fails to find a single thing to feel good about in it.

[bunchofstraydogs]

Dazai Osamu character breakdown as I understand him

Meaning that this might be inaccurate and your opinion and visage of him might differ from mine, which is just fine. We perceive the world and the people around us through our experiences and expectations. I'm curious to know how you guys see a complex character like Dazai, just please respect everyone's opinions.

Warning: Manga plot mentions, s2 spoilers, BEAST light novel spoilers, Dazai Osamu

Dazai Osamu was introduced into the scene of Bungou Stray Dogs at 14 when Mori found him.

Even at that young age, Dazai had suicidal tendencies and had been wrapped in bandages similarly as he is in the present. Already dealing with too much trauma for a child his age, the fire is fuelled as he was forced to bear witness to the death of the Port Mafia boss at the hands of Mori, the person that took him under his wing. To use him; which was becoming very apparent to Osamu if he hadn't been aware since the start. Now, I'm not saying that death of the previous boss left a particular scar on Samu, he even agrees with it and is something he himself would have done. But that that is the scene that bore fruit of the following quotes:

"Or could it be that you're afraid, Mori-san? That one day i will slit your throat and take over as the boss?"

followed by

"Everyone seems suspicious to those who have an axe to grind."

This tells us right away that he can tell what type of person you are just from the way you perceive your surroundings, which is logical, but not something many think too deep into.

Even less who have their evaluations of others on point like he does. And he has to, since Dazai's plan is always to understand his allies, his enemies, possible allies and possible enemies. He also takes into account important neutral parties that can still, in one way or another, affect the outcome of his plans or decide to align with one side out of common interest. After comes realising the main goals, along with side achievements (just in case some of those maim his allies or ruin the future plans he made) of every party. Taking in their morals and motivation, and being familiar with the ground the confrontation will happen on, he now has the view of the whole chess board and it's pieces in his head. He moves his allies in the right places, knowing how they'll react in the situation to come, and awaits the enemies with open fire arms. He was tought to think like that. At all times. Mori made sure of it. You know how specialists never really stop thinking in their areas of expertise, like doctors, for example, will naturally notice people's posture and look for scoliosis or whatever? How your foot hits the floor, if you're walking straight, your knees and shoulders, etc. Same for Dazai. His brain maps out person's expressions, reactions, choices, personality, etc. in great detail. I'm pretty sure he has eidetic memory, if his conversations in manga with Fyodor are anything to go by.

Another thing his brain does is think of worst possible outcomes.

Not in a fear of what if things go wrong, but as a possible route. He uses it to determine how big of a threat the opposing force is and what steps they'll have to take to achieve that. Knowing that, he'll know how to intercept them. Also, like everything else, it's not something he can control since we're talking about thought process here and that's just how his brain works. Can't magically turn that off. It's especially annoying to him when he's genuinely enjoying himself with, let's say, ADA members and then his brain goes brrr.

•"A lot happened recently and we're a torn in many people's eyes." *Tanizaki and Atsushi drinking punch* "There's a possibility, while a small one, about 8% at this very moment, but as time goes on will increase, that an organisation outside of Yokohama decided we're an unavoidable threat and poisoned the drinks. Don't drink that. Nothing will happen, they'll wake up tomorrow in pristine condition don't drink th-"

Yeah, i feel bad for him too.

He has PTSD and insomnia, besides the hectic brain,

so he's not getting proper amount of rest. Actually, he drinks almost every night by himself at home. Pretty sure it's canon as well, because if you search for a picture of him in his room, you'll see him surrounded by multiple bottles. Two of the PTSD symptoms are hallucinations and night terrors (no, that is not the same as a nightmare). What people usually do is use opium to cause hallucinations in a safe environment so that there's little chance of them happening uncontrolled. He's probably using alcohol to numb himself while he's reminiscing, since if he does still have hallucinations after years having passed by (which isn't impossible), they're probably few and far between. Not saying there's no chance he isn't using opium. He would know where to get what he needs, after all.

Osamu's haunted by his own actions as well, not just by trauma caused to him.

At an uncountable amount of occasions, he found himself looking into a mirror and not really comprehending his image. It was like dissociation. Looking through a fog at what's supposed to be your carbon copy, but not knowing all of your features perfectly, so whatever you're seeing could only be an impostor, yet you're not sure because that would take comprehending physical proof of your life to the fullest and how it works and he just... can't. He can but he doesn't want to. He already knows he's despicable and broken, doesn't really feel the need to see just how much. He can't, for all his perfect memory, remember the faces of the people he has killed. He hadn't even seen all of them, but he was responsible for their demise. Causing havoc and misfortune in general through other crimes besides murder as well. We've seen his expression when he listened in on Atsushi talking to Kyouka over the earpiece how the 35 deaths don't matter anymore. He knows they do and he knows that the change of heart won't justify what he's they've done. Ango thought him to value each life. But he also knows that even murderers can change and become good. Oda did that. It's also what's keeping him in the agency.

When Oda died, his last words mentioned that Dazai doesn't care about good or bad and that was correct for Dazai Osamu back then. I genuinely think that his present self does mind the difference.

He believes in necessary evil and will do dark shit to get the good outcome he's envisioned.

He doesn't separate outlaws and lawful people, however.

He knows that generally speaking, the line is thin and easy to cross and that many were born or forced into the situations they are. Those that fight the life thrown at them are an exception, not a rule. That's also why he likes Atsushi, probably the main reason. The boy has every right to hate the world and yet. Dazai is envious, he doesn't really have the same capacity.

I want now to talk about why does Dazai Osamu do what Dazai Osamu does.

The reason he attempts suicide, joined the mafia, made friends at all, is because for all his intelligence and observations, ability to understand others, he doesn't really understand himself.

He doesn't understand his worth. He doesn't understand his purpose. In all of that confusion, he finds no reason to live. He laughs but can't get the high, he bruises but can't fully heal. In all of the things people find happiness in he can't feel joy from. He is emotionally stunted. He thinks too logically. He doesn't understand actions out of emotions because to him, it doesn't make sense. Emotions cloud your mind and when you're not thinking straight, you make mistakes. Plain and simple. He just accepts it, that most people simply cannot control themselves and prefer lashing out instead of methodical approach. All the better for him, he has leverage. Even when he does act on impulse, which is incredibly rare and not as explosive and dramatic, his brain rationalises it as to why his actions were a good way to go. And if his reaction was one that bore fruit, than it was a tactical one.

"If you place yourself somewhere close to raw emotions, where you're exposed to raw violence and death, instinct and desire, you can brush against man's true nature. I though that way i could find a reason to live somehow."

From this, i can tell that he was hoping that, in a situation where he's pushed far enough, he'd realise what's important to him, what he wants to protect or destroy, what's one thing he wouldn't want to leave unsettled before dying. What is that one thing he'd regret dying before achieving? What should he fight death for. What is worth living on for? To him, it doesn't matter if that something is good or evil as long as he gets to keep it in his life.

It seems he hadn't found it exactly, but is satisfied with what he has for now, in the agency, to just keep going. But he still tries to commit suicide, hoping that one day, when the clear picture of the world around him is fading away, when he's becoming light headed from the lack of oxygen, when he's loosing control over his body and thoughts don't seem to flow well, there will be one thing, anyone, screaming at him to fight it. New day new chances. It didn't happen today, better luck tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomo-.

Now, like Mori, Dazai feels the need to, at all times, be in control of the situation. Including people.

That means no one, but perhaps Ranpo due to his own abnormal intellect, is aware of their own role. They know their mission, but they're not expecting to be given that particular one because they'll come across an obstacle they would react to in a way that would satisfy Osamu's plans.

Dazai Osamu is more of a chemist, than a chess player, if you ask me.

Throwing different people into the mix, under different conditions at different times and is noting down their reactions in safe surrounding if possible, so that when the time calls for it, he'll be able to make a perfect concoction for the predicament. A chemist and his substances; A chess player and his pawns; A puppeteer and his puppets. Now, Dazai is meticulous and never rash, but like everyone else (except effin Lovecraft what is he even) he's only human and he bleeds when he falls down and humans aren't perfect. He isn't always right. That means he makes mistakes. The issue with big shot players that control the board is that, when they fall down, everyone on their side crashes and burns as well. So the day Dazai fucks up everyone else will follow because of lack of insight on their part that's completely out of their control. All it takes is for him to underestimate or overestimate one person and chaos ensues. There is no such thing as happy little accidents small mistakes for someone like him. I have crippling anxiety and a sole thought that one hiccup could blow up in everyone's face... damn. I would try committing suicide myself. But it's his fault, he brought upon himself an obligation and pressure like that. To be fair, it was Mori that drilled that type of thinking where no one should know what you plan because they can't ruin what they don't know If they turn against you, they can't stop you.

For his own sake, and everyone else's, Dazai needs to learn how to show his cards and share the burden.

Again, going back to the emotionally stunted guy that has commitment issues (where he either can't commit or can't let go) trope.

He never outright does something good for someone where people would acknowledge it, he uses his underhanded tactics here as well.

He casually makes himself look like a bad guy, an asshole, to conveniently move attention from the inner turmoil a person is struggling with to a present problem at hand that they can fix and let their frustrations out on. But he hopes that, one day, someone just might notice his intentions for what they are and do the unspeakable- see through him.

"I'm a very private person. You don't ask, i don't tell."

Yes, and your whole existence is just a huge cry for help. He wants to be asked. He's begging for attention. A specific type of attention. One that will see him without making him feel imposed on. One that will understand his sins without making a big deal out of it. Accept him as a person he is, makes him feel like one as well. Makes him feel alive. Makes him feel... period.

The day he finds that thing is the day he completely turns his life around and fully dedicates to it. It's where the part of not being able to let go commitment issue ensues.

Since Oda's death he's been secretly keeping an eye out on possible ways to bring him back. If you've read Beast AU you know that when Dazai gets his hands on the book, he'll create a universe where Oda doesn't die. Should he find an ability user that can bring back the dead, just tell him what it will take, he's ready to destroy his own soul for it and if that isn't enough, well, he'll have no hesitation ruining theirs. After all, BEAST!Dazai Osamu never actually met Odasaku, he just had the memories he'd gotten from his canon self and that was enough for him to do everything he did.

He's incredibly selfish and has a weird come in but the door is a wall dynamic he rolls with in his self imposed solitude.

It's like the walls of the space in my brain are ugly and terrifying, so i closed off the entrance to keep myself in. I'm doing you a favour but please break the wall down and tell me it's okay to come out i don't want to be here-

Happy little thoughts woah woah yeah~

That's what i got from what I've seen of him. I may have missed some things, some things might prove to be wrong as the series progress further, but yeah.

There is, however, one more thing i want to put out here. Since Dazai was already like this before Mori found him, that begs to question as to why? What happened to him?

Now, since the characters are based on real people, is it crazy to say that Dazai Osamu has had a horrible childhood because of his father? Real life Dazai was terrified of his dad and was very intimidated by him. He always tried to stay in his good graces out of fear of punishment. Neither of his parents felt like a parent to him, actually. His father didn't care and his mother was often ill, but did care for him when she could. Both of them died eventually.

This could be the plot Kafka based Dazai's background on, but we'll have to wait and see.

[latibulation]

oc android verse time !!

for maive, i was thinking about the ways to translate a trans narrative into an android. essentially, he is physically the same model/make as mirae (his sister, we'll get there), but through the magic of human error and technology fuck ups, he's given the programming associated with the HR400 (think... eden club. male model). this ultimately leads to him deviating rather quickly - he's stricken with the acute sense that if anyone finds out, he will be deactivated or wiped, and the thought scares him. it makes him think i don't want to die, and he can't shake the feeling. toss in a good dose of confusion and misalignment between his programming and stated purpose, and you have an android existential crisis. so he keeps quiet, doesn't mention anything about it, and instead chooses to adapt. somewhere out there, kamski is losing his absolute shit over this.

as a general service model, the things asked of him are far from demanding, and with a stroke of luck, the family that takes him home is generally kind, well mannered, and patient. they assume he's simply adapting to their home and routines, and since androids can learn rules quickly, it doesn't take so long it rouses any suspicion.

running into the general timeline of the game, deviancy starts to rise, and the violent reaction doesn't make him feel Great. at some point, his family undergoes Some kind of attack, handwaves the details. the important part being that maive is, understandably, considered a suspect for the crime. and it's hard because he is a deviant - but he cared for his family, and was generally uninvolved in the crime. fast forward, enter norman jayden (just roll with it, okay), and much like the way he breaks ethan out in heavy rain, he does the same for maive once maive gives him all he knows.

enter: mirae.

she's the same make and model as maive, hair a touch different, but has been employed in the children's section of a library. her primary purpose is keeping it tidy and organized, and minimizes sick employees from, yknow. handling children all day. but she's good with kids, part of the housekeeping protocol, and has formed relationships with several families that frequent the library.

maive meets her by running errands for his family, and has the strange moment of recognition. i've toyed around with the idea of them being from the same lot/store and having very vague, muddied memories of each other but i haven't settled totally. either way, they click, and in no time develop a sibling relationship with each other.

so, when shit hits the fan, and maive escapes less than legally, he goes to the library because she's who he can think of as safe. prior to this, he's prodded her here and there towards deviance, but she's never really had much reason. she's generally treated well, 'enjoys' what she does, and propaganda is one hell of a drug. however, hiding maive who's being accused of a crime he didn't commit, just because he's an android? that one stings. he interfaces with her, shows her the whole interrogation. needless to say, the unfairness sticks with her, and deviation cracks her in the face.

so, as far as post canon:

maive has his name cleared, and is (eventually) living a very lovely life dating norman because we said so. he job hops a bit as he decides what he actually Wants to do. also, because of his crossed wires, he's a bit obnoxiously flirtatious.

mirae retains her position at the library, but allows herself to feel the depth of her attachment to the children and families she sees. she's very happy there, and being treated as Part of the staff feels nice also.

[inessencedevided]

Oh yeah, titles are totes valid. I like yiling patriarch cos when you think about it it doesn't make sense. He didn't create the town of yiling, and he technically doesn't even live there. He sould be called burial mounds patriarch or smth.

Anyway, enough about titles (also if I have made a mistake due to translation error or misunderstanding, whoops). Which OG sect leader do you think was the worst, and which one was the best? And which next gen sect leader is best and worst?

I dislike jgs most, cos yikes. Wrh might have been a tirant and war criminal, but at least he wasn't as big of a dick as jgs. Can't really decide who the best is, cos they all had issues, you know?

Worst next gen would have to be jgy, not cos I dislike him as a person but because he definitely commited war crime and genocide. Idk best here either cos once again, *slaps top of cgl* these cultivators can fit so much trauma and issues. I do like imagining how the now sect is run. One twink mastermind and his hunk retinue? Love that for them

-the axe cultivator

Argh, 🪓-cultivator (there's an emoji! :D). I'm so sorry! I'm terribly behind again in answering you. I promise, I like your asks but I want to give them proper attention and the holidays were surprisingly busy this year.

That question is very creative! And hard ^^ I had to think about all my answers, even the seemingly easy "worst sect leader of the OG". Because while jin Guangshan is definitely a pompous ass and overall shitty person who is more concerned with sleeping with every woman in Lanling than his duties and who didn't step up during the sunshot campaign and then decided to use the power vacuum afterwards to his advantage, he at least, you know, did some sect leading. Which is not something that can be said about one Qingheng-Jun. That guy just left his brother and eventually and increasingly his teenage son in charge. Now what is worse? Bad sect leading or no sect leading at all? I don't know if I can decide ^^

Ah yeah and Wen Ruohan ... 🤷‍♀️ obviously he wasn't great, but he's also the least three-dimensional "villain" so I never really bother with him ^^

The best og sect leader? Does lan qiren as an acting sect leader count? ^^ obviously he too has issues, as you said. I believe lan qiren, as a leader, as an uncle and as an educator was deeply influenced by the things that happened with his brother. I can only imagine how deeply it must have hurt him to see his brother abandon both his people, him, his brother and his own children for the sake of one woman. Whatever your opinion on qingheng-jun, I believe we can all agree that his actions must have deeply hurt and disappointed lan qiren. We don't know what he was like before those events, so we don't know just how mich of his extreme rigidity is due to those events, but I do believe that they hardened him and made him more inflexible. Maybe he was much more of a free spirit before. Maybe he was a lot like Lan Wangji, but instead of loosening and expanding his understanding of the relationship between morality and rules, the events that shaped him let him to harden them. We don't know. But we do know that he picked up the pieces his brother left him. My point is, you can think about his style of leadership and teaching what you want but you cannot deny that he is devoted to the people in his care and that's not something you can say about a lot of the leaders of his generation.

Now, to the next gen leaders:

This is, in a way, even harder to decide ...

I wouldn't call jiggy the worst sect leader so easily. His record, imo, is very much mixed. The watchtowers, if I recall the novel correctly (it's been 6 months since I last read it ^^), were a pretty good way to get help to people who usually fall under the radar of the cultivation sects. So while he definitely sacrificed a lot in his rise to the top, he seems to have tried to help the common people (something that cannot be said about his two predecessors).

But ... who then? I thought a lot about it and I think I'm inclined to say Nie Huaisang. Don't get me wrong, I love him as much as anyone, but I also remember the part in the novel where, when wangxian investigate the "man eating bunker" (i wonder how accurate that translation is) a town's person sais that they don't expect help from the nie sect because ever since Nie Huaisang took over nothing gets done and they neglect to help the people within their territory. Now, we know that Nie huaisang cultivated a reputation of general incompetence so people wouldn't suspect him to scheme against jin guangyao, but in doing so, he obviously neglected his duty to the people under his care. Which is, imo, pretty consistent with his character. Nie Huaisang us ruthless when sufficiently angered and has no qualms to cause casual damage to achieve his goal (see Mo Xuanyu's suicide to bring wei wuxian back). His revenge was his first priority and so he placed being a good brother over being a good sect leader.

Best? Is also dificult. I honestly can't decide between Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng? There are so many factors to consider here! (There were already woth the ones above, really): what actions count towards the assessment of their leadership? What makes good leadership at all? (Which is funny because I'm doing my masters in political science rn and that's one of the biggest questions in political theory. But I only really know "Western" political theory. Chinese philosophy i have only ever graced the surface of) which is to say ... I can't really decide.

Jiang cheng put his sect above all else. While there's a lot of debate about whether that was morally right, it's certainly what helped him rebuild his sect as quickly as he did. He is brash and sometimes cruel, but his deciples clearly trust him and admire him.

Lan Xichen is an incredible diplomat. He is calm, fair (i.e. when he decides to listen to wangxians accusations against the sworn brother he loved and investigated them himself) and proactive when he needs to be. (I know, he is often accused of being too passive within the fandom, but I don't think that is necessarily the case. In a world where most leaders seem to base their judgement on rumor and hearsay more often than not, he withholds judgement until he listened to all sides. That is not a flaw in leadership) Now, in the end, he seemingly follows his father's footsteps by going into seclusion. I would argue, that still doesn't place them on the same step leadership wise. A. The situation with Jin Guangyao and madam lan, imo, aren't equivalent. It's hard to judge madam lan because we don't know what let her to kill the lan teacher, but I think it's unlikely she deceived qingheng-jun in the process. Jin Guangyao actively deceived kan xichen for years. When lan xichen learned this, he decided to investigate and was badly hurt in the process. The outcome, seclusion, may be the same, but the reasons are different. Also, the novel heavily implies that lan xichen will eventually emerge and take up his duties again.

All of this is to say... I can't decide ^^

I'll answer the other putstabding ask tomorrow. It's past midnight now and I should really sleep. Thank you for being so patient 💙

Btw, happy holidays, if you celebrate 🥰

[racke7]

basically? danny decides to actually be a villain. in metropolis. and he's pretty much unstoppable. superman can't punch him but danny can punch him back. punch him and make it HURT.

and he doesn't really care about ''committing crimes'' as a general rule. but he lives in metropolis. he knows these assholes. he knows which auto-repair shop is basically just scamming people. and he has no reason NOT to ruin their lives.

so now everyone in metropolis is going ''yeah. phantom is a menace with a grudge against superman. BUT-'' bcs they know exactly why danny's targets deserved to be targeted. and even if it's illegal it's nice to see them suffer.

danny doesn't care about ''long-term fixes'' (that requires legal intervention and he's not responsible for that) danny only wants to make everyone who's ever annoyed him SUFFER for it.

neighbor vacuuming at 3am? vengeance.

train that's constantly JUST A LITTLE BIT delayed? just enough that nobody at work will accept that as an excuse? vengeance.

he's an absolute menace and a lot of people are lowkey terrified of him. but he's also so fucking cathartic for the regular folks.

also also. if dani finds out before jazz does? he now has a side-kick. who is just as strong and a lot more cheerful in her menace. danny has a deranged grin on his face. a vicious kind of gleeful anger that's SO relatable to anyone who's ever been annoyed. dani has a bright grin on her face and seemingly not a mean bone in her body. but she's also childishly destructive.

danny is in it for the vengeance. dani is in it for the ''fun''. nobody knows if she's being corrupted or is just inherently Evil.

Alright. Building on this now.

Everyone knew Phantom.

He was somehow both the scariest and most benign of Metropolis' villains.

Scariest because he didn't actually seem to lose as much as he'd at some point decide that he'd beaten up the Supers enough that it wasn't fun anymore. And then he'd just... go home.

Most benign, because outside of his clear and violent antipathy towards heroes? He was more of an anti-hero than a villain.

The government refuses to fix the potholes? Phantom waits until a bit of rain and then drags the politician in charge of the refusal to a pothole and waterboards him in it.

A repair-shop slowly growing infamous for scamming its customers? Phantom rips out the engines on the owners' own cars, and then uses them as improvised weapons against the Supers.

If you were an honest citizen? Odds were that you had more things to worry about from collateral-damage from the Supers than from anything Phantom got up to.

In fact, Phantom-fights had a weird tendency to lack the regular amounts of collateral-damage. And there were definitely theories going around that this was a very deliberate stab at the heroes from Phantom.

However, this lack of collateral-damage wasn't necessarily true for Phantom's side-kick.

Phantasm was-... Phantasm was a violent little monster who didn't see anything wrong with casually throwing bricks through people's windows.

If it made people yell and chase her in rage? Phantasm would do it with the uncaring glee of a cat pushing things off of a shelf.

Phantasm was less violent, it was true. She only really fought the Supers in the role of 'backup' that Phantom clearly didn't need. But Phantasm was definitely a villain.

The Justice League seemed to have gotten this mixed up, because there were usually someone yelling at Phantom about 'corrupting' Phantasm, when anyone with eyes knew that it was blatantly obvious that Phantasm was the Evil one.

But nobody was really going to make a big fuss about it. They were probably siblings? Maybe? Their exact relationship hadn't ever been explained, but they looked very similar and their apparent ages weren't that far apart.

And if Phantom wanted to channel his little sister's obviously Evil and Villainous nature into being a small-time Villain side-kick? Nobody was going to be objecting to that.

It was even kind of fun watching the girl egg the police-station every few weeks.

Short DPXDC Prompts #972

Danny is just trying to keep a stable job and pay rent in Metropolis. When Superboy takes his shitty old car and throws it at Parasite and misses. Something in Danny’s mind cracks. His wall of rage and restraint crumbles. He has words to say to Superboy for throwing his fucking car.