#im keeping that title

[bluemink5822]

So, I am almost exclusively a traditional artist, but it kind of feels like Tumblr as a whole is rather overwhelmingly digital, so while I don't do it often, I wanted to try a daily monochrome portrait in digital too, and see if I could get it close to what it's like on paper.

In short, I don't dislike it, but I definitely wouldn't prefer the process or result over traditional drawing.

Made using ibis paint X.

Taking free requests for any live action character you want to see in a monochromatic medium.

Alt + some ranting under the cut

While I'm not totally dissatisfied with the result, I am annoyed that I had to give him a little glow to compensate for my not putting the background in early enough, and the overall softness prevented the product from showing some of the details that were less prominent. Creation-wise, I missed both the control and the randomness that comes with traditional art. Even blessed with a stylus (I love you finger artists but you scare me), maneuvering was more difficult with size and opacity preset, and the strokes exhibit a standardized pattern instead of showcasing the movement which made them. I also think I chose a bad reference, because while no one deserves to look as pretty as David Tennant did wearing a half-smile half-frown type expression, it looks rather unnatural out of context. Nonetheless, I love how easy it is to erase and adjust in digital, even after the piece is finished.

So on the subject of adjusting in digital, I wanted to see if I could make the piece more interesting by changing the color. I love indigo, so I gave him this spacey bluish tone just for fun and really can't decide which one I like better. That's all.

[suntails]

winter

[gabrielcrossleyart]

Little Shiara piece! I haven't drawn mass effect fanart in aaaaages and I really loved working on this!

You can commission me via ko-fi here!

[lucabyte]

heres your highly requested fluff you fucking animals

[robinfollies]

and we believed ourselves when we said we’d never be alone again 🌼🌈💖

[smiuffzo]

didnt plan on posting this today originally but decided that it actually fits really well with the beginning of the spooky season, so!

a fake doai movie poster inspired by posters for movies 'a short film about love' and 'on the silver globe', both by andrzej pągowski! and just for fun i also made a version with a shoddy polish title, how authentic am i right

[demelzathemer]

WHY are dead boy detectives fanfic writers so MANY and so TALENTED??? I CANNOT KEEP UP (I am making a collection of the best titles, by hand, and another collection of the best writers, just so I can remember to go back and read the rest of their stuff later)

[thatonechocogirl]

bers sleeping :)

[pumpkins-journal]

ima go to bed but uhhh poll ended w yall being interested in jjkmon mystery dungeon-esque au so here is just a taste of what ive been brain rotting guess their typings i dare u

[holmesillustrations]

Dogs Bracket is here! It turns out a lot of these dogs are horses, but there was exactly 32, which is perfect for our purposes 🐶🐴🦁

Currently on Semifinals

Most of us are i think familiar enough with the stories that this wont be a surprise, but just in case i do want to warn that a few of these illustrations feature violence against or by the animals in question, i'll tag those specifically when we get to their polls as 'animal violence'

Full list of competitors under cut:

(Illustrations in blue were already out, those in green have been newly eliminated)

[Colliers Cover Illustration] Missing Three-quarter, FD Steele

"On the ledge of rock above this strange couple stood three noble buzzards" Study in Scarlet, Charles Doyle

"He laid his hand upon the glossy neck." Silver Blaze, Sidney Paget

"Close to the door of the cage lay Mrs. Ronder, with the creature squatting and snarling above her." Veiled Lodger, FD Steele

"Silver Blaze" Silver Blaze, Sidney Paget

"Phosphorous!" I said. Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES." Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"There's our man, Watson! Come along." Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"The carriage rattled past." Missing Three-quarter, Sidney Paget

"There in the centre lay the unhappy maid where she had fallen" Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"THE DRIVER POINTED WITH HIS WHIP—'BASKERVILLE HALL,' SAID HE" Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"I SAW HIS EYES FIX THEMSELVES OVER MY SHOULDER." Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"Holmes crouched behind the bush with the dog as the carriage approached." Shoscombe Old Place, FD Steele

"Running up, I blew its brains out." Copper Beeches, Sidney Paget

"Holmes gazed at it and then passed on." Abbey Grange, Sidney Paget

[Mycroft's brougham] Final Problem, Harry C. Edwards

[Woman with horse] Shoscombe Old Place, FD Steele

"As I slipped the bars it bounded out, and was on me in an instant." Veiled Lodger, FD Steele

"The dog sniffed round for an instant, and then with a shrill whine of excitement started off down the street." Missing Three-quarter, Sidney Paget

"Dog and man were rolling on the ground together, the one roaring in rage, the other screaming in a strange shrill falsetto of terror." Creeping Man, HK Elcock

"Holmes darted forward and barred their way." Lady Frances Carfax, Alec Ball

"They bundled him into a cab that was beside the kerb" Red Circle, HM Brock

[The professor and his dog] Creeping Man, FD Steele

"Holmes emptied five barrels of his revolver into the creature's flank." Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"We got off, paid our fare." Speckled Band, Sidney Paget

"We were to go to the theatre… suddenly he darted away into the fog." Bruce-Partington Plans, FD Steele

[MacPherson's Dog on the beach] Lion's Mane, FD Steele

"THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES." [Frontispiece] Hound of the Baskervilles, Sidney Paget

"How far to Wallington?" Cardboard Box, Sidney Paget

""Too late, Watson; too late!" cried Holmes" Solitary Cyclist, Sidney Paget

[Lion] Veiled Lodger, FD Steele

"At the same moment Holmes stepped out and released the spaniel." Shoscombe Old Place, Frank Wiles

Full graphic with nothing greyed out:

And finally, i wanted to include every animal illustration, but i did leave out the two from Blue Carbuncle with dead geese, those are not dogs they are ingredience.

Edit: I realised i completely messed up the order of polls in the original bracket, all fine for round 1's results but would have caused problems for round 2. The current one is correct, but obviously had to be shuffled around a lot, so the numbers by each one show their order from round 1 for future reference, sorry bout that!

[anthyies]

the chapter 195 title art.

[demadogs]

dude im rewatching season four for the first time in a year and its literally not even funny how obvious mikes queer coding is like i actually am so baffled how it isnt completely mainstream common knowledge that this character is gay

[littleplantfreak]

The Wheel - Umemiya Hajime

(From my earlier post this morning about how Umemiya would do the voices from his kid's bed time stories. I don't think there's any CWs. It's SFW and a x reader? but that's all i think)

Umemiya’s always been a reader. Whether it was his parents reading to him when he was young, him reading to his siblings in the group home, or just the gardening books he began to read as he started taking an interest in it, books were always a staple to him. It’s no surprise when your first child’s room ends up having a huge bookcase full of books, along with a few scattered toys and a piggy bank placed high enough that your three year old can’t reach it. Every night before bed, your daughter picks an armful of books out before waddling over and throwing them down. To her, this is one or two books, even though it’s actually around ten if you counted. She never stays awake long enough to get through all of them, but her efforts are nothing if not valiant.

The three of you squish up on her small bed while her pudgy fingers grab the first book on the pile. You start the narration, and she’s running her hands on the pages, tracing little goats as they’re frolicking through the pages. Just as the troll begins to speak, your husband takes over the dialogue after slipping on his reading glasses.

“Who’s that going across my bridge?” Hajime grumbles in a deep voice, and you can see your daughter visibly perk up. As the little goat gets past the troll, he gets more dramatic, and at the climax, he pauses the story.

“Is he gonna hurt the big billy goat, daddy?” Your little girl asks, bottom lip trembling in upset.

“I’m not sure, little star. Do you want me to keep reading?” He brushes her hair back out of her face as she thinks about it. She looks at the big billy goat, hand passing over the picture again, and even though she’s about to tear up with worry, she grabs your fingers and squeezes them tight before telling him yes, she does want to hear it.

He starts again, explaining that the big billy goat rammed into the troll so hard, he flew off the bridge and was swept away by the river. Your daughter smiles, looking at the three billy goats happily munching on the grass, and you can’t stop a giggle from rolling past your lips.

“Daddy’s pretty good at the voices huh?” you ask, booping her nose gently.

“THE BEST!” She yells before picking up the next book from the pile as she explains that you’ll do the same thing as before and Hajime will be doing the high-pitched voice of a baby bird trying to find its mother that has you snorting into your hands.

When she has a play date with some neighborhood kids, her and her friends are enthralled by him reenacting the story of Peter Pan, sword fights, and all while you’re making lunch in the kitchen. Even after you adopt her younger brother, your daughter listens to the same stories he’s told a hundred times before with the same adoration, sometimes jumping in herself to voice the characters she really likes.

Your son, now a teenager in high school, sits at a table in the local library, book open to a page he hasn’t turned in the past 20 minutes. He’s hunched over it as if to study, but his eyes flicker over to the corner of the children’s section every so often. There, a group of younger kids crowd around on a circle carpet for the weekly reading time, hushed in awe of the man reading a story.

“…and the big billy goat winds up to run headfirst into the troll…and he gets eaten!” No longer quiet, the kids are howling and shouting, and your son’s neck snaps in the direction of his father. Shutting his book, he pushes out of his seat, walking to the edge of the carpet.

“Dad!” He blusters, a little too loud to be considered decent in a library. Hajime just tilts his head towards him, eyes locked on with a grin on his face.

“Hey tiger, thought you were studying,” he says, playing at surprise.

“That’s not how the story ends, and you know it,” his son's eyes are serious, his expression bothered. He’s heard this story countless times, and the big billy goat never loses.

“Really now?” Hajime slaps his hands on his thighs before standing up from his chair, holding the book out close enough for him to grab. “Why don’t you show us how it ends then?” He grins, scarred eyebrow cocked in challenge.

His son realizes the trap he’s fallen in, looking at the pairs of eyes now burning into him, urging him to finish the story the right way. “…Fine. But everyone’s gotta listen because I’m not going back and rereading it if you start giggling with your friends,” he says, grabbing the book and flipping its pages, rewinding a bit before the climax so it won’t confuse the ones who were thrown off by the fake ending earlier. Hajime sits down on the carpet with the rest of the kids cross-legged, watching his son start out slow and nervous, but eventually his tone changes and slips into a grumbled voice, the big billy goat about go head to head with the troll again.

By the end of the book, the kids are up and crowding him, asking if he'll pleeeease read another story! Just one more, Nii-san the caterpillar one! No, he's gonna like the one with the bats more-. and the flush on his face rivals Sakura's when he was younger.

You walk in just as the kids start showing your son different books, pulling on his pant legs, and you can't help but laugh. You look at your husband, who's not giving any aid whatsoever.

"So you're pawning off your jobs now? What happened to the reliable Umemiya Hajime?" You tease, giving him one of the drinks from your shopping bag.

Hajime hums at that, a smile on his face. "He just so happens to be equally reliable. I think he's got a knack for it," he whispers, pulling you close so you're hip to hip, his arm wrapped around your waist and pressing a kiss to your jaw.

"Right, and this has nothing to do with the text from our daughter saying she's coming to visit in a few minutes? You told her to come down here, didn't you?" Accusation evident in your voice, as you check the time from the last set of texts in the family group chat.Your son's been talked into reading Paddington as the kids quiet down in rapt attention.

He doesn't notice his big sister coming in and snapping a quick picture of the scene in front of her until his phone goes off, and he's turning pink, fumbling, and trying to make excuses as to why he's reading to a bunch of kids. No matter what, she'll end up teasing him about it, so he's at a loss. It doesn't stop him from coming back next week at the same time, when his dad makes the excuse that he'll have to cancel the reading time this week due to an appointment if he can't get someone to fill in.

[starkidsonnets]

the moist star, upon whose influence neptune’s empire stands

edward nashton x reader (kinda)

| contains : edward tweaking

| word count : 1625

| note : similar ideas to "тоска," but youre included ! i like exploring edward's obsessiveness and delusions. i swear i'll write more reader-inclusive stuff soon, i js dont have any ideas lol

Edward’s mind was a stormy sea, perpetually churning with doubts and fears that never quite settled. Thoughts crashed against one another like waves in a tempest, each one more anxious than the last. There was hardly a moment of peace; every word or movement or glance was just another flaw of his to internalize, or another reason to add to the ever-growing list as to why he hated everyone. Though, in the stillness, when the world faded to a hushed whisper, his worries took flight. He dissected the smallest interactions, convinced they harbored hidden meanings, each glance a judgment, each word a slight. What should have been mundane became a labyrinth of disquietude, where shadows loomed larger than life. To Edward, thinking was less an adventure and more a prison, each thought a heavy stone weighing down his spirit. He was trapped in a cycle of over-analysis, where the simplest decisions spiraled into agonizing deliberations. There was very little he didn’t scrutinize, as the fear of the unknown gnawed at him, turning the world into a treacherous landscape filled with pitfalls at every turn. 

Despite the turmoil swirling within him, Edward clung to the belief that his mind was his greatest strength – his only strength, really. In a world that often felt chaotic and unforgiving, his intellect was the one refuge he could count on. It was a sharp blade, slicing through the fog of uncertainty, a beacon of light in his shadowy thoughts. He often found solace in the complexity of his ideas, reveling in the intricate webs he wove with his imagination. When faced with challenges, he would retreat into the labyrinth of his own mind, seeking clarity amidst the confusion. He could dissect a problem from every angle, exploring possibilities others might overlook, his thoughts a flurry of colors on a grayscale canvas. It gave him a sense of control, and, dare he say, superiority. In a world where he held zero significance – to anything, anyone – he found some twisted comfort in the fact that he was smart. It was a slight delusion of his, of course. 

“What do they know, anyway? I-Idiots, all of them…”

Still, even he could not deny the rare euphoria of silence. In those fleeting moments when the cacophony of his thoughts quieted, a profound stillness enveloped him like a warm embrace. It was a sanctuary, a pause from the relentless tide of anxiety that typically swept through his mind, leaving him breathless. 

In those rare moments, when he got to see you.

He had first seen you on the subway during his regular commute home from a mindlessly gruelling day at work; an ordinary journey that had transformed into something extraordinary in the blink of an eye. The train rattled through the dim tunnels, a cacophony of voices and clattering metal, but in that moment, all sound faded into a distant murmur. It was as if the world around him had suddenly paused, holding its breath to witness this fleeting encounter. He couldn’t particularly remember how you managed to catch his eye – to anyone else, you were nothing extraordinary. Just another body riding the subway, a transient figure in a sea of anonymity, nothing to take a second glance at. Nothing but another face in the crowd, a mere collection of features blurred by the rush of life. Edward, had he not been so fatedley observant, might have fallen victim to the same tragedy as those who passed you by without a second thought, who might never realize that beneath your unassuming exterior lay a depth of something indescribably enticing. 

To him, you were an enigma, a spark of intrigue that ignited something deep within. You stood there on the subway, simply minding your own business, yet somehow you managed to captivate Edward in a way that felt almost surreal. Your presence was unassuming, a quiet strength that commanded attention without any effort. You didn’t do anything remarkable – just leaned against the metal pole, lost in your thoughts, but in that stillness, you radiated a calmness that cut through the cacophony of the train. There was a grace in the way you held yourself, an effortless poise that drew him in. Your eyes, gazing out the window or perhaps lost in your own thoughts, held a softness that felt inviting. It was in that gaze that Edward found a rare stillness, the kind that made him forget his worries, if only for a moment. He couldn’t explain why, but something about your presence brought a sense of peace he had long thought unattainable.

He couldn’t think. Physically, he could not. The chaos of his racing mind had suddenly come to a grinding halt, as if someone had pressed a mute button on the world around him. In that moment, clarity and confusion were indistinguishable, and he felt an unsettling disorientation. He wasn’t even sure he was breathing, as though the very act of inhaling had slipped away from him, leaving him suspended in a strange limbo of thought and sensation. Time itself felt distorted, stretching and compressing in ways that made no sense. Every sound – the distant rumble of the train, the murmurs of passengers – seemed to blur into a single, muted note, reverberating in his ears without truly registering. It was as if he had entered a dreamlike state, where reality faded and the boundaries of his mind began to dissolve.

Panic fluttered at the edges of his awareness, threatening to pull him under, but it was countered by an unexpected stillness, a weightless quality that enveloped him. His heart raced, yet it felt distant, as if it were a drumbeat echoing from far away. He could feel the subtle rise and fall of his chest, but it was as if he were watching himself from a distance, an observer trapped within his own body. Thoughts that usually spiraled and collided in a chaotic dance were replaced by an eerie quiet. In that silence, he was struck by a profound sense of vulnerability, bare and exposed, as if the world had stripped away all the layers he usually hid behind. All because of you. 

He watched you exit the subway soon after, the recognition returning to your tired eyes, lost in your own daydreams, patting yourself down as you stepped onto the platform to ensure you had all of your belongings. As soon as the doors slid shut, the world – the noise –  suddenly came rushing back, flooding his hollow shell of a body.

This was the case the second time he saw you, too. He noticed you standing there again, the familiar silhouette framed against the dim lights of the subway car, and something inside him stirred. A mixture of excitement and a creeping sense of obsession. Each time you appeared, it felt as if the world fell away, and the chaos of his thoughts faded into the background, allowing him to focus solely on you.

And the third. He found himself timing his commute just to catch a glimpse of you, his heart racing as he stepped onto the platform, scanning the crowd for that unmistakable presence. The way you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear or how you smiled softly to yourself as you read something on your phone, each detail etched itself into his memory. You had become a constant in his life, a calming force amidst the storm of his mind.

And the fourth. By now, he was no longer just an observer; he was a silent participant in your routine. He would position himself at the same spot on the train, hoping to catch you in moments of stillness, your gaze lost in thought. You were unaware of the effect you had on him, how your presence pulled him from the depths of his anxieties and anchored him in a world that felt increasingly chaotic.

He watched you with an intensity that bordered on obsession, each encounter fanning the flames of a yearning he didn’t fully understand. You were a puzzle he felt compelled to solve, a riddle that intrigued him more with each glance. He began to memorize the subtle patterns of your movements, the way you leaned against the pole when the train lurched, or how you chewed on your lip as you stared at nothing, daydreaming or simply tired from the day. He’d think about your lips on his skin, if they’d soothe the constant ache in his bones the way your mere presence silenced his mind’s agony. The thought melted away the tension in his chest, burning his insides up to black char. He’d save the idea for later tonight, when things got lonely and cold. 

Yet, as he sank deeper into this fixation, a nagging awareness flickered at the edges of his consciousness. He knew it wasn’t healthy to feel this way, to rely so heavily on someone who didn’t even know he existed. But the pull was irresistible; you were the only thing that managed to quiet his relentless thoughts, even if only for a few precious moments.

He needed you more than the tide needed the moon, an unspoken truth that coursed through him like the pull of a hidden current. In the vast expanse of his life, you were the celestial body that governed his every wave, guiding him through the tumult of emotions with a gravitational force he could scarcely comprehend. He needed you with an intensity that transcended reason. You were the anchor that kept him tethered, the whisper of the universe that promised solace amid the storm. Without you, he was but a wandering wave, yearning for the steady embrace of the moon that would quell him. Silence him. Adore him, as he has adored you. 

[tiktowafel]

personal lore dump for Shihai Kuroiro!! (where i'm probably a little mean to him but it's out of love guys i swear)

verrry late for his birthday but it's here!! :] love this kid. so many thoughts about him to share

i'll just start with the part that i find the most important - the core of his character, to me, is that he is not what he says he is and not what he desperately tries to convince himself and everyone else that he is.

i'm mostly basing this off of how ultra analysis gives him one of the two lowest wits scores in his class (as shown above) despite the fact that he calls himself "the scheming hero" and spends half his joint training match dramatically talking about trickery and psychological traps - while i like to ignore canon sometimes, this little piece of information is something i could never disregard. it's so endearing to me, plus him apparently trying really hard to seem way cooler than he actually is fits with the chuunibyou archetype he's supposed to represent.

severe headcanon territory & a generally slightly lengthy textpost under the read more lol

now, why do i hc he's that way in the first place? well, basically: his whole life he's admired underground heroes very strongly and ended up developing this very idealized mental picture of the perfect underground hero - a mysterious lonely mastermind who hides in the shadows and avoids the spotlight, quietly pulling all the strings and relying on plans and schemes instead of a powerful quirk and flashy moves. but despite all the dirty tricks they're capable of, their heart is in the right place - in fact in a way their motivations are far more noble than those of all the popular celebrity heroes, because they don't care about fame or recognition, they act out of a genuine want to do good. this is what Kuroiro aspires to be and what he bases his entire persona on, pretty much.

and that's because this is also the only kind of hero he could ever identify with - he was always an odd, withdrawn kid who had trouble making friends. he couldn't see himself in all those shiny charismatic always-in-the-spotlight heroes that everyone else seemed to love. so when he learned about underground heroes, he fell in love instantly and decided this is who he wanted to be, over time forming this perfect underground hero image to set as his goal.

except, again, a lot of traits possessed by this ideal of a hero aren't really in line with what Kuroiro himself actually is. he's nowhere this badass. he's nowhere this smart. he kinda sucks at this whole scheming thing actually! he's sneaky, sure, that's by nature of his quirk - but his schemes are way less elaborate than he likes to make them seem, most of the time they're just ways for himself to catch people off guard. he doesn't have the multi-step coordination-based planning capablity of Kendo or Tokage, the adaptability of Honenuki or the sheer sophistication of Monoma (note that almost all of 1-b's plan during joint training match 2 was invented by Kendo and Kuroiro's only strategic contribution was tricking 1-a into thinking he was gonna target Tokoyami so he could ambush Aoyama instead - which is something yeah but still nothing particularly complicated). and he hates that about himself, because intelligence is something that he values and admires so so much - so he exaggerates his strategic prowess a lot, with his hero title and dramatic speeches and all, and does everything in his power not to be perceived as stupid (often failing miserably). it's out of insecurity.

he's also not that much of a lone wolf, either. he does have a strong tendency to isolate himself from others, which is partially because he's convinced himself that he's destined to walk a lonely path in life & content with it (what's a better way of coping with your childhood loneliness than romanticizing it) and partially because the fact that he's constantly putting up a facade does by itself kinda prevent him from forming proper relationships, BUT he's not really happy this way. he's introverted but ultimately not meant to be alone. he does need friends! and he does wish for a romantic relationship, too! but, of course, he sucks at managing those feelings, as we can judge by his interactions with Kinoko and his general incapability of normally talking to girls mentioned in ultra analysis.

i actually really like that he has a crush on Kinoko specifically because it plays really well into everything that i said earlier in this post! remember that something he admires a lot about underground heroes is that they don't care about fame and recognition, and therefore in his view have the most genuine motivations? i like to believe that odd as it is, he actually has a very strong moral compass and greatly values selflessness. so, imagine how he feels when he learns that Kinoko, whom he already has a crush on because she's cute and she's nice to him and she has a really cool quirk (something something mushrooms like darkness so they must be meant to be), wants to be an idol hero. bro's devastated. those people are the epitome of modern hero society's shallowness and superficiality, and she wants to be one! she apparently wants to spend her precious time doing silly little dance routines and shaking people's hands at conventions instead of dedicating it all to proper hero work! and Kuroiro still has a crush on her! that witch...!

and you see, Kinoko isn't actually a shallow person. what motivates her to become and idol hero isn't selfishness (refer to my old Kinoko headcanon list - some things in there are a tiny bit outdated but my headcanon on why she wants to be an idol is still the same!). except Kuroiro doesn't get to know that at first so he remains bewildered and conflicted for quite some time - and i just think that's funny y'know? he eventually learns more about her (second hand, they don't directly talk to each other much, in canon i think Kinoko doesn't even pay much attention to him in general 😭) and starts to change his mind, probably falling even harder in the process - but still the whole thing is complete disaster on his side. he was always shy around her, now there's also... all this, no wonder he can't talk to her at all!!

so, to sum it up: Kuroiro is intense, he's surprisingly idealistic, he's tragically insecure, and he has some very rigid ideas about himself and the world around him that he probably needs to let go of. he's just a mess of a teenager with a lot of to figure out - and he does figure it out, he does get his happy ending eventually! (a conversation with Kinoko, among other things, is something that definitely would be a crucial part in his,, character arc, i guess? and y'know what, while i do really like them as a couple, i think them just getting to talk things out is a "happy ending" regardless of whether they end up together)

OH and by the way: i'm not saying that he's like, going against himself at all times! he's not an actual master schemer or a complete lone wolf but a lot of things about how he acts are perfectly genuine. his affinity for all things dark is genuine, his interest in taboos is genuine, and his love for theatrics is also genuine! in that matter, it's actually not a phase lol he's just like that :] would be blasphemous to say otherwise, that's what we all love him for..!

aaand this concludes my little essay about one of my favorite 1b kids!! the picture of him that i have in my head is very clear, that's why he's the first character that i chose to write this kind of post about - i'm just pretty confident about the hcs i have for him haha. i'm also thinking about writing a more lighthearted list of hcs to complete the vision (ya know, like the good ol days) because there's STILL so much that i haven't shared since it didn't fit this post - so stay tuned for that if you enjoyed this!! see you next month probably

[dazachi]

Theory time on the whole "ADA member transfers to PM" deal and why I genuinely think this was part of Dazai's plan (loooong post):

Based on what we have, I actually think we can assume that Fukuzawa, Ranpo, Dazai, all of the higher ups in the PM, and the govt. are aware of the deal and that Dazai will go back. Here's why:

Prior to Fyodor's arrest, Dazai had been maintaining an essentially crimeless record (and if he does do something morally questionable, he either had government backing from Ango, or was done in a way that can't be pointed back to him).

However, before anything could progress in S4, Dazai purposely put himself out in public to get arrested. I'd even argue that he had Ango purposely release some of his old crimes rather than it being written on the ripped page of the book (and if it was actually written in the book, then Dazai must have anticipated it in the first place because he knows Fyodor would do that).

This idea is further cemented by the fact that Ango, Mori, and Chuuya are actually aware of what Dazai is doing (more than the ADA even). Dazai had contacts in and out of Mersault ready before his arrest.

To make these plans in the first place, Dazai had to have talked to (at least) Mori and Ango. This would have to be roughly around the same time as when Mori and Fukuzawa made a deal. What if all of this was just one meeting?

Because let's face it. Fukuzawa only saying "except Yosano" was such a red flag moment. If there was anyone Mori would have wanted back in his control, it would either be his angel of death or his demon prodigy. The conversation must not have ended there...

Also, why was this deal even created in the first place? I feel like there could have been a different agreement, and this just looks like an excuse to get Dazai to go back. Fukuzawa agreeing with this deal is weird because he knows what the PM is like. Why would he subject his employees to possibly experience working there?

Dazai may have actually purposely put himself up for the taking in preparation to a future enemy that needed him back in the PM- back in his hometurf with all the manpower he could command and to give soukoku the free reign they had once again (without the limitations of the law on Dazai).

So anyway, now we have Dazai with his crimes leaked, which would have been fine alone because it could be played off as part of what was written on the page, but then he kills some guards in Mersault and commits jailbreak, along with several other crimes in just 30 minutes. In addition, he is clearly shown to be working with Chuuya, a well-known criminal, who has also committed several crimes while there.

Say what you will about Mersault security (which is actually good but just couldn't keep the demons on hold lmao), but they would 100% have records of what Dazai had done there. Even if he could be considered crimeless before, he can no longer be called crimeless again now. His actions here are beyond the manipulations of the book. To have these crimes (in France) erased would require the government to have an agreement with another country and to have Dazai go into hiding for some time again (doable, but troublesome).

That leaves us to the fact that Dazai is back to willingly committing crimes and partnering up with Chuuya as Soukoku for an extended period of time. All of these acts are known to Mori and Ango.

This implies that the choice had been made prior to S4, and this is why Dazai could do all these crazy schemes.

This also clears up why Ranpo and Fukuzawa no longer consider Dazai in the ADA roster recently. Not because they don't care for him, but because he is secretly no longer part of the ADA in the first place, and Dazai's safety is now under the concern of the PM.

Scarily enough, this could also possibly set up Dazai as the next boss of the PM in preparation for the next big enemy. One thing some people in the fandom noticed was that Mori had mentioned before that Dazai would become the boss when he turns 23. This fits in the timeline well because Dazai is several months (or maybe even weeks) closer to his 23rd birthday (or he may already be 23 right now). All of this may have been pre-planned for longer than we think.

Also, as a personal opinion on the other possible transfer candidates, they actually have better hold on the ADA and would not function well in the PM.

The PM would clash with Kunikida's ideals (though it would be interesting to have the future leader of the ADA be put in the PM the same way the future leader of the PM was employed in the ADA)

Tanizaki would be a great candidate, especially for his skills (and it would be interesting to have another redhead in the PM hahaha), but I highly doubt Naomi would take his transfer sitting down (Naomi would probably even attempt to join the PM) and, in turn, Junichiro would hate to bring his sister in the PM as well. Tanizaki's entire shtick involves his care for his sister, and taking that away brings him back to having no motivation to go crazy.

Atsushi is actually my 2nd option. Moving Atsushi to the PM would make him learn more about how the PM functions, and this allows SSKK to spend more time building their relationship. Chuuya could watch over the two of them as an aide to Dazai's mentoring, and this could lead to more character growth for Atsushi. Unfortunately, this voids Atsushi's plans to learn how to fight under Kunikida's tutelage, and the "no killing" deal with Akutagawa slightly lessens its impact because they would now be in the criminal organization rather than the opposing one (I'd rather have Akutagawa join the ADA tbh. This would further cement the "no killing" idea that Atsushi demands of him and build the SSKK partnership.)

Kenji is also a good bet, but the PM already has Chuuya, which makes having Kenji redundant. Kyoka would not return without an all out brawl and would actually waste all the efforts from S2. Ranpo would be insufferable lmao, and he is not made for Mafia types of strategy (he's smart! But he is not here for the manipulation and long chess matches. He doesn't have the patience for that when he can get straight to the point), and I'm not sure who in the PM he would have synergy with yet...he works best as a detective.

NOW, I may be wrong, because who knows what Asagiri will pull on us, and all of this is based on what is shown (I'm not sure if we could trust it lol), but this is the theory I came up with based on my understanding of events. Dazai planned to go back, and the tripartite knows of it.

Before anyone says this is a waste of Dazai's character development, I'd argue that there may be a misconception as to what Dazai is actually here to learn.

Odasaku knows that good and evil does not matter to Dazai. Dazai choosing to save people is not Dazai's character growth because he has ALWAYS been capable of that despite his unconventional means. The real character growth that Dazai needed was that there was a world beyond the darkness that he insists on putting himself in, and that he is capable humanity. Mori realized this too by proving the humanity in Dazai by chasing him out with Odasaku's death. Dazai has also realized this, and is now ready to return to his hellhole as a new man touched by the light. He is ready to be a leader, not the tyrant that he would have been without this lesson. Mori just prevented another insane mafia boss from taking the throne.

In addition, the PM has repeatedly been defined as the organization that protects the city in the dark. Being in the PM does not hinder Dazai from saving people (again, they've done so before while there). This might actually give him more power to move around and defend Yokohama more efficiently.

I guess this is it for now. I may have missed some things, but these are my main arguments for now hehe