#it's a bit awkward positioning

[plushchimera]

sketching some infamous faves

making the executive decision rn not to bother with cleaning it up too much. we r keeping the under sketch and just layering on top

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Ok, I think I have a pretty good idea of why a lot of Akechi's dialogue is... like that.

So, even before his confidant truly started, I noticed that he has a real knack for directing the flow of a conversation. This is very fitting for someone who is both a detective and skilled at interviews - when there is a topic and a goal, Akechi is in his element.

All this to say, he's actually kind of controlling when it comes to conversational flow. He probes for information, or turns the conversation around to a particular topic, usually the Phantom Thieves. He manages to take a few of Joker's dialogue options and spin them so they sound mildly incriminating in the context he's placed them in - the only way to truly get around this is to pick answers that feign indifference, and even then, that's more than a bit telling. He's clearly very good at this kind of thing.

But then, we get conversations where either Joker does something he didn't expect, or else he doesn't have a particular goal in mind - and the conversation stutters. In the first instance, Joker does something (a particularly egregious example is putting his glasses on him and fluffing his hair in rank 3) which both leaves him wrong-footed and no longer in perfect control of the situation. He just kind of... freezes, for awhile. It's hilarious. He has no idea how to respond.

He picks up control again in the phone call afterwards, having chosen to play into it, turning this "fooling the crowds" into a kind of game or secret between them. Nice save.

But in instances where there isn't an obvious topic and the goal is somewhat nebulous, for instance, that one Leblanc scene, it becomes pretty apparent that Akechi doesn't have the right "script" to go off of. Again, it's particularly notable in that scene, because I'm fairly sure he didn't have any specific reason to be at Leblanc, other than him looking for a quiet spot now that public opinion has turned on him. And because there isn't anything specific he's digging for, he kind of just ends up throwing things at the wall to see what will stick. Probing for any kind of recognizable reaction that he can jump on and work with, and that just doesn't really happen in this scene.

He references Sae, a woman in a respectable position, to Sojiro, but instead of that netting a welcome, it earns his ire, given Sae's recent actions against him. He then tries to greet Joker, his... rival? friend? enemy? person who at least seems to somewhat enjoy spending time with him? But Joker's responses are somewhat short, and Akechi practically wilts. He tries to commiserate by oversharing. He tries to involve Futaba and reaches out for the only topic of interest he can think of around "young people". He compliments the coffee. He compliments Joker. He tries to invoke that connection between them. None of it is really sticking, nor does it serve as a jumping off point for him to steer the conversation, or even really start one.

So, he basically just ends up having a one-sided chat with himself and then leaves. Hilarious. Also a little sad, if I'm being honest. It's really giving "guy with no friends who only knows how to speak to adults" energy. If there's no specific purpose to the exchange, or he is not in control of its direction, he seems to be kind of out of his depth. He succeeds only in being a little awkward and confusing, more than anything.

[sskk-manifesto]

I'm fully convinced that here Dazai was laughing himself off because of Akutagawa's dramatic way with words 😭😭😭

[nickkkdoesstuff]

I can imagine trax whenever he forgot where he put something while spending time with raphie, he wouldn't mind carrying the snap turtle while walking around the house looking for the item.

Like i can imagine trax, carrying Raph on his shoulder while putting a hand under his chin saying "Where the hell did i put it?" While raph is just... Loving getting carried xD but also "why you gotta carry me again?!" 🤣

bro saved the world and this is what he gets

[rokumes]

can you draw celeschi (celeste x chihiro)? pretty please

<3

[weaponizedducks]

much as i love merlin and arthur they were NOT the blueprint. they were very nearly the blueprint, but the actual og's were from a book written in 1862 by Victor Hugo. that's right. it's enjolras and grantaire. the timeline goes exr-merthur-firstprince

[scatterpatter]

Feeling normal again

[waterfall-ambience]

nghm okay my take on the neuvillette 'ships' is that they're...all kinda boring? theres a lot of interesting dynamics to explore dont get me wrong but for all of them romance is the least interesting option lol. first is because i dont think he's romantically-inclined by nature (aroace king) but also he intentionally tries to keep people at arms length because of his position as iudex (so even if he has friendly connections i cant see anything 'more' than that actually working out) .

however the most interesting juxtaposition for his character imo is being so filled with love for the world and the people around him and simulataneously not experiencing 'love' in the way a lot of people traditionally understand it. he loves people so deeply no he does not want to pursue any of them romantically. it doesnt even have anything to do with him being a dragon, he's just like that.

[fitpacs]

?

[lloydfrontera]

i think it fucks immensely that bk moon went out of his way to 1) establish rakiel wished to live a long life and eventually pass away of old age, 2) have him very briefly envy an immortal being only to be told very clearly to be careful what he wishes for by that very same person because living forever isn't all it's cracked up to be, 3) make the main antagonist be another immortal being who is so desperate to die he's willing to destroy the universe just to finally rest and 4) have said antagonist psychologically torture rakiel with the threat of making him live for a thousand years as everyone he loves and knows eventually grows old and dies and becomes nothing but forgotten memories.

only to then end the novel by making rakiel also immortal

like. god. it's so fucking good i love it. i'm not being sarcastic i genuinely think it fucks and it's one of the best ways bk moon could've wrapped up the plot.

it's a happy ending by all means but it has consequences and through the entire novel we've been shown and told over and over again just how heavy the consequences are and/or will be on rakiel.

he got his happy ending but it was at a price and by the last time we see him he's only just starting to pay for it.

it's great i love it

[hana-bobo-finch]

also here’s 2 images of yorke in front of empty cartons of milk. Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice

had to censor the specific brand for privacy’s sake but I can assure you it is milk. Also Nelle

[lethalitisms]

[[ i'm updating the canon point of this blog real soon which gets me the chance to talk about how much of a deadbeat dad eddie has been recently. part of my hope with the finale of this weeks comic was that he'd get to go home and raise his family proper ( like i hoped he'd do in 200 instead of ... being a god but whatever ). but also i do so love the narrative of WANTING to break the cycle, and yet in doing so you only perpetuate it. i relate to dylan in the fact that he must understand completely how busy eddie must be with all those responsibilities he held when he became the KIB; away from home so much that his contribution to dylan's most formative years can be pretty much negligible ( even after those years he's spent with carl ) aside from background things. but it will never be a replacement for all the time lost.

sure, eddie does the background stuff. he makes sure the symbiote is with him, wants to protect his son and all. he's there in somewhat of a sense. but he's not "there". dylan could learn so much more about his dad via google search than his experiences with him ( and i know the feeling ! ), and so opportunity for a heartfelt discussion or attempts at eddie being a more prominent member in dylan's life will fall pretty flat; dylan is, what, 14 now? I'm not saying it's all downhill from here, but the window of opportunity for dylan not to resent him for neglecting him is starting to dwindle, and I for one love that dylan still cares about his dad-- while harboring that complicated resentment.

i hope they do something with this in the comics in the future. but knowing how comics work, it'll either happen and i'll cheer or it won't and i'll have to fill in all those gaps in myself like an overworked housewife. ]]

[sophiethewitch1]

ummm hiiii, can i say that i realllyyy adore your yan! batfam series? because i do! It's rare to see them as romantic so im screaming in joy and squealing everytime i read them hehe

in that note, i wanna also say that you reblogging about palestine had been a part of what pushed me to be unapologetically talkative about it to my family and friends! my granny wanted to go to "israel" to visit the "holy land" alongside with her church mates and it's been months of me speaking up about that they finally stopped this april from going.... also because i basically spammed them abt it TT

ghghgh hiii i am so happy it makes you so happy!!! the entire reason i keep posting it and working on it is because people love it so much... (even if i love it a lot too im just lazy) and you guys!! you guys got me squealing too!!! we are giggling and kicking our feet together anon

(also! i'm so proud of you for speaking up to your family! i know it's especially hard in dynamics you can't escape, and when you do this and make sure your feelings on the matter are heard and staunch you are doing the right and needed thing! you 'basically spamming' your family has made the world a better place, and you should be proud too!! we will see a free palestine!! in appreciation for you fighting the good fight ill make sure to donate again once my next pay comes!!)

[lhrry]

x

[maletofujoshi]

one time in art club last year we got to make whatever with some leftover clay and cookie cutters, and like. me and a friend made ducks but like Just a duck would be boring so we decided to make one duck beheaded and one a mutant with two heads

the friend with the beheaded duck died badly so now this object has like. magnified importance to me as. essentially a memento. maybe the beheaded duck was cursed? in turn an extra head probably means more life. which is nice for me.

[lesbian-kyoru]

loved your analysis about arata but about his interactions with taichi i think there time he /is/ being mean or petty on purpose. i dislike a lot when people try to paint him as someone actively evil and trying to make taichi's life hell blabla or when they don't acknowledge taichi does take everything too personally sometimes because of his own insecureness but like... arata can be petty and shady as hell at times with taichi too. they kinda bring this 'bad side' out of eachother but i honestly love this about their dynamic as well. and those feelings doesn't make any of them bad or evil. i just feel frustrated it always have to be one or another.

also it's funny how they have to fight inner demons and jealousy (not necessarily about chihaya) and chihaya is kinda clueless and just vibing (fighting different inner demons)

i feel pretty similarly as someone whose two favorite characters are arata and taichi! most analysis i've come across unfortunately tends to skew heavily against one of the boys, which isn't surprising for a LT manga but is a shame since it usually does a huge disservice to both of their fantastic character arcs. in my experience, especially in the past few years, i see way more like. willful misinterpretation of arata's character than taichi's which is why i spend less time defending taichi—i do dearly love both characters and their relationship for all the messiness that both of them bring to it lmao.

i definitely agree that arata has his petty moments which i do love, because frankly he is so funny when he's mean kdfj;lahdf. it's so against his kindhearted nature (which isn't so different from taichi!) and causes him a lot of turmoil, which really adds greater complexity to his character, especially to his relationship with taichi. as an aside, i think an interesting contrast between them is imo taichi is much more consistently self-aware of his negative feelings toward arata than vice versa, which is why taichi spends so much time agonizing over it—as opposed to arata only realizing it in key moments, like yoshino and the challenger matches, and THEN beating himself up over it because it suddenly creeps into his overwhelming fond feelings about taichi as a friend (which clashes with his slow recognition of taichi as a rival, but that's another discussion).

with my prior post i was mostly trying to highlight that, while arata has moments of lashing out or being mean to taichi (+ my exploration of how a lot of those moments stem from trauma and his insecurities, like taichi—basically an argument that arata like everyone else is shaped by his experiences and has reasons that he's cold, unfriendly, mean), there are other moments where i genuinely don't think he has petty intentions. like, the "chihaya doesn't belong to anyone" moment? definitely petty. but when he tells taichi "i thought you already would be in class A by now" and then tells him to give chihaya his phone number? to me that scene genuinely reads as arata being super socially awkward and not realizing that he's hitting all of taichi's insecurities within the span of 30 seconds l;adkhf;alsdkhfh;a. and to me that's an interesting distinction and super compelling because of how it impacts taichi without necessarily being intentional, an example of how the true mutual affection between arata and taichi is constantly frayed by their individual baggage. and it's gonna come down to reader interpretation, but i do notice that 99% of the time arata's intentions are taken with the most negative possible reading possible, so it was my hope to add another reading of his actions that, as you said, is not assuming he's just actively evil lol. also, a lot of why i read those scenes as not always actively malicious is due to how warmly he does act toward taichi in surrounding scenes (the blushing, the smiling when he sees him, wanting to see taichi as much as chihaya, the awkward "you're supposed to high-five, right?" and other socially awkward behaviors etc etc).

tl;dr you're not wrong that they bring out the worst in each other, or rather i think they bring out a very real, raw version of the other and see each other for what they are—and being able to fully appreciate their relationship requires an ability to view both of their characters without idealization, both of them having flaws and moments where they act badly to each other. it's clear that despite all their issues and how they mutually embody each other's worst insecurities, they very deeply love and care about each other, even if that bond is complicated. love them forever