#sorry for rambling LMAO

[crystalizedcryolite]

Yesterday, I decided to use AvM as an example for "Expression through Body Language in Animation" so I thought; why not share it over here?

Expressing EMOTION through Body Language (Using AvM as an example)

Body language is actually very important in animation. The use of it can help express just about anything! Sometimes it doesn't have to be facial expressions or strong voice acting to make a point about how someone is feeling.

For example, simple movement, like throwing your hands in the air or jumping around, can express joy,

confusion,

and even woe and sadness.

Sometimes, the complete use (or lack) of movement can be very telling of an emotion. In the picture above, Purple is standing completely still at his mother's grave, head cast down in sorrow.

Did it take any line of dialogue or facial expression to make his grief clear? No! All it took was simple body language.

It even helps differentiate one character from another, in terms of how they walk,

(Green skipping dramatically just SCREAMS theatre kid in The Wishing Well short:)

how they pose

("Blue" posing in a way that the REAL Blue most likely wouldn't in The Witch:)

(and Red’s aggressive movements vs Green's cocky ones from The Prank; you can tell by the way Red stomps up to Green that the poor guy is getting mad)

their fighting styles, too; where Red shows his aggressive and impulsive nature in the way he fights, compared to Yellow taking a more defensive stance in 'Green's Channel';

And even how they sit! HOW THEY SIT!

The animation team could've easily had them all sit in the exact same way, but no! They had them sit differently, in ways that give them all more personality.

And later on in the same short, they expressed frustration differently!

Red's pose here being some sort of pout, Blue’s feeling more of a "damn it!" while Yellow is a classic thinking pose; showing that he's possibly coming up with ways to succeed in another try.

And it didn't take a single word, nor a FACE, to get this point across! All it took to convey emotions was how they move! It's actually really interesting to think about. It didn't take voice actors or faces or even character design to show emotions and personality, all it took was a good understanding of body language and movement. Props to the Alan Becker team for that!

Before I go, here are some other examples of how simple movement conveyed emotions in AvM.

Blue's shock turning to horror in the Omelette Short:

Green laughing in Fruit Ninja and Wallpaper:

Orange tiredly rubbing his eyes in Ragdoll to show that "He didn't get enough sleep for this nonsense":

And finally, Red, Green and Orange leaning differently during a race in "Carrot on a Stick"

That's all I have, thank you for your time <3

I genuinely admire how the animation team managed to pull off body language so amazingly! It's so cool how you can express so much about yourself through your movements alone.

[silly-guy-tendencies]

Goobers

[pinktrashgoblin]

Do the different shape kinds (Monstercats, Felyre, Geora, etc) different cultures or is their culture more regional?

Do they have different believe or moral systems? Or an holiday the others don't celebrate?

Okay so before I ramble. TL;DR: yes, they all have very different native cultures. Some holidays and such are common across most shapes, but individual types have many differences.

AND NOW FOR THE RAMBLING! All under the cut.

SO! Each shape species, first and foremost, are native to different parts of the continent. They have emigrated and intermingled over time, but at their hearts, each region’s cultures are sculpted by the shapes that are native to them, which are in turn influenced by the environment of those regions.

Take the Iscola, for example. They’re native to Paradise’s southern region, namely the Naga Desert. The ancestors of the modern Iscola faced many challenges posed by the desert. Iscolan society started as a more nomadic people, following resources. But as their civilization grew and needed to become more permanent, resource optimization and conservation became key to their society’s survival. As a result, Iscolan society grew to be rather strict and orderly. Unnecessary risks could easily lead to depletion of vital resources, and as such traditional Iscolan society puts emphasis on following rules.

But that’s not where their evolution as a society ends! As their larger settlements became more established, and resources such as food and water became more reliable, the Iscola were able to focus more on secondary ventures- including international trade. Though lacking in food and water, the desert is rich in minerals, rare metals and other precious goods, which allowed the Iscola to gain wealth through trade. This in turn allowed them to import more foods and resources, as well as luxuries from other nations and parts of the continent. Their now varied economy led to a rise in their traditional hierarchy, and also allowed for less resource-based professions to grow rapidly. Though their traditional society is strict, the Iscola are known for being incredibly skilled artisans, craftsmen and intellectuals. Now that they are no longer solely focused on survival, they are able to develop the arts and sciences.

This artisanal and intellectual prowess often follows Iscolan shapes that emigrate from the desert regions, along with their culture- take the Ouraeus family as an example. They are, generally, a family of jewelers- a very well-regarded profession in Iscolan society. The older generations of the Ouraeus family also retain the sophistication and class that is expected of shapes of their status among the Iscola- expectations in their society are rooted, at their very base, in the survivalist beginnings of Iscolan civilization.

As with all cultures in Paradise, though, their society evolves to fit with the times- the younger members of the Ouareus family, for example, have more varied prospects and are more willing to break the mold.

Naturally of course all of this influences their morals and beliefs, as you could probably tell. And their holidays! Using the Iscola again as an example, the Rain Festival is a traditional celebration where the usual order of things is broken to give thanks to the heavens for delivering the rare rain to the desert, and the lands from which the desert gets their resources.

Each of Paradise’s shape species have unique, distinct cultures that developed from their surroundings! Their customs rose from the challenges they faced in the past, and continue to be shaped by new challenges and opportunities. This is just one example of many. I plan on elaborating further in the future, but for now here’s some of it.

And like I said! As time goes on their cultures are intermingling, leading to a rise in new traditions and customs while remembering and respecting the old. And I think that’s a beautiful thing :]

[oldworldghost]

Had an angsty thought about P falling in love with reader whose staying in the hotel and using that as a sort of motivation to continue to try and become human because lord above he wants nothing more than to actually feel for them, like really feel for them, and he's fairly sure that [for reasons he doesn't quite understand] that the "love" is mutual. But also reader has such unstable attachment issues that don't really manifest in a noticeable/harmful way until P actually confesses his feeling for them and reader just fucking. breaks his newly formed heart because holy shit they cannot do that. Readers so convinced they can't love him in a way that's good, or at all really, and P is so so confused and upset because reader has been acting like what he thought someone in love would act like. And P still feels such a strong disconnect between himself and humans still because even if he is human now he obviously still doesn't understand anything about them and-

[crypticferalfox]

Trigger warning for this post: weed/being on drugs (weed is legal in my country btw)

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Ok ramble time about how being high affects my dumb fuckin therian ass 😔✌️

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Being high (which admittedly i currently am as i write) always makes me feel way more shifty,

Dont have the brain power to hold back anymore. Just wish i could bark and yip and howl. I love vocalizing so much i wish my vocal cords could do it properly.

I also want bite things, and more longing to have wings and a tail and ears and UGH I WANNA BE A LITTLE CREATURE SO BAD

My teeth arent sharp enough, my ears so small and useless, no tail to wag, no fluttering wings, no feathers to idly preen while i watch my shows

Anyway, psa: Dont do drugs unless you're of age and they're legal and safe! Preferably over 20 as it can really mess with your brain chemistry and just isnt good for you.

This isnt a condonement or encouragement of drugs, simply sharing my experiences in relation to my identity.

[lionydoorin]

What are your opinions on chads injuries? I feel like since he had injuries that he barely survived from he would have problems with them in the future

I WROTE A HUGE AND PERFECT RESPONSE AND LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE I'M A DUMBASS SO I'M HAVING TO REWRITE AND IM SO SAD BUT i literally jumped from my bed and ran to the computer so i could write this better because i do have a few thoughts and i wanna comment on it. so

chad is a bit more complicated than tara in the sense that he's got a lot more injuries in places that aren't particularly certain as tara's, so the outcome might depend on a few aspects, such as where exactly the knife hit.

as much as i was baffled by the fact he survived after the amount of stabbing he's got in scream 6, it's not uncommon for victims to survive said wounds even when they've got hit multiple times; take the girl who survived the slenderman stabbing, for example, who was still a child and could still crawl out and ask for help. she's alive, well, and doesn't seem to have any permanent after-effects to her injuries.

when we were analyzing tara's case, my bestie @oooh-the-horrors left a list of all of chad's injuries on my inbox and i still got them here, which will come in handy now :3

in scream V, i don't think any of his injuries led to any major outcomes, honestly. i mean, he probably went through surgery for the ones he's got on his stomach and had to go through rehabilitation after said surgery so he could get back on his feet and his body could function properly again, but nothing that could make him lose his intestinal function completely or not. he got it stitched back together and lived his life just fine after that. stab wounds usually have a better prognosis than gunshots, as well :3

the shoulder case isn't concerning as well because there aren't many areas that could have severe damage, seeing it isn't an area with many nerves that could be hit. from where it got hit, it probably didn't hit any tendons, as well, which would be the real problem in this case

and the stab in the back, both in 5 and 6, are super tricky. we've seen cases of characters being stabbed on the back in scream and having permanent consequences coming from it, aka dewey, but dewey's case just irks me and leaves a kinda bitter taste. i don't see, anatomically wise, how the place he got stabbed would lead to a limp; if the knife hit the spine, it would probably cause loss of movement in the entirety of the lower part of his body, not simply that limp? and if the knife hit the middle in chad's case, it could be similar, but i also don't believe it hit the middle for him. anyway, i'm sorry i know this isn't about dewey but his injury confuses me and i had to say this while i got the chance 😭

for scream 6 in particular, while it baffled me that he did survive that amount of stab wounds, it's entirely possible for someone to survive multiple injuries even when they hit organs and stuff. an example is the girl who survived the slenderman stabbing, she's alive and doesn't seem to have any permanent injuries, and she was much younger and more frail than chad when she got attacked. anyway.

the trickiest one of his injuries would be the stab in his left clavicula, particularly if it hit the subclavian artery. i'm sure it isn't the case, but considering it hit the artery and judging by the time he was left there bleeding before help came, chad would probably lose an arm lmao the amount of blood he lost would lead to tissue death aaaand gangrena. so that would be preeeetty tricky to treat.

arteries can be stitched back together just fine, since it's not permanent like a nerve damage, so... i'm sure his arm is just fine though!

he could probably have multiple injuries in multiple organs and i'm sure it will take him several months to recover, but he got stabbed so many times you lose count of where and what the knife must've possibly hit 😭😭😭😭 so he basically went through multiple surgeries for his injuries as well, but will probably recover just fine after rehabilitation/physical therapy.

it would be very interesting, though, if it didn't take many time timeline-wise between scream 6 and 7 and he was still recovering. chad's physically the strongest and biggest one between all of them and with that i'm sure he feels the need to protect his friends, but he wouldn't be able to when he's still fragile and treating the wounds left from the bailey family in scream VI. it would make him have to find other ways to help - or lead to some very interesting sequences seeing him try to fight while having fresh wounds.

overall, as much as he's probably like spongebob after all of the hits, i'm sure he'll turn out fine :3

[whumpsoda]

Does Ard. recognize he probably won't keep a thrall as long as Darius because the difference between their styles of keeping them? Sure, Malak is well fed/dressed/gets basic enrichment. There's nothing to keep his mind sharp, his muscles in shape, or even anything to keep him actually enriched. He has them be basically turned to babies.

Whereas Darius' thralls get SOME Of that...I think tempers aside his thralls would last longer before they perish. There are things to keep them kind of sharp mentally. Muscles do get worked. Just enrichment isn't a thing. But I think the need to serve is taking place. And Darius is a bossy thing with lots of demands orders...

idk I might feel different later but rn these are just my random musings. 🤔💭 And every thrall is different...really, we're fighting bedsores with blisters here. 😬 (Love all the ocs btw and the story!)

Very sorry but this does sort of irk me, Adrastus strictly goes by they/them pronouns. Thank you.

(Ramble under the cut lmao)

Yes you are completely right on this!! Adrastus has gone through several thralls, not only due to lack of care but their tendency to get bored very easily. Malak is by far their favorite out of all the thralls they’ve had!

I do plan to show this at some point (if I can get myself to write…) but Adrastus is also not the greatest at taking care of their thralls. They keep Malak fairly incapable of doing most things for himself, but will occasionally forget or get distracted from taking care of him with his needs. This includes things like forgetting to bathe or feed him, and so on.

It does sort of help once they move in with Nevan and Darius as Adrastus tends to push some of that responsibility to Nevan, (not all of it of course) and even if he hasn’t been instructed to help he will if he notices Malak needs something.

I can’t wait to show more of how this treatment affects Malak once they’re out… I want to write predominately captivity stuff first though 😭😭

And yes Darius’ thralls do tend to last longer!! He’s had less than Adrastus has and for multiple reasons, the first being what you’ve said above.

Darius has less of a fondness for the conditioning process than Adrastus does. Adrastus has a lot of fun with it, while he more-so wants to get it over with and just get an obedient servant as quickly as possible. This means he wants to preserve and hold the same thrall for as long as possible to avoid having to repeat the process.

One thing though is just that while his thralls last longer than Adrastus, he of course greatly takes looks into account. If he deems his thrall unfit and losing their attractiveness, he is quick to get rid of them :(

I’m glad you’re enjoying the story!! Very very glad :3 and I love the way you think… what you’ve said here is so right :D

[bunglegaydogs]

listen its another dazai theory im sorry but he occupies my brain and i cant get him to leave

this ones a bit of a fucking mad one today lmao however, i was re-reading the fifteen light novel and i decided to look deeper into a query i'd always harboured towards one specific part of it, and that's the relationship between dazai and the old boss, so yk, let's get into it lmao

First of all, go check out this post:

it's a really good post, and it makes so many good points! Of course, my point does differ, but that doesn't matter, the quality and content of the post is amazing! Go show some love <333

This post ^^^ is the one that low-key kind of inspired me to make this theory. Anyways, onto the actual post lol.

So, the Previous Boss. A character that we know virtually nothing about, other than the fact that he was assassinated by Mori with Dazai as a witness, he was a savage leader and later became bedridden, to which his orders became chaotic and disorganised and ruthless. This is all that we know so far. So, not really much to go on. But that's why this is a theory :)

To be honest, it's a theory that's kind of canon in a way? Eh, anyways.

One of the number one things that stands out to me that makes me go "Ah! They're connected further than just a witness!" is in Fifteen, where this is said; (SPOILERS FOR FIFTEEN LIGHT NOVEL)

A distorted, crimson haze emerged from the other side of the subspace, and a figure appeared. "There… There is a nostalgic face. Hey, brat… Are you in good health? Have you been bullied by the doctor?" It was the old boss floating in the air, wearing a traditional, black robe. "Hey there." Dazai smiled stiffly. "It's been a while. How's your back pain? Your complexion is looking nice. Wasn't it a good thing you died? Boss—no, previous boss."

?!

Like, hello? Ahh, it really gets me going fucking feral when Asagiri throws shit like this in. Love you king <3 So, this is clearly like... something, right? I don't know, maybe I am just pure rambling about nonsense this time. I probably don't make a lot of sense, I'm very much quite ill right now and I didn't get to sleep until like 8am, and even when I did I woke up like 3 hours later. I am very much running on fuck all. Anyways!

Let's go more in depth I guess.

"There… There is a nostalgic face. Hey, brat… Are you in good health? Have you been bullied by the doctor?"

"There... there is a nostalgic face." - Excuse me? Now, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that when Mori killed him, he was fucking bedridden and probably clinically insane fr. He was not right in the head or the body, and he was on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Once again, I'm no expert, but something tells me that he couldn't see Dazai across the fucking room, hiding in the fucking shadows. Fuck, we didn't even see him until the panel of him just... was there. Jumpscare fr. And again, as well as him being pretty hidden and quite a ways away, the Previous Boss was very ill, mans probably had fucking cataracts or something. My point is, there's a diminutive chance that he saw Dazai in the room. Plus, his remaining focus was on Mori, who was also basically obstructing Dazai from view. Suspicious much? Sorry sorry, lmao. Anyways yeah, it's just the "there is a nostalgic face" that gets me.

nostalgia

noun

noun: nostalgia; plural noun: nostalgias

a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past."I was overcome with acute nostalgia for my days at university"

(ofc nostalgia ain't always good like in this case lmao)

Honestly, one can only assume that Dazai and the previous boss had a connection before all this. The theory that appears to be most prominent is that Dazai is either the "rightful heir" to the Port Mafia and the previous boss' son, or that he was adopted by the previous boss. Both are very interesting theories, and I've looked into them and they have strong evidence tbh. They're pretty plausible :)

However, here's me with my bullshit theories that for some reason derail from what everyone else thinks.

I honestly don't think that he was the previous boss' son, however he very much could be, but I do think he had affiliations with him, whether that be his actual parents were affiliated with the Mafia, someone he knew, other distant family members, etc. However he was involved with the mafia, he was. (I'm not saying he was, I'm saying that any way you can think of would probably work lmao)

My point is that I think that Dazai has already grown up surrounded by this environment of violence and bloodshed and exploitation of others to get what you want. When Mori first meets him, he's already a cunning, enigmatic and manipulative child. Where on fucking earth could he have learned that, if not from the people he grew up with, whoever that may be?

Dazai's past will always be one of my top things to think about, because once we get his past, so fucking much might be revealed and explained, and honestly, I need to know fr. (I'm so sorry but 'Killing in the Name of' just came on and I must say, very fitting-) But yeah, sorry, getting off-track. My theory is that his past somehow links into the old boss somehow. Whether they knew each other for ten years or just one before Mori first met Dazai, I think that they definitely did know each other.

Also, another thing of importance to note is the fact that Dazai is still in a suit when he tries to kill himself and gets sent to Mori. Also, I don't know whether the bandages were because of the suicide attempt, or whether or not they're there from before he even attempted it. Personally, methinks it's the latter, but hey, that's not what we're talking about here. Another thing to mention is the fact that Dazai gets sent to Mori, a shady, underground doctor who's clinic is a neutral zone for any fighting and little wars going on between underground rings and gangs, and because at this point the previous boss was going on his rampage, it was sure to be a neutral ground from the mafia. Now, why was Dazai sent here? I've always theorised on this, but my newest one only just blossomed today lmao. One theory I had is that he was found somewhere by a gang member who took him to Mori because he was just like "Oh, a kid, take him to Mori or something." this one I guess is kind of plausible? More plausible than some others lmao. Another one that I had was that whether it was his family or not, the people he was with did not want any suspicion arising around them should they go to a normal hospital with Dazai or they just know Mori's a shady doctor that'll sort him out quick I guess. Another mad theory I had was that Dazai was raised in an orphanage and they didn't want anyone questioning why a child under their care ended up trying to kill themselves on the grounds of the orphanage, so they took him to Mori. (I have more theories on orphanage Dazai, it's one of the least plausible ones but it actually made a lot of sense when I looked deeper into it)

EITHER WAY, sorry, it's clearly suspicious and seedy that you'd send a 14 year old to an underground doctor who is known for being shady and underhanded. Just saying.

God, this got a bit out of hand. Anyways, the newest theory I had for this was that Dazai was under the "care" of the previous boss and had tried to kill himself, Mori got wind of this and took Dazai as his patient, knowing his relation with the previous boss and saw his opportunity to assassinate him, using the fact that Dazai is an acquanitance of the previous boss to his advantage, and the fact that he's his doctor (the previous boss'). Does this make sense or am I actually mentally unwell and just chatting shit?

Well, whatever lmao. Going more in depth into the little extract from Fifteen; "Are you in good health? Have you been bullied by the doctor?" Now, whatever the fuck this means I guess? I'm going to do a separate post about the second half of what he said, because what the fuck. Lmao, but for now, I'm mainly going to focus on the "Are you in good health?" I feel as if this is him not only mocking Dazai, but himself. Asking Dazai if he's in good health, because he's not because he was assassinated by Mori whilst Dazai watched, and he was bedridden towards the end of his life. And, he's mocking Dazai because just a couple days (weeks, months, idk the timeframe lmao) before he died, Dazai obviously was hospitalised because of his suicide attempt, plus the fact that Dazai is just... unhealthy anyways. He's underweight, covered in bandages, mentally unwell and just doesn't take care of himself and throws himself into dangerous situations and has very self-destructive tendencies, PLUS the fact that (not at 14-17 I'd hope lmao) he also drinks, like, that mf is not in a good state. So, I feel as if it's just taking a jab at that, as well as him holding resentment for being murdered when he was ill. Does that also make sense? Maybe not. Sleep-deprived bullshit, my bad. But, as much as it's him poking fun at the situation and the people involved (also it could be bc yk Mori's a doctor, haha funny joke, yk? lmao) I think it's also quite familiar? Like, you know, you see someone that you know, and ask if they're okay, if they're in good shape, especially if since when you last saw them they're very much not. It honestly should come across as a caring remark, but obviously it's not in this situation.

Lmao anyways, another snippet from Fifteen because holy shit;

The true form of the silver flash that cut Dazai was a long scythe as tall as a human being. The old man holding the handle of the scythe gave a muffled laugh. "Cruel… Truly heartless. The day has come where the kid will be beheaded by this hand." The old boss said with a hoarse voice. "But before that, I'd like to talk about my memories… You're an enemy to me even in this body." "Boss. You're no longer a human…" Randou told him gravely. "I used a formula to recreate your memories and personality from when you were alive to insert into my ability… You are simply my ability. And your mission is… to take Chuuya-kun's corpse while stopping Dazai-kun. With that scythe." "Ok, I understand. This soul is a piece of torn paper clinging to your ability. This body is an automatic doll with no interior or self consciousness… But, it's an incredible feeling." The old boss raised the scythe. A black cloth emerged from thin air and wrapped around him… like an old, western grim reaper.

This one got me rabid fr.

Let's go from the start.

The old man holding the handle of the scythe gave a muffled laugh. "Cruel... Truly heartless. The day has come where the kid will be beheaded by this hand."

Right. Right right right. Not only does he laugh after he slices the bitch, what I find interesting is the "Cruel... Truly heartless." Now, he could be referring to a plethora of things, so I'll go ahead and mention a few of them.

One of them could be him calling Dazai cruel and heartless, which is honestly how a lot of people see him and what he does sometimes come across as. He's calling him this because he stood by and watched him get murdered by his doctor, the one who was supposed to be taking care of him. (Again, this is all assuming that he knew Dazai was there, which apparently he did, but how?)

Another thing could be that he's saying it's cruel and heartless that he's having to murder a child. Maybe. But, as we know, he's a ruthless and uncaring man who would not hesitate to fucking deck a kid, so like.

Another thing could be just him being sarcastic about his next sentence, once again mocking and kind of belittling Dazai and making fun of him, because he's in an unfortunate predicament, much like he was.

Now, with a few of those out of the way, moving onto the next sentence which fucks me up.

"The day has come where the kid will be beheaded by this hand."

Now you old on just a fucking minute.

One thing I'd like to say is that typically, a beheading is used as a form of execution. (Also parallells Dazai's betrayal of the Mafia later. Could be me absolutely clutching at straws frantically but I like to make connections and stick to them lol.) And, of course, an execution is a form of punishment for someone betraying or going against any form of law or hierarchy. It's strange to me that he'd use this phrasing. Maybe he's saying this because he feels that Dazai should be punished for not stopping his assassination, and he is to execute him for betraying the Mafia by standing by and watching him die. But Dazai wasn't with the Mafia at this point. Once again returning to my point of their connection and that they knew each other, it could be his way of holding some bitter resentment towards Dazai for betraying him personally, and it's not just revenge he's hoping to get on him. The next bit that also gets me is the "The day has come" as if he's been waiting for this specific day for a while, since before he was assassinated. Gah, it's all so confusing. Also also, the repeated use of the previous boss using words like "kid" and "brat" are also interesting to me. He's really the only one to refer to Dazai that way, bar Chuuya and that one GSS soldier, who was like "The Port Mafia are recruiting kids now?" and of course, Chuuya and Dazai calling each other "brat" "punk" and "kid". It just feels... off, the way the previous boss keeps calling him this. I don't know if he refers to Dazai by his name at all, which could also be a reason as to why maybe they don't know each other at all, because it's of course a plausible line of thinking, as we haven't been given anything that says otherwise. I don't know, it just irks me.

The old boss said with a hoarse voice. "But before that, I'd like to talk about my memories… You're an enemy to me even in this body."

Also forgot to mention the "hoarse voice" when he's saying that to Dazai. That's a big hmmmmm moment fr. Anyways. This part really is so intriguing to me. "But before that, I'd like to talk about my memories... You're an enemy to me even in this body."

Hm? What was that? This part's really fucking suspicious to me. "I'd like to talk about my memories..." So, clearly, there's something in his memories (PLURAL) that he'd like to discuss with specifically Dazai, something so important that the one thing he's been waiting and itching to do must be put aside for the time being. It's the middle of the battle between the previous boss and Randou and Dazai and Chuuya, like, can it not wait?

Irks me, and the fact that (like I said) it's plural. He doesn't say "there's a memory I'd like to talk about." it's just "Let's talk about my memories" almost as if it's fucking all of them.

Then, the use of the elipsis with the jarring "...You're an enemy to me even in this body." is unsettling. He declares Dazai, a 15 year old, as his enemy. Not only has he made fun of him, slashed him up, threatened to behead him and possibly called him cruel and heartless, but he's now stating that he is his enemy, whether he is a corpse or whether he is alive and well, alive and sick, etc...

It's all around a little bit suspicious, if I do say so myself. The next part, where Randou interrupts and stops him in his tracks, is also highly important.

"Boss. You're no longer a human…" Randou told him gravely. "I used a formula to recreate your memories and personality from when you were alive to insert into my ability… You are simply my ability. And your mission is… to take Chuuya-kun's corpse while stopping Dazai-kun. With that scythe." "Ok, I understand. This soul is a piece of torn paper clinging to your ability. This body is an automatic doll with no interior or self consciousness… But, it's an incredible feeling." The old boss raised the scythe. A black cloth emerged from thin air and wrapped around him… like an old, western grim reaper.

(Laughing at the "Randou told him gravely" because he's fucking dead lmao, L)

THIS. THIS. THIS.

"Boss. You're no longer a human..."

SOUND FAMILIAR, YEAH YEAH?

The fact that this specific line was used is just... there's got to be more to it. Why would Asagiri choose to specifically use that? And don't forget when Kunikida also said the same exact thing to Dazai in 55 minutes. (SPOILERS FOR 55 MINUTES)

"The hell are you talking about?! 'Finally managed to die'? You're no longer human! You don't deserve that right! If you really want to die that much, I'll kill you myself! How about this?! And this?! How about from this angle?!"

It just strikes me as odd, the comparisons. Obviously, Dazai's ability being 'No Longer Human', the phrasing Randou used is strange. I don't know. Anyways lol.

"I used a formula to recreate your memories and personality from when you were alive to insert into my ability… You are simply my ability. And your mission is… to take Chuuya-kun's corpse while stopping Dazai-kun. With that scythe."

"I used a formula to recreate your memories and personality from when you were alive to insert into my ability..." So, as we see here, he is just the same as if he were alive and well. He's not just saying all this shit randomly, he has sound reason behind it and he remembers. He has his memories, emotions, etc. (I also want to know when and how he took the body into his sub-space, that's interesting). I don't know why Randou stops after saying "...while stopping Dazai-kun. With that scythe." I don't know, maybe he's just clarifying lol. Hm.

"Ok, I understand. This soul is a piece of torn paper clinging to your ability. This body is an automatic doll with no interior or self consciousness… But, it's an incredible feeling." The old boss raised the scythe. A black cloth emerged from thin air and wrapped around him… like an old, western grim reaper.

And just like that, he's over it. Lmao.

I like the comparison of the old boss the the Grim Reaper, I think that's really important. Especially considering he got his own throat slit by his evil doctor, but.

I think what's so interesting to me about it is that, as we know, Dazai constantly seeks and craves death. He chases after it non-stop, longing for a life that's not his own, and wishing for that one fateful encounter where maybe, he'll finally be able to die the way he wishes. Whilst other people run from death and are scared shitless by the concept of it as they run from the Grim Reaper, harbinger of their fear itself, Dazai actively seeks it. He runs after the Grim Reaper, praying that this time, maybe, he'll die. But as we know, he hasn't yet succeeded (technically he's succeeded twice lmao.) and he still chases relentlessy after him. So, I feel as if the comparison of the previous boss to "an old, western Grim Reaper" is important to note. Once again, I could just be babbling wham. Also, the way he's about to "kill" Dazai is fairly important. The second he raises his scythe, he becomes clothes and adorned in black cloth, like an executioner swinging his axe. A lot is being alluded to in these passages (passages?) that are repetitive themes throughout.

So, this probably made no sense, but honeslty, I just needed to get my jumbled thoughts out there.

In conclusion, I do believe that Dazai and the previous boss have some sort of connection, and I hope it's brought up again, and it wasn't just a one off or a misinterpretation of the scene. It seems really intriguing to me!

A lot of theories that I have seen include Dazai being "heir" to the Port Mafia and whilst that could be a plausible way of thinking, I just don't think so, but who am I to say?

Yes, he was in the room with the boss when Mori killed him; who's to say Mori didn't just bring him with him and say "He's under my care." or something? Maybe it wouldn't be that easy if the room was heavily guarded, especially because it's the Port Mafia's boss and many people are wanting to assassinate him, but they'd never suspect that his doctor would be up to something shady, and so what if he takes a kid in there with him? What's a 14 year old going to do?

Also, if the chances are that Dazai was "adopted" in a way by the previous boss, of course they'd let him go in with Mori, if they knew who he was.

And also, people saying about how why Mori would kick Dazai out of the Mafia at 18 is also due to the fact that he is indeed the rightful "heir" and he knows it, or something. But honestly, I don't know if that has much to do with it. I don't actually think that Mori expected Dazai to leave the Mafia; I don't think he understood the true impact Oda had on Dazai, because Mori doesn't know who Dazai is really. Dazai is cold, and doesn't show much emotion. However, it was a completely different story with Oda and Ango, and I think Mori didn't truly understand the extent that the fondness between them all went to. I think he wanted to keep Dazai under his thumb, reign him in, make him more obedient. If he could take some rogue compnents out of Dazai's life, it'd give him more reason to be more of a... mindless slave? To the Mafia? There's better phrasing, but do you get what I mean? With Oda's sacrifice, Mori killed about 6 birds with one stone. He got rid of Mimic, he got the permit he needed, he (if we exclude my theory of him trying to make Dazai more controlled) got rid of Dazai who was a threat to his position, he got the upper hand on the Division, etc etc. He really hit the nail on the head with that one move. But, in other aspects, it was indeed the wrong move. He lost a lot because of it. He lost the trust of Dazai as well as Dazai himself, he lost one of the most skilled ability users and a phenomenal assassin, also lost quite a few men along the way, (he already knew this but) he lost Ango, a skilled and resourceful information store (lol), etc. Confusing situation lol.

Anyways, sorry, went on a rant, but my point was that kicking Dazai out of the mafia for being the rightful "heir" wouldn't have done much. Dazai could still assassinate him if he wanted to be the boss. Which is why I think he has some underlying motive for doing what he did. Also, the fact that he seems genuinely dejected and angry when the Guild is fighting with them and he mentions that if Dazai were still here, the Guild would have been no match.

Also, a good point that the post I mentioned made was when Hirotsu mentioned specifically Dazai when talking about understanding Mori's motives, which I think was very interesting.

Now, this could probably be about anything, but it does seem like it's directed towards Mori assassinating the previous boss. It could also mean about sending Chuuya over to his location, kicking him out of the mafia (this is the one I low-key kind of think that he meant), etc. It could be a lot, but seemingly it's either only getting Dazai forced out of the Mafia or the previous boss' death. Interesting points all around and their analysis and theory is so so so good!!!

Anyways, this was a bit longer than I expected it to be, I hope it makes sense! Any questions, please please PLEASE feel free to ask! Because I have a lot more to say about this, but I can't write it unless prompted lmao.

Thank you for reading this far, my love <333

Have a lovely day/night! <333

[angelpuns]

How do you do the thinking for the comic? Because it's interesting to think that nobody thinks the exact same, like when I do my stories I blast music and get absolutely lost in the brain sauce to the point I know the entire story before working on it and new songs just add filler

So what gets ya comic brain going what's ya gaba goo?

So it is so so so so complicated actually.

Normally, as in for like- literally every other comic before the Kid Leo Au - I would just sit down, draw the entire comic and then line/color/finish ya know? ( and normally I just turn on music or rain sounds, then tune them out immediately LMAO )

But the Kid Leo comic has been something else completely.

The first few arcs ( because I didn't expect it to go on that long tbh) I worked off of the fic, changing things along the way, without really planning too far ahead.

Nowadays I write down a bunch of ideas ( usually at work whoops ) and then either sketch the comic on paper or use the outline as a guide to sketch it later on the computer.

I try not to let my brain movie take over the way I would for writing because otherwise I would not be able to draw it. Which is so funny because my brain movies are usually really tasty :)

For writing I like to lay down in bed, rain sounds BLASTING and just let the brain movie go BANANAS. Like it plays and I just write down what's happening.

I can't do that for comics so I usually and up just writing down ideas for later and then expanding on them or just immediately drawing them out.

That's the long answer, the short answer is:

Blast music ( any music, I'm not gonna be listening to it anyway), sketch out the entire comic/page, complete.

Like I don't even think of dialogue too hard tbh LMAOO

Sorry I feel like this was more confusing than I meant it to be. Its so complicated cause my process for comics/writing is so different and it varies from comic to comic.

[kriscommitscrimes]

kris x catti has had me on choke hold all day and. i don't even know why i think theyre just really cute together. occult partners. but its such a rare pair omfl theres no content of them :(

i still love krerdly though as well with all my heart. the gaymers ough,,,,

[noelledeltarune]

What's your favourite / least favourite mario game?

this is one of the hardest questions i’ve ever been asked in my life :-( i love so many of them soooo so much and i don’t think i could pick a least favourite.. it’s also important to note that i haven’t beaten a lot of the mario games i own 💀 i still need to beat superstar saga and i’m only at the beginning/early middle of BiS. i also haven’t beaten smrpg and i’m not very far in paper mario 64 or mario + rabbids kingdom battle. i’m still working on 100%ing galaxy super mario 64 ds and super mario 3d world so i haven’t beaten those either. my brother owns it but i’ve never played luigi’s mansion dark moon myself 😭

i think my favourite story in any mario game is spm (because like. yknow. if you couldn’t tell.) but i really really love like. most of them LOL. galaxy is probably my favourite of the like. 64-sunshine-galaxy-odyssey 3d platformers, i love 3d land, and all of the M&L rpgs but especially PiT and dream team are so special to me

idk if i really have a least favourite?? i obviously prefer the story heavy games but i love the platformers and spinoffs too (<- mariokart wii + marioparty 8 + mario power tennis lover especially) . i guess i don’t really get too excited about the new super mario bros series but i wouldn’t consider any of them to be BAD games. i also obviously am not gonna say anything like mario teaches typing mario is missing mario’s time machine hotel mario etc because i don’t own and have never played any of those LOL

i think the games i’m least likely to revisit are like. new super mario bros wii and new super mario bros 2 :-( . nothing against them but like you’ve played em once you’ve played em enough LOL. i still pop open 3d land sometimes i still get excited to dick around in lm/3 and odyssey i play mariokart and marioparty all the time and i still replay the rpgs LOL. the nsmb games just aren’t like as good to me. those 2 especially because you can’t play as luigi as p1 and that’s all i wanted to do as a kid LOL

[crystalizedcryolite]

/vent??

I am.. so sick of all this a/i stuff

Its just wrong- it takes away the beauty of all art forms, whether its writing, art, or music.

Generative a/i, character a/i, doesn't matter. It still steals from actual artists. It still steals from good, hard work, and for what? Roleplay? Free time?

It could've been great, really. Instead of using a/i to do the mundane- like chores, or using it to solve something revolutionary in the field of science and medicine, they use it for.. "art." For uncanny-valley, cocomelon-type pictures. For incorrect information in graphics AND in writing. We don't want a/i to draw and write for us so we can do chores (I saw this in a tweet once), we want a/i to do our chores so we can draw and write.

And I'm so, so sick of people acting like its a good thing, like using generative a/i is justifiable in anyway, or just cause others may be using it.

It's everywhere, now. My friend -idk if we're friends anymore, honestly- uses c-a/i and swears it's "just for roleplay," the pastor at church used generative a/i to get a picture of something from the Bible, and students at school uses ChatGPT to get the job done.

Don't they see how damaging it is to not only the art industry, but to the world?

C-a/i is never accurate to the characters they portray. They steal from fics and turn it into their generative slop. It's not even good slop! The grammar? Punctuation? Proper sentences? Don't need that, apparently! In fact, that very same "friend" showed me a screenshot of c-a/i messing up by saying Tails (from Sonic the Hedgehog) is the only one who'd be seen riding a motorcycle. And any STH fan would know that its not Tails, it's Shadow who rides a motorcycle. Tails rides a plane.

A/i "art" is even worse. I've seen how inaccurate the final stuff could be. A baby bird doesn't look like a real one when generated through that slop. It's actually damaging to how we see information. Not only that, but the "art" generated is still so, so harmful to actual artists. Who needs passion, anyway? Who needs love put into art, anyway? When generating an a/i image, you put love and passion... where, exactly? In the prompt box?

I'll explain this in hypotheticals.

Its the year 2030. You wake up and begin a brand new day.

You open a book and cringe. This doesn't look like a good plot. This doesn't look like a plot, at all?

You learn that it's written through character a/i.

You turn the TV on. All the cartoons you used to love is gone. An uncanny "cartoon" took its place, with soulless eyes and a robotic voice. You turn the TV off and go outside.

But wait- the world is.. crumbling?! That's right- A/I is bad for the Earth! It's ACTUALLY damaging the world!

And somehow- somehow- you develop a sickness, so you go to the hospital to get it checked out.

To your horror, the doctor merely shrugs and says that he doesn't know what sickness you have.

"But how could this be?! You're a doctor! You're supposed to know these things!"

You find out that the doctor used ChatGPT to get through college, and didn't actually perceive the information required.

Then you die. The speeches people read out for your funeral were generated through ChatGPT. Truly a terrible way to die.

People need to understand just why all this a/i nonsense is bad. I feel like they go, "yeah, a/i is bad" and turn around to their a/i roleplays and ChatGPT, ready to defend themselves for using that slop.

To the mentioned "friend", to the mentioned pastor, and to the students who may or may not read this;

I wish I could tell you just how bad this a/i stuff is. I wish you'd understand. I wish you'd listen.

I wish generative a/i never existed.

[haykawas]

hi yas!! just wanted to say hi and ask how your halloween party went 🥹🫶🏼

lilith hii!!! how was your week-end??😽

the party was a huge success actually jejdkddk although we didnt get to go over the whole playlist cuz we mostly played lots of games😭 (i was scared my neighbours would barge in cuz we usually make lots of noise but it hopefully didnt happen🫡)

everyone’s costume was so GOOD and mine was a huge success hehe (i was genderbent patrick bateman<3) + a friend ended up surprising me by coming when she said she couldnt make it so i was way too excited ⚰️⚰️ but i’m def WAY too tired now . (i went to a horror night at an amusement park yesterday so my w-e was way too busy and i now wanna sleep in for a week)

[catragemiau]

I do wanna draw. Since a kid but never had the home or place or able to purely concentrate on it. But

How long did it take you to get even somewhat good? Like you are amazing. Not surprised if u done a work on sonic IDW comics

Amazing work

First of all, thank you for your words aaaaahh!! 😭😭💙

To be honest, I'm the worst kind of an artist to ask how long it took me to start considering my art good because it took me bloody AGES to get anywhere with it lmao. I started doing digital art at the age of 11 and taking commissions at 15 or 16, that makes around 4-5 years before my art became good enough to be paid for? And it wasn't anywhere as great as some kids' works these days. I didn't do any studying or didn't spend my time on pure practice, as an introverted and weird teen I was just really obsessed with drawing my silly OCs and fan art.

After around 10 years of doing it purely for fun, only now I'm actually *thinking* when drawing which sped up my progress. Now I'm also not that critical about my old artworks because, well, there's actually no such thing as bad art, y'know? I'm still lacking knowledge of basics but I'm also still enjoying my time while drawing, after all these years, and that's way more important than being good or trying to be perfect at it (which is impossible anyway). I would never be able to do commissions full time if I hated it lmao. Oh, and I do want to work with IDW one day! There's a HUGE competition but seeing fellow artists getting there fills me up with determination! ❤️

Don't think of art as something you have to spend hours and hours and days and years on before you can call it "good", especially if you're not aiming to make it your main source of income. Some of the greatest artists I've seen are drawing, like, 15-20 minutes per day when they feel like it! Draw a cat you saw outside, a beautiful plant that caught your attention, a tree, a chair. Draw a silly little Sonic, you'll never miss with him :D If you want to boost your drawing skills, find some YouTube videos of some simple objects for starters and draw along! You can't be bad at art if you enjoy your time doing it. It takes time and a loooot of practice but that comes with most activities.

[humanitys-strongest-bamf]

For the WIP asks, I've gotta go for the BSD fics! You know I love that show. I saw you had at least 3 of them on your list so tell me as much or as little as you'd like about them.

I WOULD LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THEM *cue me being annoying as fuck*

Ask me about any WIPs I might have!!

note: kat info dumping about her bsd WIPs under the cut ja;ldkf also not proofread so sorry for typos/weird wording

So I'm typically a Dazai simp (but i'm currently mad at him for the shit he did in meursault so we're on a break >:( ) so both "current" and "mafia days" are dazai x oc fics. "mafia days" is pretty self-explanatory lmao. it's stuff during the dark age!

but it details OC being a pretty powerful ability user that Mori personally sought out and then she ends up being a pretty lethal assassin for the organization and takes Dazai's place as leader of the Black Lizard. During the Mimic incident, she "brutally murders" the one Mimic soldier that had the gun pointed at Dazai's head and Dazai begins chastising her about needing to keep him alive for interrogation or that she overdid it and they get into a fight! She continues her investigation of Mimic without him BUT eventually gets captured by Gide because the way she murdered the other soldier with her abilities caught their attention. Dazai does NOT come to rescue her until last minute because he wasn't even aware that she wasn't just further ignoring him. He thinks she dies in his arms, but of some unknown facet of her abilities (think Atsushi's healing BUT STRONGER). She wakes up in the infirmary a few days later and is under the impression that Dazai sold her out to Mimic and left her for dead. END SCENE

SKIP TO 4 YEARS LATER

This basically just follows canon. OC is a pretty high-ranking executive now and is pretty much always taking kill jobs, primarily to channel her rage into it because she's still pissed about Dazai. Some of the important character deaths, I have her involved in because I can (sue me), like Sasaki's. She comes along with that meeting between Fukuzawa and Mori to negotiate and when Fukuzawa attacks (instead of Tanizaki coming in with Light Snow), she comes him to stop his sword and then Dazai is all like D: because it turns out she's alive but he didn't know. She gets assigned to assassinate Fitzgerald and they have like a big confrontation where she's pissed at Dazai for abandoning her and he's trying to convince her that he thought she was dead all along. I have her involved as the show progresses but it's not as impactful as s2 i think.

"mafia!husband au" is basically the same except she gets with chuuya. the drama in the dark days still happens, but she's always had a close bond with chuuya because they're both stupidly powerful ability users that didn't really know where they came from. in the normal story (stuff i described above), they're just really close like a brother/sister bond thing. in this AU, they get together at some point. the confrontation with her and dazai still happens, but she's not able to forgive him and overlook the pain that he caused right before she got captured.

and that's it! i think. they're pretty well fleshed out because these WIPs are like...around 6 years old at this point? started it in 2017 alkdfjklsdf

i also have a separate writing blog for bsd if you're ever interested! it's permanent hiatus tho because the bsd fandom chased me away for reasons i can tell u in dm's lol :p

[its-a-stegosaurus]

ok, as a traditional artist and tf fan, im always so fucking amazed at how people have so much control over their stylus/mouse/other favored drawing item, because i could never get the hang of it. AND THEN people will draw transformers, and i can immediately tell that even with this quick little sketch that you're obviously talented, because you capture blitzwings character so nicely! and just, remembering all the little things?? like i know some of that is practice and staring intensely at references, but STILL. transformers is so hard to draw, so its so cool seeing people put vids out like this showing the process of how they drew a certain character and what not. gah, its just so neat!

rungs-eyebrows asked me how I draw Blitzwing’s hat, so if you want to see how you could draw the very basic shape of that thing in about 50 seconds, there ya go. My voice is still a bit heavy from yesterday, sorry!