#sry for anyone on mobile i tried so hard to use a cut

[ratwars]

Who do you think is the deepest character in diabolik lovers and whyyyyyy :3 (sorry if this is weird btw :,))

Tomà out here activating my dialovers derangement syndrome 🥲 ty ty ty also sry sry sry in advance 🙏💜

Minors dni with this post

This is not weird omg no one ever asks me about dialovers you need to understand I was into VNs including otome before I was into any anime (including bsd) and diabolik lovers is my longest term obsession that isn't music 💜🙏 This is mostly going to involve things from the games (because the anime was basically silly fanservice that barely scratches the surface for anyone) but I'll leave out drama cd stuff because I would actually need to go refresh myself on those.

Absolute novel under the cut sorry. also cw noncon, cw dubcon, cw abuse, cw csa, cw suicide, cw matricide

Anyone not familiar with the series who decides to continue pls be aware of these warnings and take care of yourself. Also pls understand everything I say is in terms of the series and setting. Absolutely nothing that happens in these games would make any of these characters redeemable irl. This is fiction and a trashfire Do-S fetish franchise. Trauma doesn't excuse abuse. I don't condone any of the bad behavior from this series irl. (Sorry since this isn't my sideblog I feel I need to explain this so ppl don't come at me thinking I'm excusing stuff for reals with this little analysis)

Also this is probably going to have spelling mistakes and horrific formatting because I wrote it on mobile so my bad on that too.

This was so hard to answer because so many of them have serious trauma, maladaptive coping mechanisms, and large amounts of growth throughout the various sequels. I think you could make the logical argument of depth for every single character. The Sakamaki triplets are def the most tragic of the first two games in this regard though (maybe only rivaled by the Tsukinami brothers once we get to Dark Fate because of the whole being the sole survivors of genocide thing)

But as a whole I think Carla and Shin deal with their predicaments in a more outwardly focused manner (which makes sense given their stories and roles as antagonists in their debut game) so I don't think I could objectively call them the deepest esp Carla even though he is my fave.

So out of the Sakamaki triplets I am going to go with Laito. Shocking I know because I have said before he is the one I am the most terrified of. But hear me out.

(I'm using HBD (haunted dark bridal) to refer to the first game, and MB (more blood) to refer to the second game going forward)

His first route in hdb is a stomach twisting mess of isolation, noncon, gaslighting and victim blaming. It is also the only route in that game where Yui tries to kill herself, which imo is really notable. Tbh the first time I played it I was so deeply uncomfortable I didn't really give his character a lot of thought. During replays and some of his drama cds though it def changed my perspective of him (in terms of the deepness of his character, not my dislike of him)

Here are my arguments in topical format because I don't really want to go through and do the research needed to refresh myself and make this chronological. Also if I am mistaken with anything I've paraphrased my bad it's because this isn't a real essay more of a rant that you might regret reading lol.

- Cordelia

We can't go into the rest of my arguments without the facts. He was groomed by his mother and experienced a childhood of CSA at her hands. And he is absolutely confused and suffering when he has his flashbacks. Yes he kills her with the other two triplets, but that didn't actually solve anything for him internally, and I think it is a pretty clear-cut argument that his negative traits and behaviors can be linked back to his unresolved trauma from this. He even says it himself too when he tries to project onto Yui and claim her hatred for him must be the same as his for Cordelia (though unnamed in his quote im pretty sure) that a hatred can run so deep that even killing the person won't relieve the burning. The other ironic part of this is that in the dialovers universe it is explained multiple times that the highest act of love for a vampire is murder. So. Every LI (Reiji, Laito, Ayato, Kanato) that committed matricide out of their hatred probably has some deeper more complex feelings going on than that. (You could also argue maybe a similar thing about Carla and patricide as well though he is Founder/First Blood not vampire. But he is more open about his reasoning and feelings around his parents and why he did what he did imo)

- His disdain of purity (plot twist. It's jealousy).

We repeatedly see him mock both Yui's purity and religiosity. He is arguably the worst out of all of the LIs when it comes to this topic, and hits this point right out the gate when he assaults her in the abandoned church. It is simultaneously a logical and also weird choice on his part to continue on with when you realize how unwavering her faith actually is, and if you do other routes before this one you are already coming in realizing no matter how much she "breaks", "changes", or "gives in" in other ways, she never actually abandons her faith completely even in future games when she is living quite literally in the demon world. Even in routes where she becomes a vampire she doesn't eschew God. However it is canon that she is a devout Catholic and that she originally wanted to be a nun (before the events of the game screw that up for her), so it is still relevant.

While it may have started as a way to try and break her down, it really becomes more and more clear through his routes that like a bunch of his other behaviors, he is projecting his own struggles onto Yui.

He is jealous of her purity, so he attacks it. He is jealous of her faith, so he attacks it. He is jealous of her unwavering belief in goodness and in humanity, so he just. keeps. attacking. it. Because seeing it exist in front of him hurts, but especially early on he isn't aware of his own emotions or why he acts the way he does. So many things in his routes and his monologues highlight the fact that Laito views himself as permanently dirtied by his past, and this behavior is tied to that.

- His inability to identify his feelings from his fake front and his use of sex to maladaptively deal with his trauma.

** I wrote way too much on this and decide nvm I think even if someone has only seen the anime his hypersexuality probably speaks for itself. Plus this is getting so long 😔**

-His lack of control in MB and "forced" behavior. His confusion over his own tears near the end of HDB.

There are various instances (esp in MB where his characterization is wildly different and desperate compared to HDB) where we see his mask start to crack, or realize that his mask wasn't actually very good to begin with and the exhaustion from the continous abuse in his routes has caused both Yui (and us as the reader) to fall for his bullshit more easily. He plays the part of a pervert, but Shu (who arguably is a massive pervert) calls him out in MB for being a phony. His behavior in MB makes him come across as desperate and out of control, as opposed to his calculated sadism in HDB. This all comes back to his inner turmoil, unresolved feelings, and trauma and we slowly unpeal those layers through the rest of the series.

I think at baseline it is really easy to dismiss Laito. I did from the beginning too. Plus he never stops calling Yui Bitch-chan no matter how many sequels he gets 🤦‍♂️ But that is just falling for his fake front, exactly what he wants you to do because then he can just keep carrying on without dealing with his bs and let off steam temporarily in the process. But under the surface there is a lot more going on. And he definitely is a character that has an insane amount of depth.

Sorry for the multi part novel. I don't even like him as an LI even in this series. But for a series with so many inconsistencies, retcons across games, and questionable writing choices, they did a good job with his character. I just need him to stay far away from both me and Yui 🥲 Imagine if you had asked me something that prompted me to talk about my faves 💀💀💀

[sheikah]

favorite darklina moments?

Anon I’m so sorry because you did not sign up for the crazy long post you’re about to get but..HERE WE GO! (The “read more” no longer functions on mobile and I’m SO sorry to everyone this annoys.)

uM??? Soft. Literally the moment I knew I was trash. He takes his glove off to touch her??? Romance???

Okay so a few things here. 1. This is just my stupid emotions clouding my judgment but I think that if Alina hadn’t cut and run after Baghra told her the truth about him, she probably would have been able to convince Aleks not to expand the fold and instead to destroy it. Why? Well, I know he is playing her throughout the first book but he’s showing a lot of self-awareness here. Knowing he’s the only Darkling means he’s calling his own deeds greedy and evil. I think he might have been convinced to right those wrongs under the right circumstances and I like the vulnerability of this conversation for that reason. In R&R he tells Alina that he only decided to expand the fold and force her to take the stag’s amplifier after she left and “chose…” (clearly meaning chose Mal). Is that a viable motive for the murders he committed afterward? No lmao but I’m trash. 2. Alina is literally 24/7 checking him out. This is her POV. She is constantly calling him “perfect” and other very complimentary things 🤣 3. The inherent longing and romance of that last line. I’m sorry but that’s Good Shit and I love Alina’s dubious response as much as the declaration itself lol. 

I just love the cute lightheartedness of this scene and also the fact that he has taste. I mean we been knew because of The Aesthetic, but still. He knows garish when he sees it.

This whole scene because reasons. Idk man it’s just hot. It’s a YA book so we aren’t going to get the kind of smut I crave but the pining that results from this moment being cut off early is MY SHIT and I love the unexpected soft politeness of what he says before he leaves…

Bitch!!!! Say yes!!! 

This!!!!!! I wanted powerful and uninhibited Alina SO BAD. And obviously, so did he. (And lbr, so did Alina herself lol).

Idk I just love the angst of this. This is a clear admission that just like he was playing her, she was affecting his judgment too. He was a fool. A fool in love maybe??????? Lol ignore me.

On one hand, this is a bit creepy and possessive. But on the other hand I fucking love it. They’re both deeply lonely and at the end of the day? That’s the kind of tragic OTP I thrive on.

And see, THIS is why it’s so important that we get the story in first person. Because while the Darkling IS very problematic and I can see why people who hate the ship are squicked out to some extent, what matters is that we know that Alina still struggles with her feelings about him throughout the whole trilogy. After everything he has done a part of her still wants him and a part of her still acknowledges that he accepts her power in a way no one else really does. Also, lol at her once again commenting on how good he looks.

What can I really say? I live for this. My favorite moments in Alina’s story are ones where she allows herself to confront, if only in her mind, her own desire for power (”I was eager”) and I love that even while she just admitted to loving Mal, she can’t help herself with Aleks. “I could drown in it.” Bitch, me too. 

Just the way this is worded idk. She’s literally killing him. He’s been evil and conniving af. That’s not lost on me. But Alina doesn’t hate him. There’s no, “Just a little longer so I can kill this asshole” or “Just a little longer so I can send this monster to hell where he belongs.” No. She’s sending him “to the next world” and she’s gonna follow? Ok. Nothing to read into that at all.

Everything about this!!!!! “I respect your ruthlessness”??? A line that would work on me lmao. Also I live for hurt and vulnerable Aleks showing this bitterness. He’s allowing her to see that she hurt him, you know? Also love that it’s honesty when she says she wanted to see him. There is so fucking much mutual pining in this ship it’s torture. And even after everything they’ve done to one another they’re still like this!! How dare they! Let me live!!!!

Idk I love this because they’re such opposites in everything from appearance to ideology but they still have this pull on each other that drags them each nearer the middle. He brings out Alina’s ambition and she brings out his softness. Also, “I had a taste for you once” is probably my favorite line in all their interactions. I know everyone else loves “make me your villain” but this line is just sexier somehow and it comes from Alina! Alina toying with Aleks’s desire?? MY SHIT!

Give me dark!Alina! GIVE IT TO ME!!!

SO MUCH in this passage. This is in R&R so by this point the damage and history and pain in this ship is off the charts and Alina is still sitting here thinking about how she wants him. “I didn’t want to go …  I wanted this whispered confidence.” We love to see it. And then there’s his name. I actually love his name. It’s my husband’s name lmao (though he spells it with an x). And I agree with Alina that it’s kind of laughably cute that the big, bad Darkling has such a common (but pretty!) name.

More than that, I feel like a lot of people overlook the significance of this moment. In “The Demon in the Wood” we learn that Aleks was on the run for basically his entire youth. He’s gone by fake names since he was a child. That story is so heartbreaking, being in his head while he’s coaching and drilling himself to adapt to these false names and identities in a convincing way. He couldn’t share his real name with anyone. But what must that have done to his sense of self? Especially being so young, his ability to develop an identity like a normal person was taken away. He must have wanted, for years, maybe even centuries, to be able to be his real self. But he’s clearly never trusted anyone with the truth. Until Alina. And this isn’t soft, naive S&B Alina. This is “ruthless” book 3 Sankta Alina, his enemy in every sense of the word who has multiple times left him for dead (he deserved it but that’s not my point). And he trusts her with this and shares this intimacy with her and it makes me weep ok?

This is sexy. What else can I possibly say? It’s hot. My favorite piece of Darklina art is from this scene lol but I wish there was more fanart of this moment that actually depicted them as they are, with him basically sitting and Alina all up in his junk between his legs. I accept the Darklina isn’t canon but there are no other shippy scenes in the trilogy that match this one imo. THEIR POWER. It’s so good lol.

She literally killed him lmao. She was literally the one doing the stabbing here. She ended his long life and he’s still being sweet with her?????? The last thing he wanted to hear was her voice and his name???? Ok thanks.

K the funeral scene broke me but I am glad they gave him a proper funeral. But what I’m really here for? Alina Starkov’s last line of dialogue and last thought in The Grisha Trilogy is about Aleks and no one can take that away from me.

Anyway sorry for the giant trashy post I just have a lot of feelings about them. This is almost every scene so I failed to tell you my favorite moments rofl. They’re all my favorite. I guess if I had to pick three? The Winter Fete scene, Alina trying to kill them both in the chapel, and “let me.” Oof. 

Thanks for tolerating my insane and overwhelming love for this ship!!!!!