#that is to say a post in the midst of the dozens Dracula daily posts akshakabakvakaga

[kyouka-supremacy]

Awwww thank you for the reply even more assorted thoughts under the cut then!!!!! (Didn't want to hijack the post but they didn't fit in the tags alone AH-)

I know nothing about bsd BUT I know about The Promised Neverland - which features a writer-artist partnership similar to the bsd one - which might give an idea of how the bsd creative process works out of comparison (spoilers for the first arc of tpn ahead):

In tpn Shirai (author) had full control over the plot while Demizu (artist) illustrated according to the writer's directions. There were istances where Demizu was appositely kept in the dark of plot developments so that their depiction of the new events could result as fresh as possible (and, in a way, deceiving for the reader too)- that's the case of the last page of chapter 32, where they drew Emma believing Ray had died, thus making Emma's reaction to his fake-death as true as possible. On the other hand, it's also true that in multiple occasions Demizu's drawings have inspired Shirai in their creative process, and I believe the same must have happened with bsd too in some cases. What I'm desperate to know is who makes the storyboards in bsd!!! In tpn Shirai made the storyboards Demizu was then to redraw; how does it work with bsd?

Overall, I suppose it's fair to assume the norm is artists not having an insight of the plot in order to keep their illustrations as authentic as possible... I mean, it makes sense in a way. For example, let's take the wet Dostoyevsky panel™ from this chapter:

What's going on in his mind? Does he have a plan? Was he expecting this move from Dazai? Or is he at loss? Maybe he's worried? Is he in control? It's hard to guess any of this by looking at the panel alone- he simply looks unamused. And that's the point! Making his expression impossible to read is definitely intentional: it solves the purpose of keeping the reader on edge and increase the suspense for what's going to happen next. And what better way to keep a panel ambiguous than having the artist themselves not know the reason behind a character's emotions? Not knowing the details of the plot, they won't risk making Dostoyevsky appear confident - or desperate - according to what's really going on in his mind, simply because they themselves don't know what is that he's feeling.

This was just to make an example on the logic behind not having artists aware of the storyline- I'm in no way saying that's what happened in this specific case as I'd have no way to know ahah. But yeah, overall I'm under the impression usually the artist doesn't know as much about the plot as the writer and editor do.

And now I'm going to talk more chapter 31 cover because I can't shut up alsbskabakabakab

I really like it because it's one of the very few instances - even the only I'd dare to say?? Idk I don't usually pay much attention to skk so I may be missing something - of skk showing genuine, PALPABLE sentiments that aren't hate or annoyance for each other. Like literally the entirety of their screentime they spend bickering, or insulting, or fighting, and it's up to the reader's interpretation whether they actually genuinely despise each other, but here? There's a lot of things you could see in the look they exchange - confusion, regret, dismay, sorrow even? - but it's //not// the usual loathing and it's something I cherish!! It's a fleeting page but it's really one that makes you think there might be more to their relationship than mutual annoyance, and I think that's very nice.

Also stating the obvious but: they're so small!!!!!!! So little!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think the one depicted is such a inherently childhood experience: a kid might have just fought with another kid, but they'll still be upset and throw a tantrum when time comes to go their separate ways. Even if, when placed in the bigger picture, it holds the deeper meaning of separation between the two (separation we never went into as Fifteen took a different route, but that might also symbolize their second separation when Dazai left the mafia and broke their partnership); even if it's symbolically poignant it's just... Weird to think about Chuuya and Dazai going through such a common, trivial childhood experience. Weird to think of Chuuya and Dazai acting like children. It's cute. It makes me wonder if their hatred for each other too might actually not have been an authentic expression of their true nature but rather a way in which they imitated the world that surrounded them - a world full of hate -, denying their own nature of being nothing more than children. (It's definitely not that deep and I'm just looking too much into it but it's all for the fun of analyzing ahah)

And lastly- PFFFFTT I always assumed Chuuya's style was inspired by some kind of witch iconography, but never actually stopped to think about it until now? In particular, I find it reminiscent of 1600s north America fashion. I probably came to such conclusion after reading the snippet about the real author at the end of volume 6, which reports that the author apparently used to style himself in “black hats and overcoats” “[that made him look] a bit like a sorcerer himself”.

That's it thank you again for the food for thought Op ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶ Sorry if this got long aaaaaaaaahh

Thinking about Dazai's memories

I think it's interesting how we basically got two sets of Dazai's memories within 3 months, so since I analyzed the Beast ones, I thought I'd analyze these as well. As always it's just me rambling under the cut, and remember guys that below there are spoilers from everything up until this point!

The first memory memory we see is a completely new one. I love it when montages use new memories instead of simply reusing what was shown before, so I appreciate this little scene. Their outfits are taken from chapter 31 and seeing Chuuya in these clothes was so strangely nostalgic. The only difference is that Dazai has his arm broken instead of his leg. Also I like how young they look here. They're just kids annoying each other just like Dazai is saying in the background.

The second memory I'm pretty sure is also one of the new scenes we haven't seen before. It looks like Fifteen, but I don't recognize this background and the closest illustration I could find is the one from the light novel. Maybe it's supposed to show how they gained confidence and were ruling the city (judging by the building in the background), but yeah that's all I have.

After that I noticed a scene from chapter 31 in bottom left. It's taken right from the manga with no changes besides Chuuya's jacket being coloured in. Considering Dazai's fascination with corruption, it makes sense that it appears in his memories. Here, it's been 4 years since they fought together and it's the first time Dazai could observe Chuuya being possessed in a long time. Interestingly, it's not corruption in its peak that's portrayed here but the moment when Dazai is bringing Chuuya back to his senses. With the context of this chapter, it might mean that Dazai wants to protect Chuuya and despite liking danger and sending Chuuya to fight directly, he cares about him.

Bottom right seems to be from chapter 31 as well, just slightly changed. And that also makes sense because these are supposed to be his memories, so he might not remember each detail perfectly. It's the moment when Dazai sends Chuuya into action, which is something I already mentioned. Dazai likes to see Chuuya fight and to tease him, and this chapter had both.

With this next one I have no idea which scene it could be. I'm like 75% sure it's from their first meeting after 4 years back in chapters 10 and 11, but it's a reach. We only have Dazai's legs, a bit of his coat and Chuuya's shoulder, so there's not a lot to work with. But it does make sense for it to be from their first meeting after 4 years, because it was important for them both. Dazai stayed in that dungeon partially because he wanted to talk with Chuuya and this is what this memory could be alluding to. My first thought was Dazai leaving Chuuya behind after Oda's death, but I don't think he got his coat right this soon.

Then we have one of the most iconic skk scenes from Storm Bringer. Not to spoil it too much, but in this scene Chuuya decides to save Yokohama even if it means never getting to know if he's a human being. In this scene he trusts Dazai's plan and goes into action, something Dazai must be looking back at fondly. I kinda wish we had the scene in which he catches Chuuya after the fight, but I guess it would be too fluffy for this angsty chapter.

And I left 2 memries that I thought were the most interesting additions for last. The firts one being this scene from Dead Apple and I'm so happy that it made it here for a few reasons. First of all now we have a proof that Dead Apple is canon in the manga. I know it was canon before, but it wasn't mentioned or anything, so there was this shadow of doubt. Now, it's 100% canon. The other reason is that I'd love to see Dead Apple with Harukawa's art style and it's great that we now have this scene even though it's just a shadow. I wondered how it would be shown in the main manga and now I don't have to anymore. It also looks way more desperate than in the movie or Dead Apple manga, because of the wind and how Chuuya reaches his arm to Dazai before he punches him. It's also most likely Dazai's imagination, since he was unconscious when it happened.

And last but absolutely not least (on the contrary, I wanted to hype it up), we have one of the most iconic skk scenes, and here comes the question, is it even from Fifteen? Because as we can see, the positions of hands are swapped and Dazai isn't wearing this brace type of thing on his arm. This scene isn't in the original light novel, so either Asagiri and Harukawa were like screw it, we're adding it to the canon or it's a different instance. And if it's a different situation, then what was this fight? It's also possible that the positions are switched because it's Dazai's pov not Chuuya's like in the anime. Either way hand-holding is now canon and I'm so happy about this fact.

In conclusion

Dazai's memories with Chuuya seem to be a mix of their fights with enemies and some other moments they shared as well, putting an emphasis not on the fights themselves (since there are no other people and they aren't in combat stances), but their connection throught them. I wish we got to see more scenes, but I understand going overboard could be on overkill, especially if it's just a cliffhanger death meant to fool us. It's hard to judge Dazai's reaction, because he could be putting on a show, but it also seems to be genuine and cherishing these memories would make sense for his character. I'm so glad we got to see this little peek into Dazai's mind and his memories, and now I want more.

[springfallendeer]

Castlevania: Ayala - Meeting Trevor (1)

I wrote this a few days ago but wanted to wait to post it. Ayala meeting Trevor Belmont, as per part of the little side AU on this blog.

 A soft sigh of annoyance escaped him as he examined the scenery which lay before him. For once, he was at a loss for what to do and where to go. Typically, he would just pick a direction and start walking. The unfortunate truth of this circumstance being that this was not a situation that was typical to his daily life. Or at least, it had not been a common aspect of his life for quite a while. For the first time in a long time, he had companions who were supposed to be traveling with him. They were all supposed to sit and discuss where it was that they were supposed to go, and when. For the first time in a long time, he was supposed to be making some sort of a plan; and he was supposed to be a part of a team. The issue was that he had taken a few actions which in turn resulted in him being separated from his companions. The forests of Wallachia housed an array of hidden dangers and secrets.

 Dracula’s hoards happened to be just one of these many secrets. They had happened across a small army of Blue-Fangs. The demons had immediately set out to deal with them; and they had retaliated in turn. Better to take out a handful of the beasts now so as to prevent them from being able to harm more innocent people in the future. They had been successful in their attempts. From what he could gather, none of those demons had succeeded at escaping their demise. Unfortunately, accidents could happen at any time. He was going to blame Sypha, as well as himself, for what had happened. The long and short of it? Sypha had attempted to take advantage of the environment, in hopes of killing the demon off faster. Walls of ice to trap the demons, whitewater rapids to hopefully smother anything that fell into the river that was between them. Her plan had been a good one; but it had been poorly executed all the same.

 In the midst of the fray, he had been dragged into the rapids by one of the Blue Fangs. He had been a little to close to the river in the midst of the brawl. The monstrosities had taken advantage of the environment just as well as he and his companions had been. The beast that had grabbed him had fallen into the water at some point; but he could rest assured of the fact that it was dead. Strong as they were, being cut to pieces tended to kill them easily enough. The beast had been dying the very moment that it had rushed from the water to grab him. He could call it a last-ditch effort on the part of the demon. Grabbing hold of him with its one remaining arm to drag him into the rapids in hopes of making him drown. The monster had been little more than a maimed chest and head by the time it grabbed him. It probably died long before he had managed to work his way free of the rapids; but by then, he had been carried miles away from the scene.

 Vampire Killer had proven to be an effective means of escaping the water. Honestly he was glad to be able to say that he had gotten out of the rapids without suffering more than a few scrapes and bruises. The demon had been smart, by any account. There were a dozen ways to figure out how to counteract the assault of a monster; but he had his limits where mother nature came into play. Caught in that powerful current and fighting to keep his head above water, he had been reduced to nothing more than a man attempting to keep himself from drowning. Like a rat trapped in the sewer; he could do nothing but struggle for his life and hope that he could make it. The best of men could die at the hands of the environment. He would do well to learn from this incident, and try to prevent the situation from repeating itself in the future. Albeit, that was a lesson to be studied at a later date.

 As of now, what he needed to do was try to figure out how he was going to get back to his group. Obviously he would need to follow the river; he was sure that they would be doing the same and trusting that it would lead to him. The current issue was the elements. Night would arrive soon, and he could not afford to be caught out here alone. The addition being that once the sun went down, the chill would come; and if he couldn’t at least find a means of keeping warm, he would not survive the night. His clothes were soaking wet and weight twice as much as they normally did. As an added metaphorical kick to his testicles, his coin pouch had been lost in the fray. Likely swept away by the current to be found by some idle traveler who might happen across it. So he was stone cold sober, soaked to the bone with bloody water, and sore from having been tossed around in the river like a fallen log.

 So in blunt terms, he was not happy. An annoyed groan escaped him as he attempted to wring out the abundance of water that happened to be so desperate to cling to his clothing. No matter what he did, he would not be able to dry off before night fell. His best option at this point was to try and find some semblance of shelter so that he could build a fire. That would at least help him keep warm and hopefully be what it took to make sure his clothes were dry by morning. If he was lucky, Sypha and Alucard would be only a short walk away by the time he was able to go looking for them.

 “God spits in my general direction again.” He grumbled, peeling off his wet cloak so that he would at least be able to get the extra weight off of his shoulders. Normally, the attire did well at keeping him warm and comfortable; right now, with it soaking wet, all it managed to do was remind him of how incredibly cold the surrounding air was.

 “Gettin’ pissed off at him probably wont make him less likely to spit at you in the future.” The voice called out to him before he could even become aware of a new presence nearby. He could blame the rapids for that. The noise created by the rushing water easily overpowered any sort of noise that might be made by a set of approaching feet. Out of instinct, he reached for his whip as he spiraled around to look for the source of the voice; his cloak was thrust upon the soggy land in the process. Great; in addition to it already being wet, now it was dirty. So he would have to wash it off before trying it out. To say that he was at least a little confused to find the head of an elk poking out from within the woodland, would likely be an understatement. Not only did it convince him that it had been the elk that had spoken to him; even if only for a moment; but he could not help but be stunned at the size of it.

 “If I were the typical hunter, you’d be quite the prize.” He commented, watching as the oversized animal calmly stepped out from within the wood so that it could approach the rapids. This allowed him to see the source of the voice. A rather small woman sat contently in a saddle upon the elk’s back; she had initially been relatively hidden from his view. There had been a tree between them until the beast moved towards the river. While he could not hear it thanks to the rapids, he could guess that the woman had managed to hear what he said; she seemed to laugh at it.

 “Me, or the Elk?” She called out, raising her voice so that he would be able to hear her over the sound of the rapids. Admittedly her humor managed to coax a smile onto his lips; even if only slightly. Yes he was still pissed off about his current predicament, but there appeared to be a silver lining to her presence. She appeared to have adequate supplies for keeping herself comfortable. He could probably bribe her into giving him some help for the night. Just a blanket would be fine, if that was all she could afford to offer. He was at least going to try and hope that he wasn’t completely up this creek without a paddle.

 “Obviously the animal. That’s the biggest buck I’ve ever seen.” He stated, attempting to add some humor to the situation. Considering his predicament, it would be better for him if he could put her in a good mood. Or at least help her maintain the good humor that she appeared to be in. He watched as the Elk lowered their head for the sake of drinking from the river. Thankfully the rapids had returned to their natural white color. The demon blood had been washed away sometime ago, so it was not as though the animal were about to drink the remains of the unholy.

 “Yeah, he’s a big’n.” She woman stated, giving her mount an affectionate pat on the shoulder as they raised their head. From there, the elk took a few steps back, before turning to face the man slightly.  “Buck aside; it appears you’ve taken a bit of a dip in the river.” She commented, having already taken note of his disheveled state. A bitter laugh escaped him at this as he reached to run his fingers through his soaked hair. Of course it was obvious that he had fallen into the water. No doubt it would be even more obvious that he had been carried by the rapids once he chanced his body an inspection. He didn’t drown, but that did not mean that he managed to avoid being thrown against whatever rocks were found in the river.

 “Yes, and to be blunt I’m already starting to freeze. Might I be able to trouble you for a blanket? Something to keep warm for the night?” He admitted to his issue and offered an immediate inquiry, not wanting to be stuck in these damp clothes for longer than needed. He could not hear it, but she appeared to laugh again as she nudged her mount in the sides with her heels.

 “Blanket wont do you much good if you go and get it wet.” She retorted, remaining oddly calm as the elk approached him. The animal came to stand beside him, so that he was right next to the woman which rode upon its back.  “Its been lookin’ like it might snow, so just a blanket wont keep you from freezin’ out here. I’ll let you borrow some covers and share my fire if you help me set up camp. Fair trade?” She went on to give him an offer that he would be stupid to refuse. As much as he hated the situation, she was right. It may very well snow tonight, and no fire would keep him alive if he happened to be trapped out here naked or in wet clothes. The air alone would freeze him alive.

 “I’d be asking for death if I refused the offer, now wouldn’t I?” He retorted, offering an idle shrug. Only then did he decide to remove his fingers from his whip. At this point it was clear that the little woman was not here to do him any harm. Or so he could hope. His family crest was out in the open for her to see at this point; so she either had no idea what the crest represented, or she knew but did not care, or she knew but planned on killing him while his guard was down. Considering her small size, even if the last of these potential options was her intended goal, he would be fine. After all, he was Trevor Belmont; and he had never lost a fight to man nor beast. Though, admittedly this oversized elk may very well prove to be a bit of a challenge if they happened to get aggressive. Considering the visible scarring on the animals neck and shoulders, he could guess that it was no stranger to fighting.

 “Grab the cape and climb up then. We’ll find a suitable spot to set up camp, then we can see about getting you dry.” She stated, offering him her hand so that she could help him climb upon the back of her mount. At first, he contemplated turning down the offered hand. Not because he felt he could go without it, but because he believed that he might somehow pull her off of her mount if he allowed her to help him climb up. Albeit, he decided against it for fear of unintentionally insulting her. Currently he needed her help, so it would be best to keep her in a charitable mood. At least until he was warm enough to be fine if his typical attitude happened to piss her off later in the night. He hummed a bit to himself as he retrieved his soiled cloak and tossed it over his shoulder. Might as well ignore the mud for the time being. He would be better off worrying about the mess after he had established that he was not going to freeze his sack solid tonight. Besides, he had gotten dirty before.

 “Sorry if I get you wet.” He commented, taking the woman’s hand and allowing her to help him climb onto her mount. This time, he was able to hear as she laughed at his statements; probably because now he was so much closer to her.

 “Its just water. Nothin’ I haven’t dealt with before.” She mused, waiting for him to settle down behind her before she began to pull at the reins. The elk shook their head ever so slightly and offered a snort; their heated breath formed a faint mist in the air, as a means of portraying the fact that the night chill was fast approaching.  “Hold tight so you don’t fall off. Buck can get a bit jumpy once the sun starts to set.” She stated, offering the man some fairly earnest advice. A faint huff worked past his lips as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her smaller frame. She already said that she didn’t care if she got wet. No harm in letting this unexpected savior share in his misery. He felt her shift ever so slightly as she gently kicked her mount in the sides, urging them to start walking. A quick tug at the reins and the elk turned to make their way back into the woods. They would be better off finding a secluded area to camp out for the night, so as to not draw the attention of any demons. Albeit, chances were that the monsters would find them anyway. He would at least be content to know that he would have a better chance of enduring the battle if he was not freezing his arse off in the cold.

 So in a way, he may very well be saving this woman’s life by accompanying her. She might have been set up for travel and camping, but one small blade and an overgrown elk would not be a suitable means of defense if a group of demons managed to find her. At least he would wind up paying off his debt early if there was a fight to be had tonight. After all, it was better to have it that way, than to be stuck owing this little lady a favor.