Dazai truly has become Oda in every way imaginable now. :’ ) the final words he gives to Sigma are the exact same words Oda gives to Dazai in the original scene Asagiri wrote for the end of the Dark Era stage play, 後は頼んだよ, ���I will leave the rest to you.”
And I really love the progression of the way his eyes look in this chapter, and how Sigma is allowed to have this moment of questioning and rebelling against all the faith Dazai had naturally been leading him to place in him up to this point, which is what I hoped would happen. He’s been confused ever since Dazai first chose him, and everything he’s ever known about how everyone sees/treats him turned upside down by Dazai’s words and actions, and just when he’s finally started to feel like he’s found some hope and lowered his guard, Dazai pulls him back underwater, instantly reinforcing all of Sigma’s trust issues and reinforcing that he should never believe in anyone, because (he thinks) everyone lives to manipulate other people. Dazai’s dark eyes here reinforce that, too, and the other panels around this point where they look white and hollow and demonic, all like Fyodor’s. He appears like an evil, looming force pulling him back under, trying to kill him, when Sigma is so close to the freedom of the air he desperately wants (aka free from pain, which is what he’s been seeking his whole life).
But then Dazai makes this face, and the first one I posted above, and Sigma understands, even without words, that Dazai doesn’t have evil intent: on the contrary, he actually is bound and determined to save his life -- and the light in his eyes comes out through this determination and kindness, arguably the most light we’ve ever seen his eyes have in the entire manga (in the “I leave the rest to you” panel too). The “No” could be Dazai wordlessly telling him to not leave the water, but my first assumption was that it was Sigma telling himself no, stopping his own train of thought about Dazai being the same as Fyodor and someone he shouldn’t have trusted -- he soon realizes why Dazai stopped him, and that he’s still going to try to save him, that he wasn’t wrong about him, and it’s all because Dazai’s earnest expressions get through to him.
And it’s just so heartwarming to see how far Dazai has come. :’ ) He tried so hard to save Sigma (doing the most physical action we’ve ever seen him do, really), did his best to be reassuring and comforting to him afterwards, and then reaffirmed his promise to ensure he escaped Meursault alive, his final words to Sigma echoing Oda’s and his last action being to save an orphan, just like Oda did in his last moments. Obviously Dazai isn’t actually going to die, he’ll be saved somehow, but I do think as of right now he really does think this is the end for him, and that he didn’t foresee the elevator dropping -- he was examining the wires a few chapters ago because he thought he might need to know how to open the doors in case Fyodor pulled an uno reverse, hence why he looks more annoyed than shocked when the water starts, but here, when the drop collision sequence is initiated, he looks genuinely shook in comparison. There’d be no reason for him to give the thumbs up if he knew more danger was on the way, either; that’d just be cruel. No, I don’t think he saw this coming, and it’s important that that turns out to be the case: it’s important that he spent what he believes to have been his last moments saving someone like Oda wanted for him, and doing what Oda would have done in the same situation. That doesn’t mean that it’s okay that Dazai throws his life away so easily, and cares so little for his own safety; he still has a long way to go in that regard. But it’s still so beautiful to see how much he’s changed, and how much he’s truly begun to embody Oda and his legacy; the fact that he messed up and miscalculated, because Dazai isn’t infallible, but in turn didn’t hesitate to use his last moments to save Sigma. Oda would be so proud for everything he did here. :’ ) 💖
There are a lot of options for how Dazai will be saved, and by who, but personally I hope (and I kind of expect) that Sigma chooses to not give up on him and ultimately plays a role in saving his life, to return the favor and repay him for his kindness. Not only would it be a beautiful way to initiate Sigma’s ADA entrance exam as people have said, but it would bring the Dazai > Atsushi > Sigma chain full circle: Dazai saved Atsushi at the start of the series, allowing him to (spiritually) save Sigma at sky casino thanks to the growth fostered in him by Dazai, and now finally, Sigma could potentially save Dazai thanks to Atsushi kickstarting his own growth (and Dazai continuing it). Fyodor is overly cocky right now and so tunnel-visioned on killing Dazai, it’s possible that he has no idea that Sigma managed to escape the elevator and is now a wild card; even if Sigma doesn’t go as far as killing Fyodor himself (which I don’t want, tbh; that’s endgame stuff arcs down the line and imo Nikolai and Dazai should be the ones involved with that), he could throw a wrench in the jailbreak duel, and help Dazai and Chuuya get out alive. It would be poetic, and only fitting, for Fyodor to underestimate and be outdone by the kind of person Dazai told him is the strongest in chapter 77 -- a self-proclaimed “ordinary man” -- who could only have the strength to take such action thanks to the chain of kindness that Oda originally started. 💖
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Friends of tumblr who have gotten dogs from the shelter/pound/etc., please tell me your process and how/when you knew they were The Right One because I am trying to be careful and A Responsible Adult(TM), but also LOOK AT THIS SWEET BOY
I went down to see him at the shelter today and he's so sweet. He loves being pet and takes treats so politely and gave me so many kisses and very gently nibbled my fingers a bit and put his front paws up on my legs at one point so he could sniff my face and lick my chin, and I know it is not fair to either of us to make a hasty decision but THAT FACE.
And you can sorta tell from the pics but this sweet boy has been on his own for a while because he has ratty patches all over his coat and you can see his hips too easily :( and he just needs someone to spoil the hell out of him and I volunteer as tribute.
Just--reassure me that housetraining a young adult dog (if necessary, shelter is unclear if he's housebroken but he's usually fine about making it overnight) isn't that daunting even if you're doing it solo. Reassure me that if you like the dog and the dog seems to vibe with you then you can make it work. I very specifically did not make any hasty decisions today so I could sleep on it, and I'm gonna go back and see him a second time later this week to be Really Extra Sure, but like.
Google how do I know if I'm taking the commitment of getting a dog appropriately seriously or so seriously that I talk myself out of it entirely.
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(Just found your blog, you have some great posts about everything dog, definitely going through stuff!) I'm in a similar boat with a Third Dog potential, and needing neighbour approval, do you have any tips on making a lil proposal document? Did taking cookies help? I don't really know my neighbours, so I want to make the best impression possible >v< Thanks so much <3
Hello! Just noting that I don't have third dog yet, which means I don't have 100% approval yet as the dog needs to actually be here for that, but I don't expect anything to go awry now.
This got long, sorry. But hopefully it's helpful as it outlines everything I did.
To start with, I am friendly with my neighbours. When I first moved in I introduced myself to 6 of the other units as they were home at the time. Since then, I am cordial and wave when we pass by, and sometimes I chat to three of them if we are outside at the same time. The others keep to themselves, which is fine with me. Other relevant information is that I've never had any complaints about my current dogs and five other units have or have had dogs or cats (never more than two).
For my proposal letter, I kind of treated it like a job proposal and a cover letter. I put my personal details at the top. I titled it "Proposal for third dog at Unit X" and I added the date. I broke the document into sections with headings – Background, Council approval, Appropriate care, Impact and Conclusion.
In Background I talked about my history at the property, information about my current dogs and information about the proposed dog. I purposely downplayed some of the details, e.g. highlighted the dog would be under 10kg fully grown, called it a "papillon mix" instead of a "border collie mix" and focused heavily on the sporting dog angle. I also talked about my dog credentials, leaning on my current role as president of a dog club. If you don't have something like that to mention, I'd just focus on your commitment to training, accomplishments of your current dogs and a clear and concise explanation of why you want to add another dog, focusing on the positives and absolutely not adding anything that could be taken poorly.
In my area you need to register dogs to legally be allowed to keep them and a third dog requires a special registration. In Council approval, I briefly talked about how I would seek some kind of pre-approval registration and I also got to mention that I personally made five animal education videos for the council (I'm a professional video editor). For someone who doesn't conveniently have that on their resume, I would just talk briefly about the process you intend to undertake if registration or similar is required in your area.
In Appropriate care, I talked about how I'm a responsible dog owner, i.e. my dogs are registered, microchipped and up to date on vaccinations. I pointed out how often my neighbours ought to see me exercising my dogs, how I attend a dog club, that I utilise local parks (as my yard is small) and maintain an exercise schedule. I also have the benefit of a partner that stays home during the day. Basically this section is just to talk about how I'm good at owning dogs.
For Impact, I stated that I didn't think a third dog would make a major impact on the property due to the aforementioned appropriate care, and that my workplace is dog friendly and my yard is secure. This is where you could say something similar about what you intend to do to limit the impact on neighbours.
The Conclusion was just basically me reiterating that I'm a great dog owner, saying thanks for considering this, and please contact me if you wish to discuss further.
Then I printed out copies and put them in envelopes and bought a couple bags of cookies which I divided up into little party bags. Then I worked up my courage and knocked on their doors to chat. I started by apologising for interrupting, then briefly explained the situation (I want a third dog, this is why), gave them the letter (explaining it had more detail), handed over the cookies and thanked them for listening. My goal was to kind of get it all out before they could really say anything and then leave. This generally worked as most of them just took the letter and the cookies and said thanks. A couple of them said right away they didn't mind at all. One expressed doubts about barking. I asked if he had issues with my current dogs and he said no, so I just thanked him for his time and left it there.
A couple days later I went back to find out what they had decided (the ones who hadn't already told me) and they were all yes votes. I didn't approach one of the units because they're renting and I was socially exhausted by then and was happy with the majority I had.
I hope this helps! It can be really intimidating to do social things like talking to people about something you really want, but I like to rip the bandaid off and I wanted to know if it was going to happen or not so I just forced myself to do it and then it was over and now I get what I want!
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