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so i’ve been thinking about how dazai is that kind of “social chameleon” (not really the right term but close enough) that doesn’t act in any consistent way towards others but who matches his personality to the people around him.
we all do this to some degree but he’s quite extreme, and i wonder if he tailors the way he acts to different people consciously or if it just happens. It seems like he pushes certain buttons on purpose to provoke certain reactions and around others, he just goes kinda blank.
the most obvious example is the difference in how he treats atsushi and akutagawa. he’s much more gentle and laissez-faire towards atsushi, not really telling him what to do or how to feel (with that one exception of “don’t pity yourself”)
while some of the differences can probably be accounted for by his reformation, i actually think that it’s mostly a matter of dazai employing the technique he believes will be most effective. atsushi has self-esteem issues and is very anxious when he enters the ADA
and being harsh with him would only make those issues worse. whereas, with akutagawa, negative feedback and humiliation actually seem to motivate him to want to do better. (not trying to justify the way he treats akutagawa. the poor boy deserves an apology)
i also find it interesting how he uses reverse psychology:
kunikida: dazai is being the most annoying and obnoxious brat ever and i’m sure it’s on purpose- maybe he thinks it’s good for kunikida to have his rigidity challenged a bit (or maybe he just has sadistic tendencies)
kunikida: dazai is being the most annoying and obnoxious brat ever and i’m sure it’s on purpose- maybe he thinks it’s good for kunikida to have his rigidity challenged a bit (or maybe he just has sadistic tendencies)
chuuya: actually not all that different from the way he treats kunikida except i get the impression that it’s less of an act. There’s something very honest about the way he teases (bullies) chuuya and i actually think he’s enjoying it.
Like the part in fifteen where he throws a party to celebrate the fact that chuuya lost the bet- but i wonder if all the mocking is also a subtle form of communication. Like in 15, where dazai comments that chuuya is the strongest ability user and that he's free to make his own +
decisions, and both chuuya and the sheep members are kinda 0_0 really? and then dazai goes on to call chuuya a dog and belittle him which seems strange… maybe he’s doing it to get chuuya to push back? to say that he isn’t someone’s property and that he makes his own choices?
mori: he acts very aloof around mori. when he had to set up that meeting between the ADA and PM he seemed super unhappy about it and said that he didn’t want to go, but he went - and acted totally unbothered, just smiling sweetly (passive aggressively)
and i wonder why? why won’t he show emotions around mori? is he scared that emotions will be used against him? is he too numb to access emotions? is it just an attempt at professionalism?
