#seidiscus

[seiwajima]

Based on your opinion then, Does izaya not like himself?

Izaya doesn’t hate himself. But I wouldn’t say he loves himself either?

Short answer: I don’t think he’s all that interested in himself. Probably has neutral feelings of disinterest. At worst he probably has sour feelings regarding himself.

Long answer:

In [This Tweet] Narita answers a question about Izaya: ”Does Izaya-san realize the beauty of his looks….!? Does he ever simply look in the mirror and think “aah, I look good’?”

To which Narita responds: “Izaya is a person that does not have much interest in himself.” Which we can take as meaning Izaya doesn’t have an overwhelming interest in himself. Maybe this is just a visual thing or having deeper meanings. 

A second point. I don’t have the source but Tsukumoya once said: “...if you asked me ‘does Izaya love himself then?’ I would have no answer for you but silence.” [Source: Vol 9]. Considering I see Shinra and Tsukumoya (and kyohei), as being the top in world experts on Izaya, I’d say It’s probable that Izaya doesn’t know either. There’s reasons to like himself but probably also reasons to not. But it probably isn’t interesting enough to dwell on?

I think he finds humans fascinating because he can be surprised and baffled by them. Its interesting because he doesn’t know. And in that I think he knows himself very well. He already knows what he’ll do and he knows how he’d react to most things. He isn’t something he finds interesting.

It’s like telling him to play chess by himself. He can play both sides of the board and maybe the first time he’d actually struggle with it, but why play against yourself when there are so many others that could sit across from you. You could talk and converse, learn about them, unwind how their brain works and start to figure them out... and once that person is something you know-- it stops being interesting. Onto the next person.

I’ll finish with a line from Volume 1, Chapter 5: “He found interest in others at the drop of a hat and trampled them just as quickly. When Izaya no longer needed to know a person, his lack of interest was absolute.”

-Sei

[seiwajima]

how does izaya self care?

I’m gonna assume you mean himself.

Breaking this down a little Selfcare is defined as “the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health.” And  “the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.”

Izaya I think both does and doesn’t self care. I don’t think he actively does anything for the good of his mental health. I don’t think he takes care of himself in a mental or emotional sense. Physically yes. He is shown to be very proactive in tacking care of his body. Even having stated that he showers(or bathes) regularly... he also then weighs himself every time after but that might be a topic for another day. Regardless I don’t think he has a healthy mentality, and I dont see him doing anything to remedy that.

However I think people watching is a pass time he finds fun, Having his favorite sushi is something he does as a treat for himself, and lets be honest cardio is self care so yes his cat and mouse games are to him a form or catharsis (even if it doesnt stay as just a harmless game).

My last thought is, If Izaya had to take a day off for himself, by himself-- I think he’d have to face how horribly alone and sad that makes him. 

-Sei

[seiwajima]

I still find it funny that Narita said Izaya’s sexual preference is “Normal” there is nothing normal about this man. You try so hard to say he’s normal.

‘His upbringing was standard’ ah yes. His parents dumped his sisters on him to raise and forced him to grow up too fast, so that when he met shinra he was stunted emotionally and had a shit comprehension of friendship that carried long into adulthood making him incapable of creating lasting bonds. Seems legit.

‘His sexuality is normal’ ah yes. His clear lack of interest in either gender is very telling as to how he is very much a healthy young man with normal urges. Lets ignore the fact that he has no sexual attraction to Celty’s head and the fact that the idea of seeing her undressed is distasteful to him. Very normal.

‘His appearance is very average’ Ah yes. That explains why Mikage had a crush on him because we know his award winning personality was definitely the cause. And it certainly explains why Mikado finds himself staring at him in shock and amazement-- because he was so ordinary-- nothing else. Clearly just an ordinary unassuming appearance--

‘His brain scans came back normal’ yeah no. He set his table on fire you can’t convince me. This man’s brain is a tin can with rocks in it. He’s the sort that would go ‘it takes a certain level of intelligence to appreciate the subtle genius of--’ no. shut up. you have no friends you sad lonely coward of a weenie man.

[seiwajima]

Dad Izaya continued

@vanitamisora

 I know no one asked but my I introduce you to AppleCiderr's fanfic "Serendipity" :D It's on ao3 and its really cute. uvu It's not completed sadly, but it's still worth a read. :,)

I asked. And I thank you for this offering. I am pleased. Reading this ASAP. Thank you. :)

@mocknerd

I think about it frequently. Will he be a shitty dad? Will he be a loving dad? Will he be a cringy dad? Will he be a overworked dad? Would he be a single dad? If so was it an accident? What happened to the mum? Did they love each other or was it just a fling? I think about it too much and I weirdly like the concept

Ah yes I see you too have Izaya brain rot. Deep down I don’t think he’d want to be a dad but if that time came I think he wouldnt run from it which for him is a big deal. He’d be a weird dad but I think he’d try. Loving.. depends. He needs practice at that. Cringy yes. Awful dad jokes. The worst. His work is his life. He loves and hates it but it is what lets him enjoy people and feel close without getting hurt so working a lot, probably. Single dad.. now see that depends, did Izaya adopt, or is this biological and if so who’s the lucky/unlucky lady. And then is he married? Divorced?? Was this a one night stand? Is he a donor????? Its anime though so if he’s a single parent, the mom’s probably passed which-- tragic but single parent Izaya has a ring to it. give him reading glasses and tired dad scruff. IZAYA WITH SCRUFF. bathrobe-- slippers-- tired from taking care of kid(s). I’m rabid. Thank you for this.

@bjy-on-ao3

When I read/think of Izaya as a dad, what instantly comes to mind is 'god help any future friends and/or romantic partners of that child(ren).'

There’s no way the kids end up “Normal”. Can you imagine being raised by Izaya? No? Well we have evidence of his parenting skills. I call them ‘The incest wasn’t necessary’ crew. That creepy note aside Mairu and Kururi are not normal themselves and ultimately its not Izaya’s fault he was a kid and doing his best as a brother and a replacement parent but that’s as close as we get to seeing how poor his parenting skills are. Not to mention he’s not good at adulting either. I’ve not been able to read his spin off novels but I know he has kids around him and so maybe he gets better (though I doubt it).

[seiwajima]

I like this prompt and I’m taking my own crack at it. [Link]

To answer this question I must first break down two main factors.

The first being who are you?

As he often has said, ‘he loves humans,’ but as anyone knows he means the group, not you specifically. HOWEVER. This prompt enters a very important term and that S/O. A Significant Other. Does Izaya have such a person canonically? No. Would he canonically? It seems Narita would imply no? That’s part of Izaya’s assholeish charm. Regardless of this, the question is again, IF.

So IF Izaya had a significant other, and IF he found them crying, what would he do?

Thus brings into question the second factor to this,

is izaya capable of comforting?

Izaya is not simply the type to take selfishly. Despite the big bad evil persona that gets built around him he is a giving sort as well. But how that works out can be up to his whims. He will just as easily steal from the rich to help the poor as he would hurt the poor to benefit the rich. And neither is done with malice. As Nakura once said, in the same way someone looks at a cat and thinks ‘how cute’ Izaya would openly say the same of humans, be them happy, loving, miserable, or dying. To this end we know, his love is without restraint and without cause. He simply loves and that’s that. But is his love comforting? 

His love is for everyone, and thus one would think his love is vast and great, but it’s rather shallow. His love is the act of distancing himself from humans. “I accept all they are, the good the bad and the ugly!” By doing this he has effectively distanced himself from them. Its a self defense. By being ok with anything, he doesn’t have to expect anything, or want anything. And thus can’t be hurt as a result. Shinra remarks that if you filled Izaya’s heart with love or rejection that it would break. I think Izaya is rather fragile and wouldn’t know how to be deeply loving without first putting himself at risk. Which he’s shown he’s not capable of doing in the series. (his spin offs.. maybe. havn’t got there.)

So despite his love being shallow, how do others react to him. Well among others, Saki is referred to as being someone he has rescued from a difficult living situation. She then basically devotes her life to Izaya. Extreme, but no one would do so without having cause. If Izaya was simply a cold unfeeling selfish asshole, he wouldn’t just help a random girl when the benefit to that is so low. Also its a money drain. Also also he doesn’t care if he’s loved back so his motivation for helping is purely cuz he just wants to. And her own response is gratitude. Why? Well honestly, perhaps Its because she found comfort. Izaya made her, and others, feel safe. Not all comfort is hugs and cuddles, some times its words of affirmation, sometimes its acts of kindness. Such things that I do think Izaya is good at. 

With these two points in mind: What would Izaya do if he found his Significant Other crying? 

Talk. 

As simple as that is it’d be his first instinct. He’s an informant after all and he excels at that. He’d get to the bottom of what happened, and why it happened. Knowing what has made you cry, he can start to make a structured plan on what to do. 

--Rough day at work? Same. Sounds like something a bit of tea and talking it out can fix rather easily. That and maybe he could use a break too. And even if he has his phone out and is still working, he is adept at multitasking and is listening even if you aren’t always sure. And he would make you very aware of that by being engaged in the conversation still. 

--Tripped and got hurt? Ouch, looks like that hurts. He has a small pharmacy of medicines from Shinra for any need he might encounter, patching up your aches is simple enough. He even knows how to manage that himself as he is no stranger to getting hurt. He may even joke about such things to cheer you up. It can always be worse. You’re alive and that is amazing~

--Got into a fight with a friend? Or worse someone from your past? Who did this to you. Well have you seen how Nakura is treated for stabbing shinra? If you’re important to Izaya, the person who hurt you Isn't. No power in heaven could save that person from the anger he feels for damaging you. You might not want or need that but it’ll make him feel better knowing they didn’t get to sleep easy. 

--If there’s no reason to the sad, you’re just... sad. He might struggle with that, there’s less information to work with but Its not like you can’t google sadness remedies and just try those. What’s more if you are his significant other, he probably knows you well enough by now. I mean he’s an informant. He knows what you like and will surround you with it. 

Some warm tea? Cocoa? Favorite foods/meals? If its simple enough he’d make it himself or have it delivered.

Do you need a blanket and cuddles? Sure but like above he may have his laptop or phone with him to keep working. 

Sometimes just being close is enough and while he doesn’t require such things, he’s not ignorant to deny you that comfort once in a while. It does make work harder for him but you are important so he’ll sacrifice the productivity for a few hours to let you feel better. 

Izaya’s by no means is incapable of comfort. And if you are important to him he will show it, but just not loudly. He says he can’t play favorites, but you are his favorite, and even if he won’t say it, you would know. His love is shallow at times, and his moves are reactionary based upon yours, but he would make sure you are looked after.

Hope this makes some people happy! Was fun to write!

-Sei