#It's the way that Dazai can predict some of Atsushi but not all of him

[present-mom-blog]

Uuuuggghhh. I'm out of words to properly articulate today. But it's just something about how Dazai saved Atsushi and Atsushi saved Dazai. How these two are so intrinsically intertwined. How they meet and talk at sunsets and waters like it's their destiny.

The river and the sunset and the boy saving the man from drowning. The bay and the sunset and man telling the boy it's his city. The ship in the harbor and the sunset and the boy telling the man about the bet he's made.

It's just THEM and they make sense because they're them. They're so tied to each other and so important to each other.

The man who wants to die but lives each time. The boy who wants to live but dies every day it feels like.

They're the opposite sides of coins, or perhaps mirror images. Not quite the same, but still recognizable to each other.

[amber-sekio]

Relationship Headcanons

Fandom: BSD -Bungo Stray Dogs

TW: none? I think? 

DAZAI 

I said it in my Soukoku fic, Dazai wouldn’t know affection if it slapped him in the face ten times 

Like he might realize when someone is showing interest in a sexual kind 

And he would probably notice if someone is crushing on him 

But like, if he likes them back? 

No 

Man is blind 

He’s too busy panicking over read denying his own thoughts and feelings over you to analyze your actions 

He’s busy trying to think of anything but how pretty you are when he sees you -thank you very much 

No joke though, this can be applied to pretty much anyone he cares about 

I mean he practically had a heart attack when Atsushi gave him flowers 

Anyways if he finally admits to himself that he likes you then I could see him trying to push you away if I’m being brutally honest 

He doesn’t want to lose you and he believes that anything he wants that he obtains, will be striped from him sooner or later 

But…, in a perfect world he would eventually work up the courage to ask you out 

He would probably avoid directly asking you but this is Dazai so he could defiantly figure out some round-about way to ask 

As for the relationship? 

He would still be his teasing self 

But he would tone it down 

Not because he doesn’t want to annoy you but more so because he actually lets some of his masks down when alone with you 

He defiantly is very clingy to you 

Man has been touch starved for a long time and he fears attachment too much to be touchy with the ADA members 

But now he has you, who not only tolerates him but has decided to stay with him? 

Of course he’s not going to let this chance slip from his grasp before all this inevitably ends (he’s still in denial) 

He never cared much for holidays like Christmas or Valentines 

But now he wants to experience them, with you 

He’s always thinking, plans and outcomes racing through his mind, what ifs and regrets  

But like, if you ruffle his hair, his brain just stops. 

Like no thoughts, he short circuits 

When his brain returned to him the first time it happened he panicked 

Like, who gave you that amount of control? 

After that first time he continued to try and get you to do it without asking 

He needed his brain to shut up every now and then, and now he has a reliable source 

Anyways, he likes to be a spoiled princess 

No one can change my mind 

For all his predictions he will never be able to predict your love and kindness for him 

CHUUYA 

Someone give this poor man a hug 

Ugh, my heart 

I can‘t imagine him wanting to date a normal citizen, too much of a risk 

So you’d probably have to work in the Mafia 

Even then, dating you would still be placing a huge target on you 

He would actually take you out on dates before asking you out 

Dates with him would be romantic 

Like dinner by candle light vibes 

He’d be strategic on where you guys sit 

No need to be precarious on what you order, it’s all on him 

When he does ask you out he would be slightly flustered but it just makes him adorable 

Say yes, he doesn’t deserve to be hurt any more 

He would spoil you to no end 

If you want it, you can have it 

You’re the only one allowed to call him short 

He might get flustered from PDA in the start but will gradually warm up to it 

Nothing clingy, just hand holding, a hand around your waist, a quick kiss here or there 

But if he sees some guy hitting on you? 

Down right possessive, arm snug around your waist, shoulder to shoulder 

And if he’s drunk? Even worse 

Like he’s pulling you onto his lap just to make sure that asshole knows your taken 

If you do work in the mafia with him, he likes going on easier missions with you 

And while he knows that you can handle yourself just fine, he can’t help but imagine something bad happening to you when he isn’t there to save you 

He’s lost too many people in his life, please, don’t leave him as well 

He loves when you rest your head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat 

And while you do that he’ll run his fingers through your hair 

Chuuya loves to spoil you rotten as I stated, it’s his love language 

So sometimes he’ll just hand you his black card and let you go shopping with friends or something 

In fact, he encourages you to buy what you want 

FYODOR 

Honestly? Where do I start with him? 

Like congratulations if you meet him and make it out alive 

I don’t know if I should congratulate him taking an interest in you though 

I feel like he believe that the interest he had in you was purely innocent curiosity 

But I also don’t think he would try to delude himself for as long as Dazai does 

Eventually he would notice that something was different about his interest for you than usual 

And while he would hesitate to put a name to it so quickly he would eventually give in after realizing there was no stoping this feeling from festering in him 

After coming to terms with his romantic? Feelings and interest in you he would definitely begin to manipulate you into feeling the same way for him 

If you don’t already that is 

If you don’t confess then he’ll definitely do the same thing Dazai did 

And when you agree, he of course knew you would, he makes you move in with him 

He can’t let his dearest other slip from his finger now can he? 

I feel like before ever getting into a relationship, you would have been made aware of his ‘work’  

Please, make sure the man eats 

And takes his iron pill 

Nikolai is getting a little tired of that daily routine despite how much he loves to be around Fyodor 

Anyways, dates aren’t a very common thing in fact, very, very rare 

I mean��� what did you expect? 

Man’s a literal terrorist 

That being said, from time to time he’ll leave his ‘lair’ to spend time with you 

If you ask, he’ll gladly play the cello for you 

If he snaps at you for ‘bothering him with pointless things’ when you bring him his iron pill or food just listen 

Don’t bother him with such things 

And then same thing the next day 

And after some 4 or 5 days he’ll stumble from his room 

Staggering as he tries not to collapse or faint from both his lack of energy and his iron deficiency 

And when he walks into the kitchen trying to get the iron pill bottle open? 

Let him stumble his way over to you and ask for help before you finally do as such 

And he realizes just how dependent on you he’s become 

It’ll happen again eventually 

But as of that moment, it’ll at least be awhile before the cycle repeats 

(That last part of Fyodor’s was based upon some fanfic I read for him. I'm not sure who it was by, but I’ll tag it if and when I do find it.) 

A/N: anyways, believe it or not, I love Chuuya just as much as I do Fyodor and Dazai 

I’m just not as confident in his character. Since I’m a lot like Dazai, he comes easy to me and by substitute, Fyodor does as well 

But Chuuya? Despite him being one of my 5 favorites along with Dazai and Fyodor, I just don’t resonate personally enough with him to write him really well

[kyouka-supremacy]

This is random, but here's a list of things that aren't technically canon but make official sskk lore to me:

Akutagawa is a trans gay man

Atsushi is bisexual

Akutagawa fell when Atsushi told him “In my opinion, Dazai-san recognized you a long time ago”. Atsushi fell the instant Akutagawa died for him, because that's the first time he started considering him human (the fell first / harder of this thread).

When Dazai told Akutagawa “you know the reason yourself, don't you?”, the implied reason both of them knew about is that Akutagawa loves Atsushi.

Akutagawa is / was romantically in love with Dazai

In his free time, Atsushi reads and often visits the public library (this is canon, but stretching and reiterating)

In his free time Akutagawa sews. He doesn't like reading.

In chapter 87 it was specifically Atsushi to land the blow that killed Fukuchi (and not Akutagawa) because Akutagawa was still holding to his promise not to kill

Atsushi can cook (and he's getting better at it!), Akutagawa mostly can't

Akutagawa has autism and adhd and eating disorders

Akutagawa and Gin live together

Akutagawa is very protective of Gin. He insists that nobody has to know they're siblings, not even in the pm

Atsushi is the big spoon, c'mon guys

Atsushi prefers coffee over tea, Akutagawa only drinks tea

Akutagawa can't cry (disproved in canon)

To their own surprise, Akutagawa is way more willing to touch and cuddle than Atsushi is. Atsushi really isn't used to physical touch, and it takes him a long time to adjust.

Dazai intentionally set sskk up to be the new generation of double black, but didn't predict they would have ended up together.

Atsushi is pretty selfish actually. Way more than Akutagawa anyway.

If they could have grown in normal circumstances, both of them would actually be quite confident people.

Akutagawa's disease was directly caused by Dazai's physical abuse (half canon? I mean he doesn't have it in Beast)

Akutagawa can't hold his alcohol (canon). Atsushi literally can't get drunk (tiger regenerative abilities).

Atsushi sleeps 10pm-6am, (canonly inherited from when he lived at the orphanage, but I shifted it of an hour because like. C'mon. I don't want to curse this guy to wake every day of his already miserable life at 5am). He is the early bird™

Akutagawa sleeps 5am-11am or later (I know it's technically 3am-5am but man I don't want to curse this guy to sleep for two (2) hours every day of his already miserable life). He is the night owl™. I like to think he'd be a sleepyhead once he's found a place he can *finally* feel safe in, which is something he never had, but y'know. Generally this.

Either way, both of them are insanely light sleepers

Excluding external conditioning, Atsushi and Akutagawa are perfectly equal in (overall, not physical) strength. However, Atsushi prevails over Akutagawa in canon because of the effect All Men Are Equal has on him. The same goes for Akutagawa in Beast.

When they're alone together, Akutagawa does most of the talk; which is still not an exceptionally big amount, but still more than Atsushi, who acts strikingly different in comparison to the usual overchatter and chaotic rambler he is with other people.

After they get together, Akutagawa keeps calling Atsushi “Jinko”, while Atsushi will probably shift to calling Akutagawa “Ryuunosuke” at some point. I don't see either of them using pet names.

Atsushi's love language is words of affirmation, Akutagawa's is acts of service.

Both of them highly dislike pda. They try to keep their relationship secret as much as possible.

Atsushi would have been very non overprotective / laid back if it hadn't been for The Incident (Akutagawa dying in front of his eyes). Now he has an hard time leaving Akutagawa alone.

Neither of them have any dating experience

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

When discussing or analyzing Dazai, one thing I hope you will keep in mind when reading anything I write about him is that from my perspective, he is always, always both.

What do I mean by this? Well, I find there tends to be a general split among people who hold the opinion that "he's a manipulator and will always be manipulative" and "he's doing his best to be good and helpful and live up to Oda's last wishes for him", of which, neither is completely right - because he is both. But even among the people who hold to this dual-nature interpretation, I find that his individual actions and motivations still tend to be thought of in a dichotomous manner - is it manipulative, or genuine?

Again, I think it's always both.

Dazai has a very pragmatic view on a lot of things - he is always looking for the usefulness of things and people so that the situation turns out in his favour. He's incredibly adept at this, and his prediction and placement and careful reveals are all manipulation tactics to get his allies and enemies doing exactly what he needs them to. I don't think anyone can contest this since we see it over and over in the series.

But that's not all there is to it. He's not solely manipulative and he does, to some extent, sympathize with others - I think there are several instances of this in the series, but I want to stress that this has been apparent since Chapter 1!

For context, Dazai is recalling what Atsushi said to him a few minutes earlier, but it's very interesting that it should be this specific part of the conversation. He could've flashed back to the part where Atsushi said he had nowhere to go; no money, no food - he is about to trick him into joining, after all, and this is the key piece he uses to basically force Atsushi into the Agency. But instead it's Atsushi's self-deprecation that catches his attention, and it really does, because even during the conversation, he turns to look at him after he says this with an odd expression.

You could say that this makes Atsushi easier to manipulate, if that's your angle, but that can't be solely it, because in the later conversation with Hirotsu, we know Dazai was planning to bring Atsushi into the Agency and set him up as one half of the new Double Black the moment he met him. The panel shown there is the riverbank, set much earlier in the day than this scene. He was already planning to pair him with Akutagawa since he figured out he was the tiger, so what's with this reaction?

Well. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best.

He manipulated Atsushi into joining with the intention of utilizing him in his future plans. He also helped him and gave him a place to belong, and importantly, he likes this kid! It's both.

I think much of it might be that his brain just kinda works way too fast - he's such a natural at crafting these elaborate plots and seeing how things connect and gathering useful people like resources that it's practically automatic - though this is not a great means when you're trying to be a kinder person. There's an omake, I believe, that has him saying "I like using my head for justice", i.e. using these underhanded means to act for the better. Not great, but those are the kind of gifts he has. He's way more suited to exploitation, but is choosing to use these tactics to save people now, which is quite reminiscent of what he tells Kyouka. Kyouka's talents lie in killing people - when what you're good at isn't who you want to be, what do you do? Well, I expect you use what you have, even if it's not ideal.

Now, about the current situation with Sigma - I think he definitely likes him, and is intrigued by him and his situation. We did get a little thought bubble where the guy amusedly compares him to Atsushi, and you can't tell me he doesn't care about Atsushi (listen to the onsen drama cd, or read 55 Minutes if you somehow don't believe me). But also, it's undeniable that Sigma is in a very vulnerable position of being homeless and having had no one be genuinely kind to him before. His trust is very easy to earn, and with the latest chapter, Dazai has now saved his life multiple times. There is, as always, a practical purpose he needs him for. And I have to be somewhat amused because Dazai is quite literally telling Sigma everything he ever wanted and needed to hear. It's a brilliant means of quickly endearing himself to Sigma - but I don't think that's all it is.

Look. The most honest moments we get in this series from Dazai are, interestingly for an expert manipulator, when people are at their most vulnerable. In spite of every pointlessly cruel act he inflicted on Akutagawa, his first meeting with him was open and transparent; much like the orphanage director, it seems he thought this treatment would make him strong and adaptable (he's wrong but that's not the point of this). He cuts Kyouka off in irritation and says "don't give me that" when she implies that she would fail the entrance exam. He tells Atsushi it's normal to cry after losing a father figure and to feel however you feel, even if that person caused you nothing but incredible pain and cannot be forgiven. He refuses to entertain Sigma's assumptions that Dazai sees himself as a superior being to him.

Selective honesty can also be utilized to great effect; Mori does this, and undoubtedly it serves this purpose for Dazai too. But I want to stress that I do sincerely believe this is all still honesty from him. Manipulation, or genuine?

Both. It's both.

[rervraiilsaukl]

||| AlteredPageAU!Sigma Character Sheet |||

Out of all the APAU characters, Sigma is definitely one of my favorites and one of the most interesting.

In the AU, he's affiliated with the Armed Detective Agency, with Kunikida as his mentor.

He's the archivist of the ADA— doing research for cases, taking notes during meetings, and storing information on past cases and current cases.

(Individual images)

Other important info on his character under the cut ↓

Things of note about his design/character:

His Gloves

The gloves that Sigma is wearing have a few important things to note. 1: they are ability suppressant. 2: The color choice of the gloves as well as the sleeves have symbolism pertaining to Sigma's character throughout the story.

The gloves allow his ability to be suppressed due to the fact that they contain Dazai's blood. Ranpo gave these gloves to Sigma after Sigma's entrance exam.

The main reason why Sigma's gloves are ability suppressant is for his own good. For one, I believe that he would not really like his ability very much. His only experience before the ADA was his canon backstory(except for the fact that Ranpo found him in the desert instead of Fyodor.) He was always forced to use his ability, and he cannot control his ability if he is forced to come into contact with another person.

Ranpo also suspects that later on, Fyodor will try to use Sigma's ability to gain info on the ADA. The gloves could prevent that from happening.

As for the design symbolism, it goes along with his sleeves. Throughout the plot, Sigma does commit some immoral acts after being manipulated by Fyodor. He truly does have good intentions, thinking that his actions are 'for the greater good.' His sleeves are white: his intentions are moral. The arms move the hands. His gloves are black: his direct actions are immoral. His moral intentions lead to and guide his immoral actions.

He hates Ranpo

This is mainly for two reasons: 1. He thinks that Ranpo views him as incompetent and that his role in the ADA isn't worth much. With how quickly Ranpo can solve cases, Sigma doesn't always have the opportunity to do his job to the fullest. It's unnecessary for him to do lots of research and take notes about certain cases

And 2, he doesn't like how Ranpo acts. He views Ranpo as childish and annoying. And with Sigma and the rest of the ADA's limited knowledge compared to Ranpo... Sigma tends to find some of Ranpo's suggestions to be absurd and even dangerous at times.

The Weapon in the Character Sheet

The knife present in his character info/design sheet is, in fact, the one that Fyodor uses to stab him in chapter 108 in the bsd manga. Do with that information as you will.

Parallels to Atsushi

This won't get a whole in-depth explanation here, but it will get its own post once I make an info sheet for Atsushi.

Put simply: Atsushi is in the DOA, and Sigma is in the ADA. Sigma views the ADA the same way Atsushi does in Canon. Atsushi views the DOA the same way Sigma does in Canon.

The specifcs do go beyond this, and will be explained later ^^

Poe's Archives Book

Ranpo being Ranpo, he predicted that Fyodor might try to use the page to redirect or even reverse reality. Before that happened, he had Poe write a basic book that detailed the different gifted organizations/ability users in Yokohama, foreign gifted organizations and their relations to the ADA, and the status of the DOA/Rats.

Ranpo found a way to carry this book into the rewritten reality of Fyodor's making and gave the archives book to Sigma. Sigma was instructed not to open it under any circumstances.

The archives book plays a big role in Dazai's suffering throughout the AU, considering how the fandom can not figure out/agree on how Poe and Dazai's abilities would interact.

-----------------

My next goal is to start concepting for Atsushi's design, so some sketches of that will be posted soon, as well as the DOA/Rats' relations to one another.

[justcallmesakira]

WHO DO I SHIP MY MUTUALS WITH?

i have been seeing this all over my tumblr page so ummm HERE YA GO!!! also this will be where i mention all my moots because i cannot for the fathom of fyodor copy that posts link

@saelique- cinna x 15! dazai song- Tek it by cafune

two friends who secretly run on daffodil fields in the middle of the night and is always comfortable with each other

@atlasnessie- atlas x jouno song- stereo hearts

that one couple who N O O N E predicted would get together but somehow he still carries you on his back as you pint to childrens bumper car

@silverbladexyz- silvie x beast!chuuya song- Step on me

Your the only one who can calm him down, or so everyone says but can you? because with the way hes gone in a rampage it seems hes loyalty lies somewhere else...

@typcallysid14- siddie x nikolai song- fuckin` boyfriend

Oh god, its a mess your just so in love with him and so is he! You cant stop taking pictures and his stuff and so cant he!

@tojifile mo x geto song-somewhere only we know

The pair who never happened even when both of you acted so fruity with each other all the time,,,good things never last

@rusmii= mii x chuuya song- BABYDOLL by ari abdul

That one funky and crazy couple of the mafia. After all who will save you when your telling the enemies that their dad went to buy milk and their mom went with him and cursing every single second.

@biscuits-spooky-corner- my pookie cookie x highschool dazai song- Moonlight by kali uchis

OMG its that one crackhead couple who ate the dog before the dog can eat their homework!

@elizais x eli x tachihara song- something about you by eyedress

You two may look like best buddies who blow vandalize peoples cars but in all serious you two are very genuine with each other espceilly since gaining tachis trust is something really award worthy <3

@atzuhi- x atsushi song- we fell in love in october by Girl in red

I am not shipping u two bcs of ur names but i just think your personality would fit atsushi and you two would go sticker cutting together :D

@riiwrites- x dazai song- FVN! by LVL1

crackhead who send each other instagram reels 24/7 and roleplay as jack/alpha/dont mess with me/ 24/emo/superstrong/ playboy wolf and emily/dont mess with mwy swenpai/ ywndere/ uwu girl/ secret darkside and bully kids on roblox <3

@chuuyasboner x 18 chuuya song- see you again by tyler the creator

Tho u threatened him to a relationship he still takes out to the arcade and occasionally feeds you when you threaten ask him!

@ruanais- rua x beast!dazai song- cigarettes out the window

You know hes going to leave one day,yet you still yearn to be in the warmth of his lap, Can he really hold you throughout the heavens and earth though?

@heartsfourdazai x ME SINGLE MOTHERTFAKAS BCS I CAN

Jkjk

Rue x atsushi song- lovers rock by TV girl

I personally think you twi would be opposite attract bcs of your style, but even so as you run to buy more gothy type clothes and he goes to buy some soft matching pjs for you two, he will always be by your side

@tsuunara- tsu x techhou song- Until i found you

No because you two would make such a cute n sweet couple (get it because of ur theme?). Just don't let him pour salt on your vanila cake though!

@kurolumiis x loading...

Who do you guys ship me with with? :3

[lotomber]

Hello! Can I request how bsd will react when their s/o is turned into a child like 5-6 years old because of some ability? Feel free to ignore it. tysm<3

A mischievous happening.•° ✿ °•.

SYNOPSIS: during a fight with an enemy you were turned into a 5 year old, the ability user was caught but unfortunately it will take a day for you to return to your age. INVOLVES: Dazai, Ranpo , Atsushi, Chuuya

DAZAI

Oh boy he was enjoying himself too much making fun of you. Telling you how cute you look like this and that you should probably just stay like this. He was just swinging you in his arms all day long cause you were just so light to pick up and you couldn't even fight back. He even used kunikida's money to buy kid's dresses for you saying you would look good in it. You really wanted to punch a hole in his face and when he saw you pouting he already understood that when you'll return normal it's all gonna come back to him but that still didn't stop him from taking some pictures of you to tease you later.

RANPO

Well the moment you ran after that ability user he predicted what was gonna happen. But it was really amusing for see him to see you like this. Unlike Dazai he sympathize with you upto a certain degree. And he even shared his snacks and candies with you, which he mostly never does on normal occasions. He just asked you to stick around with him cause either way you won't be able to do your work.

ATSUSHI

He's the only one to fully sympathize with you and he didn't even made fun of you. He understood how difficult it was for you to like this. So stayed around with you whole day to help you with anything that you wanted to do. He even carried you anywhere you wanted to go so that you don't get tired. And when you both went home he even cooked you favorite meal to cheer you up.

CHUUYA

First he made sure to scold you for being so reckless but after seeing you like this it just melted his heart, how can he have the heart to scold a 5 year old especially when it's his beloved? Instead of making fun of you he just reassured you that you will soon return normal soon so just hold on for a day. But he also made sure to tell you how cute you look as a kid and that he won't mind even if you stay as a child. He made sure to take you home early that day afterall how can let you stay like this at the mafia headquarters.

[larathia]

A little side note (fyodor vs dazai)

AKA I do in fact pay attention to the commentary on my posts.

This one caught my attention, because it's interesting and almost right.

See, the thing is - Chuuya is not the one who taught Dazai that Fyodor's methodology is flawed. In fact, Chuuya spends a lot of time complaining that when Dazai offers a choice, it isn't really a choice at all and that he'll JUST end up doing what Dazai wants anyway, and how much he dislikes that. Which generally just makes Dazai smile and/or laugh.

(Dazai did learn a few things from Chuuya. But 'the art of manipulation and how you don't do it' is not one of them.)

No, the one that really seems to have taught Dazai that Fyodor's methodology is dangerously flawed is....Akutagawa.

Because no one, no one, can get Akutagawa to do something Akutagawa isn't already inclined to do. No. One.

And Dazai tried. We know he tried. He damn near killed Akutagawa trying. He got as far as instilling that sense of worship that Fyodor's subjects have...but that's it. Even though Akutagawa thinks of Dazai as some kind of god figure, it doesn't matter. Because to Akutagawa, Dazai is this inscrutable higher being who cannot be predicted or understood, and this...actually kinda made him immune to the kind of railroading manipulation that Fyodor is best known for.

Akutagawa didn't start 'getting things right' in terms of pleasing Dazai until Atsushi stepped in as an unwitting translator. But that was much later, after Dazai had already left the Mafia behind, and left Fyodor's railroading techniques behind.

It's after the utter failure to control Akutagawa that Dazai learns the 'better' - or at least kinder - form of manipulation that he currently uses. Which is not to railroad and force people by whittling down their choices, but to observe people and place them such that what they were already going to do anyway is to your advantage.

'Cos Akutagawa does as Akutagawa wills, and you can either put the raging chainsaw near the trees you want cut, you can get out of the way, or you can get your damn arms sawn off. It's all the same to the chainsaw.

[nataliaphantomhivesblog]

Predictions for Soukoku’s fate (BSD CH 109 spoilers!!)

How I be looking after dedicating two posts on the possibility of Chuuya not being a vampire due to the fact he was faceless for absolutley no reason during some chapters, thinking it was important: 

alright people, i wish i could express my embarassment further but instead of kicking my feet, screaming and crying over my miscalculations, i will proceed to (hopefully) redeem myself with my following predictions.  

Guys, first of all I need to tell you something that I think is absolutely obvious: Dazai is not going to die. 

thematically, it makes absolutley no sense for Dazai to die considering how many characters still depend on him, EVEN HIMSELF.

We still haven’t learned his backstory, we still haven’t had a cathartic moment between Akutagwa and Dazai, Atsushi is yet to learn more from his mentor, and he’s overall a very key character to foil others and develop them while he’s at it.

Even Dazai himself dying right now feels extremely weightless, we haven’t even learned anything about Dazai’s past and he’s already killed? without growing as a person? without fullfilling Oda’s promise?  I don’t know, personally to me, direction wise, development wise and plot wise killing him off is absolutley nonsensical.

Asagiri does tend to take a very unique and unpredictable route with his writing and characters, but for plots sake, I highly doubt Dazai is gone forever.

Also, Fydoor and Dazai continue throwing uno reverse cards at each other, always catching one another unexpectedly. I am still going strong on the idea that Double Black will catch Fyodor off-guard.

Fyodor during these whole prision sections has been constantly belittling and teasing Dazai over how shallow his bond with Chuuya is.

When that’s beyond the truth. Dazai and Chuuya’s trust is literally undying. Stormbringer, the double black chapter and dead apple show us this in the most obvious way possible.

Asagiri himself has quoted that Soukoku knows each others motives, which has also been proven plenty of times when they are working together. 

Dazai himself admited there really was moments where their hearts reached out to one another.

and I think that’s enough to understand, Fyodor is wrong. THEY ARE DOUBLE BLACK FOR A REASON!!!

So far in this chapter, I got various things confirmed. Let’s walk through them together. 

1. Dazai’s nullifcation ability works on vampires, confirmed by Fyodor himself.

So what does this tell us? That Dazai had been planning all along to get in contact with Chuuya. He knew his partner’s abilities will break him out of the water trap, he’s not dumb.

So Dazaj totally meant to get in physical contact with Chuuya in order to nullify his vamparism. And no, it’s not only because Dazai cares for Chuuya (which is a true statement, but not the main reason.) It’s because out of everyone in this room, Chuuya is the only one able to physically overpower Fyodor. 

And even if Chuuya somehow can’t overpower Fyodor, atleast Chuuya can be Dazai’s bodyguard considering well...Dazai’s countless of injuries. Chuuya is Dazai’s ticket to get out of the prision.

Dazai needs Chuuya in his corner. He needs double black in action. He needs Chuuya. 

2. Dazai is genuienly frustrated that his plan to bring back Chuuya didn’t work.

I can’t be the only one who ADORED seeing Dazai panicking. (I sound so masochistic but seriously, it’s rare to see Dazai unmask this way).

Anyways, Dazai’s panic and frustrating during these pannels are unfortunately proof that things did not go at all how he planned.

3. Aya is attempting to take out the sword that stops Bram from having full atonomy on his vampire abilty. 

If by any luck, Aya is able to detach the swoard from Bram, Chuuya and literally every other vamp will return to normal. (which honestly, let’s do hope Aya removes the sword bc this is getting too agonizingly dragged out.)

4. Chuuya and Dazai are destined to....

 kiss?? marry?? make out under the moonlight??

Nono my friends, Chuuya and Dazai are destined to die together.

Chuuya and Dazai dying together has been hinted since Fifthteen, but my theory of these two dying together strenghtened during Stormbringer when Mori teased Dazai about a double suicide with Chuuya.

I’m not saying they will die right now but in order to solidify the need for Shin Soukoku in Yokahama.....

This old married couple gotta go and make room for the highschool sweethearts/hj

5. Dazai took the L

Honestly, I won’t lie to you and say that Dazai’s way out of this situation is going to be hard. But Dazai has attempted to kill himself plenty of times, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has shot a bullet through his head in his early 20s. (Im not joking when I say this i swear).

Anyways, Dazai seems somewhat imune to death and honestly, his character is too important to die, especially in such a meh, anticlimatic way. 

Dazai said it himself best, him and Chuuya are destined to die together.

6. Vampire Chuuya’s expression

I mean,,,, what is the need for the random three little pensive speach bubble ?? we have been proven by Akutagawa that vampires are capable of some sort of sentinence, especially when it’s tied to their deepest desieres/mental strenghts.

I don’t have anywhere grand to go with this but, I just wanted to point it out lol.

ALL IN ALL

I can’t say for sure what is going to happen, but with Aya’s attempts of removing the swoard the possibility for Chuuya to become concious and do something to get out of there and save Dazai still remain pausible in my books.

I am not too confident on where this section of the story will go exactly but I am certain that Soukoku won’t die yet. MARK MY WORDS!!!

[sugawarassoccerlover]

safe haven (Dazai x gn!reader)

murrhehhehehe this was the “project” @simpin-for-sugawara, hope you enjoy >:)

warnings: idk, crying? reader has had some bad days. alcohol is mentioned

this was rushed as fuck I’m sorry

“Hey there buddy, you doing alright?” the bandaged man spoke as he sat down next to you.

“Mhm,” you mumbled, 

“Woah, did you just ‘mhm’ me? Something must be seriously wrong here! Come on, you know you can tell me! After all, I am Dazai, the most trusted-” 

“Okay, okay, I get it,” you cut him off, laughing. “Life’s just been a little. Not so fun lately, you know?” 

Dazai propped his arms up on the table, head on his hands as he gasped overdramatically. “How horrible!” 

You rolled your eyes. “It’s not that horrible, Dazai. Just some bad days.” 

His face suddenly turned serious. “You’re not happy, so it is. Well,” he sighed. “If you’re not going to tell me, I’m at least not going to sit around and let you be sad!” 

“Wha-huuHhh?- DAZAI LET GO OF ME-“ you shrieked as you were grabbed by the wrist and dragged to your feet.

While he lead you out of the Agency’s office and down to the street, he didn’t answer any more of your questions. He was strangely silent, which was unusual for him. Dazai was usually so predictable, but yet a complete mystery to you. The path he took you down was familiar to you, but you couldn’t quite guess where you were going. It wasn’t until you were in front of his place that you realized he had taken you to his place. 

He unlocked the door, gesturing for you to step inside. You did, and he followed, then leading you to the kitchen. He fetched a bottle of merlot, popping off the cork. “I figured a good glass of wine would do the both of us some good, no?” 

You chuckled to yourself. “You are too much, Dazai.” 

“Aww, love you too,” he smirked as he poured both of your glasses. 

He brought you over to his couch, sitting down and gesturing for you to also. You say next to him, his hand smoothly and comfortably going to rest on your leg. You gave him a side glance as you sipped your wine. 

He began to ramble, about nothing at all. About his latest schemes, his ploys to mess with Kunikida, about Atsushi, about his work in the agency. His voice, his stories, no, he made you smile. You found all of his antics to be endearing. He found a way to make the less enjoyable parts of life to be far more enjoyable, and you loved him for it. 

“Hey there, you think you wanna tell me why you’re crying?” Dazai’s voice cut through your thoughts. 

You felt the wetness on your face as you came back to reality. Dazai was studying your face with a concerned look. When you didn’t reply to him, he sighed, moving the hand on your leg to go around your back, the other over your shoulders, pulling you to his chest. Your face rested on his shoulder, wide blank eyes shedding tears onto his coat. 

You really weren’t quite sure why you were crying, wether it was the weight of the world, or the contrast of the comfort of Dazai’s home compared to your own, or both. You knew one thing though, Dazai made you feel safe. 

“‘M fine, Dazai. I just… I just need a moment,” you said through your tears.

“I’d give you more than a moment, dove,” Dazai murmured into your hair.

“Charmer,” you muttered.

“Love of my life,” he replied. 

“My significant annoyance.” 

Dazai chuckled slightly, pressing soft kisses to the top of your head. His hold on you was firm, yet gentle. He wasn’t going to let go of you, but certainly wasn’t going to keep you trapped either. Somehow, everything felt right when you were like this. Your tears began to dry, and your breaths evened out. The world was uncertain, but the one certain thing you could rely on was this safe haven in his arms. No matter how unsteady, you would always be able to find refuge with Dazai. He was home.

It wasn’t long before your emotions had zapped away your energy, and you yawned.

“A bit tired there, love?” Dazai asked, brushing a strand of hair from your face. 

You nodded sleepily. 

“Fall asleep then, I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

[uneducated-author]

Okay but these frames show legitimate emotion on both of their faces. Chuuya's is from Dazai directly 'provoking' him, about Chuuya's shoddy martial art skills, and Akutagawa is from Atsushi's imploring question, that doesn't he want to be strong?

And these are subtly important conversations being referenced. Strength and the types it can take has been a major theme for both Atsushi and Akutagawa, and relevant to their overall arcs and bond. Initially Akutagawa utilises strength as a way to measure whether Atsushi is worthy of being Dazai's new mentee, and then they're paired as a battle union because of how well their strengths compliment each other. Meanwhile Atsushi is driven to use and develop his strength to protect others, so that he can earn the right to live. And both of them use the other as a motivation to get stronger, not wanting to fall behind the other.

With Dazai and Chuuya, it's a little more subtle. But we see Dazai comment on Chuuya's fighting style often.

First, when they reunite in the cellar for the first time in years Chuuya says something along the lines of 'I want to fight you, and crush you along with your schemes' but Dazai later responds with 'you aren't the top martial artist in the port mafia for nothing' to which Chuuya thinks 'he's predicting my attacks' to which Dazai responds with his line of 'I know your moving, pacing and habits. How else could I have been your partner?'. Chuuya's last dialogue there is that 'You can't beat me just by predicting my moves'.

Then, when they team up to save Q. It's brief this time, but Chuuya kicks at Dazai, and Dazai bounces out of the way with a cocky remark of 'Give it up, I'm familiar with your attacks, thrust, timing etc.' and Chuuya bites back with 'If I was serious I would have decimated your skull.'

The two conversations run the same. Dazai doesn't discount Chuuya's strength as a martial artist, there's no point. He knows, and Chuuya knows that he's a phenomenal fighter. Instead, Dazai simply says that all your training is for naught, because you can't hurt Me. The threat is in being known too well. Dazai can't help but hammer it in, that You are Known by Me. And Chuuya always responds with a warning. Chuuya, who surrenders control to a beastly ability that kills indiscriminately always says 'If I am out of control, if I am serious, reading my moves will not save you'.

But here? Dazai tells Chuuya that he has a flimsy punch, that he's weak. The line feels strange in all honesty, because Dazai may use deceit, but he doesn't lie in this way. He doesn't tell Fyodor 'I deduced your location' in the cannibalism arc, he references and gives credit to Fitzgerald. He tends to win by controlling the circumstances, not bluffing. He's good at lying, but it isn't a habit, and it certainly wouldn't work on Chuuya.

So Dazai utilises this rhetoric, a weak one to provoke Chuuya. But it's interesting, because that's genuine emotion on Chuuya's face.

Both Akutagawa and Chuuya prove responsive to the external stimulus. Akutagawa even repeats Atsushi when he says 'stronger' showing evidence of internal thought. And the damning evidence.

A literal point of view shot from Akutagawa, anime exclusive. The vampires aren't puppets or drones. We know that Bram has converted humans into vampires before, and since he's ostensibly a good guy, having 'converted vampires are glorified muppets' wouldn't really work.

They're trapped. They're inside their bodies, watching themselves work for villains who killed and manipulate them, and forced to watch the people they care about suffer under their own hands.

I've seen a lot of theories of 'Chuuya wakes up and sees the blood', hell I've made some myself, but that's not the case. It's not that Chuuya will wake to a corpse. It's that he'll remember putting a bullet in one.

(unless of course Shenanigans happen and Mr Bungou Stray Dogs is Okay)

[ladyrashelougai]

Can you please write a scenario where we are mermaids...?

“Shelly Girl”

-y/n was a curious mermaid who finally got stuck one day because of her excessive curiosity about the surface of the earth....

🍵Fukuzawa Yukichi:

° He was just a tourist and had come to the beach for a trip, he had heard that there are special shells there; And of course, he knew that people bring their dogs and cats there for a walk, and well! He also keeps many cats.... .

° His goal was to enjoy a little walk around the beach and the relaxing environment by the sea, until he saw you and everything changed! ; The way you were sitting on a relatively large boulder in the middle of the waves,... the way you gently waved your pink scaly tail and cute fins on the edge of the stone bed to feel the flow and humidity of the water,... even the way you Seeing that he had noticed your presence, you were surprised and scared and dived into the water again... All this seemed very cute, sweet and shocking at the same time for him!

° After the day he saw you for the first time, there wasn't a day when he didn't walk around with a small can of tuna and wait to see you again and feed you... and maybe even talk to you, if Let me! (Oh, poor Yukichi...he only specializes in cat food, mermaids, fish?! I don't know.)

🥞Osamu Dazai:

° Oh, isn't it clear?! As usual, he had come out due to excessive unemployment and of course having fun, after he had managed to get out from under the huge amount of work of the agency in Barra to spend some time... and that's where he saw you!

° You were sitting on the soft and wet sand of the beach near the water until the waves that came towards the beach slowly hit your tail and narrow waist... You guessed that maybe because of the excessive humidity of the air and the possibility of rain that day, the beach Be very, very quiet, but your prediction turned out to be wrong! Congratulations, anyway, Osamu was there and noticed you too!!!

° He was standing behind you at a relatively large distance and didn't make any noise, he didn't want you to notice his presence... until he decided to take slow and measured steps towards you, when a thin wooden splinter broke under his feet and he called out. Turning your head quickly, you noticed a person standing behind you! Osamu was looking at you and now seeing your sweet face, even a smile appeared on his face!

🐯 Nakajima Atsushi:

° After he had completed his mission, he had come to the beach for a short rest; He likes the semi-humid air and the view of the sunset there, what is better than enjoying the beauty of nature to calm the tired mind?!

° His thoughts wandered between the details of his next mission and the beauty of the rays of sunlight, until he noticed a beautiful creature whose delicate torso was visible between the green-blue waves of the sea, and as it happened, he was also staring at the sunset and humming a song. He was doing... Atsushi had seen you! Maybe for the first few seconds, it was shocking for him to see something that can be called a "mermaid", but after he remembered that he is a tiger, he just smiled a little and looked at the sight of you among the waves and under the rays...You are singing in the beautiful sunlight in the sunset, he was dazzled....

° You had reached a part of the music that was his favorite and he had memorized it well, you heard his voice speaking in a soft tone: "I know the rest... You call th shouts baby, I just wanna be yours...." It was strange that you didn't feel insecure even though he was around, you finally tilted your head back a little to see him, and without taking a step closer to each other or making any additional movement, just under your lips...You hummed the continuation of the music while enjoying the view of the sunset..!

🌻Kenji Myiazawa:

° He had come to collect some oysters for the children of the agency and maybe even make necklaces with oysters for some of them! He was walking in the closest part of the beach to the sea... his eyes wandered between the shells buried in the sand particles and he collected them one by one until his eyes fell on a large, colorful and shiny blue shell, he wanted it too. A delicate hand quickly pulled that oyster out of the sand and took it away from him!

° The only mistake you made was that you surfaced at the worst possible time to find your shell necklace, but you still didn't know how to let someone else take your necklace, especially since it was a human! When you were about to pull your hand back and go back into the water after grabbing the necklace, Kenji quickly grabbed your wrist and stared at you with a surprised and confused look and said, "Hey! What are you doing?! I chose that for Yusano-chan!"

° When you are shocked and pause for a few seconds and then whisper in a very low and careful voice: "This necklace is mine...", he pauses for a few moments and then gently releases your wrist, some of the shells He puts the ones he collected on the sand in front of you and says in a friendly and energetic tone:"Then you can take these for your friends too!"

🪻 Fyodor Dostoevsky:

° As usual, he had preferred a quiet place to rest and clear his mind for a few moments... especially since it was night and the beach was quieter and darker than any other time! He had arranged a chess board in a corner on the stone board and was playing with himself.

° Even the darkness of the night and the chess board and the pieces will not make you notice the light and beautiful sparkle of your tail under the moonlight! Finally, he took his gaze from the chessboard and for a few moments stared at the shine of your body and white skin under the moonlight, and then fixed his piercing purple eyes on you completely and whispered: "Beautiful..."

° he don't hurt you, in fact, you enjoyed talking with such a mysterious person who was considered a representative of all the people on this planet! And it was precisely for this reason that Fyodor came to the beach every night after the first night of your meeting, with a chess board in his hand....

💊Mori Ougai:

° The doctor of the underground world with all kinds of medical information, and the one who is secretly the head of Yokohama's biggest criminal gang, Port Mafia! Did he come there for nothing? Just to walk?NO!! He was even aware of the existence of creatures like you in that part of the beach!! Finally, he goes there to research some plant and animal samples....

° He knew from the beginning that your species go to the surface of the water at night due to excessive curiosity about the world outside the water... just as he knew that his species go into the water due to excessive curiosity about the underwater world! So he set a trap for you by picking foods near the water that he knew you like their scent!....When the smell of chocolate hits you, you can't hide yourself under the water more than that, and with curiosity and desire you stick your head out of the waves and stare at the shore, you swim a little closer to the shore until you hear he's piercing and playful sound...You hear him say in a scary tone:"I Catch you, little doll...!~".And yes..., your tail will get stuck in the net that was spread in the water!

° Manipulation, testing, abuse... it doesn't matter to him, he does it! The only thing you can do is to answer his questions more carefully and behave more obediently, so that you might suffer less and even get a reward from him... but be careful what information you give him, it might end up being expensive for you....very expensive!!!

“Haha! My hand hurt!!”

[osarina]

Hellooooo

AWWW I’m so glad you like my princezai AND ITS ADDED TO THE DAZAIVERSE, LETS GOOO HAHAHA, I’m still in the otome isekai binge, THERE’S SO MANYYY IM DROWNING

So yeah, typically in those manhwa there’s a og fl who’s either two faced and tries to steal the ml or a cinnamon roll who falls for the villainess instead of the ml hahah but gurl same if someone comes between me and princezai im bout to invent guns and go full America

So like I’ve been thinking bout it some more, expanding the characters like mori got to be the king, oda is probably dazai personal bodyguard, ango or kunikida is the aide to the prince (god rest their souls🙏), fyodor being the crown prince of the neighbouring kingdom, atsushi is the newbie knight butting heads with senior knight akutagawa, black lizard as one of the knight squads ,DUCHESS KOYOU, Royal doctor yosano??, ada can be still a detective agency?or maybe a informant guild haha idk, marquess paul from another kingdom who is chuuya long lost brother

Like maybe when chuuya was young he was kidnap from his family and used by a cult of dark magicians to summon a demon but instead becomes a vessel, basically canon but ~fantasy~ and escape to another kingdom and was raised as a commoner and rose through the ranks through his hard work, until he finds out he actually is a noble but in game he bonds over with the og villainsess over how the nobles treat them with cruel rumors (him being not of noble blood and her being a villainess/foreigner) hahaha could even have the villainess falls for him but cannot marry him as her family wouldn’t approve of her marrying a commoner and chuuya thinking whether he’s worthy of her like angst and why am i making this sad let’s stop but yeah reader definitely would stick with chuuya like he’s such a reliable guy you would want on your side, one of the first people that she can trust and maybe tell the truth in this new world where she’s at risk of getting a bad ending

For dazai, usually in the isekai , the fl would use her knowledge on future events and people to her benefit, I’m thinking dazai would get even more intrigued seeing how he predicts how things happen but because of the reader’s knowledge she turns the tide and dazai is shook 🫨🫨🫨cause he’s always right except when it comes to reader 😏, first he gets close to figure out this mystery but slowly falls for reader and fast forward to him on his knees hugging reader, begging her to marry him while she tries to shove him of with a stick. Also we can have prince fyodor coming in as a love rival, gotta have dazai fighting for his life here hahah

ALSO!! I had another version of this verse where instead dazai is the demon king that the fl is suppose to defeat, with chuuya as the crown prince and main capture target

So like prince dazai is for when reader isekai as the villainess

And demon king dazai is when reader isekai as the heroine

Like think of the angst potential, falling for the one you have to kill for everyone’s happy ending(why do i do this to myself) OR the comedy where reader is trying to defeat the demon king but he’s so different from the og game, he’s in love with me?? That wasn’t in the lore!! Or the reverse where reader gets isekai and is like screw the other love interest give me the hot demon hahah with dazai being confused?? Flirting instead of fighting ✌️✌️✌️

Jsjdjdjf dazai with horns 🤌

I need more art of dazai and chuuya in princely fancy smacy suits😭😭😭

(Also bsd otome game where??!! LET ME DATE THEM PLS, oh yeah there’s actually a fan dating sim for bsd ,have you seen it, it’s sooo cute lemme just give you the link)

https://ryartchus.itch.io/lamourameursault

My dude, recs?

I HAVE A LIST OF EVERY MANHWA I’VE READ

Have my own notes to keep track of all the manhwa haha

Okay okay, lemme give you the ones I think are real great

Who made me a princess

Death is the only ending for the villainess

The fantasie of a stepmother

Villainess with the hourglass

The ways to protect the female lead’s older brother

My in-laws are obsessed with me

The villainess flips the script

I’ll be the matriarch of this life

The antagonist’s pet

Shadow queen

I’ll be the matriarch of this life

The little lady behind the scenes

They say I was born a king’s daughter

How to get my husband on my side

Beware the villainess

These manhwa have anime adaptation so you can give them a try

* The reason why Raeliana ended up at the duke’s mansion

* My next life as a villainess: All routes led to doom

* I’m the villainess so I’m taming the last boss

Ahhh so these not isekai, but I really love them so maybe you can check them out 👉👈

-Remarried Empress (FL is the greatest like ever, I love her)

-Endo and Kobayashi’s live commentary on the villainess (interesting spin on otome game, very cute and fluffy moments)

-cursed princess club (really like the take on princess and curses)

Hahah I gave such a long list, but there are so many good ones, they barely scratch the surface of the manhwa rabbit hole I have fallen into

tumblr user chererrry ... you are going to be SOOOO pleased i think ... because i've been trying to figure out what my next project is going to be after civzai, and now i'm HEAVILYYYYY leaning toward an otome isekei series w princezai, knight commander!chuuya, and im conflicted as to what to make fyodor because originally he was going to be a prince from a rival kingdom but now i'm realizing he also fits that trope of like the high priest/mage love interest. i wanted to add one more love interest - nikolai, maybe? or tachihara/jouno? idk it's being thought up in the brain and i have quite a while before it anyway, but i had to share it with you because you're the reason it came to me. obviously dazai would still be the main love interest, but the others would have their time to shine.

OMGGGG yes i love having the ada as like an informant guild -- mori as the king, oda as the prince's personal guard, ango as the royal aide (and maybe a traitor???), DUCHESS KOUYOU !!!! SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL - it reminds me of that one bungo mayoi card(fables) .. omg wait, i adore your background for chuuya actually. because originally i did want him to be the one that she went to first and trusted the most and you KNOWWWW i love angst ... and i imagine even i this new kingdom, he's ostracized a bit because people can tell something is up with him but they don't know what. dazai's the only one that treats him like a normal person until the og villainess comes along.

LOLLLLLL THE COMEDY DEMON KING ONE IM DEAD "THAT WASN'T IN THE LORE!!" that would be so cute actually i love that. people counting on this girl to come save them from some evil demon king but then she's like!!! wait a second .. why is he kinda ... LOLLLLL

i also started reading death is the only ending for the villainess!!! it's SOOOO good so far, i'm obsessed with it and penelope is soooooo pretty it makes me die. I'VE HEARD A LOTTTT ABOUT REMARRIED EMPRESS ACTUALLY, so even though that's not isekai, i'm probably going to read that one next when i have the time

[kyouka-supremacy]

Hello, I have a question and you're the only person I can think of who can answer it properly. Not sure if you subscribe to the "Akutagawa fell first" belief for sskk, but if you do, what do you think was the moment in canon that made him fall for Atsushi? Or was it more of a gradual process?

I personally can't pinpoint it because he seems hopelessly smitten during the Moby Dick fight but before that there's nothing. What do you think?

Omg thank you for asking me this I have extremely strong opinions on the matter. This got way longer than I predicted but honestly what did I expect?

I DO firmly stand by the “Akutagawa fell first” statement. I mean, as I've said before, it's hard to interpret the canon events in a way that doesn't frame Akutagawa being in love with Atsushi, while when it comes to Atsushi it's arguable he would even fall at all, and definitely didn't within canon¹. SO, in my very unbiased perception of canon (lie), here's the story of Akutagawa falling for Atsushi:

Akutagawa gets assigned Atsushi as his target for a mission. He doesn't have any strong impression on him. He doesn't know anything about him.

Akutagawa talks with Dazai. Now he's got very personal beef with Atsushi.

Akutagawa and Atsushi fight on the trading ship. There's clashing of morals, the personal beef becomes even more personal and it's surely accentuated by Atsushi defeating him. He definitely hates him with all his guts at this point.

Akutagawa and Atsushi meet again on the Moby Dick. Akutagawa still hates Atsushi, but talking their feelings out on the bridge and on the elevator is a first step towards actually understanding and warming up to each other.

Akutagawa and Atsushi fight together against Fitzgerald and share some heartfelt words of support right beforehand. I'm like, 200% sure the exact moment Akutagawa fell in love with Atsushi is when he told him “if you asked me... I'd say Dazai-san has already recognized you long ago”. Because that's everything for him!!!! More exactly, that's everything Akutagawa ever wanted to hear. That's the most valuable words in the world for Akutagawa, and them coming from Atsushi... I think that made them all the more meaningful for him. Atsushi saying those words meant signing a death sentence for Akutagawa.

They fight together against Fitzgerald and I like to think Akutagawa found it a particularly romantic experience. He's fought alone his whole life, it must have evoked a warm feeling in him. He falls harder.

Now, Akutagawa loving Atsushi doesn't mean he will accept he loves Atsushi. I mean, it's Akutagawa, he's bsd's most stubborn character, and on top of that hating Atsushi is his main drive– he's definitely going to spend ages in denial. He'll meet Atsushi again looking all gloomy one day and he'll be like “Oh shit what's up with that sad puppy face. Oh shit. I guess I'm not fighting Jinko today because.................. Defeating an enemy while he's unhappy will earn me no honour. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. It's not that I like him or anything”.

The Cannibalism events happen; Akutagawa and Atsushi beat up some more people, share some more heartfelt moments. Convincing himself that he doesn't like Atsushi is getting harder by day for Akutagawa, and that perhaps makes him the most hostile he's ever been to Atsushi; but he also is in the most harmless way anyone can be hostile. He keeps threatening Atsushi, but he never follows up to his words. Atsushi insults him in the most hurtful way, and he just kinda lets him. He tries to leave Atsushi behind; he turns back to see if Atsushi is tagging along. In the mines, Atsushi is endlessly cruel to Akutagawa, but that's really nothing new; what's new is Atsushi saving his life, Atsushi showing compassion to him, Atsushi wearing Rashomon. What's new is that now he understands Atsushi a little better. And now he's back home with new vivid images of Atsushi in his mind and a freaking self-sabotaging deal he had no reason to accept, and he really can't keep pretending he doesn't love Atsushi anymore.

There's a long narrative break between Akutagawa's Cannibalism appearance and his next appearence. Thirty chapters pass. I like to interpret this long pause as a moment of self-reflection and change for Akutagawa: he finally admitted to himself that he loves Atsushi; he knows that Atsushi doesn't love him back. He stopped killing. He started revalutating his life choices. He knows he doesn't have much left to live. He starts spending more time with his family– maybe even with his coworkers. And he goes to meet Dazai when he calls, and Dazai tells him that he will save Atsushi and he knows the reason why, and Akutagawa knows the reason. And he dies to save Atsushi because he loves him, and it doesn't matter that Atsushi doesn't love him back, what matters is that he does and that his life is worth dying for.

1. I mean. maybe it is arguable. I warmed up to the idea a little more than what I could have said six months ago. But it's still only remotely possible.

[ranlien]

Dead Apple Thoughts

(spoilers for bsd Dead Apple)

So, recently watched the Dead Apple movie for Bungou Stray Dogs and then saw a comic (if someone could link it that would be great) that was like "if Dazai knew that Shibasawa was the manesfisation of an ability and high-fived him earlier then the movie would be a whole lot shorter".

Because the reasoning goes that Dazai and Ranpo are both characters that can deduce ridiculous amounts of information based on existing evidence, and Dazai never bothered to say 'Shibasawa' in the presence of Atsushi so he should have no way of knowing what went down all those years ago (the other person to know - Fydor - wouldn't bother telling him and Shibasawa himself doesn't know).

While funny for the sheer "yes, Dazai is human too and probably messes up sometimes" and creates character depth in showing that he is not omnipotent (but manages to plan for everything fairly well a lot of the times) there is also the funny possibility of:

Dazai knowing,

and choosing to not dispel Shibasawa early

(so that Chuuya can come punch him in a display of 'i know you so well as your partner' and the younger kids can get some fighting practice)

and also because if Dazai does slap Shibasawa (because you can't convince me that Dazai wouldn't fool around and take the chance to slap someone with a god complex if his plan required physical contact), but what happens after???

Dazai and Fydor in an enclosed space, two knives on the table in front of them and no one else around??? How would that fight even go?

For me, there is something extremely funny in considering how they are both characters that are stacked 100% intelligence and 5% brawns who probably depend on not having disputes escalate to physical fights or out-predicting their enemies than actually engaging in a physical fight.

Imagine Fydor and Dazai both sitting there and having a quiet "oh shit" moment with Shibasawa gone and then smoothly deciding to sit there and keep talking instead (and to distract the other from the knife right in front of them).

[erosauriarts]

Chapter 114.5 Spoilers

CAUSE I HAVE OPINIONS.... Holy shit. You can read here:

Discusses some theories and observations

Ok, so

Well, we know Fyodor's ability. Knew it had to do with transferring and unfortunately it's not by touch. I was hoping it would be through blood bc I think it's funny that a religious man's ability was a jab at the blood of the lamb. (Also the savior parallel)??? We learned that Fyodor's ability allows him to take the place of anyone that kills him. This connects directly to causation and not a direct influence (Example Bram gets switched bc he ordered the vampire to kill Fyodor.) First thing first... SIGMA WAS USELESS!?!?! Dazai figured out without him. This was a cool part to see, but also frustrating cause it implies that fucking Fyodor planned this since the beginning. He knew Dazai would watch / come to him, Bros not messing around-

Why?? Well because two were factors that could've stop Fyodor is now several kilometers away on a remote island. Even if Chuuya was to simply ditch Dazai in Mersault, it would take 10 hours for him to get there (Assuming Chuuya flies the speed of an airplane). Fyodor predicted that if Dazai were to keep an eye on him, his other half would be short behind.

This kinda sucks, because that means this annoying no u game is literally Fyodor messing with Dazai.

Fyodor had planned this since the beginning, but Dazai ALMOST got him and to the boy's credit, Fyodor may have stressed a tad bit. Now did he how he would've died; no I think he was unsatisfied with how it turned out in the end, but he was about to get away. He has a right to be nervous about Dazai, but I think he's big relieved mofo is so far away. It's also strange, because whatever Fyodor is doing, Atsushi agrees with it. What about the DOA would Dazai and Chuuya fight against? If the theory it is to end all abilities, make world peace, and end all wars - why can't they be involved??

(Chapter 105) (Below, Chapter 111 and 114.5)

One thing that confuses me is, when Dazai pulls out the body from the helicopter was if that was Fyodor if someone that replaced him?? Does Fyodor kill the people he switches with? Just like that is the vampire outbreak suddenly over? If he planned to keep Dazai and Chuuya in Mersault, does that mean he knew the two would fight against his goal? Something else that confused the shit out of me - Fyodor had the time sword, holy sword, and Fukuchi in his possession since the beginning. If this was part of his plan to have a vampire kill him so he can yoink the three, why did he take so long? Is it just the fact he had to wait for the page's effect to summon this... tri-singularity god. The holy sword is capable of controlling whom ever it's impaled to, but it's also possible for that thing at the end of season 5 to be the god in the time sword (using Fukuchi as a host). Also the triple singularity thing is fucking cringe. I see why but oml Asagiri making shit up and balling hard.

Up next; Bram's dead???? So the vampires are gone. Akutagawa really woke up, saw shit blow up, leave, come back with shit on his neck and dress from a whole different timeline. There is no fucking way there isn't some dimension shit, because TWO HOURS later. What did Aku do??? Leave to a fucking museum? BRO HAS METAL!?! WHERE!? HOW DOES THAT HELP YOU?? YOU CONTROL CLOTH!? HUH?!