#Kunikida has a favourite genius and it sure isn't dazai

[cynyari]

thinking about how Kunikida was FULLY planning to save Atsushi after he got kidnapped and only switched up after Ranpo pointed out how they technically didn't have to. and I just know that if it was Dazai saying it Kunikida would've just accused him of trying to be lazy and put off doing more work

[sorcerersandskillusers]

Who is your favorite BSD character and why? And is there a BSD character who you feel isn't as well written as you'd like them to be?

Favourite bsd character is a really hard question, since all the characters are so good I tend switch depending on who I've been thinking about the most.

But If I had to pick an overall favourite it would be Odasaku. He is a balance of so many different traits and idea's, but they all work together really well.

He's funny, kind, humble, skilled and wise. But he also has so many faults that make him feel so human, he is gullible, rash, and has very little confidence in himself. ill expand of some of these but I don't want this to get too long.

He is kind in a simple way, where he helps where he can but doesn't push himself on other people or act like he has some great mission to save everyone and be a hero.

He is very humble yet extremely competent. He views himself as totally unimpressive and has so much respect for everyone around him. His internal monologue in the LN really shows this, even with enemies he is much stronger then, he is always worried and thinks of them as a real danger. Despite the fact he is one of the most dangerous characters in the entire series, who Dazai said could be the most terrifying person in the mafia.

He is not a super genius, and has a very down to earth mentality despite how absurd his life is. I love how he panics after nearly being shot, even though he must be so used to it, I love how he try's to talk himself out of saving Dazai at every turn, logically arguing what a bad idea getting involved with him is, but in the end always chooses to help him.

This is getting too long but I've barely even scratched the surface of why I love Oda so much. He is the only bungou stray dogs character who I truly want to be like in real life.

For you second question, I don't want to jump to conclusions about any characters yet, because BSD has an amazing way of taking characters I dismissed or hated and turning them into incredibly well written and important characters later.

Examples like Aya: who I thought was a one off character to give Kunikida a cool moment, has now become a major protagonist with a tragic story that im super invested in.

Teruko: who I thought was a typical anime sadist who was also a massive simp for Fukuchi. Turned out to be a fighter with s strong conviction for justice and is now facing the turmoil of having to choose to save a world of corruption and war or destroy it along with all the innocent people she sworn to protect.

Even Tachihara, who could not have cared less about, quickly became one of my favourite characters after his story was explored.

So i'll hold off on dismissing and characters yet, but right now in the manga, the one I think need more developement are Pushkin, Ivan, Mark Twaine, and Michelle. But im sure they will have their chance in the future, thats just eh kind of series bsd is.

[note-boom]

Pt. 2/2 of my list....

Approval (2465 words) by Serena_Nymph (platonic Shin Soukoku, awkward getting to know each other conversations, interesting character analysis on the two)

All Men Are Flawless (535 words) by MiniNephthys (Oda Lives AU, exploration of his ability under All Men Are Equal)

Nip and Tuck (1094 words) by Haurvatat (Atsushi is a cat, the ADA needs to understand this for sure...for science, of course)

The Naming of Cats (10358 words) by cyan96 (ADA!Chuuya where he finds Atsushi and is Kunikida's partner, 4 chapters)

Train Conversations (4266 words) by karmicMayhem (don't eavsdrop because you'll hear bad things about yourself does not count when you are Dazai, (very lightly) implied soukoku ship)

Dull Eyes, Transparent Smile (2495 words) by radiashen (Atsushi sees ghosts, fluff and angst as the ADA finds out)

secrets resist always the act of telling (500 words) by MiniNephthys (another Atsu sees ghosts, more Dazai-centric though)

bloodstains on my hands (750 words) by Seito (slightly darker Atsushi, slight canon divergence of one scene, it's actually pretty funny in a dark way)

A simple Dish (4064 words) by Scarlet_Nin (Dazai takes care of sick Kyouka, it's actually a really nice read)

Case #0161220 (1390 words) by kyo_kitai_san (Magnus Archive crossover, it honestly made me laugh for reasons I hope you'll see, but for slight spoilers....cryptid Akutagawa)

To learn something normal (1215 words) by Misila (Kunikida teaches Kyouka maths, enough said)

Birdsong (3864 words) by TheGreatCatsby (this isn't a fic for characterisation, it's a fic for the mythical aesthetic that happens to use bsd character names)

making our way towards the credits (2674 words) by iicaru2 (save atsushi, based of the wan episode where they body sway, pure crack)

Grey Area (2427 words) by fanficloverme96 (Tanizaki character exploration/theorising via Dazai's PoV, kind of intriguing though idk if it will be accurate)

but we can let the light illuminate these hopeless places (2226 words) by radiashen (note that most of the oda fics i post will probably be self-indulgent/possibly ooc, anyway Oda lives and Buraiha friendship exploration on his birthday)

home (where my thoughts escape me) (1675 words) by advanced_fanatic (modern no abilities au, dad!fukuzawa adopting several traumatised kids, it's a whole series which is very fun to read but this is my favourite as i sometimes got thrown off by some of the non-japanese things thrown into the fic, very good writing and story beats though)

Our saving grace (1513 words) by rchimedes (how to traumatise the newbie to the agency Kunikida with Thou Shalt Not Die, honestly really nice exploration of possible shenanigans that happened with the adults pre-Dazai)

Fukuzawa and Kyouka Hang Out (2006 words) by Paris (literally what the title says, I love them so much dfhiserewoierjwe)

the blood on both our hands (1142 words) by odadsaku (another granddad Fukuzawa and granddaughter Kyouka, nightmare angst involved)

Late Night Bonding (1515 words) by hypermoyashi (Atsushi has a nightmare, Ranpo and Atsushi bonding)

Alone Time (1557 words) by TheGreatCatsby (Souheki bonding, Ranpo giving Dazai advice about loss and friendship)

Lost and Found (2560 words) by chiffonades (Fukuzawa and Ranpo fic before the other ADA members joined, don't remember much just that it was sweet and dad Fukuzawa)

How to show Affection - A Guide by Beast beneath the Moonlight (1833 words) by ImPanDuh (Atsushi is a tiger and wants to show people he loves them, adorable and funny)

forgiveness (like my reflection in the water) (10638 words) by silencvial (BEAST!Atsushi and canon!Atsushi sudden swap, 2 chapters, unfinished, still worth reading cause the concept is SO GENIUS)

not so bad (1417 words) by spicygrass (Kunikida and Higuchi friendship, you don't understand how much I want this, the author's other works are also amazing if you're into kunikidazai, does have a different flavour of speaking voices that I enjoy but might be odd for some to get used to)

By any other name (8145 words) by CatFiends (Oda reincarnation AU, Dazai coping, some memory shenanigans, slightly bittersweet but more towards sweet)

Beats Under the Sunlight by justapoorboy (a series of 3 one-shots featuring confident Atsushi who joined the ADA earlier, just a fascinating character-exploration AU to me)

Traded Loyalties (9029 words) by eldritch_snailien (5 chapters, Fukuzawa and Mori switch agencies one day and people just gotta deal, both very funny and kinda sweet and absolute chaos, i think there's implied or queerplatonic Zenki Soukoku)

stuck with you (2367 words) by Oxalisalis (crackfick, all that happens is soukoku gets superglued to each other, 100% platonic soukoku btw which i love)

Breaking Conviction (7304 words) by Raven_Rein (Dazai-centric fic, it's just a really interesting exploration of his relationships with people throughout the years and i love the build)

Carry On Rowing (4058 words) by thecrazychatlady (Kunikida birthday fic, the agency loves him (even Dazai, even if he's annoying about it), just show this man some more love)

tellings of tight ends (and of loose beginnings) (3033 words) by utopio_sphere (fjieosjaer the way i LAUGHED at this summary, but yeah Atsushi doesn't join the ADA even after Dazai's manipulation and it's kind of amazing to me personally)

a suicidal maniac (and the ghost who haunts him) (2036 words) by utopio_sphere (Atsushi is a ghost, it could be angsty but why do that when you could make if fluffy/funny instead? mostly Dazai and Atsushi centric)

At Least I Have Nothing (1829 words) by wondernoise (pain honestly, but also an interesting theory/look into Fukuzawa's ability, i am increasingly impressed by the bsd fandom's ability to do research and translate that research into the bsd universe)

Words from a butterfly (4701 words) by blubbly (so far the only Tachihara and Yosano conversation fic I've seen, i think it might have felt stilted at times but the author wrote it really well)

comfort (586 words) by TheGreatCatsby (Kyouka and Atsushi are siblings real...)

there is an art to medicine (2372 words) by TheGreatCatsby (in my defence i also used to be (still am) in the phandom (danny phantom fandom), so uh...gore, violence, yosano studying chuuya like an interesting frog (with consent though))

pour me a cup of love and sugar (1447 words) by Seito (this is a little sad given the implications but also just hilarious, Ranpo's not in the ADA but the ADA still exists, hilarity happens)

organized chaos (1419 words) by Seito (don't look for this for canon characterisation, just pure crack that features an AU but of personalities, it's hilarious)

Sing of a Sorrow Olden (6206 words) by Quinntessentially (as the tags say, it's basically just the ADA doing detective work, and i found it really interesting just for that)

common ground (812 words) by lostdandelion (Sigma and Dazai bond over Atsushi, let's have some Atsushi appreciation yes)

Life After Death (2968 words) by Magical_Bucket (well, uh...shin soukoku dies and oda takes care of them in the afterlife, don't remember much but that it was good)

Story between (713 words) by WriteAFanfictionOfMe (BIG Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint spoilers by the way (for the epilogues, in fact), but uh....ORV and BSD crossover and i just need to be self-indulgent sometimes)

warm whiskey (1901 words) by planet_B612 (Dazai + Ango meet and talk about Oda and their own friendship, bittersweet)

I am...so sorry to the OP who is forever associated with this unhinged gen fic rec list

(abt ur tags on that fic rec list post) I'd love to know more gen bsd fics!!! if u don't mind pls make a list of them

OP, I hope you understand that you have unleashed a monster considering how many BSD fics I consumed. But that said, I'll try to keep it short and strictly gen for this ask, then just reblog with the rest (some do have implied ships, though). Most of them are just fluff and one-shots. And I haven't really read much fanfic recently, so most of these are my bookmarks from before I even really got into this blog and my memory on them might be shaky; generally, I either liked them because good writing, good characterization, good analysis, and/or it was just too funny/too interesting to not bookmark. Some might have Americanisms/Westernisms of things that probably don't really happen in Japan (probably?) and some might have slight character assassinations, but I don't think anything should be too gratuitously unforgivable. Also, all opinions are my own and do not reflect on either the writing or the author's original intent.

So under the cut are my absolute favourite of favourites.

Morning Light (18021 words) by FallenBrie (time loop, Atsushi character exploration, ADA!found family)

O expectations, stale and dismal airs, leave this body of mine! (20976 words) by aptlydapper (3 chapters, still my all-time favourite bsd fanfic for the writing and the concept and its execution, Chuuya joins the ADA basically but so much more than that to me)

Conundrum (23921 words) by AdmiralTDeVanto (hi, I love this AU so much, role-reversal where aku and atsu are the older figures and dazai and chuuya are the younger ones, some other au roleswaps happen but that's a surprise)

circle of praise (1898 words) by Oxalisalis (have a few by this author (love their works so much, they have some great BEAST things), basically compliment assault, ADA family, sweet and funny)

The Scent of Milk Tea (1343 words) by Sternstunde (Atsushi and Chuuya are housemates, neither is aware of the other's job, please let them meet in canon, 2 chapters and unfinished)

Reason To Live (1746 words) by Allwalkfree (time travel fic with a take on akutagawa's future character arc that left me DEAD, just...him being better than the people he was taught by okay? and him having a clearer picture of the stuff he went through etc)

hell is empty (all the devils are here) (1065 words) by Origamidragons (legit one of my FAVOURITE Gin character explorations, shoutout to the use of her character's irl short story)

in the end, you write your verse (6858 words) by Origamidragons (ADA and PM role swap and it's honestly SO GOOD that I desperately wish there was more of this (in a this fic is INCREDIBLE way, that is))

In The Choice, There's Peace (2561 words) by treetrunkdaddy (chill vibes, fic that explores Atsushi's character so nicely to me through how he copes with anger)

Mark of a Teacher (527 words) by Seito (Kunikida has been framed as a terrorist apparently and his students see the news headlines, it's hilarious and just fun)

A Study From Stripes (teach me to be loved again) (29684 words) by MidnighttWriter (beloved fic with beloved writing, Atsushi trauma exploration, might feel a little dark or emotional for bsd (in a different way, since BSD doesnt exactly shy away from being emotional or dark) but honestly beloved and SUCH a fascinating Atsushi character study to me)

would you believe me if i said i was blinded by the light? (1203 words) by elijay (half-blind Dazai real to me, but no its a really neat headcanon and that's all the fic is, which is all i wanted)

good bones (838 words) by Quintessence (I LOVE THIS SO MUCH, another Atsushi has a lot of trauma and the agency is flabbergasted)

5 Times Dazai Didn’t Understand Math And The 1 Time Kunikida Tried To Do Something About It (3746 words) by zededs (math is difficult, so is Dazai, Kunikida is stressed out, just a funny story)

how to get away with murder (10000 words) by magdalenes (11 chapters and unfinished, but it's SO SO good, the author is setting up the mystery so well, and it's basically just....detectives doing detective work but possibly also avoiding other detectives, more plotty than charactery)

what is a name (640 words) by Seito (guys, seriously, read this, im serious it has SUCH a good theory and the IMPLICATIONS of this to the larger bsd story????)

a secret for a secret (2302 words) by Oxalisalis (another of my FAVOURITE Gin fics, this author DELIVERED so well on their characterisation, slight canon divergence but perhaps not?)

But yeah. Because I somehow ended up opening over 130 tabs (that was after narrowing things down. i am so normal about BSD) for this ask, I'll just....reblog with more for those who are interested in gen fics. (It's why it took me a while, apologies.)