#also the way how the writer showed skk's separation

[caelanglang]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46673284

:)

Thank you for sharing this anon! I'm sorry I left this in my inbox for a long while but I finally got to read it and it's very beautiful ;w;

The motifs and structure, the vivid imagery and tone are all so well done :,)) (the age 20 one killed me orz)

Go read it if you have the time folks! It's a really beautiful one-shot

I especially love the last lines augh

[kyouka-supremacy]

Awwww thank you for the reply even more assorted thoughts under the cut then!!!!! (Didn't want to hijack the post but they didn't fit in the tags alone AH-)

I know nothing about bsd BUT I know about The Promised Neverland - which features a writer-artist partnership similar to the bsd one - which might give an idea of how the bsd creative process works out of comparison (spoilers for the first arc of tpn ahead):

In tpn Shirai (author) had full control over the plot while Demizu (artist) illustrated according to the writer's directions. There were istances where Demizu was appositely kept in the dark of plot developments so that their depiction of the new events could result as fresh as possible (and, in a way, deceiving for the reader too)- that's the case of the last page of chapter 32, where they drew Emma believing Ray had died, thus making Emma's reaction to his fake-death as true as possible. On the other hand, it's also true that in multiple occasions Demizu's drawings have inspired Shirai in their creative process, and I believe the same must have happened with bsd too in some cases. What I'm desperate to know is who makes the storyboards in bsd!!! In tpn Shirai made the storyboards Demizu was then to redraw; how does it work with bsd?

Overall, I suppose it's fair to assume the norm is artists not having an insight of the plot in order to keep their illustrations as authentic as possible... I mean, it makes sense in a way. For example, let's take the wet Dostoyevsky panel™ from this chapter:

What's going on in his mind? Does he have a plan? Was he expecting this move from Dazai? Or is he at loss? Maybe he's worried? Is he in control? It's hard to guess any of this by looking at the panel alone- he simply looks unamused. And that's the point! Making his expression impossible to read is definitely intentional: it solves the purpose of keeping the reader on edge and increase the suspense for what's going to happen next. And what better way to keep a panel ambiguous than having the artist themselves not know the reason behind a character's emotions? Not knowing the details of the plot, they won't risk making Dostoyevsky appear confident - or desperate - according to what's really going on in his mind, simply because they themselves don't know what is that he's feeling.

This was just to make an example on the logic behind not having artists aware of the storyline- I'm in no way saying that's what happened in this specific case as I'd have no way to know ahah. But yeah, overall I'm under the impression usually the artist doesn't know as much about the plot as the writer and editor do.

And now I'm going to talk more chapter 31 cover because I can't shut up alsbskabakabakab

I really like it because it's one of the very few instances - even the only I'd dare to say?? Idk I don't usually pay much attention to skk so I may be missing something - of skk showing genuine, PALPABLE sentiments that aren't hate or annoyance for each other. Like literally the entirety of their screentime they spend bickering, or insulting, or fighting, and it's up to the reader's interpretation whether they actually genuinely despise each other, but here? There's a lot of things you could see in the look they exchange - confusion, regret, dismay, sorrow even? - but it's //not// the usual loathing and it's something I cherish!! It's a fleeting page but it's really one that makes you think there might be more to their relationship than mutual annoyance, and I think that's very nice.

Also stating the obvious but: they're so small!!!!!!! So little!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think the one depicted is such a inherently childhood experience: a kid might have just fought with another kid, but they'll still be upset and throw a tantrum when time comes to go their separate ways. Even if, when placed in the bigger picture, it holds the deeper meaning of separation between the two (separation we never went into as Fifteen took a different route, but that might also symbolize their second separation when Dazai left the mafia and broke their partnership); even if it's symbolically poignant it's just... Weird to think about Chuuya and Dazai going through such a common, trivial childhood experience. Weird to think of Chuuya and Dazai acting like children. It's cute. It makes me wonder if their hatred for each other too might actually not have been an authentic expression of their true nature but rather a way in which they imitated the world that surrounded them - a world full of hate -, denying their own nature of being nothing more than children. (It's definitely not that deep and I'm just looking too much into it but it's all for the fun of analyzing ahah)

And lastly- PFFFFTT I always assumed Chuuya's style was inspired by some kind of witch iconography, but never actually stopped to think about it until now? In particular, I find it reminiscent of 1600s north America fashion. I probably came to such conclusion after reading the snippet about the real author at the end of volume 6, which reports that the author apparently used to style himself in “black hats and overcoats” “[that made him look] a bit like a sorcerer himself”.

That's it thank you again for the food for thought Op ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶ Sorry if this got long aaaaaaaaahh

Thinking about Dazai's memories

I think it's interesting how we basically got two sets of Dazai's memories within 3 months, so since I analyzed the Beast ones, I thought I'd analyze these as well. As always it's just me rambling under the cut, and remember guys that below there are spoilers from everything up until this point!

The first memory memory we see is a completely new one. I love it when montages use new memories instead of simply reusing what was shown before, so I appreciate this little scene. Their outfits are taken from chapter 31 and seeing Chuuya in these clothes was so strangely nostalgic. The only difference is that Dazai has his arm broken instead of his leg. Also I like how young they look here. They're just kids annoying each other just like Dazai is saying in the background.

The second memory I'm pretty sure is also one of the new scenes we haven't seen before. It looks like Fifteen, but I don't recognize this background and the closest illustration I could find is the one from the light novel. Maybe it's supposed to show how they gained confidence and were ruling the city (judging by the building in the background), but yeah that's all I have.

After that I noticed a scene from chapter 31 in bottom left. It's taken right from the manga with no changes besides Chuuya's jacket being coloured in. Considering Dazai's fascination with corruption, it makes sense that it appears in his memories. Here, it's been 4 years since they fought together and it's the first time Dazai could observe Chuuya being possessed in a long time. Interestingly, it's not corruption in its peak that's portrayed here but the moment when Dazai is bringing Chuuya back to his senses. With the context of this chapter, it might mean that Dazai wants to protect Chuuya and despite liking danger and sending Chuuya to fight directly, he cares about him.

Bottom right seems to be from chapter 31 as well, just slightly changed. And that also makes sense because these are supposed to be his memories, so he might not remember each detail perfectly. It's the moment when Dazai sends Chuuya into action, which is something I already mentioned. Dazai likes to see Chuuya fight and to tease him, and this chapter had both.

With this next one I have no idea which scene it could be. I'm like 75% sure it's from their first meeting after 4 years back in chapters 10 and 11, but it's a reach. We only have Dazai's legs, a bit of his coat and Chuuya's shoulder, so there's not a lot to work with. But it does make sense for it to be from their first meeting after 4 years, because it was important for them both. Dazai stayed in that dungeon partially because he wanted to talk with Chuuya and this is what this memory could be alluding to. My first thought was Dazai leaving Chuuya behind after Oda's death, but I don't think he got his coat right this soon.

Then we have one of the most iconic skk scenes from Storm Bringer. Not to spoil it too much, but in this scene Chuuya decides to save Yokohama even if it means never getting to know if he's a human being. In this scene he trusts Dazai's plan and goes into action, something Dazai must be looking back at fondly. I kinda wish we had the scene in which he catches Chuuya after the fight, but I guess it would be too fluffy for this angsty chapter.

And I left 2 memries that I thought were the most interesting additions for last. The firts one being this scene from Dead Apple and I'm so happy that it made it here for a few reasons. First of all now we have a proof that Dead Apple is canon in the manga. I know it was canon before, but it wasn't mentioned or anything, so there was this shadow of doubt. Now, it's 100% canon. The other reason is that I'd love to see Dead Apple with Harukawa's art style and it's great that we now have this scene even though it's just a shadow. I wondered how it would be shown in the main manga and now I don't have to anymore. It also looks way more desperate than in the movie or Dead Apple manga, because of the wind and how Chuuya reaches his arm to Dazai before he punches him. It's also most likely Dazai's imagination, since he was unconscious when it happened.

And last but absolutely not least (on the contrary, I wanted to hype it up), we have one of the most iconic skk scenes, and here comes the question, is it even from Fifteen? Because as we can see, the positions of hands are swapped and Dazai isn't wearing this brace type of thing on his arm. This scene isn't in the original light novel, so either Asagiri and Harukawa were like screw it, we're adding it to the canon or it's a different instance. And if it's a different situation, then what was this fight? It's also possible that the positions are switched because it's Dazai's pov not Chuuya's like in the anime. Either way hand-holding is now canon and I'm so happy about this fact.

In conclusion

Dazai's memories with Chuuya seem to be a mix of their fights with enemies and some other moments they shared as well, putting an emphasis not on the fights themselves (since there are no other people and they aren't in combat stances), but their connection throught them. I wish we got to see more scenes, but I understand going overboard could be on overkill, especially if it's just a cliffhanger death meant to fool us. It's hard to judge Dazai's reaction, because he could be putting on a show, but it also seems to be genuine and cherishing these memories would make sense for his character. I'm so glad we got to see this little peek into Dazai's mind and his memories, and now I want more.