#and dazai being a mentor to atsushi and kyouka :(

[rintoorou]

omg bsd enjoyer?? i actually did not expect that. who r ur faves/any ships? ive been rly enjoying ur work so i js wanted to ask, do u have any plans on releasing bsd content? !!

I LOVE MY MAN DAZAI OSAMU SO MUCHHH 😭 like i just love his complexity as a character ?? i can't explain it but he's just so intriguing to me..... never talk to me abt beast!dazai bc i will sob

honestly i could not pick a fav ship bc they all hit hard differently ?? LOL but i have sm saved edits of soukoku (OFC)

HMM BSD CONTENT . like an smau or smth written? tbh i have sm made up scenarios in my head i just can't find the heart to write them bc i'm scared i won't do them justice 😭 but some day, dear anon... some day

[welivetodream]

People thinking Atsushi is just a cute lil soft boy are so WRONG.

Atsushi is one of the best executed C-PTSD protagonists who are not just "kind" because they are the MC.

Atsushi is sassy, he is mean and says things like they are, even to his own mentor Dazai, he is not afraid of saying bad things. He doesn't hold back on his words. And he can be quite quick when it comes to using sass ("are you a landmower?" "Why are you dressed like a half-finished mummy, Dazai-san" "Akutagawa, fancy a cup of tea?" "That's why Dazai-san left you")

He's not just nice. He thinks he should be nice and kind because that's what someone like him should be like. Atsushi has such a low self esteem that he NEEDS to show kindness to everyone because he thinks just like he got a second chance at life, everyone else deserves it too.

That's why he saved Kyouka and Lucy, he recognised that want for bettering themselves in them. He wanted them to get a second chance like he did. Because to him, people are not good or bad, but they have the ability to change no matter how far they have gone.

This is why Atsushi is the only one who can recognise and understand Dazai's true personality. Whenever Dazai says something self depreciating Atsushi ALWAYS corrects him. In Dead Apple when Dazai is visiting Oda's grave, Atsushi understands whoever this person was, they were very dear to Dazai. At the end of Dead Apple when Dazai says he thinks he's not a good person, Atsushi tells him he has never thought of Dazai not being a good person. Atsushi knows Dazai was in the Port Mafia, but he STILL confirms he sees Dazai as a good person regardless of his past. Because Atsushi believes in second chances, and HE gave the second chance to Dazai that Oda must have wanted Dazai to get, even if the ADA accepted Dazai, no one has ever reassured him being a good person before. (Also in BSD wan, when Dazai says "I want to go out beautifully" during the fireworks scene, in the end-credits Atsushi sits near the river the entire day because he was sad that Dazai was suicidal. And in BSD mayoi, Dazai makes a snowman of Atsushi along with Oda, Ango and Chuuya, showing how much he adored Atsushi)

It's the same with Akutagawa; Atsushi doesn't understand why Akutagawa hates him and he's mean to Akutagawa at times but it never crossed a line. Akutagawa had done so many bad things to Atsushi but at the end they still worked together. Because Dazai understood the only person who will make Akutagawa use his powers to "protect" instead of "attack" is Atsushi. During the ending fight in S3, Akutagawa makes an armour for Atsushi as they combine their powers. And in the end credit scene of S5, we see Akutagawa protecting Atsushi AGAIN. This time Akutagawa isn't wearing the same coat Dazai gave him and for the first time shows true loyalty to Atsushi. ("Just the two of us?" "Do we need more?" *SCREAMS*)

Atsushi's relationship with the headmaster of the orphanage shows how much the trauma affected him as a child. When he can't forgive the headmaster at his death, he hates himself for not being able to give a second chance. And that's when Dazai steps in and tells him, "we cry when our father dies" something Atsushi really needs to hear and he finally cries.

Atsushi reassures Dazai all the time and Dazai snaps Atsushi out of his self depreciation all the time. Their solidarity throughout the story, shows why that day when Dazai chose Atsushi for the ADA; he recognised not Atsushi's powerful ability but his true ability in choosing to believe in people when no one else can.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Some of my favourite little details in Bungou Stray Dogs (contains manga spoilers)

In terms of ying and yang, tiger and dragon are opposites. Atsushi’s a weretiger and Akutugawa’s first name is Ryuunosuke with “Ryuu” meaning dragon.

And their hair and clothes colour schemes are the same as each ying yang symbol.

As a teen Chuuya kept his hands in his pockets as a teen to remind him not to lose himself. Something he seems to replace with wearing gloves as he takes them off before using corruption.

And when he’s pretending to be a vampire the gloves stay on because he’s still himself.

The painting that Hirotsu insults when meeting with Dazai at the end of the Guild arc is one that the real Osamu Dazai painted.

In Kunikida and Katai’s brilliant days, someone breaks into Katai’s house to try and kill him. And in the present day Katai has a hidden camera in his room.

Demon Snow resembling Kyouka’s mother, her original user and the one who passed the ability onto Kyouka.

Dazai meowing at Fyodor in Dead Apple in response to being compared to a rat like him.

Atsushi gets kicked out of the orphanage because the tiger escaped and ate their livestock. In the orphanage flashbacks, we only ever see Atsushi imprisoned but never the tiger.

Showing that they are one and the same.

The incident that awakened Kenji’s rage state was his best friend being killed. He awakens that same state in the present after being told Atsushi’s going to die.

The necklace Shunzen Tachihara wears in the war with the engraved message of being saved by Yosano is in the shape of a coffin.

Fitzgerald wanting to get the book to bring back his daughter for his wife and naming the Guilds Headquarters after her. And when he’s defeated it’s his wedding ring that saves him.

In Dead Apple during the Dragons Head incident, Dazai says that he was shot 3 extra times. To which Chuuya says “aw you poor baby, want me to pick up when he left off?”

And in Mersault, Chuuya “kills” Dazai and then proceeds to shoot him 3 extra times.

Also shooting someone 3 times is part of the Port Mafia’s method of disposing of traitors, like Dazai. But Chuuya never completes the method which could have hinted at Dazai being still alive.

The move Kunikida shows Atsushi, taking his hand and flipping over onto the ground is the same move he uses to take down Hirotsu during the raid.

The line Dazai says to Fyodor at the end of the Mersault arc, “even all your strength can’t kill me” is the same thing Dazai says to Atsushi during their fight in the first episode.

Akutagawa’s orders in the DOA arc were to not to intervene unless he saw a smoke signal. When he returns to aid Atsushi at the airport it’s after Kunikida sent out a smoke signal.

Akutugawa knowing the true power of Atsushi’s claws because they’ve cut through Rashomon.

Adam (Stormbringer) is the first artificial creation of his kind. And he reaffirms Chuuya’s humanity, even being referred too at one point as speaking to him as parent would to a child.

In some respects making Chuuya a son of Adam.

The Port Mafia has a tradition where those who mentor / are responsible for you give you a piece of their clothing. Every piece of Atsushi’s uniform is something owned by a member of the Agency.

The scene in the anime where Dazai leaves the Port Mafia and the scene where Mori and Fukuzawa make their deal are alike.

Chuuya always stands on the side that Dazai has/had his eye covered. And after the events of Mersault he stands on the side of Dazai’s broken leg.

When Poe recalls losing Ranpo he is in darkness while Ranpo’s in light. But when Ranpo recalls the event he envisions them both in the light.

[xvxblahhhxvx]

You know that concept I was talking about? Well, since I've got a lot of work to do today, decided to write at least part one of it. This ended up being 1.8k....heh heh, so it's under the cut. Ehem.

When Atsushi arrived 20 minutes late to work, he expected to be scolded by Kunikida for his tardiness.

He did not expect the entire Agency to have their attention on him the moment he opened the door.

"Uhm. Hey?" he said, getting increasingly uncomfortable with the way everyone had their eyes on him. They couldn't all be mad at him for being late, right? He had asked Kyouka to tell them he'd be there in a few (it was still so strange that she was a full-fledged member of the Agency now), and it wasn't like this was a common occurrence. So why was everyone staring at him like they wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words?

"Heyyyyy Atsushi," Dazai started with a light, slightly mischievous grin. He approached the confused detective and wrapped a long arm around him. "How was your weekend?"

"It was good?" Atsushi only became more confused as he attempted to slip out of Dazai's iron grasp. It didn't work.

"Good, good," said Kunikida with an odd expression. "That's...that's good."

"Mhm." Atsushi now turned to Kyouka, who had left half an hour before him. Although her expression too was stoic, there was a small furrow to her brow. He looked at her, pleading both for an explanation and an escape from his mentor who still wouldn't let go of him. She averted her gaze.

"Ok, that's it." Atsushi wrestled out of Dazai's grip and turned to stare back at the Agency. "What's going on? Why are you all looking at me like that? I was only twenty minutes late—"

"This has nothing to do with being punctual," Kunikida interrupted. "Although, we will have that discussion later. You see, the thing is—"

"The news wants to do an interview with the people who are responsible for saving the city from the Moby Dick," Ranpo finished, clearly tired of everyone beating around the bush. The other detectives vaguely glared at him for going right out and saying it, but the brunet merely shrugged and went back to eating his donut. Atsushi's eyes widened and he grinned.

"Wait, that's amazing!" he said, glancing between the detectives, unsure why they all seemed so apprehensive. "It will be good for the Agency if we get our name out there, won't it?"

Kunikida nodded slowly.

"So then what's the problem? Are you not sure who should do the interview? I mean, Kunikida, wouldn't you probably—"

"Atsushi." The Weretiger turned to Dazai who had a serious expression on his face for once.

"Yeah...?"

"The news wants to do a live interview with the people responsible for stopping the Moby Dick. The exact people responsible for doing it."

Atsushi's eyes widened in horror. "You mean..."

"Yep!" Dazai grinned. "You were requested by name. As was Akutagawa."

"Aww no!" Atsushi buried his face in his hands. Suddenly, everyone's behavior made a lot more sense. "Well, that's nice. Tell them we refuse."

No one responded.

"Guys?" Atsushi looked up, making eye contact with each detective individually (except for Ranpo, whose eyes were shut like always). All of their faces were dead-serious. "We're saying no, right?"

"Actually, we already agreed," Tanizaki admitted quietly.

"What?!"

"Look." Dazai placed another arm around Atsushi's shoulders, but this time, the young detective was too distraught to even fight it. "We know that you probably don't want to do this—"

"What gave you that impression?" Atsushi bit back bitterly.

"But as you said, it will be good PR for the Agency if you do this interview. More recognition means more cases, and more cases means more money. And more money..." Dazai leaned in close to Atsushi's ear. "Means more raises. And you know who will be the first to get one if you do this, right?"

Atsushi bit his lip. He was well aware that Dazai was manipulating him, but he was also aware that Dazai was right. And the fact that everyone was letting Dazai do this meant they all felt the same.

Still...

"But with Akutagawa?" Since he didn't trust Dazai to be reasonable, Atsushi turned to plead with his eyes to the rest of the agents. His gaze first landed on Kunikida. "There's no way he'd want to do this interview. He'll try to murder me! Again!"

"The Port Mafia already agreed to work with us," Dazai informed Atsushi, his grin widening. Still, there was something about it that didn't meet his eyes.

Atsushi groaned. "But whyyyyyy..."

"Because it would be beneficial to them as well. Don't worry—I'm sure Akutagawa isn't thrilled with the idea of being in an interview with you either, but it's not like he's going to refuse a direct order. He won't like it, but he'll do it without killing you—probably."

"Well that's reassuring," muttered Atsushi. "And why do I feel like I'm in the exact same boat?"

Kunikida sighed. "No one's going to force you to do anything. If you really don't want to do the interview, we'll call the news station back and decline. But it would add to our PR, and it could drastically improve our clientele."

Atsushi frowned.

"Aaaaaaand you'll be the first to get a nice bonus," Dazai whispered into his ear.

"I guess, but—"

"You'd do it for the Agency, wouldn't you?"

Ugh. His mentor had him there, and they both knew it.

"Fine," Atsushi grumbled, feeling a headache coming on when everyone started celebrating. They all just wanted the money that might come from this interview, assuming he didn't botch things up. Could he do it? No, probably not. And Akutagawa would most likely murder him on camera when he least expected it. Yeah there'd be witnesses, but he was already a wanted criminal; it wouldn't change much.

"Perfect! Kunikida and I will be helping you prepare for the interview," Dazai told him, patting his shoulders.

Atsushi grimaced, his headache getting stronger. "Great..."

"There's also going to be joint practices with Akutagawa before the interview, so get ready for those. Also—"

"Joint practices??" Atsushi turned to stare at him in horror. "You never said anything about those."

"I just did! You really didn't think we'd have you two go on camera without having formally practiced how to sound like you actually don't hate each other, right?"

Atsushi didn't reply. Instead, he chose to sit down in his chair so that he could bang his head against his desk.

"That's the spirit! You two are going to be spending lots of time together! Isn't that fun?"

"Kill me now..." Atsushi groaned.

Dazai laughed. "Don't worry, it'll be fineeee."

"Ok, but none of you can blame me if this interview goes badly," said the Weretiger as he slowly picked his face up from the desk. "When is it, again?"

"Next Tuesday," Kunikida replied, notebook in hand. "So we have exactly eight days to get you prepared to be a representative of this Agency on live tv. As such, we are going to spend every moment we have preparing you—remember, if you mess up, we won't only not get more business, but we could also lose business as well."

"That's not ressauring!"

"It isn't supposed to be." Kunikida adjusted his glasses. "You need to be aware just how much is riding on this interview alone. So as much as you and that Mafia dog don't get along, you're going to act cordially and respectful like a true Agency member, got it?"

"Uh huh." Atsushi scowled. "Assuming he doesn't start anything."

"Good! Well, time waits for no one. Let's start." Dazai dragged over a chair while Atsushi lowered his head in his hands.

"This is going to be a complete disaster, isn't it." Still, there was nothing to do but to face the train wreck head on.

***

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Chuuya asked Mori again as the boss stared out the windows in his office.

"Of course. Akutagawa is a distinguished member of the Mafia, and I have no doubts that this interview will raise the Mafia's image in the eyes of the government."

"Maybe but..." Chuuya frowned. "Akutagawa is a great agent, but when it comes to social things, well..."

"You don't think he will be able to handle himself well in the interview, is that it?" Mori's eyes seemed to stare right through Chuuya's soul.

"I mean, no offense to him, boss, but he isn't exactly the most...personable member of the Mafia. Coupled with the fact that he's doing it with the Weretiger, a boy he hated so much as to defy orders to sneak onto the Moby Dick simply for the sake of murdering him, I don't know quite how well the whole thing will go if they're forced to be on live tv. Y'know?"

"I do." Mori smiled. "And that is why you're going to be prepping him for this interview."

"Hah????" Chuuya started. "But why—"

"Because he trusts you as an executive, and frankly, I don't think there's anyone else in the Mafia more suited to guiding Akutagawa in this manner." Mori's tone was light, but one thing was evident—this wasn't a request, it was an order.

Chuuya scowled. "And does Akutagawa know about this interview yet?"

Mori's grin broaded slightly. "I figured you could let him know. Until the interview, this takes precedence over any other mission or assignment. Just tell him it's an order from me. I'm sure he won't be happy about it, but he obviously can't refuse. I trust you'll be able to make him camera ready by next Tuesday?"

Chuuya grumbled something under his breath that likely wasn't polite to say in the boss' company. "We're going to have to start today then. It's going to take a few hours just to warm him up to the idea."

"Well, it's a good thing neither of you have any missions right now, so you can get plenty of practice. Courtesy of your boss, of course." Mori laughed. "Oh, and one more thing," he added when Chuuya had begun stalking towards the door. "You two will also have join practices with the Agency."

"What?!" Chuuya wheeled on Mori. "Joint practices?"

"Well, of course. Akutagawa and the Weretiger need to be able to sit in the same room on live television without one trying to kill the other, right? It would also help to get the story straight so that neither of them say anything that might be a little...incriminating."

"Fine, we'll do it." Chuuya's voice displayed utter defeat. "But just promise me one thing. Please promise me that the Mackerel won't be there. Please."

Mori glanced away. "I don't know who the Agency will ask to assist the Weretiger in preparing but..."

Chuuya sighed and rubbed his temples. "I already feel a headache coming on. Well, I'm off to go inform Akutagawa that he's gotta learn how to smile by next week." He turned his heel and stomped away, dreading the next eight days of his life. He wasn't in the mood for a long conversation, so Akutagawa was going to be ok with this, whether he wanted to or not. Once he entered the elevator, he sent the broody agent a quick text to meet him in one of the southern towers. After receiving a quick response, Chuuya had to laugh.

"Oh, this is going to be a train wreck," he mused, watching the skyline slowly sink. "A beautiful, terrible, train wreck."

Yeah so that's the concept - it's a little rushed, but if anyone actually wants a part two, perhaps I'll write it.

[mystwrites]

Tickletober Day 3: Prank

Fandom: BSD

Lee: Dazai

Ler: Atsushi

A/N: I only did 2 fics for Tickletober cuz I’m placing my studies first. Everything is queued for the respective day. I hope you enjoy my 2 short fics!

“Dazai san! I have a magic trick to show you!!” Atsushi exclaimed, gathering all of the Agency members into the main office. “Come and stand in front of me!”

“Come on, Dazai san!” Kenji urged, jumping up and down.

“Yeah! It’s a good one!” Junichiro added, sending Kyouka a wink as she stifled a laugh.

Curious, Dazai obeyed and stood by Atsushi, allowing the younger to position him how he wanted to. He then saw a broom in Atsushi’s hand, even more curious as to what exactly the magic trick entailed.

Kunikida was mildly interested only because Atsushi said he was going to torment Dazai for a bit. If Atsushi was going to torment Dazai, there was no way Kunikida could not watch. He sort of enjoyed watching Dazai get humbled by Atsushi whenever the kid decided that he had enough shenanigans for one day.

Junichiro, Kenji, Ranpo, Kyouka and Naomi all had their phones out and laughed softly amongst each other while Yosano just stood by her office, possibly hoping Dazai being the idiot he was somehow injures himself in the process of the magic trick.

“What do you want me to do, Atsushi kun?” Dazai asked, letting Atsushi raise his arms slightly.

“Put your arms out to the side. I’m going to slide this broom into your sleeves!” Atsushi said, swiftly sliding the broom into the sleeves of Dazai’s coat. “Wait…shoot! It’s stuck! Someone help!”

Seeing that the broom was stuck, Kyouka and Kenji rushed over to assist. Kenji pushed the broom stick up and Kyouka assisted Atsushi by pulling on the end that finally poked out from Dazai’s left side.

When the broom poked out of the opposite end, Atsushi had to silently laugh and turned away from Dazai to face Kenji and Kyouka, the two also laughing silently. Dazai had no idea what was about to hit him.

“All set.” Kyouka said, winking at Atsushi who winked right back.

“Okay, the broom is in my sleeves. Now what?” Dazai asked. “Do I flap like a bird?”

“No! You’re gonna break the broom, you idiot!” Kunikida scolded, giving Dazai a glare as the man smirked. “Listen to Atsushi.”

“A-And now you gotta say the magic words.” Atsushi stammered, trying to hide his laugh.

“What are the words?” Dazai wondered. “It must be silly if you’re trying not to giggle. Hey! Tanizaki kun! Kyouka chan! Don’t record this!”

Kyouka and Junichiro laughed and ignored Dazai. If he filmed them getting pranked or bothered, why should they stop?

Atsushi giggled and shook his head. “Th-the words are broom, broom abracadabra. Say that and watch as magic appears before your eyes, Dazai san!”

Chuckling as he watched Atsushi act extravagant by doing some jazz hands, Dazai shook his head and ultimately decided to indulge in this silliness. It was rare for the weretiger to engage in such silly antics. Might as well take the opportunity to be silly with him, right?

“Broom, broom abracadabra.” Dazai said, knowing no actual magic would happen.

Upon hearing the words, Atsushi shoved his hands under Dazai’s now exposed armpits, gently scribbling his fingers lightly against the clothed skin, laughing just as hard and loud as Dazai who instantly screeched and collapsed onto the floor. With the brunette down, the office erupted into fits of hard laughter much to Atsushi’s happiness. He made their dull, boring office day lively and exciting!

“Way to go, Atsushi kun!” Yosano exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up.

“You caught Dazai off guard again!” Ranpo added, laughing as Dazai hiccuped. “I thought you couldn’t pull another feat like that but I guess I was wrong! Haha!”

“Way to go, kid!” Kunikida praised, more than amused at the sight. “Don’t let up until he agrees to do all of his work for the day. He’s been slacking off too much as of lately.”

“Yes sir!” Atsushi said, giving the blonde a salute before continuing to tickle his mentor. “Tickle, tickle, tickle!~”

“A-Ahahaha!! Atsu-Atsushi ku-UUHUHUHUHUN!!!” Dazai cried, laughing as Atsushi continued tickling him. “ATSUSHI KUN AHAHHAHAA!! NO!! THIHIS ISN’T A MAHAHAGIC TRICK!!”

“You’re right.” Atsushi laughed, sitting behind Dazai and tickling his armpits relentlessly. “This was a prank I saw on social media. Ahhahaa!! You fell for it too!”

“BUHUHULLYING!! YOHOHOU’RE BUHUHULLYING MEHEHEHEE!” Dazai wailed, laughing as Atsushi dug in a little harder.

“Maybe, but you’re the one who “bullies” me, Dazai san.” Atsushi argued, now really tickling Dazai. “I’m getting my revenge for all the times you tickled me…and this is also for Kunikida san who wants you to finish all your work without asking me to do it.”

Dazai whined and continued to laugh, now leaning on Atsushi’s legs. His feet began to kick out and the others all laughed at his expense, neither joining in nor helping him. Atsushi then started to jump around between tickling around Dazai’s ribs before shoving his hands back into the man’s armpits, Dazai a whole mess of wheezes, snorts and loud, hysterical belly laughter.

“Well, it certainly looks like Dazai will be doing all of his papers soon.” Yosano whispered, giggling as Dazai admitted defeat, using his foot to stomp the floor three times.

“Yep. And he better do a damn good job too.” Ranpo added, sucking on his lollipop. “The president says he’s behind by nearly half a year’s worth of reports not including the ones he forced Atsushi kun to do.”

“I…aaahaha! I’ll g-get to wohohork!” Dazai wheezed, sighing with relief as Atsushi removed the broom stick from his sleeves.

“Oh? And when are you going to start?” Kunikida asked.

“L-later toni-AAAHA!! NONONO!” Dazai cried, Atsushi’s fingers gently scribbling along his ribs. “NOW! IHIHI’LL DO THEHEHE PAPERWORK NOHOHOW!!!”

“Good! And don’t ask me for help.” Atsushi added, giggling and running away before Dazai could get his revenge.

Just then, Fukuzawa walked into the room, looking at Dazai who curled up on the floor. He looked at Kyouka who handed him her phone and watched the video of their antics from earlier. Looking up, Atsushi was at his desk, being a good employee while Dazai remained on the floor.

“I can finally die now!” the brunette cried with glee.

A simultaneous groan escaped from everyone in the office and Fukuzawa handed Kyouka her phone back, silently walking out like he didn’t just witness chaos in his own workplace along with hearing Dazai’s suicidal antics.

[yonomori-rei]

Tanizaki’s Entrance Exam – definitely involved Yosano...

A/N: Hey all! Rei here! Tanizaki had once stated that his entrance exam was so traumatic that he had buried it deep within his memory, but I hate secrets so I’m gonna try and decipher exactly what is going on... 

Why I think Yosano is involved:

Like I mentioned above, Tanizaki had stated that he had some very traumatising memories of his entrance exam that he wished to bury deep in his consciousness when Atsushi had enquired him, and therefore I wondered...what is Tanizaki scared off? If it had been something to do with Naomi being hurt/in danger, that would have set Tanizaki off and he would have been more furious than terrified, so, it had to be something that had hurt Tanizaki himself. It is also canon that Tanizaki is dead scared of Yosano...so that definitely meant (to me, at least) that Yosano is involved.

Who found him:

It obviously couldn’t have been Kenji, Atsushi or Kyouka – they haven’t even joined the Agency. Neither could it have been Yosano, because the person involved in the entrance exam couldn’t be a member the rookie knows (as seen with Atsushi’s entrance exam). It would’ve been adorable if Ranpo had found him – but let's be real, this sweetheart would have been too busy munching away at his infinite stock of candy or terrorising all the police officers in Yokohama. 😂 And Dazai would be too busy slacking off (and something tells me that Atsushi was the first and ONLY member he found cuz of their sweet (but possibly toxic) relationship + he only acts as a mentor to Atsushi). Therefore, it is likely that either Fukuzawa or Kunikida (the responsible adults...and probably the only sane ones).

What had happened:

Tanizaki probably was following Kunikida, and Dazai would have most likely decided to tag along to annoy our fav glasses man (Ik, that’s such a horrible nickname XD) AND cuz he knew that he was in for some entertainment – or maybe, Dazai was the one who came up with the whole idea for Tanizaki’s exam... And our bundle of bundle of bandages would no doubt have been too happy to terrify poor Tanizaki.

By the time they’d reached wherever they were meant to be, Tanizaki would be shaking from the stupid shit Dazai had told him and Kunikida would be too annoyed with Dazai to reassure Tanizaki. And Yosano being the “crazy criminal” Tanizaki has to save everyone from would just make matters worse for this poor rookie (why do I feel that Yosano would absolutely enjoy her role 😭😭).

So, when Tanizaki had to deal with Yosano, he was really brave and passed, but he must have done something extreme and got inured – this could be something a small or big injury. Either way, Yosano would be absolutely eager to heal him. Now, we all know what would happen. She’d go FULL OUT with NO MERCY and our two, lovely mentors would have escaped the room (let’s be real, Kunikida is waaaaaaaay to scared of Yosano and Dazai is a lazy bastard who has no need to save anyone) and from that moment onwards, Tanizaki has been diagnosed with severe PTSD due to his entrance exam. 😂 + 😭= 🥲

A/N: Tanizaki is one of the most mysterious characters in BSD, so I can’t wait to see what Asagiri-sensei has planned for him... 😊

[valverii]

Hey I love your switch AU mainly bc Chuuya being a better mentor for Atsushi than Dazai was gives me life, can you give me more insight on them? How did Chuya figure out Atsushi was the tiger? When Atsushi went feral did Chuuya just, float him in the air until he calmed down or smth? Would Chuuya kick Akutagawa’s ass if he saw him trying to pick a fight with Atsushi bc ‘HEY LEAVE MY KID ALONE FUCKER’? How does he react to Atsushi adopting Kyouka as his sister after he gets on a train with Yosano that also has a terrorist on it? How does he feel that Atsushi keeps getting into trouble while he tries to ease him in with simple missions?

ofc!! this is gonna b a longer one so we’re gonna do this mini style

(how did chuuya figure out atsushi was the weretiger/how did he calm him down?)—he sniffed cat on atsushi on their first meeting. so when he went berserk in weretiger mode, he just set down a Very Large Cardboard box and trapped him by floating him with his ability until the morning.

(how would chuuya react to akutagawa picking a fight with atsushi?)—obnoxiously. atsushi has to hold him back from making promises he can’t fulfill.

(how does chuuya react to atsushi adopting kyouka after the train mission with yosano?)—he doesn’t have it in him to be surprised anymore

(how does chuuya feel about atsushi getting into so much trouble despite trying to ease him in with easy missions)—he’s pulling out his hair. he doesn’t know how atsushi is a magnet for trouble but he has a sneaking suspicion that a scheming brunet is to blame for it.

[kaurwreck]

How do you see Kyōka relationships in port mafia was?

Because she apparently was trained by Verlaine, was mentee(?) to Akutagawa and had a specific relationship with Kōyō.

Why were so many involved with her..

Kouyou saw herself in Kyouka and possesses a similar skill, and so attempted to nurture/shelter her to the extent that she could and she likely also provided Kyouka with insight into her skill.

Verlaine trains the assassins with an aptitude for infiltration. This is an inference, but a reliable one thus far based on: (1) he explicitly trained Gin and Kyouka, both of whom explicitly kill by infiltration and escaping without being caught (see: Tachihara describing Gin's modus operandi when Gin had a knife to Higuchi's throat, Kouyou describing Kyouka's talents in that regard when speaking to Atsushi at the Agency, and Kyouka's talent for memorizing layouts and routes); (2) Verlaine similarly relied on infiltration when he was King of Assassins (see: how he killed the Flags, how he intercepted Chuuya, how he made it as far as the Queen of England's body double); and (3) he didn't train Akutagawa, who is also an assassin, but one whom operates bombastically/with the intent to make a spectacle (which is why he's sent after traitors (see: 55 Minutes) and threats to the Port Mafia's operations (see: his first appearance).

Kyouka explicitly approached Akutagawa and asked him to kill Demon Snow and then her. Akutagawa saw himself in her, and promised to give her a sense of purpose in an attempt to do for her what Dazai did for him. It also seems like Akutagawa might have been the one to accompany her in the actual field, which would make sense considering he is the subexecutive in charge of the assassin field operatives like Black Lizard as opposed to Kouyou, who leads the torturers, and Verlaine, who doesn't do fieldwork.

There were so many people involved with her because they each had their own relationship with her, and that's how it works for literally everyone. At the risk of overgeneralizing experiences, I will assume you went to primary school. Did you have only one teacher, for the entirety of your primary school career? Did you have only one older child that you knew? In any workplace you may have been in, did you have only one co-worker? Has more than one person taught you the myriad things that you know, or given you advice, or provided some form of mentorship?

Akutagawa was Dazai's kouhai, and answers to Mori, but Chuuya canonically bathes him and is affectionate towards him. Chuuya was placed beneath Kouyou's direct command, but mentored beneath Mori and was paired with Dazai, as well as a member of the Flags, usually Albatross. Dazai was Chuuya's partner, but he spent much of his time with Ango and Oda. Hirotsu is Gin and Tachihara's immediate superior, but he drinks with Chuuya and Kajii, and accompanies Mori as a friend and confidante. Verlaine is Chuuya's European older brother, but Gin and Kyouka's teacher. Kouyou adores Kyouka, but she was Chuuya's superior and mentor, and then his peer.

They all have a myriad of relationships within the Port Mafia, it would be odder if Kyouka didn't.

[youroriginalsublimecupcakestuff]

Kunikida, annoyed and blushing : " dazai when you told us that you have been made aware of a nefarious plot of the port mafia who threaten Yokohama safety, i expected something else."

*dazai with his binoculars busily observing a shirtless chuuya crushing a watermelon with his thight then turn to kunikida*

Dazai, primly : " It's very important for Yokohama safety Kunikida-kun we're in the side of good if poor unassuming citizen have to be cursed with such sight it will be a threat to their sanity, we have to protect them obviously seriously Kunikida-kun "

Dazai turn to atsushi and kyouka :" Be like atsushi-kun and kyouka-chan who understand the importance of this mission, look how seriously atsushi-kun is doing his task you should be like him ".

Atsushi who's intently watching akutagawa and notice that they're talking about him : " dazai-san is right kunikuda-san it's important to know more about the enemy."

Kunikida, sigh : " nothing can be done with atsushi brain cell with him unfortunately being contaminated by having this waste of space as a mentor but i expected more of you kyouka."

Kyouka, unrepentant : " Dazai-san promised me to buy to buy me crepe if i took good photos."

[hannigramislife]

hello again :DDDD my friend found this image in the wild today and we had a fun time discussing the many ways in which he was not the many things this image claims him to be. considering your recent media literacy posts i think you’ll have fun taking a look at this lol

have a great day as always! :))

Yes, hi, I'm actually gonna kill myself 🙂 thanks for ruining my day, I guess?? 🤣

Let's go one by one, okay?

"Incredibly smart and kind of terribly pathetic," this one is accurate as fuck, moving on.

"Men who are good with kids," I just physically can't see what people mean when they say this about Dazai. I've seen it often. I do not understand it in the slightest. He never asked Oda about the orphans who were so important to him. He never interacted with Kyouka as an adult and a child, he spoke to her as a mafia member reformed, and that was it. He never really interacted with Kenji either?? We didn't see him have any close relationship with Gin, the child he brought into the mafia, and it's known that he hurt Q. "You haven't read his entrance exam," quite frankly, I don't give a fuck. I have met Akutagawa.

"Men who get bullied by kids," he doesn't get nearly as bullied as he ought to. Please, please, please God, let Kyouka and Atsushi drain his bank account.

"Men who eat glass," Dazai biting the curb in 4k when?

"Men who are so kind and pure-hearted," lmaooo, this one I can't even take seriously. You can't be for real. This man wouldn't know kindness if he hung out at a bar with it every single day. Be so fucking for real. People confuse what being kind even really means. Being kind means being considerate of other people by nature. Every morally good decision Dazai makes is of conscious effort, because this man has never been kind just because he felt it. He doesn't feel it, that's the whole point. He has learnt to care for people, true, but by God, the man is not kind. Learn the meaning of words before you throw them out anywhere.

Yes, he's a bitch, next part–

"Bisexual men," yes, absolutely.

"Men who are dilfs," how dare you disrespect the actual dilfs all across the multiverse. Dazai is not a dilf. He has never known what raising and caring for a youngster means. Oda is a dilf. Kunikida is a dilf. Fukuzawa is also a dilf. Dazai barely qualifies as an adult. I wouldn't trust him with a sack of flour. He's a walmart Kisuke Urahara. He's what you give kids when they're like "We want a Gojo-like mentor!" and you say "We have Gojo-like mentors at home."

People assume I don't understand the guy– that's not true, believe me when I say there is nothing someone can tell me about Dazai that I haven't already thought and considered. I am even sympathetic to aspects of his personality that I dislike, but I understand them.

Doesn't change the fact that he's a bitch 😒

[leftoverbriocheloaf]

a snippet of #14 please? 👀

🫡

This one is actually part of a fic I've already posted, called Never Alone, which is my What if? au where instead of returning to America after losing to Ranpo, Poe stumbles across an orphanage and accidentally comes out with a child named Atsushi

It's SO self-indulgent but I wanted to write him as a nervous-wreck 22 year old who's just become a guardian of this traumatized ability using child and trying his best aaslkfjasdlj

The backstory is already up, but I have SO many plans for this au eventually and felt like I'd post a snippet of the future (where the events of canon have started)! Obviously, spoilers for the au ahead :)

(Btw this is after they find Dazai at the river and Atsushi joins the ADA)

______

That was how Atsushi got his first job. Apparently, the half-decade Poe spent trying to teach him about concealing his ability was useless, because somehow there was a bounty for his younger brother’s head on the black market. Poe was going to kill whoever leaked it.

At least Atsushi appeared to like his new job. He said it granted him sufficient protection against the bounty, too.

Although in Poe’s opinion, it didn’t sound like the Agency was doing much about it. He would have just shot whoever put it out in the first place, but Atsushi wouldn’t even let him look! He did, of course, search anyway, but every time he went to do research, he would see his little brother’s stupid puppy-dog eyes and have to give up.

At the very least, he could stop new offers from being made. 

Overall, Poe didn’t know too much about the Agency. Despite his admittedly overly-protective instincts, he did want Atsushi to have his own things. Anything he learned about ADA he would learn from Atsushi himself. 

(He came so close to breaking that rule when Atsushi came home and told him he regenerated his entire leg.)

Another interesting development came in the appearance of Kyouka Izumi. Atsushi called Poe one night, asking if the author could clear out what he could of the guestroom before he got home from work. He wasn’t sure exactly why until his brother arrived with a young girl standing behind him, her face blank but her hands shaking. Atsushi did his best to calm her down, but in the end, it took Poe offering Karl for her to hold for her to realize he wasn’t a threat. He didn’t mind that– it was similar to when Atsushi first started living with him. Atsushi held onto Karl like a lifeline back then, so the raccoon was more than used to being cuddled with.

So Kyouka moved in with them, because the only other option was her living alone and she seemed terrified at the idea. While she wasn’t incredibly expressive, she was also young– she couldn't hide as much as she probably wanted. He offered her a room first, rather than go through that awkward song and dance of her feeling too nervous to ask and him being too nervous about taking care of her to give her the option that he’d done with Atsushi. See? He was learning!

She agreed, and Poe learned how to make crepes, and Atsushi showed her all of Karl’s favorite places to nap. He met Demon Snow, and with time she became a staple of their household as well. She didn’t eat, but she liked sitting on the couch while he wrote and Kyouka read.

Eventually, Poe got used to the stories they would come home with. Kyouka usually less talkative, but still nodding along as Atsushi complained about some robber or an ability user they'd come into contact with. He came to learn the names of some of the people at the Agency, though Atsushi seemed to have an odd idea of what he was and wasn't allowed to talk about. Sometimes he would slip up, so Poe knew his mentor’s name was Dazai (the man from the river?) and one of his friends was Tanizaki, but for everyone else he used codenames. 

Poe didn’t have the heart to tell him when they said “confidential,” they were usually referring to the cases themselves.

Anyway, he thought he couldn’t be surprised again.

He was wrong.

“Yeah– he found out the Guild was the one to offer the bounty, and–”

…The Guild?

Simply put, Poe was wealthy. He was relatively new money, but he’d inherited it all from his parents being the only child, so really there was no need for him to have a job. But with two younger siblings who he wanted to give the world, he figured it would be better to work a bit. He didn’t want his funds running out because he hadn’t accounted for them– they’d likely never stop feeling guilty. And when Fitzgerald had reached out to him, asking him to design an extravagant boat-thing that could house a million people for an exorbitant price, he had just assumed it was a weird rich people thing. He didn’t think they were going to use it to destroy Yokohama.

He could have just shoved the man in a book and been done with it!

Atsushi continued talking, unaware of Poe’s rather distressing realization.

“A-atsushi, are you sure you don’t want help? I can–”

“No!” Atsushi shook his head, “This is definitely something I can do. I don’t want you to get involved in the conflict, Ed.”

Poe inhaled slowly. Just as he was about to speak again, Atsushi jumped up.

“Sorry, I’m getting a call from the Agency! They said to be prepared in case they got more information!”

Poe sighed, and Kyouka looked at him with confusion. When he shook his head, she went back to her food.

Even with Atsushi’s reassurances, Poe couldn’t help but worry. While he trusted his brother’s strength, Fitzgerald wasn’t exactly an easy opponent to face head-on. On top of that, Atsushi would never be willing to use dirty tricks like he would, even when faced with a powerful enemy.

A part of him felt guilty about going behind Atsushi’s back. 

…Who was he kidding? He felt awful. But he needed to guarantee his brother’s (and sister’s, because he was pretty sure she was involved too) safety, and if Atsushi wouldn’t listen to him, there had to be someone at the Agency who would. That was what he told himself as he knocked on the door, a manila folder in his arms and Karl on his shaking shoulders. He knew Atsushi and Kyouka were on patrol, and with luck, he would be able to drop off the folder and get home without any issue.

“Come in!”

He willed his hands to stop shaking as he pushed open the office door. From what he could see, there was only one person inside–

A tap on his shoulder. “Who’s this?”

Poe’s ability was activated before he had any time to think.

The door creaked closed behind him as he stared at the book in his hands. 

What the hell did he just do? Sure, he was awful around strangers, but his response to someone entering a room shouldn’t be to shove them inside a book! Plus– Oh god those were absolutely his siblings’ coworkers. Why the hell did he even bring the book?! He was going to be sick. What if they died?

It took Karl tugging at his hair for him to come to his senses and try to bring them back. He wasn’t sure how long he’d spent panicking, but–

He dropped the book as the room was filled in an all-too familiar light.

What.

“Y-you solved it?” Poe asked. He wasn’t sure if he was in awe or incredulous. That had been one of his hardest cases– but they’d barely taken any time. What the hell? Well, they were detectives, but– “Oh my god I’m so sorry!”

“...What?” A woman’s voice responded– Ah, that was the person he’d seen when he entered the room. That meant the other person was the one who’d surprised him. Poe didn’t dare look up though, already fixed in an apologetic bow.

“I really didn’t mean to activate my ability, I’m so sorry! I got scared, because I didn’t see another person and I’m so sorry if it looked like an attack– I promise, it wasn’t! I’m just here to drop something off for a friend– Again, I’m so sorry–”

“Did you write that?” That must have been the other person. For some reason, they sounded familiar.

Poe nodded.

“Look up already– I don’t care what you think you did.” The voice sounded bored, and the author lifted his head nervously.

…He met bright green eyes.

No. There was no way. 

But… Poe couldn’t be wrong– not about this. Not when those were the same eyes were present in every single nightmare he’d had in the past six years.

The man tilted his head with an expression that looked as bored as he sounded, taking the lollipop from his mouth and spinning it in his hand. There was a hint of recognition in his gaze, though he looked more amused than anything.

Like the mature adult he was, Poe shoved the manila folder into the man's hands- into Edogawa Ranpo's hands-, turned, and left the office as quickly as he could. Karl did not appreciate his hurried pace, but really, Poe had other things to worry about right then.

When Atsushi got home, excitedly telling Poe that they’d gotten access to the blueprints behind the Guild’s ship, he desperately tried not to cringe. He didn't think he succeeded.

------

ASLkdjljasldj yeah!! I'm thinking about expanding this instead of making it a summary-style fic, so writing out the whole scene of Kyouka moving in and everything, but it's a WIP so it's fine hehe

Idk I guess I'm addicted to big-brother-ifying him in my fics what can I say he's so older sibling coded (Im not projecting what??)

I tried to write Atsushi a bit more confident but still kind bc I think he'd have more time to grow into himself as opposed to in canon where he gets dropped right into the plot lmfao

Thank you so much for the ask!! I love yapping about this au of mine <3333

[erosauriarts]

Avatar x BSD

Warning: It’s canon related violence similar to in show BSD.

Atsushi - The Avatar

I thought it would be fitting since Byakko is implied to be reincarnating????? Also the Netflix preview got me excited.

AU Premise

**None of the canon characters from ATLA or LOK are gonna be referenced UNLESS it’s to justify bending rules.**

Republic City exists, but it’s less western base, bc I didn’t like that lmfaooo (Basically Yokohama but as it was in the 1930-50s). White people???? Huh?? Ig they exist now??? 😨

Lore Plot:

Red Lotus killed the last avatar because they wanted to find the new one, for some enlightenment reasons (IDK radicals man). The hunt for the new one wanted to take and raise the new avatar to push their own agenda. The man that did it, passed down his legacy to Fyodor (water), and he was the one to find Atsushi. Atsushi was around 5-8 and was from the northern water tribe. Atsushi’s parent was the moon’s spirits guardians (funny ha ha bc his’s design in literally Yin and Yang to Aku). Fyodor takes Atsushi, and isolates him with the other spiritual believers. They raise him, misinforming him greatly over what being the avatar actually means. Though he has a pretty good connection to his bending, Fyodor being his water bending master. They located somewhere in the north-pole.

In this time, everyone is looking for the avatar, but in like that way where you are like “here kitty kitty pspspsp.” And they even have a bounty for him. Bring him back alive ofc! In this, Dazai (Air) and Yosano (Water) are adopted siblings from a young age from Mori (Fire). Dazai at 18 splits off and becomes a traveling nomad, bc he fucking felt like it. Yosano was 14 when Fukuzawa (Air) saved her. Mori would make Yosano blood-bend, and so when she got free, she swore to never blood-bend again. She now uses her bending, and became one of the best healers.

The Armed Detective Agency works similar to canon in this, but has a specialized duty to find the avatar and turn them over to the white lotus. It’s extremely hard to get into the ADA, and forces benders to really push themselves. (In a way higher than the police force) Dazai joins, and is basically the ADA’s lost cat that goes away and comes back with something either helpful or cursed.

Dazai got leads on Fyodor bc Atsushi accidently used the avatar state when he found some new (and/or) prob figured out what happened to his family. Dazai basically yoinks Atsushi from the isolated village, running back on all fours with the weretiger dangling from his mouth /j. Dazai shows up, drops the avatar off, then bounces. Even though Fyodor’s spiritual training and water-bending was severely indepth, Atsushi lacked alot of common sense. Atsushi’s abuse in this is more intense psychological punishment more then the physical one in canon. He’s.. alittle messed up, but besides the point. Regardless how much bad stuff he went through, he was genuinely sweet. The stress of the truth tho, threw him off balance, so he is hesitant to go into the avatar state.

Atsushi’s bending teachers / relationship

Water: Fyodor. Strictly mentor and caregiver. He sucked at caring for Atsushi’s needs, and only was interested in talking when Atsushi asked about spirtual connection and Philosophical debates. Spent most of his childhood till Dazai yoinks him at 18

Earth: Kunikida. He sucked at it originally, but Atsushi was so determine, he ends up asking for help to connect. Atsushi warms up to him, looking up to him for strength.

Air: Dazai. The third one, and he’s stressed. Dazai runs circles around Atsushi, causing so much mental strain. Atsushi gets frustrated, and nearly gave up, but Dazai manages to get a mutual understanding.

Fire: Kyouka. Though younger, Kyouka was the fastest firebender. She constantly beat Atsushi when the Port Mafia sent her out. (He gets saved by the ADA a lot lol)

Character Mentions

Ranpo: A none bender. Works with the Republic City police force, but spends most of his time with the ADA. He actively helps them get around the police.

Akutugawa: Earth Bender. He can bend metal, and is actually really scary (..er?)

Chuuya: I go back and forth between earth and fire. And I think earth bc of his boom boom, smash kapow moments in canon. I thought fire cause hehe red.

Nikolai: Air. He’s that one guy that does flips and is nearly impossible to get a hold off. Boys a slinky. He’s Fyodor’s right hand man… they even… KISS?

[0pancake-mix0]

I will be waiting for the next pokémon au hcs; they were so lovely to read. I was giggling and clutching my heart in joy.

Take care of yourself, I am sending good vibes ✨

Ask and you shall receive, here’s Atsushi, Akutagawa, and Kyouka

I also changed these guys ages because most trainers are kids so I imagine them being younger, since I didn’t do this for the DOA guys: Fyodor is ???, Nikolai is 26, and Sigma is 18

Atsushi:

- trainer (16 years old)

- Partner Pokémon is a very sweet meowstic (cuz he kinda looks like tiger Atsushi in the Wan), and an eevee evolves into a Espeon, a Espeon who is much more likely to throw hands then any physic attacks.

- lots of protagonist energy, so much protagonist energy that I imagine he gets custody of a legendary early on into his journey, perhaps even the start. I can’t decide between Raikou or Chien-Pao. I’m gonna go Chien-Pao because it looks more like Atsushi tiger form

- rival is Atutagawa, his travel companion is Kyouka.

- Other notable Pokémon he has are Hapiny, Pachurishu, and dragonite, indeedee and meowth

- he has no specific plan or team when he battles, he fully believes the power of their friendship will win the battle, and it somehow always works.

- He love his little guys so much that the thought of them getting hurt makes him sick.

- a weird pattern of him catching very mystical, psychic attacking Pokémon, that instead choose physical violence .

- They are all very protective of him

- will eventually take over as champion

-actively being mentored by Dazai, the current champion, Dazai doesn’t do a very good job though so Atsushi is mostly on his own as far as figuring things out.

Akutagawa:

- trainer (16)

- partner Pokémon is weirdly menacing zorua, and an Eevee that evolves into a shy and sweet umbreon (oOoO parallels sun and moon OooOo)

- more distain then your classic rival, very similar dynamic as the show but much less violent and more kid friendly (no dismemberment here, no sir) Akutagawa will eventually get to a place where he’s happy for Atsushi once he becomes champion

- very well crafted team, however he’s not particularly friendly with his Pokémon. Leading to him often losing, he starts to win once he chills the fuck out and bonds with his Pokémon, leading to eevee evolving.

- Team is an Infernape, Hydregeon, Garchomp, spiritomb, Zorua (never evolves) and Umbreon

- Dazai will show up to travel with him occasionally, worried that he’s lonely. It’s more annoying then anything though

- does find a friend in Higuchi, the Normal type gym leader (we’ll save that though)

Kyouka

-trainer (13)

-Partner pokmon is Gardivour (because she kinda reminds me of demon snow)

-Went off on a very stereotypical journey before giving up and deciding to capture every single vaguely fluffy thing she sees

- extremely threatening and menacing, most of her Pokémon consist of fluffy pink Pokémon with very sweet personalities

- she doesn’t focus on team building at all, as she doesn’t really enjoy Pokémon battling and doesn’t see the appeal. The only reason she tags along at all is because she’s likes Atsushi and there is significantly less bunny pokemon back home.

- Team is Buneary, Scorbunny, Azumarill, Jigglypuff, Audino and Whismur. Her team is fairly weak and low level as she doesn’t like battling, with the exception of Gardivour who can and will beat the shit out of you.

- will actually laugh at Dazais jokes, and is probably the only person in the world to do that (the three of them are a little family :) )

General

- Kyoukas father (her parents are alive in this AU) will send his Misdreus to deliver home cooked meals to Atsushi and Kyouka, Atsushi (still an orphan) has been thoroughly adopted into the family (Dazai goes to steal their food from the fridge at home sometimes, Kyoukas parents let him)

- Kyouka used to really enjoy battling, but felt like she was being pressured into it due to her skill and power, which kinda killed the fun for her.

-Atsushi will often take Pokémon who were abandoned by their previous owners, namely his hapiny and meowth. Meowth is missing part of her tail, she considers her new life with Atsushi worth the missing appendage.

-Akutagawa maintains a cold front at all times, and will become very embarrassed if someone hears his daily phone calls home, (he gets very homesick and misses Gin)

- Gin and Atsushi are besties, he doesn’t discover she’s Akutagawas sister until he’s already champion

-Fyodor is the professor for all 3 of them, Sigma is personal friends with Atsushi and Kyouka, and Nikolai is the occasional tormentor of all of them. (He really does just hide in the bushes to bully children, Fyodor is still waiting for him to get a job)

- Atsushi and Akutagawa sees though Fyodors cold mask and both thinks he’s nicer then he acts, which is funny because Atsushi and Akutagawa are the only trainers Fyodor genuinely finds annoying and wants them both to leave him alone (mostly because of their connection to Dazai) (he does grow to like them, but he’ll take that to his grave) (respects Kyoukas decision to do whatever the fuck she wants) (here’s a forth parentheses for funsies)

- Atsushi and Akutagawa have a bet on how old Fyodor is, Atsushi bets 21 cause he looks young, Akutagawa bets 30 because he acts old (30 is old to a 16 year old). Both agree that him and Nikolai probably kiss.

[starlightshadowsworld]

The Fallen King

The easiest and simplest way to explain why Beast Dazai treated Beast Atsushi the way he did.

Despite caring about him.

Is that Beast Dazai has never seen Beast Atsushi as human.

From the beginning Beast Atsushi was a means to an end and a pawn in a much larger plan.

Beast Dazai would never have considered that Beast Atsushi would stay in the Port Mafia after his death.

He would never have considered that Beast Atsushi would ever become the next Port Mafia Boss.

And that’s because Beast Dazai broke him down. He made Beast Atsushi rely on and think he was nothing without Beast Dazai.

He was sought out for his power and his loyalty.

Beast Atsushi is not smart, he can’t strategise or think for himself. He only will if it concerns Beast Kyouka and if she’s told to leave with him there’s no reason for him to stay in the Port Mafia.

That’s what Beast Dazai believed and he was wrong.

We see from the start of this fic that Beast Atsushi can strategise, that he can plan ahead on the spot.

He decided minutes after his mentors death to be the next boss. And came up with the cover story during the meeting that was enough of the truth it didn’t feel like a lie.

It’s kinda like how in Fifteen Dazai is tricked by Chuuya because Chuuya knows Dazai sees him as nothing but a loud angry kid.

He uses that to hide that he’s Arahabaki despite Dazai actively searching for Arahabaki.

It’s like how Dazai knows Fyodor will be tricked by Chuuya because of how similar he is to how Dazai used to be.

Both of them so smart that they can’t imagine being wrong, they can’t imagine a situation where they aren’t the ones in control.

And that is what is happening here.

Beast Dazai never considered Beast Atsushi would ever defy him after that one time. He believed he broke this boy down to be his loyal pawn.

Despite the fact Beast Dazai had memories showing him Bsd Atsushi’s heart and strength.

That he’s very loyal and would never choose to abandon his friends to save himself.

He never considered that would happen here because he believed he succeeded in breaking those parts of Beast Atsushi.

And turning them entirely to him and no one else.

Beast Atsushi said it himself that Beast Dazai gave him a name and a purpose.

That was all Beast Atsushi was supposed to exist for so why ever consider that he could ever become something more.

That he was simply a dog following commands rather than a free thinking human.

Beast Dazai cares for Beast Atsushi but he knows nothing about him other than what can be used to serve his purpose and his goals.

He cares about him enough to give him a place in the light but never considers that Beast Atsushi can thrive in the darkness, because he never let him.

Beast Chuuya is unquestionably human to Beast Dazai. But Beast Atsushi has been nothing but a beast from the start.

[jinko-hellhound]

a pinch — bungou stray dogs — atsushi & dazai (platonic!)

atsushi is having an awful night, and his mentor comes to bother him. a short, definitely non-comprehensive exploration of atsushi and dazai’s dynamic, platonic touch, and emotional vulnerability. originally written for @dazaibirthdayweek2024 (and being archived here on my new fic blog)!

words: 2,170

first published: 6/16/24

relationships: dazai osamu & nakajima atsushi

tags: fluff and angst, platonic relationships, implied/referenced child abuse, dazai osamu is a mess, nakajima atsushi needs a hug, post-traumatic stress disorder, childhood trauma, no romance, beast beneath the moonlight, no longer human

crossposted on ao3

The Agency dorm’s walls are paper-thin, so when Dazai comes lumbering up the steps, Atsushi hears it. Hears Yosano, too, yelling out her window for Dazai to Shut the fuck up, I’m trying to sleep!, and Dazai’s cheerfully slurring response. Somewhere further down, Kunikida’s door slams open. Dazai’s voice erupts into pure glee.

Atsushi groans into his couch cushion. This is not the night for this. It’s — not been a good day. Nothing bad happened. It’s just that he woke up wrong. He woke up scared, with the Headmaster’s breath chilling the back of his neck. He was… off, at work. No cases today, but there was always busywork to slog through, piles of it. And even on a good day paperwork was awful, but today he’d felt there was an irremovable film over his eyes, hazing his vision. It took him far too long to process anything said to him, enough that Kunikida had started speaking slowly and carefully in a way that made Atsushi want to crawl into a hole.

And then Atsushi had trudged home. Kyouka went off to spend the night with Naomi, which was — nice. Good. Atsushi wanted Kyouka to make more friends, to hang out like a normal teenage girl… but now Atsushi was alone in this cold dorm. The dorm was always quiet, but never this silent, absent of the soft patter of Kyouka’s feet, or the way she hums just to make her presence known and avoid scaring Atsushi out of his skin. And any other day, that would have been fine. Atsushi is eighteen. He can spend a night in his own home alone. But tonight… Tonight, he curls around a throw pillow on his couch, face shoved into the cushion, and shakes.

Why is he crying? He isn’t sure. It could be any number of things. It could be phantom static electricity ghosting up his spine; it could that awkward spot on his foot, which he always avoids as though it still has a nail hammered through it; it could be the phantom pains of his own limbs that had been lost-regrown-lost-regrown again in the last year; or maybe any number of deaths, be they cold corpses he’d stumbled across or bullets he’d watched land. And those last two are the worst, maybe, because those things are his job. And if he couldn’t even handle doing his own job—

Dazai’s giggling floats towards his door. Atsushi tenses. Not tonight, please God. He can’t deal with the drunken antics tonight.

The giggling floats on past and Atsushi relaxes. But he should have known better. It’s only a few seconds before Dazai backtracks — so quick, it sounds like, that he trips and catches Atsushi’s doorknob to stay up.

Rattling the doorknob, Dazai calls, “Atsushiiii!”

“I’m asleep!” Atsushi calls back, not even bothering to pretend. Chances were Dazai had done something insane, like perfectly memorizing Atsushi’s sleep habits or catching how one particular particle of light fell under the door, and figured out that Atsushi was wide awake. “Go away, Dazai!”

“Noooooo,” Dazai whines. There is the distinctive clicking sound of a lock being picked. Dazai doesn’t even need to pick it — he’s the only other member of the Agency who has his own key to Atsushi’s dorm. Dazai hums a jaunty tune while he works. Atsushi considers hiding, but Dazai is quick, and by the time Atsushi’s foggy brain thinks of a hiding spot, the door is already creaking open. Atsushi decides to just keep his red, snotty face firm in the cushions and ignore Dazai until he gets bored.

“Hellooooooo,” Dazai croons, flicking Atsushi’s lights on. Without looking at him, Atsushi can imagine the way he twirls around the dorm, all those dramatic movements he likes to distract with. Dazai must be stumbling, though. There’s a thud somewhere near the kitchen counter, and a pained grunt. “Why’re you sleeping on the couch?”

“It’s my couch.” The sharp clinking of glass, something pouring. Atsushi groans again. “I can sleep on my couch.”

Dazai’s footsteps, clumsy in a way Atsushi can’t place (is it an act? accidental? something Dazai simply isn’t trying to hide?), round the couch. He taps at Atsushi’s leg and Atsushi, begrudging and reluctant as he is, has a child in his soul. So he pulls his legs up, knees nearing his chest. The couch protests the way Dazai falls into it. “Don’t break my couch,” Atsushi grumbles, with no heat. Dazai hums.

Even with his knees drawn up, Atsushi’s feet push against Dazai’s thigh, and suddenly Atsushi feels too big. Like he’s become twice as heavy as he is. The couch creaks underneath him, the floor creaks under the couch. He imagines his body expanding, ripping through his clothes. He imagines his veins bulging, his arms taking on that awful, sinuous look they always do in between human and not, a phase which is usually too short for anyone to see but him. But instead of transforming into Byakko, his imaginary limbs stay stuck there in that in-between – unnatural, painful. Awkward and lumbering.

This, of course, doesn’t happen. He is 5’7, 59 kilograms. His knees are knobbly and his wrist bones pop out too much, although he’s gotten a bit stockier than he used to be. He’s not abnormally heavy, hardly monstrous. And he’s firmly Atsushi, now. (Firmly Atsushi, except for that bit of Byakko that’s always in the back of his head, her worries and wants. Right now, she’s thinking: Dazai. She’s never very specific with her thoughts – it could be a cheer. It could be a warning.) And anyway, Byakko couldn’t come out, because Dazai’s cold hand is resting on Atsushi’s ankle.

…Dazai’s cold hand is resting on Atsushi’s ankle, Atsushi processes belatedly. Which is – fine. Dazai is touchy. Maybe not so much with Atsushi, because – well. Atsushi doesn’t always like it. Sometimes it scares him. But Atsushi is used to Dazai ruffling his hair, throwing an arm around his shoulder, knocking his knuckles against his forehead. Fleeting touches, that is. Contact that leaves as soon as it arrives. And Atsushi is fine with it. He doesn’t feel any particular sort of way about it.

(Liar. Cut back to the very first month Atsushi knew Dazai. The way Dazai, at some point a couple weeks in, jokingly reached over to ruffle Atsushi’s hair, coo-ed about him like he was a child. Atsushi, much more nervous back then, had blustered and stammered and flushed and – critically – pushed his head up into Dazai’s hand like the idiot he was. Dazai, for once sparing Atsushi’s feelings, said nothing aloud. But the repeats of that particular gesture came often. And Atsushi found himself, stupidly, awaiting them. Craving them.)

The point is that this is uncommon. Dazai’s touch never lasts, not unless he’s joking with someone – draping himself over Kunikida to annoy him, pushing into Ranpo’s space to banter. This isn’t a joke. This is Dazai, sat quietly on Atsushi’s couch, listening to nothing but breathing, his hand settled on Atsushi’s ankle.

They are silent for so long that Atsushi almost thinks he is hallucinating again. What other reason would there be for Dazai to be here, sitting in gentle silence? It’s unusual for him not to talk. Babbling or nagging or deadly serious, but always something. Dazai talked so much, so incessantly, that he’d practically become Atsushi’s inner monologue. Yes, Dazai was acting so out of character now that Atsushi really did, for a moment, think he was hallucinating. It would be a nice change of pace, for his imagination to give him something like this.

But his hallucinations would never be so kind as to linger. To comfort so softly. To let him sit here with that calming touch and peaceful silence and nothing else. This is real. And it’s this understanding that has Atsushi lulling into – not sleep. Some kind of reverie. The sobbing-induced migraine fades from behind his eyes and nose, ever so slightly. He drifts, between Byakko’s corner of his mind (Dazai, she is rumbling, echoing about his brain) and that ice-cold touch on his ankle. Back and forth, temple to ankle, like a hammock on a warm day. Dazai’s touch always grounds Atsushi. It doesn’t make Byakko go away – no, that would be terrifying, even more terrifying than losing control of her, running a rampage. But Dazai…quiets her, in a way. Soothes her.

Dazai’s glass clinking against the table snaps Atsushi back into reality. He suddenly becomes aware again of the slightly dusty smell of the cushion he’s crammed his face against, and the way his arms are shoved awkwardly up, half-underneath himself.

“Atsushi,” Dazai says in a sharp, breathy way. His freezing fingers pinch at Atsushi’s ankle, pulling the skin in a way that makes Atsushi yelp, his foot jackrabbiting into Dazai’s thigh. “Why so sad, Atsushi?” He pinches again, but this time Atsushi is expecting it and does nothing.

“I’m just trying to sleep, Dazai.” Atsushi says it as blandly as possible. “What do you want?”

Dazai’s knuckles rap against Atsushi’s ankle, but not with any force. “So mean to your mentor.” Atsushi can imagine the pout. He rolls his eyes. Then he stays quiet, and lets the question sit, because if he says anything else Dazai will just find a rabbit hole to take them down so Atsushi forgets he ever asked anything.

“I got you a drink, too,” Dazai says. “It’s up here.”

Atsushi shakes his head into the couch cushion. Absolutely not. His face is probably all red and puffy and tear-streaked, snot running from his nose, and he doesn’t need Dazai to see that lest he wither up in shame.

Dazai humphs. “Well,” he says, like he’s going to say more. Atsushi’s (Byakko’s) ears perk. Then he says nothing for a long while. In the renewed silence, Atsushi can imagine his face, the face he makes when he’s thinking hard about something, or trying to figure out how to hide something — blank, a little slack-jawed, glassy eyes trained on the wall, or a cobweb, or the sky. Then: “Well, maybe I just wanted to say goodnight. Is that so bad, Atsushi?”

It should be a teasing question. From Dazai, it should be completely rhetorical, accompanied with a lilting tone and a silly, sly smile. Instead, he says it softly, genuinely. As genuine as Dazai can be anyway. His hand is still on Atsushi’s ankle. It should be warm, by now, with this prolonged contact. Inexplicably, it’s still an ice cube against skin.

Atsushi wants to say: No, and please will you stay here? No, and thank you for this home and this company and for not putting a nail through my foot. No, and I know my standards are horrifically low, but you’re really the best guidance I’ve ever had. No, and please can we just stay right here on this couch forever? It’s okay if it’s only my ankle that ever gets physical touch again — just never let go, please?

Instead, he says: “Dazai, you’re drunk.”

“Hmph,” Dazai says, and then it’s like a static shock, the way the serenity of the night seems to blink out of the air. A startled laugh chokes out of Atsushi as Dazai ragdolls down, dropping his whole upper weight onto Atsushi’s, the top of his head knocking into Atsushi’s jaw. “Such a mean student!” Dazai reiterates, the hand that was on Atsushi’s ankle poking into Atsushi’s side repeatedly. The weight of him has Atsushi working a little harder to pull in breaths, but he finds he doesn’t mind.

Dazai is too heavy for Atsushi to get his arm out from under both of them and swat him away, but Atsushi certainly tries. “Stop it!” Atsushi shouts, but there’s still laughter bubbling up his throat. Byakko is as quiet as she can be, with Dazai so in contact, but he gets the sense she is not on board with Atsushi saying: “Get off me!” Rather, Byakko urges Atsushi to turn and tuck his head into Dazai’s shoulder. This would be mortifying, so Atsushi absolutely does not do that.

“Fine,” Dazai sighs overdramatically, then rolls, ragdolling once more onto the floor. Despite being unable to see him, Atsushi imagines the way he instantly pops back up and brushes off the front of his vest. “Well, Atsushi, I guess I’ll leave you to it! I’m taking my drink, though.”

Dazai hums as he gathers up his glass, a bottle, his shoes. Atsushi blinks into the couch cushion, considers the pleasant flush of joy that’s already receding, the coldness that’s spreading up from his ankles, down from his temples. Byakko is loud again.

“Good night,” Atsushi says. The door clicks. Sudden entrance, sudden exit. Typical Dazai, he grumbles internally.

The dorm is quiet again, except for Dazai’s voice back outside, slurring once more (part act, then). He’s singing a lullaby, loud and offkey. And then there’s Kunikida and Yosano, yelling. Very slowly, Atsushi peels himself off the couch, and goes to brush his teeth.

[anticidic]

Have you read all BSD novels? If you have, which is your favorite? Why?

I got about halfway through 55 minutes and just haven't found the time to pick it back up yet, but all the others I read. 😊

BEAST and Stormbringer are tied for first place, but I think I'll give it to BEAST for still making me tear up after reading it three times even knowing how it ends. (lmao I love the pain what can I say)

But, I really like how the novel explores the what-if of Atsushi and Akutagawa swapping sides, Oda remaining alive, and the sort of butterfly effect that spawns from them as a result. Kyouka still defected from the Port Mafia in BEAST, but she returned because of Atsushi. Akutagawa's frequently described as a monster and a beast of a man by Dazai, but we also see Akutagawa trying to process his trauma of seeing a bunch of armed men gun down all his friends when he was still a young kid just trying to stay alive in the slums and then being separated from Gin all in the same night.

After reading The Day I Picked Up Dazai Side B, I do find it ironic how Beast!Dazai describes others as beastly or murderous machines when that novel includes a depiction of him torturing and leaving someone for dead while he was still a teenager. I find it ironic because I think him calling others those things is more a reflection of how he feels about himself more than anything. I also liked this novel a lot, but it's a little harder to go into depth about it until an official translation is released.

But then when he meets with Oda at the bar and talks like he would've from his canon self in Dark Era and Oda rejects him, I think that killed Dazai like crazy on the inside and left him hollow, so he detaches from that gaping void of total emptiness by projecting on others. Like, he's made enemies out of almost everyone in BEAST meanwhile he knows from the other world that his ADA self is surrounded by all these friends despite losing Oda. Ango and Oda were never his friends. Kunikida was never his partner. Fukuzawa never trusted him. And he doesn't have that mentor-mentee relationship with Atsushi.

I also like the alternate peeks we get into Mori's character when he takes in Atsushi under his wing toward the end of BEAST and expressing his regret for not being able to save a particular, young doomed man. aka Dazai. His BEAST personality I feel is more...honest? because he doesn't have the title of Port Mafia boss looming over his head where the whole city is a chessboard and he's constantly strategizing and planning his next move to capture the king. There's no impossible expectations or concern over his underboss coming from him or backstabbing him at any moment. He's just...free? but now he lives with the remorse of not being able to do anything for someone who took on the world all by himself to the bitter end.

BEAST has always left me feeling very...bittersweet. It's not a happy ending for a lot of them, but there's that tiny flickering flame of hope. Everything still goes on. The world exists. Akutagawa being on a roof overlooking the city and thinking to himself before Oda interrupts paints a sort of...attempt to be at peace with himself, but also becoming stronger from that resolve.

Knowing Chuuya's fate along with Higuchi introducing herself to the ADA at the very end of BEAST has me speculate a lot. The ending is an odd sense of déjà vu from canon Higuchi introducing herself, and I can't help but think it's ominous. (I want to write this)