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bungoubookclub · 4 years ago

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BUNGOU STRAY DOGS & The Art of its Characters

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

As an artist and casual manga reader I tend to be picky with my choice of reads, though I've bent my standards every now and then, Bungou Stray Dogs is a manga that I find absolutely exceptional-- no surprise considering it's one of my favorite series. An interesting story, beautiful and striking artwork, and an amazing cast of characters.

Written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by the talented Harukawa35, the story follows Nakajima Atsushi, an orphan who has a life-changing encounter with a mysterious man named Dazai Osamu, and through an unforeseen turn of events, ends up becoming an agent at The Armed Detective Agency-- an organization that employs skillful individuals with supernatural abilities. From there Atsushi makes friends and foes alike, and tries to find the purpose of his life.

It's formulaic premise of "young protagonist becomes affiliated with organization and battles other organizations", reminiscent of most shounen titles, is where most of its similarities with that demographic end. Instead of expanding its world and delving into lore, the series focuses on its characters, their growth, and their relationships with the world, each other, and themselves, befitting of a seinen title. It has a unique gimmick to its characters as well--that being that their namesakes are real-world authors and literary pioneers.

Kafka's background in literature credits their adaptation of these literary figures into characters, making good use of their analytical and writing skills in interpreting the authors and their works into characters with abilities that pay homage to their namesake's famous works. Their skill as a writer is nothing to be looked over either, having written 8 novels, 2 light novels, and co-wrote one screenplay-- specifically for the series' film, "DEAD APPLE".

Its gimmick lends itself to the characters especially, often making references to the author or their works through their personality or character design, and becomes the foundation for the characters's overall story.

The character Dazai Osamu, for example, is a suicide-maniac determined to die a painless death, preferrably with a lover to accompany him to the other side. This is a direct reference to the real-life Dazai, who had attempted multiple suicides, one attempt being with his wife, however, he had survived while his wife did not. Dazai's character also meditates plenty about morals and ethics and what it truly means to be a human being, depressing over the fact that he will never probably be considered "human" by society's standards; his real-life counterpart's famous novel, No Longer Human, is a meditation on human society and what it truly means to be a human, and how to fit into the mold of what we generally deem as "human"--it also happens to be the name of Dazai's ability, which allows him to completely nullify any other ability through physical contact, rendering the once supernatural ability user into a regular human.

Their abilities work as great metaphors as well, and Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the leader of an enemy organization known as The Guild, is a good example of this. The Great Gatsby is one of the most notable works his real-life counterpart has written, the novel's themes focusing on wealth and criticising achieving "the american dream"; the character's ability, "The Great Fitzgerald", enhances his physical strength and prowess depending on the value of the items he exchanges it for, be it either cash or objects. This quite literal metaphor ties with how the character sees the value of people through their economic and social status, and becomes one of the driving forces behind his later character arc. From this we can determine a cruel and heartless man, but one who values hard work and ambition, stopping at nothing to achieve what he wants.

Aside from the characters themselves, some of their relationships and interactions are also influenced by their real-life counterpart's relations with contemporaries, as well as the time period during which they were active.

The real-life Akutagawa Ryuunosuke and Nathaniel Hawthorne, for example, have opposing views on religion, specifically Chrisitanity; Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, deals with the themes of sin and repentance through Christian faith, while Akutagawa's "O-Gin" is a historical fiction that takes place during the edo period and reflects on the spread of Christianity to the people of Japan and how the paranoia of the government manifests, it's also noted that during his final moments while reading the Bible, he claims that he can believe in the devil, but not in the existence of a God. In the manga, during a confrontation on the port, the characters Akutagawa and Hawthorne exchange lines of dialogue, a notable taunt coming from Akutagawa, "Irmão'', being a direct reference to the ancient ministers who have introduced Christianity to edo period Japan.

The characters are intensely rich in personality and humanity, showing that not every character is strictly black or white, Dazai and Tanizaki Junichiro--another member of the Detective Agency--are great examples of this; Dazai's character is a mystery, and is, personally, very hard to break down. He is a man who has shown to have very flexible morals and ethics, but is also extremely loyal and attempts to be a goodhearted person. Relatively, Tanizaki is led to be believed that he is a docile and kind person--a running gag in the show being that he is very shy-- but is willing to commit any atrocities for the well-being of his younger sister, including murder. He puts his and his loved one's interests first, and that nearsightedness can put him and others around him in danger.

Besides the written aspect about the characters, the designs done by Harukawa35 are so beautifully crafted to convey their person through a glance. Their clothes, physical features, shapes, color palettes, even down to their silhouettes are uniquely distinct from one another and feel very personal to that character. Here are some of my favorite examples:

Atsushi's belt, which gives his silhouette a sort of "tail", referring to his ability which allows him to transform into a tiger. His purple/gold irises are striking visual cues that allude to his supernatural ability as well.

Akutagawa's billowing cloak; aside from it's practical use for his ability, it also gives him a distinctive silhouette, along with the ruffles of his shirt and the cuffs of his sleeve that contrast the sharp edges of Rashoumon.

Margaret Mitchell's outfit which, although impractical in a battle, conveys her character of a southern belle very well. Her soft, bright color palette compliments the design of her partner, Hawthorne, who mostly dons darks and greys. Similarly, the soft and round shapes abundant in her design contrasts that of Hawthorne, who is sleek, angular, and sharp by comparison.

Nakahara Chuuya's overall design, which characterizes him perfectly (accurate considering the fact that he was the most difficult character to conceptualize, according to Harukawa). The dark colors of his outfit contrast the bright orange of his hair and blue eyes, giving the idea that despite his position as an executive in the Port Mafia, his personality is as wild and stark as his features. The billowing cloak gives his silhouette a sense of dominance to make up for his small frame, broadening his shoulders and making him appear bigger. And accessories such as his hat, gloves, and choker are all very symbolic to important aspects about his story:

the hat being a gift from Arthur Rimbaud along with the chain accenting it, possibly taken from Paul Verlain;

The gloves covering his palms as he never uses his fists in battle, and only removing them when he becomes possessed by Arahabaki;

And the choker symbolises his loyalty to Mori Ougai and the Port Mafia, for which he is called a "Dog of the Mafia" by Dazai.

And speaking of designs, the various rivals and partners in the series have not only great complementing visual designs, but chemistry, story, and writing as well. Rivals/Partners such as Soukoku (Dazai and Chuuya), Shin Soukoku (Atsushi and Akutagawa), and Mori Ougai and Fukuzawa Yukichi-- the leaders of the main opposing organizations, the Port Mafia and the Detective Agency, respectively--all have amazingly distinct contrasts in terms of visual cues, my personal favorite being Shin Soukoku's black and white theme, as seen in their contrasting color palettes, outfits, and personalities.

I could go on about the Rivals' various dynamics and stories, Character analyses, and such and such, but @bsd-bibliophile has made much better analyses and are very detailed and more refined in terms of composition and content (I would not be able to touch upon Atsushi's themes of existentialism without having to delve into the author's works and the character's story, much less with any finesse, my skill level is nowhere near that standard :'))), so go check their blog out for further in-depth reading!

To wrap it up, Bungou Stray Dogs is a great manga with not only fantastic writing in its story, but in its characters as well. To be able to convey rich, layered stories through people has always been the reason I've wanted to work with Characters and more specifically, Storytelling. This series has rekindled my passion for Storytelling and has made me appreciate how important and fantastic Literature is as well (seriously, to be able to paint images in your mind and make people think and feel through words alone is a skill that I can only dream to achieve).

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mci-writing · 5 years ago

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Cola (Asagiri Gen x Reader)

How tf do I format fic pieces again?! Is my first Dr. Stone fanfic a small piece for Gen? Guess so. Tagging @kaylee0w0 since she did technically ask for this and requested she be tagged in every piece I write for Gen going forward. I hope you enjoy it!

“Glad Senkuu made you a lifetime supply of cola. The caffeine withdrawal was really starting to get to your head” It’s almost tickling as you watch Gen down his fourth bottle of cola from the seemingly never ending stack. The pyramid is an interesting feat of its own, even if you feel a sense of dread each time Gen takes a bottle from a random place near the middle. In height, it reaches a little past Gen’s waist and it’s just a little wider than his body along the bottom before slimming as it makes its way up to the top. The truly amazing thing is Senkuu took the time to label and sign his name on each one, almost like an ominous reminder that Gen would more than likely pay for them in some form of work.

He glances towards you as you’re talking, stopping with half of the bottle downed before turning to you with a small smirk of his own, “It appears I have no idea on what you’re talking about. Mind elaborating your statement?”

“You wanted a harem, you sleaze” The statement catches him off guard after he begins drinking from the bottle, the liquid getting caught in his throat and going down the wrong pipe. He begins choking, coughing erratically as he attempts to catch his breath. You assist by patting his breath, waiting till he’s breathing okay before continuing, “I still think he gave you too many, though”

Gen stares at you a moment as he takes another from the stack. He smiles as he opens it, the crackle of the fizz floating to the top filling the air and accompanied with the mixed smell of vanilla and cinnamon. He takes another long swig of the drink and you’re left blankly blinking as you wonder if he’s got a proper quip to retort back at you.

As he quickly begins downing them again, it emphasizes just how much of a cola addict he really is. Half of the pyramid seems to be gone in a matter of seconds, now sitting just past his knees as a wide base. Catching sight of the perfect and nearly identical labels on each one is enough to remind you that Senkuu made them for him, he has the right to chug them like a medic is coming to cut off his limbs. Even so, it’s a bit much and you’re pretty positive the sugar intake was going to come back and bite him in the ass.

“You think it’s a lot too, huh?” You can see the tears welling in the corner of his eyes as he pops open another and he’s noticeably down to three. It seems like he’s suctioning them down and you can only sit and watch the tears stream down his cheeks as he chugs the one in his hands, “He’s going to have me do something absolutely dreadful for these, but they’re so good-”

You take the last two bottles before he can properly grab them, quickly popping the cap to one and downing it’s contents. Gen watches on mortified as you finish it, eyes seemingly widening in even more fear as you pop the lid to the other and press the nose of the bottle to your lips. Gen’s irrational thinking seems to diminish at that, his hand hastily reaching towards the bottle in a flattened attempt to take it from you. Your hand reaches out and holds the glass away, your body leaning with it to hold out a little further. Gen follows, his body leaning against yours as he reaches out for it, “Gen, no!”

“Come on! Give it back, (Y/n)-” You fall back, somehow managing to only spill a little of the dark brown liquid around the rim, and land on your back with Gen towering over you. He continues feebly trying to take it as you hold it out, your hand gripping his shoulder to push him away from getting it.

“You. Don’t. Need. It!” You manage to roll both of you over, pressing your body against his and having your knees press against the ground of either side of his body. You quickly lift the bottle to your lips, throwing your head back and guzzling down the rest of the last bottle of cola while Gen shrieks in helpless dismay.

He’s seemingly dead to the world after that, sitting up with an almost blank expression on his face. So, when he leans down and presses his lips to yours, you’re a little taken aback. You do kiss back after a bit and that compliance is enough for him to press his tongue against your lips, awaiting your entryway before running his tongue over yours. He pulls you closer by your waist, his eyes staring down at your face in concentration as he attempts to savor the last bit of cola left in your mouth.

You have to push him away to breath, red-faced and embarrassed at the sudden spit swapping. Your eyes are averted when you manage your way out of his lap, standing to your own feet and nervously fiddling your fingers. Gen, however, is grinning almost maniacally at the turn of events, folding his hands together under the sleeves of his attire, “Since you decided to take it upon yourself to drink my last two colas, you can help me with whatever excruciating amount of work Senkuu has me do next”

#asagiri gen #asagiri gen x reader #gen x reader #dr stone #dr stone asagiri gen #gen asagiri #gen asagiri x reader

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pompompurin1028 · 4 years ago

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Ahh so that’s why I got a notification but then couldn’t find the post when I opened the app😂 No problem haha💕 I always have to double check before tapping “post” and “edit” too😭 It’s so funny to see what the emojis look like on your screen omg some of them are so different

Really?? Oh my God I need to keep him away from No Longer Human then😅 He even tried convincing me to not read his works, he thought I would be “badly influenced”🌝

But exactly! That ending created such a sharp contrast and I’m living for that sentiment😌 And please don’t worry about it, with the way you’re writing now I can totally see that you’ll also be able to create as beautiful works as his in the future🥺❤️

And that is so true, the thing you said about us being our worst critics! And the description you made fits BSD Dazai so well too😭 (and I’m in love with that quote, each one of his works is such a treasure omg)

That’s so true! In fact, the other way around is valid too, the reason why the slightest hope shines so much might be the amount of tragedy he conveys. He puts us in such a darkness that we’ll strive for the littlest form of hope and light, and be so grateful for it, which is something we have practically forgotten how to do in our daily lives.

And I believe I need a lot of reading to do in order to understand fully what he was trying to convey as well, with your every response I discover something so different and enlightening and I’m LOVING it! I’m really understanding how superficial in fact my understanding of his work is. So if you have some analysis/article links under your hand, I would love to see them💕

Omg please don’t worry about it, like I said I love reading your responses!! Don’t ever try slowing yourself down, write everything you would like to😌

Yes yes YES!! That really striked me as well, the way he talks about crime and punishment is honestly the opposite of what Dazai-sensei evoked in his book. I really wonder if that’s parallel to the way Dostoievsky’s work conveys it? Knowing BSD, there HAS TO be a parallelism, maybe we can ask Ryley about this since they have read Crime and Punishment🤔 And OMG! That’s so true! If the Punishment side was his shadow, and it didn’t attack him, it could definitely mean that he’s in fact totally honest and accepting of that “worst” side of him so they have nothing to fight against each other for. Maybe his normal state is in fact his worst version so his shadow is better than him? Like you said, he and his monologue are a total enigma and it really intrigues me, I hope to see more of him soon haha. I’m sure that his words were foreshadowing something. And yes omg everything was perfect that scene😩

And that’s so true😭 (this is the 365th time I say this I know but the things you say are.. so true😂) Honestly, Atsushi might be the next Odasaku to him, Oda and him are so different yet so similar in a sense… I would love to read an analysis about this😶

Thank you sooo much🥺💕 I’m definitely doing my best about it🥺 I still have more than one year, but the stress is starting to settle in😅

And of course!! Here’s the link to the soundtrack, it’s among the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard tbh, it’s PERFECT. The beginning plays during the confrontation of Shibusawa and Atsushi, and then starting from 3.10, it shifts to Fyodor and the build-up from there, it’s just ughh I’m in love😩😩😩

Haha my apologies! And honestly it is so easy to mix up😶

And yeah, personally I feel that The Setting Sun is more hopeful than No Longer Human. They are both extremely well written pieces, but it should be noted that The Setting Sun is one of his more objective works or people say it is, as I believe that this work was inspired by one of his lovers, 太田靜子 Shizuko Ōta who was a avid reader of his work, the whole book is actually inspired by her diary. And apparently, the most famous quote from the book: "This I want to believe implicitly: Man was born for love and revolution" is also from her from what I've read. However, despite her diary being the basis of the novel, I could still inevitably feel Dazai-sensei's sentiment in the pages of the novel.

But haha, I can understand. Dazai-sensei's work is quite dark😶 But I enjoy them a lot, especially because of the way he writes them (and the language), the way it makes me think, and also the speck of hope in the midst of darkness as you said that shines bright because of all the darkness in his work😭 I've talked to some of my Japanese friends, and they expressed that they have heard of Dazai-sensei but they hadn't read his work, so haha🏃‍♀️ One of them has watched the movie though (yes apparently there is a movie), but she said that she didn't like it. I personally hadn't seen it

And omg thank you😭💕 That means so much to me! I can only hope so😖 His works honestly amazes me

And exactly! I can just find so many similarities between Dazai and Yozo, and it amazes me so much how in depth the characterization of Bsd Dazai is and of course Asagiri-sensei's mind as well.

And that makes me so happy to know that my knowledge about the book and Dazai-sensei is helping you with understanding No Longer Human☺ I actually read those analysis for my own interest just to understand the novel and also Dazai. I will try to find some analysis, but I don't really remember what I've read haha, it's been a while since I believe I read No Longer Human in around January? But I do like this article, it's not too long which should be good link of course there are also academic journals, I have read a few but those might be too much😂

And thank you haha, usually I don't have many people to talk to me about these things so I get excited🙈💕

And yes!! I do wonder too! I believe Ryley is still reading it at the moment, I should get back to reading it too, much it's a bit much Haha😂 I'll read it soon (fingers-crossed) If you're reading this, Ryley, please enlighten us haha, we're talking about Fyodor's monologue in Dead Apple. And I do want to know if Fyodor has truly accepted the worst part of himself, or is actually showing his shadow, I think I'll have to read the manga in order to know more about him.

And yes totally both Atsushi and Oda are so similar yet so different. Perhaps there is reason for why Dazai is so drawn to the two of them🤭 And I personally believe that though Atsushi would never be able to replace Odasaku, after all they are both completely different people with different experiences. But I believe Atsushi will play a similar role to Oda in bringing out Dazai's good side. But the difference is, Dazai is also at the same time helping Atsushi grow🥺

And hehe of course! You got this! And I get that😖 I stress over stuff really easily too, just remember as long as you have enough practice and studied well, I'm sure you'll be okay☺

And I just listened to the soundtrack earlier is all I can say is omg😶😶 The chills-

#asks💌#Req🎻#where do I find the No Longer Human movie and the question is do I want to see it and have my heart broken again

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bsd-fan · 4 years ago

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Biggest comment in the story

@altairgavin

Hi, you don´t know me and I swear that I just tried to make a simple comment in ao3 like a normal person but I ended up writing 5192 words and I couldn´t post all of this in the platform so...yeah.

Okay, so I don´t really know if you will read this comment or if you will continue this series (I really hope you do because this series is basically my religion) but regardless of all that, I just read the whole thing and I realized that I needed to write a comment to make you know how utterly and madly in love I am with what you created. I want to say that this really started just as a comment but at some point I honestly lost all focus and I just started to fangirl so hard that I´m embarrassed of myself, I started throwing my opinions, headcanons, and impressions of the characters and this ended up being a mess, so you can just skip this seven pages and read the last paragraph hahaha, I really hope this is not as annoying as I think it is.

So first of all I want to apologize because I know this whole comment will be a mess, English is not my first language and I love this fanfic so much that I can´t even put together two sentences so I just really hope this whole babbling make sense. The first time I realized what this was about I screamed, soukoku is my otp and I can´t begin to explain how much I love them and how special they are for me, and to be able to read them in one of the universes I adore the most? It was like a dream come true but at the same time I was kind of scared cause I´m not really a fan of most of the crossovers that have been written here, however as soon as I started with this I knew I have found gold.

Your writing is absolutely divine, it stirred memories of an eleven year old me reading harry potter and wishing I was there, it felt like going home but better because I don´t just care for the characters, I LOVE every single one of them. There are so many things to be impressed with this works, so many things I want to say, so many praises I want to give but the thing that really left me breathless were the characters, how you write them? Is an art, they feel complex, they feel real, they feel human. I laugh with the characters, I cry with them, I got angry with them and screamed at them and I can´t praise you enough for that. Actually I want to stop in this part, I already loved this characters with all my soul so I´m always subjective when I read fanfiction, I always care for the characters regardless of how they are written just because they are dazai and chuuya but what you have done here? is impressive and wonderful and amazing because this is one of the very very few works in which I don´t care just for Asagiri characters, I care for YOUR characters, I love the characters that YOU have created. Don’t misunderstand me, all of your characters are canon compliant, the way you manage to respect the characterizations is probably one of the bigger reasons I´m so deeply in love with this works, you have written my favorite dazai of all the dazais I´ve ever read and the one I consider more in character but what I admire the most? What truly leaves me speechless? is how you make this characters canon compliant and still manage to make them grow and develop. If canon chuuya and dazai were transported to Hogwarts at that age, this is exactly they way I think they would act like. I want to tell you how much I admire you cause I know that neither chuuya nor dazai are easy characters to write, both of them are extremely complex specially if you are writing about them in an au, and I´m completely amazed of how you did it. They are tridimensional characters, they feel so so human and it´s so easy to love them. Every single thing in this au is so clever and amazingly done, it´s pretty obvious how much effort you put in this because everything is so well thought. I think one of the most intelligent decisions was to have this story narrated by Chuuya because he really is the perfect protagonist (better that harry in my opinion), he is so lovable and relatable and just a wonderful character to read. I love how he feels so real, he is intelligent and he has seen things that no kid should´ve seen, he is resilient, but he still is vulnerable, he is struggling with humanity, and with no having memories and then out of nowhere he is in this world full of magic in which he finds incredible people and he finds a home with them. I love how he is brave, and loyal to death, honest and he cares so damn much but at the same time I love how deeply flawed he is, chuuya is still chuuya, he is bad tempered and impulsive, he´s not really good with feelings and he gets scared and sometimes he doesn´t know how to communicate but he is there and he is trying, one of the reasons that it´s so easy to get into the story it´s because we have the best protagonist we could ask for. Now I want to make a (huge) parenthesis to talk about how absolutely insane is your writing, you are literally what every author refers to when they talk about “show not tell” one of my favorite scenes not just from fanfiction but from all the books I´ve ever read it’s the scene after Dazai is petrified. I think about that scene constantly and I still think it´s a masterpiece. Chuuya relationship with dazai is so damn incredible (I´m going to talk about this later) but it´s also difficult, I´m gonna make a little character study of chuuya because your character is so good that I really want to fangirl about him, of course this is just my perspective and I could be wrong but okay, chuuya is twelve, he has never been so close with someone and from my perspective I don’t think he has sorted out his feeling for dazai yet. I think he knows that he cares for him so much more than he should, I think he knows that dazai is special to him in a way that no one is, he knows that his trust for dazai is on a whole different level, and he is clearly PINING (Even though I don´t think he has realized). From our point of view is so obvious that he loves him but for him? It isn´t that obvious. He can´t even explain his relationship with him, he knows that dazai is the closest person to him but he still feels reluctant to call him a friend (I think it´s because a part of him knows that what he feels for dazai is bigger than that, that his feelings for him are completely different from his feelings for kunikida, tachihara or tanizaki but I´m just theorizing) and I think it´s also because dazai is a lot sometimes, he is annoying and cunning and whiny and difficult so the normal response would be to be annoyed for him, right? And he is but at the same time he still likes him, so I feel like chuuya doesn´t know what to do with all those feelings and dazai doesn´t make it easy and he doesn´t know what dazai feels for him, so he tries to act like he doesn´t care that much, like he isn´t really affected even though he clearly is. This makes this whole thing better because:

a) Is completely in character with chuuya

b) Is perfectly in character for EVERY 12yo (really I acted just like this when I was his age)

c) Makes this so much more entertaining and funny to read.

The best thing is that chuuya doesn´t act this way for the others, he actually wants to trick himself into thinking that he doesn´t care, in conclusion, nakahara chuuya in an unreliable narrator and I LIVE for that. So that scene after Dazai is petrified is amazing in every sense of the word because he knows that he won´t sleep, he knows that he is feeling too much and for us the readers is pretty clear that he is a mess, but he still tries to act like he doesn´t feel like falling into pieces. That conversation with kouyou is the best thing in the world. I LOVE that he can´t admit that he is feeling sad or scared, even in his mind he can´t admit it so he copes with anger because he can manage that. He says that he is pissed, the best thing is that we are in his mind and even then chuuya tries to act like he is fine but the narration makes pretty damn clear that he is not fooling anyone. Kouyou knows that chuuya is fighting tears, and we know it too because the narration says it in a really subtle way.

“He took a deep breath and swallowed down the irritating lump in his throat” “He chewed his lip and breathed through his nose, trying to settle his racing heart” Is mentioned but chuuya doesn´t really stop to think about it because he is too busy acting like he is just angry. This whole thing makes the character more real, more interesting and a whole lot more complex because we can see the layers in him.

Here we have an actual paragraph of chuuya lying to himself: “Chuuya squeezes his eyes shut for a moment to repel the dry stinging threatening to give way tears, which was stupid because he wasn´t sad or afraid” and how he gets angry when he got called out “Chuuya wiped at his eyes, furious at them for betraying something he didn´t want to admit he was feeling”

And then we have Queen Kouyou who KNOWS.

“It´s not as if you´re completely honest with your emotions either, lad” Honestly I love how she knows how much they care for each other, how she clearly sees the mutual pining and how they are struggling with their emotions because they are kids, because neither of them have had feelings like this before and they are so emotional constipated it hurts but even with that she doesn’t say anything to chuuya, she knows that Chuuya has to figure that in his own, she knows that he still isn´t ready to aknowledge or face his feelings so she is just there to guide him and listen to him and honestly? SHE IS THE REAL QUEEN and I can´t begin to explain how much I love her.

I made all that gigantic mess to say that I love the way you narrate things, how even with out making it obvious we know what the characters are feeling and honestly? That´s fucking good writing. The way you make me feel everything the characters are feeling is a gift and I know that a lot of writers would kill to have that ability. This scene will forever be special for me, you really made something incredible there. And it´s not the only scene, the scene in the third book in which he tries to convince himself that he is not worried for dazai but he still looks for him when the dementors appear, because dazai is his safe place and also because if he feels danger his first instinct is to be with dazai so he can protect him too, or I really love how he immediately realized that dazai is not as clingy as always and that he is maintaining his physical distance and even when he never says it IT´S SO DAMN CLEAR HOW MUCH THAT IS BUGGING HIM. He is so annoyed but he can´t say it so he just acts like he isn´t. And that moment in the second book in which he screamed at dazai that he wanted him to stay lives in my mind rent free but I´m going to talk about this scene later.

I don´t really want to talk about Dazai because this clearly isn´t a comment anymore and its more of an essay with lots of fangirling and believe me, I can make a WHOLE character study from your Dazai because he is bloody brilliant and the best one I´ve read so far, I´m going to summarize this as much as I can. HE IS AMAZING. I think Dazai is the most difficult character to write because he is a contradictory character. I love lots of fanfiction but at the end most of the time I feel like Dazai´s personality is completely different from the canon and I get it, to write such a difficult character must be a nightmare. Most of the fanfics I´ve read basically portray him as this cold, lethal mafia boss that is completely whipped by chuuya to the point were he kind of resembles to every single male lead in every generic YA novel or go to the opposite with dazai being a massive and cruel asshole to the point that I just want to shot him or this goofy character and I think the difficult part is that he can be all those things but it isn´t everything he is. And you found the perfect balance, and from my perspective he is just perfect, he is so complex and full of layers. He feels bad and kind of hollow and just like chuuya he is struggling with his humanity (Exactly like in canon), people call him “the demon kid” I don´t think that he really thinks of himself as just a kid, he is constantly bored but when he finds something that catch his interest he can´t let go, he doesn´t care for a lot of people but when he does he would kill and die for that people. He is brilliant and funny, and so charismatic that even when you want to slap him you can´t help but love him (again, just like canon Dazai) he is also dramatic and whiny but he still is cunning, and a liar and manipulative and he can be really cruel when he wants to be, he is even worse dealing with emotions than chuuya and I can´t even begin to address how much I adore him, he is so in character that every time I read him I want to cry of joy.

“He is definitely the type to freeze up and self destruct when he gets scared. Thinks too much and gets paranoid too” THAT WHOLE STATEMENT IS DAZAI, RIGHT THERE, YOU JUST DESCRIBED HIM SO WELL THAT I LEGIT SCREAMED THE FIRST TIME I READ IT. When he recollected the slugs and gave them to chuuya in Christmas and at the end of the first book? Also completely in character, how he always is there teasing chuuya and being ridiculous clingy but the moment he feels vulnerable he panics and try to put as much distance as possible, how he is so protective because people always leave him, how he is really possessive of chuuya and try to keep all his attention centered in himself it´s actually canon. 15 yo dazai did exactly that. I love that even if he is possessive with chuuya it´s pretty clear that he doesn´t see him as an object, he loves chuuya (even though I´M PRETTY SURE he hasn´t realized, honestly at this point I can physically feel his pining and even with that he is even more emotional stupid than chuuya so I think its gonna be a loooooong time before he realizes about his own feelings) chuuya is his partner and he worries for him so much that he doesn´t know what to do with himself, he gets scared by his own feelings and ends up acting like an ass. your dazai is the best thing I´ve ever read in my whole life. I love your chuuya, but damn, I would die for your dazai. And once again I want to scream about how impressive it is that even when the story is being told by chuuya, we still get a good idea of what´s happening with dazai and what he is feeling, he is evolving and he also keeps getting better as a character and again its amazing cause he isn´t the one narrating, but he is still so damn well done? I also LOVE the delicacy in how you are talking about his mental health. So, this is really personal but I have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and I really can relate with your dazai, I love the way you write about it, dazai in this au is young he is still not the depressed and actively suicidal person of canon, I don´t know if in this au he is going to get to that point but the 13 yo dazai who actively looks for dangerous situations without care for his life is an incredible way to showing that dazai is not precisely healthy. I love his coping mechanisms, how first he acts all happy with fake smiles and try to change topic, when that doesn´t work he becomes an ass to try to push people away and when that also fails he ends up avoiding the person. Your dazai is so fucking real and I love him with all my soul.

All the characters in this series are amazing, I have already talked a little bit about Kouyou but she is incredible, the best teacher in the world and my queen, the friendship between yosano, ranpo, louisa and Poe is everything I needed in life. Yosano and Ranpo betting on chuuya´s relationship with dazai is one of the things I love the most in this whole au because they know too but they are jerks who just are there betting when skk is going to realize and I´M LIVING FOR THAT. The chaotic energy of ranpo is so entertaining to read. Tachihara is so well done, how much he admires and cares for chuuya, how he is really jealous of dazai and how he doesn´t know how to act about it, odasaku is flawless and I really like ango, tanizaki and kunikida. I love your Akutagawa and atsushi with every part of my self.

Now that I talked about how your writing is evocative, addictive and just wonderful and how I would die for your characters I want to talk about the relationships because OMG I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! Let´s start with the one between dazai and chuuya. Their relationship is so heartwarming and my heart swells with so much love every time I think about them. I love how their relationship feels so natural from the very beginning, it just feels right. My favorite thing about it it´s that even though it´s natural is not easy. Their relationship is complicated just like them. They are perfectly imperfect. They are exactly what soukoku stands for, they are partners, they push the other to be better, they challenge each other, they put the other out of their comfort zone, truly “only a diamond can polish a diamond” they are opposites in almost every way and that´s how it is supposed to be, it´s because of that that they are able to compliment the other so well but that also means that in many many ways their relationship is also a mess. They clash a lot, they don´t always understand each other. One of my favorite things is how chuuya feels kind of insecure around odasaku because odasaku is always calm and collected, he just understands dazai and it seems like he does it easily while he struggles all the time. I love chuuya exactly because of that, chuuya is not the kind of person who just understands and that´s okay and in many ways I think that´s exactly what Dazai needs. Chuuya won´t just understand, he will tell him when he is acting like an idiot, he will tell him when is time to fucking stop, he will be there and call him out when dazai is too afraid to face things. One of my favorite things is that how they get mad, that they don´t always like each other but they still love each other. How even when it´s difficult they want to be together, how at the end of the day after the fights and bickering they know that the other is gonna be there, that they are not alone and what is most beautiful than that? They are kids that grew up in the most horrible situations. Chuuya was alone, without memories, without family, he didn´t have anything, on the other side there was dazai who grew up with a slimy and horrible person who constantly tries to manipulate him and use him at his convenience, he never had a homemade food, he was empty and hollow and they were so lonely and then this kids find each other. I love how messy their relationship is. Is difficult to figure your feelings when you are a teenager and for them? It´s a lot harder, they never had anyone who taught them what it was to be loved, they grew up in a horrible world, they are terribly emotional constipated, they can´t fucking communicate to save their lives (Also a very canon thing), they have unhealthy coping mechanisms and apart from all of that they are also opposites in almost every way of course they are going to clash, of course they get mad, of course they don´t know how to fix things, this is a first for both of them but they are trying. I love how even if chuuya hasn´t realize the depth of his feelings for dazai, he still is very conscious that he choose dazai, that he could´ve trust yosano, kunikida, tachihara or someone else with his story but he trusted dazai, he choose to trust dazai, he choose to be his partner and dazai did the same for him. They are in this together even when sometimes they drive each other crazy.

The scene after Louisa is petrified is one of my favorites because I think it perfectly portrays their relationship. That was the first scene in which chuuya truly was angry with dazai and it wasn´t about dazai being an ass or doing things purposely to get chuuya mad, actually he didn´t do anything wrong and he is confused because this time he really doesn´t know where he went wrong. I love that chuuya also knew that dazai didn´t do anything bad but he still was angry because he couldn´t help it. They faced a situation and they act differently, dazai was being rational and doing what he thought was the best, chuuya knows that but he was scared and he needed dazai by his side in that moment, he didn´t want rationality. In that fight neither of them did anything wrong, they just had different reactions and that´s something that happens, I love how we know for sure that chuuya loves dazai but sometimes he still needs time away from him so he walked with louisa and ranted about dazai with her and I think it´s the same for dazai, of course chuuya is definitely not as difficult as him to be with but he also needs his time alone (we know that from what he says about he walking at night because he can´t sleep) or with ango or odasaku. I love how even if neither of them know what they are feeling or doing, they are so into each other and oh my god they are pining so hard. They are still kids, there isn´t any real physical attraction yet, they aren´t in the point of “being in love” in the traditional more adult way but they already love each other so much and it really hits me how we know that just from the narrative, specially in chuuya´s case. He won´t say it but he is hyper aware of Dazai, he always notices when dazai is smiling and the he starts smiling too, he knows when dazai is giving a fake smile, and when he is tense or sad or angry. He tries his best to learn more of dazai and it´s pretty obvious that he treasures the little things he has learned about him even if it´s something as simple as his favorite color. I love how they look for each other touch even when neither of them have a lot experience with physical contact. I totally imagine them like one of those couples that are touching each other all the time in the future and you know the worst part? I don´t think anyone will be surprised. Dazai is already all over chuuya most of the time (except in this book and I also want to know why) they have holden each other hands and wrists, they lean into the other, they have cuddled to sleep, they have hugged and held each other and that always makes me feel all giddy inside. AND THE TRUST, the inhuman trust that characterize soukoku is right there and it has me sobbing.

So again, this is just my point of view and I can be totally wrong, but from my perspective is so funny to see them pining without them knowing that they are. I read “Chuuya Nakahara and the Time that Doesn't Exist” and Dazai was pining so hard from the very first moment (I mean, I don´t blame him. Chuuya truly is the most beautiful person on earth). Once I read your comment about how chuuya is pining for dazai but at that point of the story was just a tree while dazai´s pining was an entire forest and I CAN TOTALLY SEE THAT, but at the same time I headcanon that even if Dazai is the one pining harder, he is also the most oblivious about his own feelings? But I don´t know maybe he is already completely aware of his feelings for chuuya and I´m just making a mess of things hahaha. I love that chuuya kind of knows but at the same time he doesn´t, his denial is so strong that he can´t even think of that but at the same time we know that at least deep, deep, deeeeep down he kind of knows and we have the funniest most relatable reactions everytime someone even suggest that they feel more than friendship and he is just there choking with things, blushing and desperately trying to change the topic. I swear those scenes are my favorite ones, I´m always there laughing my ass off and wishing I was with yosano and ranpo to bet about skk love life.

“-He´s just…my partner

The tanizaki sibling´s eyebrows shot upward

-Let´s go find a compartiment, Atsushi” Chuuya grumbled, face warming up”

“-You can still love people even if they annoy you from time to time.

The second year´s face heated up alarmingly fast as he almost breaks the glass of orange juice with his grip- I don´t—why would you think I—what the hell is all that supposed to mean?

-That you care about him?

-That is not what you said”

“-What would you call yourselves then? Confidants? Lovers?

Chuuya choked”

JUST LOOK AT HIM, HE IS A MESS, OMG I LOVE HIM SO MUCH, MY SWEET STUPID CHILD IN DENIAL.

Soukoku relationship in this au is everything I needed in life to be happy, thank you for creating it.

And the relationship between chuuya and kouyou? *Chef kiss* is so damn good, I love how they deeply care for each other, and how she is always there to help him when he needs her, I love how she even stands for dazai in his own way and how she is literally the best adult in existence. I love how she is always teaching chuuya things and wants the better for him, so she is kind of strict but at the same time she is spoiling him. I love chuuya relationship with Arthur and paul, they have this parental kind of relationship, they obviously care and like chuuya a lot and Arthur is there acting like the overprotective father for chuuya (sometimes acting like a judgemental asshole) and how chuuya thinks of their house as the closest thing to a home have me in tears. I love dazai´s relationship with odasaku and ranpo and how much they care for him, I love that oda is always there to listen to him not matter what. I love chuuya and tanizaki´s friendship, I adore shin soukoku relationship even though we haven´t seen much of them but it´s already amazing. We see bitter, angsty Akutagawa following dazai like is his light vs the sweet precious atsushi and how they bicker and god I´M EMO FOR THEM, I LOVE THEM. Let´s talk about ranpo, yosano, louisa and Edgar friendship again because their chaotic energy is everything I asked for, they love each other and are there being brilliant and funny and I WOULD DIE FOR THEM.

I also want to make a point of how much I love your dialogues, because I FUCKING LOVE THEM WITH ALL MY SOUL. I want to fangirl about more scenes, I want to talk about the unicorn and their fist hug, I want to talk about chuuya first birthday, I want to talk about the Christmas with Rimbaud and Verlaine, and about the scenes in the infirmary in the third book, I want to talk about my theories about the plot and about chuuya and corruption but at this point this thing is scary and I already look like a crazy person so I will stop here.

This started as a comment, this clearly isn´t a comment anymore and it turned into an essay with character studies and relationship studies and probably me overanalyzing things, I hope this whole thing isn´t as crazy as I think it is. But if you want to take something from this whole thing is that you are an amazing writer, that you are creative and have a wonderful, startling style, that you make characters and relationships so incredible that there´s a person who is willing to write seven pages about them, because they are inspiring and breathtaking, that there are scenes that will live with me forever. This fanfic is everything I would ask for, I would love to see you continue the series, there are still lots of things I want to see, a lot of characters I want to meet but if this is the last one you are willing to write (even though I really hope it´s not the case) I just want to thank you for creating something as amazing as this. Thank you for sharing this amazing content with us and if you decide to continue the series then I will be right there, screaming like crazy and fangirling really hard.

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sengenweek · 5 years ago

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SenGen Week: Day 04 (Correction)

Day 04: January 01

Soulmate au / first date/meeting

-'-

Title: Colorfools.

-'-

A/N: You can see every color, except for the color of your soulmate's eyes. Once you see the eyes of your soulmate, you can finally see the color that has never been available for your sight.

-'-

He was lonely, and had nothing better to do that day, so he'd gone to a nice coffee shop downtown just to kill some time outside his house. Being indoors all the time was getting to his nerves. The coffee shop was a nice place, decorated with whites and browns in a second floor, and a big window with view to the outside, but the view was plagued with people and cars; nothing interesting to see. He opened a notebook containing drafts for his next book, as his drink and snack arrived, he was already engrossed in his writing and thanked the waiter absently.

He wrote and scratched several lines, using at least three of his pages when he decided to leave his pencil aside to take a sip of his coffee, looking once more to the window as he munched on a donut. And he noticed something, someone who looked briefly upwards and Gen got a glimpse of their eyes. Their eyes. A color he'd never seen before, a beautiful and mesmerizing shade enlightened by the sunlight. And as soon as the person –a boy, a teen?– had glanced up, his eyes went back to the floor, leaving Gen to observe a very strange mop of hair that stuck up. He was with two other people, a tall young man, and a girl with long hair, but Gen barely paid them any mind, he was stuck on the other teen, the one with odd hairstyle, and such beautiful eyes. He was about to get up from his seat and run to him, run to catch him. But as soon as Gen had seen him, the crowd had engulfed him.

Red. He knew what the color he'd never been able to see was called. Red. Gen saw it, again, in the traffic lights, in the neon signs of Tokyo, in the package of his favorite drink, Cola. Red. In the cover of his notebook, in the ink of his pen, in the drawings of his deck of cards. Gen saw red, the color that was missing from his life; and he loved it. He loved the color that painted his soulmate's eyes. And he regretted the fact that he may never see this person again, may never even hear his voice.

-'-

The girls at school –as well as some boys– seemed to have gained an interest in someone named Asagiri Gen, a sort of magician. One day, one of his classmates read aloud a quiz from one of his 'psicology' books, and Senkuu quickly disregarded it's value, and decided it wasn't really worth the effort to read more from it, so he didn't even looked at it.

That afternoon when the rest of his classmates as well as Taiju and Yuzuriha had left the classroom, he noticed his classmate had left the aforementioned book in there, so he took it to put it away and return it the next day, he lifted the book and saw it's cover which portrayed Asagiri Gen himself in the front. Asagiri Gen. A magician. A 'writer'. The complete opposite of him. He saw the deep blue of his eyes. He saw it in the night sky, in his father's tie, in the sea, in the wallpaper of his computer, in his jeans. He saw the color he'd never seen before, and got excited –happy, even–. So he thanked Asagiri Gen for putting his face in his trashy book, and left it at that. There was no need for Senkuu to do anything else about this.

And that was a filthy lie, because he tamed his hair down, wore a hat and glasses to attend one of his shows, he sat on the back row, hidden. Asagiri Gen's magic show was no big thing, he used every old trick in the book with a little personal twist. His smile was big and false. Like his show, Asagiri Gen seemed to be an act. Senkuu wondered what he'd be like in reality. So every now and again, he would read one of his trashy books, aimed towards the public to produce sales, and once or twice, assisted to his shows. Never once did he make contact.

-'-

'AD 5738, April 1st'

Whoever carved that was totally insane. Whoever carved that, had kept track of time while being petrified. Whoever carved that, was awesome. And Shishio Tsukasa feared this person. This Ishigami Senkuu person had to be someone worth knowing. He was hopeful to find him alive, despite having heard Tsukasa say he'd killed him with his own hands. He was quickly despached to go find the village of primitive people and the smell of ramen invaded Gen's nostrils.

'Ishigami Senkuu must have lived, then' was his first thought.

He snuck around the people and snatched a bowl, being his usual confident self even as he got surrounded by three of them, aiming very sharp spears –and knives– at him.

"I thought I'd seen your face somewhere before, Asagiri Gen"

He turns to look at the one he can only asume, is Ishigami Senkuu, and his heart beats so wildly in his ribcage he'd swear it would burst it open. He only ever saw them once, he only ever saw him once, but Gen would recognize that shade of scarlet, that weird mop of hair, anywhere. It took all of his self-control to keep his façade. The young man didn't seem fazed at all, he put Gen to work and got information out of him, not that he was going to keep it a secret anyhow.

"All I have to do is make a false report. 'It was only a primitive village.' 'Senkuu is dead.' With that, I can save you, Senkuu-chan"

'^I can save you^ I don't want you to die'

He hoped Senkuu had gotten the message, since he didn't show any reaction to seeing him. And Gen knew he'd never mistake his soulmate.

'But. Soulmate or not, you're amazing, and I want you to live.'

-'-

He didn't know if Gen was avoiding the subject on purpose, but he supposed it wasn't good to just dodge the situation forever. The matter of being soulmates had to be adressed eventually.

"Senkuu-chan~!" Ah, yes, speaking of the devil.

He turns to look at Gen, smiling brightly, the scar on his cheek making his grin far more devious than it should be.

"What are you doing up so late at night?" he questions.

"I could ask you the same, Gen"

"Insomnia~! Your turn~!"

"Stargazing" he grins.

"You like the stars?"

"Yeah, they're a good way to know your location, and the time at night. Although, after so many years, they shifted in their place. They're not where I remember them being"

"Everything has changed" he mumbles nostalgic.

"It's not so bad. With consistent and sustained effort we can bring it back to being more or less where everything was. It'll take years, perhaps even decades, though"

"Ah, yes. You'll work everyone to exhaustion"

"You damn right, I will" he beams.

Gen can only sigh, a tiny smile tugging on his lips.

-'-

An observatory. Gen really surprised him this time. 'He must've remembered when we spoke of the stars' he mused. He really should speak to him now, he knew jackshit about these kinda feelings, but he was sure this was more than just a gift for his birthday, the words the mentalist spoke were far too much of a hint.

As if being summoned by his thoughts –again– the mentalist burst throught the entrance on the floor elegance in his movements.

"Stargazing?" he asked.

"Yes and no. I'm trying to find where the stars are now"

There's a map on the floor, notes and constellations drawn into it. Gen takes a sit right next to him.

"And how is that going?"

"My hand hurts from scribbling so much" he sighes.

The mentalist takes his right hand gingerly, tracing circles and triangles and squares into his open palm, lips pursed –almost pouting–, inspecting it as if it were an antient text.

"Don't tell me you read palms too, mentalist" he jokes.

"Why, yes I do~!" Gen answers gaze never leaving his hand.

"Oh really? And what does my future say?"

"You have a tewible luck. As always"

"Mmm"

Senkuu changes the position of their hands, now he's the one tracing figures on Gen's palm, making him chuckle.

"What does my future say, Senkuu-chan~?" he asks amused.

"It says... You will be kissed shortly"

"Eh? Kissed?"

Senkuu leaned –eyes open– and placed a chaste kiss on Gen's lips. And Gen looks cute when he gets paralized and blushing, his eyes three times larger than a moment ago.

"Thank you, for my birthday present. And for the color blue. It's beautiful"

Gen tries to speak a few times, but he only manages to look like a fish, so he gives up, and buries his face on his sleeved hands.

"Never seen you so flustered before. How cute" Senkuu chuckles.

"You're so mean~!" he pouts.

"Sorry. But it seemed like we avoided the subject for too long"

He spreads his fingers, letting only one bright iris to be discerned.

"I suppose you're right" he agrees. "You knew since the modern days who I was"

"I saw your face in one of your trashy books"

"Heh. I saw you once from inside a coffee shop"

"Really?"

"Yes. It was only a fleeting moment when you looked up" he explained sheepishly. "I wanted to go after you then, but you got lost in the crowd. I think you were with Taiju-chan and Yuzuriha-chan"

"Heh, I probably was"

"I like it. Red, I mean"

"I wonder if everyone just loves the color they'd never seen before"

"Probably most people do" he smiles, finally revealing his face.

And Senkuu takes the chance to steal another kiss. This time Gen responds, draping his arms on Senkuu's neck, the other pulls Gen closer by his waist.

Scarlet and cobalt meet, they suit each other quite beautifully.

-'-

A/N: So, I posted day one again for mistake. Kids, don't go operating heavy machinery when you're sleep deprived, just sayin', ya could get something wrong. Also on:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13464121/4/SenGen-Week-2019-2020

#i deleted the other submission hope thats alright #day four #soulmates #first meeting #sengenweek #sengen week #sengen #submission

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galacticvampirisms · 6 years ago

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So @hkasof‘s amazing art inspired the start of this fic. I’ve still not reached the actual thing I set out to write about because I’m extra af and wanted to sketch in some backstory. And also include this little bit because it’s v meaningful to me.

I’m still gonna be writing a lot (but it’s all scattered. I literally laid down and instead of working on zine layouts spent an hour writing another 1500 words of this “ficlet” wtf). I don’t know. This art is inspiring. This pairing is inspiring. I’m drowning in inspiration and I can’t get up.

Also since Haley missed the time I just quietly reblogged it, hopefully @’ng will make sure it reaches your notes. I bolded the first sentence of the new stuff so you can find your place!

Matsuo wasn’t good with people. Even at Claw, he’d preferred to keep to himself. The other espers considered him odd because he liked being with his spirits more than people, but they didn’t get it.

While Sakurai wore his curse like a badge of honor, Matsuo preferred to keep his Tragic Backstory ™ under lock and key. After all, it wasn’t as though he would be very accepted if he did open up to the others. He was certain of this, even after a group of middle schoolers and their weird guardian destroyed the 7th Division headquarters.

Unfortunately, this meant Matsuo wasn’t really sure what to do with his life without Claw.

Retail? He dropped a vial containing a new pet and found himself fired for the amount of damage she had caused while he tried to coax her back into a better jar, much more cozy for her ballooning body. Not that the manager could see her of course. He just saw the destruction like a tornado after leaving Matsuo alone for twenty minutes.

Factory work? Much of the packaging was too monotonous or would strain his health after a couple weeks working odd, long shifts.

Finally, he chose to work as a regular psychic, specializing in exorcisms. It was hard. He had to be polite to customers, even when they abused or misgendered him or made fun of his style. And then he got the call, like nearly every other psychic in the region.

Asagiri mansion.

There had been so many people at the mansion, it was easy to hide from the loud and talkative Reigen and his strange student. Matsuo watched the rogue ghost wreck havoc of the legitimate and false espers alike, feeling a familiar warmth spread through his body. That ghost was powerful. He wanted it.

And… he got it. Mogami Keiji, a formerly powerful esper that had eaten so many evil spirits that even being exorcised hadn’t drained the spirit’s powers completely. Mogami was kept in a canister at first, the stickers imbued with Matsuo’s containing aura gradually layering on so thick it was impossible to see the original object.

Mogami’s negative energy kept corroding the layers, and sometimes Matsuo thought he could hear Mogami speak. Not like how the other spirits spoke to him, unintelligible to other people not so closely attuned to the dead. See, ghosts degraded after awhile, metamorphizing into animalistic beasts – beasts that Matsuo could understand and befriend (or control, if they were especially unhelpful). But Mogami wasn’t a beast.

No, he was something else.

“Pudding-chan, won’t you play nice today?” Matsuo spoke to the poison jar softly, picking it up to carry with him as he prepared for the day. He didn’t like leaving his more dangerous spirits unattended, and the weight of the jar was a comfort, grounding him in the moment. The stickers looked less absurd next to the mess of magnets that he collected on his fridge. “We’ve a couple of clients today looking for…” The emails were all on his phone, and he checked it, positive mood immediately dropping. “Oh, fantastic. They’re wanting an escort for a spirit walk. How exciting.”

The jar didn’t move or make any sign that the spirit inside was listening. Still, Matsuo continued on, by now quite used to talking aloud to ease the silence when one of his pets wasn’t out. “You think it’d be easy after dealing with all the low-ranking members of Claw at the base. It’s not. At least they left me alone. These are, ugh, young adults. They’re going to want to talk to me. Have potentially meaningful conversation.” Ignoring the fact that Matsuo himself could be considered a young adult. Under thirty-five at the very least. He set about making breakfast, sucking the spoon he used to scoop jam onto toast as a self-soothing measure. “The pay is barely worth it.”

Rent, bills, things he wasn’t used to after living at the 7th Division base. But now he had an apartment, a small one, but big enough for his books and pets and himself. And Mogami, Pudding-chan, the pet that steadily corroded the stickers keeping him contained. “Are you hungry Pudding-chan? Maybe we’ll find something for you while we’re out.” Mogami was a picky eater after all, and harder still to keep contained when giving him an evil spirit to devour.

It was a quiet existence, lonely in some ways, but Matsuo was alive. Living more respectably, in his own little apartment looking out over Seasoning City and avoiding trouble. All of Claw knew eventually what would happen, figured they’d be bulldozed by their former boss, the one who had given them their scars to begin with. But Matsuo maybe foolishly hoped that he’d be left well enough alone. Just live his life with his spirits like a person might with their cats.

As if.

He saw the television takeover like most people did, but unlike the social media chatter that thought it a joke, Matsuo panicked. Immediately, he gathered his most powerful spirits, Mogami included, leaving his apartment for what might be the last time.

But Seasoning City had been shut down. No one in, no one out. It was Suzuki’s plan to force his hometown to witness its destruction.

Honestly, what happened to Matsuo before running into Mob and Minegishi isn’t terribly important to this story. He hid, he protected himself from Claw lackeys hunting down espers, questioning how they were suddenly so powerful, and he managed to keep a lid on Mogami’s jar to the very end. Until he didn’t.

And we know what happened there.

Matsuo ran from the destruction, following Mogami’s trail to the edge of the city, where they were both still trapped by Claw’s intense barrier. “Pudding-chan! What happened? Why didn’t you destroy Minegishi?” The spirit seemed focused on the barrier, ignoring the esper below. “Pudding-chan… Pudding-chan!” There was a brief pause before Matsuo changed tactics. “Mogami-san?”

“Mm?” Mogami looked down at Matsuo, frowning. Well, frowning more. It had been much longer than his death since he had smiled properly. “Oh, it’s you. You’re the one who trapped me in a jar.”

“Well,” Matsuo started slowly, only a little put off by the negativity Mogami exuded. “I also fed you. And kept you from disappearing.”

“And talked incessantly about anything that popped into your head.”

Matsuo was only slightly offended by that. “Well, you weren’t exactly a conversationalist.”

Mogami looked at Matsuo for a moment longer. “I was in a jar.” He turned back to the barrier.

“Okay… you have a point. What are you doing anyway?”

“Trying to get out. That boy seems to be learning. I don’t need to be here.” The spirit pushed against the barrier, getting repelled immediately with a fierce red aura Matsuo recognized immediately. He reached out, pulling Mogami back. “Hey!” Mogami turned to the esper in anger, but the genuine concern wiped whatever the spirit was about to say from his mind.

“Don’t do that; it’ll exorcise you before you can get through.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because you’re my friend Mogami-san.”

There was silence then, marked only by the sound of air moving, maybe a bird or the distant sound of a TV. There is no true silence in the world anymore, especially not in cities, even cities that were under threat of destruction. But between esper and ghost, former(?) evil spirit and former evil organizational leader, there was a moment of the truest silence to be found. Matsuo released Mogami from his hold, but the spirit didn’t move.

“You realize you say that so casually to someone who has done many evil things,” Mogami finally said, breaking their moment. “Not everything I think I care to regret.”

“I’ve done evil things too… and I don’t think I can regret all of them either.”

Mogami floated closer. “The boy seemed to know you.”

Matsuo let him approach, unafraid. “He definitely knew you.”

“He… taught me that perhaps the world isn’t so dark as I once thought.”

Matsuo nodded in agreement. “His master showed me how to grow up.”

“Grow up? You still eat sugared cereal.” There was a comfortableness in Mogami’s voice now, as he floated to be just taller than Matsuo, though his feet were well off the ground. Matsuo shifted, folding his arms across his chest and trying to stand taller.

“And just what’s so wrong with that? Adults eat sugar all the time.”

“It’s just… cute.” Matsuo blushed and looked away, back towards where they had left. “What are you going to do Matsuo?”

“I don’t know. If anyone can beat Suzuki, it’s that boy. He and his master could probably talk sense into a rock if they chose.”

“No, I mean. Afterwards. Will you keep being a psychic for hire?”

Matsuo made a face. “It’s the only thing I’m good at. But what about you? What are you going to do?”

“…I don’t know. I don’t regret many of the things I did, but it’s pointless to continue the way I was with people like him out there.” Mogami turned to the barrier again. “Maybe I should be exorcised. It’s what he and you were originally told to do by that rich idiot.”

Matsuo reached out, grabbing Mogami again, this time physically, a hand holding onto the spirit’s jacket. “Wait. Why not stay with me?”

“You don’t know the things I’ve done,” Mogami repeated. “There’s no telling how I’ll act.”

“You don’t know what I’ve done either,” Matsuo argued, holding tighter though Mogami hadn’t moved. “But just because we’ve got our burdens to carry doesn’t mean we have to do it alone.”

Mogami’s empty sockets stared into Matsuo’s own determined gaze, shifting subtly to take in his scar, his hair, his clothes. Then back to his face before Mogami let out a sigh, sinking closer to the esper’s level. “This means the jar again?”

“No… no I think I trust you to stay out.”

“You just want to talk my ear off about your new sports rules.”

Matsuo laughed. “It would be nice if you talked back.” He started to walk, away from the barrier and the edge of the city, towards his, their apartment.

“I always talked back. Your jar just wouldn’t let you hear.” Mogami was following close beside Matsuo, equals in starting a new chapter in both their lives.

#mob psycho 100 #matsugami #matsuo #mogami keiji #let's just tag this out properly since it looks like it could end here #it won't but it could #god haley your art is so good #i stumbled into your art around the time i was playing with textures and it makes me feel validated to see something so cute be loved by so #many #lol that tag got long there

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datura-foxglove · 6 years ago

Note

Please do analysis about Kyouka's abilty.

It’s Kyouka’s time to shine! XD

All images here are from easygoingscans, @dazaiscans, and kissanime

Izumi Kyouka, ex-member of Port Mafia and currently the newest member of ADA. Her Ability, Demon Snow, is to manifest a demon like entity that wields a sharp sword.

Kyouka’s Ability is unique in the meaning that other than the fact her Ability is sentient (right now only Atsushi’s tiger is also confirmed sentient, Akutagawa’s black beast and Mori’s Elise is a bit dubious), her Ability is also not originally hers but instead inherited from her mother (it’s unclear whether Demon Snow has been passed down for generations or her mother is the original owner).

Previously, just like some people in the story, Kyouka is unable to control her Ability. Later chapters showed us that the reason the only control of her Ability is her cellphone is revealed because Demon Snow’s transfer from her mother to Kyouka was imperfect. While the transfer itself was a success, Demon Snow won’t listen to her orders without the phone as intermediary (this reminds me of Pokemon actually. Transfer Pokemon won’t listen to your orders if you haven’t shown that you are worthy to be followed by defeating the gyms)

Fukuzawa’s Ability put a limiter to Demon Snow, so maybe with the power gap between them shrunk down tremendously now Demon Snow is more obedient to Kyouka’s words since she now consider Kyouka as her true owner and not just following the last order of Kyouka’s mother to ‘protect Kyouka’? (It can be argued that the phone fooled Demon Snow into thinking her original owner is still alive and followed the order from the phone instead of Kyouka)

Kyouka, unknowing that Demon Snow is originally her mother’s, thought that she was the cause of her parent’s death. Now that she knew her mother’s sacrifice, she has accepted Demon Snow as her parent’s last gift. This drastically increase their cooperation, as can be seen that Kyouka has now able to control Demon Snow in ways that her former self was unable to.

(why does all my poor and strong baby grow up so fast *sobs)

Demon Snow, just like Elise and Rashoumon, is more akin to a familiar than a Ability that needs to be unleashed (Yosano, Dazai, Hirotsu, etc) or equipped (Atsushi, Kunikida, Kenji, etc). She doesn’t need Kyouka to dictate her every move. With just one order of ‘defeat’, ‘kill’, ‘protect’, ‘destroy’, ‘carry us’, Demon Snow can immediately execute the order without hesitation. This shows the capability of thinking, added to the fact that she has independent action (such as picking a soap when Kyouka didn’t even order her to do it, also the fact she can manifests on her own outside of Kyouka’s will)

In battle, Demon Snow shows amazing strength and swordplay. Her sword can cuts through metal with ease (although not strong enough to cut through Atsushi’s tough tiger fur) and the fact she can hover in the air gives her advantage in mobility. Later on Kyouka also shows Demon Snow’s hidden ability, to materialize as physical and non physical being. With this Demon Snow can ignore most attacks and focus completely on the offense. Bindings also falls flat before her. Demon Snow can also acts as scout by slipping through walls like a ghost, although how to communicate the information back to Kyouka is a problem (can she write? Or at least convey her thoughts telepathically?). Kyouka can also use Demon Snow as a way of travel, because Demon Snow can carry her and flies. This can be used as escape method or just to help carry heavy things like groceries back home.

(Demon Snow breaking through a concrete wall fortified with metal fence in one hit with her sword and then taking Tanizaki with her to escape. Kyouka not carried along because probably they want to keep her sword hand free in case of enemy pursuing them)

...it’s just like having a demon servant, really. But this servant can and will kill you if you try anything bad with Kyouka.

Since Kyouka mostly uses Demon Snow in fight, it’s unknown what else Demon Snow is capable of. Can she cook? Can she do house chores? Can she do first aid in emergency? Can Demon Snow even learn something other than techniques to kill? If so, can she learn swordplay from a master like Fukuzawa?

While Demon Snow is an Ability most useful for slaughter, Kyouka is determined to use her as means to protect people. And honestly? She can. Even a knife can be used either to cook or to kill. Kyouka keeps on finding ways to utilize Demon Snow to do anything else but to kill, and so far she has succeeded (although she is still penchant to violence, at least she can hold herself back in time). Demon Snow is versatile, although not as much as Rashoumon. In fact, why don’t Kyouka just strap Demon Snow with bombs and have her hold onto the enemy when the bomb goes off? If she goes incorporeal, the blast won’t harm her anyway.

In battle, Demon Snow is a terrifying opponent to go against. Most people (Akutagawa and Atsushi) went to the summoner instead aka Kyouka as she is easier to defeat than Demon Snow. Fortunately, Kyouka herself possess enough fighting power with short sword that she isn’t an easy living target. Other summoner such as Kouyou targets Demon Snow, as she can then fight Kyouka one-on-one (although Kouyou never attacks her directly). If Kyouka is targeted, then Demon Snow’s ability to avoid most attacks only detriment Kyouka because she can get hit by stray attacks or feint that from the start targets her. While incorporeal, Demon Snow will be unable to protect Kyouka.

It’s also unclear how far Kyouka can get with Demon Snow. All the time Kyouka summons Demon Snow, she is right beside her and never went too far. If Demon Snow can get quite far from Kyouka, Kyouka can just wait in safe place until Demon Snow defeats all the enemies. But if she can’t, then Kyouka will always be at risk and Demon Snow will be unable to go full offense because she will have to protect Kyouka at her back.

The other unknown thing is how many times Kyouka can summon Demon Snow again everytime she is defeated? In Dead Apple, Shibusawa destroyed Demon Snow and she disappear for a while until Kyouka call her again (it’s also shown that Demon Snow doesn’t have to always appear behind Kyouka, she can appear just above the enemy too. This can become a pretty efficient ambush tactic). How many times Demon Snow has to be destroyed until Kyouka will be unable to call for her again? In what ways Demon Snow can be destroyed completely?

(Demon Snow ambushing Shibusawa from the back after heeding Kyouka’s summon)

(Demon Snow destroyed by Shibusawa. Interestingly enough, this is the only time Demon Snow has been destroyed in the canon)

With these in mind, Demon Snow’s biggest weakness is ironically, Kyouka. While Kyouka is strong, against Ability user like Akutagawa, Chuuya, Atsushi, or even Kenji she can’t do anything with just her blade. The moment the opponent can distract Demon Snow or have comrade to attack Kyouka while they keep Demon Snow busy, then Kyouka has to somehow survive alone. This is why fighting against people with Ability that can attack wide range like Rashoumon, she is severely in disadvantage. Fighting in enclosed room also limit Demon Snow’s mobility and if not careful, can trap both of them. Kyouka is better fighting against Ability user that favors one-on-one battle, as Kyouka can just wait safely on the sideline or wait for opportune moment and went in for the kill stealthily while Demon Snow keep their attention. Fighting against other summoner such as Mori and Kouyou also suits her just fine since Mori and Kouyou themselves are just normal humans without their familiars.

Ways to defeat Kyouka will be to surround her with multiple fighters, since Demon Snow will be forced to split her attentions to them and also Kyouka, which made mistakes more prone to happen. One can also just throw Dazai in there to hold Kyouka down (with help from others probably since Kyouka is strong) and nullify Demon Snow.

I think that’s all. Unfortunately, Demon Snow had less screen time so there are still many interesting mysteries about her (how to even pass an Ability to someone else in the first place?), but Asagiri will show us how Kyouka kick ass with her Ability in time.

#bungou stray dogs #izumi kyouka #demon snow #ability analysis #bsd spoilers #ask #Anonymous

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