#bsd chapter 75 spoilers

[dazaistabletop]

*squints eyes at chapter 75*

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

The Book: Everything We Know So Far and Possible Connections

The Book's lore is driving me crazy and I had to write this. This isn't meant to be a solid cohesive theory on anything but I wanted to compile everything we know about the Book, some rather disturbing implications of what that might mean, and which characters may or may not have a connection to it, as well as what that connection might be.

This is a long post, so I've bolded the key info. You can skim those if you don't want to go through everything. :)

***Major spoilers for BSD and for Beast!***

Main Series Information:

The first mentions of the Book occur in Chapter 28, when Fitzgerald tells Atsushi that the Guild's goal is to locate it. He tells Atsushi that only one copy of this book exists, and that neither flames nor abilities can damage it.

Fitzgerald claims he knows the Book is there because a prophet ability user foresaw that it had been sealed within Yokohama. When Atsushi asks what the relation is between him and the Book, Fitzgerald says that Atsushi is the guide to the Book.

In Chapter 35, Fitzgerald states that his goal is to use the Book to bring his daughter back to life.

The next mention is in Chapter 46, when Dazai talks to Fyodor in the alley. Dazai mentions that since Fyodor and the Rats don't have the firepower to burn down Yokohama, he instead needs to exterminate Yokohama's ability users to get to the Book, hence the cannibalism strategy.

Dazai says the true Book is a single novel with blank pages where anything written becomes the truth. Fyodor wishes to use it to make a world without the sin of ability users. Dazai says basically "good luck with that dude" lol. (Actually the line is "Give that a go, if you can, that is." which... might be significant?)

Chapter 58: Taneda dumps a lot of info on Ranpo. His assailant, who we know to be Sigma, stole a page from him, a single page removed from the Book in order to study it. The page has exactly the same capacity to make anything written become reality, it just has limited space to write. However, the Book has a restriction: it requires karmic/narrative consistency.

In Chapter 58.5, Mykola's speech about cages and the freedom of birds is ironically dictated word for word by a mysterious author. The translator note on the unofficial version I'm reading says the mysterious author is using imperfect Japanese with lots of katakana - I cannot confirm this myself, but it has interesting implications on our mystery author's identity if true. The page is used to position the Agency as the terrorists in the white hoods and frame them.

Chapter 59: Ranpo believes the Book was not made by an ability user but by something far greater than that. His proof is that unlike Mushitarou's ability, which can also alter reality, the people affected by the Book also have new memories to fit the alteration to the events. The Agency members remember committing the crime, even though they know they didn't.

In Chapter 70, Mushitarou reveals the DoA plans to use the other side of the page to eliminate the country at the next full moon. I am curious as to the significance of the full moon, given the moon's frequent recurrence in the series and Atsushi's ability connection to it. Chapter 74.5 establishes that the Sky Casino, with its 13 year history, was created 8 days ago when the page was written on, as a base for the next stage and also to "repay" Sigma for the use of his ability to retrieve it. In Chapter 75, Fyodor claims that Sigma, too, was written into existence via the Book 3 years ago - he has no memories before this point.

Chapter 77: the page was written with a condition that no police or law enforcement would believe in the Agency's innocence. However, Tachihara broke through that condition by reaffirming his identity as a member of the Mafia, which (metaphorically) tears the page.

Later references don't tell us too much more but I'll summarize them regardless. Kamui/Fukuchi has the page, which Atsushi knows from Sigma's info. Ranpo made an appeal to the police, explaining that the Agency was framed and the page preventing them from seeing the truth, and half the force sees the truth for themselves, breaking through the page's condition. Ranpo believed the direct opposition to the page's restrictions might sway Fukuchi into believing them (unfortunately, we don't know if this was right, as Fukuchi was not affected in the first place, being Kamui himself). And that's what we have so far.

Disturbing Implication #1: The Special Division knows/knew the location of the Book.

Taneda mentions that a page from the Book was taken to study. This implies that at one point, the Special Division had the Book or knew of its location. The higher ups may still know where it is. There are a few potential timelines here: the first is that the page was removed many, many years earlier, perhaps during the war, and the second is that the page was removed and tested 3 years ago, and Sigma resulted from these trials.

Disturbing Implication #2: Ranpo says the Book was created by something greater.

Something greater than ability users. I suspect this may be something outside their world. At this stage, it seems very likely this "greater entity" is an author - the author of the world we read about (it's Asagiri omg). An author, to the world they write, is akin to a god. I'm kind of joking about the Asagiri thing, but the "author" of the Book is likely someone/something that exists beyond the scope of the world of BSD.

Contradiction: The Book cannot be damaged by flame or ability, but pages can be torn out of it? How?

Beast Information:

Oh boy. Where to even start?

Beast Dazai states that the Book is the origin of the main universe's world, and it contains an infinite number of parallel worlds within it.

"What you write becomes a reality" is actually a misnomer. Writing in the Book calls a parallel world that aligns with what is written directly from the Book. This parallel world will then trade places with the real world.

There is a single physical reality, and infinite possible worlds. The Beast universe exists within the Book, as a possible world.

A version of the Book exists in the Beast universe. However, this Beast version of the Book is more of a weakness. Orders from the real world can overwrite Beast. And anyone who tries to write in Beast's Book will make Beast cease to exist.

Beast Dazai jumps at the end of Beast. This is because if more than 3 people know the truth about the Book, the world will destabilize - it may even disappear without Beast's Book being written in.

Beast Dazai created a singularity using his ability. It's not explained how he did this, but it has something to do with his nullification. He did this to read the memories of real-world/original Dazai - the Dazai who exists outside the Book. (It seems all but given that this is Dazai from the main timeline.)

Though the above conflicts with some of what we know in the main manga, we can take it as fact, I think. The narration is heavy on emphasizing that Beast Dazai is telling no lies in this scene.

Disturbing Implication #3: Any alterations are not inventions but transferrals, which means these events actually occurred in another universe.

This means that the Agency really were the DoA terrorists in a parallel world and they did carry out the plan. They really did take the hostages in this world. Tanizaki really did push the button. This would explain their memories. The caveat of no one in law enforcement believing them might make sense too - they're actually criminals in that world, so they would have no reason to believe them. "Trading places" also implies that the terrorist Agency universe has the terrorists trying to save the hostages like the Agency originally planned to do (potentially).

Sigma is an interesting case. If he really was written into existence from the Book, then he was called from another parallel world - literally displaced from his home. His amnesia likely occurred in that parallel world too.

Disturbing Implication #4: The parallel worlds are more fragile than the main world of BSD.

There is something different about our main universe. The Book that originates here is the real deal. But Beast's (and all the Books from different parallel worlds) leave them vulnerable. These worlds can be destroyed at any time if anyone tries to write in these Books. Only a select number of people can know how it really works before it starts to destabilize. What's more, at any point, someone could write in the real-world's Book and overwrite it entirely, and there would be nothing that any of the people within that world could do about it. And Beast Akutagawa, thinking back on the events of the story, comes to the conclusion that even though his world is "but a shadow", the desires, feelings and actions of the people within it make those people no less real than those in the original.

Beast is a goddamn existential horror.

Character Connections

Now, onto the characters who are known to have some kind of connection to the Book.

Fitzgerald wanted the Book in the Guild arc to bring back his daughter. While this is the first mention of it, given that he got his info from clearly secondhand sources (the prophet ability user or Fyodor, most likely), I don't think he has any sort of deeper understanding of it, nor a more personal connection. Ranpo seems to be figuring out the Book's logistics rather quickly, but I expect nothing less from the greatest detective, and he doesn't have a strong personal connection I can see as of yet. As for Fukuchi, whatever knowledge he gained 36 years ago might be connected... but again, I have nothing else to say on this front, considering we have little else on this (I'm actually more inclined to think it has to do with the war - which may tie in with the Book, but not necessarily). I would also be very surprised if Mori doesn't know something but I have no real evidence for this other than that the man is suspicious as hell. Then again, there's also Tokoyami Island, which "appeared" seemingly out of nowhere and is where Yosano's backstory took place and Fukuchi headed after his argument with Fukuzawa. It seems possible, if not likely, that it was created with the Book. So, let's go over some characters who we actually can expand on a little.

Taneda

Not much to say here other than what kind of research was being done with the Book? Given that Taneda had the page on him, was he the one responsible for the research being conducted on it, or was he just involved?

What kind of research was being done with the page? How were they testing it? The page was blank, so they must not have created anything with it yet. How then, did Taneda know how it worked and that the page would have the same capacities as the full Book?

Taneda doesn't seem to understand the Book completely - he thinks it was created by an ability user, after all, and like everyone else in the main universe he doesn't know the reason the Book requires narrative consistency (that it is pulling from other worlds, not just making anything written come true).

The Special Division likely had the Book at one point, but by the time Fitzgerald comes to retrieve it, it has been "sealed". Did the Special Division seal it? Why and how?

Atsushi

We know he has a lot to do with it. Atsushi and the Book are incredibly intertwined, and the initial conflict was kicked off by a bounty placed on his head for this connection.

He is called the "guide" to the Book. What does that mean? Is he meant to locate it? Unlock the seal? Or is he a guide on how to use it properly?

6 years ago, Shibusawa found Atsushi at the orphanage when he was just a kid and tortured him to extract his ability. He was a researcher who learned about the tiger from Fyodor, who called Atsushi's ability "one that guides the envy of all ability users". And we know Fyodor has been after the Book for a long time, so it's difficult to imagine this does not have something to do with it.

Atsushi is the only character to directly reference a real-life novel in the series and recall reading it. "The head may err but never the blood" and "I only regret what I haven't done" are from the real Nakajima Atsushi's "Light, Wind, and Dreams", a fictionalized autobiography detailing the last few years of the life of Robert Louis Stevenson. While other characters quote their namesakes' fiction on occasion, to my recollection, Atsushi is the only one who explicitly remembers reading the book, but finds himself unable to remember the author's name. Cute reference, or plot significant? You decide.

Atsushi's tiger is heavily associated with the moon, particularly the full moon. For some reason, the other side of the page is to be used at the next full moon and cannot be used sooner. Atsushi's ability crystal, pulled out of him by Shibusawa as a child, is described as "pale and glittering like the moon".

It is entirely unlike the red crystals that form in the Dead Apple separated abilities - including Atsushi's tiger (also red). It is, however, similar to Dazai's, which is white. Atsushi transforms into the tiger to swallow the moon-like crystal - to reiterate, it was outside him when he transformed. What's more, from Beast it's known that this instance was when his ability apparently activated for the first time - how could it do that if it was already removed from him? Later on, Shibusawa tries to take the crystal again and Atsushi's transformation deteriorates, that's true, but bear in mind that Atsushi was convinced that crystal was the tiger, which may have psychologically influenced this. In fact, the moon crystal may not be the tiger at all. It is entirely possible it is something else, and it is likely that which makes Atsushi so sought after. If it is, I refuse to believe this has nothing to do with the Book.

Atsushi's ability is described as the "spark of life that resists all abilities". A reference to his healing factor, perhaps? Or something more meaningful?

He's also referred to as an "angel" by Shibusawa who canonically got his information from Fyodor so... make of that what you will.

Tachihara

This isn't so much about Tachihara having significance in future but more about what his breaking of the page's conditions might mean.

At the crux of this is his split identity - he's a Hunting Dog, but also a mafioso, and his struggle between these identities is his core conflict in the Sky Casino arc.

Eventually, Tachihara, recalling Hirotsu and Gin's words that anyone in the Mafia knows that the Agency is innocent, frantically realizes they have the wrong culprits, thus breaking through the page's caveat that all law enforcement would never believe them, accompanied by a metaphorical tear in the page.

It's intriguing because we don't see this same dramatic depiction later on with the police when Ranpo appeals to them - Tachihara has changed his expected role from police to mafioso. Tachihara is no longer playing the "character" he was meant to play.

He tore out of that restriction in the story. His story line is now on a different path. There are some serious implications of that if a change in character can literally break people free of the Book's reality-altering influence. It is all-powerful so long as everyone plays their expected role in that narrative. Breaking out of that can change the story, even if only minutely.

Sigma

Of course Sigma is connected. He was apparently written into the Book three years ago - which means he came from one of the parallel worlds. (Provided Fyodor is telling the truth about his origins, but I think it would be very strange narratively if this wasn't - at least partially - true.)

I am curious if Sigma will regain some of his memories soon, or if it is even possible for him. If he can regain memories, then they would be from a world within the Book. Or, perhaps his memories don't exist because that world has been overwritten and no longer exists?

Is it possible for Sigma to communicate between worlds using his exchange of information? Maybe this is completely out of left field... I'm just curious what role Sigma is going to play in all this.

It's strange, for someone so obviously connected I... really don't have much to say about him. I just think we don't have enough.

Mykola

There isn't too much to say for certain about him, but I know I was super uncomfortable with his entire speech about birds and cages and freedom being dictated in real-time by the page. That's rough, buddy.

As of this moment, he's supposed to be dead, but somehow defied his fate and is still alive. He decided not to play the role ("character") he was previously meant to, and now he is the cast's biggest wildcard.

Mykola's fixation on freedom at all costs may have some interesting implications for his interactions with the idea of the Book. When his words were written on the page, was the page dictating his speech, or was it merely recording what he was already saying? If the Book is the story, then does the story control the characters, or, as it has been implied by Mykola and Tachihara, can the characters defy the story? When they defy the story, the story changes to accommodate this. Have they really, then, defied anything of significance at all? (For clarity: I don't know if this is where BSD will go with it - in actuality, I'm always confused when people theorize the Book's author is evil and controlling, or that the series will end tragically, given how much BSD loves to emphasize the importance of writing and reading and understanding and living. This is just an example of a few possible questions it may make sense for Mykola to fixate on.)

I don't have a lot to say for certain, but given his need to be free, his connection with Fyodor, and his Dazai-foiling traits, I'd think it very odd if he wasn't involved to some extent.

Dazai

...where to even start.

Dazai clearly knows things about the Book. He appears to know much of what Fyodor does, and it makes me curious as to whether it came up when they first met (whenever that was).

However, main series Dazai doesn't seem to have all the info Beast Dazai does. For one thing, he too echoes that the Book makes all that is written into it become reality. He may know about the parallel worlds within it and could just be lying by omission, but I've seen very little to suggest that this is the case.

Main series Dazai appears to know about certain events long before they occur (not everything though; I need to remind people that he can and has been thrown off/wrong about things before) - notably, most of these planned events revolve around Fyodor. He's been preparing Atsushi and Akutagawa specifically to deal with the upcoming threat posed by Fyodor's pursuit of the Book.

Beast Dazai was somehow able to read the memories of real-world Dazai by creating a singularity with his ability... somehow. It's assumed he must've created it while in contact with the Book (otherwise how else could he have read the memories) but it's actually not elaborated on and we still have little to no details.

If his nullification caused a singularity, then how? Was it a singularity with the Book? Himself? Whatever the Book was sealed with/in? Singularities are still quite mysterious, but they need to involve one of two things - an insurmountable contradiction, or an uncontrollable increase in power with no way to cap it. Given that nullification doesn't lend itself to an increase in anything, it's likely an inherent contradiction.

I think it pretty obvious that Dazai has some special knowledge of the Book; some connection to it. He's been preparing to combat Fyodor for many, many years, and he seems to want to take Fyodor out as quickly as possible. Clearly, his potential use of the Book is a big deal to Dazai and worth putting his full effort into preventing, which is a little odd, honestly, considering he only met him once before the events of Dead Apple. Fyodor must've really made a terrible impression on him.

Where did he come from? There's that post about how Dazai is in everyone else's backstory for some reason, but we don't know his yet. Here's what we do know: He has some kind of connection with the Old Mafia Boss. He wandered around Yokohama for awhile. He's not related to Mori or an orphan he picked up.

While I've seen suggestions that Dazai met Fyodor in the 2 year gap between his leaving the Mafia and joining the ADA, I think there's reason to suggest he may have met Fyodor before he ever joined the Mafia, as a young child. Just bringing it up as a possibility because Beast Dazai's forming of a singularity with it sounded intentional - which means at 16, he would already have known what the Book was. Did he get his knowledge from Fyodor? Someone else?

Why did young Dazai become so listless and unable to find a reason to live? How did he become convinced that he will lose everything he wants so badly to keep when he gets it? Why did he think he could predict everything in advance? Is it just his intelligence and observation? Or is there more to it than that?

While I'm not a huge fan of the "Dazai is the Book" theory (given that it would make him literally inhuman, which I think runs antithetical to his story), on reviewing all this I've come up with a new incredibly deranged and not-at-all-sound theory:

Dazai is the Book's seal. In this essay I will -

Fyodor

First of all, we know hardly anything about him. We don't understand his ability. We don't even know how old he is. He's been with V/the Decay of the Angel for many years apparently... he was involved in Shibusawa's actions... he has some kind of a history with Dazai... he perfected the art of dramatically standing on windy roofs... truly, he's an enigma.

On a more serious note, all we know is that he wants the Book to create a world free of ability users. Free of sin.

This doesn't seem to fully align with Fukuchi's goal. My proof? They have differing concepts of "angels".

Fukuchi's "angels" borrow from the Buddhist concept of Devas and also likely references Mishima Yukio's The Decay of the Angel. Fukuchi tells Tachihara that the angels are the politicians who remain in their lofty seats and send soldiers into war to die. His goal isn't revenge per se, but it does appear to involve dethroning them in a sense. He doesn't mention wiping out ability users nor of having any particular ill-will towards them.

However, Fyodor's concept is closer to the Abrahamic concept of angel, what with the numerous references to original sin, the script for the play in Untold Origins speaking of angels banished by God for their sins, etc. What's interesting is that the play emphasizes ability users as "angels" who have regained some of their prior powers (I find it difficult to believe Fyodor was not involved in the creation of this) - so Fyodor's "sinful angels" are likely ability users. What does this mean for their goals? Are they still aligned? Is the undermining of government necessary for the elimination of ability users? (Also quick note: do not quote me on any religious stuff - I am not religious myself. I do research sometimes but I'm very, very far from an expert ahaha.)

So, now: Cannibalism was part 1 of the DoA's plan, and all the ensuing stages will culminate in the use of the other side of the page.

Firstly, there's the obvious "what will the other side of the page be used for?"

But then there's something else. By the time Cannibalism occurred, the pieces were already in place for the next phase of the plan, where Sigma would steal the page from Taneda. Why then, does Fyodor still claim, on numerous occasions, to be after the Book? The page should be able to accomplish anything the Book can. Either there is something misleading in the information we have been told, or there is something he wants to do with the Book that isn't writing in it. I think the former is more likely but I digress, the latter is still a possibility.

A few more outstanding questions: Why was he spreading info on Atsushi to Shibusawa and presumably Fitzgerald, but not going after Atsushi himself? Wouldn't he want Atsushi as the Book's guide?

What is his connection to the prophet ability user Fitzgerald mentioned - is it him, with his uncanny predictive powers? Is it someone else associated with the DoA? Is it someone in the government? How long ago was this prediction made - was it made long enough ago that this is why V was active in Yokohama?

There's a lot that's very confusing about Fyodor, and I don't think we know nearly enough about him to make proper predictions as to his relation to the Book yet.

Akutagawa

He's only really tangentially related to it through his connection to Atsushi - if any showdown is going to happen involving the Book, you can bet he and Akutagawa will be teaming up for that.

At the same time, Dazai selected Akutagawa as a mentee a long time ago, and he's been planning for them to work together since he met Atsushi, specifically so they can prevent Fyodor from achieving his goals. In Beast, he mentions their abilities form a singularity together - likely that ability to "cut through anything".

I know this may be entirely wild and out of left field but if it can cut through anything... could it damage the impervious Book? Could it even destroy it? Or maybe it could destroy whatever is sealing it? Who knows, but it makes me think they're going to have to destroy something. (Interesting how this runs counter to sskk's need to act as protectors of the Book in Beast... so maybe it will be in defense. It's all so unclear.)

There's also the whole "dragon is the manifestation of the chaos of ability users". Atsushi and Akutagawa are the tiger and the dragon, at odds with each other via rivalry but also in balance. I think it would be very strange if Atsushi's ability were unusual but not Akutagawa's.

In addition to all the above, I am also side-eyeing all the author characters in this series. For one thing, there's very few of them. For another, two of them have died, changing the path of their respective best friends' lives - and in a series that actually... doesn't kill that many named characters off permanently, it's worth taking a look at.

Yokomizo wanted to transcend the boundaries of fiction in his writing to create a mystery that bled into reality - the ultimate mystery. Mushitarou writes to see his friend again, to connect with him through his greatest passion. Poe's ability allows him to take real people and pull them into constructed narratives that can be escaped once they are "solved" - when the story reaches its conclusion. He is also the one who spurs Mushitarou into writing to cope with his loss.

Natsume wrote a few books as well. We don't know completely what they were about (and from my brief research they don't seem to correspond perfectly to his real life novels - might be a reference to Kokoro but the story does not appear to be the same...), but at least one was a series of three novels, with the last featuring an assassin who stopped killing, but Natsume derided these books and said they were not very good. He tore out the last few pages from the third, final book that explained why the assassin changed his path, and gave the book to a young Odasaku with a note "Don't blame me if you regret [reading] it".

Odasaku wanted to complete that novel. It completely changed his perspective on the world and opened his eyes - he re-read it multiple times (if I remember correctly, he also read it over and over to a wounded and exasperated Dazai in TDIPUD lol), and the lack of an ending bothered him immensely, not just because the story was incomplete, but because the scene was necessary to understanding the assassin's character. Odasaku wrote to understand himself and others, because writing novels is writing people. Natsume seemed to think he was uniquely qualified to do so, but Odasaku disagreed, thinking that someone who took lives was in no position to write about them - to understand them.

Odasaku dies. In every universe, and before he gets the chance to write the novel that sits in his mind - except in Beast, where Dazai painstakingly maintained the world to ensure he stayed alive. It seems oddly specific that this one random person should die before having the opportunity to write the story he wished... and I have to wonder if the universe really doesn't want him writing that book for some reason. And if that's the case, then is there any reason (beyond saving Oda from killing) why Natsume encouraged him to do so?

As a bonus, in the anime, Odasaku is the one to title drop "to the stray dogs" as a cheers, which Dazai will later echo. This doesn't happen in the novel... but if you look back at the difference between the anime Book and the manga Book - you'll notice the manga Book's cover is blank. The anime's says "Stray Dogs". Could be something, could be nothing. But it's worth mentioning.

And that's pretty much it for now! As we get more info, I'll continue to update this post. If anything here gives you ideas, please feel free to ramble about it in the tags or comments, or shoot me an ask! I love to read all your thoughts. :)

[otsuki-mii]

#文豪ストレイドッグス ��� Bungo Stray Dogs ��️

Author: Kafka Asagiri, Harukawa35 Publisher: Yen Press Tags: Seinen, Crime, Urban Fantasy

~~~

"Having been kicked out of the orphanage, a despairing young man by the name of Atsushi Nakajima rescues a strange man from a suicide attempt--Osamu Dazai. Turns out that Dazai is part of an armed-detective agency staffed by individuals whose supernatural powers take on a literary bent!"

~~~

Breather post! I've been thinking about how I need to catch-up with BSD because so much has happened since I paused it around chapter 75. Akutagawa is my favorite character in the series, even though i have others I also really like, and I've seen some spoilers about him a while ago that made me :') so I really should catch-up and see everything for myself...

I chose to make a post about Atsushi and Akutagawa together because their relationship progression is one of my favorite things in the series and seeing them team up makes me so excited every time!!

If you've read this, who's your favorite character??

Check out my post on Instagram for more pics!

[maximaxstreasurebox]

Me,reading BSD chapter 75…

Reaction time!

(Spoilers!)

I’M WAY TOO EXCITED TO SEE THE NEW CHAPTER,SO I’LL ‘READ’ THE RAWS THIS TIME- QWQ

Run run RUN RUNURRUNRUNRU-

OH F*CK OH F*CK TERUKO IS ANGERY-

Omg same,Tachihara :”D

Oh ohohohoh???????????

Wait where are they?

OH DAMN GRANDMA IS GOOD-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

IT’S TERUKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

SMOL TACHIHARA 

BABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI-

Baby Tachi got pat pat~

Hey hey Sigma~

I can hear the final boss fight’s music

Ohm damn oh damn jesus christ Teruko-

Let’s go girl!

YES! 😤

OH DAMN! O-O

oh O-O-O-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH?!?!?!?!??!?!!?

DAZAI?!?!?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHH- Q____Q

Sigma mostly likely got modified by The Book?? 🤔

...................A desert? What?

*GASP*

MY SOUL! QAQ HIS FACE-

HE LOOKS SO SAD Q_________________Q HMRHHMRMHRHR-

Uuuuuuu he escaped from jail??

AAAAND HE MET WITH FYODOR OWO

*GASP* ATSUSHI!!!! :DDDDDD

OH F * C K O____O

SIGMA WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!

RUN GIRL RUN!

Huh?! HUHHUHH??!?!?!?!?!?

YEET!

Huh? HUHUUUHHHU?!?!?!?!??!?!?!!

What the hell is on that bullet? o-o

GOTCHA B*TCH

MY NEW GODNESS IS TERUKO, JESUS CHRIST SHE’S PRETTY ASF-

Oh?

OooohH He’s confessing?? :0

Me: *reads translated parts*

Me: PROTECC SIGMA POOR CHILD CAN I HUG U-?!?!

OH DAMN HE HAS GUN-

BABY TACHI BABY TACHIBABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI BABY TACHI-

[taiyohima]

“Do you want a family” || Fyodor and Sigma Chapter:75 

[popopretty]

BSD Chapter 75

I have not done a summary for a while becuz I was pretty busy but this is our long-awaited chapter after the break so a lot of things happened! I feel terribly sorry for Sigma after reading the chapter and I hope he will find happiness somehow ;;

Neither English nor Japanese is my native language so you may find some mistakes here and there. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you spot any.

SPOILERS AHEAD

- Tachihara and Teruko are running from the guests, who are trying to hunt them down to get the prizes Sigma promised. Tachihara finds the situation really bad because they can’t fight the normal people and yet there might be armed guards taking advantage of the situation to attack them while hiding themselves in the crowd.

- Teruko look scary, saying that Sigma is bold to think that they won’t be able to hurt those insolent guests. (TN: Honestly at this page I was convinced that she was going to kick everyone’s asses xD) But then she tells Tachihara that it is exactly like that, they as police won’t ever hurt the citizens in under any circumstances. But they will still get their job done.

- They runs into a room and when the guests catch up, there is only an old lady inside the room. The window is broken and we can see ropes ties to the balcony. Thinking that they have escaped to the lower floor, the guests leave the room.

- The old lady took her cart and went out to the lower floor where she is stopped by two guards. Here it is turned out that she is Teruko in disguise and Tachihara is turned into a baby hiding inside her cart. She tells the guard her ability allows her to manipulate the age of everyone she touches. She uses her ability to torture the guard and make him tell her how to take control of the communication terminal. The frightened guard told her that it can only be done through a key that only Sigma has.

- Teruko then turns Tachihara back to his form and orders him to take care of the other guards, while she herself heads to Sigma’s place.

- Back to Dazai and Fyodor in jail, they are talking about what Fyodor said before, that “Sigma doesn’t have any memories so he is strong.” Dazai thinks it is nonsense, and that if it is true, the old lady in the coffee shop might be the strongest cuz she never remembers his order. He says that no matter how determined Sigma might be, the Hound Dogs are on another “class” and going against them head-on is suicidal.

- Fyodor smiles and says that if they are talking about “class” then the Hound Dogs have the lower hands. And not only the Hound Dogs, nothing in this world can match him. He explains that the reason that Sigma is so attached to the casino is because he is lonely. He is the ultimate stranger to this world, so the casino is the one and only thing he has. That is when Dazai realizes that Sigma is just a human-being created 3 years ago by the book. He is shocked and wonder if u can even call Sigma “human”.

- We get a flashback into Sigma’s past when he was first “born”. The first thing he saw in this world was a train ticket, to a station that doesn’t exit. He found himself in the middle of the desert, having no ideas about anything. He wondered in the desert for a few days and got caught by the slave trafficker. Knowing he has ability, they used him to commit a lot of crimes. He escaped later but no matter where he went, people always ended up using him for crimes, even the people who seemed sincere at first. He lost faith in everyone, until he met Fyodor, the last person that used him, also the terrorist that turns the world around. Fyodor offered to give him a “home”, which he believes was out of his reach. So he decided that this was going to be the last stop, and put everything into protecting his newly found “home” and “family”.

- Back to present time, Sigma meets with Teruko. He confirms that the explosion signals can only be stopped by taking control of the system. He throws the key towards Teruko, which surprises her. Meanwhile, he is thinking to himself that if he is to be honest, he will want to cry and run away right at that moment. But it is impossible because if he doesn’t stop the Hound Dogs, the casino will be destroyed. He knows that he is going against the strongest troop of the government, and wonder what is so wrong about an ordinary man trying to protect what is dear to him. He summons 2 machine guns and aims at Teruko.

- Atsushi and Kyouka hears the gun shots from the lower floor and knows the Hound Dogs have already reached the communication room. Atsu is worried that if they can’t get there in time, Dazai’s plan will be ruined. Kyouka uses Demon Snow to cut a hole in the wall and tells Atsushi to go ahead while she takes care of the rest.

- Back to Sigma and Teruko, Sigma is sure that the bullets can kill Teruko right away (because it is a 7.62mm with a muzzle velocity of 2700kph, that can destroy even a tank and turn a human to ash before they can even feel pain). But in fact, Teruko blocks it by bare hands and quickly destroys the gun. When Sigma is trying to activate a new barrel, Teruko approaches and seizes his hand. She tells him he doesn’t stand a chance from the beginning. And he agrees, knowing that he, being a lonely man in this world, doesn’t have the power to protect his “home”. But even if it is like that, his body cannot stop.

- Teruko asks Sigma if he has anything left to say and he answers that he has one. And that is “Everything till now went exactly as planned.”, while taking out something that looks like a gun from this pocket.

And that is the end of this month’s chapter. Thank you for reading till here ^^

[peachyfyodor]

he is the prettiest ;;

[vampireonastick]

After reading your post on ch.101, I am rather scared for Fyodor now. Bc say, Dazai manages to pull Sigma to his side and say, Kolya is already aligned with Dazai-Ango (maybe he was really meant to die in Sunday Tragedy Arc and was saved and made a deal with by Ango same like he did with Catgirl?) but say, if both Sigma and Kolya move to Dazai's side and Chuuya is ofc gonna be on his side (Dead Apple lol).... where does it leave Fyodor then? I wonder if the storyline is building up for a Kirillov-esque ending for Fyodor?? The two men give off a similar done-with-life vibe after all...what do you think?

Hello Anon, thank you for the ask!! 

I really did try to keep this response short when I started writing it, but alas, I’m afraid I got carried away again… (I put a short TL;DR at the end, if you’d prefer just to know my quick thoughts without reading the paragraph long reasons as to why I believe them, I definitely would understand XD)

Also, I unfortunately haven’t read any of Dostoevsky’s novels yet, so I am unfamiliar with the character you’re referring to. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump for a lonnnnnggg time now lmao, so while I do plan on reading all the irl author's works (and those pesky little light novels I still need to finish….), right now my perspective is a fairly limited one. Although, I’ve heard that many of the bsd characters seem to share many similarities with the real life authors and characters from their works, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you are right about Fyodor’s ending.

Alright, on to my rambling.

Fyodor’s Plans/Nikolai and Sigma’s Allegiances

(Spoilers up to chapter 101!!)

Yes I get what you’re saying, it really does feel like the story is moving in a direction that is slowly pulling all of Fyodor’s ‘pawns’ away from him. Apart from Nikolai and Sigma, we also have Mushitarou, who is now being protected by Poe and Ranpo, Bram, who’s been kidnapped by Aya, and I’ve never considered Fukuchi as someone who cares about Fyodor or his plans at all, so he’s not too reliable as an ally either. (and yes I completely agree with you about Chuuya, ain’t no way Fyodor actually has a handle on him XD)

Though, in spite of all this, I think Fyodor is going to be alright, at least for a while still.

I’m not sure if bsd has lured me into a false sense of security, but I just can’t believe any main character (or even side character) is going to permanently die anytime soon. Ultimately, even though it seems like Dazai’s got him in a bit of a tough spot right now, and even if Dazai is trying to steal Fyodor’s pawns, I believe Fyodor will pull through just fine. 

A Dazai/Fyodor Tangent… 

Fyodor is still incredibly intelligent, and with how the back and forth between him and Dazai has been going, there’s always a high likelihood that Fyodor has already accounted for all of the moves and plays Dazai is making right now. 

I was actually talking to Lav @kaus-quietis a bit about the whole Sigma-Dazai-Nikolai-Fyodor fiasco and she brought up some excellent points about this. 

In reference to Fyodor’s speech about Sigma:

“In my guess, Fedya would never reveal information that he cannot foresee the consequences of: and what did he do? Well, Fedya basically praised Sigma to heavens and back in ch74-75, Dazai understood his importance and chose him.” - Lav

Why was Fyodor hyping Sigma up so much to Dazai? Did Dazai’s plans involve Sigma from the start, or did Fyodor’s speech here influence him? 

If during this conversation, Fyodor had ‘planted the seed’ in Dazai’s head of Sigma being an interesting pawn, which influenced him to select Sigma as a partner, everything could actually be going Fyodor’s way right now, as Lav so beautifully points out. It really is hard to say for certain.

The thing about Dazai and Fyodor’s ‘rivalry’ that I find rather interesting, is that neither one of them seem to be underestimating the other in terms of their intelligence or diligently thought out plans. Each of them seem to be eight moves ahead of the other while also two steps behind. 

Both of them seem to be so sure that they will be the one who wins in the end. But if there can only be one winner, how can one of them win and the other lose with how similar their characters have been made out to be over the course of the story? In my opinion, one of them being outsmarted by the other would undermine their intelligence, ‘break’ this ‘mirror image’ thing they have going on, and would alter their character as a whole. To me personally, this would feel a little unsatisfying. (Random prediction here, but I think the only way Dazai and Fyodor’s little ‘chess game’ is going to end is if a third party comes in and stops them, which would end in both Dazai and Fyodor losing. But I’d say we still have a long ways to go before that comes into play)

I also think there is always the possibility that new characters will be introduced as Fyodor’s allies, just like the DoA members at the beginning of this arc. For example, I still think Fyodor has a close ally we haven’t met yet, one who will likely be strictly on Fyodor’s side and will not waver in their allegiances to him (this thought is really just a strong feeling I have though).

A Sigma Tangent…

Whether or not Sigma will be a larger threat to Fyodor later on is something I’m not too sure of. He’s still a massive wildcard in my eyes. 

During my talk with Lav (bringing up her insight again here because seriously, it led me to change my view on Sigma's character significantly), she expressed her suspicions of “Sigma being on Dazai’s side ‘physically’ because ‘mentally’ he is still a Decay member.” which is something I now wholeheartedly agree with. Even if Dazai’s current goal is to get Sigma on his side, that doesn’t mean he will succeed. 

I think the reason for this has to do with Sigma’s past experiences with people, and his personal goals. Basically, I view Sigma as a very self-serving and selfish person (not in a bad way, I might add), and this affects how he will align himself in this ADA vs DoA conflict. 

I found it really interesting when Dazai compared Sigma to Atsushi in this last chapter, because it’s true, they are so similar in some ways! But the more I think about it, the two of them are quite different too. 

Atsushi’s main personal goal seems to be proving he deserves to be alive. To feed this goal, he saves people in need, as by doing that, he is adding something good to the world, he is making a positive difference. And so, that must make him worth something, if his existence helps make the world a little brighter.

Sigma feels much more middle-ground in terms of morality to me. We know from the Sky Casino arc that he is willing to hurt others in order to protect that which is precious to him, but it’s also obvious he doesn’t enjoy doing that. 

Atsushi is also willing to hurt others, but the difference is, Atsushi fights to protect others, while Sigma fights for himself.

There’s nothing wrong with this of course, but since Sigma’s goals are more ‘self-focused’ it will be easier to pull him to a darker side.

I think a large part of this is because Sigma has never really positively connected with that many people (that we know of). All of his interactions with people up until he met Dazai were rather terrible. He was enslaved, manipulated by Fyodor, the hunting dogs attacked him and destroyed his home, and Nikolai certainly doesn’t seem like an easy person to bond with on a meaningful level, at least for Sigma. Even at the Sky Casino, he seemed so stressed trying to make sure everything was running perfectly, I highly doubt he had the time to form any meaningful bonds to guests or his staff in those eight days…

Since Sigma has so few positive connections to other people, I feel like this is part of what allows him to act so self-servingly to the point he is willing to hurt others, like the Hunting Dogs at the Sky Casino. He doesn't want to, but he has little reason not to. 

This is turning out to be a massive tangent, but basically, I believe there is still a high likelihood Fyodor can get Sigma back on his side with little effort. Because Sigma is still only concerned about his own wellbeing at this point, he will likely flock to whoever is giving him the best offer. But, if Dazai can get Sigma out of the prison and introduce him to more kind people, like Atsushi for example, then I think it will be much harder for Fyodor to get Sigma back.

(that was an extremely long winded way of saying ‘Sigma will protect himself until he has friends he wants to protect more than himself’)

A Nikolai Tangent…

As for Nikolai, even if he’s working with Dazai, I don’t necessarily believe it’s out of ill intent towards Fyodor, so I don’t believe he’ll be much of a direct threat to Fyodor either. (that part on Nikolai isn’t really based on any ‘evidence’ from the manga, it’s just a vibe I get from his character- so please take it with a grain of salt (same goes for all of this btw, these are just my personal opinions and ideas)).

I really like your idea about Ango making a deal with Nikolai in order to save him from dying during A Sunday Tragedy. I feel like that’s quite plausible. Nikolai doesn’t really seem like the type to back out of his decisions out of fear, so to learn he saved himself last minute was quite shocking to me. 

If Nikolai was contacted and agreed to a deal before the events of A Sunday Tragedy, It would help explain why Nikolai had such a sudden change in mindset, going from ‘needing to die’ to ‘needing to take Sigma to Meursault and kill Fyodor’.

Lav also mentions how It could be possible that Fyodor was the one who instructed Nikolai to save himself, which I feel could fit just as well in the storyline.

Ultimitally, I believe Nikolai is on his own side, but he is currently lending his talents to either Dazai or Fyodor (possibly both at the same time lmao- imagine that), for what reasons? I’m not too sure.

Nikolai seems to genuinely like Fyodor, because Fyodor seems to understand him. But considering how similar Fyodor and Dazai are, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn Nikolai has a soft spot for Dazai as well. Honestly, Nikolai’s entire motivation for helping either of them could be to make their ‘game’ more entertaining, for their benefit. Maybe he’s just being a good friend in his own way, and just wants to see them both have fun coming up with plans to destroy each other since they seem to like it so much.

(that’s not sarcasm btw, I have such little grip on Nikolai’s character, this deadass feels like the most plausible motivation to me… Anyone please feel free to tell me what you think- the clown confuses me greatly) 

Back on Track 

… (was there even a ‘track’ from the start?? I’m so sorry this reply is incredibly long-winded and messy - i have too many thoughts and an inability to express myself concisely) 

TL;DR

So yeah, the way I kind of see it, is that even if Dazai is trying to bring Sigma and Nikolai to his side, that is easier said than done. Even if they are working with Dazai right now, that doesn’t mean Fyodor has lost them for good. And with how resourceful Fyodor is, I’m sure he still has many tricks up his sleeve. 

Again I’m sorry I can’t discuss Fyodor’s similarities with Kirillov for you!! I did read a synopsis of Kirillov’s character, but I’m sure those few sentences don't capture the full depth of his character, and since I don’t know much about him, I feel unfit to try and find connections between him and our dear Fyodor. 

-----

Thank you so much for the ask!! I really enjoyed thinking about all of this, though I seem to have gotten carried away again.. My bad..

[msgirlfangirlingposts]

Bsd SPOILER!

My rection to the chapter 75:

:(

[itsclowreedsfault]

I was tagged by @xenophonspeaks and @sylmoira. Thanks bbs <3

rules - you must answer these 85 statements and tag 20 (ish) people.

I’m going to tag @takasukis, @bakushous, @tartan-llama, @qr-sa, @bobwrites, @todorokih, @zuura and @kuroosukii. If any of you don’t want to do this feel free to ignore it :)

(putting it under the cut since it’s pretty long)

THE LAST

1. drink: Water 2. phone call: My brother 3. text message: My boyfriend 4. song you listened to: Thunder by Imagine Dragons 5. time you cried: 2 days ago while reading this post 6. dated someone twice: (is this asking yes or no or the last time this happened? anyway I’m answering both) Yes, I dated my boyfriend once a couple of years before he actually became my boyfriend haha 7. kissed someone and regretted it: god I don’t even remember when that was haha years ago 9. lost someone special: Yes, my grandfather a few years ago 10. been depressed: Nothing, like, clinically diagnosed? But I was in pretty bad shape a few years ago 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Nope. Never got drunk and don’t plan to.

3 favorite colors 12. Blue 13. Purple 14. Black

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU 15. made new friends: Yes <3 16. fallen out of love: No 17. laughed until you cried: Many times :P 18. found out someone was talking about you: No 19. met someone who changed you: Yes, many people actually 20. found out who your friends are: I don’t think so? 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: Yes

GENERAL 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Most of them 23. do you have any pets: Three cats <3 24. do you want to change your name: No 25. what did you do for your last birthday: Went out to eat with my bf and family (that’s basically all I do on every birthday lol) 26. what time did you wake up: 7:15am 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Going to sleep I think 28. name something you can’t wait for: AKAYONA CHAPTER 144 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: A few hours ago 31. what are you listening to right now: Shots by Imagine Dragons 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: No 33. something that is getting on your nerves: I keep getting Thunder stuck on my head (it’s been like this for 3 days rip) and I can’t write like that 34. most visited website: Tumblr 35. hair colour: Black 36. long or short hair: Long

37. do you have a crush on someone: Does my boyfriend count as a crush lmao 38. what do you like about yourself: My creativity 39. piercings: None 40. blood type: I know it’s O. Don’t ask me if it’s positive or negative though, no idea. 41. nickname: Tha 42. relationship status: Have been in a steady relationship for nearly five years ^^  43. zodiac: Aries 44. pronouns: She/her 45. favourite tv show: (I’m going with anime because that’s all I watch lol) BNHA, AkaYona, YoI, BSD, etc 46. tattoos: None  47. right or left handed: Right 48. surgery: None 49. piercing: Didn’t I answer that already? 50. sport: KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME 51. vacation: Mountains <3 52. pair of trainers: I had to google what trainers are and I’m not sure what I should answer. Like? I wear them sometimes? Is that it? xD

MORE GENERAL 53. eating: Nothing right now. 54. drinking: Same as above. 55. i’m about to: Try writing (again) 56. waiting for: spoilers of the new akayona chapter 57. want: To finish this fic still have a lot to go until that’s done tho 58. get married: Not yet. In the future, though, I want to. 59. career: Who knows? Not me.

WHICH IS BETTER 60. hugs or kisses: Hugs 61. lips or eyes: Eyes 62. shorter or taller: Taller 63. older or younger: Hm, older. 64. nice arms or nice stomach: Arms 65. hook up or relationship: Relationship 66. troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant

HAVE YOU EVER: 67. kissed a stranger: Yes 68. drank hard liquor: Yes 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: No 70. turned someone down: Yes 71. sex on the first date: No 72. broken someone’s heart: Yes 73. had your heart broken: No 74. been arrested: No 75. cried when someone died: Yes 76. fallen for a friend: Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 77. yourself: Sometimes 78. miracles: No 79. love at first sight: No 80. santa claus: No 81. kiss on the first date: Yes 82. angels: Never gave it much thought, I guess not?

OTHER: 83. current best friend’s name: I don’t have a best friend 84. eye colour: Dark brown 85. favorite movie: Harry Potter (don’t ask me to pick just one. definitely not order of the phoenix or half-blood prince, though).

[peachyfyodor]

BSD CHAPTER 75 SPOILERS:

i love that fyodor is sigma's adoptive father adhssfgh