#bungos stray dogs rant

[okamiz36]

MORI IS NOT A PEDO. DAZAI IS NOT A WOMANIZER OR 2D. A rant about the BSD universe, characters, and fanfic writers and how people mischaracterize the MCs

SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK NO LONGER HUMAN

Ok so, for those of who don't know in BUNGOSTRAYDOGS ANIME each main character was based off an actual writer and the character's came to be a blend of the universe/anime mixed with the novelist's books. For example, Dazai Osmau wrote the book No Longer Human which explains the tale of a man who had been acting his entire life, struggles with depression, fitting into society and eventually at the end comes out as gay (shoutout to the soukou shippers because this practically confirms the ship is canon). It shows how Dazai is more then a womenizer and comedian whereas in the anime we just take the character at surface level.

I'm a fanfic reader, I enjoy alot of different stories and right now I'm reading StrayBoundIsakai on AO3, amazing fanfic to some extent. I love it and whatnot but they included some notes on NaomiXTanizaki, and like a true fan I've done a bit of reasearch on the books written by the characters (I read crime and punishment+No longer human because those are my favs plus another Dostoyevsky book I can't remember the name of) So y'know it annoyed me to see people claiming that Tanizaki and Naomi are an actual incest couple because they are not. Here's my theory, Tanizaki n Naomi arent real siblings, in the book Naomi by Tanizaki two lovers have to pretend to be siblings to hide from a man who I'm pretty sure forced Naomi into a relationship with him, ill read the book prob tmrw if i got time, and its a common theroy that Naomi in bsd isnt even real, shes a hallucination ofa dead girl made by light snow ability. So one or the other.

We don't have any confirmation as to pretty much any of the BSD characters so we don't know the details between Tanizaki and Naomi as they've been kept secret. BSD is an odd anime because it goes from silly detective to vampire outbreak, to Fyodor is god, but within layers there are so many hidden clues on what the real story is.

Dazai is a tricky one for me because i've read so many theories on him but my favorite is why he abuses Akutagawa. Dazai is abusive to Akutagawa bc if he isnt and praises aku then aku loses his reason to lvie and be better then he alreayd is, akutagawa needs to be told he's a failure, dazais nice to atsushi bc atsushi is already so far broken if he doesn't get praise he'll go insane and suicide or smth similar. Dazai's character and entire personality is within the book no longer human (amazing read would recommend but it will mess you up) people often call him a womanizer but it's him simply trying to fake a personality as to what he deems is the most likeable persona or sterotypical persona. He's not annoying, his entire personality is a facade in which he's just trying to be likeable because he has no clue how he's suppose to act. In the PM/dark era/15 dazai he acted cold and ruthless because that was what was to be expected of him. Dazai has no personality, he's a pathological manipulator, YALL PLEASE READ NO LONGER HUMAN IF YOU ARE A DAZAI FAN.

And then Mori... PEOPLE PLEASE STOP SAYING HE'S A PEDOFILE. I'm going to take context from a reddit thread and the link will be posted because the post I'm quoting omg is amazing helped me so much, "Elise is the character of a short story by Mori, "The Dancing Girl" [a japanese student in Germany falls in love with a 17yo local girl who was poor and danced for a living, they have a complicated relationship until the guy chooses Japanese Moral Integrity over Love and goes back home. The girl realizes she was pregnant and goes mad, the student finds out and has painful regrets because he wanted a child/family and truly loved the girl" "In "The Dancing Girl", in the end the girl was pregnant with the student's child. Could BSD Elise herself be that child? Well, I don't very much believe this actually (imo BSD Mori and Elise don't have a father-daughter kind of relationship, I will elaborate), but anyway it's something that popped up in my mind. 2) I'm sure I read this somewhere, though I can't remember the source rn, that RL Mori himself said that his sexuality is "like that of a child", meaning that he does not really feel sexual attraction but he understands love and affection, and he stated that he loved his wife and children. So, my personal opinion is that Elise could be just that part of him. That's why it's shaped like a child. (+ Little side note idk if it's something worth mentioning but Elise has blue eyes, blonde hair, western outfit... Is she European? Given RL Mori's literary tastes I mentioned at the start, Asagiri might have chosen this specific design on purpose?).  Anyway that brings me to my next point: What is Mori and Elise's relationship in BSD? Like I was saying, Elise is literally a part of Mori, so she is Mori himself, his preferences, the influences he had, etc. He loves and cares for her because he loves and cares for himself. After all, Mori is not shown being "affectionate" towards other kids: there were Q and Kyōka right there but Mori never showed interest in them if not to exploit their abilities. So is BSD Mori a pedo yes or no?? Here we are. I think BSD Mori might be asexual (as for RL Mori, he probably was, but we'll never really know, also who knew about asexuality in 1800-1900s lol). That said, the character is never shown feeling sexual attraction (and reminder that pedophile means sexually attracted to children, y'all say this word so lightly smh). But Mori really says a lot of inappropriate stuff, doesn't he? Fukuzawa was shocked and Elise picks on him. But what if the shtick is that he just doesn't realize that he appears sus to others, exactly because anything he does isn't intended as sexual in his pov? He's a criminal mastermind but he also probably thinks dressing up Elise is like dressing up a doll and saying she's his wife is like playing house."

Asagiri prob just made him seem creepy because guess what HE'S A MAFIA BOSS LIKE WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?! Link is here please read: reddit.com/r/BungouStrayDogs/comments/17zes5z/vita_sexualis/

Reading or watching videos of recaps on the BSD writers made me hate so many fanfics honestly.... I shared all of these thoughts with my friend @kreepyveebs because they wanted to makea Ranpo fanfic and I figured I should also make a post on this.

I'm going to link a channel who made videos on Dostoyevsky's books just because it helps clearify what Fyodor is even talking about/explaining in the books, it's also a psychology channel so I recommend just binge watchin this guy https://www.youtube.com/@unsolicitedadvice9198

Can writers and theorists also please start figuring out what made Kunikida have his ideals, or made Ranpo the way he is? Ranpo wrote black lizards so me and Kreepy have made the theory of he had mafia parents or somehting similar, maybe related to Hiroshi? (im pretty sure i got his name wrong- ack), stop focusing on just the mains, like jeez.

SHOUTOUT TO @kreepyveebs (second ping mwahhaha) THEYRE AN AMAZING ARTIST AND WRITER AND YOU SHOULD 100% FOLLOW THEM IF YOU SEE THIS POST.

oh yeah @unknowntalesbymiles you should enjoy this post so ping for you!

[iztea]

farmer aku can be something so personal,

[moraymiso]

the strangest thing to me about the BSD fandom is the fact that the vast majority of people in it are dazai fans, while also consistently assuming the absolute worst of him, disregarding the circumstances around his actions and giving him no grace or consideration of his situation whatsoever.

there's no doubt dazai is a bad person in many ways. he did plenty of unjustifiable, inexcusable things. he's pathologically manipulative with a totally skewed moral compass, most of which was undoubtedly brought on by his upbringing in the mafia. but at the same time, i see such a huge number of people taking that and somehow ending up with - and vehemently defending - this idea that he's a remorseless, indifferent, innately cruel person by nature?

are we forgetting this is the same dazai who was forced to false-witness a murder at fourteen years old? the same dazai who already wracked up numerous suicide attempts barely out of his pre-teens?the same dazai who was referred to by everyone around him as a 'demon' at fifteen years old? the same dazai consistently described as having grief-filled, empty expressions and detached, vacant reactions to practically everything when he was so young? the same dazai that oda described as "a child crying in the dark, alone, left to fend for himself with a hole in his heart as large as the world itself"?

that dazai is an indifferent, heartless, innately psychopathic person? really? i'm not convinced.

[livelaughlovesubs]

Mind empty just Thinking about dazai with knife play or gunplay is just 😋

-🎭

ARGHHHHH

Dazai who’s super excited about it, wriggling around all the time in hopes you’d accidentally kill him. But he didn't actually want to die, it’s too painful this way. Still, just imagining it and fantasising about the possibility made his dick leak like a girl.

Dazai who audibly gasps whenever you cut him slightly, or press the muzzle against his forehead. Whimpering when he inhale, breath hitching and going up a pitch as you press the trigger. The familiar ‘bang’ of the gun reached his ears as his inevitable orgasm washes over him.

Dazai who gets so exited when seeing red, watching the blood drip down his skin as it sticks to everywhere. His blood was such a clear red, it didn’t take long until it became lumps. But until then, he had enough time to admire the fluid and groan in delight.

Dazai who squirms around when you threaten to take his life. Like an embarrassed maiden while he covers his face, grinning cheekily while shaking his hips. Feeling the cold material of the weapon sliding across his chest, stomach or thighs, rubbing against his crotch teasingly. It’ll be hard to hold back~

Dazai who loved it a bit too much when you press the muzzle of the gun against his cheeks, brushing it over his lips and force it into his mouth. Forcing him to suck and lick it. He swears he can taste the bullet within, even though it isn’t loaded. At this rate he doesn’t even know if he wants to beg you to shoot or to withdraw the gun. Dazai who begs you for more once you are done with your little session. Always seeking more adrenaline and danger. Next time, maybe you’ll load one bullet? Or maybe two even to be extra bold? Russian roulette is pretty fun after all.

[originalaccountname]

there is so much to unpack in such a little excerpt. This is from the exchange between Mori and Oda near the start of Dark Era.

[freakroth]

Can we make NOT romanticizing and normalizing Yandere and pretty much any type of toxic or unhealthy relationships a thing, i'm so tired of trying to find chuuya fics just to see "Yandere chuuya x reader!!" Shit come up, like no chuuya wouldn't rape and beat the shit out of me if i tried to break up with him.

its so annoying when a ship w two character is toxic and people just call it like "Toxic Yuri!!! 🥵🥵🥵🥵😍😍" like its a good thing and that its hot. I hate how 'normal' its become to have unhealthy relationships is, its not hot that your bf or gf doesn't let you have friends of the same gender, its not hot that they make you tell them where you are at all times and its not hot that they try to control your life.

Can we normalize calling out weirdos who post shit like "I want a gf who would lock me up in her basement" "Stalking him to make sure he isn't cheating or talking to any other girls" "Killing any girl that tries to come near him>w<!!!" You're admitting to wanting to commit crimes! Being a yandere isn't hot, kidnapping, murder, stalking ect isn't hot!

And i have a feeling this might also start an argument like the post i made about incest writers🤦‍♂️ i dont wanna see anyone even trying to excuse this type of shit

[iid-smile]

#02 for ୨ৎ ⸝⸝ @whispytrees ⋆

hi! thank you for your order! i see you got yourself 5, 10 and 21, a little bit of everything. also you love what i write omg???? got me squealing, giggling, kicking my feet just a bit... (i screamed) you're so sweet <3 no pun intended here hehe. dazai we shall! went with headcanons since you didn't specify, i hope that's okay!

#5 🍰 | having kids together

dazai is either a suspiciously good girl dad, or the type to scare his kid whenever he can

would use the time between pregnancy or adoption process as an "excuse" to get off work, except he's actually doing a lot to make sure the little girl has the best environment to grow up with

wants to give her the childhood he never got, so he'll say yes to everything she wants unless it'll get her harmed or in danger

has no filter around your daughter, so please beware and stay close at all times!! he can and will go into deep depth about... multiple not-so-safe-for-kids topics and cause her to cry, so make sure you're ready to give her a big hug

anyways! he loves dancing with her more than anything. will buy his daughter all sorts of cute dresses no matter the age (big skirts are the best!) may even get her into dance classes; most likely ballet or ballroom. it's always cute to catch them in the act

sasses his teenage daughter back. NOTHING is getting past him. he takes treat people how you want to be treated seriously in this household

#10 🍓 | cuddling during the morning / night

morning

quite often, dazai is too lazy to get up (especially if it's for work) if you have to get up too, then you're not. keeping you in bed is most effective when he's the big spoon, because he holds you tight and squishes his cheek against your nap

tickles you because he knows his fingers get really cold sometimes. actually, he's just a really cold guy in general, it's weird.

mumbles about random things as if he's drunk. it's just him ranting about how much he love you and how much his life has changed for the better since he met you.

sleepy dazai is just clingy overall. every single one of his body parts has to be touching yours

night

you have to hold hands! it's a requirement. facing each other, spooning, on top of each other, upside down or whatever, his hand is always linked with yours

if you're already asleep, he'd quietly yap about how his day went, making sure to whisper so you wouldn't wake up.

eventually goes quiet, and just stares at you. every single detail on your face. he's not picky about looks, but you're the most attractive person he's ever seen

gently nudges your head towards his chest and tucks it under his chin, falling asleep while smiling. his biggest fear is not sleeping by your side after all.

#21 🍦 | where they like to kiss you

we all know dazai loves hands.

the back of your hand and knuckles are obvious ones, but he kisses your fingertips and wrists a lot too. fingertips are his favourite! he does this thing where he'll kiss your middle and index finger, and pulls your hand over to place them on his heart.

lips, but it's not really a kiss. it's just pressing your lips together, no smooches </3 he mostly does this to tease you, because you can always feel the small smirk he has.

shoulders too because why not? shoulder blade is where he loves to kiss you. no particular reason, it's just a nice spot for when he's behind you.

your neck would be another spot where he loves to tease, and he does the same thing where he just presses his lips against it, not kissing. sometimes just ghosts his lips over your skin to feel you shiver.

event masterlist

[villain-byteniwoha]

Oh sskk with their opposing black and white aesthetic (both in fashion and in ability), their parallel backstory, their shared loyalty to Dazai (who is canonically preparing them to become partners, mind you), their clashing ideals; the way Atsushi unearths the humane side of Akutagawa and how Akutagawa, in turn, nurtures Atsushi's rage.

The fact that they make each other hold on to their self-worth... So, so much of the text can be read as romantic, it's insane to me.

Akutagawa's ability is literally using his clothes as a weapon, and for him to be able to give Rashoumon at all while leaving himself bare to violence? Just so Atsushi, who's always had to beg for the pain to stop, who's just gained control over his damn ability to regenerate, can be armored—be stronger.

Tell me that's not a metaphor for vulnerability, I dare you. The inherent intimacy of giving someone your cloak to shelter them while you take the brunt of the harsh environment. The contentment of having the person you love, safe. (This is an ode to Chapter 88 btw in case you didn't notice.)

Like—there is something so raw about being someone's enemy. It is showing the worst parts of yourself (the anger, the self-worth issues) and knowing your other half will come back to you, regardless. It's feral and wild and uncontrollable; Akutagawa will bear his scars like they are the most tender love marks, and while Atsushi may heal, he will always know the pain of Akutagawa's claws.

Their abilities aside, they just click with each other, but they live with circumstances where that connection is (portrayed as) unwanted. BEAST is proof enough that they can bond over the horrors of their past, where others would not be able to comprehend them.

There's also, you know... Something something, Atsushi telling Akutagawa that he's more than what Dazai says. Akutagawa telling Atsushi he's stronger than his past. Something along those lines.

Something something I love you because I know no other way than this, where I does not exist nor you and all the other love sonnets in the world.

[skydoesthings]

why the fuck did character ai drop the hardest description of platonic soukoku that ive ever seen wtf

[soupthatistohot]

BSD: An Absurdist Analysis - Ch. 114

My thoughts on "Crime and Punishment"

[BSD Absurdism Masterpost]

Okay, so! Fyodor probably isn't dead.

And my theory for what his ability is would tie into Asagiri's absurdist storytelling thus far.

In Sigma's flashback, we see Fyodor get impaled in a manner that is eerily similar to how he dies in the helicopter, a way that pratically guarantees his death. Yet, as Sigma observes, he must have escaped the execution in order for him to still be alive.

My theory, put simply, is that when someone successfully kills Fyodor, he takes their place.

His ability is called Crime and Punishment, right? And if the ultimate crime (sin) is murder, then the punishment would be death. So, then, perhaps when someone is able to kill Fyodor, it causes their death, and somehow Fyodor takes on their lifeforce (for lack of a better term) and is able to keep living.

This would also explain why he has been able to live for such a long time. If he keeps getting killed by people whose lifeforce he assumes, then he can theoretically live forever as long as people keep attempting to murder him.

This would explain the end of the chapter where the body is shown to clearly not be Fyodor's. The helicopter pilot would have paid the consequence for Fyodor's murder, and thus been the one to die. For whatever reason, I suppose this means he and Fyodor switched likenesses? This is further supported by the panel in the flashback/memory where something seems to be happening to the man who impaled Fyodor after he does so. This part I cannot explain as well, but I think y'all can understand what I'm getting at with this.

Additionally, this theory of Crime and Punishment explains the purpose of the prison-break game, he's been trying to goad Dazai into killing him all along so he can die in turn, and finally be rid of his rival.

(Edit: the above point is likely rendered invalid because No Longer Human would very likely protect Dazai from death by Fyodor’s ability. That being said, it further explains why Fyodor is so determined to kill Dazai — not only is he his match in wits, but he might be the only one capable of killing him for good.)

Further, it could possibly explain Nikolai's desire to kill Fyodor. Perhaps Nikolai knows the nature of Fyodor's ability, and is the only one who does, which is why he considers them to be so close. He idolizes Fyodor, and so he desires to one day kill him, because he knows it will kill him in turn and Fyodor will get to continue living on. This one's a bit of a reach, but I do think it's a potential explanation if my theory about Crime and Punishment is correct.

And now for how this all fits into absurdism!

Fyodor has been the main antagonist for a really long time, basically for half of the manga's run. Up until this point we've had little to no clues about the nature of his ability and if my theory turns out to be correct, wouldn't that just be the greatest absurdity of all time? A villain that literally cannot die because when someone kills him, they actually die instead of him? How do you even defeat such a person?

I'm fairly confident about this theory, my only question would be why he would reveal this now? Surely, he knows that Dazai would figure it out, both from Sigma and from the corpse clearly not being him, so what benefit does Fyodor gain from revealing not only that he's survived, but what his ability is?

[lunarelly]

dazai isn’t in love with chuuya guys, just because he gave him a reason to live and he said he wanted to see what chuuya’s insides look like and he waxes poetic about him when he’s fighting and he’s constantly thinking of new ways to annoy him and they share a soul does NOT mean they’re in love. idiots.

[leaderofthemafia]

//got the scarf :3

[moraymiso]

✧ — you were only seventeen

i’m so normal about them. rest assured i will draw an exuberant amount of more teenzai angst. i will be known as the teenzai angst drawer trust

based off that one arcane poster <3

[uzi-x33]

I don’t romantically ship kunizai (me and my bsf r just like dazai and kuni fr, and also idk, I Js don’t ship it romantically🤷🏼‍♀️) but with the new chapter BROOO THE ANGST OPPORTUNITIESSSS, NOT JUST FOR DAZAI BUT FOR THE WHOLE AGENCYYY AGGHHH😭😭😭😭 I wanna draw their reactions to his death now (that’s probably not gonna happen🤑)

dazai: “HES WHAT?! NO ATSUSHI YOUR JOKING! you’re joking.. right?”

GRRRRR THE ANGST AHHHHH IM SO SADD BROO, IM NOT EVEN CAUGHT UP TO THE MANGA AT ALL💀

LIKE IMAGINE AKU HUGGING A SOBBING ATSUSHI AND AYA AS HE COMFORTS BOTH OF THEMMM AHHHH😭

bro give aya a freaking break, give all of them a freaking break🙁

ASAGIRI WHEN I CATCH YOU ASAGIRI‼️‼️‼️‼️

KUNIKIDA IS ALIVE KUNIKIDA IS ALIVE KUNIKIDA IS ALIVEEEEE

I can’t chat😭😭😭✋✋

also Chuuya comforting dazai over it AHHHH!!!!!! Cus I do think dazai cared abt him so so much :(😭😭

[merriclo]

i’m 100% vagueposting here but so many very popular BSD analyses are essentially just huge reaches that can be easily disproven, made due to a deep misunderstanding of the narrative and a lack of genuine respect for the process of analyzing.

i’ve seen entire essays on how Dazai didn’t abuse Akutagawa, and how Akutagawa doesn’t abuse Higuchi. i’ve seen post after post discount the importance of the trust that rests within Double Black. i’ve seen people argue over whether or not Kunikida’s ideals are healthy.

and half the damn time, sources aren’t cited whatsoever: there’s no quotes or manga panels used anywhere!! scenes and moments will be referenced, but without a proper citation there’s so many different ways you can present and misconstrue what actually happened. and with a series like BSD, where so many aren’t able to read the light novels or watch the movie or read the manga, that can change so much.

and then it’ll be revealed that the author only spends like,, 3-4 hours max on the entire process behind one post. the information gathering, the writing, the formatting + aesthetics, and then the posting. if you’ve never gotten deep into analyzing media before, just know that 3-4 hours is a painfully short amount of time to give an analysis.

it boggles my mind, too, because it will be these exact kinds of posts that are written with nothing but contempt for the readers. their words will be laced with pure annoyance and distaste for the audience and general fandom. i’ve even witnessed people publicly insult commenters who praised them, calling them stupid sheep for being hyperbolic in their compliments. it’s cruel, and incredibly mean-spirited.

speaking of which, there’s also a conversation to be had about how bigotry impacts these discussions. several character analyses i’ve seen have been nothing but poorly-masked attempts at discounting popular queer ships, or ignoring the abuse present in heterosexual ones to provide an alternative. but that’s… its own entire can of worms that i’ll crack open at a later date.

tl;dr, think critically, and always for yourself. an analysis shouldn’t be trying to end a conversation, they should always be seen as an addition to them. the author attempting anything else is a major red flag. you should always be trying to find the parts of analyses that you agree and disagree with!! don’t let anyone tell you want to think, that is for you and you alone to decide.

i know this is honestly seems like a non-issue, but media literacy is an incredibly important skill to have in the real world, and it starts with the very media (and commentary of said media) you consume. stay critical chat ily

[atzidraws]

Top-zai and Bottom-zai... But what about Switch-zai???

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾❤️‍🩹☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾🧡☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾❤️‍🩹☽༓･*˚⁺‧

A slightly self indulgent nsfw rant is abt to unfold

this may or may not be out of character for Dazai and Chuuya so I'm sorry-

Seeing the discourse about whether or not Dazai should be a top or a bottom is so funny to me. Not because of how ridiculous it is (I actually enjoy seeing some valid points being made on both sides), but because honesty??? Switch-zai has some potential! I like the idea of Dazai being able to be dominant or submissive depending on what he or his partner thinks at the moment.

Like Chuuya could be flirting with Dazai when he least expects it and Dazai would become a flustered mess about it. However, Dazai could also have his moments of cockiness that gets Chuuya equally flustered when he's least expecting it.

A scenario that pops up in my head that sums up my take would be Chuuya pinning Dazai. Usually for Dazai, he would expect such actions to come out of Chuuya but something that would always get him would be when Chuuya pins him in a seductive manner and gets on top of him. No chill, just very straightforward. Something about that just excites Dazai. However, there are times where Dazai also finds enjoyment in seeing Chuuya moaning and whimpering his name while under him. He likes seeing Chuuya taking pleasure as well.

Though, Dazai would only let those he genuinely trusts dom him (aka chuuya).

It's okay to disagree with my take lol, this was mostly written as a small self indulgent rant at 4:30 AM. I saw someone on Twitter have an argument over this discourse and I just wanted to share my thoughts based off the tweet.

If y'all wanna give me your takes about the discourse or head canons I'm open to hearing them! I like seeing different interpretations!