#but it's 100% oda's fault

[sanguine-tenshi]

Bro the way Pedro lights up Sanji's cigarette is so sexually charged, like I thought Oda said no romance. Bro what?

[fiapple]

to be totally upfront with you, when it comes to op i am like... 90% just here for the women. like, don't get me wrong, the male characters are fun & i enjoy them! i'm having a blast, even! there are a few upcoming arcs that i'm vaguely aware of which i'm sure will allow some of the men to garner more of my favour!

but also, like... the women are the characters that make me feel like screaming & crying & slowly peeling off my skin layer by layer. they are the characters who haunt me, who harrow me, who's suffering i feel in my very bones. they are the characters who have intellects which fill me with awe, resilience that guts me organ by organ, the characters who are flawed in a manner which ground me & heartens me in equal measure, the characters given a sort of atypical strength which fascinates me, their sense of chaotic whimsy what brings a lightness to my heart. the women are the people carrying the story for me. it wouldn't be anything close to worthwhile without them.

[laughtale]

Tashigi looking like Kuina never mattered at all

Some people still put too much importance on the fact that Tashigi looked like Kuina when she was introduced, and as a consequence they're still going on about "a missed opportunity", "Oda fumbled", "a disappointment" and so on. And of course using it to hate on Tashigi as if it's her fault.

It. Was meant. To be. A gag.

That's it. Just a gag to make stoic and badass Zoro lose his composure and be unable to fight someone for once, and to connect the two characters so that they would have a special relationship of rivalry-turned-camraderie in the future.

Zoro is acting like a child here, in case you don't remember. Tashigi is 100% right in calling him out:

And then in Alabasta:

Yes, this is what people would normally call a gag. Everything about these panels is comedic.

The resemblance thing wasn't even dragged out for long, because it only lasted until Alabasta, and then the next time Zoro and Tashigi met in Punk Hazard Oda specifically commented that "Zoro doesn't call Tashigi 'copycat' anymore" (source: author notes in One Piece Party 1) and the gag was dropped.

If you need more evidence that it was never meant to be anything important, this is from "Fans Chat With Oda Sensei" at Jump Festa 2008:

Tashigi's arc was never meant to be connected to her resemblance to Kuina. Her personal arc goes much deeper.

Her arc is about going from someone who hated pirates and saw the world in black and white to someone whose eyes are fully open to the truth of the world, and Zoro and the Strawhats are the catalysts for that:

If you can't see this character development – that was already occurring in Alabasta! – because you're still stuck at "but what about looking like Kuina???" then I don't know what to tell you. Does her (former) resemblance to another character matter more than her own character?

But also, Tashigi's arc is not over yet. So before handing out definitive judgements, maybe wait to see what the story still has in store.

[ember-amber]

For all its faults, One Piece has a large variety of moments that just stick to your brain forever.

Like this scene in chapter 469.

To summarize, Victoria Cindry is a woman who has been dead for 10 years, brought back to life by placing someone else's shadow in her(devil fruit ability, it's normal). What that means is that she 100% is not to be considered the same person. Cindry is still dead, her body is just a puppet, her shadow moving her instead of the opposite, mimicing life.

Despite all this, she manages to resist her horrible master's order on the last moment and leaves him to die along with herself, briefly smiling at Chopper and Robin as she does.

What makes this scene keep playing in my brain is that it's the classic "humanity recovered" moment, but the characters witnessing it are just...scared.

This isn't someone escaping mind control, or turning back human from a curse, this a 100% normal, non devil fruit user, dead woman. Chopper and Robin are reacting like they just saw a ghost, because they did, a corpse winking at them.

Eichiro Oda wrote an entire zombie island arc in his manga and made it so this smile is the single scariest most unnatural thing to happen in it. It's genius

[koinodancesite]

“Chu Chu Chu Bokura No Mirai”

Coupled with “Jinsei Never Been Better!”

Release date: June 8, 2022

Oricon Weekly placement: 2nd

Members: Akane Haga, Ayumi Ishida, Chisaki Morito, Erina Ikuta, Homare Okamura,  Kaede Kaga, Maria Makino, Mei Yamazaki, Miki Nonaka, Mizuki   Fukumura, Reina Yokoyama, Rio Kitagawa, Sakura Oda

The shakuhatchi flutes of "Chu Chu Chu Bokura No Mirai" were initially a hard sell, though maybe Kaoru Ookubo wasn't all to blame. A different kind of flute, I presume, but they rang close enough in memory for me to the one squeaking in the deranged production behind NCT 127's "Sticker," released about a year prior, for the Morning Musume song to echo some secondhand dissonance. Listening back, Ookubo's arrangement is nowhere as screwball, but on the other hand, it could use some loosening of screws: it remains steely to a fault, sucking away any potential dynamism, and a general stiffness dulls "Chu Chu Chu Bokura No Mirai" as a whole.

Behind an already-steely production, the idols' unaffected cool begins to sound monotonous than it does stoic. Their performance of cool in itself fits in tune to the narrative that deals with self-confidence and emotional clarity: "It's up to me," they sing in the opening refrain before they think openly about writing their own future. But other than few accents of extra bombast to prep for the chorus, the song hardly offers peaks and valleys, with moments of epiphany framed in the same serious tone as moments of questioning.

And there are genuine moments in "Chu Chu Chu Bokura No Mirai" that would add some humanity to a perfectionist idol group if only the song highlighted them as such. "We can't look into / 100 years into the future," the idols sing in the chorus. "We build the present / but who should we live for?" This humbling self-reflection arrives, too, after speaking as a role model: "You're going to grow up soon / a border made by someone else / you're already magnificent," they assure after describing a society mired by pressure. The song elevate neither parts, with one bleeding into the other.

To be fair, the ability to sing of both victories and tragedies as one juxtaposed stream of thought has been the magic behind the best Morning Musume songs. "Chu Chu Chu Bokura No Mirai" also mashes together two seemingly separate conversations with the idols aspiring to rise above society in the first verse and then indulging in vanity in the second, talking about wanting to be a billionaire and pursue on their own infatuation. But the randomness sounds too streamlined for it to stand out as a quirk, their stony cool delivering them all in the same tone. Morning Musume have impressed in the past with their stoic demeanor, but "Chu Chu Chu Bokura No Mirai" shows stoicness can also be a crutch.

[5]

[grymmnox]

weekly fic recs #30 + #31

weeee it's just gonna be like if i didn't miss it. all one post. not separating them by week it's just all going together. ok anyways

fandom(s): bungo stray dogs

ship(s): soukoku, kunikidazai, fyozai, fyolai, odango, and ofc some gen fics

Oneshots

let me in if i break, and be quiet if i shatter; lenasgaylaxy - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 1.7k words | dazai & kunikida, dazai & yosano, ADA & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

"They say breaking a mirror brings you seven years of bad luck. Dazai must've been born amidst the shards of a hundred shattered mirrors, because terrible luck has been following him around since he was young, and he's sure that it will stick around until his death."

About breaking down and needing help picking up the pieces.

It Would be a Hundred Times Easier; Gigglemite - bungo stray dogs

mature | 4.4k words | chuuya/dazai, chuuya & dazai, atsushi & dazai, dazai & kunikida, ADA & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

On the worst of the bad days they start out just like the easier ones. They’re deceptive like that, lulling him into a false sense of security before one thing sets him off and he spirals. There is no real trigger for these days unlike the other ones, these days are just bad simply to be bad. His senses are heightened to the point of overwhelming overstimulation; his brain is foggy but coherent enough to send him down a dark and a very deep tunnel if given the chance; his fingers twitch and itch to grab something, anything that could be used to inflict harm on himself; despite his half working mind for everything else, it works 100% just for paranoia to the point he has to keep checking behind himself because the feeling of eyes on his back is achingly uncomfortable. These days also tend to include bouts of an inability to speak that always come out of nowhere. It’s rather disconcerting to be asked a question and yet when you open your mouth to answer absolutely nothing comes out.

Or: Dazai is used to bad days. He’s used to pain, and the weakness, and the anxiety that comes with them. But they’re getting easier to manage.

The Emperor's New Clothes; ScarletRequiem - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 4.3k words | chuuya & dazai, dazai & oda, ADA & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

dazai gets hit with a truth-serum ability. ranpo thinks it's fucking hilarious, but ranpo isn't there when he unintentionally tells the whole office the reason he's suicidal.

point of injection; quitepossiblyjanuary - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 3.1k words | chuuya/dazai | READ NOTES (additional warnings r in there)

summary:

Dazai wouldn’t call himself an honest man – lying used to be half his job, and now that he’s out of the Mafia it feels like lying is half his life.

incandescent (and it's your fault); Colourful_skies - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 2.2k words | chuuya/dazai

summary:

An ability makes Dazai’s hair glow whenever he feels embarrassing (read: romantic) feelings. It’s temporary, so he thinks he’ll get away with keeping it a secret—but then a certain slug pays the Agency a visit. What could go wrong?

Introspection (of idiots and ideals); gev_ao3 - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 4.9k words | dazai & kunikida, dazai/kunikida | READ TAGS

summary:

------------------------------------------------------ “Kunikida-kun despises me,” he wails. “No, I don’t.” “Kuni-chan hates me.” “I don’t, Dazai.” “Kunikida--” “Stop.” ------------------------------------------------------

A look at Kunikida and Dazai’s relationship through the years. (can be read as platonic or romantic)

where we're from, there's no sun; codhya - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 15.8k words | dazai & yosano, dazai & fukuzawa | READ TAGS (additional warnings in notes)

summary:

"-I’m not asking you to trust that I’m a good person or whatever. Just trust that I won’t kill you, at least not here. And in return, you have to promise not to kill me. And set my cleaver in between us both, you have a clear advantage. You can keep the gun, though.”

He narrows his eyes, “You’re not really in the place to make demands right now.”

She shrugs, leaning back, “We’re stuck in an elevator and my co-worker is trying to kill me because he’s convinced I’m an assassin. I’m trying to make the best of the situation.”

(On Dazai Osamu, Dahmer, and Yosano Akiko)

spine chilling; kuroissant - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 3.6k words | fyodor/nikolai

summary:

Fyodor pauses, staring down at the small bird in his hands.

Nikolai folds his arms behind his back. “It’s for you.”

“For me?” Fyodor parrots.

Over the course of a month, Nikolai had graced him with many other small trinkets and gifts. He never provided an explanation as to why—nor did he ever give his gifts in person. He always extended them towards Fyodor by using his ability.

grim's notes: some gore; it's. nikolai and fyodor. there's an organ involved.

the kitty confusion; Deca_Suffrage - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 3k words | chuuya & atsushi, akutagawa & atsushi, atsushi & kyouka, dazai/kunikida

summary:

Chuuya's cat has gone missing, so in a last bid effort he sends a mafioso down to the ADA to ask around.

When Atsushi is told that the Port Mafia is looking for a "big white and black cat" he assumes that he's being mocked and goes with them.

He is not being mocked.

Complete Fics

bet against the odds; advanced_fanatic - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 10 chapters, 15k words | ango & dazai & oda, dazai & yosano, ango/oda, ADA & dazai, akutagawa & atsushi, ayatsuji & tsujimura, dazai & kunikida

summary:

At ten years old, Dazai Osamu meets Yosano Akiko. At eleven years old, he starts spying for the Armed Detective Agency in the Port Mafia. At eighteen years old, he thinks there's no way things can go wrong. He's wrong, of course, but why on earth wouldn't he be?

The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger; Seito - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 11 chapters, 19.3k words | chuuya/dazai, ADA & dazai

summary:

“Dazai-san doesn’t like the Port Mafia,” Tanizaki explained.

“That’s too nice, Tanizaki-kun,” Dazai said as he tied up the woman with some rope. He looked over his shoulder at Tanizaki.

Atsushi suppressed a shudder at the sparkle of anger in Dazai’s eyes. Despite only knowing Dazai for three days now, there was something deeply wrong about seeing that kind of anger in Dazai. It gleamed so bright, an ill-contained rage that seemed just seconds away from exploding into an inferno that would consume everything.

“To say I hate them would be more accurate,” Dazai said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Masters of Pretense; vividder - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 9 chapters, 12.7k words | dazai & kunikida & yosano, ranpo & tanizaki, ADA & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

Dazai is kidnapped and taken to a hospital. The problem is, no one knows he's been kidnapped, except for Dazai himself.

5 Things Dazai Still Does For Port Mafia ...; YunaYamiMouto - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 6 chapters, 11.8k words | chuuya/dazai, chuuya & dazai, dazai & elise & Q, dazai & hirotsu, akutagawa & dazai & gin, dazai & kouyou, ADA & dazai, atsushi & dazai, dazai & oda

summary:

... that he doesn't do for the Armed Detective Agency, and the 1 thing he won't do for anyone.

Incomplete Fics

tell me we do not live in vain; yuki_MXIVo - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 8/14 chapters, 32.3k words | dazai/fyodor, dazai & fyodor | READ TAGS (additional warnings in notes)

summary:

Fyodor’s weak heart thuds violently within its cage of flesh and bone, ba-thump. Dazai’s knife kisses cold on the skin of their throat. They swallow, and the bob of their Adam’s apple against it draws blood.

“Alright,” Fyodor decides, “let's find a way to die.”

// In the Decay’s aftermath, Fyodor and Dazai quietly slip through the cracks, and set on a journey

[quinloki]

Tbh do like uta? because I don't

I do! I mean, she frustrates me, and I wanted to shake some sense into her during the movie, but I love the character.

I have similar feels with her that I do with Hancock, honestly. Her personality drives me through the roof, but the *character* is unique.

In both cases their flaws and personalities make sense - to the degree anything makes sense in the zany world of One Piece. (Adding in a cut because I get a bit detailed about the movie Red and long-winded )

Uta’s flaws make sense when you realize a very young child was effectively abandoned. For her well-being? Maybe sure? But the head of an island may be good at running an island, it doesn’t mean he was skilled at raising a child.

She did, I think, the best she could with what she had - limited information at all. Uta’s perspective was valid because it was all she knew, and she was 100% at an age where she thought through things and reached a conclusion that made sense to her.

Doesn’t matter that it was wrong, she didn’t know what we knew as the viewer. Uta had no idea what good Luffy had done - she knew the truth of what SHE had done, but that would’ve only hardened her conviction.

To die and grant others a flawlessly peaceful life was the ultimate atonement, at least in her eyes.

Unconscious Bias is a thing, and I think Hancock and Uta get *some* hate just for being girls who interact with Luffy the way they do. Some of it is writer intent too - Oda wants you to dislike Hancock the kitten kicker, because there’s power in the whiplash of how she changes.

Another part of it is the, well, Umbridge-effect. I don’t care for JKKK and the wonderful world she squandered, but! Delores Umbridge offers a recent and solid example of a thing - “why did people hate her more than the main baddie?”

Partly, yes, she was a she. Unconscious Bias fucks us all, but she was also a more plausible and possible kind of evil that most of us had dealt with. Hancock’s crimes are more plausible - kitten kicking being used to really drive the point. She wasn’t ever going to be a villain like Croc or Doffy or even Moria. Oda had to make us dislike her *quickly* because her role was going to change quickly.

I’m digressing - I like Uta because of the kind of character she is. If she hadn’t ever leveled that island - by no fault of her own - she’d be Luffy #1 fan, supporter, maybe even friendly rival. Plausibly she could’ve ended up her own captain! She’s a strong personality and a good person - who went through unimaginable years of trauma and solitude.

Hancock went through a lot of shit too.

Ah, but it’s okay to not like a character. You don’t have to love Uta or Hancock or whoever, just so long as you’re not cruel about it, as far as I’m concerned. Irrational anger over a fictional character could be a sign of a deeper issue (irrational anger is often a sign of a deeper issue regardless, but I digress again.)

It’s a good exercise to really sit down and sort out why a character makes you angry, regardless of their gender, and really poke at it. Or even why they intrigue you! Change their “settings” and see if their actions still bother you. Usually if something changes - and you gotta be being HONEST - then that’s unconscious bias getting you.

That kind of internal honesty is hard though - if it was easy, well, there’d be a lot different in this world.

Sorry, I really ended up rambling, but the thoughts thought and the fingers typed so here we are ^_^

[weatherman667]

Ghost of Tsushima is the first piece of samurai fiction to actually explain the Samurai’s vapid obsession with honour.

Before the Samurai, there was no rule of law.  People killed each because they felt like it.

If a Samurai kills, it’s not because he wants to, but because it is just to do so.  And because a Samurai sword is an instrument of justice, they should never hide their involvement in it.  If a Samurai kills, he should look the man in his eyes, and tell him, and everyone else, what he did.

Ghost of Tsushima also explains the creation of the ninja’s traditional techniques, or at least some of them.

Tsushima was the first place outside of China to see the use of primitive black powder weapons.  It wouldn’t be until 100 years later that Oda Nobunaga would bring firearms to mainline use.

The Mongols were also completely dishonourable, causing a fault line to appear in the Samurai, because if they continued to use their traditional tactics, they didn’t have a hope.

There are some things it doesn’t explain.  Kunai are landscaping / agricultural tools.  If you sharpen the edge you can turn them into weapons that don’t seem like weapons.  Ninja stars were often created from coins, and were likely not included because they would compete with kunai.  They would also sometimes use metal spikes for throwing, but kunai are more recognizable.  Honestly, how bizarre is it that ninja stars have been forgotten by the cultural zeitgeist?

[haven-gum-rockrose]

Dazai Character Playlist Elaboration: The Good in Me by Jon Bellion

overall its about him taking three steps back in his moral redemption every time hes around the port mafia, or reminded of his time there probably. It happened when he was taunting akutagawa in captivity(the main one), and though he didnt really do anything substantial, his mannerisms clearly reflect it when isolated by Higuchi and Gin, when he locks the door under the premise of torturing Kouyou, when speaking to Mori during the ADA and Port Mafia meeting, even to a lesser extent whenever he meets up with Ango. .... oddly enough this doesnt happen when he’s around Chuuya or Hirotsu but that’s neither here nor there. 

first verse: 

You know that he trusts you and I know that he loves you But somehow you convinced me again My foundation rumbles and all my morals crumble My father's warnings run through my head

okay to start this off. ignore the pronouns, i do a lot of fuckery. they dont matter. 

In this verse the context is Dazai after allowing himself to be captured by the Port Mafia. And the first line obviously is referring to Akutagawa and the way Dazai knows full well how much Akutagawa idolizes and reveres and values his opinion and shit and how easily he can fucking wreck his mental state with a couple words. 

I always interpret the second line in the context of Dazai’s tendency to rationalize shit - like he needed to provoke Akutagawa to get him to eventually team up with Atsushi, it was the easiest way to do that, yada yada. tho we know full well that there were other ways to get those two teaming up, especially for genius ass Dazai. (Alternatively interpreted by my own belief that all of this is to some extent set up by Mori to either taunt him, or throw him off his redemption game enough that he does eventually consider coming back so the you could be referring to him cuz i wouldn’t put it above that slimy asshole)

But again, when he’s in the port mafia basement or whatever, and the kid he fucking abused is right in front of him and its familiar and all from the past, i think its a lot more natural for him to slip into old mindsets and let go of all the progress he’s made just for that moment, instead going for the simplest coldest option. 

yeah- father’s warnings is referring to Oda’s last dying wish actually.. and here Dazai is mentally abusing an orphan again. 

chorus!

Your heart's a vine that I've bled trying to climb Yeah, you're making a ruin of me Try to survive, keep my spirit alive But like a knife in the woods Yeah, you hunt down the good in me

ignore “your heart,” we’re substituting it for his search for a will to live. alternatively could be referring to him trying to be better in general cuz like- with his bad track record before everything theres no way it’s fucking easy for him.

eh, i dont look into that lyric too much, just ruining his efforts and shit

third line!!! look at it!!! i dont need to explain

next two lines just vaguely refer to the port mafia idk. 

NEXT VERSE!!!

One temptation sparked this Now I can feel the darkness It's my own fault but you had this planned All of me, you take now, like criminals and shakedowns Yeah, you make me forget who I am

first two lines - obviously  its the temptation to abuse an orphan. what else would it be?? its one of them like- yeah ur soul is port mafia black things where he just cant facking escape it. its always gonna be in the corner of his mind, just sometimes more all consuming than others. 

Now of course it is Dazai doing these things, and for someone as good at manipulating and being in control of himself, 100% guaruntee that he does consciously choose to act this way. its not a “aur naur the memories, they are invading my consiousness and moral brain and forcing me to be mean to people and act like i did when i was eeeevil.” yeah it is porbably a trauma thing but not to the extent that he couldn’t stop it if he chose to. “But you had this planned” is again part of my belief that Mori is at least somewhat intentional abou this. it could also be the universe. his whole “i am a man hated by righteousness” and .. i forget the line but ‘everything worth wanting is lost the moment i obtain it’ thing. 

fourth line! yeah. criminals and shakedowns is enough. and ive rambled about the first bit enough as well. 

fifth line refers more to who he has become, who he swore to be and is trying to be, etc. etc.

then the chorus repeats twice. so theres not much more to analyze

there is a little third verse but its just the repeated echo-y background chanting of “All of your good is mine” which if you wanted to take it far, which i tend to do, it could be of the belief that everything good about Dazai came from Oda actually. Or ykno- the taunting voice of the dead that lingers in the back of your mind. idk. 

but yeah thats this song. 

[kyouka-supremacy]

Last sskk thought before the new chapter comes out but can you imagine Atsushi actually succeeding to bring Akutagawa back with the power of love only for Akutagawa to die right in front of him AGAIN because he was already dead when Bram bit him, and Atsushi caused him to return in that state. Atsushi being broken by the knowledge that he messed up and irrecoverably this time, that if he hadn't woken Akutagawa up from the curse perhaps they could have resurrected him using Yosano's ability, but now it's too late for that. Atsushi crumbling under the knowledge that Akutagawa died a second time because of him. Akutagawa looking at Atsushi with human eyes for the last time before leaving the world once and for all.

[soupthatistohot]

Soukokou: "good" and "bad"

I made a thread about this on twitter not long ago, but I thought it was worth making post here too since tumblr is a bit of a better platform for analyses like this.

Dazai and Chuuya are particularly interesting, because they’re both similar and opposite of each other. They’re similar in that they both grew up in an awful environment that forced them to mature too quickly which causes them to find their fun in petty squabbling with one another as sort of a way of reclaiming their adolescence. They’re similar in that they both question their true humanity, albeit for different reasons. They’re similar in that they’re both extremely competent and capable at such a young age and work so well together, even when they have these opposing views.

But they're very different in many ways, and what particularly fascinates me is that when you look at their base character traits... it seems like each of them is on the wrong side.

Chuuya is compassionate, ridiculously powerful, and loyal. Yes, he can be arrogant and hot-headed, but this doesn't make him evil or bad, they're just flaws that many humans have. You look at these traits and it almost seems like he could be your stereotypical hero... but he is not. Chuuya works for the Port Mafia, the "bad guys" of BSD. It's simply circumstance that brought him there, he isn't necessarily at fault for this, but part of me believes that if things had shook out differently, Chuuya would make a great "good guy".

Now you look at Dazai's traits: cunning, manipulative and somewhat self-absorbed. He has a tendency to be quite heartless and cruel at times, and this is not to say that Chuuya hasn't either, but I think that Dazai really takes it to another level. The best example I can give of this is that scene in 15 when he's just shooting that corpse and Chuuya has to stop him. While we obviously know that Dazai has changed since he left the Port Mafia, he still displays many of these "villainous" traits, even as he works for the side of "good." It's also worth mentioning that his main reason for turning over this new leaf was not some drastic moral shift, but because someone he loved and respected told him to. Granted, I do truly believe that the more time Dazai spends at the Agency, the more he actually improves as a person, and the more his work becomes about actually helping people rather than respecting Oda's wishes, but I still think it's important to point out that originally his motives were not motivated by some sense of any moral duty.

So this is what fascinates me about soukoku, whether as a ship or even just as a pair of people -- Chuuya works for the "bad guys" but has many traits of a "good guy" and Dazai works for the "good guys" and has many traits of a "bad guy".

And you'll notice that throughout this I've been saying "good" and "bad" in quotations, and that kinda ties in with what I'm talking about. Because pretty much every single character in BSD is morally grey to some extent. No one is 100% for one side or the other, and especially as the series progresses and we see the ADA and PM work together towards common goals, this is made very clear. And I do think this all ties in with soukoku being on the opposite sides of what you'd think they'd be.

BSD makes very clear that a person's circumstances influence the person they become. For Atsushi, being raised in an orphanage by abusive adults made it so his self value is rooted in what he can do for others, with little regard for himself. For Akutagawa, being mentored by Dazai when Dazai was at his worst version of himself meant that he was raised to be even more cruel and ruthless, not caring much for the lives of others. And we even see in BEAST (which I have not read for myself) that these roles can be flipped to a certain extent given different circumstances. In a different world Atsushi joins the PM and Akutagawa joins the ADA, even if their characters at their core still kind of line up with their affiliations in the main canon universe.

(I've also made a twitter thread about said circumstances in the main canon, the cycle of abuse in the PM and how the ADA helps certain characters heal, and maybe I'll make a more extensive tumblr post about that at a later date.)

Anyway I don't really have any big conclusion, this is just my analysis of Dazai and Chuuya, and I think part of the reason I love skk as a ship and BSD as a whole. It's certainly not a perfect series, but the characters and their relationships are so complex and it's so fun to talk about! If you have anything to add, please feel free to do so :)

[cranity]

In defense of Oda (shuddering while saying that) :

But in the Manga Robin never was shown do have darker skin, so whitewashing her in the Anime is 100% the Anime Production Teams Fault (to make it more "Manga-Accurate", not that their really is much Options to Show it in a Weekly Produced Black&White Shonen-Manga, or that Oda has any exspecially good Track-Record with Woman or POC)

I loved it (but I also love any hc and redesign that gives the Crew more color) and they should have had the Balls to stick with the Decision after the Timeskip

Yeah i know she was originally in manga/official illustration shown w no color really, but she def did look better as a whole pre timeskip

[dreamkidddream]

Requests are open again hihi as a member of Kunikida and Oda deserve all the love club, I MUST request the scenario 6 with Kunikida, LIKE, LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING HE WOULD DO and never admit it

Thanks for this club haha, love your works and I am so happy we can ask for it again 🥺

The “Kunikida and Oda deserve all the love and affection because they do” club is steady growing and we love to see it 😌🙏🏾 and YES Kunikida will 100% do this no hesitation even if he’s complaining the whole time lol and thanks for reading my works and for all the love 🥺💚💙 reader is gender neutral!

TW: mentions of undressing (Okay it’s not spicy/suggestive, he’s just being a good boyfriend so that you can get in the shower 🥺 no body parts/nothing graphic is mentioned but I still wanted to put a TW!)

Prompt Scenario: “Person A having a broken leg and Person B has to carry them up and down the stairs to their bedroom every night/morning.” with Kunikida!

This sucks.

You didn’t think that your injury would be this bad, but here you are. One that left you completely immobile.

Okay you’re exaggerating, but you could only do so much being stuck in this bed!

The white cast surrounding your broken leg (although filled with doodles by Naomi, Dazai, Ranpo, and the others), baring as a constant reminder of your mistake. It just took one misstep and a nasty fall down the stairs that left your leg bending in an angle that it definitely wasn’t suppose to be. While Yosano happily offered her services to heal, you weren’t necessarily ready to go through with that process yet. Besides, now you can somewhat laze around and not get shot at for once!

That was your first thought initially.

You got bored and lonely fast.

With Kunikida having to go to work, and you still being monitored in the hospital, you could only do so much for your entertainment. The food wasn’t the greatest, you flipped through all the channels at least three times in the last hour, and you missed sharing the bed with your lover.

You really miss him, and you’re starting to take up Yosano’s offer...

But, you couldn’t contain your fidgeting in the bed today after hearing the good news.

You’re finally getting released from this prison today! You can finally get to breathe in some fresh air, and not the stale one that’s been circling in your room for past couple of days. With the addition of seeing your boyfriend, who you know for a fact misses you just as much as you do, (and maybe even more).

—-

So coming home came with some setbacks.

Mainly the stairs that started all of this mess to begin with.

Kunikida was already cooking dinner, which you offered to help, but he just demanded asked that you sit down and let your leg rest. In your absence, he’s written down almost all of the medical advice on broken legs known to man and is determined to be the best caretaker for you. You couldn’t just sit around forever, and you’re ready to be in your pajamas, to get underneath your own covers, and to cuddle with your partner whose warmth you have been missing for the past couple of days.

You got crutches to use, and you’re 100% sure that you can hobble your way up the stairs and make it to the bedroom in one piece this time. You just have to have patience and take your time, just take one step at a time, and you should be okay! If you could just control your shaking grip on your crutches, and get your good leg to become steady enough to stand on the first step, then you can-

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Your foot barely hovered over the step before you felt his presence behind you. You could practically feel the anger radiating off of him, no doubt the look on his face being a mix of anger and disappointment.

When you turned around, you were proven correct. Kunikida’s brows were furrowing deeper and deeper the longer you stayed in this compromising position, and you would have laughed seeing him wearing your shared apron if you didn’t see his hold on the spatula tightening each second. “Um, well, I was going to-”

“Go up the very stairs that left you like this, unsupervised.”

Surprisingly, he’s still intimidating, even in the “This cook accepts cleaned plates AND kisses as payment” apron.

“Well, I’m-I’m being extra careful! I can’t not go into our bedroom. I sleep there too you know.” You laughed, but the situation became even more awkward when he wasn’t laughing with you.

“You just got back home and already about to put yourself in harm’s way again, and we haven’t even ate yet!”

You started to panic more when he untied the apron and took off his glasses.

You just accepted your fate whenever he approached you again, slowly easing yourself down and preparing yourself to be chewed out and in for a lengthy lecture that’ll probably leave you falling asleep on the steps soon enough-

Until he kneeled down in front of you, back turned.

Okay you’re confused.

You’re just staring at his back, wondering what exactly he’s doing. Is this suppose to be symbolic message or something? Is this his way of saying that he’s giving you the silent treatment-

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“The schedule is already off, and since you’re just so ready to jump ahead, we might as well get it over with. If it’ll make you listen and not be so irrational, then fine.”

It still isn’t clicking for you-

“Hurry up and get on already! We don’t have all night!”

Ohhhh, he wants you to get on...his back? However, judging by the red spreading to the tips of his ears, that’s what he wants. You would tease him, but your heart is too busy melting at the fact that he would do this for you. “Doppo, you don’t have to do this-”

“I do. If you think that you’re going near any of these steps without me, then you’re sorely mistaken. Not to mention how hard it will be for you to maneuver around, so I do need to do this. So, go ahead, before we get more behind schedule.”

You’re still on the brink of refusing him, but he does have a point; it’s going to be a little difficult trying to move around with this. You also recognized that this is one of his ways of showing that he cares, and wants to help you through this. Kunikida has always been someone that will truly help when you need it, even if you don’t ask for it. He may complain about it being “extra work”, but you know that he doesn’t mean it, and will do it again in a heartbeat if needed be.

It’s just one of the many reasons why you love him so much.

Plus, this is probably one of the only times you’ll be able to get a piggyback ride without begging, so why not?

It wasn’t difficult to get on his back, especially since he’s handling you like you’re so fragile (which you guess you are right now). It was funny, you both know what you’re capable of but yet he’s always so gentle with you, but it’s never to the point that he’s degrading or belittling.

“(Y/N)?”

“Hm?”

“Do you remember what I told you when we first started dating?”

“Of course, I can never forget it!”

“The day that I confessed to you, I told you that I will always take care of you. That I would do my best to keep you safe, to protect you, and I already failed you.” His tone became somber. You couldn’t imagine what was going through his head the nights you were gone.

Going through his daily routine and sleeping in an empty bed without you filled him with guilt, especially knowing that this happened over something that could have been easily prevented. He blamed himself every day, it didn’t matter that you weren’t gone for long. It was still his fault.

“Doppo, don’t blame yourself-”

“I do. I was already careless enough to let you get hurt, and I can’t let that happen again, I won’t.” You would be more concerned, but his tone shifted. It was no longer full of pity for himself, full of guilt. Instead, it was full of unwavering determination, that this scenario can’t- will never happen again.

You could tell that he was making a promise, to both you and himself. And he is a man of his word, after all.

You already made it to your shared bedroom, Kunikida carrying you to the restroom and sitting you on the edge of the bed. He already began to grab your PJs from the dresser, and made his way back to you. “Is it okay if- if I-”

“Yes, Doppo, I don’t mind you helping me undress.” You laughed. You two live together and he’s seen you hundreds of times, yet he still asks every time if he could come in if you’re changing. Just another reason why you fell for him.

Once you were done, he carried you again to the bathroom, the water already running and him checking to make sure it’s right for you. He already rolled his sleeves up and kneeled down in front of you, and you could hear him mumbling to himself about the different methods he can use to keep your cast dry as he lifted it.

You swear he’s too sweet for his own good, no matter how many times he tries to deny it.

—-

Even after your cast was off and your leg was good as new, Kunikida still caught himself trying to carrying you up the stairs every morning and night. He felt embarrassed every time you laughed and reminded him that he didn’t have to do it anymore. He still stood close by though, with the excuse that you’re still clumsy enough that it’s bound to happen again (which you just rolled your eyes and kissed his cheek). He did get the chance to carry you however whenever you were too tired or fell asleep downstairs, no exceptions.

(You may or may not have fake sleep sometimes so that he can carry you.)

Yes, he may reprimand and complain about how irresponsible and reckless you can be, he may act like the chaos you create throws off his dear schedule so much, and he wonders how you managed to make him fall in love with you so deeply when you don’t even qualify for all of his ideals, but he doesn’t care believe it or not. He wouldn’t give you up for the world.

Besides, anything to have you in his arms is worth the headache.

[straymackerel]

hey! i was wondering if you can do some dating headcanons for atsushi, ranpo, and odasaku (if you do him), i love your writing by the way, you’re really great :))

ranpo + oda boyfie hcs

➽─{aww, tysm! yes, i write for everyone in the anime. here’s an older link for atsushi!}─❥

edogawa ranpo

• can i get uhhhh “high maintenance boyfriend”..?

• ranpo is quite the selfish lover; the ‘my way or the highway’ mentality is strong with this one.

• he is not above having a mini meltdown in public. expect chaos to ensue when the ice cream shop runs out of his favorite flavor or the vending machine eats his money

• the honor of dragging him and his temper tantrum out of the store falls on none other than—you guessed it—you!

• the bright side is that he’s easy to cheer up. it takes just one trip to the grocery/convenience store and you’re set

• just be warned that he puts almost everything he sees in the shopping cart... and there’s no talking him out of it

• he’s super needy...

• so goddamn needy oh my god

• can words even describe how clingy this guy is???

• he literally starts pouting if he feels like he doesn’t have your undivided attention

• he texts you from work all the time:

• “thinking about you,” “let’s get pizza and ice cream tonight,” “wanna play hooky today?”

• physical affection is a must must must.

• i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: he needs to be the little spoon, safe and snug in your arms.

• you’re basically required to hold his hand in public lest you run the risk of losing him forever (and just how would you explain that to poor old fukuzawa?)

• ranpo returns the favor by surprising you with back hugs and forehead kisses and lil hand squeezes

• his favorite kind of date is one where he can show off his deductive skills, so expect to eventually take him to every escape room in the city

• praise kink 100—except it goes both ways

• he brags about you nonstop, 24/7, to absolutely everyone and anyone

• plus he doubles as an insecurity repellent—always gassing you up, always letting you know just how amazing you are

• absolutely nothing prompts it; he just starts going off about how adorable you are, how happy you make him, how glad he is to have met you, etc. whenever he pleases

• you’ll just be minding your own business when he walks up to you and points you down

• “...i’ve deduced,” he says as you quirk an eyebrow,

• “that i have the greatest partner-in-crime in the whole wide world!”

oda sakunosuke

• the orphans are a part of the package, take it or leave it.

• as long as you’re not completely appalled by the idea of co-parenting spending some time with the young ones, he’s pretty much the most flexible boyfriend you could ask for

• ...not to mention exceptionally nonjudgmental. he can’t buy you the world and he won’t burn it down for you either, but he’ll be damned if he can’t accept you for who you are

• i’m talking about your deepest, darkest secrets... because he seriously won’t think any less of you for them.

• whoever you are, without exception—you can be your true self around oda. he wants to love the real you, after all

• (and you can expect him to be just as open with you, too.)

• he keeps you as far away from the mafia as possible, but of course you get the heads up that he’s in it, plus the risks involved

• this guy wouldn’t even dream of abandoning you at your worst. you’re a person, not a concept, so don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with him

• he’s patient to a fault. he’s forgiving to no end. oda’s your rock and he wouldn’t have it any other way

• your hopes, your dreams, your life goals—he takes them all very seriously, and truly wants to support you along the way

• he becomes genuinely interested in whatever you’re interested in. please, tell him all about it

• (...anything to get his mind off of work)

• consistency is key to him. he’s not liable to mood swings or anything like that, so you can count on him to be unwaveringly sweet

• ex. he never goes to the store or the coffee shop without first asking if you want him to grab something for you, too, even if you’re in the middle of a fight

• your dates are quite simple, and it’s likely that you’ll frequent a local restaurant or two

• you also bring the kids to the park often. you’ll grab ice cream cones and take to people-watching on the benches when it’s nice out

• he doesn’t mind if things get quiet. in fact he embraces shared silences and finds nothing awkward about them

• oda’s an honest guy, but he’s far from flashy. you’re only getting the most subtle gestures of affection out of him in public

• he likes placing his hand on the small of your back and letting his fingers brush up against yours as you walk down the street

• once in a while he presents you with small gifts, often a little accessory or some other trinket

• “it made me think of you,” he says, putting it on for you in front of the mirror, planting a kiss on your cheek when you turn to him in surprise

general tags. (info) @skateme2yokohama​​ @shozaii​ @suehiro @tsukkiscookies

[mugiwara-lucy]

Your high expectations of Oda explaining Kaido with a long extended flashback is of no fault to Oda OR actual fans.

ACTUALLY…

Considering all of Kaido’s knowledge about Joy Boy:

Him knowing the importance of Wano:

And with his obsession on dying:

And Oda not USING THIS ARC where he is the NUMBER ONE VILLAIN to explain it in HIS FLASHBACK is ABSOLUTELY 100 PERCENT HIS FAULT.

Like Big Mom had HOW MANY CHAPTERS of her backstory that fleshed out her character yet Kaido got HALF a chapter?

….If that?

And we still know NOTHING.

We DON’T know how he knows what he knows about Joy Boy and Wano or why he even wants to die.

If Oda goes back to it later that’s just bad writing, sorry not sorry.

[pompompurin1028]

Oh my God!! I had never thought of it that way, that’s awesome! Good catch, Kat :o

That is so true, we read Yozo’s life and deeds completely through his own eyes therefore we can’t treat it as an objective narrative. When this is combined with all the analyses you made yesterday, it’s all coming together and this is the best feeling ever, when I first read your response I went crazy with euphoria😭

And exactly! We can definitely distinguish these two narratives -Yozo’s and the woman’s- in the last scene under the sunset. Dazai, for some reason, always denies his good intentions and is “blinded to his better side” as you said and I totally adore this way of putting it. I really hope Atsushi will be able to bring him back to reality😔

I mean, of course he’s not the most snow white person out there, he still has really gray morals, but isn’t this already an incredible step considering that he was born in pitch black? He needs to see how much he’s achieved since then, but he still feels guilty and this totally blocks the good parts of his journey in his mind, which is probably why he always has that façade to keep him from breaking down. Just like how Yozo had this façade of “clowning” even though he was feeling empty inside all while entertaining people and seeming so cheerful. This clowning thing was a really beautiful parallelism between BSD Dazai and Yozo.

Exactly😭 For someone as traumatised as Atsushi, that poor cinnamon roll is really so precious with his amount of trust and kindness🥺 And yeah… There’s no way I would be able to 100% restore my trust for him -if I had it in the first place, of course, you never know with Dazai😂-, I would question constantly if he’s planning new things with several villains “for the sake of the city”, and this is just what Atsushi says, he denies this as well like what- then why😭 He owes a really good explanation to the ADA, tbh. I hope they treat this subject in S3 or I’ll get really mad if he just gets away with it as if people didn’t die because of his shenanigans😤

And oh my God! I never knew that! This is really intriguing, I’m totally on Dazai-sensei’s side on this matter, Run, Melos! will be so interesting to read :o And as always, I’d love to read your analysis on it😌

And that’s so true😞 His plans are always so complex and detailed that if the littlest thing goes wrong, it would all be over, I mean, trusting that Chuuya punches him in the face or he’ll die?? He’s really walking on thin ice there haha. Which, of course, comes with great stress. And omg I LOVED THAT ANALYSIS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING💕 I reblogged it privately to come back to it whenever I start having doubts or feeling bad about Dazai which happened way too often even before Dead Apple, I just couldn’t keep a healthy relationship with him like I do with Kunikida I have no idea why this will really be a useful thing to come back to 💫 It pains me to see that how much he suffers in reality yet he’s not even able to acknowledge that it’s not his fault😞 (you can gimme all your analyses don’t be shy👀)

I’m planning on reading this one, it has several chapters and they all seem really explanatory. (I hope linking system works in asks🤔)

Exactly, I honestly used to miss all these about Akutagawa and just overlook him, consider him as a mere invincible rabid dog with an unhealthy obsession, whose ability is just to murder. But that’s not true at all, he’s more than his ability. To be honest, I think this movie made this sentence valid for everyone, especially if the ability is too strong, one always tends to consider them as their ability and nothing else, but that’s not true, their abilities are a part of them but they don’t assure their existence. Each one of them is more than their ability and I loved seeing that, I even felt sad when Aku regained his Rashōmon😭

Haha, always!!❤️ Never hesitate to share anything about any theory/headcanon you have, I love discussing them🥰

These asks and responses are getting longer and longer but I’m not complaining😂

Thank you so much!🥺 That makes me really happy that you said that!

And yes exactly! We have to make note that the novel is written in an I-novel narrative, and like all first person perspectives, they are unreliable. And "crazy with euphoria", that makes me so happy to hear😭💕

But yes, we can clearly see the distinct difference between how Yozo sees himself, vs how the woman sees him. (Side note: And one of the reasons why I love this book despite its dark themes and narratives, is that it talks about the goodness of humanity that still exists in even the worst people. Dazai-sensei's narration of Yozo is written in a way that almost makes us hate him. But we have to always be reminded that despite this, there are goodness, even in people like Yozo, which I felt is an amazing reminder) And his own blindness to his better side is obviously self-destructive, as seen in the novel, and I believe that if Dazai continues to see this way, he will not be able to heal despite following what Oda wants him to do. No, he first has to face his past, and as you said he has to recognize how far he has come, even though he is still learning, he is still changing. Like all other characters in Dead Apple, Dazai is also facing his past, or more so an introduction to having to face his past, as I believe that Atsushi had also said that he hopes that Dazai can put his past behind him or something similar to that. And I personally feel that Dazai would have a happy ending because unlike in the novel, he has someone (Atsushi) to remind him of his goodness, the fact that he can go beyond what he is in the past. I just love Dead Apple so much😭

And the clowning part breaks my heart too... In addition to being a facade to stop others from seeing how empty he is inside, which would deviate himself from being "human". It gives me a saddening understanding that Dazai is keeping everyone at a distance. Although he wants others to understand him, and his whole existence is basically a cry for help, he fears being hurt, or at least that's what I believe how Yozo thinks. And it should be noted that the act of clowning, can also be seen in The Setting Sun as well, which he once again uses a mask to attempt to blend into society, yet knowing that he'll still be different from the rest of them

Also one thing I also realized as I am writing this is how Dazai-sensei intentionally in a sense villanizes himself (as it is semi-biographical) as well as Yozo in No Longer Human, and I can't help but wonder if this is another parallel to Dead Apple?🤔

But unfortunately, the consequences of him making that meticulous plan which endangered everyone will not be resolved, as it should be noted that this is a sort of spinoff from the main storyline. But in a sense I like the ending it gave us, as it allows open interpretation. And I feel that it also might symbolize the fact that all the main characters in the movie are still growing, are still learning and are continuing on their paths to face their pasts... And what I think is also quite important to note that is there's also a sense of trust Dazai gives to the people involved in his plans, he trusts them to make that exact move to make his plan whole. And also, what also makes me sad is that Dazai seems to be asking for forgiveness for what he did during dead apple, at least that's what it sounds like to me as he said: "Atsushi what I did earlier-"

And I totally agree that it is impossible to restore full trust back to Dazai. That itself is impossible, for it is a disillusionment, it is a stage you cannot go back to. But and I agree with Dazai-sensei, I believe that this could help Dazai see the better parts of humanity like when he said to Oda, that the good side is really more beautiful.

And I'm so glad to know that you want to save it🥺 It can definitely be hard to see Dazai's good side at times, he is quite confusing and is easily misunderstood ngl. But sometimes I think he intentionally does that so no one can see through his true intentions, to keep himself at a distance, while at the same time wanting others to see through him, to help him😔

And oo thank you for the analysis! I'll definitely have to read it soon☺ Also if you have any analysis that you'd like to discuss or want me to know, feel free to drop them in my ask box as well!

And yes exactly! That about Aku is so beautifully said.

And honestly I'm not complaining either haha. These have been quite fun🥰