#chuuya coming next chapter and being unable to do anything about it because he's not in control of his body

[allbuthuman]

bsd 107 help me i haven't been this AAAAA about a chapter since 101 which was exactly a year ago asagiri you motherfucker

[charmspoint]

THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT ABT THE BSD MANGA ILY THANK YOU I FEEL LIKE MY OPINION IS FINALLY VALIDATED WHICH IS: BSD has turned meh. I have become indifferent towards the plot due to the fact there are no real stakes - I feel like the OP characters like Dazai will always have a solution with a deus ex machina feel to it, making it impossible for me to care. With the recent chaos happening in the manga (I too gave up on the manga a year or so ago!), I was baffled to find out I could no longer enjoy it. My memory is poor, and I can't really pinpoint it at the moment, but BSD just... doesn't engage me as it used to. Keep in mind I was an obsessive fan of it and analyzed it to the tiniest details, but all of my great love for the series has long died, sadly. But! I am glad to hear you feel similarly about it because, yes, the potential was there, but it got terribly wasted.

Bruh don't I feel it, me and @autumn-foxfire have like monthly bitch sessions about the state of bsd at this point. I was also super invested in it in initial arcs (Up until the guild arc ended) and then slowly started petering off only to drop it the first time around the hunting dogs introduction. Then after some time i was like okay ill go give it a second shot, came to the vampire arc went 'wow this is really fuckin stupid' and dropped it again. Idk will I pick it up again, maybe I'll just stick to being an anime only, even tho I also have problems with some adaptation things but that's BESIDES THE POINT.

Please click under for The Point

The thing about Kafka is: He's really good at coming up with interesting concepts and ideas and REALLY BAD at executing them in any sort of satisfying way. Like, when I say I only like bsd until the end of the guild arc, I don't mean it was perfect. It could have handled it's female cast better, it would have been fun to see more mafia and agency team ups besides soukoku and shin soukoku, I still don't get why shin soukoku is supposed to be a replacement in training since Dazai and Chuuya still work together perfectly and even if they hate each other they hate each other less than Akutagawa and Atsushi AND have way more experience fighting together but that once again is besides the point. The point being those arcs of bsd were SATISFYING. We got introduced to two organizations, seen them butt heads and then have them forced to work together against a common enemy. It's very simple but it's effective and it's satisfying.

And then the rats struck.

While up until then bsd wasn't perfect it was fun and had lovable characters and an interesting plot and engaging dynamics. Rats arc wasn't horrible per say, the idea of the cannibalization was really fun (Though I think Kafka should have used it to get rid of Mori, nobody fuckin likes Mori) but this is where we slowly get introduced to what I think are two main failings of Kafka's writing: That he's unable to handle characters properly and that he likes writing smart things but doesn't know how to write smart things.

Kafka has a very, very bad habit of INTRODUCING TOO MANY FUCKING CHARCTERS. Every arc is a new massive group with like a bunch of members, one of who may actually end up being fleshed out before they are inventiblely replaced by another large group or maybe two why the fuck not. The mafia and the guild left lasting impressions on me and I can still name all the main members but fuck me if i know a single rat aside from Fyodor (AND ILL GET TO FYODOR). Kafka feels like someone who's idea of rising conflict is 'introduce a bigger enemy each time' and it's just so annoying. Chapters and arcs end up centering around these groups of new characters while old characters, who we loved the manga for, just fall into obscurity. He almost had me in the hunting dogs arc by giving Yosano a backstory. I was so excited! I was like!!! finally development for the agency!!! But that barely went anywhere did it. I've talked about this with Foxy but it really feels like Kafka is just BORED of the og characters and is trying to silently sideline them for his new shiny characters. When's the last time we saw Chuuya again, you know, the ex partner of one of the series protagonists? The next predicted mafia head? Is he important? Foxy tells me Dazai's been sidelined too, fUCKIN DAZAI, for a good while I was sure Kafka liked Dazai a lot better than Atsuhi for protagonist and now he's getting sidelined. I know bsd is still really popular in japan but at this point i think it would have been more merciful for Kafka to just end bsd and start a new manga with new characters instead of doing whatever weird metamorphosis this is turning out to be.

Introducing new characters isn't a bad thing of course, but bsd has become mcdonalds of new characters. They are cheap and disposable. I can't feel anything for them because I know nine times out of ten they'll barely make any impact and they'll disappear as soon as the new group slides in. When adding new characters you should do so while knowing what role those characters will play in your plot, what will they bring. If a character is just there to waffle around until they get shoved away they should probably be cut because they are wasting time and space. AND YOU SHOULDN'T SIDE LINE YOUR CORE CAST FOR UR SHINY NEW CHARACTERS YOU'LL GET BORED OF IN COUPLE OF ARCS ANYWAY, ARE YOU A TODDLER???

I still think that bsd could have been SO much better if instead of focusing on the next big evil group they just focused on shifting tension between the agency and the mafia. I mean they've had to team up for the guild and then they immediately got thrown into the cannibalization. It would have been interesting to see them pull against and pull towards those ties made during the guild arc when they are forcefully pitted against each other again (and decide that killing mori would be in everyone's best interest). Instead we got, idk I already forgot what the rats arc ended up being about, atsushi and aku team up again yadda yadda yadda, Chuuya gets done dirty and never recovers, Fyodor ruins Dazai

SO ABOUT FYODOR. As I said, Kafka strikes me as someone who REALLY likes to write geniuses and who wants people to think he's super smart but also has no idea how to show his work. At first this was okay. We had Dazai and Ranpo who were very good at pushing the plot along and sometimes you'd get explained how they got to that conclusion and sometimes you didn't but it usually wasn't a big deal. But then the writing became more and more and more of 'well he's smart so he figured it out so just trust me' without actually explaining anything and as you said, it ended up feeling boring, unengaging and very deus ex machina. You know what Kafka's writing reminds me off? That video about how Sherlock is so happy to stroke itself to how smart they look while never showing their work, you know the one. Kafka likes writing smart characters but doesn't actually know how to write smart characters so instead of giving us reasons and clues and explanations to how they come to some conclusion, how they predicted or planned or whatever, he just goes 'oh well they are super smart so they figured it out'. I don't think I need to explained why this is bad, annoying and unengaging writing. This is why i say Fyodor ruined Dazai for me, Dazai was fine as a genius but then they had to pit him against Fyodor who's another genius and things just got ridiculous. You know how in that sherlock video the guy points out the one scene that encapsulates every irritating thing about sherlocks writing. This had been it for me and BSD (thank you Foxy for helping me find the panels)

THATS NOT HOW CODES WORK, THATS NOT HOW ANYTHING WORKS, THEY WOULD JUST BE COMING UP WITH TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF CODES HERE. Even if they were both smart enough to remember every conversation in detail, how on earth are they supposed to 'guess out' what the other means. How are they supposed to confirm or deny that's what a certain word means in a way that can be understood, how can they even guess what the word the other guessed is IF THEY ARE BOTH TALKING IN CODE. KAFKA'S ANSWER: THEY'RE MONSTERS, THEY ARE JUST THAT SMART, NO NEED TO EXPLAIN IT BECAUSE THEY ARE JUST THAT SMART AND THAT'S YOUR SOLUTION AND THAT'S BULLSHIT. This scene broke bsd in half for me and honestly made me dislike Dazai for a long time (I got better), but it honestly shows so well how Kafka wanted to make his characters so smart he actually made his manga really fuckin stupid, ruining very good and interesting concept he had started with.

In the end, Kafka writes how I wrote when I was 15. With no idea where the plot is headed, adding new characters and situations whenever it strikes his fancy whether they work for the story or not, ending up just flopping around plot holes and fizzled out character arcs and boring ass writing. And that's fine for a 15yr old writing fanfiction. It's not fine for a presumably grown ass published author of a relatively popular manga.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[misstinfoilhat]

The Boy in the Belfry Pt. 7, a Bungo Stray Dogs fic.

I need to nap. I’ll take a break after this, and the post chapter 8 a liiiittle later.  *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Chuuya looked on the unconscious boy on the floor with horror staining every part of his being. Mori had gotten up and was on his way to check up on the child when the preacher told him threateningly not to dare touch him.

It was hard to understand what had just happened in front of them. Especially for a young mind like Chuuya's, even though he had seen more than most throughout his short life.

The black smoke that had turned into, supposedly, God, had moments later morphed into the preacher himself. That was the last thing that had happened before the preacher had shut down whatever-the-hell had just happened.

“So, that was God, huh?” the leader of the Port Mafia said mockingly. “I suppose your image of God, is yourself, no?”

The preacher looked furiously at the older man, clenching his fists.

“I'm not stupid, Father. Your whole scheme might trick ordinary people, but not me. Your power has nothing to do with any God, does it?” he asked rhetorically before shaking his head. “My guess is that your ability is to make anyone's greatest fear appear in front of them, that's why you need the boy. Isn't it?”

The preacher did not answer. He stomped across the floor to his son and grabbed him by his jacket.

“You have probably worked a long time to make sure to strike the fear of God into the boy. Well, it seems like you have pushed too far. His fear isn't of God anymore... It's of you.”

The preacher marched out from the room with the still unmoving boy tightly in his grip.

“I guess this unfortunate turn of events is quite inconvenient for your reputation as 'the preacher who speaks directly to God', isn't it?”

The front door shut with a loud bang as the preacher stormed out. The elderly boss of the Port Mafia chuckled to himself.

“Told you,” he simply said. His words were directed at Mori.

“W-what's going to happen to him?” the young Chuuya asked his caretaker silently. She just shook her head in reply. Because she didn't know and frankly, it was to none of their concern. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*. 

Mori was not able to stop thinking about the young boy that had been the vessel of the preacher's abilities. There was something about him that spoke to him. In no way was it affection. He couldn't claim to have those sorts of feelings towards anyone.

No, there was something else. Something about his silent acceptance to what could only be described as torture in the hands of the preacher. The lack of feeling was something the Port Mafia greatly valued.

Maybe the visit from the preacher hadn't been so unfruitful after all?

Already the next day, Mori's plans for recruiting the youngling were discussed in a meeting with the other executives. Most of them seemed reluctant. They already had a child in training. But their leader, who had witnessed the event the day prior, agreed to Mori's suggestion.

That settled that. Mori was going to offer an undisclosed amount of money for the boy. He felt that it was way too generous, as the preacher had no longer use for the boy. After all, he was no longer able to make “God” appear, with the image being muffled with his father.

A car was sent to pick up the doctor to take him to the church. No time should be wasted, as there was no guarantee for the child's life anymore, after yesterday's events.

If they had gotten there five minutes later, it would already have been too late. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Dazai could not stand up anymore. He could hardly even crawl. His punishment for last night's failure had proceeded long into the night.

He only just woke up. His body was still bleeding. He had no idea from where. It seemed like everywhere. His shoulder was broken, he noted, as well as his leg probably. The smell of burnt skin was still residing in his nostrils, and he grabbed the stinging skin around his throat with horror, as the memories of everything that had happened during the night seeped back to his mind.

He couldn't do this anymore. His father would kill him. He had known for some time now that his father's powers were not exactly what he claimed them to be, but this was the first time that it had manifested itself against his will. Dazai had stopped believing in God, which made his fear of him non-existent. What he truly feared, was his father.

As usual, his punishment had been carried out in the belfry. He eyed the large bells surrounding him. The sound of their chimes had always made him uneasy. Any time he would hear them- feel them- the vibrations of their chimes, it would make his body tremble. His own heartbeats would muffle with the feeling, and made him unable to decipher between the shakiness of the large brass and his actual heartbeats. A trail of blood followed him as he dragged his body across the floor to get nearer the opening that let the chimes of the bells ring out into the city.

This time, he was going to do it. No turning back. No second thoughts. His father was not going to be the one to end his life. If his life would come to an end, it would be by his own hands.

He looked down on the graveled path, 30 feet below him. He estimated that the drop would be enough. His already battered body would be unfeeling in the air, before, hopefully, his head would hit the ground first, killing him instantly. No pain beyond the initial hit.

He took a deep breath. He had no idea what would happen once he died. His father had promised him eternal suffering, but he was sure it couldn't be worse than staying here.

This was it.

With the little strength that was left in his body, he forced himself to stand. He didn't even need to jump. His body just collapsed over the edge. He lost himself to the feeling of weightlessness and waited for the impact to take him away from this God-forsaken place. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*. 

He woke up on a hard table. It felt like it was made of steel. He was undressed except for the bandages, under a sheet that covered the lower half of his body.

His head hurt. His ribs hurt. His arms hurt. His legs hurt. It would probably take less time to count the parts of him that didn't hurt.

A tall man stood and looked down on him. He was lean and had black hair, slicked back and reaching his shoulders. He had a sick grin on his face, as he eyed Dazai from top to bottom.

“Wh-what?” Dazai was able to stutter. He could hardly make out what his own voice was saying. It was so weak, so pathetic.

His latest memories came back to him, watching the bells and falling to his death. He had clearly failed.

“Shh,” the lean man soothed, with his finger raised to his own lips. “Don't talk. Your body has been through a lot of trauma.”

The words of the older man didn't quite fit the smile on his face, Dazai noted and wondered greatly about it.

“Who..?” he whispered but was not able to get any more words out. His chest ached and his breath caught.

“I'm Dr. Mori,” the man said. “You met me a couple of days ago, remember? I will be taking care of you while you recover from your... fall.”

A hint of recognition could be seen on what was not covered behind the bandages of the young boy's face.

“It's quite impressive, though,” the man scoffed. “It seems like you have God on your side, in spite of everything. You shouldn't have survived from a fall from that height.”

Sure, the strange doctor was smiling, but his voice sounded like poison. It made Dazai's skin crawl, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of there as soon as possible.

“F-father?” Dazai's shaky voice asked. He wasn't sure if it was from the injuries or fear.

The doctor shook his head. “Don't worry about him anymore. From now on, you're staying here with us. As soon as you are healthy enough, we will start your training.”

“Training?”

“Yes. Welcome to the Port Mafia, kid.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*. Chuuya was curious about the new boy. He stayed at the infirmary, and Master Mori had told him that he couldn't train yet. The short redhead wondered if it had anything to do with what had happened a couple of weeks ago with that preacher, but he didn't dare to ask.

Maybe he could sneak in for a small peek, just to say hello. It must be lonely to stay by yourself in the infirmary for this long. Also, Master Mori was out on a mission, so he wouldn't know. He was sure the boy wouldn't tell.

He looked around in the long hallway. No one was in sight, so he opened the door slowly and quickly looked inside to make sure that there was nobody else in the room.

A beeping noise came from behind a curtained divider and something behind it seemed to shift.

“H-hello?” a weak voice said.

Maybe he shouldn't do this. Chuuya wondered if he should leave, but something told him not to.

“Hi,” Chuuya said tryingly as he closed the door behind him. “I'm sorry, I'm not really supposed to be in here.”

He walked hesitantly over to the bed and gasped at the sight of the boy.

His head and his right eye were bandaged like before, but now it seemed like every inch of the kid in front of him had a bandage, gauze or a cast on it.

The boy lowered his head in shame. The small smile that had appeared on his face the minute he had seen Chuuya disappeared.

“S-sorry. I didn't mean to do that,” Chuuya hurried to say. “What happened to you?”

The boy in the bed didn't answer.

“I'm Chuuya,” he tried instead. This made the boy look up again.

“D-Dazai. My name is Dazai.”

The two boys looked at each other and smiled. Being a child in the Port Mafia could be lonely, but Chuuya got the feeling that he wouldn't feel so alone now. Not anymore. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Dazai awoke with a jolt. The suddenness of the movement made his back pulsate and his breath hitch.

Hands forced him back into the softness beneath him, and inaudible voices were talking to him. He had no idea what was going on, and in spite of the pain that ran through his body, he tried to fight back as the panic grew to an almost unbearable level.

Someone held his arm down, and a small pinch was felt, burning for a little bit and Dazai understood that someone had given him a shot.

“M-Mori?” Dazai whispered, as whatever had been injected into him quickly took control of his body and led him back into a deep nightmare-fueled slumber. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

“How's he been doing today?” Kunikida asked as he entered the hospital room. Ranpo was seated next to Dazai's sleeping form, tilting the chair on its two back legs with a lollipop in his mouth.

“He doesn't even know where he is. They had to sedate him,” the short black-haired man said with a small frown.

“That's odd. He seemed okay yesterday,” Kunikida grumbled while stroking his chin.

“I don't know. He asked about someone named Mori, and he's been blabbering prayers none stop. Didn't even know he was religious,” the shorter man shrugged. “Well, I'm off. See you tomorrow!” Ranpo jumped to his feet and skipped out of the room. Kunikida was almost envious of his ability to seemingly be so unfazed by anything in this world. He seemed so carefree all the time. The only times he would lose his cool were if his candy stash was running low.

Kunikida took off his blazer and rolled his sleeves up before he sat on the chair. 'Prayers, huh?' he thought with a deep furrow between his eyebrows.

Sure, Dazai looked feverish, but he had seen him with a fever before. That didn't usually turn him that delirious. Certainly not religious.

'That church,' he finally realized. That could not be a coincidence. Kunikida didn't believe in coincidences. If only his idiot-partner would wake up soon, so he could ask him about it. For now, what he could do was make a couple of phone calls. He needed to find out who this Mori was, which Fukusawa could probably answer.

He wondered if there was any chance that the ginger kid would reveal something, but considering how close Dazai already held his cards to his chest, he seriously doubted that. Also, why would the Port Mafia have anything to do with the church? It didn't quite fit.

Ah, these magical times of the Internet. A quick search told him what the outside world knew about the history of the church. Nothing much of importance. It had been abandoned for over ten years. There were a couple of instances of squatters breaking in and vandalism.

Dazai started to move on the bed. Kunikida quickly shifted his attention back to his co-worker.

“Dazai?” he called. Tired eyes looked back up at him. His fringe shifted to the side, revealing a pale scar across his forehead and right eye that Kunikida had never noticed before.

“Hey,” Dazai mumbled while reaching for the remote control to the bed. Kunikida helped him, raising the back of the bed slightly so Dazai could sit more upright.

“It feels like someone knocked me out,” he complained with a yawn, rubbing his eyes.

“They had you drugged for a while. You were delirious.”

“Really?” Dazai chuckled. “I never can remember when they're giving me the good stuff.”

“Apparently, you were praying.” Kunikida crossed his arms and sat back in the chair, glaring at Dazai, waiting for some kind of sign that the facade was cracking.

Dazai let out a nervous laugh. “They really must have given me the good stuff then, huh?”

“Would you blame me for finding it a bit strange that you are praying in your sleep after having been thrown off the roof of a church?”

Dazai's smile didn't budge. “No, not really.”

“And what about the name, Mori?”

There it was, a twitch in the creak of his smile. The crack he was looking for. That name had woken something inside Dazai.

“Mori? He is the current boss of the Port Mafia. Must have dreamt something,” Dazai explained.

He always had all the answers. Right there on the tip of his tongue. Rehearsed, ready to go.

Kunikida was not satisfied. Somehow he was going to get to the bottom of this. Whatever 'this' was. Why his partner was acting so strange. Stranger than usual. Why he kept disappearing. Who had tried to kill him? Dazai's reluctance to cooperate only made the desire to unravel all of this even greater.

“What are you thinking about?” Dazai asked, interrupting his train of thoughts.

Kunikida breathed through his nose, chewing on the inside of his chin.

“That you're lying,” he said honestly, shooting a poisonous stare over the rim of his glasses.

Dazai only laughed.

“Yeah,” he answered, smiling.

[athina39]

wowow senpai i saw that you have posts about symbolisms in your harem!chuuya fic. do you have some more? i'm interested to see if there's anything i missed!

i’m very honored (and excited!!!) that there are folks like you who want to discuss my fic ahhhhh. it gives off the feeling that i’m actually writing something really worthwhile hahaha. so thank you!!! :D :D :D

so here are some of the (major) ~symbolisms, ~themes that i added to the fic. (i may have missed some lololol pls feel free to ask me more questions :D)

- chuuya’s character song. the things i got from it are: (1) chuuya thinks that he’s imprisoned by the world (he’s a bird in a goddamn cage) - and the key to this cage is in dazai’s hand; (2) he knows that he’s imprisoned, but he doesn’t want to keep on lamenting it - he wants to keep going until the end, until he falls apart. he goes on with life, laughing off whatever’s happening to him; (3) even if he tries to “leave” his cage - dazai is there to, presumably keep him locked in; (4) chuuya thinks that even if he manages to get out, he’d rather *fall* rather than return to a cage alone; (5) he views dazai as someone who: (5a) is a view worth more than 10-billion, (5b) has the same philosophy as Kierkegaard, (5c) has said the line ‘in langour dreams of death’.

(5c) expanded - the line is from chuuya’s poem 'For The Tainted Sorrow’, so did chuuya write that line after dazai said it? or did the line actually come from chuuya himself? the line seems more in-tune with dazai’s way of thinking but it’d also be interesting if chuuya actually shares the same apathy/hole when it comes to living…?

- Søren Kierkegaard’s philosophy - so this is technically an expansion from (5b)! the guy is a proponent of a loooooooot of philosophies/ideas. the idea that i chose to expand on in the fic is about the “leap of faith”, which is, as per wiki: “No such evidence could ever be enough to completely justify the kind of total commitment involved in true religious faith or romantic love. Faith involves making that commitment anyway.” his idea is that people doubt things, but real love means that believing in something/someone, despite the doubt, despite there being no evidence that one should believe/love that something/someone. so in this fic, it’s a clash between dazai’s philosophy (the love needs no evidence) and chuuya’s (you’ve hurt me before, how do i know that you won’t do it again, you have to give me proof that you won’t leave).

other things of note about the kierkegaard’s ideas: (6) man must understand himself inwardly before his life gains peace and meaning; (7) once man is at the bottommost despair, thinking “ah, things can’t be changed”, that’s when they’ll start to be reinvigorated; (8) absurdism: in which humans try to find value and meaning in life, but are unable to find any; (9) authenticity: in which stays true to their real character despite everything that happens to them - the real self is achieved when one realizes their own character amid the outside world;

chuuya & dazai both go through this internal struggles throughout their life where they try to find their true self amidst what’s happening to them, as well as how well does their “real character” survives against the external influences (their Abilities, the Port Mafia, each other, etc).

- dazai & apples have been expanded here - but basically, there’s a lot of symbolism re: apples that are just so dAZAI

- the people chuuya’s dating all possess characteristics that (10) he likes and dazai’s also showing those traits OR has traits that are the complete opposite of dazai’s, as a contrast; AND (11) characteristics that chuuya has already. i made a table that has a list of those traits here!

- chuuya’s quest to find self-worth - since chuuya’s not particularly important to the plot (urgh), i know he won’t really get an in-depth exploration of this - but he’s just like kyouka (and lucy/q), in which since he’s fairly young, he’s had this Ability that’s super powerful, but is out of his control. kyouka’s had angst about the 35 people - and she’s had angst about her Ability being out of *her* control and is instead dependent on some(one)/(thing) else - and she’s had angst about her self-worth being killing only. chuuya’s Ability matches all of those - and to think that kyouka’s in the mafia when mori’s already the Boss - who’s considered an *improvement* on the previous Boss. based on the general timeline from the backstories, i believe that dazai & chuuya joined the mafia before mori’s the boss - so if kyouka’s treatment is already considered “an improvement”…. just think of what chuuya could have gone through before.

- chuuya’s quest for normality - linked to the self-worth quest is the conclusion to having your entire life generally weighed as your contribution based on your abilities. he’s a very strong piece on the chessboard (it’s been alluded to, multiple times, that he’s considered a one-man army; ranpo in ch49 even says that just chuuya’s joining the fray is enough to drastically alter the odds of a fight; mori says in ch…24? iirc, that chuuya’s a force that’s enough to subdue the whole Agency) so i doubt that he’s had a normal upbringing or that he’s considered normal, at all.

- Abilities being gone from the world - as a plot point, i like this setting because it gives a chance to “level” the playing field for all characters. they’d all be on equal footing - because some Abilities are so OP that it changes the game. it’s a great chance to have chuuya, whose worth has been resting on his abilities, suddenly losing something that makes him so worthy. it’s also, in a way, a good chance to have chuuya be free from dazai - without corruption, he doesn’t *need* dazai to save him. without dazai’s 'no longer human’, he no longer has an insurance, because he’s not needed to stop the powerful ability users from going berserk (chuuya, q). it’s a good way to explore how the 'tainting’ actually works - chuuya’s chant, while very chuuni, is also interesting, because is it implying that his ability is actually somewhat more otherworldly? who are these 'grantors of dark disgrace’? what happens if chuuya’s link to them is severed? it’s also, esp in chuuya’s case, a good… parallel? to how you can have something your whole life, taking it for granted, shaping your life to accomodate it, and then one day - it can just go away.

- chuuya being a good boss - port mafia is said to be a very individual-centric organization. the previous boss likes powertrips, doesn’t really care about the people as long as he gets the destruction that he needs, as long as the mafia is feared. mori calculates everything as a game. chuuya’s very different from those 2 bosses (as well as dazai, since we have the dazai-is-considered-as-next-boss thing). he cares deeply for his squad - to the point that he doesn’t mind q dying if it means retribution for his nameless redshirts’ deaths. he’s able to act differently when he’s interacting with different people (e.g. suave and deferential with mori/kouyou; motherhen towards akutagawa/kajii; drinking buddy with hirotsu/kajii and tachihara in that one chapter). he’s respected by people - the black lizard squad, who work closely with akutagawa and mori, two very frightening and powerful people, treat him with respect. yes, his temper (esp when dazai is involved) could use a lot of work, but he’s someone who could be a very good boss, who actually *knows* the people he’s working with, treats them as people, treats them as individuals who are important to the organization. (not to mention, chuuya helping the granny even tho he knows it doesn’t match being a mafia!)

- date locations - whenever chuuya goes on a date with someone else who’s not dazai… they go to “usual date places” (i use the dating/tourist spot suggestions for yokohama). whenever chuuya spends time with dazai… i try to make it so that they do more “domestic” things (they spend a lot of time in chuuya’s house, or doing things like grocery shopping, buying food, etc). my goal is to have a contrast of how chuuya’s more about “showmanship”, when he’s with others - he cares for them, but he’s expending extra effort to make it so that it’s all ~~~date atmosphere~~~, while with dazai, he doesn’t exert much effort in trying to interact with him.

- in addition to the above, of course, is the concept of home - chuuya’s lost his home multiple times in his life, where home is both a literal home, as well as a representation of a place for him to belong. he keeps on losing the place he finds stability, so he keeps on searching for it. the goal is that he’ll eventually realize that dazai is his home. as a side-note, chuuya’s never referred his apartment as his home…. yet.

- chuuya’s view of romance - i was thinking - chuuya grew up (lol not in his height tho) in the mafia. the people that we’ve seen him with re: childhood are: kouyou, dazai, mori, q. those people don’t seem very good mentors when it comes to romance/emotions. kouyou’s… the main proponent of the “we’re beings of the dark, we can’t go for the light”. &she’s got that traumatic romance thingy going on. dazai… NO. mori… NO. q… NO. so not very good influences when it comes to healthy emotions. i also doubt that the port mafia gave much weight to actually having their members learn about romance. so how would chuuya learn about romance???

- weather - so the cold weather is because (a) good excuse for coat sharing (esp since soukoku coats/matching outfits!!!); (b) sign that something “different” from normal is happening; © WINTER FYODOR IS COMING

- the tell-tale heart - edgar allan poe's short story that has elements of (a) unreliable narrator, (b) insanity vs logic. the narrator/main character in the story spends the entire story insisting on one thing, but the more he insists, the more we learn that it's the opposite of what he's insisting. a pretty good parallel for what chuuya's doing too.

- the things that chuuya mentioned in ch1 (the opera, music, etc) all have some sort of significance too :D

that’s all i can get from my notes as of the moment haha! thanks again for the ask - i’m sorry i rambled too much lol