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arlana-likes-to-write · 1 year ago

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Marry Me

Summary: Once upon a time, you dreamed of marrying your girlfriend of two years but she broke up with you before you had the chance to ask her for her hand. Now with a wedding invitation in your hand, she's getting married but she's not marrying you.

Pairings: Past!Wanda Maximoff x reader, Yelena Belova x reader

Warnings: mention of cheating, angst with a happy ending, modern AU, no powers/Avengers, Starks aren't dead and decent parents lol

Word Count: 4.4k

‘Together with their families Wanda and Vision invite you to their wedding,’ the world around you seemed to become white noise. You didn’t hear your roommate talk about some guy that stood her up or the weatherman talking about the weather. Nothing else seemed to matter. “Are you listening to me?” No, you weren’t. That’s what you wanted to say but you stayed frozen, unable to speak. Sarah snatched the invitation out of your hand. You didn’t bother to stop her. “No fucking way this bitch invited you to her wedding,” Sarah had strong feelings about the ending of your relationship with Wanda. She had every right to be upset as she was the one to mend the broken pieces. “Are you going?”

“Fuck Sarah I don’t know,” you glanced at the time on the stove. “And I do not have time for this.” You were supposed to have a quick lunch at home and then return to the office for a meeting with important investors. Being blindsided by an invite to your ex-girlfriend’s wedding was something you didn’t have time for. “I have to go. Just leave it on the fridge,” you grabbed your backpack. Lunch was a protein bar and a banana.

“Hey, dumbass,” you stopped at the door, turning to face your roommate. “I love you.” You rolled your eyes.

“Love you too, dumbass.” You walked out of your apartment, not bothering with the elevator. It was a beautiful sunny day, a stark contrast to the emotions that were swirling inside of you. Once upon a time, you dreamed of marrying Wanda. You were together for 2 years and knew every detail of how she wanted the wedding to be. It would be out in the country, not too many people to save on money. Maybe on an apple orchard or magnolia trees surrounding the ceremony. You would have given her everything, no matter the cost, and you were looking at rings to buy. Then she broke up with you. It was rather sudden, out of the blue, and she never gave you a good enough explanation. She told you that she fell out of love with you. A month later, she and Vision started dating. Sarah figured she was cheating on you. You couldn’t stomach that possibility.

“Nice of you to finally show up,” Tony said as the elevator’s door opened to his office. You rolled your eyes and sat down in the empty chair in front of his desk. You gave Pepper a small smile.

“I’m technically early,” you opened the protein bar. “I got distracted at home.” Tony sent a questioning look to his wife.

“Do you want-?”

“No,” you cut him off. “Let’s begin.” You got out your tablet and the meeting began without a second thought. You were the Chief Entrepreneur of Stark Industries. Your parents were close friends with the Starks and you and Tony grew up together. He was the brother you never had. So when Howard stepped down as Executive Chairman, Tony took over and promoted Pepper to CEO and you to Chief Entrepreneur. You were responsible for managing a portfolio of entrepreneurs. Your team was the future of Stark Industries, taking on risks and coming up with new products while Pepper ran the company. You didn’t envy her job and you loved working here. It was the best part of your day. However, it got uncomfortable and awkward when you had to deal with the CFO, who happened to be Vision and Tony’s brother.

They weren’t related by blood but you knew that made no difference, you were close with Natasha and Yelena. Howard and Maria adopted Vision when you and Tony were in high school. He was two years younger than you. You remembered the day when Vision and Wanda announced their relationship so clearly. Tony dragged you into his office and asked if you wanted him to fire Vision and kick his ass. You told him that it wasn’t necessary. You were professional and respectful with the man. It was rare that your paths crossed. You only had to be in the same room as him during company-wide meetings or meetings with investors. Of course, you had one today. The universe was testing you.

Once Tony concluded the meeting, you and Pepper left his office. It was rare that he came to these types of meetings as he trusted you and Pepper to make the right calls regarding the company. You both stopped to make a quick coffee. “Can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Are you helping Wanda with her wedding?”

“She’s asked me for some advice here and there,” she looked at you curiously. “Why?”

“Do you know why she invited me then?” In hindsight, you probably should have waited for the CEO to not be taking a sip of her coffee before dropping the news. She coughed, choking on the hot liquid. You bite your lip, trying to get your laughter under control, and rubbed her back to help her calm down. “Sorry.” You giggled. She waved you off and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“It’s fine,” she cleared her throat. “She invited you to her wedding.” You nodded as you continued on your way to the board room.

“I got the invitation today,” you said. “It was why I was late, kind of took me by surprise.” You took a sip of your coffee.

“Shit, I don’t blame you,” you giggled. You loved Pepper. She was a perfect fit for Tony. She was the only one that could reel in your brother’s energy. “Are you going to go?” You didn’t answer. “Tony is Vision’s best man and I know Wanda asked Natasha to be her maid of honor.” You weren’t surprised by that. Natasha was the reason Wanda was part of your workgroup and how you met her. The redhead held onto a lot of guilt because of what happened. You didn’t blame her.

“Not sure, Pep. We will see,” you saw Yelena and Natasha waiting for you and you quickened your pace. Natasha was the Chief of Staff and the first person you hired when you got promoted. She helped you manage executive goals and you trusted her to oversee projects you didn’t have time for. You worried when your relationship ended with Wanda your friendship would the redhead was going to be jeopardized. It wasn’t and a huge weight was lifted off your shoulders. “Are you ready?” You asked Yelena when you got closer. The blonde was the reason you were having the meeting. She was a new hire but there was no limit to the ideas she had. Her latest project would partner Stark Industries with Wakandans International to develop a better prosthetic.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” her Russian accent took you by surprise when you first met her as Natasha introduced her as her sister. You laughed, shaking your head.

“Don’t be nervous,” she gave you a pointed look. “Come here,” you dragged her away from her sister and Pepper to a more private area. “You are going to kill it today. Do you know why?” She shook her head. “Because you have a passionate for this project on a level I’ve never seen before,” she began to smile. “And you have the support of everyone at this company, okay?”

“Okay,” you smiled.

“Just go in there and speak with the same passion you had when you explained it to me and you’ll do great.”

“Thank you. I appreciate you having some much faith in me,” you put your hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

“No need to thank me,” you brought her back over to her sister with her hand still on her shoulder. You didn’t miss the questioning look the redhead sent you and you removed your hand quickly. “Shall we?” You opened the door for your group and everyone found their seats to wait for the others.

The meeting went…okay. You introduced everyone to Shuri, T’Challa, and Okoye. You’ve spoken to the trip on the phone but it was nice to meet them in person. Yelena began to present her research and the importance of the partnership but Vision questioned every little thing to an annoying degree. You understood it was his job to understand how this would affect the company financially however it was starting to piss you off. Even Yelena knew he was getting on your nerves as you tirelessly defended everyone in your group. The glares he was sending your way weren’t helping. Was there trouble in paradise?

In the end, the deal was signed and work with the Wakandans could being. Plus, you didn’t murder your ex’s fiance so it was a win-win in your book.

You loved when a new deal was signed. It meant an influx of projects for your team to work on and more people to help. But the first day was meant with paperwork, scheduling, and delegating responsibilities. And meetings. So many meetings. You were tired, hungry, and in desperate need of a beer. You were putting on your headphones as you exited the elevator and headed for the door but a voice calling out your name caused you to stop. It was a voice you knew so well. “Wanda,” you said as your ex-girlfriend approached you. She looked good, wearing a long dress that touched the ground. Her hands were resting in front of her and she was playing with the rings that were on her fingers. A tale sign of her anxiety. “What are you doing here?” You questioned.

“Waiting for Vision,” Right. Of course, she was. That was a stupid question. “He said you and Yelena closed on a big deal.”

“We did,” you said. “Yelena did a majority of the work. I just guided her in the right direction.” You saw a strange emotion flash across her eyes. It was gone as quickly as it came so you couldn’t place it.

“Well congratulations,” you smiled as your thanks. An awkward beat of silence passed between you two. God, you didn’t know how to get out of this conversation. “Did you get your invitation?”

“Uh yes, I did,” Great. This is exactly where you didn’t want this conversation to go. “It was beautifully designed.” It wasn’t a total lie, you just had no memory of what it looked as you stared at the tagline - ‘Wanda and Vision invite you.’ Wanda and Vision. She wanted to get married but she wasn’t marrying you.

“Do you think-” your name being called out cut her off and you turned towards the sound. It was Yelena. You didn’t realize the blonde was still at the office and you never been more excited to see her.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “I didn’t think you were going to wait for me.” She said as she got closer. “Oh hi, Wanda.” The blonde plastered a fake smile on her face.

“Hi Yelena,” the smile on Wanda’s face was strained. Yelena looked at you.

“Ready to go get drinks?” Drinks? Her green eyes said a lot more than her simple statement. She was giving you an out. You made a mental note to increase her yearly bonus.

“I am,” you smiled at your ex. “It was good seeing you, Wanda. I’ll see you around.”

“Of course,” she said. “Congratulations, again. You both deserve to celebrate.” Yelena linked her arm with yours.

“Bye Wands,” the blonde dragged you to the door. When you both stepped outside and you were out of sight, Yelena dropped her arm. “Boy, you could feel the tension in the lobby.” You let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank you for the save,” you said. “I owe you one.” She shrugged.

“Don’t mention it. I do it a lot for Kate and America when we go out. It’s second nature,” she started to smile. Oh, that smile was trouble. “Buuuut, if you want to make it up to me I know of a bar that is close by. We do have something to celebrate.”

“Hmm,” you placed your hand on your chin pretending to think. “I don’t think we have anything to celebrate,” you teased. “And I am pretty tired.” You faked a yawn.

“Suka (bitch),” you pushed on your shoulder. You gasped.

“That is assault,” you said. “I’m calling HR.” Yelena rolled her eyes.

“Are we going or not?”

“Lead the way, printsessa (princess),” you bowed. She laughed, throwing her head back at your pathetic attempt at Russian. You liked the sound of it.

“I still can’t believe you are going to this stupid wedding,” Sarah said through Face time. You sighed as you put your tie underneath the collar of your shirt. “And you didn’t even bring me.”

“I didn’t have a plus one,” that was 100% on purpose. The last thing Wanda would have wanted was for your best friend that wasn’t her number 1 fan to come to her wedding. “What else was I supposed to do? Tony closed the office because everyone was invited and you are visiting family.” You weren’t going to sit at home and be depressed. At least some of your friends were going to be there, but most importantly Yelena. “You put your jacket on. “How do I look?” You were in an all-gray suit with a white shirt. The only pop of color came from your tie.

“Hot,” Sarah said. “Damn if I were into chicks I’d grab you.” You rolled your eyes.

“Thanks,” you sighed, looking down at the watch Howard gave you for your 18th birthday. “I better get going. I’ll text you after the ceremony.”

“Good luck!” You ended the call. You were going to need more than you, what you needed was at least 5 shots.

The ceremony was in an apple orchard. It appeared the happy couple rented out the inn and the orchard for a private wedding. You were handed confetti as you approached the rows of seats. There were small groups of people, all of them you knew, waiting for the ceremony to begin. You saw Pepper, who sent you a small wave. You waved back and sat in the back row at the end of the row. Thankfully, no one came up to you to talk because you weren’t in the talking mood. Instead, you played with the watch on your wrist. “Well,” you looked towards the voice and saw Howard Stark. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“Mr. Stark,” you stood up, holding out your hand for him to shake. The man rolled his eyes and pulled you into a hug.

“Please. I changed your diapers when you were a kid,” you felt your body heat up in embarrassment. “Drop the act, kid, it makes me feel old,” you smiled and sat down, leaving the end seat for him. “How are you? You don’t come by the house anymore.” That was true. You didn’t want to run into Wanda or Vision by chance.

“I’ve been busy,” you told him. “Your son is running me ragged.” It was the furthest thing from the truth but it pulled a laugh out of the older man.

“It was the best decision that boy has ever made promoting you and Pepper,�� you smiled. “But how are you?” He asked again. “How is this?” He placed a gentle hand on your heart. You sighed, looking at the ceremony. This was going to be you, marrying Wanda but she picked someone else.

“Tired, Howard, if I’m being honest. I feel a little lost,” he nodded. You knew the man would never judge you. He’s seen you at your lowest point when you found out your parents were killed in a car accident. You were in a meeting with him and Tony when Maria came in to tell you. Losing them broke you but the Starks were there to catch you. It was why it hurt so much that it was Vision who started dating Wanda.

“I always told my boys to go after what they wanted, I never expected that advice to hurt someone I considered a daughter,” your breath hitched. You always so him as a father-like figured but hearing him call you his daughter brought tears to your eyes. You looked at the archway. You didn’t blame him. “But,” he grabbed onto your shoulder. “You will have your love story that will arrival that of your parents and I can’t wait to see it,” you fought the tears that threatened to fall. “You will always be a Stark, okay?”

“Okay,” you whispered.

“Now I must be going but we will drink at the bar,” he stood up fixing his tie. “I believe I’m paying for it so drinks are on me.” You laughed, whipping away a tear.

“Thank you, Howard,” he gave you a salute and got ready for the ceremony. Folding your hands you sat back and watched as the seats began to fill. Soft music began to play and you were going to need a drink after this.

You took a glance at the seating chart. Table 3 with Natasha, Bucky, and Yelena. You were grateful she did that for you. Did you look like an alcoholic as you were the first one to the bar? Probably but you didn’t care. Besides you knew everyone at this wedding and it wasn’t like you were here to impress anyone. You ordered a strawberry mojito and waited for your drink as the rest of the guests filed in. “You know,” you turned to face Yelena as she walked over to you. She was wearing a light green full-length dress. It had a deep v-neck and a slit that went up to her thigh. Her blonde hair was braided. “I did not believe my sister when she said you’d RSVP but here you are.” She ordered herself a long island.

“Yelena,” you said. “You look gorgeous.” The compliment flowed so easily off your lips. You liked the blush that crept up on her cheeks.

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” she fixed the collar of your shirt. “How did you enjoy the ceremony?” She got her drink from the bartender.

“I’m glad to be drinking,” you said, holding out your arm. She took it and you walked her over to your table. The blonde laughed.

“Well, it’s an open bar. So let’s drink till our heart’s content.”

The reception was fun. The first dance was beautiful and speeches made by Tony and Pietro made you laugh. But if you were being honest with yourself, you weren’t paying attention. You found yourself watching Yelena. You weren’t sure when your feelings shifted for the blonde. Since the partnership with the Wakandans, you and she spent late nights at the office. Those nights were filled with laughter, stories, and dreams shared, and stressing over upcoming deadlines. For the first time since your breakup with Wanda, you felt free. Even Tony said something about your mode change.

Natasha sat down next to you with another drink. “I love that you’ve moved on from Wanda,” she handed you the drink. “But can you stop undressing my sister in front of me?” You jumped, startled by the accusation.

“Nat, shit, I’m sorry,” her laughter cut your nervous rambling off. “That’s not funny,” you whined, taking a sip of your drink. It was a lot stronger than your other ones. You wondered if she made it herself.

“I think it’s hilarious,” she leaned back in her chair. “So are you going to ask her out or just stare at her all night?” You groaned, rubbing your hands across your face.

“I don’t know,” your eyes immediately went back to the blonde. She was standing with Kate and Carol. The brunette must have said something funny because she laughed. God, she was beautiful. She must have felt eyes on her because she looked around until her green eyes found you. She waved and you waved back.

“Look, I’m going to intervene because I love you both. She likes you so make a move,” you looked at the redhead, trying to find any sense that she was messing with you. But you found none.

“Are you sure okay with this?” You questioned. “Because if you aren’t I will ignore my feelings for her,” Natasha put her hand on your shoulder.

“She will treat you better than Wanda,” she squeezed. “And if she does anything to hurt you. I won’t hesitate to kill her.” You covered your mouth as you laughed to now draw attention to you. “Go be happy.” You stood up, grabbing your drink.

“Thank you,” you began to walk over to the blonde. You were nervous. If she was going to allow you to date her, it would be different than dating Wanda. You worked with her, you were technically her superior. If it ended as badly, it could affect the work dynamic. But you couldn’t think like that. You had to take it one step at a time.

“Hi,” Wanda stepped in front of you. She changed out of her wedding dress and into a shorter one. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you all night.”

“Must be hard being the woman of the hour,” you took a sip of your drink and locked eyes with Yelena over Wanda’s shoulder. You gave her a reassuring smile. Wanda chuckled, sipping on her drink. It wasn’t her normal cocktail, which was strange unless being with Vision changed her that much.

“Do you have a minute to talk?” You didn’t but you nodded. She led you to a balcony, and your surprise there was no one out there. She leaned her back against the metal railing. Her hands were on her stomach, playing with the wedding ring. It hit you. The drink wasn’t alcoholic, her hands on her stomach. You took a sip of your drink.

“Your pregnant,” you said. She almost dropped her glass.

“How did-” she cut herself off with a laugh. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” You moved to stand next to her. “It was impossible to keep things from you.” ‘I guess you found a way,’ you wanted to say but you bite your tongue.

“How long?”

“2 months,” That was why they got together so quickly. That was why the engagement came out of nowhere. She cheated on you. Your stomach dropped. “Y/n-” she went to touch your arm but you jerked away from her.

“Don’t,” you hissed. “Don’t try to justify your cheating on me.” Oh, Sarah was going to have a field day with this. You took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, trying to keep your emotions at bay. “Are you happy?” It took a moment for her to reply.

“I am,” you nodded.

“Then go be happy with Vision and I’ll be happy with someone else. Have a nice life.” You turned to leave.

“With Yelena,” you didn’t like how she said her name. A hint of dislike and jealousy. When you faced her she was already looking at you. That same look was in her eyes that night in the lobby. She was jealous and possessive. Oh, it was comical.

“Don’t say her name like that,” you said, closing the gap between you and your ex. “Do you want to know the difference between me and you? You moved on while we were still together and didn’t have the guts to call it off because you slept with someone else. You have no right to be jealous over something you have no claim to. See around Wanda,” You waved over your shoulder as you walked back into the party. Drowning the rest of your drink, you saw that Yelena was still talking to Kate but America joined them. You through your cup away and walked over to the trio. You placed your hand on Yelena’s back as you approached them. The blonde looked at you, smiling. “Mind if I burrow her?” Kate and America smirked at each other.

“She’s all yours,” you thank them and moved your hand into hers, leading her out of the party. She squeezed your hand every few seconds, singling she was still with you. Finally, you stepped outside.

“I was going to give you 5 more minutes with her before I went and saved you,” you smiled, bringing her closer to you. She set her drink on the table. God, she was gorgeous. The lights danced in her green eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” You asked the urge was becoming too strong to ignore.

“Please,” she whispered. You connected your lips with hers without a moment’s hesitation. Her arms wrapped around your neck, pulling you closer to her. You felt her smile against your lips. Soon you pulled away but you kept her close, feeling her breath against your lips and her heartbeat racing. “I’m sorry about Wanda.” The mention of your ex snapped you out of your haze.

“Did you know?” She looked away, glancing at the reception through the window. But you gently placed a finger underneath her chin to look at you.

“I did but I’m not even sure if Natasha and Tony know and I thought she told you,” she was working herself into a panic attack. You brushed your nose against hers and captured her lips in a quick kiss. She calmed down. “I caught them at the office. It was late like so fucking late,” you chuckled. “I wasn’t sure what the hell I stumbled on. I think you were with Tony on a business trip to Japan,” you remembered that trip. You didn’t want to go as you and Wanda were planning on going to visit her family. “I’m sorry.” You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or her being so close, you weren’t sure why she was apologizing. But that brain power was for the future, sober you to figure out.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” that much you knew. You didn’t blame her. “We’re okay.” She let out a sigh. “Do you want to get out of here?” A playful smirk formed on her lips.

“I’ve been waiting all night for you to ask.”

Wanda stood in her kitchen, listening to her twins playing with their toys with the TV on with the latest episode of Bluey, as she flipped through the mail. A majority of it was junk mail; magazines she didn’t remember signing up for or ads trying to get her to buy something. Her fingers stopped on an envelope addressed to her and Vision written in beautiful writing. She ripped it open and stared at the invitation, ‘You are invited to the wedding of Yelena and Y/n, with a reception to follow.’

Part 2

#yelena belova x reader #yelena belova x you #yelena belova x y/n #yelena belova x female!reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x y/n #wanda maximoff x vision #yelena belova imagine #marvel one shot #marvel fanfiction #marvel au

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kyouka-supremacy · 5 months ago

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BSD Official Guidebook Gongeroku - characters profiles

Finally stopped procrastinating Got around to arranging the profiles from the fifth official guidebook Gongeroku. Thank you so so much @justplaggin for helping out fix my messy translations, your help was immeasurable (╥﹏╥) Except for young Oda, I didn't include profiles that only listed age / height / weight since they didn't feature any info we didn't know already.

Other guidebooks profiles by @/looking-for-stray-dogs (listing here for easy access / having them all in one place): Shinkaroku; DEAD APPLE; Tenkaroku by me.

Untold Origins arc

Ranpo Edogawa Age: 14 years old Height: 160cm Weight: Unknown First thing he does when he wakes up in the morning: Praise himself for being a great detective A habit he can't help: The marbles in Ramune are so pretty, he has to take them home If he wasn't at the detective agency, what would he be doing now?: Can't even imagine Where does he see himself in 10 years?: Supporting the president, just like he is now

Yukichi Fukuzawa Age: 32 years old Height: 186cm Weight: Unknown First thing he does when he wakes up in the morning: Take a deep breath and let the energy flow to his abdomen A habit he can't help: Walking by sliding his feet, keeping the unwavering figure of a swordsman A moment recently that made you feel just how much Ranpo has grown?: The average number of candies he eats went from 18 to 17. Where does he see himself in 10 years?: Thanks to his subordinates' efforts, the city will have become peaceful, increasing his spare time a little.

Sakunosuke Oda Age: 14 years old Height: 165cm Weight: Unknown

Canon

Osamu Dazai Age: 22 years old Height: 181cm Weight: 67kg What color would you compare yourself with?: Colorless and transparent. Because I don't see any value either in living or in wearing colors. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: Hopefully passing away

Atsushi Nakajima Age: 18 years old Height: 170cm Weight: 55kg What color would you compare yourself with?: White. My hair is white, and Akutagawa's is black, so, a color as different as possible. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: I wonder if I'll still be alive in this bewildering city…

Kyouka Izumi Age: 14 years old Height: 148cm Weight: 40kg What color would you compare yourself with?: Gray, rather than white. It was black before, and now I want it to be white, but the past still has meaning in itself. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: Continuing to support Atsushi

Doppo Kunikida Age: 22 years old Height: 189cm Weight: 78kg What color would you compare yourself with?: The color of steel. The materialization of flawlessness and unshakeable ideals, steel. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: According to my notebook, my salary will have increased by 47%, my subordinates by 4, my medals for contrubuting to peace by 3… (explanation continues for 30 minutes)

Ryuunosuke Akutagawa Age: 20 years old Height: 172cm Weight: 50kg What color would you compare yourself with?: Black. It's the color of the overcoat that Dazai-san gave me. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: Becoming the strongest ability user in Yokohama

Chuuya Nakahara Age: 22 years old Height: 160cm Weight: 60kg What color would you compare yourself with?: Red. Kajii once said that the fastest forward-moving things appear red from behind. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: Expanding the mafia's territory to cover the whole country

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Age: Unknown Height: Unknown Weight: Unknown What do you want to eat now?: Appetite… I do not experience something like that. Something you always do before going to bed?: Pray to God What color would you compare yourself with?: The white of snow from my hometown If you could be born again, what would you want to become?: Most things, I've already become. A reward for hard work would be... : Listening to classical music all day

Saigiku Jouno Age: Unknown Height: 181cm Weight: Unknown What he believes are his strengths and weaknesses: His strength is his good hearing, his weakness is that he can't see. Motto: Send Tetchou flying Something he wants right now: Not being held responsible even if he torments a criminal to death Something that recently made him laugh: The captain was able to quietly approach and tickle him

Tetchou Suehiro Age: Unknown Height: 184cm Weight: Unknown What he believes are his strengths and weaknesses: His strengths are that he is the embodiment of justice and has a will of steel, his weakness is that he can't read people's true intentions. Motto: Justice of steel Something he wants right now: Enough space at home to put his weight training machine Something that recently made him laugh: The last time he laughed was when he was a baby, so he doesn't remember.

Michizou Tachihara Age: 19 years old Height: 176cm Weight: 62kg What he believes are his strengths and weaknesses: His strength is that he has a strong ability, his weakness is that he's not very smart Motto: Orders make me who I am Something he wants right now: A cool motorbike like Chuuya-san's, for commuting to work Something that recently made him laugh: Unintentionally giving the military police internal audit department a mafia-style glare

Teruko Ookura Age: Unknown Height: Indefinite Weight: Indefinite What she believes are her strengths and weaknesses: Her strength is her love for the captain, her weakness is that she can't see anyone but the captain. Motto: The society's dog, the strongest dog Something she wants right now: The captain's used socks Something that recently made her laugh: During practice, Jouno and Tetchou challenged the captain at the same time, but were beaten at their own game

Ouchi Fukuchi Age: 45 years old Height: 190cm Weight: Unknown What he believes are his strengths and weaknesses: His strength is being physically strong. His weakness is that he is too strong, and didn't develop a habit of delegating things to his subordinates. Motto: World peace Something he wants right now: A comfortable disguise (because people ask for his autograph wherever he goes) Something that recently made him laugh: All five of them (Hunting Dogs) having a pleasant talk

Nikolai Gogol Age: 26 years old Height: 184cm Weight: 68kg What he believes are his strengths and weaknesses: His strength is his talent for magic, his weakness is his fickle nature. Motto: Be as free as a bird Something he wants right now: Someone who understands him A reward for hard work would be... : Applause and praise from a crowd of people

Sigma Age: Unknown Height: 177cm Weight: 62kg What he believes are his strengths and weaknesses: Strength: being someone who battles on even in difficult circumstances. Weakness: everything else other than that. Motto: Ordinary people have their own, ordinary ways of fighting. Something he wants right now: A home to return to A reward for hard work would be... : Patting himself on the shoulder and saying “good job.”

#Thank you so much again Jay 🥺🥺🥺🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭#bsd ada #bsd hd #bsd doa #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd the untold origins of the detective agency #bsd s4 #bsd s5 #bsd translation #mine

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strlingsav · 2 years ago

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Your writing is *chef’s kiss* 🙏🏼❤️ would love to request CNC breeding with Ghost, convincing him to put on all his gear and dominate you until he decides its over

RAHHH THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY TED TALK

After much deliberation and some pep-talking from @mykneeshurt, it's here!! Enjoy!!

Fantasy

– Simon "Ghost" Riley x F!Reader

— You have an unexpected request for Simon.

Two

Warnings: Dead dove: do not open. Cursing, consensual NC/dubcon, degradation, soft hitting/slapping, fingering (vaginal & barely anal), breeding kink, rough sex. Explicit sexual content under the cut. Read at your own risk.

It came to you in the middle of the night; an overtly sexual scene on one of the late-night TV shows. Bondage, submission. It intrigued you. It was an odd feeling, one that pushed you far beyond your usual flippant regard for romance shows- it sunk to the deepest parts of you, fluttering with arousal.

You found yourself beneath the stream of the shower that night, touching yourself, fingers between your thighs at the phantom of your husband having every single inch of your body for his every desire.

You'd kept it to yourself, not wanting to scare him, make him think of you differently, like you were a masochist. He wasn't a prude by any means, but your conscience was telling you he might be off-put by your suggestion.

It wasn't that you wanted to be hurt- you just wanted to have him entirely in control. Submit to him, your body and mind. You trusted him, implicitly, after all, but still; you never told a soul what that scene did to you, or what you did afterward.

Simon had an inkling you were hiding something when you'd suddenly told him to slap you while you were mid-climax. He was thrown, unsure whether it was a test of some kind or a trap that he could so easily fall into. To say he didn't want to would be a lie. He did, want to, he just didn't want to hurt you. But he did, softly, enough to sate you for the time being but not long enough to keep the requests at bay.

"You alright?" He asked.

You laid against his chest, his arm wrapped around you lazily, staring at the TV screen while his curiosity ate at him. There must've been some explanation for the recent, new requests you made while beneath him, through clenched teeth and swollen lips.

"Yeah," You sighed, cuddling into his side.

"You sure?" He knew you weren't alright- there was something on your mind. It was given away by the flicker of your gaze, how you'd chew on the inside of your lip when you were anxious.

"I- just..." You trailed off, unsure where to even start. How to soften the blow, make it seem less gruesome than it sounded.

"Out with it," He interjected, his eyes meeting yours when you lifted your chin to look at him.

"I have this thing, this fantasy, I guess, that I've been thinking about," You started, sitting up a bit higher. He was already intrigued, just watching your eyes light up. "I'd really like you to just... fuck me."

He quirked a brow up. "Already do," He nearly grinned, amused at your shyness while approaching the topic.

"No- like, hard. In your uniform. Degrade me, slap me, don't take no for answer." You held your breath, eyes widening as you stared at him.

He pursed his lips, staring at you for a moment before he nodded slowly. "You sure that's somethin' you want?"

"I can't stop thinking about it," You sighed, your hands resting on his abdomen as you sat up.

"How long?"

"Not long," You said.

He nodded again, thoughtfully, thinking over your suggestion while his Adam's apple shamefully bobbed in his throat. The mere suggestions of filthy things from your lips made him sweat.

"Alright." He was firm and decisive.

"You'd tell me if you didn't want to, right?"

"Yeah."

"You're okay with it? You like it?" Your teeth chewed at your lip.

He was even more amused now. "Whenever you're ready."

You smiled. His willingness had your pussy fluttering already, liquified warmth sloshing around in your abdomen. "You'd use me, like the slut I am?" Your fingers ghosted the muscles of his torso, teasing.

He could already feel his cock getting hard, his blood turning to ice in his veins as it travelled to his groin.

"Be a pleasure to, sweetheart." He was grinning, his imagination overactive while he thought over your offer.

It wasn't immediate; there was much more to be discussed, which the two of you deliberated over dinner and bedtime routines. A safe word, boundaries.

He was just as enthusiastic as you. In fact, he'd spent a few early-morning showers with his cock in his hand; long, languid strokes while he imagined his sweet, innocent, wife, on your knees, choking on his cock. At his disposal. He let his forehead rest against the shower wall, the warm stream of water washing away every sinful thought until it hit him all over again.

Now that you'd mentioned it, been the one to bare your desires, he wished he'd said something sooner. Told you how badly he wanted to fill you with his cum, while you couldn't do a damn thing about it. Then, he wouldn't be on edge most of the day, fighting an erection at just the thought of you.

You were fucking filthy, he knew that. He could see it in your eyes anytime you had sex- the whines and gasps you let out when he was a little too rough. You liked it. You liked letting him have control of you, letting go of responsibility to choose or decide. Being manhandled tended to get you off faster than anything, and he noticed.

He came home from work a bit later than anticipated, approaching midnight on a Friday. It wasn't unusual, not in his line of work, but still made your heart leap to hear him come home safe.

He strode in, covered in his fatigues, mask over his face. You'd busied yourself with cleaning before that, relaxing on the couch afterward, flipping through channels until you'd landed on a semi-entertaining show.

"Hey baby," You called over your shoulder, eyes averting back to the screen. "How was work?"

He didn't answer for a few moments, before he appeared beside you, moving to sit down. Your brows furrowed at the image of him- he didn't usually wear his mask at home. You decided against asking him about it when he let out a tired sigh.

"Fuckin' tirin'," He answered, his arm reached the back of the couch.

"Sorry to hear that," You frowned. "Can I make you something to eat?"

He smiled; the sweetness you exuded, practically seeping from every pore, made him weak.

"S'alright," He sighed, shaking his head.

You moved closer, cuddling into his side with open arms. Your head laid on his chest, watching the flashing images on the screen.

His eyes landed on your robe. You'd showered. Smelled like absolute heaven, wearing nothing but the silk wrap. Your thighs and calves peeked out from beneath the fabric, every slight movement further teasing the curve of your ass. You'd adjust it back over your shoulder when it slid down, unknowingly revealing your cleavage, showing a bit too much of your body for him to resist any longer.

"Could use a cheerin' up," He said suddenly.

Your head tilted up, "Anything, babe."

"Take it off," He spoke resolutely, not a question, or suggestion. It was an order. "The robe."

You were taken off guard, not expecting such a harsh demand as soon as he stepped through the door, but your mind quickly caught up with the fantasy you'd discussed at length- and suddenly it was so easy to do as he asked. Your body temperature rose a few degrees with the tone of authority in his voice.

Your hands untied the belt of your robe, letting it fall from your shoulders. You were bare, at his mercy as his eyes raked down your form. You shivered- not just from being exposed, but the overwhelming flutter of anticipation in your abdomen.

"Been thinkin' about you all day," A soft touch on your cheek made your eyes drift closed, leaning into his hand. He sighed- restrained and controlled. "Had a hard-on all fuckin' day cause o' you. You oughta fix that. On your knees."

His thighs spread, making room for you between them.

You slid down to the floor, kneeling before him with those wide, doe-eyes he found fucking irresistible.

"You remember your safeword?" He asked, his other arm now hooking around the back of the couch.

You repeated it back to him, earning a strangled inhale of arousal.

"Undo my trousers."

Your fingers worked quickly over the button and zipper, waiting with burning anticipation for your next order. Your hands laid on your lap, a pretty picture of obedience that he more than wanted to take advantage of.

"Go on," He nodded. "Put those lips to good use."

The permission nearly made you leap forward, yanking his briefs down to release his erect cock from his pants. Your lips wrapped around him, soft and gentle at first, before you inhaled, taking him deeper into your mouth.

His head fell back, a deep groan leaving his lips. Your tongue was warm and wet over his cock, eager as it slid up and down alongside your plush lips.

"Thaaaat's it," He blew a harsh breath from his lips.

Your eyes lifted to watch him, his fists clenching, his thighs flexing. Saliva pooled in your mouth, the excess dribbling from your lips to run down your chin, landing on your breasts.

He leaned closer, his hands reaching out to massage your breasts, thumbs running across your perked nipples.

You were enthusiastic, offering him nothing but fervent pleasure. You wanted to please him- to make him forget about the day, while also greedily savouring the way he touched you and bluntly told you what to do.

You pulled away, wiping the saliva from your face. "Enjoying yourself?" You quipped, raising a brow.

His head rolled forward, eyes piercing yours with an unforgiving intensity. His fingers gripped your jaw, tugging you closer. His eyes flickered between yours, before he laid a harsh slap against your cheek.

"No talkin' unless I ask you a question."

You gasped- your eyes fluttering shut, a tingle running up your spine. You straightened, turning your head back to look at him.

"Didn't say stop, dirty fuckin' whore." He leaned back, still focused on you.

You inhaled, a shaky breath accompanied by your racing heart, it was exhilarating, exacerbating the warmth inside you that spread like a wildfire. Your mouth opened to take his cock in your mouth again. You were softer this time, a bit apprehensive, knowing he did have what it took to punish you.

"Do I have to do it for you?" He asked, low and threatening.

You shook your head.

"Then get on with it. Know you can do better than that- suck my cock like a good whore."

You weren't entirely present, your head still reeling with the rush of arousal.

He groaned disapprovingly, his hands reaching your head, suddenly slamming it down. You gagged, sputtering and coughing as he continued to push harder, dragging you back up before another unrelenting shove. His abs flexed as he thrusted into your mouth, making your eyes and nose sting, tears gathering in your eyes.

He was groaning, leaning forward as both hands rested on your head, forcing your mouth and throat as far as possible, intent on making you beg for air. Your body lurched, your throat bulging as his cock plunged behind your uvula.

"Fuuuuck," He breathed.

His hand wrapped around your throat, feeling the head of his cock lodged inside your trachea, mumbling to himself with utter disbelief.

He could hear you desperately sucking in air through your nose, and finally relented. You gasped as you lifted your head- coughing. He chuckled. Low and menacing, entertained by the expression of pain and horror on your face.

"You ain't done," He said. "Keep suckin' my fuckin' cock."

Your eyes watered, dripping down your face, saliva and dry tears staining your cheeks. You inhaled again, your tongue reaching out first before you took him in your mouth.

His hands were there again, though this time he gripped your hair, helping you up and down the length of his cock. Soft slurps and grunts from you made his head roll back again, basking in the utter worship you offered his cock. Eager, searching for praise.

"Christ," He growled. "You like my cock in your mouth, don't you?"

Your eyes fluttered up to meet his, tears still spilling from the clumped lashes of your waterline, nodding slowly.

"Course you do," He huffed. "You're a fuckin' slag."

You shut your eyes, a quiet moan vibrating against his cock. You relished in the praise, even the degradation from him made you wet. Your hand slid between your thighs, desperate for some kind of contact to ease the ache. When he looked down at you, catching sight of your nostrils flaring, eyes shut- he saw your fingers running circles over your clit.

"The fuck are you doin'?" He asked, sitting up.

You stopped, waiting expectantly for his reaction. He did, and with a disapproving head shake, his hand wrapped tightly around your throat.

"Can't resist touchin' that cunt, you greedy fuckin' slut."

He lifted you to your feet, practically dragging you through the hall to the bedroom, where he let you fall back onto the bed.

"You wanna be used, sweetheart?" He asked, towering over you as you leaned back on your elbows. "Oughta treat you like the right whore you are."

"Yes," You breathed. "Yes, please."

"Spread your legs," He ordered.

You did, and his hand came down swiftly against the flesh of your pussy. You cried out.

"Shut the fuck up," He growled. "Or I'll leave you here."

"I'll be quiet," You nodded. "I'll be quiet, please."

"That's right, beg for it. Beg me t'ruin this cunt."

Your hands twisted the bedsheets between your fingers, knuckles bleeding white.

"Please, ruin it. Ruin me."

He hummed- not quite satisfied but he was too selfish not to continue.

He lifted his mask, enough that his lips could press against the flesh of your breasts, sucking harshly to leave deep, reddened splotches of broken capillaries. His hands reached your wrists, pinning them at your sides while he tugged at your nipples with sharp teeth, listening to your pleading whimpers and soft cries every time he'd bite a little too hard.

He reached the expanse of your inner thighs, holding both wrists with one hand, he let the other caress you softly before his now-bare palm would strike against them. You flinched, thighs closing together inadvertently, stifling the shout out of surprise and pain. He let his saliva shoot out of his mouth to your pussy, before leaning down and absolutely devouring your clit.

You arched your back. A relieved sigh, echoing around the room, low moans as he sucked and licked at you, sloppy, messy. His biceps hugged your thighs, tugging you closer. He nipped and bit at your clit, eliciting a twitch in your hips, harsh exhales when he'd envelope your clit in his mouth, caressing his tongue over it with reckless abandon.

On the third orgasm, you tried to push him away, tried to wrench your hands from his grip but it was no use. His strength overpowered yours tenfold, and the position was too difficult to slip out of. Your hips twisted, bucking wildly against his face.

"Stop movin'," He growled, his eyes narrowed as they flickered up to yours.

You swallowed, whimpering pitifully instead. Your pussy was drenched but sore.

"Please," You whispered, your head turning to press against the duvet. "No more- can't take anymore."

"Can't take anymore?" He repeated. "You'll keep cummin' until I say so, sweetheart. Y'like it, I know you do."

You let out a low groan at the feeling of his fingers opening you up, sliding into the drenched warmth of your pussy, curling upwards repeatedly.

"I feel how wet you are," He muttered. "You're enjoyin' this."

You grunted. "I-I can't, no more, please," You whimpered, your voice breaking.

"Take it. Know you can take it."

He continued, relentlessly flicking his tongue over your clit, drawing his fingers back and forth inside you. Your body was writhing, tears dragging down the apples of your cheeks. You were overwhelmed, your vision distorted with the fresh tears brewing in your eyes, thoughts flustered and incoherent. It was methodical torture.

"Look at you," He cooed. "Hardly even started yet 'nd you're fuckin' cryin'. You wanna stop?"

You nodded.

"Too fuckin' bad. I ain't done with you yet, love."

You groaned, eyes squeezed shut when your fourth orgasm overtook you. It was brutal, drenching you in sweat, making your hips and thighs ache with how long you'd been flexing to keep steady.

His lips and chin were soaked with your cum when he settled before you. He grabbed your hips, flipping you over. He yanked your arms behind your back, forcing your chest down to the bed, his other hand caressing the soft flesh of your ass that pressed against his pelvis.

He savoured the sight of his wife on her knees, bent over for him to use as he saw fit. His hands pulled at the malleable flesh of your ass, teasing slaps intermittently, soothed by calloused palms.

"Just a hole for me to use, ain't you?"

A quiet sob racked your shoulders- overwhelmed and overstimulated.

He pulled his cock from his pants, stroking roughly a few times before he plunged inside you.

"Fuckin' hell your cunt is tight. Gonna have to make this cock fit, huh?"

You whimpered, a pleading noise that came from your throat as your head fell forward. You took in a deep breath, relaxing into his touch- you trusted him.

A pleased sigh left his lips, he lifted you to his chest by your arms, his dark and mocking voice in your ear as he said, "There's a good girl. 'M gonna fuck you dumb."

The initial strokes were painful, deep and unforgiving, taking far longer than you'd like for him to glide freely in and out. Your teeth bit at your lip, holding in any and all cries building up in your chest, pounding against yours ribs.

"Go on," He groaned. "Wanna hear you scream on my cock."

You took in a shaky breath, your ribs flaring as you inhaled. He had a tight grip on your hands, his other wrapping around your throat, bruising the delicate skin. His shoulders tightened, back flexing as he moved his hips back and forth, using your pussy to massage his cock.

It was hazy, a veil of utter exhaustion having fallen over you. Your cheeks were tight with dry tears, nose running, body sore and contorted in a way that was uncomfortable. But Simon's hands didn't relent and his thrusts were poignant, purposeful and ruthless.

"Tell me how much you love this cock," He grunted, sweat dotting his forehead from his efforts. "Punishin' you like the pathetic whore you are."

"I love it," Your voice was meek, grainy.

A hand met your ass with a harsh impact.

"Can't hear you, speak the fuck up."

"I love it. I love being punished," It sounded pathetic, like complete surrender to his hands.

He grumbled, satisfied with your answer but still not finished his endeavour.

He took a handful of your hair, roughly pulling your head back to rest on his shoulder. You were sniffling, your eyes relentlessly leaking with tears.

"Fuckin' pathetic," He growled, his hips meeting your ass as he drove his cock up into you. "Feels good doesn't it? You love takin' this cock, eh sweetheart?"

You nodded, "Yes- yes it feels good, so good- fuck."

"Need a cock in you all the time, like the desperate slag you are."

"I do," You whimpered, your lip trembling as your eyes shifted to look at him.

His released you, forcing you to the bed while he slammed his cock in and out of you. Your arms bent at an uncomfortable angle on your back, hips positioned so he could dive deep inside you.

You were hardly stifling the sobs now, your lips parted as you gasped for air. His hand reached down against your cheek, his palm pressing your face further into the bed.

"You keep on cryin', I ain't stoppin' 'til this cunt is full of my cum."

His thumb traced over the tight entrance above your pussy, pressing every so lightly, teasing- the way he knew you liked. You couldn't suppress the moan that crawled up your throat.

"Might just try this hole next." He lifted you again, pressed tightly against his chest as he cupped your ass, parting your cheeks for better access.

You shook your head, quiet protests falling from your lips, barely audible.

"Think you'd like it up your arse." He was smug, relishing in your helplessness.

You couldn't help but moan as he whispered the filthy and depraved words in your ear. You were still protesting his suggestion, though with less conviction as you felt your abdomen tighten, flutters of pleasure dancing through your clit.

"I'd rather fill this cunt tonight," He said, his hand wrapping around your waist to reach your clit. "Put a kid in you. Use this cunt just how I like."

Your whines had turned to moans, back arching even further with each stroke of his fingers, every thrust inside you. He could feel the muscles inside you squeezing down, pushing against his cock- and it made him twitch.

"Be a good slag for me-" His breath against your ear made you shiver. "Cum on my cock."

You did- toes curling, crying out with unbridled pleasure, eyes watering, wrenching violently against his hands keeping you in place. Your heart pounded in your chest, sucking in deep breaths as his pace stayed steady.

"'M gonna fill this fuckin' cunt," He breathed.

You shook your head again- a quiet no leaving your lips as you twisted your body, trying to get away.

"Stay right there," He grunted, his hold on you even more firm than before, a slap against your ass punishing you. "'M buryin' my cum in you, like it or not."

His head fell back as he released inside you, his hips still driving against your ass. He began to slow not long after, pausing for a moment with his cock still deep in you.

Once he pulled out, he released your wrists, coaxing you against his chest in a firm hold. When you'd regained your breath, he spoke.

"You alright, sweetheart?" He asked, a light hand moving the hair from your face.

You looked up at him with tired eyes, smiling softly.

"More than alright- you?" Your eyes were half-shut with utter bliss.

He nodded. "I'd say the same."

He held you in his arms, fingertips and palms leaving soothing touches over the reddened expanse of your thighs and backside. He left comforting touches along your waist and hips. He kissed your cheek, gentle and loving, before pressing his lips to yours. He kissed you slowly, appreciative and loving, finally pulling away.

"Let's get you a bath, love."

#cod mw2 #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost smut #simon riley smut #cod mwii #mwii #simon riley #strlingsavwrites #ghost x you #ask strlingsav

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suzena · 1 year ago

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Complete Dead Apple Explanation

Or: “The Ultimate Guide to Dead Apple”.

Warning: this is a long post! I’m not kidding, I worked on this for three months. There is a TL;DR at the end but it will only briefly cover the most important points.

I see posts about Dead Apple not being understood far too often and so I’m introducing: this explanation! I do want to preface this by saying that I can completely understand that this movie can be confusing. Or, as Fyodor said it:

But, as someone who has seen it many times, I’m here to shed some light on it! Hopefully after this post it’ll all make a bit more sense, and you’ll at least have different questions.

If you haven’t watched the movie yet and are wondering when to watch it, the story officially takes place between season two and three, though you’ll be able to watch season three with no issues if you haven’t watched the movie. Please do note that this post will contain light spoilers for the plot after season two, so don’t read it if you haven’t at least finished catching up to the anime.

I’ll try not to summarize the movie, but instead explain it. That means that this post does not replace the movie, but instead tries to elaborate upon it and tries to place it in the larger plot. Most of the early movie is therefore ignored, but please do not hesitate to ask if you have extra questions, comments, different interpretations or you want me to go into more detail about something. I may not know everything, but I’m always down to talk about this movie!

Alright, with all of that out of the way…

The Dragon Head Conflict

We’ll start at the beginning, which is to say, we’ll start at the prologue, which can be found as a permanent event in Mayoi (and also as a part of the Dead Apple manga). This is not technically needed to understand most of the movie, but it does give some context that will make it a little easier, since this is where it all starts.

The Dragon Head Conflict, sometimes also translated as the Ryuuzu Conflict, is (as the movie states) the largest conflict in the history of Yokohama’s underworld. It took place six years ago, and originally was about five hundred billion yen an ability user left behind after they died, which various organizations were very interested in. It lasted for a total of 88 days, and involved conflict between eight different underworld organizations, including among others the Port Mafia, Gelhart Security Service/GSS (from Fifteen) and Takasekai (also from Fifteen).

Now as you can imagine, the government isn’t super stoked that gangs are shooting each other up all night and leaving corpses everywhere, to the point where the sidewalk is torn up from the bullet holes. To try to combat this, they thought that they could best fight fire with fire, and let a strong ability user from outside Yokohama settle this conflict all at once.

This new ability user, known as the “White Qilin”, unfortunately doesn’t really care about ending the conflict and kills other strong ability users left and right just for the fun of it, contrary to what the government had hoped he would do. Whether they are uninvolved parties or Port Mafia executives, it doesn’t matter to this guy. The White Qilin also ends up taking the money the conflict was originally about, but that doesn’t stop his murder spree. In this way, the White Qilin gains control over the entire conflict pretty fast, making him the main target to eliminate in order to put a stop to the killings.

Dazai approaches this problem similarly as to how he did during the conflict of Stormbringer, with a group of ability users to overpower the lone individual, but gets his plan twisted on him and gets kidnapped instead. Naturally, he predicted this outcome, leaving a hint for Chuuya where he left a transmitter for a tracking device so that Chuuya could come rescue him.

This is then the first scene of the movie, where Dazai and Chuuya confront and defeat the White Qilin using Corruption, and the whole Dragon Head Conflict ends since the White Qilin is finally gone and all the money burned. This battle is so iconic in the underground circles that it gains them the name “Double Black”, or “Soukoku”.

A few small notes on the Dragon Head Conflict before we move on.

As can also be seen in the first scene of the movie, this is where Oda adopts all five of those kids you see during the Dark Age, which was also already stated in the Dark Age itself.

“I heard all about it, Odasaku. You’re raising five kids, huh? And not only that, they’re orphans from the Dragon’s Head Conflict.” ―Dazai, Dark Age

Also, ever wondered why the Port Mafia is the only major criminal organization in Yokohama? There actually used to be five in total but four of them completely perished during the Dragon Head Conflict. Another reason why Dazai & Chuuya ending the conflict is so impressive, since because of that the Port Mafia is the only one to even survive it at all.

Shibusawho?

As you’ve probably guessed by now, the “White Qilin”, also named “the Collector” in Dead Apple itself, are both different names for our main antagonist: Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. The government had good reason to believe Shibusawa would be able to stand against the entire Yokohama underground and come out on top: his ability.

Shibusawa’s ability, Draconia, creates a fog around him, which separates other ability users from their own ability and makes non-ability users disappear as long as the fog persists. When surrounded by this fog, ability users are confronted with this version of their ability that is split from themselves. If an ability user is to die within this fog, their ability will be added to Draconia’s collection room.

There is decent evidence that it takes a while before the fog activates, so the effect isn’t immediate. This can be seen with Chuuya, who makes very short contact with the fog before he lifts up the building that he shoves in the Dragon’s mouth, but it’s seen even more clearly with Atsushi and Kyouka at the start of the movie. They spend a small while running around Yokohama wondering why everyone is gone before they’re finally confronted with their abilities.

To some extent the separated abilities represent the inner conflict in an ability user. This can of course be clearly found in Atsushi and his shaky connection to the tiger, or in Kyouka who has Demon Snow which is the last remnant of her parents but also murdered them in front of her. But the clearest example of this in the movie is actually Kunikida, since there is a visible change between him and his ability.

The notebook of Kunikida’s ability does not read its usual “理想” (ideals), but instead now says “妥協” (compromise). For Kunikida, a person so tied to his ideals, this version of his ability is an “abomination” (his words, not mine), and thus a source of inner conflict, since it represents a side of Kunikida that he carries within him.

“A copy of himself that didn’t follow ideals but made compromises was an abomination to Kunikida.”―Dead Apple (light novel)

If ability users manage to defeat their abilities in a physical fight, and then also accept these parts of themselves for what they represent, they will regain their ability. For example, Atsushi does not immediately regain his ability after defeating the tiger because he does not completely accept that the tiger represents that he has killed a person. For Atsushi, a person who connects his entire reason of living to saving other people, this is nearly irreconcilable. The only reason he probably is able to get over it in the end is that the person he killed was actively torturing and trying to kill him, so Atsushi had to kill to survive.

Shibusawa, then, is dead. Chronologically, his murder is the earliest you see of him. Fyodor has told Shibusawa that Atsushi contains something that “guides the envy of all ability users”, so Shibusawa, who feels like he is missing something, seeks to take this by any means. This doesn’t work out too hot for him, and Atsushi kills him.

Now a fun thing happens. Since Shibusawa is the center of the fog at all times, so to speak, and he’s the keeper of the abilities that die in his fog, his ability is separated from himself and lives on, nearly indistinguishable from his original body. Only one downside to this: he completely loses his memories.

I can only assume the government steps in at this point to take this strong ability user in his vulnerable state, and then have him solve the Dragon Head Conflict not long after. He most likely also survived Chuuya’s Corruption by being an ability, and having ability crystals in his collection to fall back on and recover, as he also does in Dead Apple. However, all of that is just pure speculation.

After the Dragon Head Conflict, Shibusawa spends some years abroad, casually killing thousands of ability users for the same reason as during the Dragon Head Conflict: just playing around and trying to fill that hole of something that is missing inside of him. The Japanese government mostly does a spectacular and spectacularly unethical job of cleaning up after him, since they learned nothing from the Dragon Head Conflict and still think that they can control him to protect Japan should it ever be invaded by foreign ability users.

Eventually, when the timing is right, Shibusawa gets invited back to Japan by Dazai. At the same time he is told by Fyodor (can you see the manipulation happening on both sides?) that Dazai’s ability is the ultimate ability that will finally complete him, and so Shibusawa eagerly comes to Yokohama.

From here on out, as far as Shibusawa is concerned, it’s just a matter of covering the entire city in fog, killing Dazai and then taking his ability. Since Dazai cancels the fog itself with his ability, Shibusawa does need to kill him first, since the fog will work just fine on a corpse. Unfortunately, Shibusawa, however smart he is, is not in control of the plot in this movie. That control is left entirely to the combination of Dazai and Fyodor.

Intermezzo: Singularity Crash Course

Let’s do a lightning quick crash course on singularities before continuing, because you’re going to need that to understand what is happening in the next part. While Stormbringer was released after Dead Apple, I’m still going to be leaning heavily on and paraphrasing the information provided in that novel since it gives a really nice overview.

Abilities are bound to rules, just like everything else. No organisms other than humans, such as plants or monkeys, can possess an ability. Each human can only have a single ability, and when they die the ability disappears with them. Finally, there is a limit to the strength of any such ability.

But what if you wanted to go beyond that limit? What if you wanted to play with the natural laws of this world? What if you wanted to get really silly with it? Well, in that case, you can try your best at creating a singularity.

Singularities are defined as “the interaction of multiple abilities that develops into a higher-level phenomenon different from the original abilities”. This mostly exhibits itself in a massive release of energy, but rarely there are semi-stable versions of them. Singularities aren’t bound to conventional rules, and can be much more powerful for that exact reason.

As for creating singularities, there are two defined ways. The most reliable method is to have two contradicting abilities clash with each other. This leads to fun mental exercises, think “unstoppable force meets immovable object”, or, two ability users who can both see a few seconds into the future fighting to the death (sound familiar?). As a second method, an ability can also contradict itself, essentially causing the same result, but it’s a lot more finicky.

“Dead Apple”

The latter part of the movie revolves around exactly the creation of such a singularity, as all planned out by Fyodor, and accurately anticipated by Dazai. Let’s lay out all the layers of this.

Shibusawa is after Dazai’s ability. Meanwhile, Dazai is trying to stop the fog to save Yokohama. As for Fyodor, we’ll get to him in a second.

Dazai “teams up” with Fyodor and betrays Shibusawa to put a stop to the fog. The idea of this is that Fyodor combines two abilities from Shibusawa’s collection, which Dazai can’t do himself without canceling them: the ability to pull abilities in a surrounding area close, and the ability to merge abilities together. When these two are merged, together they create an ability that will absorb Shibusawa’s entire collection, and then Dazai only has to touch this ability to effectively get rid of Shibusawa’s power source.

There is a specific reason why it has to happen like this, and Dazai just touching Shibusawa isn’t quite enough. Let’s mentally walk through the process if Dazai were to touch Shibusawa. The fog disappears for a bit (and Shibusawa with it, most likely), but Shibusawa now knows Dazai’s intentions. Fyodor will take Shibusawa’s side and now Dazai is at a large disadvantage. Ultimately, it doesn’t even solve the problem. We know from the Dragon Head Conflict that just destroying Shibusawa’s body is most likely not enough, and he will be able to resummon the fog (and his body) with time and energy. The problem needs to be cut off at the root, the ability crystals.

Unfortunately, Fyodor didn’t really team up with Dazai, instead choosing to team up with Shibusawa in order to get rid of Dazai. This is then where Shibusawa gets to kill Dazai, and discovers that wait, Dazai’s ability may not be what he’s seeking after all. However, the abilities are already merged, and Dazai’s ability joins them. This combines “the ability to merge” with “the ability to nullify”, which don’t exactly mix well. Does Dazai’s ability become part of the other ability? Does his ability nullify the merging ability before that can happen? It’s already part of it, but at the same time the merging can never happen. It’s contradictory, and thus a singularity is born.

Fyodor, meanwhile, hasn’t quite had his fill of betrayal yet, and decides to remind Shibusawa of what he is by killing him, reminding Shibusawa of his earlier death by Atsushi’s paw. All of this, killing Dazai and using his ability to create a singularity, having that power from the singularity then go into Shibusawa to create the Dragon, all of that was part of Fyodor’s plan. Shibusawa is only able to cover an entire city with fog because of the large amount of ability crystals he has collected, and so with enough power (like from a singularity) he can cover the entire world in this fog. Up until this point, neither Fyodor nor Shibusawa have seen a single ability user survive the fog, and thus it is the perfect method for getting rid of all ability users in the world, which does seem to be Fyodor’s end goal.

However, Chuuya swoops in and defeats the Dragon. Dazai was well prepared and had the antidote to the poison he was killed with hidden in his mouth, so he is alive and well again. That means that Dazai has his ability back and it cancels out the singularity space they both are in. It doesn’t completely get rid of the Dragon however, as some energy still lingers around the tower.

Fyodor is still on the scene, and uses a part of the merging crystal that he saved which was used earlier to create the singularity to merge Shibusawa with the singularity, giving Shibusawa a very anime transformation into his final form.

At this point, as a result of Shibusawa’s transformation, the fog turns red. If this red fog then covers the entire planet as Fyodor is hoping, and you were to watch it from space, it would look just like a poisonous red apple. The name of the movie therefore refers to this plan of using Shibusawa to rid the world of ability users.

This idea of poisonous apples in this movie comes from two different sources. From Fyodor’s side, it is referring to the apple Eve ate in the Bible, the original sin. For Fyodor, there is poetic irony in this: the world will end with the same sin as it began with. The crime is the punishment. On Dazai’s side, it refers to Snow White, who bit the poison apple and died (temporarily). He already talks about this to Oda when he is sixteen, vaguely implying he knew all of this was coming as soon as he met Shibusawa during the Dragon Head Conflict. Since Fyodor was already around at that time and also had a hand in enabling Shibusawa originally, this may indeed be planned out this far in advance, but it’s always hard to tell with these guys.

Then the kids take over the fight for the rest of the movie, and Atsushi, Akutagawa and Kyouka work together to defeat Shibusawa’s final form in the form of a long, epic final fight. Shibusawa is finally defeated and it all ends happily ever after.

The End.

Byakko VS The Dragon

…Or is it? You thought we covered the entire basic layer of the movie, so we’re done now, right? Think again! This is only where things start to become really interesting. Please note that this section will take some ideas that were already pointed out by other people, and build on those.

When looking at lore relevance of characters, Atsushi may not immediately spring to mind as one of the most important ones. Sure, he’s the protagonist of the main manga, but in comparison to the mystery surrounding Dazai or Fyodor he fades a little into the background.

Even in this post, an explanation about a movie that’s basically about Atsushi, I’m able to explain the basics of the movie without mentioning him much at all. And yet, the movie’s core conflict is not between Shibusawa, Dazai and Fyodor, but between Shibusawa and Atsushi.

While there isn’t a lot of information given about Shibusawa’s and Atsushi’s connection, what we do get is very interesting. Shibusawa is consistently referred to as a Dragon during Dead Apple, and while subtitles usually translate everything as “tiger”, Atsushi’s tiger is actually referred to as “Byakko” half of the time.

Now what is the difference between any good ol’ normal tiger and the Byakko, I hear you ask. The Byakko is much more than an ordinary tiger, since it is part of the 四神 (shijin/ shishin), the Four Guardians of the Four Compass Directions, which the Dragon is also a part of. What you essentially need to know from this is that the Byakko belongs to the same group of creatures as the Dragon, and that this solidifies Shibusawa’s status as Atsushi’s foil in this movie.

It also allows us to make a direct comparison between Shibusawa and Atsushi. The thing is, I have been lying to you a little bit. So far, I’ve been calling the Dragon a singularity. The truth is, it may not be. I know, I know, if it’s not a singularity, then what was that whole Dragon thing about?

Fyodor actually specifically tells us that the Dragon isn’t a singularity, but instead it’s “the true form of the chaos born from abilities”. (Note here that the Dead Apple light novel talks about Fyodor as if he is “reciting some Oracle”. Did Fyodor get this information from someone else?) Is this related to why Fyodor wants abilities gone from this world? Is there another layer to abilities and other creatures that BSD hasn’t even touched upon (think Lovecraft)? It’s hard to say at this point. All we can say is that the Dragon gets referred to as something else, and… that the Dragon is similar to the Byakko.

The tiger ability we see that got separated from Atsushi in the movie actually doesn’t follow the rules the other abilities do. It has a clearly defined face, and the red gem is not on its forehead. The gem found on the ability tiger is also red, which is in line with the other extracted abilities we see, but what gets extracted from Atsushi by Shibusawa is this blue cube. The weirdness continues in the flashback we see of Atsushi being tortured by Shibusawa.

We see Atsushi’s ability leave him, but then in a flash of self protection instinct, he partially transforms into the tiger, claws and all, while the blue gem is outside of his body. Earlier in the movie it is shown that if an ability is extracted from an ability user, they no longer have access to the powers of that ability. Then how is Atsushi able to use his tiger abilities here?

Granted, there is a bit of conflicting information within the movie about this, since during the final fight with Shibusawa this blue cube is once again extracted from Atsushi, but now he does lose his tiger powers. Could he resummon the tiger while not in possession of the cube if the situation is dire enough? Is this just a psychological thing because Atsushi is aware of it this time? Who can say. At any rate, this blue cube is connected deeply with Atsushi, but the clues given imply that it may not be the Byakko itself.

“That’s not an ability! That is me!”―Atsushi, reaching out to the blue cube in Dead Apple

To be honest, the movie does very little in explaining anything around Atsushi, instead raising more questions than answers. For that exact reason, the rest of this section will mostly be speculation about one possible angle on Atsushi’s ability that personally makes sense to me, but of course this is only one potential theory.

I do also want to add here that Atsushi personally goes through an arc in this movie from seeing the tiger as something separate to something that is intrinsically part of him. This can also be a reason for this final exclamation of “that’s me!” when he reaches out to the blue cube, but it doesn’t explain everything, which is why we explore an alternate possibility here.

My take on it is that the Byakko and this blue gem that get extracted from Atsushi are not the same thing. With the side note here being that they are probably deeply connected, but not the same regardless.

My reasoning for this is that everything Atsushi-related you see in Dead Apple makes a little more sense when you consider the Byakko and the blue cube as two separate entities. The Byakko’s gem is red, the cube is blue. The Byakko is framed as something separate from Atsushi, while he claims the cube is not an ability but he himself. Atsushi had access to the Byakko while the blue cube was outside of him. Shibusawa even makes a point of mentioning that the orphanage director, who correctly thought Atsushi was the tiger, had the wrong idea about Atsushi’s ability. The Byakko is definitely Atsushi’s ability, but this blue cube is… something else.

And yet, the tiger is also deeply connected to whatever this blue gem is. Currently, one theory that makes sense to me is that the tiger is an ability that can be passed on, just like Demon Snow, that has the specific task of protecting the power of this blue gem. So, a two in one deal. Atsushi also gets referred to as “the one holding the Byakko ability” by Ivan, which would be in line with the Byakko being an ability that can be passed on as needed. Shibusawa makes a similar statement, calling Atsushi “the one clad in the Byakko”. Atsushi also has issues controlling his ability before joining the ADA, just like Kyouka and Tsujimura, who both also inherited their abilities. I would love to further speculate on this, but there is so little information on anything relating to this, so anything further would be completely baseless.

However, there is one more different clue given to us by the movie. Namely, what this comparison to the Dragon means for Atsushi as the one holding the Byakko.

Almost in the same breath as Shibusawa is recounting Fyodor’s words about the Dragon being the chaos of all abilities, the holder of the Byakko also gets its own description about its true form: the one opposing all abilities.

This relates to what the blue cube may really be. What Atsushi does to Shibusawa in his final moments is what I essentially believe to be this blue cube’s true power: it completely unravels an ability. The blue power eats up everything supernatural about Shibusawa until only his natural skull is left.

If you think this sounds familiar, it kind of does! I cannot ignore the similarity to Dazai here, though I do have to point out that Dazai can only cancel out an ability, and this blue cube power seems to… completely erase the ability itself, leaving no trace of it. The similarity to Dazai is further found the moment Dazai dies and his ability leaves his body. At first, his ability is white and vaguely similar to the blue cube before deciding that nope, this is just barely not it.

I have a hard time connecting this to anything larger simply because the series does not give a lot of clues on this subject. How did abilities come to be? How is the Book related to that, since it is not an ability or borne from an ability? And how does Atsushi factor into this?

Shibusawa has been led to Atsushi since he believed Atsushi would grant him something special, something he had been looking for all this time. “That which every ability user desires.”

This is actually a familiar story! This is not the first time Fyodor has led someone to Atsushi with the premise that he would be able to lead them to what they were seeking. The first two seasons of the anime follow that specific idea, of Fitzgerald wanting Atsushi so he can lead him to the Book.

The tiger as the guide to the Book is something emphasized again and again. While in English it gets translated as “guide”, the original manga panel said “道標（タイガービートル）”, or, “guidepost (pronounced: tiger beetle, in English)”. While this is partially just a funny pun, it also once again points to the tiger specifically as a guide.

It did leave me to wonder about the absence of a certain scene in the series. Fyodor has been sending other people to Atsushi for the entire length of the series, but has never interacted with Atsushi himself. For someone who claims to be looking for the Book, and knows that Atsushi is somehow the guide to the Book, isn’t that a bit weird? Is there a reason Fyodor won’t interact with Atsushi himself? Fyodor knew about Atsushi way before he joined the ADA, so it’s not like Dazai is particularly standing in the way here.

Regardless, this factor that makes Atsushi so special may very well be this blue cube. How does the power to completely undo abilities lead to the Book? Who knows. We simply do not know enough about the Book or the origin of abilities to say more about this. Maybe the true power of the blue cube is something else entirely.

What does all of this mean? Where will it all lead? Only the future (Asagiri) can tell.

The Unexplained and Weird

Welcome to the section I’d fondly refer to as “a collection of things I have no explanation for”. There is plenty of that in this movie, but I do want to touch upon them since not being explainable as of currently does not necessarily mean that they aren’t important in the future. Also, not having an explanation for these things is driving me insane and I need to share in my suffering. Let’s go! :)

Let’s get the big thing out of the way first.

Mukurotoride, my friend, my enemy. For those unaware, Mukurotoride is the name of the large black tower that Shibusawa, Dazai and Fyodor were chilling in for most of the movie. The name gets translated as “Skull Fortress”, but the kanji used gives the name more of a “Dead Man’s Castle” feeling, since it refers to a person long since dead more than a skull. My problem with this tower is as follows: it doesn’t make any sense. Whatsoever.

Why is it there? Fifteen establishes it’s there seven years before the current timeline, so a year before Shibusawa dies. I would’ve accepted it if the tower was a weird side effect of Shibusawa dying or something, but the current facts point towards this tower not having anything to do with Shibusawa at all. It’s also very decayed. How long has it been there? Who put it there? Is it relevant that it’s right next to Suribachi? Or in the Yokohama foreign settlement? (Side note: foreign settlements have not been a thing since 1899. What’s up with Yokohama having a foreign settlement?) No one seems to know anything about this tower, not even in the Japanese community. And then in-universe, everyone also seems okay with this wildly out-of-place tower that looks like it’s made out of human bones being there in the middle of the city? It’s giving me Sky Casino vibes.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, we can talk about Fyodor’s ability.

I want to start this part by explaining my personal stance on the current Fyodor theories, since it influences how I talk about what is shown of his ability in Dead Apple. There are a bunch of theories about Fyodor having an insta-kill ability that only works on non-ability users. Personally, I don’t subscribe to this theory, and I have multiple reasons for this.

First, I don’t think we’ve ever seen Fyodor’s ability being used. At the end of Cannibalism a cop dies as soon as he touches Fyodor. In the manga abilities don’t have a special shine effect, but in the anime they do. However, in the anime there was no ability-shine here.

A stronger argument, perhaps, is that this happens right in front of Dazai, and Dazai immediately afterwards says he has no clue what Fyodor’s ability could be. He could be lying, of course, but since this is a common enemy he shares with Fitzgerald, who is the one asking him about Fyodor’s ability, I don’t see any reason for him to do so here. The whole murder reads a little bit like Fyodor just putting on a show for Dazai.

Finally, from a narrative viewpoint, killing with a touch is a little… useless? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s convenient, I guess, when you’re a terrorist who seeks to exterminate part of the global population. But there are many ways to kill a person, and Fyodor has shown time after time that he doesn’t need to rely on an ability to murder people.

The strongest argument for the insta-kill ability in my opinion is Fyodor himself saying “this is my true ability” before killing that kid who was enslaved by Ace. However, this may also be part of something else that is going on with Fyodor, in a way that is perhaps very similar to Atsushi.

Alright. Whether you agree with that or not is up to you. To get back to the movie, there are a few interesting clues provided about Fyodor’s ability.

The first is of course Fyodor’s iconic line when his ability shows up on screen: “Crime and Punishment are close friends.” Everything he says after that point is already referring to Shibusawa again, so this is the only clue he himself is willing to offer up. If we consider that the abilities that get split from their users represent inner conflict, all he is saying here is that he apparently has no inner conflict. Does he know something else about the world? Does he just know who he is? Honestly, I don’t think we’ll get anywhere talking about Fyodor’s mental state.

Then there is the “I am Crime”, spoken by Fyodor holding the skull, and “I am Punishment”, spoken by his ability holding the apple. This one is slightly more straightforward. The ability user being the crime, and the ability the punishment. I’m not 100% sure if this is actually referring to Fyodor himself, or if it’s just about Shibusawa again. The skull (Shibusawa, an ability user) being the crime, and then the apple (covering the world with fog through Shibusawa’s ability, thus punishing ability users) being the punishment makes sense when viewed like this, but it could be that Fyodor is somehow also referring to himself during these lines.

Okay, if Fyodor is apparently not willing to open up, we can gather some more info just from what we can see instead of what we’re told. Most of what this part covers is taken from these excellent posts, but I’ll summarize it here for the sake of completion. Fyodor’s ability looks different compared to most other abilities. Most of the abilities shown in the movie have a blank face without any features, and have their gem on their forehead. The exception to that first part, interestingly enough, is Elise, Mori’s ability. This is most likely because she has physical form as an ability to begin with. Which then raises the question: does Fyodor’s ability also have a physical form outside of the fog? His ability looks identical, so that would imply some sort of clone ability. Next to this, Fyodor’s epithet is “The Conjurer”, which would be in line with him being able to create another copy of himself. (Though I should add here that the Japanese seems to just refer to him as “魔神”, which can be any type of evil spirit. However, if I’m not mistaken, the “Conjurer” should be from the official translation, but let me know if I’m mistaken on that.)

Finally, there is the position of the gem on Fyodor’s ability. Nearly all other abilities have their gem on their forehead, but for some reason Fyodor’s ability has his on his hand. The only other ability that has its gem not on its forehead is… the Byakko. I don’t have an explanation for this one, but the weirdness should be pointed out, since it’s another way in which Fyodor’s ability deviates from the others.

Next to the above, there are two other weird details I want to quickly touch upon.

First, the knives in the apples in the dish in Mukuroride, as well as the apples with a knife in them in general, as they are the theme of this movie. I believe this to be of a more metaphorical touch, so we won’t read too much into it, but it does have physical consequences that tie back to the title as well.

This exact shot is used four times throughout the movie, but with a varying amount of knives stuck in the apples. It starts with one, then two, then three. The room starts with just Dazai, then Shibusawa enters, then Fyodor. With each of them showing up, another knife appears in an apple. This is then a metaphor for these three being the instigators behind the Dead Apple incident. These knives in the apples can also be seen as their calling cards, as they were left both at the bar and at the scene of the crime where that agent was killed who was supposed to meet with Kunikida and Tanizaki.

In a later scene, it cuts again to this frame, but a knife and the skull has disappeared. These both get taken by Fyodor. The knife is used eventually to kill Shibusawa, but Shibusawa also took one of these knives to kill Dazai with. Either way, these knives that have been in these apples are used to murder, once again corroborating the connection between death and apples.

And finally, the relevance of the moon.

There are a few impressive shots of the moon in Dead Apple, where the moon is shown to be enormous, to the point where even the light novel points out how extraordinarily large it is. The novel also points out that the blue cube crystal holds a similarity to the moonlight. Just symbolism to show that it’s connected to Atsushi, or something more? The other side of the page in the main series will also only be written on the night… of the next full moon.

The Point of It All

I hear a lot of “Dead Apple doesn’t matter to the plot, just watch it for the Soukoku scenes and move on”. And while I do agree that it’s not mandatory viewing to understand the storyline that corresponds with season three onwards, I do think there is more to Dead Apple than most people give it credit for.

I always like to ask myself after reading a book or watching a movie: “Okay, so what was the point of that? What was I meant to take away from this?”

For example, in essence Stormbringer is a case study on singularities. Likewise, BEAST is a study into the limits of the Book, and all other side stories similarly have a message, however big or small.

So what does Dead Apple establish? Why bother?

I hope by now you agree that Dead Apple seems to be the introduction to explaining more as to what is so special about Atsushi. This seems to go deeper into chapter 28/29 of the manga, or season 2 episode 8 of the anime, where Atsushi also has some weird things going on with the tiger. What this exactly is, or where this seems to be going is unclear for now, but the Dead Apple definitely emphasizes Atsushi’s importance as well as the concept that there can be something more than just abilities.

In-universe, there are also reasons for this conflict to happen.

Most likely both Dazai and Fyodor knew the end result long before the conflict ever started. It’s their reunion in a way, so I suppose they are both seeing how the other’s condition is at the moment. They may even have gathered some intel somehow? It’s almost like collecting metadata, they won’t have a direct conversation about important things, but they try to collect information just by seeing how the other acts, to see if the other lies within prediction.

Aside from that, on Dazai’s side, except for foiling Fyodor’s plan and keeping Yokohama safe, the Shin Soukoku dynamic also gets strengthened, something Dazai is actively working on. On Fyodor’s side, next to giving the whole “eliminating all ability users” a good honest shot, he also gets to collect a lot of intel on the opposing side. For example, Fyodor in Dead Apple gets to see Corruption up close, which may potentially be relevant.

Finally, from a storytelling perspective, it sets up a lot for the third season, especially in character interactions and relationships, e.g. Atsushi & Akutagawa, Dazai & Chuuya, Kyouka, Fukuzawa & Mori. It should be noted that some characters literally have been intentionally regressed to make the ending make more impact. Whether that was a good decision or not is not why I’m here. You should just know that it’s intentional. You could chalk it up to Atsushi losing his ability impacting him and his behavior a lot, if you wanted to justify it somehow. The Order of the Clock Tower also gets its first anime appearance, showing Agatha Christie on screen, who will most likely play a more important role later on. Likewise, Dead Apple is the introduction to Fyodor as a villain, where you get to see him for more than just a few flashes.

Trivia and Fun Details

I suppose this section is skippable. But who doesn’t love trivia? This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything included in this movie, but rather an overview of what I personally caught, understood and thought relevant to include.

The “Dragon Head” in the Dragon Head Conflict refers to a Qilin, which are said to have similar heads to dragons. Since the conflict centered around the White Qilin, this is where that name comes from.

At some point Akutagawa and Kyouka use a mafia code to refer to a passageway. The code “0505” refers back to Atsushi’s birthday.

The symbol ᛟ found on the outfits of the Mukurotoride squad refers to inheritage, since Shibusawa inherited his own ability. More information about that here.

Dazai at some point meows at Fyodor. This is a very sassy way of telling Fyodor that he will personally eradicate all of Fyodor’s rats in Yokohama, including Fyodor himself. (The light novel calls it a “tedious” meow. Lmao.)

The music from Dead Apple seems to be recycled in season three of the anime. I’m guessing to save on budget?

Atsushi’s door that he eventually opens to unlock his hidden memories has its own music motif that shows up every time he thinks about Shibusawa, the fog or his memories associated with killing him. Try to pay attention to this, it’s really cool.

The motif of the door is also a tune that sounds a lot like the track named Dead Apple, further showing Atsushi’s relevance in his movie.

The lyrics of the soundtrack tell their own story. When the Dead Apple plot first takes off and Dazai is at bar Lupin, a song called My Prince plays telling of Snow White who is sleeping and waiting for her prince. However, it seems to be a spin on the classic, where indeed Snow White chose to knowingly bite the apple knowing it was poisoned, in much the same way as Dazai knew he was going to be poisoned in Dead Apple. Le Cheval Noir tells of how bored the singer is, and how nothing is special to them anymore. This plays during the scene where Dazai talks to Shibusawa, showing Shibusawa’s apathy towards everything. Mein Prinz, the song that plays as Dazai gets backstabbed, is nearly exactly the same song as My Prince, but now more dramatic and in German. This is a clue that Dazai saw this coming from before the Dead Apple conflict even started, and it’s now up to Chuuya again to save him. Overall, Dazai is leaning into the Snow White aesthetic hard in Dead Apple.

And finally, a list of everything the light novel insists refers to the theme of poisonous red apples: the red apples with the knives in them, apple suicide, the merged abilities producing a red sphere, the singularity that results from that in all its forms and the planet covered in red fog. If it’s red and spherical, you can just assume it should represent a deathly apple.

TD;DR

Recapped extremely briefly:

The Dragon Head Conflict introduces Shibusawa as a villain who was kept by the government but went off the rails. Shibusawa’s ability is a fog that splits ability users from their abilities. If ability users die, Shibusawa obtains their ability. Shibusawa died and inherited his own ability, also causing him to lose his memory. Therefore he wants to obtain Dazai's ability in order to gain what he feels he lacks. Dazai betrays Shibusawa together with Fyodor by combining abilities. However, Shibusawa kills Dazai first, adding Dazai's ability to the merged abilities creating a singularity. Fyodor kills Shibusawa, causing him to regain his memory of being previously killed by Atsushi. A dragon is created and defeated, and Fyodor's plan is revealed to be the covering of the entire planet in Shibusawa's fog, killing all ability users. This plan is foiled, but Atsushi is shown to have potentially another power next to his ability (the tiger). This power is possibly the ability to completely unravel abilities, and may be what makes Atsushi the guide to the Book. Mukurotoride is completely left unexplained in the movie, but there are clues given about Fyodor's ability that point away from an insta-kill ability, and more towards a clone type ability.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd dead apple #dead apple #bsd analysis #bungou stray dogs analysis #posted this also on reddit but. i forgor to post it on here. whoopsie.#glad i got this all written out though #like a weight lifted from my shoulders #this is actually longer than the reddit version so rejoice! you're getting the premium version #here's to hoping it shows up in the tags! 🙏🏻#suzenanalysis

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pepper-steam-milkshake · 7 months ago

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Every Instance of Dazai's Ability Being Used, and the Few Times it Doesn't Work

Because I really wanted to look into the logistics of Dazai's ability, I decided that I wanted to look through every source of media (barring BEAST) I could for when his ability has been used. This includes:

Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen (Light Novel)

STORMBRINGER (Light Novel)

DEAD APPLE (Light Novel, pre-manga)

Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era (Light Novel)

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam (Light Novel)

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga

DEAD APPLE (Light Novel)

55 Minutes (Light Novel)

This list does not include:

The Day I Picked Up Dazai

The Untold Origins of the Detective Agency (no instances)

BEAST (Did not use)

Any instances in the anime

Any instances with general descriptions ('a guy who used his ability to nullify', 'he used his ability', etc. Was looking for instances with explicit explanation/visuals of what he does)

Spoilers ahead for all the above, and the manga through Chapter 101. Read at your own discretion.

The First Time we See it Used (Chronologically) - Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen

The first instance that Dazai's ability is ever used is on Nakahara Chuuya in Phase.01, as written below.

(Dazai) placed a hand on Chuuya's neck. "Sorry, but gravity is no longer yours to control." Dazai's skill also activated when he touched his target. He had the power to halt and nullify all skills. It was the ultimate anti-skill, no exceptions.

Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen, Phase.01, Page 23

This is a classic example of Dazai's ability working traditionally, where he has direct skin-to-skin contact with Chuuya. Since Chuuya's ability is internal, as long Dazai touches him, he cannot use it.

Then, near the end of the novel, he uses his ability to nullify Arthur Rimbaud's ability against Nakahara Chuuya.

In (Dazai's) left hand was a piece of fabric: a garland he'd used as decoration for Chuuya's fake party. The long garland dragged along the ground, cleverly hidden in the shadows of floating debris. One end of the cloth was stuffed inside Chuuya's clothes. "I told Chuuya to pick up this garland when you destroyed the nearby building," Dazai said with a child-like grin. "Then I tied it to myself using my skill," Chuuya added with the scythe still piercing his arm. "I wrapped it around my entire body and made sure it was hidden underneath my clothes." "After that, I simply touched the other end." Dazai held up the cloth. "Want to guess what happened then?" "The skill affecting the cloth you touched... was nullified."

Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen, Phase.04, Page 115

For that instance, instead of physical contact with the ability user, Dazai extended his ability across an object to Chuuya. This made the object nullified against Rimbaud's ability, forming a shield of sorts to block his skill from attacking further.

The First Time it's Used On a Singularity - STORMBRINGER

NOTE: I own a copy of STORMBRINGER, but at the time of making this post, I was loaning it out to a friend. With that said, I used a translation that I have read previously. If you wish to locate it, go to bsd-bibliophile's Tumblr and search from there. I don't want to directly link it for obvious reasons.

Dazai's ability is seen twice in STORMBRINGER. The first instance is near the beginning of it, as written in the translation below.

(Dazai) casually grabbed Chuuya's arm and lifted it up. At that moment, the abnormal gravitational field that surrounded them immediately disappeared, along with the insufferable pain Chuuya had felt.

STORMBRINGER, [CODE ; 01]

Like before, we have yet another example of Dazai using direct skin-to-skin contact to nullify. However, in this instance, it is used to nullify a partial singularity, as Corruption has not been fully unleashed here. (At least, that is how I am interpreting it.)

Then, near the end of STORMBRINGER:

Chuuya limply drifted in the air for several seconds before the black wings on his back slowly lowered him. Dazai caught his body. The minute he touched his body, Dazai's ability nullification activated. The self-contradictory singularity energy that sustained him retracted in on itself as the singularity's power outlet decreased. He eventually returned to normal and his gate closed. The red marks plaguing Chuuya's body pulled away. The field of gravity disappeared and the stillness of night was restored.

STORMBRINGER, [CODE ; 04]

Yet again, nullification through direct skin contact. This instance doesn't provide an exact idea of where they touched, but it's reasonable to assume he touched Chuuya on his back or something.

This is the first time Dazai's ability has been used related to a singularity.

Singularity Time - DEAD APPLE Prologue

Dazai continues to use his ability to nullify Chuuya's singularity as seen in the prologue of DEAD APPLE. Though this is not shown in the light novel or in the movie, it can be seen in the manga, as shown here:

DEAD APPLE Manga, Volume 3, Chapter 10

Dazai touches Chuuya's face to nullify corruption.

Other Instances Before Dazai Joins the ADA - The Heartless Cur and BSD Manga Chapter 12

The Heartless Cur is a short story provided in the sixth volume of the Bungou Stray Dogs Manga, which tells of how Akutagawa and Dazai first met. Akutagawa attempts to use his ability on Dazai as written below:

Akutagawa turned his own sleeve into a wide blade, and thrust it into the boy's neck without a shred of hesitation. "Not bad," Dazai said, quietly. Akutagawa was stunned. He was sure the boy should have died. However, Akutagawa's blade had vanished like mist right where it would have touched the boy's neck.

The Heartless Cur, Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #6

Then, a flashback is shown from when Dazai was mentoring Akutagawa. During that, Akutagawa attempts to use his ability against him.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #3, Chapter 12

As seen here, Dazai directly touches Rashoumon with his hand, nullifying the ability upon contact.

Dazai Gets Tested and Tests Others - Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam

Dazai gets to use his ability a whopping four times in this Light Novel, which can also be seen in the remarkably inaccurate two-episode Azure Apostle arc in the anime.

It's used twice on Kunikida in a short period of time, as shown below:

The bullet tears through the air until it hits (Dazai) right between the eyes.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 127

I take the pistol I shot earlier and toss it at Dazai. He catches it, and almost instantly, it transforms back into a piece of notebook paper in his hands.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 129

Since the bullets were also created using my skill, they were nullified and vaporized by Dazai's own skill on contact.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 130

Again, direct contact with Dazai's skin gets rid of the bullets, vaporizing them, while turning Kunikida's pistol back to its original state. This is interesting to me in how Dazai's ability impacts them differently. Because the bullets were created with the pistol, the bullets vanished. However, when Dazai touched the pistol, it reverted back to notebook paper with whatever Kunikida wrote on it.

This is also the second instance where Dazai touches an object and uses his ability on it.

Then, his ability is used twice on the numbers terrorist.

"Why...?! Why won't any numbers appear?! I can't accelerate, either! Why, why, why is this happening?!" "You should've done your homework. Skills don't work on me."

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 150

What I find interesting about this is that he isn't touching an object or the ability user here. I'm assuming that since it would require to impact Dazai's skin, that is where the nullification occurred. If the ability didn't show up on his skin, would it still have been nullified? We shall never know.

However, him nullifying the ability against himself does not nullify it against anyone else. This is further encouraged by the below:

Dazai's right fist connects with the young man's face, spinning him a full 180 degrees.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 150

(Kunikida's POV) Then I look at my body to find that the numbers have vanished. Dazai must have defeated that skill user.

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Page 151

It appears that if Dazai wants to end an ability user's ability on everyone at that moment, he has to touch that ability user physically. So, to be clear, Dazai's skin can nullify the effect of an ability on himself. Dazai touching skin-to-skin with an active ability user nullifies the effect of their ability on everyone.

Examples We See in the Present - Bungou Stray Dogs Manga

Dazai uses his ability quite a few times at the beginning of the series, but it begins to be many more chapters between once we finish with the Guild Arc. It goes from less than twenty to twenty, then, fifty. The last time (as of posting this) that Dazai has used his ability was in Chapter 101. Make of that what you will.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #1, Chapter 1

Direct skin-to-skin contact. Atsushi returns to his original human form.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #1, Chapter 4

ATSUSHI - Direct skin-to-skin contact. Atsushi returns to his original human form.

AKUTAGAWA - Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Rashoumon vanishes.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #3, Chapter 9

Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Rashoumon vanishes after cutting through Dazai's bandages to his neck.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #7, Chapter 25

Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Q's doll disintegrates, and the ability deactivates against Atsushi.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #7, Chapter 29

Skin-to-ability-infused-object contact. Q's doll disintegrates, and everyone affected by the ability is released from it.

Note: Touching those affected by the ability would not nullify its impact on them. He would actively have to touch the catalyst of the ability (the doll) or Q themself.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 30

Skin-to-skin contact. Because Steinbeck's vines are in the middle of being created and used by him, Dazai touching him on the neck nullifies them and causes them to disintegrate.

I explain this because there is an instance in the future where Dazai touches Steinbeck's vines and they don't disintegrate, which I will attempt to explain.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 31

Skin-to-skin contact. Dazai nullifies Chuuya's Corruption.

We Will Now Take a Break From Our Scheduled Programming - DEAD APPLE

Dazai uses his ability three times during DEAD APPLE.

The moment his fingers touched the crystals, their hard gem-like surfaces cracked, and they melted away. Drip. Trails of light suddenly transformed into a liquid-like blood, swirling around and mixing together in the air. The two lights melted into one and spun until they formed a single sphere.

DEAD APPLE, Interlude-3, Page 126

In this, he is touching Shibusawa's ability-infused objects. At least, that is how I'm interpreting it. It doesn't change the fact that the users behind them are dead, but it means they are no longer being contained.

Then, in a classic instance that I'm sure everyone will recognize:

The viscous liquid slid down Dazai's throat until eventually, long, slender fingers touched Chuuya's ghastly, corrupted face. When they made contact, it instantly nullified his skill.

DEAD APPLE, 5-4, Page 154

Skin-to-skin.

The next instance, however, is considerably interesting to me.

"Get off me," he demanded, but Dazai kept him still. "Don't move." "The hell?" Chuuya grimaced as Dazai held his head down. While glancing around, Dazai admitted, "Looks like the fog hasn't completely cleared yet, and I'd rather not have to protect you from your skill right now."

DEAD APPLE, 5-4, Page 155

By maintaining skin-to-skin contact with Chuuya, Dazai prevents Shibusawa's ability (the fog) from affecting Chuuya. Since Chuuya's ability is nullified, there is none to steal in that moment.

And Back to the Manga! - Bungou Stray Dogs Manga

This instance is not a very explicit one, but it is heavily implied that he is using his ability in this moment.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #12, Chapter 51

As per usual, skin-to-skin with Atsushi, and skin-to-ability-infused-object with Akutagawa (well, potential, as it's not active at that moment).

The next instance is in Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #22, Chapter 101. There's no specific panel or image of how exactly it works, because it's not tangible.

To be clear, Dazai nullifies the cat burglar's time control ability's effect on him. The reason for this is assuming that if it affects a certain amount of space (as stated, a few kilometers within her radius), it is technically tangible, and therefore can be viewed as touching everyone within that space. If it touches Dazai's skin, it won't impact him.

I had to think about this a lot more than I thought I would. Initially, I thought, 'it has no corporeal form or anything, it's not as if he's touching her... there's no rational explanation for why he can nullify it.' This thought was further encouraged by the fact that Fukuchi turned back time repeatedly, and Dazai couldn't have been not impacted by that.

Then, I realized that Asagiri specifically stated that there is a limited space in which her ability can take effect. By giving it a spatial limit, it is implied that it has to make some sort of barely visible contact to freeze everyone in time, as it doesn't do that for everyone else.

Asagiri, you clever son of a bitch. For fuck's sake.

These are all the instances where Dazai's ability has been successfully used. However, there are times where it fails to work. I want to explore those moments and explain why. Some are more self-explanatory than others.

He's Only Human - Dazai's Entrance Exam, BSD Manga, and 55 Minutes

There are six different points where Dazai's ability doesn't activate. I think it's important to look at them, because it shows exceptions to his ability.

The first instance is in Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam. You're going to laugh at me for putting this example in, but I feel it is necessary.

"Heh-heh. What surprised me the most was the fact that Ranpo's 'skill' isn't actually a skill at all." ...Huh? "Don't be ridiculous. As if someone without a skill could really do something like that." "That's what makes it so amazing! Listen to this. When Ranpo was thinking, I sneaked up behind him and pinched some of his hair."

Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam, Chapter 3, Pages 110-111

It goes without saying, but Dazai's ability can't impact an ability that doesn't exist. Ranpo's Super Deduction is imaginary, and thus, Dazai can't nullify it.

Next is a few instances in the manga.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #2, Chapter 7

Because Kyouka purposefully does not touch Dazai's skin, she could activate her ability, Demon Snow. Now, could it be said that theoretically, Dazai could've blocked this by extending his ability to his coat? Maybe. Considering previous examples, it's fair to say that if Dazai didn't want to get abducted here? He probably could've avoided it easily. Just some food for thought.

There's no visual of it in the manga, but I brought this up earlier. In Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 31, Dazai and Chuuya go to rescue Q. They are entrapped by Steinbeck's roots, and Dazai has to cut them out of it. Please keep in mind that when I say this, this is based off theory alone and no direct proof, panel, animation-wise or otherwise. I believe that when Dazai is cutting Q out of the roots, odds are, he probably brushes against them with his knife-holding hand a little. Since these roots were all created together, wouldn't it be reasonable to think that they would disintegrate under Dazai's touch? Which brings up another point: why wouldn't Dazai just touch the roots if that was the case? That would be far easier than cutting them all away, unless he's intentionally trying to annoy Chuuya (which is incredibly possible but time-consuming). This makes me think that Dazai's ability can stop ability-created objects if they are still actively being made or used by the ability user, but if they are no longer attached to the user (activity-wise) and were not created from an object (like Doppo Poet or Dogra Magra for example), they remain existing.

Anyways. Sorry about the rant. Back to actual examples.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #8, Chapter 31

As Dazai will clearly state himself after recovering from this, Lovecraft's tentacles are not an ability. If it's not related to an ability, he can do nothing against it.

Then, we have 55 Minutes, which introduces this fascinating tidbit:

(Wells) "Skills that nullify other skills will not activate if the user is dead. In other words, Dazai--or rather, his body--won't be nullifying any skills since his heart has stopped."

55 Minutes, Page 186

First, when Dazai's heart came to a stop, the blood supply to the brain would cease, and Dazai would die. When this happened, his skill would cease to exist, and other skills would start working on him again. Therefore, his wounds needed to be swiftly treated, and he'd need immediate resuscitation afterward--even the kind of resuscitation they perform at any ordinary hospital through electric stimulation. And if that worked, Dazai would going from being "dead" to being "on the brink of death." After that, Yosano could use her skill to completely heal his wounds. In other words, it should be possible to heal Dazai as long as he was on the brink of death.

55 Minutes, Page 186-187

Yeah, so if he's dead-ish? Abilities will work on him. Albeit, it's a very, very short time-frame, but it does in fact exist.

Bungou Stray Dogs Manga #21, Chapter 95

In this panel, Nikolai uses his ability, The Overcoat, on Dazai. This shows that yet again, as long as the ability does not touch him directly skin-to-skin, it will work as intended.

SUMMARY

Dazai's ability can be used against anyone or anything that he can touch. Examples being:

Ability users he is touching skin-to-skin with

Objects he is actively touching and willing his ability into

Abilities that are infused into external objects (ex: Rashoumon in Akutagawa's jacket, a gun created from a sheet of paper in Kunikida's notebook)

Abilities that would have direct contact with his skin (ex: the numbers skill from Dazai Osamu's Entrance Exam)

Dazai's ability cannot affect:

Skill users he is not touching skin-to-skin (ex: Kyouka grabbing his jacket when abducting him so she can continue using Demon Snow)

Objects that are no longer actively a part of an ability (ex: Steinbeck's vines on Q) [ASSUMPTION]

Not abilities (Ranpo, Lovecraft)

Abilities he is not touching with his skin (ex: Nikolai's ability)

Abilities when his heart isn't beating/he's dead

So. Do with this information what you will.

Also, for shits and giggles, here's a running tally of how many times his ability has been used on an individual, and who it has failed to impact.

SUCCESSFUL NULLIFICATION

Nakahara Chuuya: six

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke: five (one time implied)

Nakajima Atsushi: three (one time implied)

Kunikida Doppo: two

Numbers Guy from DOEE: two

Q: two

Shibusawa Tatsuhiko: two

John Steinbeck: one

Arthur Rimbaud: one

Cat Burglar: at least once

FAILED NULLIFICATION

Edogawa Ranpo

Izumi Kyouka

John Steinbeck [ASSUMPTION]

Lovecraft

Yosano Akiko

Nikolai Gogol

#original post #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd #bsd meta #bsd analysis #bsd dazai #bsd dazai osamu #bungou sd #bungo sd #bsd light novel #bsd manga #please feel free to engage with this and add your own input/feedback/analysis!#i did this for fic purposes #but its genuinely interesting seeing the exact details of his ability

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literatureloverx · 4 months ago

Note

Now i'm curious (from how you considered dazai's openness around chuuya "debatable") about how you consider chuuya and dazai's dynamic? I'm not presuming you think their connection isn't important or anything, or that you think dazai doesn't trust chuuya, but i'm interested in how you think dazai's openness around chuuya is debatable. I'm 50/50 on it too tbh, so maybe your analysis can give more insight :D

Sure, dear, let’s dive into it.❤️ This has become a grand analysis + my comments lmao. I hope you enjoy it!❤️

🩵~~~🩵~~~🩵

First of all, it’s important to note that I personally classify Dazai and Chuuya’s relationship as truly meaningful and admirable—but not in a romantic way.

I want to be clear that I don’t see their dynamic as romantic, which is where I differ from many Dazai x Chuuya shippers. This is exactly why this post will be very, VERY long.

Asagiri himself said that he understands where the Dazai x Chuuya ships are coming from and he definitely gets it, but he won’t make the ship canon because he doesn’t want to dishonour/disrespect the original authors.

So it is indeed very kind of the illustrators and the studio to still provide the fandom with “fan service material,” which is on one hand very thoughtful and kind, but on the other hand fuels toxic shippers and feeds their theories, which they accept as absolute facts. (I suppose they make much money from it no matter what they do, so why would they care, right?)

I’m not trying to demoralize anyone or diminish their character shipping preferences. Everyone is entitled to ship whoever they want, and I don’t want this post to come across as a hate post.

However, I don’t view these dynamics (or any ship in BSD) through rose-colored glasses but rather in a more realistic light.

Many ship blogs tend to romanticize nearly anything that fits their perception (and while I often understand where they’re coming from, I find their interpretations naive compared to other logical explanations), but I want to approach this from a perspective that stays as realistic and logical as possible.

So, I kindly ask those who are sensitive about their own opinions and perceptions to consider skipping this post, as I don’t intend to hurt anyone’s feelings.

A small reminder: you’re allowed to have your ship and preferences, but please don’t act like they are canon or the ultimate truth, or hate on those who don’t share your opinions. This is truly rude and disrespectful.

Wow, that intro was long, but it needed to be said. Now, let’s dive into it:

🩵~~~🩵~~~🩵

If we brush off the fan-service material of the scenes in Dead Apple (which we still don’t know if it is canon, and those specific scenes aren’t even incorporated into the light novel, I hear? I’m not sure about it, though; I haven’t read the light novel), what remains?

In my humble opinion, there is a great understanding between the two of them on a humane level, but their dynamic is double-edged.

So why did I consider Dazai’s openness around Chuuya "debatable"?

It starts with Dazai’s perspective. I once saw someone write (sadly, I have no idea where; sorry, I’m not good with past experiences and memories) that “Fyodor understands Dazai but doesn’t get him, and Chuuya gets Dazai but doesn’t understand him.”

I believe this thesis to be entirely true. The problem is that while Chuuya gets Dazai but doesn’t understand him, Dazai gets and understands Chuuya very well.

Let us move over to the 15 manga, if I recall correctly (lmao).

There was a scene where Dazai was ready to sacrifice a whole city just for Chuuya to find out his truth about humanity because it was bothering him on such a deep level.

Dazai could understand his feelings very well because he himself is also struggling with his own humanity.

Their dynamic is so meaningful because they are like two halves of an apple.

Dazai struggles with his humanity because he doesn’t feel human (the true reason behind it remains still unclear), but he is physically human.

Chuuya struggles with his humanity because he is physically inhuman, but he is still human with every fibre of his being.

I believe Dazai can see that as well, which leads him to believe that Chuuya is the most humane person he’s ever known.

This is entirely true. Chuuya embodies almost every aspect of a human so perfectly—with visible flaws (he is so gorgeous to me), emotions, impulses… (this aspect could be a whole other post, but I need to stick to the main point right now).

Does it matter that he is physically inhuman?

No, of course not. What truly matters is the inner persona of someone.

That is the exact aspect Dazai is struggling with. He feels empty, he feels inhuman because he lacks all those aspects Chuuya brims with.

I personally see admiration on Dazai’s part because Chuuya embodies the things he lacks perfectly.

We either admire people who are able to do or have the things we cannot, or we’re simply jealous or hateful. In Dazai’s case, he admires Chuuya; he is flabbergasted.

But wait… hate? How does this manifest in Dazai?

Remember how he said that he’s been trying to find a way to kill Chuuya for the past 7 years?

Well, first of all, I don’t believe he genuinely wants Chuuya dead. However, this statement could indeed be true (with Dazai, you never know if it is), because Chuuya embodies everything he is not.

He might have found solace in simply the imagination of getting rid of him, not truly trying to make it a reality. Because we all know—if Dazai wanted to, he would have.

The reason why he doesn’t want Chuuya truly dead? Well, isn’t it obvious? I believe from the bottom of my heart that he cherishes Chuuya. But not in a romantic way, because in the canon context, there is really no evidence of that.

You can find so many clues that suggest their bond is deep, heartfelt, and close. It is so beautiful, truly. Their bond is one of my personal favorites of all BSD relationships.

But the romantic side of it? There truly is none.

This is the common problem here. Just because their bond is very meaningful and deep, people find every opportunity and reason to make a romantic relationship out of those things because we sadly live in a world where meaningful relationships are not appreciated at all but simply put in a box called “romantic & sexual tension” (there speaks the INFJ). Most relationships are multifaceted, people.

However, I’m babbling too much. Let’s dive into Chuuya’s perspective:

Chuuya seems to be more aggressive towards Dazai, clearly and often declaring that he “hates” him. Does he now?

No. I don’t believe that he does.

I believe that he sees through Dazai’s antics and his void of self, which makes me think that he is rather feeling bad for him (compassionately). I know that Chuuya doesn’t seem to be the most empathetic person in all Bungo Stray Dogs universe, but I believe that he actually is quite empathetic; he just doesn’t show it much.

He tolerates Dazai’s unsettling aspects most of the time, even though he is short-tempered.

Speaking of him being short-tempered, this side of him shines even brighter at Dazai’s side. He is much calmer and composed around others.

I believe that this is: first, because he trusts Dazai that he has everything in control so that he can act more freely; second, that Dazai knows exactly how to push him into irritation, which makes him aggressive quite rashly.

I said this before when I described Chuuya’s ideal type, and I’ll say it again: Chuuya doesn’t hate Dazai, but rather the challenges he provides that unsettle him deeply.

Now, I’d like to point out another example: Remember when Chuuya hit Dazai, and Dazai said to him that it hurt and he is only a human too? Chuuya answers coldly, “no one would believe that” (again the 15 manga, I believe?).

This is the solace Dazai seeks from Chuuya. He helps Chuuya to see that he is indeed human and expects the same in return from him, which Chuuya doesn’t provide.

Chuuya, someone Dazai sees as the picture-perfect human, denies him his own humanity. That must hurt really, really bad.

This is exactly what I mean with “Chuuya gets Dazai but doesn’t understand him, while Dazai gets and understands Chuuya.”

Chuuya is unable to provide Dazai with solace because he is so fixed on his worry about the other people dying and struggling that he is unable to see that he hurts Dazai.

Which is ironic because not seeing what is in front of him is again, very Chuuya-like and very humane, after all.

We’re human; we may be impulsive, we make mistakes, we might hurt our friends and families.

And Dazai again is looming in shadows, lying almost dead on the sofa without a care how many people will die, which is again, very inhuman.

So, let me bring in another aspect:

Why did Dazai install a bomb in Chuuya’s car before he left the Port Mafia?

I believe it was his coping mechanism, as always. His cheerful, uncaring attitude he wears like a mask, his desperate attempt to show Chuuya he would’ve loved to get rid of him, but sadly he was lucky—once again. That stupid slug.

Chuuya is someone who Dazai cherishes, maybe not as much as Odasaku or even Atsushi, but he cares deeply for him. (This is initially why I thought that Dazai has a heart of gold, because he is able to cherish so many people so very deeply, and he himself isn’t even really aware of it, which is adorable to me.)

I read somewhere that those two are soulmates, and I believe that to be true also, but as I already said—not in a romantic or sexual way.

Remember when I said that I adore soulmate connections, not only the romantic ones but also the platonic ones? The relationship between Dazai and Chuuya seems to be exactly that to me. I love them and I love them as a duo as well.

So, as an addition, I’d like to speak about their unwavering trust in each other, which is one of the main aspects of their relationship and dynamic. Dazai trusts Chuuya because he knows that Chuuya understands his trust and has already plotted the entire situation with no errors whatsoever. Chuuya needs to play his part in order for Dazai’s plan to work out as intended.

The reason Dazai trusts Chuuya is quite simple: Chuuya is a truly trustworthy person. To work as partners, they need to establish a strong sense of trust, which plays out perfectly. They are both able to forget their quarrels and focus on the job at hand, making them unstoppable together. Chuuya is known for his loyalty; it is his most prominent personality trait. That is why Dazai trusts him so much, knowing that Chuuya also trusts him because he understands that Dazai never fails.

To Chuuya, Dazai is nothing short of a genius—a very strange one, that much is sure. He is well aware that Dazai is depressed and lacks many of the qualities Chuuya possesses naturally, but he doesn’t really judge him for it, as seen in his high tolerance for Dazai’s antics and childish manner.

In summary, their bond is truly admirable, deep, and very important. Please don’t diminish it by confining their relationship to a box of sexual and romantic feelings in a canon sense, as this simply cheapens their dynamic.

Create your ships, write your fanfictions, but please don’t be rude to others who don’t share your perspectives. It’s absolutely fine to disagree with my opinion and interpretation, but please be respectful to me and my dear followers.❤️

Reminder: Chuuya calls Dazai “Dazai”, just like the ADA members, which is his surname. This suggests distance. Dazai calls Chuuya not “Nakahara” which also would be his surname, but “Chuuya”, his given name, which suggests that he might disrespect Chuuya or not take him seriously, since Chuuya is actually older than Dazai. I’m not sure what to think about this fact, so I wanted to mention it but I had no idea what analysis I can make out of this.

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