#esp knowing how important chuuya is to dazai

[chuuya-fan-page]

I just saw someone on bsdtt say "If Odasaku had asked Dazai to kill Chuuya , Dazai would have done it already"

-A

[zukkaoru]

These new blorbos you got here, they’re compelling. Should I give Bungo Stray Dogs a shot? Manga or anime?

YESSS okay so. i do really enjoy the bsd anime but the manga is (imo) significantly better. especially once you get to late season 4/season 5. the anime tends to,, sort of water down some characterizations. however the nice thing about the anime is that it includes adaptations of some of the light novels, whereas if you only read the manga, you would have to break at certain parts to read the light novels (specifically the dark era light novel i would say is most important to understanding the main storyline). something else the anime did that i. am not a fan of. is they changed the first light novel - dazai's entrance exam - so it takes place during the events of season 1 instead of two years prior when dazai first joined the agency, and they cut out a good half of it in order to cram it into two episodes

my Ideal recommended watching/reading order is:

bsd anime seasons 1-2 -> the dead apple movie -> bsd anime seasons 3-4 -> bsd manga, either from the beginning or from chapter ~71 to chapter 112 -> bsd anime season 5 -> bsd manga, chapter 113 onward

i also highly recommend reading dazai's entrance exam light novel at some point, but it doesn't matter when. as for the other light novels:

the dark era is adapted at the beginning of s2 (i have not finished reading the ln itself so i can't speak as to how good the adaptation is), fifteen is at the beginning of s3 (this one is mostly good, but some of the fun bits and little characterization moments esp with dazai are cut), ranpo's backstory in untold origins is at the beginning of s4 (i have not read this + i believe the untold origins light novel has more than just ranpo's backstory which was not adapted). the fifteen light novel also has a manga adaptation which i believe is either about to be finished or just recently finished updating. dead apple also has a manga, and was adapted into a movie. i have not read this light novel yet either.

the BEAST light novel is an alternate universe. i have only read the manga for it, but i definitely recommend. there's also a live action movie adaptation which i have not seen but i do not trust. wouldn't recommend watching that first from what i know of it.

light novels without adaptations: storm bringer is chuuya's backstory - i'm partway through this and it is widely regarded to be the most emotionally devastating of the light novels (with the exception of, perhaps, BEAST). 55 minutes i believe takes place sometime in the season 2-3 era? and focuses on atsushi & akutagawa (+ dazai & kunikida?) i haven't read this one yet but i've heard many good things. there's also gaiden which focuses on characters who aren't really present in the main bsd show/manga - one of the main characters works in the government and shows up at least in dead apple. i haven't read this one yet either so can't say much about it. the day i picked up dazai was just recently released, and i haven't read it so i can't say much about it either except i believe it focuses on oda & dazai and might be best understood if you've read BEAST first.

there's also BSD wan! which is a silly comedy vibe spin off. there's one season of it + a manga, but it's not required watching/reading and i don't believe it's considered canon to the main storyline. there are also several anthologies which also have little stories in them but are not necessarily considered canon to the main storyline, but i've heard those are hard to find translations for

tl;dr: the manga is overall better than the anime, but the anime is probably best to start with because it includes important information in the light novel adaptations. once you finish season 4, i would read at least chapters 71-112 of the manga before watching season 5

[pleucas]

this is said with no malice towards you i love your art!! i like you!!

also not capitalizing chuuya's name even tho i have better humor than this

this is going to be loooong but i never read a more stupid ask….

i don’t hate skk bcs i use my brain and see that they’re actually good and a fun ship when someone isn’t ruining it. what i hate is most skkers being unfunny towards Dazai and the continuous mischaracterization of him just to make chuuya look better (mostly chuuya stans but also dumb Dazai stans are guilty of it)

and no Dazai isn’t the worst and chuuya doesn’t deserve better in fact i think yall can’t handle a person with mental illness and a fake persona he clearly put on people always demonize him so i think saying he’s the worst and chuuya isn’t proves my point. they both EQUALLY did the same bad things Dazai isn’t more toxic than chuuya it’s more like Dazai is the one who’s going back to a toxic ex (mind u chuuya was ready to hurt or maybe even kill some of the ada members people Dazai obviously cares for)

the skk hater? who loves chuuya and hate Dazai because they know chuuya’s character will never be as important or as impactful on bsd universe as Dazai’s noted.

if you love chuuya and hate Dazai your opinion about Dazai is immediately invalid like i think they just know no bsd character can be better written and more interesting than Dazai he's what keeping bsd good (and Fyodor i liked him in the last chapters even more)

imo if chuuya keeps appearing he'll just get boring🤷‍♀️ because most of his storyline is over

Dazai on the other hand always entertaining and deep and there’s a reason he’s involved in everything and never forget everything he did for chuuya stormbringer would be nothing without Dazai helping chuuya from the shadows and chuuya knows it but i guess people will still makes him the bad person in skk when he’s the one trying to change and be better person

also Dazai is someone who’s storyline is still on going as well as we know almost nothing about his past or what actually goes on in his brain i can say three things about his backstory and that’s it.

sorry for rumbling i can’t take that level of stupidity

pls don’t block me im not evil…..

holy shit we got cross-ask beef. this is insane

i'm gonna lowercase Both their names because i think this is the reasonable next step. LOL. & i'll also ramble a bit to match ur freak!

i will strive to clarify that me agreeing that dz=worst chuuya deserves better was, as i specified, "on a generalized scale" — on a very, very, VERY surface level this is a jokey way i've seen a lot of skkers talk about their relationship. more of an inside joke atp ig? idk. srry if that wasnt clear

but i do think it's valid to dislike a ship because you don't like one half of it. i totally get how dz's character can piss ppl off, esp if ure missing lns and mangas (which rimu wasn't, but they watched the anime first so the precedent was set). i found the first part of their thesis to be pretty funny actually, just (again) taking it at face-value.

it's also understandable that they try and dissect dz then miss the mark by a mile LOL. but again, can't be blamed if you hate the guy and thus don't read into him too much, which i think is a reasonable way to consume media... probably more reasonable than me. hence why i didn't respond with my own thesis paper. overall idk man it's not that deep, i've been having fun with rimu and i'd advise y'all to also be silly w/ ur Budgeted RPF Dead Author Yaoi, it'll make things a lot better

abt what you've said, i think dz and chuuya can't exist as true characters w/o each other, unless you fundamentally change their truth. a lot of their good & bad (& inbetween) sides are exposed through their relationship, which i believe is asgr's very interesting way of employing "show-don't-tell." i don't think chuuya's storyline is over, because dazai's isn't, and vice versa. this doesn't mean i don't think they have their own arcs, just that these arcs Must involve the other — if dz's main conflict is good/bad + the mafia, chuuya is his biggest amiable tie to it, and if chuuya's conflict is his self + power, dz must be there for corruption. there's more to say there, but again i don't want to feed rimu's claims of us all being dormant essayists LOL

we got dz glazer and rimu, D1 dz hater. and cheese anon.

[daz4i]

thank you! and yes ofc, any input is welcome! okay, so i've seen some people talk about how many fics get chuuya and dazais dynamic wrong, but i've not actually seen any specific critiques, so i was wondering if you have any tips to avoid, for lack of better term, to write one of the "bad ones"?

also, i don't have money for the light novels, is it generally frowned upon to write skk without having knowledge of how they are in the light novels? i don't if they're that different, but i've seen comments like "if you just read stormbringer, you'd understand" so just wondering if i'm missing out on A Lot.

and for fic posting, this is not that important, but is there some popular fic boosting tags if i wanted to promote it on tumblr?

oh these are great questions!! lemme try to answer it in an organized way (edit from myself after typing the answer up: i am so sorry for this monster of a post askjdfgh hope it's not too overwhelming 😭🙏)

skk dynamic:

one thing i think is important to keep in mind is that it has layers, and that they're not quite honest in their interactions. a good example for what i mean is like when they're rescuing q and chuuya talks about how he can't stand dazai, but then later when dazai is attacked by lovecraft chuuya is immediately concerned and runs after him to make sure he's okay, being shocked and worried when he sees his arm missing, etc. (dazai is even worse in that regard lmao)

i can speak on my own personal pet peeve with skk fics is where their personalities are flattened, and thus their relationship is as a result as well (for example, reducing chuuya to a tsundere, or making him stupid, while making dazai some dark edgelord etc) this can lead to missing one key thing in their relationship: they're equals

soukoku even just as a fighting duo isn't just "dazai thinks up strategies and chuuya fights", the whole reason they're considered unbeatable to their enemies is because they're both strong - they can both fight, and they're both smart and good at thinking quickly on their feet. it's just that chuuya is better at fighting, and dazai's strategies are more airtight. this way they're enhancing each other's abilities. so, translating that into their general dynamic is also important

another way in which they're equal that i think shows this last part^ even better, and smth that i think ppl tend to miss, is that dazai never really manipulates chuuya or forces him into situations he doesn't want to take part in - he always asks for chuuya's final word on the matter. chuuya follows his plans because he too knows they're likely the best option. this is how they maintain their trust in each other

(honestly the only time i think you can argue dazai tries to manipulate chuuya is in their reunion in the dungeon, but really it's more for shits and giggles on his end, no real malice, and chuuya probably knows that too, i think)

light novels:

first off!! even if you can't afford them, bsd-bibliophile has them right here!!! i really recommend checking it out :)

i don't think you HAVE to read them but like. it's good to know what happens in them at least generally, and it can definitely help the nuance of their dynamic. the sb comment is kind of right bc it helps figuring out one of those layers i mentioned in the beginning

i actually haven't finished strombringer myself hehe but one thing i got from it so far and from reading analysis of it (which can also help if you don't mind getting spoiled!) that i think is important, esp if you're writing about their mafia days, is that chuuya does hate dazai in the early stages of their relationship, but like. because he sees himself in him. and he sees despair he doesn't want to give in to. at least back then, dazai kind of embodies his negative thoughts about himself, even if not literally and just in his mind.

also on a more basic level both of them (tho esp fifteen) offer some shenanigans of them being silly teenagers. also dazai cringe compilation. actually this is an important part of it i think dazai should always be at least a little bit pathetic when chuuya's around (but that might also be just my own personal take :P)

tldr for the light novels thing, i think it really depends on what sort of fic you're planning to write. canonverse, and esp mafia days, i'd say it's fairly important. aus, not so much, but it can help. relationship explorations, probably. silly fluff or pwp, not really. yknow :?

posting:

hmmmmm i don't know any particular tags (except like, basic stuff, fandom / ship / main characters / "fanfiction" / maybe key tropes you're using? tho it's def not a must) but some general tumblr hacks:

posting at the right hours and days helps; around the afternoon or early evening in american timezones, on the weekends, is probably the best time to gain most traffic

use ao3's automatic sharing or post the fic as the link post format, rather than a text post or picture with a link inserted into the text. idk if it still exists, but it used to be that posts with links in the text would be hidden from search results, especially if you're a new blog (i think it was mostly removed but the new blog thing might still be relevant)

don't use swears and esp not "fuck" and its variations in the tags. hides posts from search results (i think "shit" and such is okay?? but i'm not entirely sure so. to be on the safe side, better to avoid) also don't use "nsfw" or any other possibly nsfw tags even if it's needed

speaking of. while it's probably responsible to use community labels. i'm p sure tumblr hides mature posts from search results 😭 i saw artists complaining abt their posts getting flagged and even getting shadowbanned over it iirc so. unfortunately it's probably better to avoid 😔 save the warnings for the fic itself

this might be a bug only i have lol but after making a post with quite a few tags, wait a few seconds before refreshing the tab or moving to another page. i noticed that otherwise it can hide the post from everywhere except your own blog (it might also be only relevant to image posts? but again, to be on the safe side, it won't hurt to do it)

okay i think that's all. i will say that everything i said abt skk might be just my own personal interpretation hehe so don't take my word as gospel!!! i'm sure there are many other fans and writers who view them in an entirely different light, and at the end of the day, it's up to you to choose your own version to write

and with that, i'm also turning this post to my followers, if you want to add anything, or if you have links to good analysis posts that could answer one of these questions, please go ahead! :D

as for you anon, i wish you good luck with writing, and mostly i hope you have fun with it!!! :3 just bc you see some of us complaining abt fics sometimes doesn't mean you should walk into it scared, actually please don't!!! you can do whatever you want really, and i'm sure there will be an audience for your work no matter what you create! <3

[transsexualhamlet]

for the ship ask thing uhhh mikayuu maybe and also i'm curious about your opinion on soukoku considering that it's probably the most popular ship in the fandom and the fact that you ship fyozai

also have a good day

oooooh i will do both soukoku and mikayuu >:)

putting this under a cut because it's LONG and rather controversial

Ok well Mikayuu first.

It has been a Hot Second since I've rlly been in the ons fandom, and I've changed a lot since then, I think?

I've always been a Mikayuu lover, they're just my og queers, the ship I've had for the longest that I was really in the fandom for and I hold them gently

However now that I've yknow, had Two Years more to distance myself and the way I looked at it when I was a kid I do realize I really like it as a QPR more than a normal romantic/sexual ship, where both Mika and Yuu are on the aro and ace spectrums.

The last time I was in the fandom I wasn't yet out as aroacespec and I wasn't really aware of the whole deal surrounding those things but I think I like it even more now that I can recognize those things in him.

Mika is canonically acespec, I think, I think mostly because of trauma- the whole "vampires don't feel sexual desires" thing is vague and weird and I, don't really understand what they're trying to get at there other than trying to make excuses for Ferid being Weird (which, 100 percent doesn't excuse him lol, if anything it incriminates him More)

And I think that I'm just gonna go ahead and autism diagnose both Mika and Yuu, Yuu has no fUCKING CLUE what the difference between platonic, familial, and romantic love is and he doesn't care to try to figure it out. He knows he loves his friends and he knows he loves Mika and it is both the same and different and they are all family to him. That's like, mood Yuu. I don't think he really cares if it is romantic or platonic and I think he would be very affectionate with everyone indiscriminately tbh so it is difficult to like, really see that.

God, there's always been this huge fight over whether mikayuu is familial platonic romantic etc and the answer is IT DOESNT FUCKING MATTER because YUU DOESNT HAVE A FUCKING CLUE and no amount of affection/no Feelings or words are really are able to determine that, it's only how they define it I suppose.

Anyway I love them and they are my baby queers and they love each other and that's all that is important :)))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, part two! Soukoku. So. You asked for my brutal opinion. I am Sorry.

I have mixed feelings on soukoku ngl.

Now don't think that my fyozai shipping at all gets in the way of soukoku, I'm a huge multishipper, I've written soukoku fic, obviously there is no fucking universe where chuuya and dazai do not have an INTENSE romantic and sexual history. They're obviously gay. They obviously fuck. I don't know what idiot could think they haven't had gay sex

But yknow. Things are more complicated than that.

I think they were definitely together while Dazai was in the mafia, there's no doubt about that, and I think they to some extent enjoyed each other's company and probably did dumb gay teenager things.

But god, do I think they're together now or could ever really work it out to be a good couple long term?

Hmmmm Maybe. I have mixed feelings. I'm not sure. I don't think they're sure either, they definitely have unresolved beef and they definitely have one night stands every so often, but could I ever see them being in a stable relationship? Actually bettering each other in any way? I just don't really think so.

I kind of hate most of the fandom's takes on soukoku, and I don't think there's anything wrong with people who do ship it or want them to be happy together, you do you man. I don't like people who harrass soukoku shippers like, who spends their time doing that. Unless they're the Weird Kind, I don't give a shit.

But ever since I read stormbringer I kind of lost my taste for soukoku, esp past dark era. I just think Chuuya can and should do better SHDGHHSIDGHO

They definitely have a lot of interesting history and dynamics to interpret and look through, and I love looking at them in dazai's PM years and looking at their relationship through a magnifying glass, but what I see when I look at them is a fundamentally bad, codependent, unhealthy relationship.

SO basically what im trying to say is do i think they are in a relationship? Yes before he left, Sometimes after he left. They never really broke up I don't think. Do I think it's a GOOD relationship? No the fuck I do not.

And I'm not one of those fuckwads who insists one of them is to blame for everything, no they're both equally shitty to each other and they're just a fundamentally bad combination that hurt each other.

They can't communicate, they encourage each other to make bad decisions, they purposefully emotionally and physically harm each other, they certainly do care about each other and have attachments to each other but they also hate each other's fucking guts and neither of them want to or have the emotional capacity to work that out.

The best thing they can do for their mental health is to stay the fuck away from each other for now, at least until the both of them are older, less mentally ill, and more emotionally mature. I'm putting their relationship on the top shelf and wagging my finger at them because they proved they can't handle it even after four years

Both of them are like. Honestly pretty responsible and mature people when not around each other. Like, Chuuya is smart, respectable, strong, and would be a good mentor/parent. (Dazai wouldn't. But he's better than he would be if he was around chuuya often.) I'm not gonna lie I don't understand people who see them as getting married or having kids! I feel so sorry for those kids! Soukoku custody battle when! Chuuya took the fucking kids!

So man, I don't care if you do want them to make up and be happy but i think a lot of people just don't realize that canonically they Are Not in a great place and they are not just a Cool Violent Couple TM. I feel that their relationship is really interesting and important but it's not something I really feel needs to continue for them to be happy, although eventually it possibly could. Chuuya could do better. Dazai has plenty of options that maybe aren't like. Better people but are certainly better suited to him. I don't know, I just. It's complicated.

ANYWAY THANK YOU FOR THE ASK AND I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LONG

[faerynova]

uhhh kinda stupid lmao but like,,, instead of atsushi being the brains in shin soukoku he’s like the heart? If that makes sense lol. Okay, so Fukuzawa and Mori were both pretty strategic and strong at the same time(ik they weren’t soukoku technically but like), Soukoku had Dazai as a brain and Chuuya as the brawn. Except, Dazai was intelligent in an analytical way?? While Atsushi is more emotionally intelligent. That’s why i think he’s more heart than brain, but still technically the brawn. Meanwhile, Akutagawa is the brawn obv but is only with Atsushi due to a single goal:to impress Dazai. So, yea. They aren’t on good terms, but at the same time they need each other too.

So basically, what im trying to say is this: brain and brawn CAN be aligned with each other. But heart and brawn are a little... harder to align but it’s a good combination too. Hope this made sense^^

its not stupid, im always up for talking abt characterization and stuff! and youre valid in your sskk take, im here to hear opinions-- but i cant really vibe with it? and i wasnt really able to word *why* so i took it to my friend who is a God at bsd analysis and im copypasting them.

again absolutely NO disrespect in this, i love engaging in analysis like this (even when im no thoughts head empty like right now--)

copypasted words from @yarrayora:

while “heart” is an important aspect to have in a world as bleak as BSD universe, it's not something that necessarily matters in the missions they have to do. what's important are their capability to think up of a solution to solve their problems, which they haven't been able to do without dazai holding their hands, unfortunately.

not to mention, we have seen atsushi straight up not empathizing with the enemies of BSD at all, even after finding out their tragic backstory. it's not just akutagawa that he refuses to understand, take a look at how he handled fitzgerald. if bsd was a shounen manga, when atsushi found out his daughter is dead, atsushi would surely empathize with him. but no, this is seinen, and atsushi focuses on the important matter which is fitzgerald was fucking insane for willing to destroy an entire city to gamble on the possibillity that he can revive his daughter. plus BSD is the kind of story that shows even kindness, 'heart', is not enough to help people without the skills to back it up. (yosano's kindness led to her being called an angel of death, kunikida's kindness led to children being used against him). and as mentioned before, atsushi and akutagawa haven't gotten to the point where they can do it without dazai guiding them.

they already work well without each other, and their teamwork was the worst because it was forced upon them by dazai. both atsushi and akutagawa wanted to impress dazai, however atsushi has no desire to work with akutagawa despite of it, while akutagawa forces himself to be okay with it by rationalizing that atsushi was a trial dazai set for him.

which leads to the latest chapter, where they define their 'trust' for each other based on knowing that dazai would abandon akutagawa if atsushi was to die, with the heavy implication that dazai wouldn't care as much if akutagawa was the one who die instead.

in the end, shin soukoku is less about akutagawa and atsushi, and more about dazai trying to fix his past mistakes without actually acknowledging it.

and back to my own words:

i do think theyre a pretty powerful duo, esp with their team up move. raw power? a lot. but raw power isnt enough for them to be soukoku material. and emotional intelligence just isnt gonna get the job done.

i just cant say that they need each other, because emotionally theyre bad for each other, and they don’t really fill in anything that the other is lacking in regards to fighting.

[athina39]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[shippinonthecondorexpress]

Mikiko vs the ADA

i’m trying super hard to make these sound no romo bc Miki no romo them & also she is super in the background so she’s not very important in their lives???

What's her relationship with the other ADA members like?

Dazai; knows her through HIsa, thus his girlfriend is best friends with her he uses her for jobs where her skills come in handy so she's used to how he kind of is & he can be a bad influence on her in the sense that he'll talk her into using some of her previous bad habits or do shady things (that aren't entirely illegal but morally bad). Which usually ends up with the two of them getting caught by someone else in ADA (usually Hisa or Kunikida). So they get a lecture. So he's like her getting her trouble buddy. Their conversations get interesting bc Miki will challenge or question Dazai's stories sometimes if he's talking about something esp to Hisa so they can have a playful banter between each other that sound argumentative at times. She never mentions Chuuya around him though bc fuck all if she's going to let him come in and ruin her personal time with him.

Kunikida; for the longest time around when she first met everyone in the ADA she thought he was like 30+ so she was really kind of respectful towards him. Until Dazai revealed that their all like the same age, so she's really casual with him. If she's in the office she'll talk to him like a peer like "Hi Kunikida!" Knowing that he's the same age as her she's not really scared by him reprimanding her for doing something she's not suppose to since it's similar to when she was in her gang & getting chewed out by one of her superiors. She'll pretty much treat him like normal & talk to him about stuff. Maybe ask for advice on certain things since he's a little more likely to actually GIVE ok advice compared to Dazai. She does laugh at the antics that go on between him & Dazai & isn't ashamed to be caught laughing.

Atsuhi; She can spot a mile away how timid he is, so she makes sure to not do anything to startle him. But she acts like her usually open self, she'll make it a point to say hi to him when she sees him & ask him how he's doing. Esp if he's in the cafe & asks if he's eaten. She tries not to mention too many details about her gang past in front of him since he seems like he would be worried about it since he cares about people. But she will accidentally slip & say those questionable things, but tell him that she's joking to make it less awkward;;. She's the most chill when dealing with him since he's already so nice & would enjoy talking to him whenever he's around. Sometimes she'll offer to buy him food since he reminds her a little of the stray cats that she picks up from the streets to take to Hisa's house.

Kenji; a cute and really kind kid, Miki likes how happy he always seems to be & how easily he seems to make friends with everyone in the town. She gladly talks with him whenever he's around & offers snacks if she happens to have any on her at the moment when he's around. She also lets him tell her all sorts of little stories he has about his village & cows since they seem to make him really happy. She'll also ruffle his  hair a little when she sees him since its always nice to see him smiling & happy all the time. They also find neat things that they found to show each other since its a fun cute little things that they do whenever they see each other. Its usually something small like a neat rock or a coin. Miki also enjoys how simple Kenji's personality is so its easy for her to relax around him a lot of the time.

Kyouka; She knows some of the story of how Kyouka came to the ADA, she thinks that she's really cute. Though since Kyouka hangs around Atushi more often she hasnt spent time with her on a personal level, but she likes her. She's not really afraid of Kyouka either since her past is somewhat similar to her. So Miki has a bit of respect for Kyouka for being able to handle herself in the Port Mafia, but at the same time she also sees her as just a young girl. So she talks to her freely as if she were any other younger person that Miki was dealing with. Sometime Miki will also give her candy or other small snacks like she does with Kenji if she has anything on her and Kyouka isn't busy with any jobs or work. Sometimes at the Cafe she'll treat her to small things when everyone else is hanging around.

Ranpo; definitely has had interactions with him since he always comes to the Cafe & orders their desserts a lot of the time. Sometimes she's also sent on little candy runs for him when she's hanging around the ADA office on her days off. Miki rather likes Ranpo since he comes off as really fun at times, and Miki enjoys talking to him as well. She is pretty impressed with his Ultra Deduction & will ask him about crime stories she finds to see if he'll figure it out. Miki tends to end up sharing her stash of candy she has sometimes with him as he seems to always be able to tell when she has snacks. MIki didn't know for a while that Ranpo didn't actually have an ability, but she's fine with the fact that he doesn’t since his skills are on a whole other level.

Junichiro; he seems rather quiet to her so she doesn’t know him too well, but she does kind of know what his ability is as she heard it from one of the others. She might have talk to him a handful of times and thinks that he’s pretty ok and nice. Though she’s a little confused about the whole thing with his sister, but she doesn’t bring it up as she feels like its not her place to do that. So she’ll try to avoid that as much as she can, though she doesn’t dislike him or his sister. She's just doesn't know how to handle them, but she has problem talking to Junichiro or his sister on their own. Sometimes they'll have pleasant small conversations together until it starts getting weird, when that happens Miki find ways to get out of the way so she's not front row for their awkward sibling antics.

Akiko; she is very impressive in Miki's eyes since she can hold her own against people in any kind of situation. Miki wouldn't be afraid to talk to her as she would admire her strong personality. She would also ask Akiko for advice on places on the body Miki could aim for during fights to make it easier for her to bring people down and cause more damage. Since she has an extensive knowledge of the human body Miki would want to learn more to use in fights. Miki is somewhat aware of Akiko's methods of healing people so she would try to avoid getting severely injured in anyway to avoid needing to visit Akiko's office for assistance. Though at times Miki would need some light patching up since she would get a little roughed up in fights.

Fukuzawa; since he's always super busy and not actually in the main office Miki hasn't had a lot of face time with him. She's only seen him a handful of times, but she does recognize him. Miki understands that he's very well respected and everyone listens to him so she tries to show the same sort of respect everyone else down. Though she has accidentally slipped and called him Grandpa. Though not in a disrespectful was as he kind of reminds her a grandfatherly figure that people would find themselves drawn too. Though since he's very stoic, she's not sure how he feels about being called that. Miki hasn't ever really had a conversation with him, so she doesn't know a lot about him. Except for the fact that he likes cats.

[yerawizardrikki]

bonding over

Do you think Hisa & Chuuya would talk? not like besties but like "Mikiko isn't dead" "cool thanks"??

I think they would!! Miki is important to them & they're most likely to know where she is & how she is

& they let the other know & Chuuya would prob be more comfy talking to Hisa than Dazai & wonder how he even ended up with Hisa

Yush!! They will protect Miki together too? Yeah Hisa doesn't really have anything against Chuuya! Hisa is lucky to have Dazai

 Yes they will because it would be a great team up! He feels the same because Hisa is pretty chill to him! Yes she is hehe

It would be ESP for Miki!! Hisa is happy they can get along well! Hisa is super happy to have her sweet Dazai's affection!

yes she would feel safe with both of them looking out for her! Its so nice that they do! He gives her all of his affections!

[daz4i]

ok. a post to brainstorm doa chuuya bc i gave myself mild brainrot over it just by putting those words together

if any detail in this post inspires you to make art or write a fic please on god tag me if you post it or send it to me 👀👉👈

so. i have a few ideas and unfortunately i can’t quite get them to gel together into one, so i may as well list them all

the mentor fukuchi option

fukuchi got him out of the research facility around the time he was 14-15ish, and, well. mentored him - taught him to fight and basically put in his head all these ideas about unifying the world

i imagine chuuya would be loyal to him, but still somewhat suspicious, esp when he can’t remember his past. speaking of

the bait option

idk if bait is quite the right word? but, like. the way sigma is kept in the doa - he’s promised something he simply can’t say no to. and that thing is information about his past, kept by fyodor who gives him small bits after every mission he completes - just enough to keep him going, but not enough to make him feel fulfilled and want to leave

i’m not sure where this would fit with the timing in his life, but i assume he gets to be in the sheep here, but not with the mafia. do the events of 15 simply not happen? does he simply say no to mori’s offer? maybe fyodor meets him on that cliff before he gets to dazai. idk.

i lied when i said there are a few ideas btw i think i only have these two. anyway the real interesting part isn’t the how and why but rather what he’ll be like when interacting with the members and such. starting with the simplest and getting more complicated as i go

(also an important detail i can’t seem to find a place to fit, but i assume the doa will have the means to nullify arahabaki before it kills chuuya, given how fukuchi has ties not only with the government but also the un, and given how meursault has cells that nullify abilities, one can assume such technology exists and in which case there’s no reason for the doa not to get their hands on it. also as i typed this i remembered sigma has this nullifying gun iirc. so they probably just have more and this is how they get arahabaki down when they need to. or maybe it’s implemented in him somehow, like they can remotely activate smth that’s constantly on him coughchokercough and “turn off” arahabaki without getting near him)

bram

yeah no he doesn’t know about his existence. at least not at first? in the mentor fukuchi option i’m sure fukuchi will show him bram at some point, right before the time of the doa’s introduction in the main story. in this case, i feel like chuuya would honestly feel a sense of kinship with bram, both kind of used as a weapon of mass destruction, except unlike bram he can leave if he wants to (but... can he really? a bit harsh to think about, so he doesn’t like, go out of his way to interact with him)

sigma

“oh my god. another sane person. thank you”

like bram, def a lot of sense of kinship here, but more about the “i only remember the last few years of my life” thing. i feel like they could actually be friends even beyond that, tho. they’re really similar in a lot of ways and they could def bond over it, and i think having someone like chuuya around would make sigma feel better about the whole thing, which i think will make him even deadlier, more desperate to stay in this place he calls home. also, chuuya could back him up in the casino arc, and. um. yeah the hunting dogs will not survive that one

nikolai

nikolai finds out chuuya can technically fly and loses his shit. chuuya will become his new favorite person (but like, the way sigma is, not the way fyodor is). chuuya does not like that to say the least, but he does like to train with him sometimes bc nikolai can help him hone his reflexes

eventually nikolai would get tired of him tho imo? at least in the pre-canon part. chuuya would just be annoyed with his antics, no surprises, and it’ll get boring for nikolai. then he’ll find out abt the arahabaki thing and immediately chuuya is the most interesting person in the world again. he will definitely try to get him to use it constantly. he would love arahabaki sm.

during the actual story tho, after nikolai defects, i imagine he’ll want to free chuuya too. maybe he’ll steal his choker at some point, store it in his overcoat. “prove your free will by possibly be willing to die if you let arahabaki run loose” sort of thing, but actually it’s secretly “don’t be confined by what fyodor and fukuchi are doing to you. be your own person. never use arahabaki if you don’t want to”

fyodor

definitely the one holding the metaphorical leash over him, and chuuya knows it, and hates it. if we go by the “fyodor coming to recruit him at the end of 15′s events” route, he’ll hate how much the guy reminds him of dazai. also he thinks he’s creepy. still, he respects his plans, and does as he’s told for now, but he knows damn well not to trust fyodor. i imagine in said recruiting moment fyodor would probably kill some/all of the sheep to give him a sense of helplessness and like he has no other option but to go with him, so naturally chuuya would resent him for that

like p much everyone else, he has no idea what fyodor’s ability is, but he noticed pretty early that fyodor seems unkillable, so he doesn’t even try. something tells him that despite his own immense power, he won’t be able to kill fyodor, so he picks his battles carefully and never even tries (tho, maybe in the future. maybe i could offer more insight once we learn what fyodor’s ability is and what’s the deal with his supposed immortality)

fukuchi

father figure (derogatory)

i kinda of already got into it in the mentor fukuchi option, so as a tldr, chuuya respects him, is loyal to him, but is suspicious of him

however in the other option i feel like the knowledge of fukuchi being a part of a terrorist organization despite his position would kind of make him... bitter? also eternally curious if fukuchi was somehow involved/knew people who were involved in the arahabaki project somehow. he tries to keep his distance from him, just do what he’s told so he can get what he wants, without getting involved with things bigger than him

i imagine if anyone encourages him to use arahabaki a lot - for actual strategical reasons, not like nikolai who mostly thinks it’s cool - it’d be fukuchi (fyodor would not want to rely on smth this chaotic unless there’s no other choice, imo), which would also make chuuya resent him a bit.

also i wonder if fukuchi would ask him to infiltrate the hunting dogs with him in any of these options. could also be interesting, and also oddly fitting tbh.

anyway yeah that’s all i have for you now. would love to hear your own ideas, or takes on what i already wrote here, just be respectful!! and again if any of this inspires you in any way, please share, i would love to see 🥺

[daz4i]

here let me give you a tldr

Recurrent suicidal ideation or self harm.

duh. it's dazai

Chronic feelings of emptiness.

duh. it's dazai

^ can you believe i wrote like 2 whole pages abt these 2 points alone in my doc. incredible

(1) Markedly disturbed sense of identity and (2) distorted self-image.

1. the name of his ability is "no longer human" (more accurate translation is "disqualified from being human") i don't think it's that big of a stretch to say he has Issues™ with his identity (also given how he practically changes his personality and behavior in often extreme ways for the people around him . yeah)

2. girl he is literally always covered in bandages (i can't say that's the reason but given we don't have any other one. no harm in theorizing when it helps my very serious and important tumblr post)

Impulsive or reckless behaviors (e.g., impulsive or uncontrollable spending, unsafe sex, substance use disorders, reckless driving, binge eating).

duh. it's dazai

fr tho i can't say this for certain (esp the "impulsive" part) but. one of the first times we see him - at least in the anime - is when he's high (i don't think i need to explain why his suicide attempts are bogus, i doubt this wasn't on purpose). we see him drink relatively often, esp compared to other characters, and his likes literally list "alcohol". also, these shots from his dorm from when he avoided going back to work after being kidnapped, supposedly not more than a few days really:

i will say tho. mad respect for only eating one thing. autistic king also

(edit: actually from my own experience + other ppl with bpd i met most of us have sensory issues - it's not a symptom, more like a very common thing - so it might even be a part of that!)

Transient, stress-related paranoid or severe dissociative symptoms.

i can't say anything abt dissociation, but his paranoia is def there even if he's relatively subtle about it lol. having 300 backup plans for anything your enemy can pull isn't normal. setting up traps preparing for a possible fight or disaster (see: the entire guild arc) isn't normal. no one else in the ada does that. even when we see him making strategies with ranpo, he's the one thinking up options and possibilities - he is on constant high alert and prepared to be attacked. you may say it's for a good reason which is fair i will not lie. but again this is why i bring up the comparison to the other ada members. he is clearly more paranoid and overprepared than they are, this is abnormal

also let me turn you to story's lovely post about what might be re-triggering this thought process for him bc i love this analysis sm 🖤

Unstable and chaotic interpersonal relationships, often characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation, also known as "splitting"

god i wish i could find the post where i mentioned this but. imo. that's part of(!!!) his dynamic with chuuya. i feel like esp in their interactions in the current day you can see him zigzagging between commenting on how much he hates chuuya - iirc only as a reaction to chuuya saying the same thing - and then admiring him the next minute, when chuuya isn't there to hear

him getting attached super quickly, telling him he loves him one day after meeting him, that's such a bpd thing lol 😭 i can maybe let it slide bc he was 15 but like . yeah that's not normal even for a 15 y/o. and again immediately switching to being... vitriolic, after chuuya's negative responses, and being obsessed with hurting him later on ("i spent the last 7 years thinking of ways to kill chuuya" or however that quote goes. girl please go on mood stabilizers)

if you've heard the term fp before you might be familiar with this, but tldr it's that person you hold as the one most important to you, the one with your self esteem and general wellbeing in their hands whether they know or not. if they fail to give you attention or validation as you expect, you might respond by attacking them, acting coldly, wanting to hurt them etc. do i need to go on

(i know a lot of people insist that he's just. lying. and that's fair! i personally disagree - yeah he's not 100% honest but imo there is a kernel of truth to his hate. it just doesn't negate the love and attachment that are there as well, and i'd dare even say feeds into them, and one can't exist without the other. also like on a factual level chuuya is in his dislikes list and idk how you'd lie on a meta level like this askljdfgh so this is my offer for WHY he's there, beyond actual meta stuff like the relationship between their irl counterparts)

bonus: for beast dazai that's 100% odasaku. if my fp rejected me this badly i too would throw myself off a building 👍 (fr tho that's also a possible response. not an outward reaction, but an inward one, attacking yourself for their lack of attention or validation)

these are just the ones i have off the top of my head. with hcs and theories you could probably get into the other symptoms as well (esp with beast dazai. he's the biggest bpd icon i've ever seen fr)

hope you enjoyed my slightly unhinged rambling 🫡 have a great day!

me continuing my bpd dazai analysis trying to phrase anything that isn't "dazai has bpd bc i said so" when my brain is as tired and messy as it is right now

i don't have a reaction pic here. imagine me looking frustrated and tired on my computer