#i just think. it's interesting to me to have tachihara involved because of the betrayal aspect

[blackwaves]

further onto the fun part: the fic is 1. very intently focused on quiet moments, using the concept of gin as dazai's ex-secretary moved out of the sphere of action the pm-ada dwell in into being someone running from the past via mundane office job 2. making so many extrapolations about her relationship with the rest of the port mafia, primarily tachihara.

there is. something to me about the lonely man you've been the shadow of for years killing himself after promising to kill you as a machination in his plan (hollow, empty promise, but you pleaded with him for it— how much did she know it was a lie?). there is something to me about seeing your brother who you believe was born to do evil and whom you put a knife through the stomach of and left twice over.

quiet moments: cutting your hair in the bathroom afterwards, scrubbing yourself clean of the past, dropping off the girl who your brother hurt with her adoptive brother— the past lingering behind you anyway.

obligatory note to stream the fic i wrote about post-canon beast!gin (due to finding her sibling issues extremely compelling etc) but— the beast version of the akutagawa siblings is incredibly, incredibly interesting to me. gin is central to beast, and it is equally central that she's on-page for so little time.

the first time akutagawa sees her, the narration calls her a painting come to life; the metaphor took me aback the first time i read the beast ln as opposed to the manga because of how fitting it is to how akutagawa sees her: a static, 1-dimensional image and ideal; a child stolen away by his man in black. it's an illusion she shatters cleanly and all at once.

gin getting a knife into akutagawa's gut and telling him he hasn't gotten her back, that he's pursuing destruction and using her as an excuse, that the mafia's violence is rational whereas his violence is an aoe attack that destroys everything in its proximity is:

one: extremely funny to me. sorry gin. sometimes you call your brother inherently evil for his glorified suicide attempt (-> this is, in practice, my view of him leaving gin alone pre-meeting dazai in both canon and beast. do i think it is unfair to gin to leave her abandoned and alone, and that it reflects on the way he is associated with destruction-despite-the-cost and similarly on the way dazai in beast canon addresses him? yes absolutely. do i also think it is unfair to say the suicidal twelve year is inherently evil for semi-explicitly trying to kill himself via extremely abrupt vengeance quest? yeah. sorryyyyyy)

two: not incorrect re:destructiveness. we see time and time again in both canon and beast that akutagawa moves in a straight line to action without consideration for consequences or the deaths that follow. it's the tendency that both canon dazai and canon atsushi object to— atsushi primarily for the fact that he places no inherent value on life and his actions put that on display, dazai primarily for the lack of strategy and rationality in how he operates. he's more feral and uncivilized in beast (/affectionate), but the point stands? (skimming over sections of beast for this and: interesting to me that when he's getting his stamp from kunikida, it's explicitly said: "To make a long story short, destruction was his go-to answer for everything. [...] It appeared to be more of an innate trait of his rather than something he learned from his environment or experience." similarly, it's interesting to me that the way he gets his stamp from kunikida is through the channeling of that destructive energy into a purposeful violence. the concept of mindless destruction vs rationality is the core internal conflict in beast which (relatedly) is why i think it's so fundamental to the trajectory of his arc in canon, but i digress)

three: not fully incorrect re:using gin as an excuse. this is actually the most important point to me, because: akutagawa cares about gin and cares about the ideal of his younger sister stolen away, regrets deeply his initial abandonment of her and hates himself for it, but his actions with regards to "saving" her are fundamentally undermined both by his pursuit of dazai and his own impulsiveness. he repeatedly prioritizes vengeance and impulse over the actions that would actually put him face-to-face with him, and he doesn't consider her as a person with her own agency. when he collects oda's stamp (via threatening to kill himself in front of a child. etc.) there's a point made about him viewing anger as the center of his world. when he is a child facing dazai for the first time, it's said the first clear emotion he feels is hatred. this is without getting into the events of the final sequence, in which he is repeatedly called out for prioritizing his anger over finding gin.

—

okay! at the fun part now, which is to say. how does this reflect on gin herself.

basic facts we know about gin in the present are that

she's dazai's secretary who's always with him, and she views him as lonely (the implication given is that this was also her first impression of him, when she went with him willingly)

she's highly protected because of her position of secretary and anyone who asks about her should be attacked immediately (this may be a set-up for an sskk meetcute via dazai, but presumably it comes into affect via how she's treated by others)

atsushi believes she has no family, which is either 1. again, set-up for the sskk meetcute, or 2. what the pm as a whole usually believes

she's quiet and very observant (presumably, reflected in canon)

she believes in rationality placed over emotion (fascinating contrast. obviously) and doesn't object to the port mafia's violence because of how its violence is impersonal

atsushi refers to her and akutagawa as having bloodstained hands, which may be solely a jab at akutagawa, but in equal measure may be a reference to her position in the pm? she stabs akutagawa easily and respects the violence of the pm, so it's possible/probable that it also refers to how she's associated with the pm.

she was convinced by dazai to enter the port mafia because she didn't feel safe remaining solely with akutagawa

she pleaded with dazai to sacrifice her life instead of killing akutagawa (which indicates that despite it being a ploy and bait, it's real to her. alternatively, she could be in on it being a ploy and maintaining the lie with akutagawa, but i think that's less likely context-wise.)

she disappears post-lightnovel, according to akutagawa because she can't return to his side. akutagawa doesn't go after her because he thinks rushing after her would drive her away once more.

the majority of what we know about her is her emotions towards akutagawa: she thinks he uses her as an excuse to commit violence, and she wants to think he functions more rationally than he does. she thinks he was born to do evil and she cares about him anyway. she thinks he's incapable of keeping the people he loves safe from himself, and she wants him alive anyway.

i am always, always thinking about o-gin in relation to beast!gin, but particularly when she is saying "I don't care what kind of person you are. All I want is for you to live." o-gin is the story of a girl who renounces her beliefs and the idea of heaven for the sake of living in heaven so that she may meet her family again in hell. gestures incredibly wildly. you know.

sorry for the recap i just think. they're so so interesting. i just think they're insane. i want to lock them together in a room and make them argue with one another.

[storytell]

A detailed (ish) breakdown of TARDIS AU (Part 1/2).

PERSONALS DO NOT REBLOG!

Buckle up, guys, this is going to be a long long ride. The TARDIS au was started by a small group of us on October 5th of last year and is as of now our most developed group au ever. Since its one year anniversary is coming up, I’ve decided to outline some things about the au to encourage people to interact using the characters from it. This WILL be a very, very, very long post, so it’s going under a cut.

NOTE: I wasn’t a part of some conversations revolving around characters and relationships not involving me. If some descriptions seem vague, that’s why.

Part I: The Factions.

The factions are defined very loosely, as they’re subject to change at the drop of a hat. Here is how things are at the beginning of the au’s concrete timeline:

The TARDIS crew: Mark Twain/The Adventurer, Louisa May Alcott, Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Time Agency: Akutagawa Gin, Jono Saigiku, Suehiro Tetcho, Tachihara Michizou, Mushitaro Oguri , Sakaguchi Ango

Prisoners of the Time Agency: Ayatsuji Yukito, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, Yumeno Kyusaku

Torchwood: Fukuzawa Yukichi, Edogawa Ranpo, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro

Misc.: Nikolai Gogol, Ookura Teruko, Scottie Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway, Margaret Mitchell, Herman Melville, John Steinbeck, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Nathaniel Hawthorne

Here is how the factions look at the end of the end of the au’s concrete timeline.

The immortal TARDIS crew: Mark Twain/The Adventurer, Jono Saigiku, Suehiro Tetcho, Edogawa Ranpo, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Lucy Maud Montgomery

Former TARDIS crew/Earth, 21st century: Louisa May Alcott, Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Mitchell/”Mitchy” ( @asheard ), Margaret Mitchell, Ookura Teruko, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, Herman Melville, Scottie Fitzgerald

Time Agency: Akutagawa Gin, Tachihara Michizou, Sakaguchi Ango

Torchwood: Fukuzawa Yukichi, Mushitaro Oguri

Other/Unknown: Ayatsuji Yukito, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, Yumeno Kyusaku, Nick Carraway, John Steinbeck, Nikolai Gogol

Part II: The Characters

Mark Twain/The Adventurer ( @asheard ): The quote-unquote “main character” of TARDIS AU, The Adventurer was thought to be the last of the timelords after he killed them all during the time war. Loosely fills the role of The Doctor, but canon timeline doesn’t include much past the Pandorica. He’s also only regenerated twice, and we’ve taken liberties with how timelords work for the sake of the AU. 

Louisa May Alcott ( @praevari ): The Adventurer’s first companion and only intended companion. Worked at a library for a long time until she was suddenly whisked away by a timelord. She has a keen interest in learning alien languages. Loosely fills the role of Rose.

Edgar Allan Poe ( @inkblccded ): An unintended addition to the TARDIS crew, Poe insisted on tagging along when his best (only) friend Louisa was taken by The Adventurer. Prior to canon events, he was a detective who quit his job after being unable to solve a murder case whose culprit was actually an alien.

F. Scott Fitzgerald ( @chiassosanctum ): Former captain of the time agency from far into the future; defected and decided to cause chaos, causing him to become wanted. A stowaway of sorts on the TARDIS who ends up staying there permanently. Very well-versed in alien technology. Loosely fills the role of Jack Harkness.

Akutagawa Gin ( @tranquilsongs ): Acting captain of the time agency at the start of canon events. Angry at Scott’s percieved betrayal, she dedicates herself and her team to pursuing him no matter the cost.

Jono Saigiku ( @praevari ): A timelord under the influence of a chameleon arc, The Interrogator thinks he’s human at the start of the timeline. He’s one of the higher ranked officers in the Time Agency.

Suehiro Tetcho ( @asheard ): A human with incorporated cyberman parts, assigned to protect Jono at all costs. He’s the only person who is aware of Jono’s secret, and keeps said secret from him as per his orders.

Mushitaro Oguri ( @asheard ): The “cleaner” of the Time Agency, Mushitaro is in charge of fixing any messed-up timelines caused by time travelers. Tormented later by Edogawa Ranpo.

Sakaguchi Ango ( @tranquilsongs ): The supervisor of the quarantined prisoners of the time agency. Very, very tired.

Ayatsuji Yukito ( @asheard ): Prisoner of the time agency. Carrier of a highly contagious alien disease which kills people who come into contact with him within an hour.

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke ( @inkblccded ): Prisoner of the time agency. Host of a parasite which can fight or complete other tasks for him at the cost of years being taken off of his life.

Yumeno Kyusaku ( @tranquilsongs ): Prisoner of the time agency. The result of experimentation on hosting an alien creature that would cause hallucinations to whoever hurt the host.

Fukuzawa Yukichi ( @praevari ): The leader of Torchwood. Adoptive father of Edogawa Ranpo.

Edogawa Ranpo ( @inkblccded ): A half-timelord who doesn’t know it yet. Briefly met The Adventurer during an incident with cybermen, but wasn’t picked up by him until years later. VERY loosely fills the role of Amy. 

Tanizaki Jun’ichiro ( @deviantsbliss ): Ranpo’s best friend. Insists on coming along with him in the TARDIS, but honestly ends up being a fourth wheel.

Nikolai Gogol/The Fool ( @asheard ): A timelord driven crazy by the constant sound of drumming in his ears. He tries to take over the earth like twice but honestly don’t worry about it.

Ookura Teruko ( @deviantsbliss ): A Futurekind from the end of the universe. Kept as one of his special ‘pets’. Eventually rescued by the TARDIS crew.

Frances Scottie Fitzgerald ( @tranquilsongs ): Scott’s thought-to-be-dead daughter. Actually adopted by The Fool and warped so badly that she no longer recognizes Scott as her father. Eventually rescued by the TARDIS crew.

Nick Carraway ( @chiassosanctum ): Space lawyer. He’s just kind of there and also very tired.

Margaret Mitchell ( @asheard ): A human from earth who was dragged along by the TARDIS crew. She eventually loses her memories after briefly becoming half-timelord as a way to protect her. Loosely fills the role of Donna Noble.

Herman Melville ( N/A ): Margaret’s grandfather. One of the only people outside of his companions that The Adventurer respects enough to salute to. Loosely fills the role of Wilfred Mott.

John Steinbeck ( @giftandguile ): A tree person bounty hunter hired by the time agency to capture F. Scott Fitzgerald at the start of canon. Doesn’t like when people breathe near him, apparently.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft ( @deviantsbliss ): A mysterious immortal not even The Adventurer can figure out. He meets the TARDIS crew out of order and ends up marrying The Adventurer after the mortal members of the crew leave but again don’t worry about it. VERY loosely fills the role of River Song.

Lucy Maud Montgomery ( N/A ): Made on a planet at war out of Twain’s genetic material. Technically his daughter. Loosely fills the role of The Doctor’s Daughter. Ends up staying with the TARDIS crew.

Nathaniel Hawthorne ( N/A ): Honestly just there as an NPC. Future husband to Margaret after she loses her memories of the TARDIS crew.

BONUS: Mark Mitchell “Mitchy” Fitzgerald ( @asheard ): Half The Adventurer and half Margaret Mitchell. Lives a human life rather than a timelord life. Ends up left on earth by his timelord counterpart.

PART III: Important relationships.

The progression of relationships between each character at the beginning of the series is as follows:

The Adventurer, Louisa, Poe, and Fitzgerald: Initially began as a romance between the two pairs (Mark and Louisa + Poe and Fitzgerald), however they all end up in a relationship together. After the mortal crew leaves, The Adventurer leaves Mitchy behind because he’s human and can live and die with them, much to the [mixed reactions] of the former original TARDIS crew. The four of them end up getting married.

The Adventurer and Jono Saigiku/The Interrogator: Initially friends on Gallifrey, the Adventurer promised the Interrogator that he’d fix his blindness and get rid of the constant sound of his heartbeat after the latter was damaged by looking into the time vortex. It never happened because the Adventurer ran away, but they reconcile when Jono receives his timelord memories back.

The Adventurer and Edogawa Ranpo: First having met when Ranpo was a little kid, the two started off rough when the Adventurer broke his promise to come right back to bring him on the TARDIS. But, after a long while of traveling together and Ranpo choosing to stay on the TARDIS after becoming immortal, they see eachother as a sort of found family.

The Adventurer and Herman Melville: Melville is one of the people that the Adventurer would do anything to protect. Also close to the only person the Adventurer respects on that level.

The Adventurer and Howard Phillips Lovecraft: The latter was an enigma to the former at first, since they’d been having their meetings out of order. But soon, Lovecraft started to become someone who would occasionally help on their adventures. Even before the mortal crew left, the Adventurer was made aware that this was the person he ended up with. It wasn’t till after they left, though, that the Adventurer and Lovecraft had the event that would lead to them getting married. Lovecraft has since traveled with the Adventurer and the immortal TARDIS crew.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Akutagawa Gin: Scott was Gin and Ryuunosuke’s surrogate father since they were young, and as such they had an extremely close relationship. Scott’s eventual betrayal led Gin to dedicate herself solely to tracking him down. Their eventual reunion was rocky, but ended relatively happily.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ookura Teruko, and Frances Scottie Fitzgerald: After rescuing his not-daughter and his daughter from the Fool and a long process of getting them to realize that the Fool was bad, Scott came to see them both as children to him.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck: Steinbeck is trying to kill him. Scott takes every possible opportunity to annoy him. That’s really it.

Akutagawa Gin and Tachihara Michizou: This was one of the relationship conversations I don’t really remember, so I’ll try and sum it up as best as I can: Tachihara kept trying to comfort Gin during her time with the TARDIS crew and eventually it worked. I’m pretty sure they got together.

Jono Saigiku/The Interrogator, Suehiro Tetcho, and Edogawa Ranpo: Things started off with just Jono and Tetcho; Tetcho was always programmed to stay with Jono throughout everything. Ranpo only came into the picture after he was picked up by the Adventurer, purposely getting himself caught by the time agents literally so he could hold both of their hands, to which they responded with varying levels of confusion. Things escalated during the Pandorica; Tetcho was thought to have waited 2000 years alone for Jono, but Ranpo had become immortal after the Pandorica and gone back in time to wait with him. They’re in love.

Jono Saigiku/The Interrogator and Nikolai Gogol/The Fool: Jono is mostly unnerved because they both hear the constant sound of ‘drumming’. Mostly he doesn’t want to end up like the Fool.

Mushitaro Oguri and Edogawa Ranpo: Ranpo loves to annoy Mushitaro by leaving well-placed sticky notes throughout the messed up timelines. This is literally what led Mushitaro to quit his job and join Torchwood.

Ayatsuji Yukito, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, and Yumeno Kyusaku: The three of them spoke a lot, being prisoners in adjacent cells for a very long time. Eventually, because of reforms to the time agency, Ryuunosuke and Kyusaku are allowed to leave. Ayatsuji’s consciousness is put into a plastic double of himself (like Rory!) so he too can leave. Ayatsuji and Ryuunosuke are then gay and in love for pretty much all time with their child Kyusaku.

Fukuzawa Yukichi and Edogawa Ranpo: Fukuzawa loved Ranpo a lot. And then he decided to run off with a timelord without a word. Of course, that didn’t make him love Ranpo any less, it just made him worried. Sometimes the Adventurer will drop by so Ranpo can tell Fuku he’s still alive and okay and that he’s also kind of a timelord now.

Edogawa Ranpo and Tanizaki Jun’ichirou: Ranpo was Tanizaki’s lifelong friend and secret crush, but things between them slowly start to get more strained and distant, until Tanizaki decided to just leave the TARDIS with the rest of the mortal crew.

Nikolai Gogol/The Fool, Ookura Teruko, and Frances Scottie Fitzgerald: The Fool didn’t really hold any emotional attachment to either of the girls, viewing a former as a pet or a means for entertainment and the latter as a way to get a leg up on the TARDIS crew.