#i love sskk so much both individually and together

[im-still-watching-anime]

sskk makes me so sick like jesus christ can they stop being soulmates for two seconds so i can breathe

[himi-wiz]

Tags. Tags are absolutely right.

Don't get me wrong I find Dark Era Dazai's still an idiot who lacks the sympathy or patience to mould someone that's obstinate amd full of rawness properly as Akutagawa but there is no way he views his apprentice as a mere tool. His whole thing is he's the one that's no longer human compared to the rest of the world that clicks together in society.

Sorry friend I know you kin Aku but you're actually wrong about what he means to Dazai. Also I wasn't joking. This is literally me pointing and going "This is what Dazai said was his reasoning for why he trained him like that." This is an example of how Dazai feared Aku would treat all his problems when he first met him. I only worded it as a joke because I'm funny like that.

[mikayuumouse]

I really like how you talk about sskk, do you have any reviews about them?

It's super obvious that I love Sskk, and it's true, I do, I'm completely enamored by the ship and I love their relationship dynamic so much (I love Bsd for a plethora of reasons, such as the individual characters, plot, abilities, depictions of mental health, etc, not just sskk ofc, but sskk has always been something that's interested me a lot and it's my favorite ship) so I'd love to give some reviews!

I won't be able to name every reason or review on this ship lol I just have too many, but I'll try to list some of my favorites

I don't ship Akutagawa nor Atsushi with anyone else besides each other, because to me they're soulmates. I adore their symbolism of the yin and yang, Akutagawa being the yin (evil with a bit of good) and Atsushi being the yang (good with a bit of evil). I think they have a very unique duo concept while still fitting as the next generation of Double Black/Soukoku

Also I'll never get over how much they actually like and respect each other. They might bicker and argue, but they've only fought like, twice. The first time was their first meeting and they fought because they weren't personal enemies, they were organization rivals. Then the second time was Atsushi desperately trying to save Kyouka, and people seem to forget that in the beginning Atsushi didn't know his own strength. Until he became an Agency member he wasn't able to control his ability, and he couldn't even remember transforming

A *huge* thing for a view on Sskk's relationship is circumstance. In the main series of Bsd, Atsushi is told to stay away from Akutagawa because he's a Port Mafia member. He isn't told about Akutagawa's personality or who he is as a person, because why would he? He's simply the enemy (at that point in time). Basically, the whole reason they were so adverse to each other was because the only information they were given about each other was to hate each other

Akutagawa never truly hated Atsushi for who he *was*. He was told to dislike Atsushi, along with every single other Agency member. Akutagawa has said he doesn't hate Atsushi twice, once in the manga where he said "I only hated you for your good fortune," as he was jealous of Atsushi and how Dazai treated Atsushi. The second time was in the 55 Minutes light novel

I kinda rambled a lot, but all in all, Atsushi and Akutagawa have never *personally* hated each other. It's all circumstance. Look at BEAST, when Akutagawa and Atsushi meet, they meet at a cafe and have no idea who the other actually is. They get along easily and enjoy each other's company, relating to each other and talking comfortably. It just goes to show that they might clash but in the end, they go so well together and support each other

So that's my review on how they actually don't hate each other lol

I think Akutagawa does respect Atsushi, and vice versa. I think their relationship is something similar to "I wish you never came into my life, because now I can't live without you,"

It's fairly obvious that Atsushi mourned Akutagawa and replayed his death many times in his head after Akutagawa died at Fukuchi's hand. Atsushi might call Akutagawa annoying but he missed him, and even was able to quote Akutagawa's last words back at Akutagawa before dying for him. Atsushi even canonly feels safe around Akutagawa, because he trusts Akutagawa. He trusts Akutagawa won't try to (seriously) hurt him nor kill him (at least until the six months are up)

(actually, regarding that for a second, I highly doubt the promise will actually go through. Or at least they'll pretend to want to fight, and then one of them is going to fold and admit that they don't want to do the death match. They would [and did] literally both die for each other, they're not killing each other any time soon)

Anyways

Their trust runs deep, even if its unspoken. Akutagawa is basically completely vulnerable without his coat/Rashomon, yet he gives it to Atsushi because he *trusts* Atsushi to use Kokko Zessou (the Singularity of their abilities) properly

Also in Wan!, which is to some extent canon btw it's confirmed to just be an alternate chibi universe, Atsushi stalked Akutagawa for a bit to see if he truly wasn't killing anything and then proceeded to comically see Akutagawa not even kill a mosquito. So after he sees that Akutagawa is true to his word he buys some pork buns for Akutagawa and gives them to him as a gift. Akutagawa splits open the bag with Rashomon and takes the food and I just found it really sweet that Akutagawa took the food that Atsushi bought for him. I know it's just Wan! and it's all silly, but idk it warms my heart that he didn't just throw out the food that Atsushi got for him 😭 (btw this is Wan! episode 4/chapter 66) (and even if I'm wrong about Wan!'s canonical credibility, this is still one of my favorite sskk moments and I don't really take it that seriously lol)

Also, Akutagawa has stated that his reason to live is to get Dazai's validation, to have Dazai admit that he is indeed strong and worthy (in BEAST his reason for living was to find Gin). Akutagawa even says he doesn't fear death, but he fears dying before proving himself to Dazai. The thing is, I think Atsushi could become his new reason to live (I know how cheesy this sounds 🙏). Atsushi 100% recognizes Akutagawa as strong and capable, and I just really think that protecting Atsushi and fighting alongside him could be Akutagawa's new reason to live (or at least, *a* reason)

Also another point of how much Akutagawa trusts Atsushi (whether or not he wants to admit it) is that he told Atsushi about his lung condition. Akutagawa is obsessed with power because of how Dazai trained (abused) him. He wants and needs status and to be feared, Atsushi even calls him out for "killing just to look powerful". Why would he keep his lung condition a secret? Because sickness is *weakness.* He despises being seen as weak or defenseless, but with Atsushi? He knows Atsushi won't ever think he's weak. So he tells Atsushi (and inadvertently Fukuchi) about his lung disease, trusting Atsushi with the information

Okay so these are (some) of my reviews on their canon relationship and why I think they're so perfect for each other, and ofc I had more reasons and opinions about sskk (I swear I'm normal about them 😭), it's practically an endless list

Also I love every single depiction I've seen of domestic/no abilities au sskk. I know their relationship isn't necessarily soft, but it could be. The look Atsushi gave Akutagawa before turning into bubbles was very soft.

As a romantic couple, they would be wonderful for each other. They're literally the perfect balance, and I think it would be a healthy and loving relationship just with some (weightless) arguing. That's just their personalities lol

And I think no matter what universe they're in, they're still going to be connected to each other. In BEAST when Atsushi enters the cafe, Akutagawa takes immediate note of him although he looks comparatively normal. Akutagawa senses his strength and notices him. I think even if in a world where they've never met, if Atsushi walked past Akutagawa one day,Akutagawa would turn around to look at him, and vice versa. They're very intertwined and I adore that part of their relationship

Oh, and I'm not saying it's odd or specifically special that Atsushi cares about Akutagawa, after all he's kind and cares about many people like Kyouka, Dazai, Kunikida, Ranpo, etc. But Atsushi has *extreme* trust issues so the fact that he trusts Akutagawa along with caring about him really shows how different their relationship is. Also it goes to show that Atsushi doesn't view the world as black and white, and doesn't only like the "good guys" and hates the "bad guys". Atsushi cares about Akutagawa despite all of Akutagawa's sins and debatable flaws, because he *likes* Akutagawa. And Akutagawa caring about anyone ever is pretty unusual lol. Atsushi, Gin, and his friends from the slums who died might be the only people he actually gives a damn about (he hates Dazai)

Also I do think they have the potential to become canon, it's unlikely due to a bunch of different reasons (such as Bsd isn't a romance manga/anime), but if it did become canon, it would just make a lot of sense. Seeing them navigate their relationship together while also dealing with Fyodor, Amenogozen, The Book, etc and their own internal struggles would be extremely interesting. I just know Asagiri would write it wonderfully

Dear Lord I talk about them too much 😭 anyways thank you sm for asking this and I hope you like my reviews<333

[stuffdalpaca]

scattered thoughts on the new bsd episode because holy shit

-I don’t entirely agree with the idea that the anime as a whole is extremely rushed in terms of pacing but this episode in particular was. fast! lots of important things happening very fast! I heavily suspect this has to do with the studio wanting to end s5 on a somewhat concluding note so they had to rush through the manga content (‘manga content’ as in the stuff that hasn’t come out yet) to get to that point. so I expect the manga version will be a bit more detailed and slower paced which I’m excited to see.

-at the same time… I don’t think this arc’s quite over. first of all, fyodor isn’t staying dead. we still never learned about his ability or any of his other secrets that sigma read from him. he quotes jesus’s last words on the cross before dying give him three days he’s coming back you guys. it would be completely useless for sigma to reveal all his secrets and not even have that be important for his downfall. speaking of which! sigma isn’t dead either he passed out from information overload there was no blood in the manga fyodor's just lying or stupid. fukuchi also isn’t completely dead it seems since the post-credits have him coming back as a singularity to fight sskk or whatever the fuck! not even going to touch on that!

-I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing this in the manga to some extent but something I’d especially like more context for is teruko’s actions. it seemed like she felt very conflicted about fukuchi being a doa member and also upset to learn what happened to tachihara. since she gave atsushi the choice to go free despite telling him it wasn’t worth it, I suspected she would betray fukuchi and assumed that was what happened when I saw out of context spoilers that she had killed him. however, all of fukuchi’s actions were completely re-contextualized this episode and teruko only kills him because that’s what he wanted and fukuzawa couldn’t do it. I still like that she was the one to kill him, but we desperately need context on her motivations and her relationship with fukuchi to tie everything together, because otherwise all we got from her is that she’s in love with fukuchi and went along with his plan but was sad about it…because she’s in love with fukuchi.

-speaking of teruko something I want to see in this arc’s aftermath is the hunting dogs disbanding. regardless of their individual motivations and belief in justice their position is portrayed as overly violent and corrupt. fukuchi became a hunting dog despite hating war and the state so he could become all-powerful and almost end the world to prove that the system that allowed him to get so much power was corrupt... it only seems right to me that the hunting dogs disband or something along those lines.

-chuuya having faked being a vampire the whole time was such a lame plot twist I’m sorry. it doesn’t do anything new with skk and completely throws any emotional conflict they could’ve had out the window. at the very least I hope it gets re-contextualized and we learn that it wasn’t something they were both in on from the very beginning or something because if not that completely lessens the emotional impact of dazai’s flashbacks before he drowns chuuya or him entrusting everything to sigma and sacrificing himself. I’m so sorry skk fans I’m glad I’m not one of you

-again sigma isn't dead but is dazai just gonna leave him in there or

[karoochui]

Hello there Mika!! Your art is huge inspiration to me and I love it so much words can't explain it, I absolutely love your sketches, doodles, full art pieces, whatever you make I absolutely adore. Sorry for blabbing but just wanted to ask about things you really hate about sskk, like what the fandom does with the ship that you dislike?😭 Take care of yourself drink some water!💜💫

TW for sa mention!! Sorry but i ramble a bit here so im gonna add a cut!! (Plus the tw) Take care of yourself too and ill get some water right now actually😋

Okay firstly!! Hello!! Thank you so much!! And no worries no need to apologize its very sweet of you im so glad you like my art i really do appreciate it!! Thank you!

And its hard for me to say exactly? Im still very much into bsd but ive been distant with the fandom for a little while now BUT!! From what i remember what i usually didnt like was when people would make them so..two dimensional kinda?? BSD has pretty morally complicated characters and it was really weird when people would flatten sskk's personalities down to just some ship dynamic bc they are SOOO much more complicated than that. And thats just as INDIVIDUALS!! Even when considering them together theres a lot to think about when it comes down to their functionality, whether or not its viewed as romantic or platonic. And of course youre always gonna have those people who just water down any mlm ship into some weird dynamic that doesn't even fit the character's relationship which is just obviously Not Great.

And then as far as the characters individually i feel like a lot of people baby atsushi its really odd. Like that man has gone through some shit he is GROWNNN. I think its because hes the "softer" one out if the two or whatever. Which yeah he's nicer, its made clear akutagawa isn't a great person but atsushi isnt the exact opposite of akutagawa or the "softer" one. They're narrative foils of eachother, they mirror many of the other's character traits and atsushi has also done some Not Super Stellar shit. Do i think most of it was within reason? A little, considering what hes been through and exactly what he did. I do think he is the better person between the both of them - and i feel like thats also proven - but he is by NO means "innocent" or anything weird like that.

Then for akutagawa its really only that weird sa headcannon that originated from something he said in Beast (i can't remember exactly what, but i remember thinking it was NOT enough to warrant a hc like that. I remember that much). And as someone who's been through that a couple times i think its one thing if its some way to help someone cope or feel more seen (more specifically it isnt my business to cast judgement -unless it hurts them or someone else- and im no therapist), but i have seen people apply the headcannon simply because they say its "implied" or it "makes sense". Which, once again, as someone who's gone through that i think thats just. Weird. I dont like it. I personally try to stay away from any talk about it at all from anyone.

I also don't like when people make it seems like Atsushi has to save Akutagawa or something like hes some knight in shining moral armor. Its much more complicated than that and I could go further into this but it would be a whole rant about their characters and dynamic and itd go on FOREVER. So im just gonna say that akutagawa is also a grown man and knows well enough what hes doing with himself, even if its unhealthy (not that Atsushi is any better but lets be real no one is this show really is) and he wouldn't listen to atsushi if he didnt want to anyway. This part is really just personal opinion though, and i don't cast hard judgement on people who see them that way. Im not the type to care enough.

So yeah i guess it wasn't really hard to say at all LMFAO but otherwise i dont think ive had any other issues abt it?? I dont pay much attention to things i don't like anyway so im not easily bothered lol

But i hope this answered your question!! Plz lmk if i missed or misinterpreted something!! It was nice to talk about BSD again anyway though, ive missed it.

[franzsiska]

skk, sskk, and kkdz

soukoku

the ship is my: like the ex i had a messy break up with but still have feelings for

i consider this ship’s feelings: mutual | mixed | strange | awkward | platonic | sibling-like | one-sided | they don’t really like each other

i’d consider the relationship: healthy | awkward | abusive | doesn’t work properly (but that's the charm of it okay) | they’d never get together |

children: gOD no | yes | they’d think about it

general opinion: to elaborate on the messy break up thing lmao, skk was the first ship i got invested in when i first got into bsd and i loved them. sO much, honestly. over time, though, i had more and more shitty encounters with the fanbase of this ship and eventually i just.. let it go, i suppose?? also, like 90% of the content was tailored to popular preference, one i did not subscribe to. so. yeah.

shin-soukoku

the ship is my: little meow meow, i love them both sm

i consider this ship’s feelings: mutual | mixed | strange | awkward | platonic | sibling-like | one-sided | they don’t really like each other

i’d consider the relationship: healthy | awkward | abusive | doesn’t work properly (but they're trYING alright)| they’d never get together

children: no | yes | they’d think about it

general opinion: i've liked both atsushi and akutagawa individually since the start of the story but i didn't care much for this ship until the recent chapters, haha.

kunikidazai

the ship is my: comfort ship. they don't lend themselves to angst easily and i thank the stars every day for that bc damn do all dazai ships need to step back a little on the angst ;___;

i consider this ship’s feelings: mutual | mixed | strange | awkward | platonic | sibling-like | one-sided | they don’t really like each other

i’d consider the relationship: healthy | awkward | abusive | doesn’t work properly | they’d never get together

children: no | yes | they’d think about it

general opinion: the hurt/comfort of this ship is fucking exquisite, i can't get enough of it

send me a ship and i'll do this thing