#i'm also terrified of getting involved in fandom but alas afdshfkjdhdkjh

[maerrine]

I just read another fantastic post that among other things, talks about the parallels between Sigma and Chuuya (I’ll likely reblog it in a moment) and it made me want to talk about them. So. 

I speed-read the bsd manga in like a day and one of the first things that struck me when Sigma showed up is actually how similar he was to Chuuya, and how many parallels they had! It actually made me start shipping them really strongly despite them not having had any actual interactions with each other yet, but this post isn’t about shipping, so. I’ll put that aside for now.

Lots of people have talked about it already but the first obvious parallel is the way they both have a very nebulous relationship with their own humanity. Chuuya and Arahabaki; Sigma being born from the book... they’re also both lacking childhoods to some extent as well, Sigma most of all. So they have similar backstories.

But more important is the way they’re both looking for a place to belong - and that they’re continuously being used by others. Chuuya is used by the sheep and the mafia, Sigma has been used by pretty much everyone his entire life... and this is imo consciously acknowledged by the author especially in the prison break arc at the moment. Chuuya and Sigma are literally paralleled as being the “pawns/pieces” of Dazai and Fyodor’s plans, playing almost identical roles on opposing sides, and I think that that’s done on purpose. Of course, as it turns out, Dazai isn’t only using Sigma for his power, whereas Fyodor very much sees Chuuya as nothing more than a tool, so there’s a key difference there, too...

I’ve been thinking about the differences between them too, though, and one thing that struck me was - Chuuya tolerates and accepts being used, where Sigma rejects it. Chuuya genuinely seems to be comfortable with his role in the mafia and doesn’t even really hold a grudge against the sheep for using and betraying him earlier. In contrast, Sigma is desperately fighting so that he won’t be used by other people anymore - this is a little muddied in that he did go along with Fyodor’s plans in order to get a home, and was letting himself be used in that sense, but right now in canon he’s completely turned against Fyodor and has made it very clear that he intends not to be manipulated anymore.

I’d honestly really like to see some fic that played with those differences and similarities between them a bit. Like maybe Sigma realizing how similar they are, and trying to push Chuuya to stop accepting the ways he’s used by other people?? On the other hand, Chuuya seems to have found a home in the mafia as well, or at least believes he has, whereas Sigma is still searching, so that’s another thing that could be touched on as well.

Idk. I know I’m just repeating what a lot of people have already said so maybe this post is pointless otl, but. I’m really excited for them to finally meet in canon, because there’s so much potential between them that could lead to some really cool stuff!

Tl;dr sigchuu is superior >:)