#it's certainly a ramble - i have been activated by the magic word which is chuuya

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

since chuuya was under koyo for a while, do you think he also got the ye olde "flowers thrive in darkness bla bla bla the world of light is meaningless etc". because its...sorta perfect to like, kinda instill the fact that he belongs in the mafia (or the world of "dark") so id imagine hearing the detective from sb saying he wants to bring chuuya to the "world of light" mustve meant a lot to him, only to lose that man moments later because of verlaine (which, interestingly enough, is similar to how koyo lost the man who was going to escape pm with her- to the world of "light")

Anon I love the paralleling here.

You know, I've often wondered what kind of influence Kouyou had on Chuuya. The only thing we know for certain is that she had him sit in on negotiations, and in the main manga, Chuuya is sent to negotiate with the Agency, so suffice to say, he must've learned well from her.

But you know, I think there was never any need for Kouyou to be so explicit about her "flowers that bloom in the dark can only thrive in darkness" belief, mostly because even by Stormbringer with the offer from Murase, Chuuya didn't think he was worthy of such a thing as joining the world of light. I believe much of that had to do with his doubts about his humanity, but even by the end of the story - Who helped Chuuya? Who defended him? It was the Mafia. And Kouyou was there too (ironically looking down on Verlaine's behaviour when... that's almost exactly what she tried to do to Kyouka...). In his mind, these people fought for him, so he stays and protects them. That's just the way Chuuya's mind works.

See, even if nothing was stated directly, undercurrents of a belief like that probably would've been present in her actions and the form her guidance took. There would only be certain types of advice she would give - because those are the only options available for people like them, stuck in the dark and there to stay.

Thing is, both Chuuya and Kouyou have this interesting sense of loyalty where they stay with the Mafia in part because they have something to protect - Chuuya cares for the people within the organization as they are his family, while Kouyou refuses to let the Mafia return to the ways of the old boss and protects Mori specifically for that reason. However, another huge drive behind their loyalty is, I think, simply because they believe they have nowhere else to go.

I also think it's interesting to note that the two act wildly differently only around one specific character who reminds them of themselves in some way - namely Kouyou sees herself in Kyouka and tries to shield her (but not really seeing Kyouka as her own person in that sense and assuming she knows best for her), while Chuuya sees himself uncomfortably in Dazai and is furious about it (so he tries to be everything Dazai isn't, in a sense).

It's interesting because typically Kouyou is very logical and an expert in negotiation (honestly I think she's the only reason Mori gets anything done sometimes... she's like, one of only two functioning executives and the only one to call him out on his bullshit). But when Kyouka is around, she becomes incredibly shortsighted and actually commits a serious faux-pas in negotiation - which is when one becomes unwilling to see other options (think it's called the "fixed pie"... I can't remember). She's trying to save Kyouka but not really - Kouyou is actually trying to save herself, but that endeavour is hopeless, in her mind, so it manifests as this urge to just keep her with her.

And with Chuuya, he's typically quite rational as well. Sure, he prefers to punch his problems whenever possible, but he's no fool. He's also quite surprisingly empathetic - he'll lay a beatdown on anyone but he also really gets people and respects them as human beings - it's a really notable aspect of his character. But Dazai? Dazai makes him lose it. He refuses to consciously empathize with Dazai - precisely because, as I've described in previous posts, they are so similar at their cores that he does understand him - and that's deeply uncomfortable because Chuuya does not want to be like that, or rather, Chuuya does not want to admit that there are sides to him that are like that. He rebuffs Dazai, often quite violently. But then he also worries for him. But then he thinks Dazai can handle himself. I've mentioned this before too but Chuuya's self-concept is deeply screwed up. He's not protective of his foil like Kouyou is with hers - Chuuya does not include himself in his self-appointed duty of protection.

The tragic thing about both of them is they are both people who lost their childhoods and were forced to protect themselves. So, when they are offered the bare minimum of support or safety, they feel as though that is something worth protecting, or even something to feel grateful for.

In many other series, this would likely be a heartwarming thing. In the context of these characters, it's tragic.

They can leave at any time. But unless something significantly changes, they never will.

Anyways, think I kind of derailed a bit from your original ask anon (sorry about that) but yeah I absolutely agree that losing someone immediately after just hearing that they believe in your potential must have been horrible, on top of everything Chuuya was going through already, and I do suspect his trajectory might've been different if Murase had lived, much like Kouyou's would've been drastically different if her and that man had've succeeded in escaping, and how Kyouka's was because of Atsushi.

@originalartblog has a Murase design and some comics with him that are wonderful and make me feel bittersweet emotions; I highly recommend you check them out anon, if you haven't already!