#lethey's mailbox

[lethesomething]

Dazai and the ladies

Hey Nonny! Ooh, an excuse to talk about my favourite chapter in BSD! Don't mind if I do. So the scene you're talking about is this one, in the Double Black episode.

It's very much played for humour. Throughout the chapter, they're constantly dragging each other and this is like the one thing that actually seems to give Dazai pause for a moment. But how much truth is there in it? Now there's a question.

Dazai the flirt

Dazai is aggressively, vocally into women. It's one of the first things we ever learn about him.

I'm not, here, gonna go into whether or not the boy doth protest too much, but I don't think I will shock anyone by saying that he is, when it comes to women he doesn't know, an incredible flirt. He's seemingly forever trying to get in the pants of the waitress at their coffee bar, he lays it on super thick with clients, etc.

It's interesting to note here that most of that is an act.

For one, he only seems to do this to women that are not close to him. We, as readers/viewers, also know that he doesn't mean it. Any of it. He's probably already suspicious of Higuchi long before he decides to 'woo' her. The same for the waitress. He's not actually expecting her to go "Oh yes, random weirdo who hangs out here but rarely pays his tab, let's go drown ourselves together. It'll be romantic." We know Dazai as a highly intelligent man, who is very adept at reading moods. No way in hell would he be so unaware as to think his blunt flirtations would ever actually work.

Dazai the womanizer

So where does that flirt/womanizer idea come from? As you say, nonny, a lot of that is down to Dazai's real life counterpart.

!Historical Dazai ( born Tsushima Shüji) was a pretty tragic figure. He attempted, multiple times, to take his own life, several times in a 'double suicide' that cost the life of at least two young women, besides his own. To say that !Historical Dazai's history with women is painful, is to put it mildly. That stuff is straight messed up.

Now, it's tempting to think of !Maffia Dazai as reflecting the tragedies of !Historical Dazai. It's fairly obvious that the character is based on the writer, and !Maffia Dazai is certainly… broken enough. Whereas!Agency Dazai mostly jokes about the suicide thing, and has long since given up actually killing, !Maffia Dazai is shown as extremely nihilistic and just downright depressed. He is cold, and cruel, and just... really sad. I wouldn't put it past him to try and drown his sorrows in women, like he does in liquor. !Historical Dazai didn't only have several wives, he had a thing for prostitutes, hostesses and geisha's, which would fit neatly into the maffia persona. It is even possible that he ruined the lives of several of these women, the same way (or worse) as !Historical Dazai did. We are not shown evidence of this in the series (at this point), but it's certainly a possibility.

If you think of it that way, all those jokes of his do take on a decidedly dark turn. It's one thing to joke about your own death (we're on tumblr, people do it all the time), it's another to talk of double suicides if you've actually ruined a young woman's life. In that sense, Chuuya's threat is also incredibly bleak. The initial idea when you read that joke is the whole 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' thing, but in this situation, it would rip open some old wounds and guilt on Dazai's part.

But that is probably reading Too Much into what is essentially a good joke. Let's assume that Dazai, being a big shot mobster, had a whole bunch of flings with dancing girls or whatever, and that he dumped them like the troll he is.

Dazai the s/o

Headcanon time!

I think it's safe to say that !Agency Dazai is not the same man as !Maffia Dazai, or !Historical Dazai. Mentally, it seems to me as if Dazai is now in a better place, and the same goes for his relationships with the world around him. His general stance seems to be ‘don’t harm, care if you must, but troll the shit out of everyone’. Please note how much respect he has for Yosano, how he treats Naomi and Kyouka (once she's inducted). He deeply cares about these people, but he also trolls the shit out of them. The same pretty much goes for the likes of Maffia and Guild members, such as Chuuya, Kouyou, Akutagawa, heck, even Q. He ostensibly hates these people, but he's not about to truly hurt them. He just trolls the shit out of them. It is like this for pretty much the whole world. Dazai saves lives. It’s what he does, but he’s not exactly a gentleman about it. He protects, but he also trolls. 

So what this means for any s/o he may have, is that at the very least, they will be trolled on a near-daily basis.

The question is: would Dazai even have an s/o. I'm pretty big on the importance of healthy relationships, and I am also fairly certain that Dazai, in his current state, is incapable of having a healthy, loving relationship with any s/o. He cannot love another, because he friggin hates himself. It's gonna take a very long time to heal that. And I think Dazai, in his current state, is also wise enough to realize when a relationship isn't healthy, and to avoid it. He may be prone to flirtations, to flitting from one person to the next, to double suicides, even, but at this point he's also trying very hard to avoid those situations from ever happening. He claims, way near the start of the show, to want a death where there are no victims but himself. To do this, he builds walls around himself, even as he is with people that are close to him.

You can see that in the way he treats someone like Atsushi. He cares deeply about Atsushi, I truly believe this, he wants to guide him and watch him grow, he wants to give him important advice to help that boy heal his wounds, but at the same time, he keeps his distance (see that 'i'm not into guys' thing up there). His first instinct in any situation is to push people away, to gloss it over with a joke.

He'd do the same thing if he were to actually fall in love.

If he does, as you put it, find that special someone, I believe he wouldn't even make a move until he's a hundred percent certain that he can control all his urges, can keep himself in check, so that No One Gets Hurt. Dazai the character may be based on Tsushima, but he's actively trying to avoid living the same life. He’s a that point in his life where he’s looking for atonement, he’s trying to make up for the hurt he caused, not make more. So unless he meets someone who is ok with open relationships, I doubt he’d cheat on them. He's a troll, but he's not heartless. The last thing he wants is another notch on his belt, another life ruined. Especially if it's someone he truly cares about.

PS: I did a profile on Dazai a while back, that is Even Longer and goes deeper into some of his personality.

[lethesomething]

Heya! I've been recently stumbling on posts hypothesizing that Aizawa might be very well on his way to reach his breaking point (especially in the light of chapter 162). I think your analyses are really cool, so I wanted your two cents on the topic and on the possibilities of character development afterwards. Have a nice day!!

Ok, first of all, sorry for answeringyou this late. I… straight up forgot this ask was still in myinbox.Secondly, manga spoilers ahead, since we’re talking currentsetting Aizawa, and beyond.

But anyway.

Is Aizawa about to reach his breaking point?

I can totally see that happening, yes.

One of the major things, that comesback in several of the ‘true hero’ characters of BnHA, is selfsacrifice. Dying for the cause is unfortunately very common, andbreaking yourself, even if you don’t actually die, is also common.Think of All Might, Midoriya, Lemillion, you name it. Aizawais definitely on that list. He canonically lost some of his quirkpower in that villain pile-up, when Shigaraki invaded UA. It would behighly unrealistic if he didn’t, to be honest. The noumu pretty muchsmashed him to bits. Will he lose more? Sadly, I think it’slikely. One: he’s relatively fragile, compared to some of the other heroesTwo: because of his positionand quirk, he’s a target. One that also has a tendency to jumpstraight into danger to protect his the children. Since part of theseries’ theme is replacing the old guard with the new, I can onlyhope that he’ll be given the option to calmly retire, with his coffeeand his cats. (I absolutely refuse to think of Aizawa actually dying thankyouverymuch)

What would post-hero Aizawa look like?

I’d like to imagine he’d calm down and enjoy life, maybe pick upreading or something, but HAHA no. This man is a workaholic. Like…a terrible, terrible workaholic, on the level of All Might,almost.If he’s forced to retire, the deep dark hole he falls intowill be deep and destructive for his self-worth. He’d have a hard time accepting it at first. I’m talking lengthy drinking sessions and complaining to Present Mic, maybe impromptu therapy from Midnight. But he would, I believe, accept it. Eventually. He’s smart enough, and stable enough, to realize when his time has come. He’s seen plenty of heroes come and go in the ten odd years that he’s been in the business. One of the things he tries to teach his students is how hard heroing is, and how sometimes it’s better to give up the dream.

So here’s my theory, in a best casescenario (in which he doesn’t, like, become an alcoholic orsomething).He’d stay a teacher, I think. Atthe very least. The man has tremendous amounts ofexperience, and an immense level of technical ability. Hand-to-handcombat, strategy, even if his quirk no longer works, and his bonescreak, or if he’s in a wheelchair, he’d be an amazing sensei. It’s a job, also, in which he can still make a difference.With the added bonus that maybehe’ll sleep more than two hours a night.

But who are we kidding. I think he’dstill do hero stuff. Probably more on the research and logistics side. A lot ofplanning and strategizing and gathering of intel is involved in someof the bigger raids heroes do, and you probably can’t stop him fromassisting in that stuff if you wanted to.Think of him as theOracle to Midoriya’s Shinsou’s Batman or something.He’d be willing to accept his own physical limitations, because he’s always done that, but he’ll also try to go beyond that (Plus Ultra) and still save people. In whatever capacity he can.

Aizawa’s main character trait is thathe cares. About young heroes, and about shaping them andpreparing them for the future. About people and keeping them safe.He’s a mentor, and as long as hebreathes, I think that’s what he’ll stay.

[lethesomething]

Heya Nonny,

hmm, I don’t know enough about current Japanese society to comment here, but you do have a good point. It’s worth noting that it’s rather weird that these kids go through ridiculous amounts of possibly traumatising experiences, and the best they seem to get (that we are shown, at least) is a hug from All Might or a shoulder pat from Aizawa.

This isn’t to say that people don’t care. Aizawa is canonically Concerned about Bakugou’s mental state, but no one is being sent to the counsellor or anything. Like. Several people are officially worried about this boy, including his mother and All Might, and there’s not a psychologist in sight.

[lethesomething]

Your thoughts on shigaraki's possible redemption? his background makes me think. Grandson of a hero and raised by said hero's enemy to fight against everything she stood for. It's especially tragic from nana's view. She gave up her child to spare them the pain of a hero's life but then shigaraki's situation happened.

Heya Nonny,

Hmmm. I don’t think the way Shigaraki is set up at this point in the manga, gives much leeway for a redemption arc. Right now he’s the main antagonist. He is a mirror for Midoriya. The successor of All for One, with Midoriya being the successor of All Might/One for All. I agree with you that his back story is friggin tragic, but a tragic past alone doesn’t absolve you from your actions. A redemption arc would require a number of things.1. He’d have to feel sorry. Somehow see the error of his ways. But this guy seems to be enjoying himself just fine as a villain. His character is not a ‘I do this because I must’ type deal. He relishes in evil. 2. Someone would have to take over as Big Bad. This is basic story logic, but there needs to be a main antagonist. Redemption arcs are good for the pawns that get defeated along the way. Shigaraki only acts like a pawn. He really isn’t one. He wasn’t one for Chisaki, and with All for One gone, there is no one above him. I don’t see either of those as happening any time soon.

There’s a few people within the League of Villains, that do have potential for a redemption arc: 1.Twice: that boy has a lot of problems, my friends, but he doesn’t really seem like that awful a guy? Someone help him. 2. Spinner: the one that is legitimately questioning Shigaraki’s motives. The true Stain fanboy. It’ll be very interesting to see how they handle him once it becomes clear that LoV aren’t really in it to bring about True Heroes.3. And finally, this may very well be wishful thinking on my part: Dabi. Granted, that’s mostly because of the Todoroki rumours. I would love to see an arc where he bonds with Shouto, but I fear that this guy is a troll who gives zero fucks. Also his kill count is pretty high. Higher than Shigaraki, in personal murders committed. There’s that. So probably just Spinner :D

[lethesomething]

About twice possible redemption. Yeah he needs help and there was this guy in the eight precepts called toya setusno who tried to commit suicide but was saved by a hero but he fell even harder? Like mental help where is it? Because mental health issues can lead to crime if left unchecked.

Heya nonny,

I agree with you that BnHA could use some… health professionals. This series has Gotham levels of super powered mental patients running around. It kinda feels, and I’m wildly speculating here, like society has dropped everything to deal with the quirk thing.Canonically, technology advancement pretty much came to a standstill when quirks showed up. Like… the show plays some time in the future, they should at least have self driving cars or something. But instead, they have people who can fly or turn into sand. I have a feeling that advancements in medical treatment have taken a similar turn, especially when it comes to the downtrodden. In some cases medicine seems to have even regressed. The nomus, the thing keeping All for One breathing, it’s all weird tubing and stained metal. That’s Cold War era medicine right there.Partly this is, of course, an aesthetic thing. It makes for some Very Powerful image (like holy crap that first panel with Nighteye in 161 blew me away), but the underlying idea is that if you don’t have one of the super rare healing heroes, you’re probably in trouble. They’re relying too much on people such as Recovery Girl. Why would they spend a lot of money trying to advance bone fracture healing when someone can just go ‘poof’.And in a society that’s racing to even get with current levels of scientific advancement, you can imagine what would happen to people who, like Twice, appear to suffer from quirk related mental health issues. All the research grants are going to flashy stuff. Gene splicing, trying to keep small children from accidentally disintegrating their parents or classmates when they first manifest, that kind of thing. I imagine no one actually cares about a few poor luckless bastards who could use some decent psychologist. (I still want to hug him tho)

[lethesomething]

Lethy! Your phenomenal BSD things and theories brought and kept me here... clearly you're intricate and intelligent. The fact that you love Ikemen Sengoku....you made my day >..

Oh dear nonny,

you have no idea how much I snorted at the ‘Intellectual Mature Type’ comment.*ahem*But I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog stuffs :DAnyway: otomes. Yeah I’m kinda enjoying this a lot. I swear Hatoful is like a gateway drug, where’re you’re all ‘oh i’ll try it cause it’s silly’, but then you end up liking the whole story system.I didn’t even know Mitsunari was an option. So I guess you unlock dudes? Is that how it works? I’m honestly still trying to figure out what the difference between the Romantic and the Dramatic route is. I figured it would be like ‘bad ending’ and ‘good ending’, but it seems to be more like ‘this one is pure fluff’ and ‘this one has angst also’ or something. If someone knows about these things, feel free to give me a (preferably spoiler free) explainer.

[lethesomething]

How about grey scenarios for bnha since the characters are complex enough to not be so simple. Would they sacrifice a love one if it means hundreds more will survive? Would they kill somebody on orders of the government, would they let a criminal go if that criminal's reason can be justified and sympathize.

Heya Nonny,

Not sure if you’re asking me for scenario’s, but yes, that’s the sort of thing I see happening. That first one is literally a plot point in Batman the Dark Knight :), but the subject of mercy is probably going to be raised. I don’t think any actual villains have been Killed yet, despite the ridiculous circumstances of these fights, but imagine Bakugou making his first actual kill. I know he says it a lot, but I don’t actually think he wants to end lives. Imagine the poor kid dealing with that, even if it was more an accident than anything else.Imagine, also, Todoroki coming up in a fight against Dabi and *recognizing* him. That sort of thing. It’s a little dark, and some of it, depending on how it’s handled, might be Too Dark, but we’ve seen this manga go into some very gloomy directions already.

[lethesomething]

hi, i just need you to know that ever since we read your theory on who the traitor is for bnha, my girlfriend have exclusively referred to kan as "the vampire who did it"

Ahahahaha. Oh god that’s awesome. Thanks for telling me @prettylittlepasha. This made my day.

[lethesomething]

you're watching natsume yuujinchou!!! im so happy! welcome to the fandom! there's six seasons and a manga, so have fun!!!

Hiya @caiahat!

Thank you thank you :)I honestly didn’t know just how long it was when i started this, but so far I’m really enjoying it. I watched like five episodes in a row, which is usually a good sign. It has a grumpy fat cat and a cute also grumpy boy and the way it’s set up kinda reminds me of a funnier take on Mushishi? But anyway, yeah. This appears to be that thing I need in my life right now.

[lethesomething]

Mailbox time

Because you guys are awesome.

Thank you so much :) It’s really heart-warming to see people liking my fics :)

Hiya nonny! thanks for your note! Pretty much all my free time is currently taken up by a fic I foolishly turned into a daily, but I’ll be back on the meta train as soon as I emerge from Aizawa hell, I promise ;)

Thank you @transparent-paper, I swear, BnHA is just? so? good? for meta? There’s a lot of depth there for something that is basically shounen Harry Potter with Superheroes. I love the characters so much.

[lethesomething]

Mailbox time

Just gathering these because a) you guys are super sweet and I really appreciate and read every message, I hope you realize this but b) i get super awkward and blushy when faced with compliments, so i need to mentally prepare for answering them.

Thank you! I will.

Aizawa is a god among men and I hope he knows I love and adore him.

Thank you @ani-isnt-okay,

I’m glad so many people seem to enjoy them. And since a few of you asked about Midoriya and Kirishima, I’ll show you guys a glimpse of the Hoard, aka the stash of random bits and thoughts in my OneNote that will eventually become meta posts.

[lethesomething]

I just read your theories about Prince Lotor's age and i am shook, like you know that Oprah gif where she closes the book and looks at the other person like "um, YES?"?? that was me! that was a very very interesting and impressive analysis! nice!

Hiya nonny,

Ehehe. Thanks. Overanalyzing things. It’s what I do :)

[lethesomething]

^_^ You’re welcome! And thanks :)

Mmmm, eight? I have five unfinished ones currently sitting in my mailbox. Which is almost that point where I get a little antsy. I’m taking my time with them this time, since I don’t want to burn out.

[lethesomething]

Just wanted to say I really admire your work along with how you have the motivation to write so much. It really makes me want to become better, so thanks for the inspiration man.

Hi Nonny,

aww thank you. That means a lot to me, and I’m glad to be of service :D

[lethesomething]

Mailbox update

Hello, hi,

I’m back from a hiking trip in which I tried very hard to stay away from the internets. My legs hurt like hell but my mind is a bit clearer now.

So while I deal with my attention starved cats, let’s answer your pm’s! Sorry for taking so long. I’ll put them under a cut because I took too long and now there’s a few to answer. 

hi @melonaoh,

oh god I love that icon.  First up: thank you :)

And dear lord that Kageyama profile has been so long in the works :(

I’ve written about him a lot already (you can check his posts in the tags), since he is one of my favourites. To the point where I kinda fear that any profile of him will turn into a small novel. So, uh, yes, Kageyama should come at some point in the future, once I learn how to pace myself. He’s definitely on my to-do list (hurhur).

Hi nonny,

thanks! I’m glad you like my blog, but please don’t hide in my bushes at night?

You know, I never thought about those two! Terushima probably deserves one, tbh, as does Daishou. Their team dynamic is even pretty cool. You’re giving me ideas, nonny.

Hi nonny,

so, uh, Ushijima and Tendou are probably next on my character analysis list? Ushiwaka because he’s been kindof a misrepresented character in a lot of the fandom, and Tendou because, dude, he’s Tendou. He went from ‘holy crap he’s annoying and evil’ to ‘holy crap he’s awesome’ in my head.

The reason they don’t already have one is that I’ve been waiting for season three of the anime. They should be featured rather heavily in that and I want to see how they’re portrayed there (and take colour screenshots). But yes. Consider this an official confirmation.

I’m going to have to really get into team profiles, it seems.

Hi @hufflestnerd

aw, you’re so sweet! Thank you :)