#like first the akutagawa/rashoumon reference in that one atsushi line and now this??

[chuuyadelune]

so the other day i read the beggar student (a short story) by osamu dazai and was struck by the resemblances to BSD's first chapter/episode that it has?? like it's genuinely crazy. here's the gist of what i'm talking about (*spoiler warning, please scroll if you don't want to see!*)

struggling author (also named osamu dazai) meets struggling student at the side of a river bank. said student is swimming/drifting down the river

dazai decides to 'save' the student bc he thinks he's drowning

student chews him out for being stupid like that after dazai trips and falls

one thing turns to another and then they go for lunch at a teahouse together (yes, a teahouse lol. no chazuke though)

dazai can barely pay for their food/tea bc he's broke

later they go drinking with one of the student's friends, who happens to be kind of uptight and serious (this one is a stretch but i'm including it anyway)

there's a lot of references to classic literature/philosophy all throughout

that's a very brief, crude summary of all the references i could pinpoint. the rest of this story goes by quite quick (it's only about 96 pages in all, and this was like, the first 20 pages or so? hints for the rest of the short story: there's school uniforms, beer, and long-winded speeches). but still. reading this all actually had my jaw on the floor, because what do you mean that the events of the first half of chapter one of bungo stray dogs is an osamu dazai reference. like surely this is not all just coincidence.

in conclusion: asagiri is a madman. the literary references go crazy. what else am i missing. i need to read more

(i've put some excerpts of the story below the break! frankly the interactions between fictional dazai and this student are hilarious)

pages 8-9:

page 20:

the excerpts are all from the recent translation by sam bett!

[violets-arepurple]

Sskk headcanons that are probably ooc because I'm in the need for soft things once more

Akutagawa likes to stroke through/pet Atsushis hair when they're cuddling

This is perfect for Atsushi as he do be having those cat like tendancies

Whilst Akutagawa does have money he tends to keep the expensive gifts and meals to the house were Atsushi can't see price tags as he worries that Atsushi may feel inadequate

When they do have dates it tends to be somewhere more lowkey due to their mutual dislike of crowded areas and the fact that Akutagawa is a wanted criminal regardless of how unlikely it is for him to be arrested

Preferred date spots include aquariums, botanical gardens, little tea shops, or Akutagawas place

They rarely go to Atsushis place because it's at the agency and Dazai once made a joke about making sure they keep the door open

They hold hands a lot Akutagawa has really cold hands because he's basically a sickly victorian orphan and Atsushi runs quite warm so together they make the perfect temperature

If they're somewhere secluded Akutagawa will lift their hands up so he can kiss Atsushis hand

I feel like he read some old fashioned courting books, applied some common sense and is trying his best

Atsushi usually goes for cheek kisses

When given the choice Atsushi prefers to sleep with things around him because anything else reminds him of how empty the cage is so if he's sharing a bed with Akutagawa he'll often times get Akutagawa to sleep on top of him

Akutagawa also brought extra pillows even if he completely denies it

Akutagawa also wraps rashoumon around them like a weird mix between a weighted and heated blanket

They have nights were they sit and trace eachothers scars and feel any emotions they need to without fear of judgment

Atsushi still transforms on the full moon Akutagawa was kind of freaked out the first couple of times because the tiger is overwhelmingly powerful and just didn't tell Atsushi about it

Now he's just kind of accepted that he may sometimes wake up in bed with a giant glowing tiger, with the tiger making sure he goes back to sleep

He informed Atsushi of this by asking him if he wanted to see a cute cat video and then sending him a video of himself as the tiger

Atsushi hasn't quite gotten over it or the fact that Akutagawa has a collection of video and pictures of himself and the tiger but he's never quite felt so loved

Something about the tiger being loved hits different when everyone else in his life treats him as threat

I feel like Akutagawa refers to Atsushi as 'my love' if it's just them two or something equally sappy

Atsushi is one of two people who call Akutagawa by his first name, the other being Gin

Speaking of Gin she and Atsushi get on great, they are slightly the bane of Akutagawas existence

They have eachothers contacts as brothers boyfriend and boyfriends sister respectively, they find themselves hilarious

It took a long time for them both to process Dazais past and present respectively but they're getting there

Akutagawa depends on him a bit less and Atsushi doesn't idolise him as much and they're getting towards a healthy balance

The first time Akutagawa took rashoumon of around him was when Atsushi fell asleep at the table writing reports in an effort to stay up and wait for Akutagawa to get home and woke up with rashoumon around his shoulders whilst Akutagawa was making dinner across the room

It was a massive display of trust on Akutagawas part and Atsushi has vowed never to break that trust

Atsushi display of trust came in telling Akutagawa everything that happened at the orphanage

They've briefly discussed marriage (this is further down the line) and Atsushis happy to become an Akutagawa as Nakajima as a family name means little to him

I like to think they eventually get a little black and white cat that gets spoiled rotten

They're in love your honour