#I knew Kyouka will survive it was too obvious

[caffeinatedseri]

The Strength of Selfishness

Each character in BSD has a degree of selfishness or selflessness in themselves, but the way this concept is executed opens discussion on the nuance of “selfishness,” or specifically the flaws in believing selfishness is an inherently bad trait.

Atsushi

Atsushi fits the description of selflessness, but I’d argue that he’s actually more selfish than he thinks he is (keeping in mind that being selfish isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

Akutagawa points out how Atsushi will needlessly risk his life in order to protect others, which sounds like a pretty heroic act, but it comes with a cost. Atsushi isn’t invincible, especially at this point in the story when he hasn’t fully mastered his ability, but his insistence on protecting others puts him in constant danger.

At the end of the day, Atsushi would have a greater chance of surviving many of the dangerous situations he puts himself into if he was more selfish by protecting himself before others.

However, Atsushi is also somewhat selfish in his motivations for acting so virtuously. 

Once again, Akutagawa points out how Atsushi only acts this way because of his deeply rooted belief that he has to risk his life for someone else in order to give his life value. You could argue that Atsushi only saves others as an attempt to prove to himself that he’s worthy, an inherently selfish motive. If Atsushi actually died, he would be endangering the people he could save in the future.

Selfishness also includes self-centeredness. Particularly with Akutagawa, Atsushi’s tendency to focus solely on himself becomes especially noticeable. Atsushi constantly doubts himself and his strengths; he also ignores his privileges and the struggles of others, particularly when he can’t completely understand them — hence why he views Akutagawa so harshly but sees Kyouka and Lucy as people who need to be saved. 

Despite all of this, Atsushi still creates a positive impact in other people’s lives. His innately selfish motivation is what drives him to protect others, and he ultimately succeeds in doing that (case in point Kyouka and Lucy again). 

Akutagawa

Akutagawa is pretty similar to Atsushi in how his past led to his inevitably selfish motives, but his manifests in a different way. 

Akutagawa has to be selfish to protect himself, due to a mix of his past prior to joining the mafia and Dazai’s teachings that collectively reinforced the belief that if he’s weak, he can’t survive.

This results in Akutagawa taking other people’s lives, a direct contrast to how Atsushi saves others, in order to prove his worth as a strong individual that deserves to live. However, this sentiment narrowly crosses the line of hypocrisy when Akutagawa does the very same thing that he criticized Atsushi for: looking for value in his life through other people.

Akutagawa also unnecessarily risks his life in order to prove his strength, which is arguably more dangerous and selfish than what Atsushi does. 

When Akutagawa fights Hawthorne, he practically eggs on Hawthorne to kill him, or at the very least fight with the intent to kill. Akutagawa was also injured before entering this fight, so running away would’ve been all the more reasonable than continuing to fight.

Drawing another parallel to Atsushi, Akutagawa has that very same resolve of risking his life unnecessarily to prove his worth. 

It’s undeniable that Akutagawa has killed many people — which is arguably extremely selfish — and loss of life really isn’t something that I want to push as morally correct. However, I would like to push the idea of redemption: finding a way to escape this messy lifestyle. I sincerely doubt that the incessant cycle of killing is any good for Akutagawa, or that it’s the life that he wants to have. 

With Atsushi and Akutagawa, both of their character arcs will develop accordingly to this balance of selfishness and selflessness.

Ranpo

Ranpo is characterized in a slightly selfish way, but this mindset comes with good reason (relating to Ranpo’s past). 

When Atsushi was kidnapped, Ranpo places priority on protecting the agency. If he were to meddle with Atsushi’s problem, which was technically a personal issue, then the agency as an organization would be put at risk. This isn’t necessarily a “wrong” mindset, but it is self-centered.

Of course, this is one of many examples to showcase Ranpo’s arrogance, but his arrogance is actually a form of self-protection. 

“So his father knew, after all. He understood that Ranpo possessed an extraordinary gift. He knew his son had the special ability to observe, remember, and uncover the truth in the blink of an eye. That was why he sealed it away. He didn’t want Ranpo to go astray, to ever hurt others and make the world his enemy.  His father wanted Ranpo to learn virtue and what’s right just like any ordinary person until he had grown up with good judgment and knowledge.” —  LN 3, “The Untold Origins of the Detective Agency”

Before Ranpo met Fukuzawa, he was just a young, lost boy who didn’t recognize his extraordinary talents. His parents taught him to be modest to allow him to develop as a normal person, but he never truly understood who he was in comparison to other people because he was orphaned at a young age.

Thus, Ranpo had to embrace his superiority, in an albeit dramatic way, in order to accept the world and himself. If he believed that people weren’t as intelligent as him, then he wouldn’t have to hate himself for feeling like an outsider to a world he doesn’t understand. 

Similarly to Akutagawa, Ranpo’s selfishness isn’t born out of hatred or negligence for others, it’s simply a survivalist instinct. 

Dazai

Dazai’s case is a little trickier to define, but I feel that he’s changed a decent amount throughout the series. I’ve seen some people argue that Dazai only helps others because of Oda’s dying wish, which would make his motivations for doing so inherently selfish. This rings true for Dazai before becoming a part of the agency, but I’d say he’s changed a lot just from interacting with the other agency members.

Dazai’s shown to be capable of the selflessness that involves risking your life for others, but because he’s Dazai, he’s most likely never going to actually die (he has taken necessary precautions to make sure he doesn’t die like in Dead Apple). In this case, Dazai was willing to risk his life for intel from Fyodor, similar to how he got captured by the PM intentionally for intel on Atsushi.

What he says here is especially important: “Certainly, people are sinfully stupid. But what’s so wrong about that?” The Dazai that was once isolated from others, that lacked a sense of direction and purpose in life, has grown one step closer to finding that purpose.

It’s no secret that character to character relationships have a big impact on everyone in BSD, but it’s especially relevant for Dazai who’s growth comes from learning about human nature. He and Fyodor both share a level of super intelligence that ostracizes them from the rest of society, which consequently makes them incapable of understanding other people.

Dazai’s statement here just shows how he’s willing to look past people’s mistakes — yes, they may be sinful and/or stupid, but that’s just a part of human nature.

And in this case, he acts in a stupid way by risking his life for someone else. Yes, it may be stupid, but this selflessness is also a part of being human.

I’d also like to add that Dazai was somewhat selfish in leaving the PM so suddenly after Oda’s death. As an executive, he undoubtedly had some responsibilities to handle, and not to mention Chuuya who was dragged into the mafia because of him in the first place. However, leaving the mafia was ultimately better for his development, and you could argue that the PM is doing just fine with Mori remaining as the leader. Thus, Dazai is another example of how selfishness isn’t harmful in nature.

Mori

On the topic of Mori, he’s a character who outright acknowledges his selflessness as a necessity for the mafia’s advancement.

As I mentioned before, selflessness is a stereotypically heroic trait, but it’s flipped around in BSD. You see protagonists with greater selfish convictions than the antagonists, who live their life based on this idea of selflessness. 

Of course, just because Mori is an antagonist, this doesn’t mean that selflessness is an innately “evil” trait. In fact, this selflessness is how he grows his organization and gains respect from his subordinates. Mori’s selflessness is used for the benefit of everyone else in the PM (ignoring the obvious crimes that the mafia commits of course).

Oda

Oda is often seen as the role model example for a “good man,” in the world of BSD — which is true to a certain extent. We certainly know how he was selfless in a multitude of scenarios, from saving the orphans at the Dragon’s Head Conflict, to his resolve to not kill anyone, and his push for Dazai to leave the mafia. 

However, I’d like to discuss Oda’s selfishness. Oda was well-aware of Dazai’s issues during Dark Era, and he seemed like the only person who would understand Dazai at that level. Despite this, he still chose to die. 

“(Dazai) is just a child who’s too smart. Just a crying child who’s been left alone in the darkness, a world of nothingness far emptier than the world we can see.”

— LN 2, “Osamu Dazai and the Dark Era”

Oda is an idealist first and foremost; when reality fails to match his ideals, it becomes unbearable for him to continue living on. 

Oda was selfish in his conviction to die, because he knew he could’ve done more for Dazai, but he chose to leave him with a dying wish rather than staying with him to potentially fill that void of loneliness.

(I’d like to mention that Oda wasn’t wrong for his choice, because Dazai ended up on the right path in the end. It was simply an act of selfishness that ended for the better).

Kunikida

Kunikida is an idealist, much like Oda, but he also draws close to being a realist at certain moments.

Kunikida shares the same selfless resolve as Atsushi: to save everyone. His ideals seem unbreakable to the point where he would risk his life and succeed in the end no matter what, purely because he’s just that committed towards his goals.

This treads closely to Atsushi’s selfishness. In this case, for Kunikida, it’s somewhat a part of his self-fulfilling prophecy to make his ideals come true, but he acts selflessly because of these ideals that he believes in. 

An important thing to note here is Fyodor’s grin, because Fyodor — as an idealist — is well aware of the fact that the greater the ideals, the loftier these ideals become in reality. 

“By that very logic, then Miss Sasaki was not responsible for any of these recent events! She didn’t even want a world in which all criminals are rightly judged! She only— Tell me, Dazai! Was it right for her to die? Is this the ideal world I’ve sought for…”

— LN 1, “Osamu Dazai’s Entrance Exam”

At the end of the Azure Messenger Arc, Kunikida realizes the flaws in his ideals when he fails to uphold them. By trying to save both Rokuzou and Sasaki, he ended up losing the both of them. No matter how hard he tried to save them, there was no possible way for him to achieve the level of “justice” that he desired.

This teaches an incredibly valuable lesson to Kunikida that shifts his mindset towards a more selfish direction.

Kunikida’s experience leads him to teach Atsushi, another person strongly motivated by ideals, to not follow the same path as him. You could interpret this as a sign of Kunikida’s declining resolve, but I prefer to view it as another form of self-preservation.

Kunikida very well understands the pain that comes from not meeting his ideals, which could easily affect to Atsushi considering how difficult it would be to save Kyouka.

The scene in which Kunikida goes to save Atsushi parallels what Kunikida told him previously: “Your boat can only carry one person. If you let someone beyond salvation come aboard, you will only drown together.”

Notice how Kunikida is in a boat with plenty of space, but out of fear that his ideals won’t be upheld, he’ll lower them to an lesser standard. Instead of trying to save two people, he settles for one, despite the fact that he has the capacity for two. 

This instance is a moment of selfishness from Kunikida, an act of self-preservation to prevent the inevitable pain that comes with unmet ideals. 

However, Atsushi subverts his expectations by pushing himself to save Kyouka regardless of his sinking boat, because Atsushi’s own ideals motivate him to do so. Kunikida teaches Atsushi to be careful with the balance of selfishness and selflessness; Atsushi teaches Kunikida the beauty in being selfless.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd meta #bsd atsushi #bsd akutagawa #bsd rampo #bsd dazai #bsd mori #bsd oda #bsd kunikida #idk what an idealist is tbh

[letters-from-eros]

Pairing: Jirou Kyouka x Fem!Reader

Form: Oneshot

Genre: Angst

Warnings/TW: Depictions of abuse and homophobia.

Jiro slowly really did feel herself slip into madness. Idly she slowly watched herself develop feelings for you and simultaneously watched as you slowly broke into pieces. All she wished is that she could find the words to tell you how she felt, but there were too many words to describe it. If she could find words to heal and bring the shattered pieces of you back together the would search to no end for them only to be presented with the fact that it was far too late for simple words to fix the irreversible damage that was done. Was it her fault? The restless nights of contemplation said the answer was yes, but how she hoped it wasn't true.

Best friends is how it started out but the lines got blurred when either one of you tried to figure out when that just stopped being enough. It probably did start with the awkward "glances." That's what they got labeled. It just meant one of you found the other staring at you, but both of you refused the think that was the case. Glances... Yeah.. Just let them be coincidences. Not commented on coincidences.

It was sickening how much time Jiro has racked in spending time with you, which lead to daydreams. So, so, many blissful daydreams. 'Fuck Schoolgirl crushes' is what she always thought when she found herself slipping away thinking about you. But it always returned with the sight of you, and the label of friend that constantly hung above your head. Was she wrong with the loud, ringing thought in her head of 'Lets be more than this'?

So many memories that Jirou cherished and thought were great seemed diminished with a spiderweb of cracks. Why can't she at least have the memories?

Quiet after-school days in each other's company slacking off on homework and reading music magazines gushing over what guitar, microphone or piece of musical equipment you wanted. When she actually first heard you sing and play the guitar it was a surreal experience that will forever release a cage full of butterflies in her stomach. She loved it so much. Might've been the moment when she realized she loved you so much.

She doesn't remember when the love she had for you that could be described as a soft drifting cloud started to turn for the worst. Seemingly crashing with no hope for survival. Not one second of peace, nothing to grab onto, no time to access the situation. Falling, constant falling without knowing when you'll hit the ground, just knowing when you will, it will be painful.

You came in with a black eye and bandage on your cheek but a small, proud smirk on your face, but there was another emotion there. Everyone could see it was pride and just something else no one could put their finger on, but Jirou could, it was her duty as you're best friend to be able to, of course. The emotion was sadness, a feeling that she wish she could take away from your life forever, even if she had to be burdened with a lifetime of it.

It was no surprise that everyone was quick to question it, Jirou was far from the only person who loved you, platonically or not. All questions were lightly shut down with a smile, a "don't worry about it" or "Its no big deal." Yet when Jiro asked with complete terror and worry laced in her words and eyes you had to tell her. You wanted to tell her, after all you were proud of it to a degree. Teen rebellion at its finest in your mind.

"Remember that Pride parade that happened two days ago?"

Jiro was never quite sure on your sexuality, but she did know you were a strong and active supporter. Thinking back on it, she think she did remember you mention it at least once.

It took you and all your friends to calm her down when you told her what happened. You came home, multiple pride flags imprinted on your body and pride flags in your hands and stuffed in your pockets. You had came home happy and feeling accomplished in possibly making a difference, expressing yourself. Meeting people who felt the same way as you did. People always say actions speak louder than words, and your parents were a prime example of such. Their actions? Undoubtedly an expression of the opposite of such feeling.

Your body told more of the story than what you had the stomach to put into worda. The obvious black eye a signal to a some sort of rough hit to the bruised area. Red marks dotted you everywhere, the kind you get after you roughly scrub and scratch on an area. The erasing of colorful rainbows. And lastly tired, yet hopeful eyes that show a sleepless night.

What Jirou would give to see hope in your eyes again.

It hurt Jirou. Made her sick to the bottom of her stomach. But as the words "This has and will only happen once" was repeatedly told to her from you with the remnants of purity in your eyes there wasn't a sound reason not to believe you. God, why didn't someone tell her that the possibility of that being true, no matter how sweet it sounded, especially coming from the voice she loved, were slim to none. This only proved more of a philosophy Jirou had. There is no such thing as miracles, no matter how much you deserved one.

She wished she asked you that day, what your sexual orientation is. Because it only got worst. Even days that weren't after pride marches you came with signature cuts and bruises and tired eyes that slowly became sadder and sadder, losing hope with each time you had to get a bandage. There's no way she could get a truthful answer out of you, on almost anything..

You stopped letting Jirou in, in means and hopes to have her worry less. Things weren't that bad, right? There wasn't a need to worry. Never would you want to burden your best friend with that, is what you told yourself. Rather that was a mask to hide a fear of vulnerability? That was a mystery.

You both drifted apart. More like you drifting away from her by your parents wishes. The constant taking and looking through your phone made it hard to maintain any contact with anyone. Jiro debunked them as little close minded spies that she would yell at and hit the first chance she gets.

Whenever Jiro did get the opportunity to talk to you, it wasn't the same. You were off.. jaded, even. Like if you spoke your mind or opinions, there were consequences. And if you did ever speak something that wasn't declared fact, it was obvious that you didn't mean it. There wasn't that sparkle of passion in your eyes that Jiro came to love when you talked about anything that interests you.

The day when she wanted nothing more than to hug you and show her undying love and adoration for you it was the day she truly realized it was too late to get the truthful answer from you. Her fears, confirmed

"I'm.. I am straight, Jirou." A lie slipped through a beautiful smile. What ever happened to Kyouka? What ever happened to no lies?

Whatever happened to you?

It was such an obvious lie, the way is sounded coming out of your mouth is like you were trying to tell yourself that. She tried to get the answer that you wanted to say and that she selfishly wanted to hear.

"We're all alone now."

"I'm sorry." It was all you could say, voice cracking from the guilt and quickly scurrying out the classroom. Jirou wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, curse everything to hell.

They had taped over your mouth and scribble out your truth. Those little fucking spies you had for parents.

Jiro knew she had to get you out of your parents lives. She had to give you your voice back. She couldn't just let what was being done happen. Hell, even if you were straight she would sleep better knowing that you were safe and not getting yelled at by your parents about your views.

But for now, for this insufferable time of present day, all that you can be to Jirou is her crush, and vice versa...

#LGBTQ #mha jirou #bnha jirou #jirou x reader #jirou kyouka #my hero academia jirou #my hero academia #mha #mha x reader #my hero academia x reader #bnha #boku no hero academia #boku no hero academia x reader #bnha x reader #Spotify #kyouka jirou

[aspoonofsugar]

What do you think of Mori's role in BSD?

Hello anon!

I have talked a little bit of Mori and his ability here.

As far as his role in the story goes I think he embodies two things.

1) The mafia.

2) The past.

1) As far as the first point is concerned I would like to highlight the symbolic role of the mafia in the story.

I have talked a little bit about it in the post I linked above:

At the same time, on a macro level, the story needs a resolution of some type between the Mafia and the Ada since it is obvious that the two organizations are linked because of the past of many characters in the ADA being linked to the mafia somehow. Dazai, Yosano and Fukuzawa all have a past which involves one or more members of the mafia, for example.

And here:

The  mafiosi are who the detectives could become if they were to completely  lose themselves in their most violent and darkest parts, while the HD  are who the detectives could become if they were to embrace simplicistic  ideals over people. This is also why this arc has been particularly  hard on Kunikida since among the members of the ADA he is the one who  risks to do so the most.

In other words the mafia is nothing more than the societal structure which organizes and takes charge of those people society doesn’t care about. The mafia symbolically represents the part of the city nobody wants to aknowledge and everybody fears. In other words, it is some kind of macro-representation of a collective jungian shadow.

The tripartic alliance perfectly illustrates this point:

The alliance is based on the collaboration among three organizations each one associated to a specific time of the day.

The Military Police and the Ability Secret Service are associated with daytime because they represent the accepted authority and law. They are who the citizens look up to and they must adhere to the rules and the laws.

The ADA is associated to the evening because they are an in-between the day and the night. They want to preserve the law and try not to act outside of it, but also see its limits and use loopholes and bend the rules to help people. They can look both at the government and at the criminal world critically, but they have also been shown to work well with both.

Finally, the mafia represents the night i.e. something which is totally not bent by the rules of the day. They are that part of society which was in chaos after the war and over which Mori seized control.

The members of the mafia are basically people society gave up on and who have no interest into being re-integrated in it:

Let’s highlight that Hirotsu has “society” among his dislikes and he is one of the oldest members. In short, he embodies why a person prefers spending their whole life in a criminal organization rather than in the respectable world. It is because of a dislike for it.

As far as Mori is concerned he says so:

He claims to love Yokohama even with its dark side and it seems that he has taken upon himself the difficult mission to organize this side of the city. However, the interesting thing is that, under his leadership, the mafia and the underworld have basically become nothing more than a mirror of society and the same abusive structures and dynamics if not worse have been established. However, this is also why Mori has been so successful.

Mori is loved and accepted by his subordinates specifically because he gave the mafia members the illusion that they can be a society on their own. He gives rules to the criminal world and organizes it, so that it can be more tolerable. After all, it is not by chance that the people most loyal to Mori are those who have experienced a much more chaotic world:

At the same time, these people are also somehow convinced of this:

They have accepted the world of the night as the only world where they can live and prefer this world to have some kind of law, so that they can feel more like people.

However, here lies the contradiction of the mafia and of Mori. All in all, this regulation of the world of the night is also what lets this world survive and favours specific dynamics from which both the governement and the mafia gain something, but which have negative impacts on the individual.

Kyouka’s case is a perfect example of that.

All in all, Kyouka is a victim of both the government and the mafia. On one hand the government chose to use her as a scapegoat to protect itself. On the other hand the mafia weaponized her ability.

She is also an example of how these two realities which should stay separate have actually built a twisted and beneficial relationship. The government can use the mafia as a scapegoat and a place where they can recycle individuals they don’t really want to take care of, while the mafia takes these individuals and turns them into pawns.

To summarize, the mafia represents that part of society which should remain hidden and is accepted as long as it does. Mori is the one who made this possible by transforming the underworld in a society he administers and in this way he makes it tolerated, but also makes sure that the true problem behind these people who have not a place to belong is never addressed nor solved. So, in a sense, Mori is weaponizing a social problem.

2) I have talked about BSD addressing a generational conflict in the meta on the Guild Arc whose link is above.

One of the reasons why the integration between the two organizations and in general among the different sides of Yokohama is so difficutl is not only because of the characters’ personal problems (unwillingness to cooperate, old grudges etc.), but also because the younger characters who have the best chance to change things find themselves in a flawed system they inherited by older characters.

All in all the series explores the theme of having to deal with the consequences of one’s parents’ actions (both negative and positive) and the characters all need to make themselves independent from parental and mentor figures, so that they can become their own people.

As that meta makes clear Mori is one of the representative of the old generation. He has contributed to the current peaceful situation Yokohama is in, but at the same time he has also been exploiting other people’s weaknesses.

Simbolically, it is interesting that his ability is the same, but also almost the opposite of Kyouka’s aka the character I used in the already mentioned meta to explore the theme of facing a parent’s legacy.

Both Mori and Kyouka’s abilities consist in guardian entities who protect their host, but who also exhibit specific personalities.

As it has already been stated Demon Snow represents Kyouka’s parents’ legacy which is ambiguous and with which Kyouka has to reconcile.

Elise is instead a child because symbolically she represents Mori’s tendency to manipulate and exploit the weak. She can also represent Mori’s own emotional side which is underdevolped like a child is.

Demon is initially presented as a dangerous and ruthless monster, but turns out to actually have good intentions and to be willing to help Kyouka, while Elise is introduced as a harmless little girl, but she is later revealed to be a violent ability.

This also fits with how Kyouka and Mori themselves are introduced in the series. Kyouka appears as a cold assassin, while Mori as a friendly doctor. However, these appearences are soon subverted.

However, the most interesting thing when it comes to this foiling is this:

Mori has perfect control over Elise to the point that even her current tantrums happen because Mori wants her personality to resemble Yosano’s, while Kyouka can’t influence the Demon’s behaviour and has just recently gained enough control to use her ability without her cellphone.

This perfectly shows where the two characters are in termsof control over their lives and the things around them. Mori is an adult and one of the most influencial people in the city, whereas Kyouka is a child who has been moving from a horrible place to another until she found someone willing to help her.

All in all, Mori is linked to these two concepts and I am expecting for him to be overcome in the end precisely because he embodies them too much. On one hand I think the conflict between the mafia and the ADA should be settled, but it seems difficult as long as Mori is around because his involvement in traumatic episodes concerning Dazai and Yosano’s pasts makes so that him being around makes so that the conflict is always there even if asleep. On the other hand the younger generation should surpass the previous one and do better and this symbolically overlaps with exponents of the old generation leaving the scene either because they die or because they lose power.

Specifically, I think Mori is bound to play a role in Dazai’s arc because of the two of them being obviously foils, as both Fifteen and the Dark Era show.

Mori is who Dazai could have become if Oda’s death had not made him realize something important:

“He’s a friend”

Dazai is as ruthless and as manipulative as Mori is, but he is not ready to give up a genuine and healthy connection he has made and in this way he both learns and shows that he is able to think outside of an utilitaristic mainframe, while Mori is not able to do so. He probably cares about Dazai to an extent, but he won’t develop this emotional attachment into something healthier.

That said, Dazai’s arc in the manga might very well involve him becoming someone completely different from Mori and so overcoming the influence the man has had on Dazai’s life once and for all and solving his personal conflict with the mafia in a positive way.

As a matter of fact, Dazai’s past with the mafia is brought up pretty often and he has left some important relationships unsolved. The one with Akutagawa is probably the most important, but there are also the ones with Chuuya, Koujo and Q who all knew him and have shown different levels of resentment over him leaving the organization.

At the same time, Dazai is trying to recreate a new version of the soukoku partnership he had with Chuuya and in this way he is stepping into Mori’s shoes as the one continuing the “tradition”.

However, I think that shin soukoku will actually answer Mori’s question:

“Only a diamond can polish a diamond. I wanna see for myself if that is true”.

The problem with Mori’s attempt is that it was purely utilitaristic, while I think that Dazai might be willing to make Akutagawa and Atsushi work together both because he needs them to fight against a strong opponent, but also because he might be trying in this way to fix the damage he has made to Akutagawa. It is still a pretty indirect and manipulative attempt, but at least Dazai is recognizing that there is another level to people other than their strengths and weaknesses. And it is probable that Natsume, by talking about diamonds, was referring to people’s interiority rather than to their abilities. In other words, Mori might have attempted to find an answer to Natsume’s words by onlu combining the ability of two people, while Dazai might find a better and more meaningful one by having his mentees develop psychologically thanks to each other.

These are my thoughts so far!

Thank you for the ask!

#bsd #bsd meta #mori ougai #osamu dazai #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

[datura-foxglove]

(Dazatsu Week Day 4) Proof of Survival

Prompt : Kintsugi

Rating : T Warnings : mentions of self-harm and child abuse, non-sexual intimacy.

Summary : Dazai and Atsushi shared their scars - their history - and accepted them, grateful that both had struggled for their survival.

Honestly, it was more of an accident than something they had planned.

Both Atsushi and Dazai never talked about their past. It was more obvious with how much skin hidden under Dazai’s bandages and how Atsushi never forgot to wear his cat hoodie when they went to a beach, swimming with it despite how much of a pain to wash the salt of the hoodie afterwards.

It had rained really heavily that day. Despite sharing an umbrella, they still got drenched from head to toes. Since Kyouka had went to the Tanizakis for a sleepover, the two of them quickly climbed the stairs and entered Atsushi’s dorm. Atsushi winced at how puddles of water started to form under them and he had to dash inside and grabbed towels for both of them. Dazai left behind his drenched coat near the door, helping Atsushi mopped up the puddles as best as he could while Atsushi prepared bath for both of them. Dazai forced him to take a bath first and Atsushi stayed in the bath tub just long enough for his body to warm up. With dry clothes and body no longer freezing cold, he got out of the bathroom and pushed Dazai to the bathroom.

While he waited, Atsushi gathered the wet clothes and put them on the basket to wash later. He heard the door to the bathroom opened gently and respectfully didn’t turn around. “The new bandages are on the table.” I won’t look wasn’t spoken, but he knew Dazai knew anyway. The sounds of rustling cloth from bandages and wet mop were the only sounds filling the silence.

Atsushi’s humble dorm didn’t have a door that separated the kitchen from the bedroom. So Atsushi made sure to keep his back to Dazai, respecting his privacy. He kept himself busy moping the trail of water left behind, but in his focus to keep his curiosity out of his mind, he didn’t pay attention to where he was walking.

When he felt his feet slipped due to the wet floor, Atsushi yelped. He braced himself for the fall, but instead of the cold and hard floor, his body fell into something sturdy and warm instead.

Atsushi blinked, his senses still disoriented that it took him a few moments to realize that Dazai had caught him. His face flushed, apologies ready on his lips as Atsushi tried to stand up straight again. However, when his hands gripped Dazai’s arm to steady himself, his eyes widened when instead of the familiar soft fabric of Dazai’s bandages, his hands touched skin instead.

Shocked, he couldn’t stop his eyes from looking to his hands. Even with Atsushi’s hand covering part of Dazai’s arm, Atsushi could still see countless scars littering the skin of the man he loved. He sucked in a sharp breath. In his haste to catch Atsushi, Dazai hadn’t finished wrapping his bandages. A roll of bandages was ditched on the floor, some of it already wrapped on Dazai’s upper arm.

With how close their bodies were, Atsushi could feel Dazai tensed when he realized where Atsushi was looking. The two of them froze in the middle of the kitchen, unable to muster the courage to speak. It would be easier to stand up and pretend he didn’t see anything. Their relationship was too new, too fragile for Atsushi to risk it by acknowledging Dazai’s scars.

Yet when Atsushi slowly raise his head to look at Dazai’s face, Atsushi found himself unable to do it. There was dread and the man looked like he was trying really hard to smile and joke like usual, but the smile wasn’t quite right. It was usually hard and almost impossible to see past Dazai’s masks, but for once the emotions hidden in the depth of Dazai’s chocolate eyes was an emotion that Atsushi knew very well.

Loneliness.

Atsushi took a shaky breath in, his nerves going wild in his stomach. But he couldn’t ignore Dazai’s loneliness, not when he knew how his heart ache on the days when his own scars ached and no one was there to comfort him. His scars were ugly and he didn’t want anyone to see that part of him… but at the same time he wanted someone to understand, to look at his scars yet loved him anyway.

So instead of taking his hand away from Dazai’s arm, Atsushi slowly caressed his thumb on the scars there. Dazai flinched, the emotions on his eyes going wild and he looked so unsure that Atsushi wanted to do nothing but hug him close. But right now Dazai was already overwhelmed enough, so he just kept his touch light and the grip on his arm gentle. The older man could snatch his arm away from Atsushi anytime and Atsushi wouldn’t push, but Dazai stayed still. It was more because Dazai didn’t know what to do rather than acceptance though, so Atsushi didn’t say anything and just keep caressing Dazai’s scars one by one. He followed the trails of scars, some so deep that his fingers trembled a bit as he caressed them.

It took a while before Dazai’s tension slowly melted away to resignation. He just stood there, letting Atsushi gently mapped the scars on his arm. His fingers trailed up until he met bandages. His eyes sought Dazai’s for permission, waiting patiently as Dazai stared at him back. It was faint, Dazai’s head barely moving for a nod. Gently and slowly, Atsushi’s hands unraveled the bandages, stopping whenever Dazai’s breath picked up and waiting for him to calm down before continuing.

It was a tremendously slow process, but Atsushi didn’t mind. Dazai’s trust was so precious and a gift that Atsushi didn’t deserve, so it wasn’t a test to his patience at all. Atsushi treat each and every uncovered scars reverently, like how one would treat a map of treasure.

Atsushi didn’t really know how it happened and when, but he found himself dragged (or was it him that dragged Dazai?) to the futon. The bandages on both of Dazai’s arms had completely unraveled, his shirt dropped beside them on the futon as Atsushi slowly worked his way to the bandages covering Dazai’s neck. Dazai was still silent, but he didn’t look so much like a frightened animal anymore. Dazai’s eyes were watching him closely, as if he was expecting disgust or repulsion from Atsushi. But even as he uncovered more and more scars hidden beneath Dazai’s bandages, Atsushi felt neither of those feelings. It was like seeing a new side or facts about the man who had saved his life. The man who had given him a home. The man who Atsushi loved more than anything in this world. Atsushi treated each scars like little facts about Dazai he had stored in his mind from observing him, like how he drank his coffee with one spoon of sugar but his tea with three spoon of sugar. How the man would sing those absurd suicide songs when he was waiting for something. How the man couldn’t keep his hands still for long.

To Atsushi’s surprise, he knew the reason for some of Dazai’s scars. The bullet wound on his chest from when he faced Dostoyevsky alone. The stab wound on his back from that time Dazai almost died. Some less deadly scars from the missions they went through together. Atsushi caressed those scars lovingly, the relief must be showing on his face because Dazai tilted his head and finally spoke.

“You aren’t disgusted.” Dazai chuckled bitterly, his laugh sounded like broken glass that hurt Atsushi more than any physical wound.

“I’m not.” He agreed, voice serious but he also let his love bled through his words. “These scars… are the proof of your survival, Dazai-san. How could I hate them?”

“Even scars that I inflict on myself?” Dazai asked, his voice barren of any emotion and his eyes looked so numb and empty.

Atsushi touched Dazai’s arms, which he guessed were the ones he had inflicted to himself. “Even these.” He smiled slightly, looking at Dazai’s empty eyes with his own filled with devotion. “This may sound arrogant, but I love them because even when you wanted to kill yourself, you still survive. That you live long enough to meet me at that river. That you live long enough for me to get to know you and love you.”

He felt Dazai’s thumb caressed his cheeks and blinked when he realized that he was crying. Atsushi laughed, even when he didn’t know why. “I’m sorry, it is arrogant of me to say that you live just for me.” Atsushi wiped away his tears. “But even if that isn’t true, you are still alive until now and your scars are proof of that, Dazai-san.”

Dazai smiled, small and almost unnoticeable, yet still there. “If only I live just to be with you. It will be easier, I think.”

Atsushi nodded, fingers returned to caress Dazai’s scars. “But because you are alive, we can meet each other. For me, it’s enough to be grateful. I’m happy with my life now because of that day we met, Dazai-san. You gave me a home, an opportunity, to became something more than just an orphan that was kicked out to the streets.”

“You are the one who picked yourself up and shaped your own future, Atsushi-kun.”

“Only because you are there by my side to offer me a hand whenever I fell.” Atsushi leaned his forehead to Dazai. They were close enough to kiss, but Atsushi felt content with their closeness as it was. “Thank you for being alive, Dazai-san.”

Dazai tensed, his eyes widened as he stared at Atsushi in silence for a long time. Atsushi watched as a smile curled on Dazai’s lips, weak but painfully genuine.

They stayed like that for a long time, sharing breath between them as they held each other wrists, their pulses beating together in harmony. Atsushi suddenly felt a weak tug at the bottom of his t-shirt, looking down to see Dazai had let go of his hand to cling at Atsushi’s shirt.

“May I?” Dazai whispered softly, eyes watching Atsushi’s reaction.

Atsushi’s body tensed a little, his heart hammering in his ribcage. His mouth felt dry and he knew now why Dazai was so silent and still when he unraveled those bandages. Atsushi nodded, although he couldn’t bring himself to lift his shirt. It had been so easy to reveal his scar to Lucy, because Lucy had known similar pain of being unwanted. It was harder to show it to Dazai, because he had longed for the man to love him. Even if he knew that Dazai would treat his scar like how Atsushi treated his, that stubborn fear and anxiety in the back of his mind froze his hands.

Just like how Atsushi caressed his scars, Dazai slipped his hands beneath Atsushi’s shirt. Atsushi wondered if Dazai could feel how hard his heart was beating, but Dazai didn’t comment on it. Inch by inch his skin was revealed. He didn’t have many scars, Byakko’s regeneration healed his wounds even when he didn’t know about the tiger inside him. But some scars never disappear, which Yosano had theorized linked with the trauma in his mind. The greater the trauma, the longer the scars stayed. The ugliest of Atsushi’s scars were the burn scar on the side of his chest and the scar from when his feet was punctured by nail.

Atsushi’s body jerked when Dazai’s fingers touched the burn scar. His hands gripped weakly at Dazai’s shoulders due to shaking. The fingers on his scar stilled, but never left. His lover waited until Atsushi’s labored breath slowed down and the trembling of his hands ceased. Atsushi almost wanted to laugh at how different the two of them had acted when the other inspected their scars.

“I-I’m okay.” Atsushi breathed, biting his lips as he tried his hardest to keep the memory of hot poker searing his skin out of his mind.

Dazai lifted Atsushi’s clothes further so he could see Atsushi’s scar clearly. His expression softened and his eyes followed the movement of his fingers as he caressed the scar just as gently as how Atsushi had been to his own scar.

Atsushi blinked. It… felt nice. After the initial dread and panic settled, it felt nice to feel Dazai’s fingers on his scar. At seeing the understanding in Dazai’s eyes and no disgust in them. To his confusion, Dazai leaned his head down and Atsushi squeaked in surprise when he felt Dazai’s lips on the reddened and rough skin. “Dazai-san!”

Dazai wrapped his arms around Atsushi’s waist and leaned his head on his shoulder. His boyfriend whispered so softly that it was mostly thanks to the silent room that Atsushi could hear them. “Thank you for being alive too, Atsushi-kun.”

Atsushi felt his scar warmed by the touch of Dazai’s fingertips, the tension on his body melted away. He gently guided Dazai’s hand up and kissed one of the larger and deeper scar there softly.

The rain continued on pouring heavily, but the two of them were oblivious to the gloomy weather. Something warm and bright trickled inside the cracks in their mind, body, and soul and filled them up. Outlining each scars with the beautiful memory of that moment, as both of their histories were shown and accepted.

#dazatsu week 2019 #dazatsu #fanfic #i'm late lol #I tried to write another story before this and already got to 3k words #but then I realized that it will be too long and scrapped that #and now my half asleep brain finally managed to write this #hooray for coffee #I use the prompt kintsugi but the prompt for day 6 scars can apply for this one too

[bsd-bibliophile]

You really helped me to understand dazai’s real side, and the way you explained in detail was very helpful , i didnt know he was very “complex” if thats the right word for it? thank you! 🙏🙏 I also was wondering if its not too much or go into more detail of what characteristics would someone need for dazai to open up to them, if thats makes sense? Again thank you🙏🙏

I would think that for Dazai to open up to someone all he needs is for them to accept and put forth the effort to understand him. The real Dazai-sensei also made me feel like that was all he wanted, but no one in his life ever seemed to give him the acceptance and understanding he was looking for.

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Because I know the real Dazai Osamu better than the BSD character, I’ll try and use his quotes from No Longer Human to explain how he viewed other people and what he may have wanted from them:

How Dazai Viewed People/Society

“Unhappiness. There are all kinds of unhappy people in this world. I suppose it would be no exaggeration to say that the world is composed entirely of unhappy people. But those people can fight their unhappiness with society fairly and squarely, and society for its part easily understands and sympathizes with such struggles.“ (source)

“For someone like myself in whom the ability to trust others is so cracked and broken that I am wretchedly timid and am forever trying to read the expression on people’s faces…“ (source)

“Society. I felt as though even I were beginning at last to acquire some vague notion of what it meant. It is the struggle between one individual and another, a then-and-there struggle, in which the immediate triumph is everything. Human beings never submit to human beings. Even slaves practice their mean retaliations. Human beings cannot conceive of any means of survival except in terms of a single then-and-there contest. They speak of duty to one’s country and suchlike things, but the object of their efforts is invariably the individual, and, even once the individual’s needs have been met, again the individual comes in. The incomprehensibility of society is the incomprehensibility of the individual. The ocean is not society; it is individuals. This was how I managed to gain a modicum of freedom from my terror at the illusion of the ocean called the world. I learned to behave rather aggressively, without the endless anxious worrying I knew before, responding as it were to the needs of the moment.“ (source)

“I am congenitally unable to take much interest in other people.” (source)

“I have tried insofar as possible to avoid getting involved in the sordid complications of human beings. I have been afraid of being sucked down into their bottomless whirlpool.“ (source)

“I am convinced that human life is filled with many pure, happy, serene examples of insincerity, truly splendid of their kind—of people deceiving one another without (strangely enough) any wounds being inflicted, of people who seem unaware even that they are deceiving one another… . I find it difficult to understand the kind of human being who lives, or who is sure he can live, purely, happily, serenely while engaged in deceit.“ (source)

What Dazai Feared, Lacked, and Wanted From Others

“I felt so grateful, so happy for that gentle smile that I averted my face and wept. I was completely shattered and smothered by that one gentle smile.” (source)

“Though I have always made it my practice to be pleasant to everybody, I have not once actually experienced friendship. I have only the most painful recollections of my various acquaintances with the exception of such companions in pleasure as Horiki. I have frantically played the clown in order to disentangle myself from these painful relationships, only to wear myself out as a result. Even now it comes as a shock if by chance I notice in the street a face resembling someone I know however slightly, and I am at once seized by a shivering violent enough to make me dizzy. I know that I am liked by other people, but I seem to be deficient in the faculty to love others. (I should add that I have very strong doubts as to whether even human beings really possess this faculty.) It was hardly to be expected that someone like myself could ever develop any close friendships—besides, I lacked even the ability to pay visits. The front door of another person’s house terrified me more than the gate of Inferno in the Divine Comedy, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I really felt I could detect within the door the presence of a horrible dragon-like monster writhing there with a dank, raw smell.” (source)

“People talk of “social outcasts.” The words apparently denote the miserable losers of the world, the vicious ones, but I feel as though I have been a “social outcast” from the moment I was born. If ever I meet someone society has designated as an outcast, I invariably feel affection for him, an emotion which carries me away in melting tenderness.” (source)

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Based on the quotes above, Dazai-sensei doesn’t hold other people in high regard. He feels like they are untrustworthy, boring, unempathetic, insincere, and view everything as a competition. To him society is a free for all and people everything people do is motivated by moving up in society, getting more people on their side, and proving how they are better than the next person. Dazai-sensei doesn’t have any reason to go out of his way to build a relationship with someone and he won’t unless his fundamental view of others changes.

Even though Dazai-sensei doesn’t trust others, he still leads a very lonely existence. This puts him in a sad predicament because while he can’t trust others he craves and needs others in order to be happy. In No Longer Human he mourns the fact that while he is polite and follows society’s rules he still hasn’t experienced true friendship. He has played the part of a clown in order to keep others from becoming angry with him; it’s better that they are laughing at him than judging, criticizing, or belittling him. Because of this he will never be comfortable around someone who doesn’t understand and who hasn’t experienced being a “social outcast” the way he has. Dazai wants a friend who accepts him for who he is, is sympathetic of the struggles he goes through because he doesn’t fit the mold, who he doesn’t have to act and put on a show for, and who will be able to truly care about him. Even a simple “gentle smile” at a moment when he is weak and exposed, where most people would look down on him or be stern with him, could reduce him to tears.

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Because Dazai-sensei is like that, it is my assumption that BSD Dazai would also need the same consideration, acceptance, and empathy from someone in order to trust and befriend them. Ango remarked a few times that Oda needed to be more stern with Dazai and keep him in line, but Dazai opened up to Oda because he never did that. Oda understood what Dazai was like, listened to him go on about death and suicide, accepted him, relied on him, and gave Dazai the chance to be himself and drop the act he put on for everyone else. Dazai never felt threatened, unwanted, unnecessary, or like Oda was looking down on him. Where others would be shocked or give him disapproving looks, Oda never did that to Dazai. That is why Dazai was able to consider Oda a friend.

In the current plot line Atsushi is filling that role. Atsushi is the only member of the ADA who shows concern for Dazai. The other members accept that Dazai is the way he is, but they don’t go beyond that and try to understand why and even if they do understand they don’t do anything about it. Dazai knows that there are people who understand what he’s like. Mori, Chuuya, Hirotsu, and most likely other members of the Mafia as well fell into this category but Dazai was never friends with them or had much of a relationship with them outside of their roles within the Mafia. So ever since Oda died Dazai had been alone and friendless. But after Atsushi joined the Agency things have changed. Where most people would just let Dazai go try to off himself and not worry about it Atsushi was different and, even though he was starving and on the brink of death himself, he dove into the water to save Dazai’s life (and how many people have ever tried to actually stop Dazai from dying?). Where the rest of the ADA just continued with their normal day after Dazai went missing Atsushi was the only person who wanted to search for him. Even in less life threatening situations, like the party to welcome Kyouka into the Agency, Atsushi is the only person to notice that Dazai isn’t there and wonders where he is. Of course Atsushi isn’t the same as Oda, but there are similarities and Dazai has surely noticed them. Dazai also seems to open up more toward Atsushi than anyone else, and that alone shows how much Atsushi’s concern and acceptance of him has affected Dazai.

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So… this was another really long explanation. I really love Dazai-sensei (to point out the obvious). I hope that my rambling makes sense, and thank you for the ask! 

#asks #dazai osamu #dazai #quotes #novel #no longer human #analysis #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd

[marlikesthings]

This time I decided to make a post about the Tanizaki’s siblings. I put them both together since they are strongly linked one another. You can’t talk about one without mentioning the other. Anyway, like for my previous posts, I will write here why I love them and why they should be more appreciated.

First, I will talk about Tanizaki Junichiro. The first time we met Junichiro is during Atsushi’s entrance exam. He appears as a criminal tired of life, who wants to talk to the president. I feel the need, before continuing, to point out what an amazing actor Junichiro is. He had Atsushi and the readers totally fooled. Actually, had the agency not know that this was all an act, I wonder if they would have noticed he was pretending to be someone else. Dazai might have noticed though, because well, he is Dazai.

Tanizaki is a character that has a lot of potential, and I am glad the last manga chapter gave us more insight on his character. But, before talking about that, I want to talk about his partnership with Atsushi. Both of them are comically referred to as a group of wimps. Because they always worry too much, and they seem at first glance to be kind of cowards. That is obviously far from the truth. While both of them are indeed level headed, and the most “normal” ones at the agency, if you mess with their loved ones they will respond. And it won’t be beautiful to see. Especially Junichiro (since this appreciation post is dedicated, in part, to him, I will only talk about his case).

He seems to be shy, kind of awkward, level headed, but do not let this deceive you. Do not mess with Naomi or he will destroy you. The reason why I really liked chapter 48, was because, through the words of Hirotsu, we learn that Junichiro’s abilities are suited for being an assassin. Even without his words we get to see a different Tanizaki (similar to the one we saw during his fight with Steinbeck). This Tanizaki was ready to kill. He managed to fool the black lizard, an assassination squad of port mafia. I mean, if this isn’t amazing I don’t know what it is. He could have killed Gin right there if he wanted to. And what to say about his exchange with Tachihara. They all seemed afraid of Tanizaki, and at that time, he hadn’t done anything yet. Just his look was enough to send them chills in their backs. And once again I feel the need to mention, this is the mafia who we are talking about, they have probably faced so many strong adversaries, yet this guy, who for all they knew was one of the weakest among the agency members was defying them. No, he was ready to kill them without a second thought. I hope the black lizard will think twice before threatening to hurt Naomi in front of Junichiro. Also, interesting fact, they wanted to use him as a spy for port mafia. The reason why they probably thought he will be good for the job, was most likely because no one would suspect him. I mean Tanizaki doesn’t really stand out among the members, which is a skill needed for any good spy.

I like Junichiro, because there is so much more to him, than what it seems. He is an agency member, and as such he had to pass his own exam entrance to prove he was worthy of being an agency member. Aren’t agency members supposed to value life and not kill? (Unless the situation really requires so. The interesting fact about the agency is that while they are supposed to be the good guys, they aren’t really. Everyone there, except Atsushi for obvious reason (this guy is too pure and he probably believes everyone can be saved), Ranpo (because he couldn’t kill anyone even if he wanted to. He is smart, but he is also weak, and besides, that would probably be too troublesome for him. Unless, you touch the president. Then he won’t be playing anymore) and Kenji (although his case is particular, since he doesn’t seem to care, it’s like nothing surprises him. I want to see him getting mad). I do picture the others as being able to kill. Yosano abilities are made to save people, but she is strong and won’t doubt to stand up for people she cares. And, if there were to be a situation in which killing the enemy was the only solution, I think, she would do it. Same with Kunikida, the guy is an idealist, but he knows fully well he is not a hero. He did plan on leaving Kyouka behind during Atsushi’s rescue mission. Though this is due to a trauma and he is one of the kindest characters, but still). I’ve always thought that more than being the good guys they were more in the middle, in a grey zone. They aren’t bad guys (except for Dazai), but they do the jobs they are assigned to do and then leave. They know they can’t help everyone, so they don’t even try. That doesn’t make them bad persons, but it makes one wonder). Junichiro is a good example of a grey character. He is nice yes, but the fact that as soon as his sister is in danger, or even at the possibility of his sister being in danger he is willing to forget about morals, makes you wonder why was he even accepted at the agency. I say this because his values, everything he believes crumbles way to easily (he is different from Kunikida who tries so strongly to protect his ideals). But I like that about him. He feels like a character people could identify with (of course, not the killing part), but the part about him that wants to protect its loved ones is so real. He loves Naomi and therefore won’t forgive anyone hurting her. And that’s fine. Either way, in order to survive in the agency, especially now that they are at war with the mafias, they have to be more careful than ever. Junichiro must have his own reasons to join the agency and so does Naomi (although in her case, it was most likely to be with her brother), but losing Naomi is the one thing Junichiro wouldn’t forgive. Everyone at the agency must have their own reason why they joined, but I do believe the agency has become a place they could call home. Losing a member would be losing, not just a comrade, but a family member. And in Junichiro’s and Naomi’s case, it wouldn’t be just losing someone who is like a family member, but it would be losing someone with whom they share a lot of memories, their own blood, someone who can’t simply be replaced. That’s why I think Junichiro is so protective of Naomi. She doesn’t have any abilities, but she is so cheerful, full of live, and she is also younger than him. His life wouldn’t be the same without her, and he knows it. While their relationship is hard to describe, with Naomi always seducing him, it has become a part of their routine they don’t want to lose.

Second, I will be talking about Naomi. Her part will be shorter because we don't really know much about her. Well, I already mentioned her before, while talking about Junichiro, but this girl is cheerful, nice, friendly, she is such an outgoing person, hard to not love. She has a strong personality, and loves her brother a lot. Maybe too much. She is always trying to seduce her brother, and from what she says, it makes one wonder what happens when the two of them are alone in their apartment. But, while she is often used as comic relief (for example, immediately after Atsushi's exam entrance, (where she acted like a prisoner in the hands of a crazy person) she went straight to her brother, trying to seduce him. This allowed the tension that Atsushi was feeling to calm down a little bit. Though he still didn't understand what was happening), and she is not an active member of the agency (but a clerk) since she has no abilities, she shouldn't be underestimated. This girl is intelligent, and has she had an ability, I have no doubt she would be at least at Yosano's level. Which means, she would have been a strong ability user. We can see this in chapter 23, where her and Haruno tried to escape from the grasp of Steinbeck and lovecraft.

She listened to Dazai's advice and used it accordingly to the situation. They didn't manage to run away, but you have to give her credit for maintaining her calm in this situation. Especially since unlike her brother she isn't used to being chased by the mafia. Her job is to take care of the paperwork not this. Also, when Junichiro and Atsushi were tricked by Higuchi, and their lives were put in danger, Naomi used her own body to protect her brother from the impact of the bullets. And I will once again repeat, she is supposed to be a normal worker. She is so brave, so strong, and so courageous that is hard to not admire her. Also, we saw how scared she was when Atsushi attacked her in chapter 25, and why wouldn't she? She almost died at the hands of someone she probably considers a friend. Someone who also happens to be really strong. Though, it wasn't Atsushi's fault since he was being controlled by Q, but still. Yet, chapters later, when Atsushi went to excuse himself, she (and Haruno) had already forgotten what happened, they didn't hate him for what he did. They understood. She is so precious and I love her. Admire her beauty:

#tanizaki junichiro #bsd #bungou stray dogs #tanizaki naomi #mar rambles #armed detective agency