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erosauriarts · 6 months

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Avatar x BSD

Warning: It’s canon related violence similar to in show BSD.

Atsushi - The Avatar

I thought it would be fitting since Byakko is implied to be reincarnating????? Also the Netflix preview got me excited.

AU Premise

**None of the canon characters from ATLA or LOK are gonna be referenced UNLESS it’s to justify bending rules.**

Republic City exists, but it’s less western base, bc I didn’t like that lmfaooo (Basically Yokohama but as it was in the 1930-50s). White people???? Huh?? Ig they exist now??? 😨

Lore Plot:

Red Lotus killed the last avatar because they wanted to find the new one, for some enlightenment reasons (IDK radicals man). The hunt for the new one wanted to take and raise the new avatar to push their own agenda. The man that did it, passed down his legacy to Fyodor (water), and he was the one to find Atsushi. Atsushi was around 5-8 and was from the northern water tribe. Atsushi’s parent was the moon’s spirits guardians (funny ha ha bc his’s design in literally Yin and Yang to Aku). Fyodor takes Atsushi, and isolates him with the other spiritual believers. They raise him, misinforming him greatly over what being the avatar actually means. Though he has a pretty good connection to his bending, Fyodor being his water bending master. They located somewhere in the north-pole.

In this time, everyone is looking for the avatar, but in like that way where you are like “here kitty kitty pspspsp.” And they even have a bounty for him. Bring him back alive ofc! In this, Dazai (Air) and Yosano (Water) are adopted siblings from a young age from Mori (Fire). Dazai at 18 splits off and becomes a traveling nomad, bc he fucking felt like it. Yosano was 14 when Fukuzawa (Air) saved her. Mori would make Yosano blood-bend, and so when she got free, she swore to never blood-bend again. She now uses her bending, and became one of the best healers.

The Armed Detective Agency works similar to canon in this, but has a specialized duty to find the avatar and turn them over to the white lotus. It’s extremely hard to get into the ADA, and forces benders to really push themselves. (In a way higher than the police force) Dazai joins, and is basically the ADA’s lost cat that goes away and comes back with something either helpful or cursed.

Dazai got leads on Fyodor bc Atsushi accidently used the avatar state when he found some new (and/or) prob figured out what happened to his family. Dazai basically yoinks Atsushi from the isolated village, running back on all fours with the weretiger dangling from his mouth /j. Dazai shows up, drops the avatar off, then bounces. Even though Fyodor’s spiritual training and water-bending was severely indepth, Atsushi lacked alot of common sense. Atsushi’s abuse in this is more intense psychological punishment more then the physical one in canon. He’s.. alittle messed up, but besides the point. Regardless how much bad stuff he went through, he was genuinely sweet. The stress of the truth tho, threw him off balance, so he is hesitant to go into the avatar state.

Atsushi’s bending teachers / relationship

Water: Fyodor. Strictly mentor and caregiver. He sucked at caring for Atsushi’s needs, and only was interested in talking when Atsushi asked about spirtual connection and Philosophical debates. Spent most of his childhood till Dazai yoinks him at 18

Earth: Kunikida. He sucked at it originally, but Atsushi was so determine, he ends up asking for help to connect. Atsushi warms up to him, looking up to him for strength.

Air: Dazai. The third one, and he’s stressed. Dazai runs circles around Atsushi, causing so much mental strain. Atsushi gets frustrated, and nearly gave up, but Dazai manages to get a mutual understanding.

Fire: Kyouka. Though younger, Kyouka was the fastest firebender. She constantly beat Atsushi when the Port Mafia sent her out. (He gets saved by the ADA a lot lol)

Character Mentions

Ranpo: A none bender. Works with the Republic City police force, but spends most of his time with the ADA. He actively helps them get around the police.

Akutugawa: Earth Bender. He can bend metal, and is actually really scary (..er?)

Chuuya: I go back and forth between earth and fire. And I think earth bc of his boom boom, smash kapow moments in canon. I thought fire cause hehe red.

Nikolai: Air. He’s that one guy that does flips and is nearly impossible to get a hold off. Boys a slinky. He’s Fyodor’s right hand man… they even… KISS?

#art #bsd #fan art #bungo stray dogs #bungou gay dogs #atsushi nakajima #dazai osamu #yosano akiko #tanizaki junichirou #kunikida doppo #fukuzawa yukichi #ranpo edogawa #procreate #cross over #au idea #avatar #avatar the last airbender #ALTA

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larathia · 1 year

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BSD rewatch notes

So I’m rewatching the anime at about an episode a day, so that I finish right when S4 is set to start. Some stuff I’m noticing:

* Dazai, when he fights, keeps his hands in his pockets...just like Chuuya.

* Atsushi really latched on to Dazai as his mentor and exemplar. His entire reasoning for saving Kyouka is that this must be something the Agency can choose to do, because Dazai chose to do this for him, and when he goes back for Kyouka on the cargo ship, it’s because he believes Dazai never gave up on him. And we know Dazai better, at this later stage of the series, but honestly Atsushi isn’t wrong. At this point in the series, it is the Agency’s usual way to go “well, they’re on their own and they’ll make it back or they won’t.” Nobody even thinks to go looking for Dazai when he’s captured, and nobody worries about Ranpo when he’s off in other regions on consultations (and lbr here, given Ranpo’s utter inability to navigate basic transportation, they probably ought to). It’s the events of the early episodes that change the Agency’s stance somewhat on this front - at least to checking up on their people.

* You can really tell, in the early episodes, just what Akutagawa absorbed from his time with Dazai - and what he didn’t absorb. Now, I am not in any way saying Aku’s dense, or stupid, or incapable of understanding. But he is obsessively singleminded and that does affect what he takes away from any encounter or conversation, and I think that is probably the very first reason Dazai declares Atsushi the ‘superior apprentice’. (But this is Dazai. He had a LOT of reasons for saying that, which should be its own post...at some point.)

- Firstly, Aku’s willing to kill Kyouka on the train. “A pawn, however powerful, is just a pawn”. Note that he does not care what the circumstances were, or what the reasons were. She failed, she should be killed. That’s it. With later-episode awareness, you can probably figure he’s thinking about the time Dazai nearly killed him, during the Mimic affair. But those situations aren’t the same, except maybe in Aku’s mind, and the idea that to him they WERE the same says a lot about Aku. Dazai’s fury at Akutagawa in that instance was that the men Aku killed were prisoners he’d had to set an elaborate trap to capture, and take extra measures to keep alive, and whose deaths would lead to further deaths in the Mafia. But Aku doesn’t seem to have registered any of those circumstances. What he remembers is that he failed Dazai and therefore Dazai tried to kill him, and that’s what he takes forward in his actions toward Kyouka.

- Secondly, Kyouka’s kept in a cell when she’s not deployed. She’s just...ignored. Like a dog in its kennel, if you will. Which kinda says a lot about Aku’s limited awareness of Dazai’s focus. He seems to have registered that Dazai only interacted with him when Dazai needed him for something...and rather than think “well, yes, employer/employee”, he registered this as “neglectful master with his dog”.

- Thirdly, what Aku tells Atsushi is that by giving Kyouka assignments, he was giving her a reason to live. And, again, I’m kinda reading this as a very...dog-like approach. Aku wants, above all, Dazai’s approval. He wants Dazai to rely on him, to give him orders. Aku’s talking about himself here. Abandoned angry dog that can’t figure out why master isn’t relying on him. Atsushi is his target because Atsushi is the ‘new dog’...well, cat, or at least rival. The bit where Atsushi can’t figure out where any of this is coming from is pretty funny, in hindsight. As much as Atsushi cares about Dazai at this point - in a real sense he’s as reliant on Dazai’s approval as Akutagawa is - the manner of that reliance is different. Atsushi doesn’t need Dazai to be on the boat to rescue him. Doesn’t need Dazai in the area at all. The last time they spoke, Dazai was approving of him...and that’s enough. Atsushi can just carry that with him. Akutagawa, on the other hand, needs constant/consistent reminders that it looks like he never got.

- Atsushi, man, he learns FAST. He goes from ‘can’t control his power at all’ to ‘man I really need to use my power’ (on the train) to actively changing and reverting at will on the cargo ship. And I notice that Dazai wasn’t present for ANY of that, but it didn’t hinder Atsushi any.

- I’m a little surprised that Dazai’s tactic while a prisoner worked. I mean. Claiming a meeting of the five executives to an executive’s face is...wow. I think that only worked because Chuuya was expecting Dazai to have a trick up his sleeve, and Dazai knew the location of every single one of Chuuya’s buttons and how to push them. Which is mostly what Dazai spends that time doing - pushing Chuuya’s buttons, until the guy’s so mad he really can’t think straight.

#bsd analysis #bungou stray dogs

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madraleen · 1 month

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Bungo Stray Dogs - Kafka Asagiri/Sango Harukawa Volumes 9-10: A Commentary; the one where I look beyond Dazai's pretty face for a sec (*anime spoilers and manga spoilers up to ch.114)

-AN ATSUSHI-AKUTAGAWA COVER, LET'S GOOO (it's so pretty)

-i feel bad for akutagawa re: how dazai treats him, i really do. it's not like chuuya who can give it back just as good. aku-kun is like an open wound when it comes to dazai

-the agency and port mafia have flip phones and mr richman francis out there be using The Iphone

-IS THAT ODA IN THE BACKGROUND WHEN DAZAI TALKS TO KYOUKA! oh this is PERSONAL for dazai, damn

-i know they all have similar hands, but there's something about aku-kun's big frilly sleeves that makes his look extra elegant

-it's sweet how double black bicker very wittily, very creatively, and the new double black mostly just call each other variations of "idiot"

-"the painful words of the past have essentially nothing to do with who you are."

-this is such a silly comment, but there's this panel where dazai sits talking to kyouka and he has one foot firmly on the ground and one on his toes and that's such a small detail and i love it?? that they included such a small thing??

-genuinely, at least in my experience from watching it the first time, in the prettiness and novelty of the anime, the depth of the characters and of the plot flies over your head a little. yes, shenanigans, absurdity etc etc, but bsd is so much more than that, and it's so much easier to take that in when reading the manga, when you can sit with the panels.

-atsushi and aku-kun are so babies when they fight together, i can't :") someone protecc them

-HOW DOES EVERYONE HAVE SO MUCH CHEMISTRY WITH EVERYONE, WHAT IS THIS CAST

-akutagawa always saving atsushi's ass, smh

-three consecutive atsushi bubbles are just "...!" and i love that. sometimes all you can say is "...!"

-"conquered herself," i like that

-I SEE YOU IN THE SAME PANEL WITH DAZAI, FUKUZAWA! REMEMBER YOUR BLACK SHEEP SON DAZAI, FUKUZAWA?! YOU BETTER REMEMBER HIM, FUKUZAWA!

-the fact that it took until vol.9 to explain why atsushi can now control his skill

-ATSUSHI GRABS KYOUKA-CHAN'S HEAD TO HUG HER, LMAO

-AKUTAGAWA LOOKS SO SMALL AND BABY IN DAZAI'S POV, A LITERAL CHILD OMG!

-the way atsushi is genuinely happy or sad for others.

-no wait, is kenji-kun saying cheers with a tomato?? yosano with an entire bottle?? who's holding a freakin jug???

-dazai, from the time he met atsushi-kun: ah yes, this new stray will be perfect for my ex stray

-FYODOOOORRRRR

-on their DAYS OFF, the agency flocks to the agency building's cafe. sit on that for a minute.

-"DAZAI-CHAN"

-THE LOVELY WAITRESS SMACKED DAZAI-CHAN'S HEAD RIGHT ON THE TABLE AHAHAHAHA

-listen, i don't want bad things happening to the agency, ever. but also, anything that discombobulates mr i-can-predict-everything-i'm-300-steps-ahead dazai-chan makes me happy.

-it's sweet how atsushi goes "dazai-san!" in his moment of panic when he sees the bartender's cut finger. miss doctor is right there, but atsushi calls to his number one senpai first, you know?

-you really do see the "anemic" part of fyodor, it's more pronounced than in the anime

-the trauma is strong with this one (*atsushi-kun and the orphanage director)

-dude, this is actually difficult to read. it's actually hard to read. (*the director's treatment of atsushi)

-it's just. it's so twisted, but atsushi and akutagawa are so good for each other. they're terrible *to* each other, but because of who they are as people, their natural behavior enables each other to save themselves from themselves.

-atsushi to aku-kun: "are you going?" no, he's going to hang around for tea and therapy. what kind of question is that, bb?

-there's something about dazai. you could say he's jaded. you could say he's calculating, sus, desensitized, moving strings. his guide to living is oda's guide to living, but. but there's still something so intrinsically nurturing about him. something so delicately caring. idk, that's how i perceive him.

-idk, i think one of the themes that comes out of bsd is "i'm not gonna save you; only you can save you; but you won't have to be alone while you save yourself." 'cause there's always a "we" implied in bsd. in every character's loneliness, there's a "we" that they belong to, there's people behind them, backing them up, reaching out in their clumsy, convoluted, twisted or unconscious ways.

-this is a complexity that's so important to me. "you were in hell and hell raised you right" and "you need to acknowledge both of these things, but you don't have to forgive any of it." it's a terrible thing to acknowledge, that something decent in you was created or reinforced because of something horrible that was done to you. it's bone-chilling. it's so important to me that atsushi can still cry/is allowed to cry/allows himself to cry over the death of his only (barbaric, unforgivable) father figure, even if he hated him, even if he can't forgive him, because he was such a huge part of his life, and that he doesn't have to explain why he is crying, if it's confusion or shock or relief or loss or all of those and then some; he can just cry.

and atsushi asks dazai what he's supposed to feel, and dazai doesn't tell him how to feel. he only gives him the facts. "you know what you know, an unforgivable and barbaric experience. here’s what you don't know, who that man was - not the monster looming in your mind, but an actual person. take that and do what you want with it. he was your father figure, and people usually cry when their fathers die, but it's you who gets to decide if that's you, if you consider him worth crying over." and atsushi doesn't have to decide. he can just allow himself to feel his feelings, without explaining them to us.

and i think that's very dazai of dazai too, 'cause that's what dazai does. he does his machinations and brings people where he wants them, but at the end of the day, the choice of what they do with their circumstances is always theirs. dazai makes highly highly educated guesses, but he doesn't *know*, he can't account for the unpredictability of humans, he can only adapt to it. he brought akutagawa where he needed him to be, but the choices were akutagawa's, from the moment they met. he brought kyouka where he needed her to be, but her choice to save the city was still hers. you could argue that they didn't have real choices since dazai brought them to a point where there could only be one inevitable outcome given their characters, but that's not true; isn't it dazai who says early on that there's always a choice? i don't remember, but there's always a choice. it's who they are that makes their choice inevitable (and in line with dazai's calculations), so in a sense it's a free choice that's slave to the characters' nature (my aot is showing).

-i have a soft spot for trench coat-less dazai, 'cause it's so casual. just chillin'. just botherin'. no hardships.

-i find it incredibly charming that out of work aku-kun is dressed in more casual clothes and not his usual outfit

-i'm sorry, higuchi is lovely. i don't know if it's her by herself, or that she acts this way for aku-kun of all people, but she's lovely.

-higuchi considers atsushi a "seasoned" foe, aw. seasoned. little baby tiger

-like, at this point "jinko" is just the port mafia's pet name for atsushi. not insulting or derogatory or anything.

-*shakes fist* FYODOOOOOR (right now he's one of my favorite antagonists)

-"HE IS SOULLESS. A VAMPIRE." lol, mori looks like "bitch what"

-FYODOR IS GNAWING ON HIS FINGER, IS HE DRAWING BLOOD, IS THAT WHAT HE IS DOING, IS HE ACTIVATING *IT*

-oh come now, he calls himself anemic too, SURELY (in retrospect) this is some kind of blood-related clue?

-oh, even i don't like this, smashing a bottle on fyodor's head. too demeaning

-FYODOR'S FACE AT HIS WET HAT

-if villain why so pretty, fyodor? hm?

-if villain why so funny, fyodor? hm?

-HE CUT HIS FINGER ON A PIECE OF GLASS. it's blood-related, it is.

-man, i can't wait to rewatch the anime with the benefit of hindsight

-seriously, maybe he transfers his consciousness to others via blood and that's why he's anemic and that's how he communicates with "the rats" when he's locked up. i mean, have we even seen a "rat"? maybe they're all fyodors, I DON'T KNOW (have we seen a rat?). maybe the crime is killing fyodor and the punishment is getting more fyodors, I DON'T KNOW

-WHAT IF HE IS NOT ENTIRELY LYING, OR LYING ABOUT LYING, "CONSCIOUSNESS AND SPACE," TRANSFERRING HIS CONSCIOUSNESS THROUGH SPACES IE PEOPLE'S BODIES- ch.114 has made me lose my mind

-imagine calling fyodor "stupid." how embarrassing for ace

-OOOH, fyodor knows about ALL the port mafia skill users oh no.

-whose blood is this, even? is it the kid's blood? it could very well be fyodor's blood, his hand is blocked by the kid's head. i trust nothing.

-wait... fyodor is "soulless"... and tells the kid "may your soul find salvation"... coincidental soul references? I TRUST NOTHING

-i thought the read would go by faster, but no, i actually need time to process, even though i already know the story

#bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs manga #manga commentary #this got deep for a minute there

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popopretty · 2 years

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BEAST Movie Spoilers

So I did watch the early show on Dec 20, but I wanted to wait till the official release date to post this. Please make sure to read the followings before moving forward.

· This post contains spoilers, a lot of spoilers, and might be pretty detailed. Please don’t read it if you plan to watch the movie later and think that it will ruin your experience.

· There might be a few parts that I missed or didn’t remember clearly. I try to keep it as accurate as possible but I may come back after watching the movies more and fix things if necessary.

· The movie just came out today in Japan, so please be extra careful when discussing it on Twitter. Do not take too many screenshots. If you want to share it with someone, you can link them to this post. Don't repost this anywhere else out of Tumblr. I actually don't have any clear rules I just don’t want to be noticed because a lot of Japanese fans also use Twitter so please understand :(

· DON’T GO TO THE AUTHORS’ OR OFFICIAL TWITTERS TO COMMENT ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THE MOVIE, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. HAVE SOME RESPECTS.

If you are okay with all the above, feel free to move on to the spoilers. I just wrote down whatever I remember, mainly the parts where the movie is different from the novel.

HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD

· The movie didn’t show much of Akutagawa background as a kid. It started with his friends being killed and Akutagawa running off to avenge them. In the movie, Gin took a bullet for her brother.

· We didn’t get to see the scene where Oda found Akutagawa at the river bank on screen, but we got a scene of them eating curry together.

· The whole thing about Akutagawa collecting ADA’s approval stamp did not happen in the movie. The movie kept the babysitting scene and it was really sweet. He looked like a big brother to them, carrying them and asking them to help with housework etc.

· The house where the children stay was also attacked and the uncle also got stabbed in the movie. They made it look like what happened in Dark Era, only that this time Aku and Kenji appeared in time to save the kids from the kidnappers. (Honestly my heart skipped a beat here cuz I didn’t know what was going to happen to the kids).

· There was no farming scene with Kenji, but we had a new scene where Aku and Kenji met an old lady on the street, who commented on how thin Aku is then gave him a lot of stuff, telling him to eat up. He was so happy his eyes were shining.

· Kyouka in BEAST still loves crepes but no dates for her and Atsushi here ☹

· Oda is still friends with Ango. Ango works for the government and is Oda’s informant. He was the one who gave Oda information about the “man in black” that Aku was looking for. In the novel, it is said that Oda spent 3 days to look for a video of a secret meeting between Dazai and the government, so that Aku can confirm his face. In the movie, Oda also did that, but we got to see him actually breaking into the place and fighting the guards etc. That was when he met Fyodor, who gave him the data, but also slightly poisoned him (almost by the same method Ango did in Dark Era) as a warning.

· The video Oda got was not of a secret meeting as in the novel, but a video of Dazai and Chuuya 6 years ago (?) when they were fighting Shibusawa. In order to stop Shibusawa, Dazai told Chuuya to use Arahabaki but Chuuya didn’t want to because he couldn’t trust Dazai. Dazai then stabbed himself in the leg (not sure why he did that? Maybe to prove he won’t run away? I will have to watch the movie again and come back later). He asked Chuuya to believe him and said something along the line of “To protect this world, I cannot lose either Chuuya or Port Mafia.”

· There were quite of a few of flashbacks from Dark Era in Dazai’s mind. And those flashbacks always ended with him waking up in his office in BEAST.

· Dazai in the movie couldn’t keep his cool in the bar scene, as he did in the novel. He was already so emotional the moment he saw Oda. Oda was really indifferent to him in this scene. He pointed the gun at Dazai upon finding out that he was the Mafia boss, and later even put the gun on Dazai’s forehead when saying “Don’t call me Odasaku.” Dazai was on the verge of tear the whole time he delivered his last goodbye.

· Gin was really going to be executed in the movie, but the ADA came to rescue her and Aku. She also tried to kill herself with a gun (probably because she hast lost all hopes) but was stopped by Yosano. Ranpo appeared for the first time in this scene.

· In the scene where Dazai jumped, Oda was seen in the bar holding the lighter and looking up as if he could sense something.

· Atsu left PM with Kyouka as per Dazai’s order but he didn’t meet with Mori in the movie. Sometime later, he was called to a government prison (?) by Chuuya. Apparently after Dazai’s death, Chuuya became the boss. He went on a rampage (which Atsu wondered happened because of Dazai’s death) so he was captured and chained up by the government. Chuuya talked about how much of a trash Dazai was, how he looked down on people with his multiple personalities and how it was the worst of the worst to be teamed up with him etc. He waited 7 years to kill Dazai but Dazai went and died without a reason. Chuuya then told Atsushi to start a battle of revenge against the ADA, to erase ADA’s name from the phonebook and the map. Because the Mafia will have no face if they let the organization that caused the death of its previous boss to keep operating like nothing happened. Atsushi refused but Chuuya said Kyouka has accepted the offer. Atsushi then said maybe it is also Dazai’s plan for Chuuya to fight the ADA. Chuuya laughed and said something along the line of “So that mean if we keep fighting the ADA, it’s like Dazai is alive? (I’m really not sure what he means in this part. Maybe I misheard something so I will confirm later when I rewatch the movie). Or you don’t want to take revenge for Dazai?”. And Atsushi’s eyes looked fired up when he heard that. We didn’t get to know what happened after that.

· In the last scene, Fyodor was watching a footage of Dazai jumping off the building. It seems like he also knows the truth now. He told his subordinate that the next targets will be Atsushi and Akutagawa because having so many people know the truth will make the world unstable. He said he is okay with being the only one who knows the truth. And in the last scene of the movie, Fyodor said that what happens next will be the battle to save the world and told the viewers to look forward to it.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd spoilers #spoilers #beast movie #beast movie spoilers

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aja154ever · 3 years

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BSD STAGE Dead Apple Spoilers

Mainly a report on the additional scenes or scenes that hugely differ from the movie

PLS DO NOT REPOST AND SPREAD IRRESPONSIBLY

Tag spoiler posts, Credit as necessary

All photos come from the official press release

Please read these points before proceeding! ↓ ↓ ↓

Summary of the BSD Stage Dead Apple Synopsis

Under the cut for Spoilers!

▼Beginning

The play starts with Atsushi looking for Dazai (as tasked by Kunikida to attend the ADA mtg) Differing from the movie, he doesn't find him.

Atsushi meets Shibusawa on the street instead when Shibusawa saved an elderly crossing the street, making him think that Shibusawa is a kind person.

Atsushi thinks that they have met somewhere before but can't remember it exactly.

Kyouka then meets Atsushi about the Ability Users Suicide Case.

▼Akutagawa pursues Shibusawa

Chuuya and Akutagawa are talking on the phone. Akutagawa is tasked to pursue Shibusawa as the perpetrator of the Dragon Head Conflict.

However, Akutagawa was physically attacked by Dazai from behind - he snapped Aku’s neck, then stepped on him - causing him to lose consciousness (though he recognizes Dazai before passing out).

Dazai then comes with Shibusawa.

▼Chuuya and Akutagawa scene

The day when Dazai took Akutagawa to the Port Mafia is shown. Akutagawa wakes up from the dream and remembers Dazai attacked him.

An Ability user suddenly comes out of nowhere. Akutagawa fights him and realizes that he can't use Rashomon.

Chuuya comes to save him. Apparently, it's an Ability that got separated from its user.

Chuuya then explains Shibusawa's Ability and says that the mist engulfing Yokohama is actually the breath of a dragon.

Akutagawa then asks why Chuuya's Ability doesn't separate from him.

Chuuya answers that his Ability is quite special and isn't something small that can be taken easily by this fog. And if his Ability happens to separate from him, it will be the end of Yokohama.

Chuuya gives Akutagawa a new mission - to kill Dazai, because he's the one who took Shibusawa to Yokohama.

Akutagawa laughs, saying that he doesn't believe that because the Dazai now wants peace in Yokohama.

Chuuya laughs at him. He says that he's known Dazai for 7 years and were once partners so he knows Dazai - he knows that no one can tell what Dazai is thinking. There's a monster inside Dazai that no one can understand.

Aku claims that he can understand Dazai so Chuuya asks him why Dazai left the Mafia, but Aku couldn't answer. Chuuya says that he doesn't care if Aku looks up to Dazai but as for him, he's never looked up to Dazai even once. He then tells him to his face that Aku going all "Dazai-san, Dazai-san" and accepting everything he says - is probably the reason why Dazai doesn't approve of him.

Aku gets mad and attacks him to no avail. Chuuya taunts him further saying that if he doesn't do something about this mist, he'll remain weak.

Rashomon appears in the background. Chuuya says that Rashomon is just looking at him and not attacking him as if putting Aku to a test.

Chuuya says that without his Ability, Aku can never land a single punch at him.

Aku accepts the mission and says that he will beat Chuuya right after.

▼White Trio at Mukurotoride

Dazai walks to the center. There's a voice-over of Oda when he told Dazai that the good or bad side doesn't make much difference to him.

Shibusawa arrives.

Dazai says he's happy working with him.

Fyodor arrives saying that Shibusawa shouldn't believe Dazai. (Fyodor does a mini violin performance, talk about grand entrance lol)

It seems that Dazai didn't know beforehand that Fyodor is part of the plan.

Fyodor says that he's just a rat on the side that will help a bit.

Dazai realizes that Fyodor's role is to keep him in check.

Shibusawa says that he can actually accomplish all his plans on his own without them, but it would be boring.

Dazai agrees that it indeed wouldn't be boring because no one knows who will betray who.

▼Atsushi, Aku, Kyouka in the Mafia passage

Atsushi argues with Aku on the way, saying things that it's his fault that Kyouka suffered in the Mafia. He told them that he should never come close to Kyouka ever and talk as if he knows her.

Aku then retorts back asking Atsushi what he actually knows about Kyouka.

Atsushi says that he knows a lot stating things like Kyouka likes tofu and bunnies, and hates lightning.

Aku asks him about her past but Atsushi wasn't able to answer. Aku narrates that Kyouka's parents were killed by Demon Snow and she was picked up by the Mafia, and was then trained by a Port Mafia Executive known as the best Assassin in the world (in reference to Verlaine).

Aku then adds that he also knows that Kyouka hates flies and dogs, and likes ghosts and hydrangeas. He knows more about Kyouka so it's his win.

Unable to come up with other things about Kyouka, Atsushi resorts to bickering.

Atsushi: You're a sore loser!

Aku: Orphanage castaway!

Sushi, visibly hurt from Aku's comeback: You don't change clothes!

Aku, visibly hurt from Sushi's comeback: I wash it every time!

Sushi: Huh? Do you also wear that when sleeping?

Aku: I'm gonna kill you!

They were then stopped by Kyouka.

Before they go out of the passageway, Kyouka attempts to check if her phone can connect somewhere.

Aku gently stops her telling her that that phone is the one used to control her Ability and would be bad if it connects.

Kyouka says that there's nothing to worry about because there's no signal.

Kyouka asks him if Aku tried the Mafia's communication device and Aku says that it can't connect too.

(Note: When Aku talks to Kyouka his voice is calm and softer than usual)

Atsushi, feeling out of place, silently watches them from the side. "You two, you actually get along well, huh..."

▼Demon Snow Battle

The trio go back outside the streets and comes to face Demon Snow. They ran back to the Mafia passageway but Demon Snow just follows them and slices the door. Byakko then also appears.

Kyouka's phone rings. When she answers it, the scene flashbacks to the time when her parents died (same scene with the manga) with her mom explaining what truly happened, and then advises Kyouka how to control Demon Snow.

They were able to beat Demon Snow after and the Ability goes back to Kyouka.

▼More Aku, Atsushi, and Kyouka

Aku, Atsushi, and Kyouka continue to walk in the mist-covered street. Atsushi suggests to Kyouka that they should hold hands so they don't get separated. Kyouka agreed and held out her hand, but then asked Atsushi about Aku.

Sushi: Eh?

Kyouka:

Sushi: Eh?

Kyouka: Should I hold his hand?

Sushi: No way!

Kyouka: Then you should hold his hand

Sushi: Ehhhh, t-there's no way I would... i-it's Akutagawa...

Kyouka:

Sushi: Aahh, there are no other hands in here so fine!

Atsushi settles to offer the dangling part of his belt for Aku to hold on to (lol he's pointing his ass in the process because the belt is on his back like a tail). Aku reaches for it, but was taken away by Rashomon before Atsushi and Kyouka can see him

▼Aku vs Rashomon Battle

Aku uses his gun to fight against Rashomon. Just when he thought he won, he is then caught and pierced by Rashomon. At first Aku thought that Rashomon is fighting him to test if he's worth it as Rashomon's "owner", but then realized that Rashomon is actually filled with wrath - Aku's wrath towards his weak self.

Scenes flashback to Chuuya telling Aku why Dazai doesn't approve of him, of Atsushi telling him that he lost against him and is still not recognized by Dazai, and of Dazai telling him that his new subordinate is better and he doesn't need Aku.

Aku makes Rashomon remember all these, of what they went through, of what they are mad about, of what they both desire. If Aku doesn't beat Rashomon then he will be a part of Shibusawa's collection and will never get what they desire.

Before Rashomon ends Aku, he sets the bomb off and beats him eventually.

Aku returns to Atsushi and Kyouka thereafter, and Atsushi was surprised to see him covered in bruises.

▼White Trio Betrayal Scene

Fyodor sees Dazai suspiciously trying to enter the Draconia room. They went inside after Fyodor tells him that Shibusawa is not there. Dazai reveals his motives to Fyodor, and Fyodor hands him the crystals. Before Dazai can touch them Shibusawa stabs him from behind. Dazai dies. (scenes are almost the same as the movie)

After Dazai dies, Shibusawa also kills Fyodor, grabbing him on the top of his head, lifting him up, and then breaking his neck.

Shibusawa laughs (like a villain) saying that his plans succeeded.

▼More Aku, Atsushi, and Kyouka

Aku, Atsushi, and Kyouka are riding an elevator, standing side by side. Because the ride is taking quite long, Atsushi tries to make small talk to relieve the awkward atmosphere.

Sushi: Your Ability has returned to you, right? How does it feel?

Aku: None of your business.

*silence*

Sushi: Looking from this angle, your nose looks nice. (literally "you have a high-bridged nose" used as a compliment in Jp)

*silence*

Sushi: Aahh, with this three the talk is going nowhere..

Kyouka: *tries to narrate Momotaro (a popular Jp folklore)*

Sushi: Ah, I'm sorry Kyouka-chan, I didn't mean to force you

▼Chuuya at the Special Ability Dept

Chuuya arrives at the Special Ability Department Office. He is stopped by the guards but Chuuya beats them all (fight scenes were shown).

Chuuya arrives at the main office, but Ango is only showing up in the scene via a video screen. Tsujimura is in the office btw.

Chuuya and Ango talk about the government's involvement with Shibusawa (same with the movie).

Chuuya threatens Ango that he will kill the people in the office if Ango doesn't tell him about the case of Shibusawa now.

▼White Trio

Shibusawa takes Dazai's Ability crystal, but realizes that it is not the one he's been looking for.

Fyodor suddenly appears from his back, shooting Shibusawa with a gun.

Apparently, the one Shibusawa killed earlier was not Fyodor himself, but his separated Ability.

Fyodor then kills Shibusawa with a knife, making him remember his death (same with the movie).

▼Dragon Appears

Fyodor does his poetry speech about the dragon lol

The dragon appears as animation in the background.

Deadly Drive plays as bg music after!

Ango asks Chuuya to fight the dragon, believing that only his Ability can do it just as when they fought Guivre in the past.

Chuuya complains that the government just always does nothing but order people around while not getting their hands dirty.

He accepts the mission and asks Ango's life in return.

▼Chuuya vs Dragon

Plane scene with Tsujimura is almost the same as the movie. Chuuya throws his gloves and activates Corruption.

This scene involves his actor Uechan flying in a harness, where he did flips a few times. On his background is an animation of the levitated rubbles and the building he used to throw at the dragon.

Bless Uechan's throat for all the screaming

▼Soukoku scene

Chuuya shouts Dazai's name, and punches him waking him up. Dazai touches his cheek to deactivate Corruption. (Same lines with the movie, yes Dazai is still Snow White)

Chuuya asks him to let go but Dazai refuses saying that the place they are in is where the mist is the most concentrated and Arahabaki will end up separating from him.

▼Atsushi reflection with Byakko

Atsushi realizes that the orphanage director must have known that he killed Shibusawa, but wondered why he never told him.

The orphanage director appears at the end saying that he hid the truth from Atsushi because he thought Atsushi wouldn't be able to accept it and would be crushed (mentally) once he knew about himself.

▼Aftermath

Bokura plays in the bg

Aku leaves

Dazai arrives saying that Atsushi was saved because of them

Atsushi butts in saying that Dazai was the one who did

(same lines with the movie)

After Atsushi says the "more beautiful" line, Oda's voice-over plays when he told Dazai to go to the side that saves people because that's a little bit more beautiful.

▼Aftermath Chuuya

Ango calls Chuuya saying that the battle is finished thanks to them, and now he's ready to give his life in return.

Chuuya just laughs at him saying that his life isn't enough to pay for this. He also tells him that he understands that Ango was just a small fry in the government six years ago so wasn't able to do anything about the Shibusawa case. Ango thanks him but still tries to insist but Chuuya hangs up.

Akutagawa shows up, but he doesn't bow at Chuuya (unlike in the movie) and just continues walking after Chuuya told him that Dazai is alive. Chuuya calls him to lend his shoulder because he can't move and gestures him to come closer.

Aku does and Chuuya laughs at how unwilling he looks and asks if Aku is still mad that Chuuya called him weak. Aku says that he's not bothered at all.

Chuuya tells him that he shouldn't worry because they're both included in Dazai's plans, which means that Dazai thinks that they are essential in beating Shibusawa.

Aku remains silent. Chuuya then tells him that as Dazai's ex-partner, he's gonna say it - that Dazai approves of Aku. At the very least, Chuuya does approve of him too.

Aku just says that he's nothing compared to Chuuya.

▼Days after

Atsushi and Kyouka are back at the Agency, where they wave off to everyone as they go on a new mission.

Voice-overs of the ADA stage play cast were played sending them off.

Tanizaki: Take care!

Naomi: Stay safe!

Kunikida: Don't forget your report after.

Ranpo: Get me sweets on your way home!

Yosano: If possible, go back here with injuries, okay?

Kenji: Let's eat some gyudon later!

Fukuzawa: Atsushi, Kyouka, take care and come back safely.

▼Closing

Chuuya talks to Mori on the phone, reporting that the mission has been accomplished.

However, he gets instructed to do the send-off or the farewell greeting to the fans on the stage.

Chuuya, angrily to the audience: What are you looking at, huh?

Send-off? *takes a sit elegantly and stares at the crowd*

Ugh, okay,, *stands up*

Be careful not to be engulfed by the mist when you go home, okay? See ya.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! Please support the official accounts and releases as much as possible!

I’m no longer active on tumblr nowadays, so you may follow me on twitter instead @harukaja15

My translations on tumblr are compiled under the tag #bsd translation and #my works

#bungou stray dogs #bsd stage #bsd dead apple #nakahara chuuya #dazai osamu #nakajima atsushi #akutagawa ryuunosuke #izumi kyouka #shibusawa tatsuhiko #fyodor dostoevsky #bsd translation #my works

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ckjbun · 3 years

Text

What kind of ability would Higuchi have and its potential name?

Hi to whoever is reading this! This is my first self-written post so I’m still figuring out how all this works and I’m sorry, if it gets a bit chaotic. Anyways, recently, I came across a question regarding Higuchi from Bungou Stray Dogs. It was about what Higuchi’s ability would be called and what type it would be. So I won’t go into details whether she has an ability or not. I believe she has since she is named after an author (and Asagiri himself kinda confirmed it via Twitter). Thus, I just want to write my thoughts on the potential names and kind of ability.

Since abilities in the BSD world are always named after rather well-known works of the authors, I compared some of the famous works of Higuchi Ichiyo. Now mind you, I haven’t read her works myself. I mostly relied on comparing summaries and analyses of them. Since there are not a lot of summaries, I read two lesser-known stories myself. I will add the links of the summaries/analyses of the works down below. However, while comparing I found two works that would fit Higuchi. Now, first what do I mean by “fit”? Well, it might be best to start explaining what I think about the type of Higuchi’s ability.

I believe Higuchi has not an offensive type of ability. Nothing like Atsushi’s, Akutagawa’s, Kyouka’s etc. If she had, I’m sure she would have used it already, since she’s fighting a lot with her guns, why wouldn’t she use her ability as an addition, why would she hide it? There are two possibilities why we haven’t seen her ability yet. First possibility would be that her ability is not visible like Odasaku’s or Ango’s, maybe it’s even an ability that she hasn’t even discovered, just like Fukuzawa hasn’t realized he has one before the ADA. Second would be that she can use her ability only under stringent conditions. And I believe it’s the latter, hear me out.

Remember this scene from Chapter 14? Higuchi reaches out to hold Akutagawa’s hand but then pulls back because she remembered him saying that he doesn’t need her help. Now, you could argue that holding the hands of injured loved ones is a gesture of closeness, a way to show them your support, a way to tell them that you’re staying by their side. And Aku doesn’t want this support, so that’s why she retracted her hand. But something bothers me here. In this scene it looks like Aku slapped Higuchi’s hand away, doesn’t it? And then he says, he doesn’t need her help, instead of support. I know, you could say support and help are almost the same. But to me, help is something that you do more “actively”, while support can be something passive. What if Higuchi’s hand represents this “active” help? And what would actively help Akutagawa in this very moment? A healing ability for example. Coincidentally, in the panel before, Hirotsu asks Higuchi what power she posses to make them [the black lizard] obey. Is this a hint that there is a hint about Higuchi’s ability in the next panel? Maybe. But let’s look at the next panel. It’s the title page of this chapter.

As you can see, Higuchi has a bandage wrapped around her leg and they seem connected to Akutagawa. In this chapter, it is revealed that Higuchi contemplated about leaving the Port Mafia but her reason for staying is implied to be Akutagawa. This is perfectly symbolized by the bandages in this title page. The bandages coming from Akutagawa are holding her leg back, stopping her from walking away from the PM. But maybe there is a second interpretation? If you’re looking at Akutagawa’s left hand, the bandages are starting to come off. What if this means Akutagawa is healing and doesn’t need the bandages anymore? Instead it wraps around Higuchi’s leg, restricting her movement. What if Higuchi’s ability allows her to help someone else (doesn’t have to be necessarily a healing ability) but in exchange she needs to sacrifice something? Anyways, I think she has an ability which allows her to help other people in a non-combat way. With this in mind, I was looking through several works of Higuchi Ichiyo, searching for something that “fits”. Meaning that I was looking for parallels and themes in irl Higuchi’s stories that could be “converted” into an ability. Just like the coat that the protagonist of Rashomon stole in order to now die of hunger was used as Akutagawa’s ability which seems to be able to eat everything, or like the wish that one’s brother does not die in war in Thou Shalt Not Die became Yosano’s ability and serving as a basis of her background story. Anyways, I’d like to present the works that could be used for Higuchi’s ability and draw some parallels.

1. The Thirteen’s Night

The story revolves around a poor woman, called Oseki. Thanks to her marriage to a rich man, her family was able to live a better life and her brother found a job. But on the thirteenth night of the ninth month of the lunar calendar (one of two special nights for moon viewing), Oseki visited her parents with the intention on asking her parents for approval for divorcing her husband. Before entering, she overhears her parents talking about how lucky they are that they have such good children who don’t cause trouble and that they are very thankful for this marriage. Hesitating at first, she finally goes in and admits that she wants to divorce her husband because he abuses her mentally. He insults her constantly and tells her that she's worthless, stupid, and uneducated. Her mother is outraged. But her father, even though he acknowledges her suffering, reminds her what her husband has done for this family and that she would lose her son since women couldn’t get custody of their children after a divorce at that time. Agreeing with her father, Oseki decides to go back to her husband:

“It was selfish of me to think of a divorce. You're right. If I couldn't see Tarō, there'd be no point in living. I might flee my present sorrows, but what kind of future would I have? If I could think of myself as already dead, that would solve everything… Then Tarō would have both his parents with him. It was a foolish idea I had, and I've troubled you with the whole unpleasant business. From tonight I will consider myself dead — a spirit who watches over Tarō. That way I can bear Isamu's cruelty for a hundred years to come.”

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

Just like BSD Higuchi contemplates leaving the PM, the protagonist here wants to leave her husband. The PM is like the husband. It allows her to support herself and probably her family (at least we saw that she has a sister). But there is constant abuse. Akutagawa is clearly the biggest source of abuse that we can see. But it’s not only him. In Chapter 14, Mori asks her if she is really suited for this job. Telling her indirectly that she is useless or that she is too weak for the PM. Later, you can see the Black Lizard doubting her capabilities, even threatening her. But just like Oseki she stays because of a loved one. What really concerns me is Oseki saying that she will consider herself as a dead spirit watching over Tarō. What if Higuchi, in order to use her ability, has to sacrifice part of her lifespan? Or maybe she loses a feeling? Like e.g. she loses the ability to feel happiness, making her a bit more dead inside? If you draw this parallel, you could also say that when ‘consider myself dead’ is the condition of the ability, then ‘watching over Tarō’ is a hint to Higuchi’s ability. An ability that allows her to watch over and protect her loved ones? This theme fits Higuchi perfectly, since a big topic in Higuchi’s story line is how she wants to help and protect Akutagawa. So it makes sense that her ability might be something that would help him (**intensely squinting at the recent events in the manga, especially chapter 88**). Moving on to the second possibility before the pain starts to set in.

2. Takekurabe (literally: "Comparing heights", "Child's Play" in the Robert Lyons Danly translation, "Growing Up" in the Edward Seidensticker translation)

Now this is considered as Higuchi Ichiyo’s masterpiece. So the chances are high that the ability is based on this story. The story accompanies a group of children who live next to the Yoshiwara quarter. There are two rival gangs: the main street gang (’omote-machi’), lead by Shōtarō, a cultivated young boy who is the grandson of the owner of a pawnshop, and the back street gang (’yoko-chō’), lead by Chōkichi, the impulsive firefighter’s son. (Maybe a parallel to the ADA with (cultivated) Fukuzawa and the PM with Mori who’s a doctor which belongs into the same category of occupation as firefighters?). Among the main street gang, there was Midori, popular and pretty, who lives in the brothel where her sister works. Shōtarō probably has a crush on her. But Midori probably has feelings for the other main character, Nobu, the son of a Buddhist priest. Even though he returns her feelings, he distances himself from her out of his self-consciousness. Later he joins the rival gang after repeated request by Chōkichi. Anyways, they spend their days very care-free, attending school, playing with each other after school. One day, some conflict arises between the gangs and Midori, while protecting someone else, gets slapped by Chōkichi with a sandal. He then proceeds to tell her that their gang is backed by no other than Nobu. Midori feels humiliated and stops going to school. Soon she also stops playing with the other children. After some time passed, Midori is seen with her hair all done up. She has become a distant, lady-like young woman. This probably means that she got her first period and is old enough to become a prostitute or that she just had her first client as a courtesan. Little by little, the children grow up. Nobu is sent off to be trained as a priest and Shōtarō has come to accept the responsibilities of his family’s shop.

There are several themes in this story that I’d like to point out, namely unrequited love, Midori’s transformation and underlying unchangeable fates. The first one is obviously a big theme in Higuchi’s story. Midori and Nobu are unable to express their love for each other because of their positions in life. Just like Higuchi is unable to express her feelings for Akutagawa. If you want some hope, AkuHigu shippers, maybe Aku has also feelings for Higuchi but is still very confused and self-conscious about it just like Nobu. Anyways, because of their positions in the PM, it would make everything very complicated if Higuchi confessed. Additionally, Midori feels like she was humiliated by her love when she got slapped by that sandal. I’m sure that Higuchi gets humiliated by Akutagawa a lot. The next theme is Midori’s transformation from a tomboyish to a lady-like, distant woman. We all know Higuchi looks really badass in her suits. But again, look at the title page of chapter 14. Higuchi is dressed up all prettily and lady-like in a dress, and her hair is done all up. Just like Midori after her transformation. Midori’s transformation stands for Midori accepting her occupation as a prostitute even though she doesn’t want to. In this chapter, we see that Higuchi has accepted her job in the PM, even though she doesn’t want to do this job. At the end Shōtarō sings the following:

"Growing up,

she plays among the butterflies

and flowers.

But she turns sixteen,

and all she knows

is work and sorrow."

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

I don’t know about you guys, but to me that necklace that Higuchi is wearing in that title page looks like a butterfly to me. This is really farfetched but maybe this could be a hint about when Higuchi joined the Port Mafia? However, the biggest theme in Takekurabe is the underlying unchangeable fate of the children. Shōtarō was destined to become the next owner of the pawnshop, Nabu was destined to become a Buddhist monk and Midori would become a prostitute. Maybe this gives us some insight into why Higuchi joined the PM? Maybe one of her parents was a PM member? I also like to think that since Aku is in the PM, since she wants to be with him, she can’t but stay in the PM, and this is her fate. Nevertheless, fate is a central theme in Takekurabe. This is the reason why I think, if the ability is based on this story, Higuchi’s ability would be something like changing fates. Changing fate of someone else but in return she must sacrifice something.

Okay, so this post has become quite long. But I still wanted to mention two other stories Yamizakura (Flowers at Dusk) and The Sound of the Koto where I saw a lot of parallels. I just want to briefly tell you the story of The Sound of the Koto. In this story a woman abandons her son in order to leave her husband who has a bad reputation. The husband then turns into an alcoholic and dies later at a party because of alcohol intoxication. The boy becomes hardened to the world, despises his mother for leaving them, and even contemplates suicide. The story shifts then to a woman playing the koto. I want to give you an excerpt for the end of this story:

“On this night the sound of the woman’s playing helped another to be reborn. Through fourteen springs and fourteen autumns, the boy had been buffeted by the rains. His heart had gradually toughened until it had become as hard as stone. No arrow could penetrate it. He seemed destined to follow the example of his father, to die among the fields or in the mountains, where his remains would be bleached by the elements. Some were convinced the boy’s life would end in prison chains, while his bad name spread to every roadside.

But now, at once, the tenderness buried in his heart was freed by the midnight strains of the koto. For the first time in many years, he felt tears come to his eyes. Or were they jewelled drops of dew? He would not exchange them for anything.

He, who had known neither love nor compassion, and who had no idea what the player of these refrains could even look like, felt a moment of happiness as the music drifted over the garden wall. […]

[…] How could a stormy wind blow now? The clouds in his heart had disappeared. Once more the woman began to play. The sound of the koto would be his friend for a hundred years, the seed for a hundred years of yearning. He had entered a world where a hundred different flowers wer in bloom.

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

This boy somehow just reminds me so much of Akutagawa. Just like this boy, without any parents and home, wandering around in this world, Akutagawa has become hardened to the world. I’d like to think that Higuchi’s ability could free Akutagawa from his pain, just like the sound of koto does for this boy.

So, now I said everything I wanted to say, I guess. If there is really anyone reading this and reading this until here, thank you so much! I appreciate it very much that you kept reading even though my thoughts are probably quite chaotic. I’m sorry if there are any grammar mistakes or weird sentence structures or anything like this. English is not my first language. I’m very happy, if you could point out any mistakes or have any suggestion for improvement. Lastly, I just want to remind you that these are my thoughts, I love discussing so feel free to comment your thoughts but I’d like you to keep in mind that there is not necessarily a wrong or right, theories are theories, interpretations are interpretations. Everyone has another interpretation. They can only be proven wrong by Asagiri sensei himself. Until then just keep the discussions friendly and tolerant towards other people’s thoughts and opinions.

Sources:

All manga panels used in this post are from easygoingscans

Higuchi Ichiyo (樋口一葉)

Higuchi Ichiyo: "In the Shade of Spring Leaves"

In The Shade Of Spring Leaves: The Life Of Higuchi Ichiyo, With Nine Of Her Best Stories, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

In the Shade of Spring Leaves – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 1

“Flowers at Dusk” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 2

“Encounters on a Dark Night” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 3

“Child’s Play” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 4

HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ: BADASS WOMEN IN JAPANESE HISTORY

The Thirteenth Night (Wikipedia)

Female Subject, Interrupted in Higuchi Ichiyō's "The Thirteenth Night"

GAME OF TRADITIONS: TRADITION IN THE THIRTEENTH NIGHT AND DIARY OF A MAD MAN

HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ IN MODERN JAPANESE AND EUROPEAN DRESS: Modern Japanese versions (gendaigoyaku) of Higuchi Ichiyō’s Takekurabe and their Relationship with English, Castilian Spanish and Catalan Translations

Separate Ways Summary

Literary Analysis of “Separate Ways”

Flowers at Dusk

Nigorie (Wikipedia)

From the Margins of Meiji Society: Space and Gender in Higuchi Ichiyō's "Troubled Waters"

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glitchnovax · 4 years

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okokok sooo a lot of people think Atsushi is annoying and too insecure. At first I didn't like him either,but then I realized overcoming his insecurities(which he kinda still has) is part of his character development and I've come to the conclusion that I love him very much. So I was just curious, what do you think about him?

I am so sorry this is so long, I always get caught up on topics like this-

I hope this answers your question tho :3

Atsushi is one of the only protagonists I have genuinely had respect for and overall actually like the character of, compared to other animes/shows. At first I was the same, just sort of assuming he’d be another do-gooder protagonist the whole “I’m gonna be strong, defeat the true enemy” yada yada, but there actually is truly depths to his character that there isn’t with most other protagonists.

The difference with Atsushi is that he genuinely does not this he deserves to be where he is, he doesn’t even believe that he deserves to life, he thinks he has to earn the right. With other protags they tend to be doubtful at first but then very very quickly switch to the most positive characters ever to the point of their optimism being annoying af.

The reason Atsushi is so interesting to me is that mindset of needing to earn the right to live. Obviously it’s a very unhealthy way of viewing life but it’s what gives him depth as a character. The way he fights not necessarily because “iT’s ThE RiGhT tHiNg tO dO” (although it does factor in) but because he sees it as an opportunity at redemption, a way to validate his life. If you think about it, it’s quite similar to Dazai, they both feel as though they need to redeem themselves and joining the ada was a clean start for them, they both try to not so much bury the past, but put it behind them.

This is where the trauma comes in. In response the idea that he is just a whiny, overly insecure kid who needs to quit complaining and face the world, yes ofc I can see why people think that, he is definitely the most hesitant character in terms of facing his problems, he spends a lot of time trying to escape them or hide from them. Here’s the thing though, he was literally taught to hide from his problems all his life. At the orphanage we never see him stand up the headmaster, only him crying. Why? Because he’s a literal child. All he knows is fear, and escaping the abuse and torment of his previous “family”. He was never taught how to face his problems and while other protags tend to face them head on, he generally spends a lot of time hiding from them and cowering, the tiger is incredible symbolic of this.

Not only this but he’s literally followed around by his past. I said earlier that what he’s trying to do is put it behind him and move on, but he literally can’t do this because he’s haunted by ptsd (which is very visible in dead apple). This is also why he constantly reiterates the fact that he needs to prove his right to live. This boy literally hates himself so much all because that’s all he’s ever known. The headmaster says in a flashback “when you leave this place, hate me. Never hate yourself.” But this backfired on him because now all he can do is hate himself because it’s all he’s ever known.

One of my favourite quotes from Atsushi is in that fight with Akutagawa in season 1 when he says “people need to be told they matter or else they can’t go on” which is so damn iconic. It reflects on Atsushi, it reflects Akutagawa, it reflects on Kyouka (and I’d love to go through all of them but I’ll just stick to Atsushi for this post). That quote explains it all, it immediately states why Atsushi is as insecure as he is - because he’s always been told that he’s worthless and would be better off dead - it explains why he feels the need to earn his right to life - because again, he’s been told no one would miss him if he died (and I can’t stress hi enough:) all his life!! He needs to prove to the headmaster and most of all to himself that he isn’t worthless - and overall it just shows how self aware he is.

Anyone who has struggled with intrusive thoughs, insecurity and just overall self hatred knows that it’s like to have a voice in the back of their head telling them how shitty they are, and it’s awful. The voice in his head is a constant, it’s loud and it’s clearly hurting him. Whenever he’s “annoying and insecure” it’s because that voice is beating him to a pulp and he’s struggling to fight back. His character developement is visible (I mean you can can see the clear difference when he’s with his friends from the ada because he can tell they care about him a lot which is obviously a massive difference to the orphanage) however the developement will take time, if he’s written right, it’ll take more than just friend that care about him to improve his self esteem so to speak, he needs to help himself out of his own darkness. This is very very obviously contrasted to Akutagawa’s character in that Aku has essentially given up on himself, he’s worked so hard and in the end he’s given up on finding a way out. That is until Atsushi came along. Atsushi is different because he is clearly working towards getting out of that darkness, and he is succeeding. As we know, Aku’s jealousy stems from Dazai’s appreciation of Atsushi, but I would also argue that it’s from seeing how much Atsushi is improving and actually having a warped view of that.

I know this is slightly off topic but just let me explain: when Aku talks to Kyouka in the canibalism arc, he says that she’s lucky to have found her way to the light, the general meaning of this is taken as hat she got out of the Port Mafia and joined the “good” side. However there’s quite obviously a double meaning in that Aku can see how happy Kyouka is and believes that he’ll never reach that (Aku’s story is one I’d rather discuss in another post but for the purpose of understanding Atsushi’s growth, you should understand it from Aku’s point of view as well).

He says how happy he is for Kyouka, but remains angry at Atsushi, because he feels like Atsushi has everything (this comes from their fight on the Moby Dick) Atsushi is really quick to point out that he absolutely doesn’t have everything and that he suffers just as Aku does and I think that scene really explains Atsushi’s character incredibly well. Just to tie this all up, I think Aku agreeing to not kill anyone until he and Atsushi battle it out, is a massive first step in him attempting to improve himself (even if it is in the essence of competition).

Overall, Atsushi is so much more than just an “annoying and insecure” character, like all of the characters in bsd, he’s quite complex and I really enjoy breaking down all the aspects of his character to explain this.

Atsushi isn’t one of my favourite characters, but he’s one I’ve come to respect him more and more as I’ve watched and rewatched bsd (and now as I finally read the manga!!). I love discussing all the complexities of bsd especially since there’s so much to break down and delve into (and believe me my favourite characters aren’t my favourites for no reason).

To everyone reading this, feel free to reply/reblog with your opinions, I love hearing what other people think about stuff like this skdjskd

I’ll gladly give my opinion on whatever character, scene, story arc, fandom based thing or just anything in bsd in general so feel free to send in more asks :)

#cas talks #despite everything i said #i will not refrain from yelling about how much of a lil bitch Atsushi is while watching dead apple #i love him tho #even if hes not one of my favourites ill defend him til the day i die #bsd thoughts #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd character opinions #atsushi #atsushi nakajima #nakajima atsushi #bsd atsushi #bungou stray dogs atsushi

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mysaldate · 5 years

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On the topic of BSD mental issues..

Because a lot of people in this fandom just LOVE to bestow their own mental problems on characters and even go so far as to claim not a single BSD character is mentally alright, I went on a little rant to debunk this bulshit of a claim. If you’re one of those who support the “everyone is mentally ill because I said so” theory, don’t even bother reading this, please, and save us both the time.

If you do read, however, please keep in mind those are just my opinions and analysis and why I personally find the claim that everyone is mentally ill bulshit. You’re free to believe what you want but I’ve had multiple people come spurting out insults at me simply for not believing every single character is mentally diasbled.

First, our beloved ADA Atsushi - He's actually doing really well. Sure, he's not 100% ok but we were given no serious childhood trauma impacts (except for flashbacks that don't really... do anything to him mentally except for motivating him to do better which is, you know, not a sign of mental illness), he doesn't have self-destructive tendencies, he doesn't feel like he owes the society anything but he doesn't slip to nihilism either. His motivations are humane and sane and relatable. I mean, if anyone told you your friends would be in mortal danger if you stay with them, wouldn't you try to get away from them too? Dazai - Ok, Dazai is far from stable. He still handles his issues surprisingly well though and his constant suicide attempts are really played off as a joke, which is not the best way to handle them but it takes a lot of seriousness from it and kind of makes it hard to believe it's what he actually wants to do with his life. Especially since there are times where he goes out of his way to make sure he stays alive (Dead Apple being just one example). Kunikida - Arguably one of the most stable characters in the show. Some people claim he has OCD but have you ever seen an actual OCD patient? His love for schedules and hard time when they can't be kept is something that runs in my family and nobody has ever been diagnosed with OCD. People need to realize that having your life planned out is not a mental illness. Yosano - I'm a little more benevolent about Yosano, especially since she has a more psychotic side to her and she seems actually damaged by her childhood but I stiil stand my point that she is doing extremely well for someone who supposedly has a mental illness. It's almost as if the "insane" side of her was purposedly overblown for comedic purposes. Ranpo - I know a lot of people say he's autistic but I don't agree with that hc. Why? Well, I have a classmate who's not autistic and she's exactly like him. She's smart, almost genius, has great deduce skills and brilliant crime-solving abilities (tested multiple times with Black Stories or whatever that game is called in english) but she is unable to live on her own. She knows close to nothing about real life, skills used for everyday functioning and as for public transport, she only learnt how to use it recently and she's almost 19 years old. I also have an autistic friend who specifically said he'd find it insulting to hear that Ranpo is supposedly autistic. Tanizaki - I'm not sure what to say here, Tanizaki is a normal guy. Nothing special about him. He's willing to go great lengths for his little sister but I think anyone with younger siblings can relate to that. At least anyone who cares for their younger siblings. Kenji - Go on and tell me how Kenji of all people has a mental illness, I dare you. And if you pull out his cheeriness, you're obviously just too depressed to fathom that some people might actually enjoy life. Fukuzawa - Again, one of the most stable characters in the series. Say what you will but he's not unstable and his ability to stay calm at almost any situation except for when his kids are in danger is just further proof of this. Kyouka - I'd say she might have issues. My afforementioned autistic classmate pointed out that she feels autistic to him so there's that. Also her childhood visibly screwed her over. However, she's still surprisingly stable and normal despite all of that so while she might have some issues, they are greatly balanced by her strong will and natural personality. Naomi - I wouldn't say Naomi is 100% ok in the head but not to a point where I'd claim an actual mental illness. Sure, I'm not a doctor but nor is anyone who diagnoses her with whatever it is they diagnose her with. Haruno - And exactly what is wrong about Haruno? She's cute, positive, cheery, hard-working and supportive. And she gets scared in situations that invoke this. Literally NOTHING weird.

Next up is our dear Port Mafia Akutagawa - No denying it, Aku has serious issues. Again though, he's doing far better than most people with similar problems but that could just be due to him letting his frustrations out via murder. Chuuya - No issue found here. Sure, he's a little short-tempered but that's about it. A lot of people are short-tempered without being mentally ill. And he could be portrayed with some serious issues due to his origin and past. Gin - Do we even know enough about her to diagnoze her? All we know is that she's silent, a little shy and that she's always on odds with Tachihara. Make me a diagnosis from that. Higuchi - Aside from her massive crush on Aku, there's nothing weird about her. She probably picked the wrong job but she's willing to work hard anyway to earn her place there,, which is not exactly typical for people with mental illnesses. Hirotsu - STABLE PERSON. Just... what else is there to him? He is literally the voice of reason who commands the black lizard solely because he can actually keep them under control. Geez, there is literally nothing linking him to any mental problem! Kajii - This guy's got issues, no denying it. And I won't even say he could do worse because obviously he could but he's fairly close to being the insanest (is that a word?) he can get. Kouyou - Oh look, ANOTHER completely stable person. I mean, come on, she's been an executive since Dazai and Chuuya were 15, that's seven years. Clearly she couldn't hold her position if she weren't stable. Not to mention, we saw her being stable in stressing situations so. many. times. Elise - She's an ability. No comment. Mori - Yes, he has his issues. But he's the hypercompetent Mafia boss who stayed in charge for a very long time already and there's no sign of anyone overthrowing him any time soon, nor planning to because he's just a great leader, something he couldn't be if he was mentally ill. Oda - Do I even need to elaborate on this? Oda is very probably the sanest person we got, one who sees the wrongs of his past and does his best to overcome them and repent, all of which goes without him being depressed or self-loathing in the slightest. Randou - This has been talked about a lot. Randou is sensitive and impulsive and sometimes acts on emotions rather than rationallity. None of that makes him a mentally ill person. It just makes him a person, a human being we can all relate to. Ace - Ace is a selfish human being who thinks too highly of himself and is manipulative and abusive. Is that a problem? Yes, obviously. Is that a mental illness? Not necessarily and more likely no than yes. He does things for his personal gain and everything went his way for far too long for him to expect it to go any other way. And as we all know, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutelly. Q - Does anyone really think Q is sane?

Now for the group that so many people dislike it’s honestly sad, the Guild Francis - Francis is, first and foremost, a very loving husband and father. He goes on this insane mission to Japan to obtain a mystical object he believes is real but never got any deffinite proof of. Is he naive? Perhaps so. And after he loses, he gets depressed and broken because he finds out his wedding ring disappeared, probably because his wife did something. That breaks him. And honestly? He has every right to break down. It's understandable and human and it does not make him mentally ill. Louisa - While yes, she is very shy and some argue she has some sort of anxiety disorder, all of this can be explained by the fact that she's practically a child. She's 18 dammit. Who could leave their home country at 18 only with an organization of older people, who also all seem very sure of themselves, while having no combat ability and nothing to really bring to the table? If she were mentally weak, there's no way she'd go looking for Francis after his fall, it's actually more likely she'd hurry back home, probably with tears and fear of being arrested if she were to stay in Japan for longer. Margaret - Name me one thing that makes you think Margaret of all people would have a mental issue. One thing. Most of her screentime is her being a vegetable. And while that is certainly a health problem, not a mental health one. Nathaniel - Hey, he was completely ok before meeting Fyodor. Being religious is not a mental health problem and f you if you say otherwise. John - Again, nothing unstable about John. He's not even that selfish, doing what he can to support his family and even picking up the remainings of the Guild to keep the people together and give them new hope because, y'know, hope is very important to people. Lovecraft - He's not even human. You can't apply human mental health logic to him. Herman - We've seen him for how much... 2 minutes total? And even from just that, he seemed like a calm and composed guy. No sign of mental problems whatsoever. Mark - He's hyper, that's what people say at least. But is he really? Kind of hard to believe when all we've seen of him is two scenes of adrenalin rush, one scene where he tries to lift the spirits of his coworkers and one scene where he just decides to go back home because this adventure is obviously over. No sign of mental illness here either. Lucy - A little more visible traumatic impact than with Atsushi and some abandonment issues, which are completely understandable and relatable. Not necessarily a mental illness. Poe - Ok so Poe doesn't feel well in company of others and he is a little psychotic when he gets too into his self-assigned role but 1) introverts are not mentally ill and 2) it's completely natural to get carried away when we witness the person we believe wronged us getting some karma back.

The one group that appeared for such a short time, yet everyone seems to love them, the Rats Fyodor - The most obvious god complex, clearly. He's not sane but he's stable so there's that. Nobody says he's ok, he's clearly not. But he's composed and smart enough to not let his issues control him. Ivan - Part of his brain is literally gone. He's not ok. he can't be. And unless part of your brain is missing too, you physically can't relate to him. Pushkin - Actually a stable, understandable character. Weak men are known through all of history to be the causes of major drama simply because their complexes over being weak lead to them finding joy in torturing the strong. It's not a mental illness, it's just bad character. Oguri - Clearly, Ogugu has issues. Call it survivor's guilt or PTSD or whatever you want, he has issues. Nobody is denying that. Still, he's doing fairly well when not desperatelly trying to seem evil.

I do not feel like doing the Hunting Dogs for the sole reason of me not liking them enough to focus on their mental states but they are pretty much lab rats, artificially enhanced humans and that alone should be enough to explain why I don’t believe in applying normal psychology to them. As for the Decay of Angels, there’s still much more to learn about them so I won’t get into that just yet. And when it comes to the governmental agents, I haven’t read the novels so I only know a bit about Ango and I honestly don’t see how anyone could think Ango has a mental illness.

I repeat again, these are my opinions, based on my experiences and what I’ve studied about mental illnesses (because believe it or not, I study about these things quite a lot). It doesn’t fit except for Tumblr romanticised versions of them and even those are iffy. You’re free to agree and disagree with all of this or with just certain parts but please don’t feel required to share your thoughts, I frankly don’t much care.

With that I bid you goodbye, at least until another thing prompts me to make a long-ass analysis almost nobody will read, nor care for.

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nycttophilic-a · 5 years

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Ryunosuke Akutagawa

=BASIC INFO=

FULL NAME: Ryunosuke Akutagawa NICKNAME(S)/ALIAS(ES): Mafia Dog, Rabid Dog, Silent Rabid Dog, Diablo, Black Cloaked Hellhound PRONUNCIATION(S): Ryuu-NOH-s-kay AGE: 20 GENDER: Male SPECIES: Human (ability user) BIRTH DATE: March 1 SEXUALITY: Biromantic demisexual =PERSONALITY= PERSONALITY: Selfish, cold, harsh, prideful, strong-willed, stubborn, emotion-driven, detached from others, blunt EMBODYING QUALITY/IDEA: A hate-driven man with far too much power at his disposal LIKES: Antique calligraphy and paintings, tea, figs DISLIKES: Plants, dogs, baths, broad beans, mandarins FEARS: Being weak, losing his sister, being worthless WEAKNESSES: acts before thinking and lets his emotions drive him, struggles to care about people, tends to go off on his own and do things without permission, has a bad temper STRENGTHS: Strong willed, strong fighting spirit, protective of those he cares about, won’t torture his enemies (if that counts as a strength...) SPECIAL/SIGNIFICANT BELONGINGS: His ability manifests itself in the black coat he wears, so he always has that coat on him. =PHYSICAL AND HEALTH INFO= HEIGHT: 5′7 feet WEIGHT: 110 Pounds BODY TYPE: A very slim frame and sickly appearance with his pale skin. He’s often seen with his hand covering his mouth while he coughs. This is because he has COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, from living in the slums. JEWELRY: Doesn’t wear any PIERCINGS/TATTOOS: None SCARS/DISTINGUISHING MARKS: The tips of his hair are white, which is one way to pick him out of a crowd. He has many scars along his body not just from his “training” with Dazai, but also from living in the slums and trying to survive. =RELATIONSHIP INFO= RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Verse dependent PARENTS: unknown, deceased parents. He doesn’t even know who they are, and honestly, he couldn’t care less. Even if they were alive, he’d kill them for leaving him and his sister. SIBLING(S): Gin Akutagawa (Younger sister) – BEST FRIEND(S): N/A, verse dependent FRIENDS: (Ichiyo Higuchi), verse dependent ACQUAINTANCES: Kyouka Izumi, Chuuya Nakahara, Sakunoske Oda, verse dependent ASSISTANTS: Ichiyo Higuchi, lower ranked mafioso GUARDS: Ichiyo Higuchi ALLIES: Port Mafia PETS/SPECIAL ANIMALS: N/A, verse dependent – ENEMIES: Atsushi Nakajima, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, among others MAIN ENEMY(IES): The Guild, the Decay of Angels, the Armed Detective Agency, pretty much anyone who breathes... MOST HATED: Atsushi Nakajima =STORY INFO= STORIES THAT THIS CHARACTER APPEARS IN: Bungou Stray Dogs STATUS: Alive BACKSTORY: Ryunosuke and his sister, Gin, were born and raised in the slums of Yokohama. They didn’t know their parents and couldn’t care to try to remember them, so they had to look after each other. They lived with a few other children and struggled to get by. One day, Ryunosuke and the other kids overheard talk about a port mafia shipment to some of its lower members. The men caught the kids and beat them all to death, save for Ryunosuke and Gin, who managed to get away. To get revenge on the ones who killed the other children, Ryunosuke went to the spot where the shipment was supposed to come in, but all six men were killed by Dazai’s orders. The older offered the boy a place in the Port Mafia. Overwhelmed with respect for this male who had saved him and his sister from the slums of Yokohama, Akutagawa joined. He was fourteen. Dazai’s “training” was horrible and brutal. He constantly criticized Akutagawa’s technique and ability, calling him weak and worthless and quite often beating him senseless. All of this only made Ryunosuke want to become worthy in his mentor’s eyes, so much so that he became feverishly obsessed with that. To this day, he will kill anyone with no remorse if it meant proving his strength and worth. But that’s exactly why Dazai is so unhappy with him. Now, his face is feared all across Yokohama. – PLACE OF BIRTH: the slums of Yokohama PAST LIVING QUARTERS: The Slums CURRENT AND FUTURE HOMES: Yokohama – NATIVE LANGUAGE(S): Japanese LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Japanese, English, French, some Russian =TALENTS/OCCUPATION/EDUCATION= OCCUPATION/JOB: Mafioso BOSS: Ogai Mori TALENTS: Willingness to get his hands dirty, ability to kill with ease, his ability: Rashomon YEARS OF EDUCATION: No formal education LEVEL OF EDUCATION: No formal education =COMBAT= SKILLS/TECHNIQUES: he himself is mostly stationary in battle, unless he can move around with minimal effort due to Rashomon. He won’t perform hand to hand combat unless Rashomon is in its Demon Armor form, because then it can move Akutagawa around with no effort on his part. That makes it easier on his weak body. SPECIAL POWERS: Rashomon: an ability that can posses and be summoned from any article of clothing, but Akutagawa mainly uses his traditional black coat to summon his ability. It can cut and eat through anything and nothing can cut through it, save for Atsushi Nakajima’s tiger claws. Rashomon has many different forms, all fo which I am not going to list out and explain lol. WEAPON(S) OF CHOICE: He uses Rashomon 99% of the time, but he keeps a gun with him just in case he can’t. STRENGTHS: His ability is incredibly strong and can cut through anything, even space itself. WEAKNESSES: He actually has a very weak body, and so he himself doesn’t move around much and mostly lets his ability to the fighting. If he exerts his body too much, he could easily pass out. =VERSES= ~íf í tσld чσu whαt í wαѕ wσuld чσu turn чσur вαck σn mє?~ [Monster! Verse]—An AU where the world is humans/monster hunters vs. monsters. Akutagawa is a monster hunter who uses captured monsters in combat. He makes proper use of shock collars and beatings to keep his “pets” in line. He is feared among monsters and respected among humans as a hero that drives back the horrific beasts.

~ѕσund σf mч hєαrt; thє вєαt gσєѕ σn αnd σn~ [Band Verse]—A verse where Ryunosuke is just a normal emo guy who’s an excellent bass player. The only problem is that he doesn’t work too well in groups, or bands...

~í’m α crєαturє whσ‘ѕ up tσ nσ gσσd; í‘ll lσvє чσu líkє α vαmpírє wσuld~ [Vampire Verse]—This verse is very simple and the same for all of the muses that have it: the character is a vampire. This verse is very flexible, so if you have ideas please let me know so we can incorporate it into the thread!! But it’s nothing major, I just love vampires lol

~tαkє mє thrσugh thє níght; fαll íntσ thє dαrk ѕídє~ [Villain! Verse]—Affiliated with @siireniis‘s Phantom Casino. Ryunosuke used to be Dazai’s pupil as a child before the older male joined the side of the heroes and abandoned the boy. Years later, he was found on the street by the leader of the Phantom Casino, Zach Rhys. Now, Aku works for him and is incredibly loyal to him, and can be found as a bartender at the villain-exclusive casino.

~í‘m juѕt líkє чσu! чσu‘rє juѕt líkє mє!~ [Twin! AU]—An AU for Akutagawa rpers who love twin AUs like me!! Basically Ryunosuke has a younger twin brother, Tajomaru (I will play as Tajomaru..!! ^w^)

~í cαn‘t lívє α nσrmαl lífє; í wαѕ rαíѕєd вч thє ѕtrєєtѕ~ [Beast! AU]—An alternate AU where Ryunosuke is a member of the Armed Detective Agency, along with other changes. This verse will be extremely selective as I don’t know much about the Beast novel, so you guys will have to help me lol

~tσ α ѕєnѕєlєѕѕ вєαtíng; crípplєd αnd вαrєlч вrєαthíng; í tσrє σff mч ѕkín; í‘ll hαng frσm thíѕ nσσѕє~ [Reverse! AU]—A very dark and twisted AU that’s the complete opposite of normal. In this AU, Ryunosuke is a calm and well mannered boy training under Chuuya Nakahara in the Armed Detective Agency. He is often referred to by Atsushi Nakajima as his “pet”, as he is forced to do as the weretiger says—otherwise, he will kill him.

~hσld чσur вrєαth αnd cσunt thє dαчѕ; wє‘rє grαduαtíng ѕσσn~ [High School Verse]—A verse where Aku’s just a normal teen. He’s a junior and basically Dazai’s shadow. He idolizes him for reasons I honestly couldn’t tell you. Even though he follows him everywhere, when Dazai graduates Ryu will never reach the fear and control his “mentor” made.

like this post if you have read it and agree to it, please.

#~fєєl thє fєαr αnd ѕwαllσw вαck thє tєαrѕ; lєt wєαknєѕѕ díѕαppєαr~ [Ryunosuke Akutagawa]

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leonawriter · 5 years

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Stray Dogs and Tiger Cubs (pt.17)

Also on AO3

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs

Characters: Dazai, Atsushi, Yosano, Kunikida, Chuuya, Akutagawa.

...

"O-o-ow-!"

"Oh, grow up, Dazai. Maybe if you hadn't gotten yourself into that situation in the first place, you wouldn't be in this one now. Atsushi's a better patient than you are!"

"Atsushi-chan can heal because of the tig-ow! - so that doesn't count. And you know I hate pain."

Atsushi himself, completely unharmed despite everything that had happened just earlier, looked over at Yosano with wide eyes.

"Is... is Da-san going to be okay?"

Dazai put on his most morose expression.

"I'm going to die," he said, putting his free arm not currently being manhandled by Yosano, over his eyes. "A long, slow, and painful death. It's awful."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dazai. Atsushi-chan, stop making that face, he's not dying, even if he wishes he was."

He lifted his arm away to find that yes, Atsushi was doing a very good job of making him feel guilty as hell by looking that concerned.

"I'm just joking, Atsushi-chan~"

"You did get pretty beat up, though. Otherwise I wouldn't still be picking out bits of what can only be described as debris out of your hands. What were you doing, fighting a wall or something?"

"Or something," he said in a tone that was meant to be far more carefree than it came out, what with Yosano dabbing at yet another sore patch and making him wince.

"Da-san did say that Aku-san had been mean to him too," Atsushi said, making Dazai have to fight not to laugh.

Aku-san? So, Akutagawa has become Mr. Bad Guy now? Well... it isn't as though he hasn't earned it.

...

"I see you brought the girl back with you," Kunikida says stiffly.

It wasn't as though he wasn't concerned by everything that was going on; just the sight of Dazai's face had been enough to shock him speechless for a good moment when the small group had returned to the Agency. Dazai was the one out of all of them that was the hardest to kill, to the point where most of them had stopped being concerned at his disappearances a long time ago, expecting that he'd turn up sooner or later, or someone would eventually drag him back to them like a lost dog.

Seeing evidence of the fact that he wasn't somehow invulnerable and that those damn bandages of his probably hid worse, was more than a little unsettling, and he was still attempting to find his balance from the reminder.

"Of course," Dazai said, sounding nowhere near as concerned by any of this than he had any right to be. "She asked so politely not to have to go back to the mafia, so she's staying here for the time being, watching over Atsushi-chan."

He noticed the shift in honorific, and wondered if that meant anything, but made a mental note to ask Dazai about that later, since there were far more pressing problems right now.

"Yes, but - this is the mafia. Not some small gang that Kenji can encourage to just let the matter drop! And aside from that, she's a wanted murderer. The police are going to be after her!"

For a moment, Dazai doesn't respond, just staring over in the direction of where Atsushi is talking to Kenji, who then puts his hat on the small boy's head, which completely covers his eyes until his pushes it up so that he can see, a clear smile on his face as he looks over in their direction. In Dazai's direction.

Dazai smiles, and for the first time, Kunikida finds himself wondering if perhaps Dazai looking after Atsushi might not be the worst thing in the world, for either of them.

"I know that," his partner says at last, voice soft and low and reminding him of when they'd first met, with all of his secrets and no reason to be trusted yet. Reminding him that a lot of the things that he had distrusted Dazai for back then still haven't been answered, even if he's been able to trust the other man with his life for going on two years now. "We don't need to worry about the mafia for the moment, though," Dazai continues brightly, and the sense of something being swept under the rug and hidden away again makes Kunikida grind his teeth. "And I already have an idea for what we can do with her, too."

"Don't need to- do I even want to know what you mean by that?" He pinches the bridge of his nose. "And that'd better be a good idea, because for the life of me, I can't think of anything."

It wasn't for lack of trying, either, but-

"The mafia are busy right now, because someone made a very bad mistake in thinking that they could make them into fools," Dazai point out, and Kunikida shuddered. "Ah, well, because of all of that, and me being Atsushi-chan's guardian, it means that we'll be having to talk with them on even terms to figure out what happens next, which definitely won't be any fun. With any luck they'll just let it drop and go after the one who set up the bounty, but..." Dazai sighed, and trailed off.

"But?"

"Kyouka-chan's the more complicated situation." And there was the serious expression, back again. "And my idea can only work if it's what she truly wants."

"And that is?"

Dazai just smiled enigmatically, damn him, and didn't answer.

...

"Akutagawa. Oi, Akutagawa, listen to me." Chuuya sighed. He'd had to listen to silence interspersed with coughing all the way back to headquarters, and then he'd had to force the damn coat of the overgrown bratty teenager just to get him to be treated. Mori had left him in his care for the time being, to boot. "Look, do you even have any idea why everyone's mad at you."

"...I went against orders."

It was the same stiff and unyielding tone Akutagawa had used against Mori earlier, and it didn't give him any feeling of hope that anything had actually sunk in.

"You do that all the time," he says, waving that idea out the window. "Hell, I went against orders by letting a traitor loose, but in the end, it was the right decision. So what's the difference? And that was a question. I'm expecting an answer."

"Chuuya-san is an executive," came the response, in the same tone as before, making Chuuya put his hand to his head. If he hadn't been getting a headache before, he definitely was now.

"Well, yeah, that helps, but mostly it was because I got good information out of it. Boss likes it best when he's got all the information, not just bits and pieces of it."

Which was similar to Dazai, come to think of it, though he wasn't sure if that was something the Boss had taught Dazai, or if it'd just naturally always been something the mackerel'd had in his head.

"I..." for a moment, he almost thought he'd imagined that, it was so quiet, even and especially with the fit of coughing. "I just... wanted to be stronger. Strong enough... he..."

Chuuya sighed. Leaned back on his chair, and stared at the ceiling, wondering just how many times his (ex) partner had told him how much he hated people who only threw around their strength without using their heads.

"You don't... really get Dazai, do you Akutagawa," he said, glancing back down.

Akutagawa blinked, and it took Chuuya a moment to realise that the expression he was now wearing was one of confusion.

"Get... Dazai-san? That's... it's pointless to even try. Anyone who attempts to understand him falls into a cognitive prison, a dead end with no way out."

"So that's what you think, huh." Dazai really did a number on this kid, whatever it was he did. I dunno if the worst thing is that Dazai doesn't even seem to realise what it is he's done. It's a damn good job he looks like he's treating that weretiger kid better, or... eh, I dunno. "That's your first mistake, then."

He expected some sort of response, a rebuttal, maybe, but all he got was Akutagawa's head turning away in an immature way of saying he didn't want to talk about it, or that's what it seemed like.

The most baffling thing was, Chuuya had worked with Akutagawa before this, and he'd never been this bad. The fact that he knew exactly what was causing it all only made it more frustrating.

"You start thinking of Dazai as some great mystery you're never gonna be able to solve, and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy you've got there. Sure, trying to get inside his head's like trying to stick your hand in a bag full of cats, and trying to figure out his plans is sometimes like trying to get 'em all in a line, but... motivation in general? Like, why he'd be pissed off right now? That's not too hard. He's as human as anyone, you and me included."

He was aware there was a certain amount of irony about that particular phrase and including himself in it, but... it fitted. All too well. But he wasn't about to explain personal things like that, not to Akutagawa, and not here and now.

"After all," added, carefully watching Akutagawa's reaction, "from what I heard, that kid's ability's less like how your Rashomon practically has a mind of its own, or that girl's Demon Snow, or ane-san's Golden Demon, either. Even just from what I saw, it's more like..." Like a softer, fluffier, version of Corruption that's less lethal to the user, came the unwelcome but unfortunately accurate thought. Right down to the fact that they both seemed to need Dazai to stop them once they'd started. "It's still the kid, it's just the shape that's changed."

He stands, hands in pockets and hat shading his eyes as he turns to leave the briefing room he'd appropriated for their 'discussion' a while back.

"But-" the one word paused him at the doorway, full of so much desperate emotion it'd be impossible to pick it all apart. "Dazai-san... Dazai-san never... never once treated me like that! What - what has one kid got, that I- I couldn't-!"

"Yeah? Welcome to the club, then. Personally, I'd say it's because he's an ass who finds it easier to piss people off than stay to deal with the fallout, but... that's just me."

In the end, it sucked, but that was the way things were. Besides, he didn't have time to play therapist when it felt like there were a million other things he needed to be doing right now along with making sure Dazai's mistakes didn't blow up in everyone's faces.

#bsd #bsd stuff #bungo stray dogs #Leona fic #dadzai au

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