#bsd wild theory

[thebluestar17]

I found this when I was scrolling through Pinterest. It was so random but like imagine if it is really true tho. It would be really wild lol 💀

[akikos-tribble-army]

I went on a whole journey of 'Hm, I wonder if Auerbachs Keller in Leipzig has a list of what all the famous people ate or drank when they visited?', to 'Nope, but Mori Ougai's descendant had been there, is also a doctor and what do you mean they have apparently a portrait of Mori Ougai in the basement???' to 'Merch shop... OMG, they have Mori stuff!!!!! Uh, I need that Faust edition *_*'.

Like, I was doing research for a fanfic and went down a completely different rabbit hole and I now need to include a scene of young Mori getting dragged by his parents to that restaurant and meeting Goethe. And young Mori starting to look up to that man only to witness him murdering his best friend Schiller and traumatising him for life in one of my fanfics.

I also found out that RL Chuuya died on my birthday and that's a new random fun fact I can drop now.

[iennoganan-aha]

A theory I thought up when sleep deprived a few months ago BSD MANGA SPOILERS

This is about Atsushi 🤜🏼💥

I like to think that Atsushi and Byakkou have always been interwoven. I enjoy the idea that the yellow and purple swirled eyes is a representation of it. Because byakkous eyes are yellow. (I don't fully buy that, it's just cool to think about)

She's always been there, living Atsushi's life with him. She is still a wild animal and that's why she goes on rampages for food or revenge and protection, but the concept that living beside a human for 18 years has made her somewhat forget who/what she is...

A goddess (if you follow that theory)

Her being a goddess (celestial being) inside a human is why Fyodor is obsessed with her. This is confirmed in the recent chapter but still. He wants the goddess, and perhaps he thinks of Atsushi as the bookmark because he was imprinted on by a celestial being for whatever reason.

Similar with Chuuya and arahabaki. A 'god' inside a human.

Maybe 'what his parents did to him as an infant', (what the headmaster was saying was so horrific) was him being sacrificed to Byakkou. Perhaps he was involved in some kind of horrific sacrifice, and when the parents realized the sacrifice didn't work how they expected, they tried to torture Byakkou out (like shibusawa did) and it failed so they threw him away.

And so Byakkou, who had accepted the sacrifice (a host, they didn't realize it was a host) they watched the way they were treated. Perhaps it started like a Naruto/kurama, Itadori/Sukuna thing where she couldn't take over like she expected, however instead of her being sealed or trying to break out, she started to lose sight of herself. She was now an ability.

And maybe Byakkou as a god isn't as known anymore, Fyodor knew because he's ancient an maybe he realized Atsushi would make a perfect host, but it got out of his hands and he had to find ways to get his bookmark, the god back.

But with Byakkou being not known anymore, and her host being Atsushi, she began thinking of herself as a piece of Atsushi, his ability.

And in the current timeline where Atsushi can now speak with her, she somewhat realizes they're two actually entities, however, she still views herself as his ability. She hates him because he rejected her blessing whatever that meant, but she could never hate her host, her gift. And when he accepted her, it furthered her mindset of them being one, a ying-yang of human to ability, mortal to God. So Fyodor trying to separate them deeply disturbs, angers and confuses Byakkou. Because she is Atsushi.

But Fyodor wants to remind her who she really is. And have her at her true strength once more. Her true power, true form. Maybe her true form is related to the book? So Atsushi is a book mark because he stopped the book by fusing with her? Stopped her making the story by making her lose sight of herself?

Or maybe he's a bookmark in the sense that he is between her? He is the barrier between what she's already made, and anything she could make?

Like his body is literally keeping her in place. She can only live with what she's created, because she's stuck inside him, she cannot write more. He is keeping her behind him, as he lives the strory?

And thats all I got since after this I realized my friend wasn't responding and I was tired and I went to bed 🕺🏼 I think it sounds cool. The theory stemmed from me going 'hey what if someone redid the scene with Paimon/Peter and the grandma at the end of Hereditary but with Atsushi/Byakkou and Fyodor' and then went nuts lol

Thoughts? I'm not usually one for theories since I begin to tangent off into Au territory lmao so feel free to simply think this is a rad fic idea I MAY OR MAY NOT WRITE lol

[lotus-pear]

Everyone in the bsd fandom is just making the most wild theories (if nikolai does gets possessed btw asagiri wont see another peck of light) while asagiri is just jogging on some rusty sidewalk probably knowing how screwed his fandom is

nah fr bro has some explaining to do for next month's chapter,,,, if nikolai actually gets possessed tho i'm quitting bsd there is no way (i am 99% sure he is doomed)

[cookiekat-blogz]

Why do Akutagawa and Atsushi fit Yin and Yang so well?

may or may not be inspired by some sskk rant I saw on tumblr a few months ago (I'll reference if I remember the creator) and a Pinterest post w this template:

Has anyone else ever notice how yin-yang Akutagawa and Atsushi are? Yeah they are both orphans that were taken in by Dazai and "abused by their handler" ('handler' is wild ngl) but in the main series Atsushi is more Yang and Akutagwa is more Yin, character wise, and even design wise. Yet, in Beast (a spin-off where Akutagawa ends up in the ADA and Atsushi ends up in the PM) the roles are reversed and Aku is more Yang and Atsu is more Yin, further emphasizing that this difference between the two isn't accidental (not claiming simply speculating).

Akutagawa is relatively bad but he has shown how he could be good, in the main series, Wan, and beast. he's undeniably a good brother (just look at how much he cares for his sister in beast, he even joined the ADA and made it his purpose to find her after he learned that she was in the mafia.) He keeps promises, hates meaningless torture-- which believe it or not shows a bit about his character-- (haha he does have emotions even if it may be stemmed from a deep psychological trauma). He also has a mainly dark but light accent wardrobe, from the ends of his hair to the very same accessory that he can't even name. help I ran out of good character traits I think I'm failing

Atsushi is relatively good, and even seems to be blind to it at times, but he has shown his not the best traits. He's kinda like Gon, but less merciless, even when it comes to fights with Akutagawa (sometimes). His good:bad ratio is pretty skewed though, no matter how much he may envy or hate his kindness kinda just... drowns it out. Evil headmaster dies? cry. Evil goth boyfriend partner dies? scream. Evil American enemy still lives? team up with him. Evil 14 year old serial assassin in the port mafia exist? save her.

Although, he's pretty rash/blunt (that Dazai diss was wild aku didn't do anything to deserve that) and its also shown in wan and other scenes in the main series that he would probably participate in a 2017-19 roast battle(hj) and holds some strong grudges. (help I ran out of bad character traits he's too good, its like he's so good and he doesn't even try.) Butttt apperence wise, his singular black hair streak in a head of light whatever-colored-hair (in contrast to Akutagawa's) and accents of black (suspenders, tail-belt-thing that moves as if he was Cat Noir, tie, gloves, pants, shoes) do what Akutagwa's 19th century ruffles do best. Be utterly useless and ugly and feed into the theory that he is a time traveler Contrast.

Now for beast. I'll make this one shorter:

Akutagawa takes Atsushi's role. in this he represents 'in light there is darkness' perfectly. he's on the 'good side' and has the noble goal of finding his sister and his color pallate is lighter but he is still pretty quick to judge and isn't open or super kind.

Atsushi is considered ruthless (because of how violently and mercelesly quick and cold he kills but its really the tiger) but he himself admits that he is scared, scared of it all, especially death (or something like that) so to over come his fear of death, he must become it. That's it. He became the 'god of death' because of his fear of it. His color pallate is much darker and the lightest parts of it is the tiger fur on his coat and his natural features like hair and eyes. He's on the side of 'bad' but he even betrayed dazai for kyouka because he cares about her too much and that part of him he cant change. he will always want to protect all the orphan kids that were suffering like he was because he cant bare to see it, so yeah, in darkness there is light.

Basically, Shin Soukoku canon because opposites attract.

(this is from #9 1/2 of my "why Akutagwa is the best bsd character ever" post)

[minimafioso]

Does this mean you're leaving Twitter completely? 😭

I still post on twitter but I've been slowly migrating to other more chill places

Twitter is great for meeting a lot of new people, but the double edged sword is with discovering cool folks to follow means there's an equal chance of encountering fans who love to stir up discourse. Sadly BSD is kind of known for the fan base being... difficult to be part of

I actually didn't want to interact for almost a year because I saw it just from lurking

I've been enjoying Bsky lately, and I like Tumblr but mainly since I can go wild posting theories with images and links for references and resources. I'm on all 3, but Discord is actually my go to in terms of having the best curated bsd community experience thus far

minimafioso.bsky.social - My Bsky if you're curious :)

[bungoubongoboys]

Thoughts after BSD Season 5

(spoilers ahead)

1. Fyodor is alive

Fyodor has been one of the driving villains and I don’t believe that even his defeat at Meursault is the end of him, especially since all we see is his arm. Further, Sigma was able to touch him and live.

While Sigma is currently unconscious, due to having taken all of the knowledge in Fyodor’s mind into his own, there are several possible ways for him to return. This includes him being able to process through all of the information due to having so little life experience (only three years of memories), and possibly receiving help from Ango and/or Chief Taneda with their own information based abilities.

Back to Fyodor. We still, after all this time, do not know his ability. But now Sigma does—assuming he can wake up. Which means the moment is perfect for a big reveal of Fyodor’s true ability. Would it truly make sense to set up such a big reveal for an already-dead character?

Lastly, Asagiri very rarely kills off significant characters (at least not permanently). So I really doubt we’ve seen the last of Fyodor.

2. New Agency Members and Allies

Ok, so this is exciting! I think there are gonna be a looootttt of new Agency members very very soon (in the aftermath of…the aftermath?). Namely Lucy (officially) and Sigma, but tangentially Aya and Bram (they may or may not be “official” ADA members, but will be closely related). Fitzgerald probably won’t ever officially join the ADA, but he will have established himself more closely as an ally for them. Similarly, the remaining Hunting Dogs will remain distinct from the agency, but I doubt they’ll just disappear after their significance in this last arc.

3. Unresolved aspects

Most things were (seemingly) wrapped up really well with season five/vol 24. And yet…

- Fyodor’s body wasn’t seen (I won’t accept he’s dead until it’s cut into pieces and ritually slated and burned)

- The immediate aftermath of Fukuchi’s death and Bram’s restoration is fully unknown (before the ‘2 hours later’ bit); what happens to the vampires? To the page? To the One Order?

- Fukuzawa’s grief and the aftermath of it, both for him personally and for the agency

- The page—was it fully used? If so, is it powerless now? What happened to it?

- Full “resolution” of the arc, bringing everyone back together

- Did Chuuya get the vampire teeth off?

…

- What the fUCK was that “2 hours later” scene?????????

4. The “two hours later” and other personal theories

**Disclaimer that everything after this point is my own personal theories

- The two hours later scene was absolutely wild, and I don’t have too many theories yet, but it seems most likely that the page (or a page of the book) was used to alter reality yet again, potentially creating an AU? Idk but those outfits are insane and I love them

- The time between Dazai’s “death” and his appearance to Fyodor—Chuuya absolutely was concerned about Dazai and helped (at least partially) carry him to the landing for Fyodor; the idiot insisted on walking by himself to not appear weak in front of Fyodor, but before that? He absolutely was leaning hard on Chuuya (and after too)

- Sigma and Atsushi—so, it’s easy to lose track of in the many twists of Bungou, but the overall story is still moving towards finding the book, in its entirety, rather than just a singular page.

Back in Season 2, Fitzgerald was told by Fyodor that Atsushi was key in finding the book. This still hasn’t been fully explained. Now, many have noticed the similarities between Sigma and Atsushi. In particular—their unique, two-toned eyes. Additionally, Atsushi lacks much background in the same way as Sigma—we know very little about him before the orphanage, or even how he came to the orphanage.

The only pre-orphanage event we know of is from Dead Apple, where Atsushi is shown to have been experimented on by Fyodor and Shibusawa (before killing Shibusawa). But where was he before that? How did they get him? Well…if Fyodor had one page…

I think Atsushi himself, like Sigma, was written out of the Book. Created to play a role he had no idea about from the start. And why is he key to finding the book? Because Atsushi himself is a product of it. He is fundamentally connected to it in a way no one else is (until Sigma).

This also contributes to my theory that Fyodor is not truly dead. He has his own motives, apart from the Decay of Angels, and would use the book for his own purposes (to effectively become unstoppable, though he’d enjoy any attempts to fight against him). He’s nowhere near finished yet.

Anyways this was way too long but AHHHHH waiting till February for the next Manga chapter is going to kill me

[karl-raccoon-enjoyer]

sigma for the character ask game :D

First Impression- I thought the scene where he saved that one guy who was struggling from having massive gambling debts was so sweet 😭 Plus the whole DOA gave me that feeling feel where when you feel the feeling feel and you’ve felt it, you know there are feelings to be felt (basically the feeling when you start fixating on something). Also, pretty.

Impression Now- I still think they’re the sweetest guy ever. They just want to have a home and I love that. But sometimes I remember he’s still a terrorist who possibly saved that guy for publicity reasons so the casino could be more profitable in the long run?? But that also ties back to how much they love their home???? It’s crazy. Even though I feel like he’s one of the easier bsd characters to understand just because they spell most of their motivations out, there’s still so much he does that’s morally gray and complicated.

Favorite Moment- When he was fighting that one girl from the hunting dogs who I forget her name. That reminder of his sheer determination and strength and love and protectiveness over his home was MAJESTIC. Plus I feel like a lot of people forget they can be scary like that which is frustrating.

This panel specifically is everything.

Idea for a Story- What if Sigma succeeded in killing Teruko (looked up her name). He would be in such deep shit, even if he did legally control the Sky Casino. Since they’re already a terrorist, they might spiral further and further into greater illegal and violent activities in order to protect his home. We need more of his scary side so badly. And what if Fyodor took refuge in the casino some how and convinced Sigma he’s also their family? Like a damn parasite? Like a damn parasite that’s only corrupting them further? Sigma could be a villain so easily and we forget that sometimes.

Unpopular Opinion- I’ve seen a lot of theories on which author he’s based on. Personally, I think they’re literally just the letter because that aids to the themes of their alienation from the rest of humanity, but, if he is based on an author, I think it’s Homer. Specifically, their ability is The Odyssey. Not only was Odysseus’ main motivation getting back home, but the Ancient Greek concept of xenia is also very prevalent in that story. Xenia is basically a list of expectations between guests and hosts, and we know how Sigma treated their guests. Plus, Odysseus is smart and spends a lot of time telling the stories of his life and Sigma’s incredibly intelligent (also a semi-unpopular opinion, unfortunately) and their ability allows them to know the stories of others. PLUS plus The Iliad and The Odyssey were like just a collection of stories told by various Ancient Greek storytellers rather than one man, which may be why he is named something more broad. There’s more parallels I could draw but this is getting long.

Favorite Relationship- Siglai. Siglai Siglai Siglai. Their ideas of freedom contrast each other so well. Nikolai’s world where they’re free is one where they’re alone and without any ties to others. Sigma’s is one where he has a home and a family. They both want to be understood so badly. They see each other for what they want to be seen as. Sigma just wants to be a normal person and Nikolai sees that as the true him. Nikolai wants to be wild and free and Sigma sees that as the true him. And like, if you think about their relationship while Sigma still owned the casino, Nikolai would definitely be there forcing them to have fun and de-stress (in an annoying way or not). They understand and compliment each other so well, yet their paths are pulling them in other directions. Plus Sigma’s sky symbolism and Nikolai’s bird symbolism… ugh.

Favorite Headcanon- Stealing this from @aroacesigma, but they fully made up all that stuff about being the one legally in charge of the casino in the sense that all the laws there are controlled by him. He just didn’t was to deal with any bureaucratic bs (typed that bsd on accident, brain is INFECTED and INFESTED) so they made up their own bs. I also love xey’re headcanon about him having freckles. Sorry for not having any original ideas here but I had to defer to the CEO of transmasc Sigma eventually for this.

[fantastic-rambles]

BSD Headcanon: Fyodor the Wandering Jew

(Warning: Spoilers for Chapters 112-113/Season 5)

Disclaimer: I am not religious in any way and mostly just have a passing knowledge of various bits of different religions, including Christianity. No blasphemy is intended in these wild ravings of an overly obsessed fan.

As always, I can be a bit rambly as I mostly throw my thoughts out as they come, so apologies if it's somewhat disorganized. Many of my claims/connections are very tenuous (in particular, the final jump to the Wandering Jew), and I understand that, which is why this is just a headcanon.

Fyodor has always been a rather enigmatic character in Bungou Stray Dogs. Sometimes referred to as a "demon," and with an intelligence that rivals that of characters including Ranpo and Dazai, he has repeatedly shown himself to be a formidable foe capable of manipulating a great number of people and devising plans that are quite difficult to overturn. He also seems to be very religious, speaking often of God and sin and seeming to believe in predestination. Furthermore, despite his significant role in many of the plots involving the Detective Agency--from apparently being, at the very least, an active observer of the Guild's actions to devising the "terrorism" plot--very little is known about him and his ability "Crime and Punishment" other than its ability to kill without the need for skin contact. Although fanon has come up with a fairly plausible mechanism for how his ability works, it has not yet been discovered or revealed in canon, even up until his "death."

Immortality

"Death" because I am not entirely convinced that Fyodor is actually dead, despite Dazai's claim in Chapter 112. In the most recent chapter (Chapter 113), it has been revealed that Fyodor has many more mysteries to him as Sigma struggles to process the information overload that is his memories. Most significantly, that he has been alive for a very long time: at the very least, from a time that appears to be during the Middle Ages, when Bram was still alive and whole. This, of course, shocks Sigma (though, to be fair, that isn't a great metric for "shock" as he is easily surprised 🤣), but at the very least, Fyodor is as old as Bram and does not appear to age.

At the time, he apparently was passing himself off as a traveling minstrel, and he claimed to have intentionally gotten himself caught for the sole purpose of getting a look at Bram to judge his character as "evil incarnate" (something that would have appealed to Fukuchi for many reasons in apprehending him centuries later, as a prerequisite of the Decay of Angels plan). Of course, this seems like a preposterous reason to throw yourself into the jaws of death, so Fyodor is believed to be a spy and sentenced to death the following day.

Assuming that he wasn't somehow saved/Bram wasn't incapacitated (possibly stabbed by the holy sword for the first time) in the intervening time and his sentence was carried out... that means that Fyodor somehow also survived being killed at the time, while gaining some information about Bram that would have been useful for his "future" plans. (Some more of my musings on that topic can be found here, though the anime covered most of the key points--and especially confirmed my central theory--when Untold Origins was animated.)

If he is immortal, this could also help explain why his ability did not attempt to kill him when they were separated by Shibusawa's mist in Dead Apple: the "reason" provided was that Fyodor was "crime" and his ability was "punishment," and that they were good friends, but if Fyodor is immortal for reasons that are not tied to his ability, then it simply couldn't kill him even if it wanted to.

His Goal

Of course, this then raises the question of how long Fyodor has actually been alive. Although he has lent his assistance to many others, in the end, as he told Bram, he is working for himself. But to what end?

Ostensibly, of course, to rid the world of the "sin" of abilities. But coupled with immortality, which is, more often than not, a curse rather than a blessing in the hundreds of works on the subject out there, it raises the question of whether he is just seeking his own death. Maybe that was even part of his reason for getting caught by Bram: because he wanted to see if another immortal could kill him. But if there is some sort of supernatural, non-ability-based reason for his immortality (or even ability-based but not lost during Dead Apple), perhaps there are conditions that must be satisfied for him to achieve this: it is not enough for him to merely commit suicide or be killed. Thus, all of his plots could just be the means to an end, literally, for him.

Surprisingly, he does seem to have a genuine belief in God, which is quite interesting for a control freak like Fyodor (distinguished from cults that use religion as a tool to control followers but whose leaders do not genuinely believe in God). Even so, he expresses an understanding of and even an admiration for Gogol's desire to defy God and "lose sight of himself."

Perhaps he, too, wishes that he could oppose God and achieve his own sort of "freedom" or "release from the yoke of sin" that is denied to him.

The Wandering Jew

Which leads to the equally curious Wandering Jew (at least, in my weird brain). His relationship to Jesus seems to be a subject of contention, but at its core, he is said to be someone fated/cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming (via Wikipedia).

In my opinion, it is possible that Fyodor has been alive since the time of Jesus--if not longer--given the vast amount of memories that Sigma has to sort through of "every single one of [his] secrets." Enough, Fyodor says, that he may never wake up, just as Atsushi needed some time to process the information about the "page" that he received from Sigma. Thus, if he committed a "crime" at the time that resulted in his being cursed with immortality (by a higher power, or perhaps Jesus' ability--I'll try not to go down that rabbit hole 🤣), he could have a reason to believe in God, and he could also believe that engineering some sort of Armageddon might finally free him from his mortal coil. Just because Fukuchi wanted to achieve world peace doesn't necessarily mean that was also Fyodor's goal: especially given how he has apparently been manipulating people for centuries, at the very least, someone as "simple" and idealistic as Fukuchi was probably easy for him to use. I also highly doubt that throwing him into Meursault would have interrupted Fyodor's plans in any significant way, even though Fukuchi seemed to think that it would.

Furthermore, although he currently passes himself off as Russian and has taken on an appropriate alias, he has also claimed to be a "traveling minstrel" without any official affiliations and was suspected of being Roman by Bram's guards... which could also strengthen the connection to his being a "wandering" Jew.

And if we want to stretch it even further, he could possibly be another wanderer: Cain, cursed to roam the Earth for the sin of killing his brother, Abel, with God's mark on him that would prevent him from being killed by anyone else/that would return an injury sevenfold. Which didn't kick in when Ace tried to brain him with a wine bottle, so this is less likely on my list of "possibilities" (a term I use very loosely here, as I don't really think any of them are probable).

Of course, there are also his "last words," which are (allegedly) Jesus' last words when he died on the cross, though I think that is more of Fyodor seeing himself as a Jesus-like figure than him supposed to be representing Jesus. (The Wandering Jew and Cain are already a stretch as they are. 🤣)

[kaurwreck]

hi i love reading your posts about bsd!!! they're very insightful + very clearly written by someone who's spent a while familiarizing themself with what they're talking about, and they're often refreshingly unique. particularly always taken aback (surprised? in a good way) by the trust you have in bsd in a work. even when i disagree with them, your analyses and theories are always (1) interesting (2) evidently written by someone approaching bsd and their conversations in good faith, both of which matter a lot to me.

might be completely off-base, but do you think having a background in law might impact writing bluntly/authoritatively, especially if your writing is perceived differently out of fandom spaces? i don't have enough experience to be confident, but that tone next to the emphasis on clarity in your writing feels like it fits, even if only in a chicken-and-egg way.

I stand by my problematic wife!!!!!!

I really, really do have so much faith in and love for bsd, and I trust Kafka Asagiri implicitly. This is, in part, because months and months ago, as I felt myself becoming consumed by the source material, I recognized I needed to temper myself and my expectations of the work.

My intensity and obsessiveness are as familiar to me as the beleaguered tendons in my wrists. I know twinging aches precede sharp, heated pain, so I know when to wrap the inflammation before it flares any further. Similarly, I know that if I don't ground myself before hours of hyperfixated research become tens of hours, I risk becoming disillusioned, and I risk pouring myself completely into something that won't replenish that time, energy, and emotional investment. So, I wrap my wrist when I can feel the inklings of tendinitis, and I reorient around authorial intent when the hyperfixation begins to spore.

So, I sought out interviews with Kafka Asagiri, expecting that he'd spoken to the limitations of his authorial framework.

(This sounds silly, but it works for me; for example, I adore Vanitas no Carte, but I only engage with the material referenced in VnC (ex: Song of Roland) shallowly except insofar as I have an independent interest. This is because when I similarly felt I might become obsessed, I sought out interviews, during which Jun Mochizuki stated clearly that the references she makes don't penetrate the substance of her characters or the story. So, I'll skim them, but most of the energy I pour into VnC (of which there's a lot), I pour into VnC itself rather than it's reference materials. This is because I'm rewarded by insights into the narrative I hadn't noticed before; different facets of interpretation I hadn't previously considered; greater understanding of the characters; etc. It's reciprocal; otherwise, it drains me dry because I cannot emphasize enough, I do not approach research like any human person should.)

Anyway, so, I searched for and identified statements Kafka Asagiri made about the referenced material. And, I was pleasantly surprised that he is passionate about the underlying literature and, from the outset, wrote the story hoping his audience would gain an interest in the literary works from which he took inspiration. And that sufficed, that constituted assurance that while I couldn't expect that he would intend all of the connections my obsessive, insatiable, pattern hungry brain would make, there was depth I could explore while still engaging with bsd.

What's wild is that I was expecting, like, easter eggs and light or ambiguous foreshadowing. Instead, once I started researching the period, authors, works, etc., the story began to open and come together where it hadn't been before. I clearly was already enjoying it, but there were what I perceived to be fairly severe structural flaws and neither narrative focus nor diverse enough arcs. Except the more I read the source material and the more I engaged with bsd as a multimedia work in which the various adaptations were facets of a whole rather than the same story reinterpreted + the various spinoffs as fragments of canon; the more I noticed a dialogue between bsd and its source materials. Which, taken together, recontextualized what I previously perceived to be narrative flaws such that while novel in structure, bsd became a satisfying, deeply intentional narrative.

This isn't to say I am noticing only and everything Asagiri intended to write, but his own sincere engagement with the works on top of which bsd is written is so tightly woven into the story and characters that bsd is a genuinely innovative medium of literary critique and historical reflection for an expansive array of literature that spans several eras.

So, I really, really do have so much faith in and love for bsd, and I trust Kafka Asagiri implicitly. Not because I think it's without flaws or that it hits each of its marks; because, quite frankly, even evaluated in the context of its unique structure, it's a rough tumbled gem. I certainly don't trust the story to fall into into a more common or familiar structure either.

Instead, I trust it to be sincere, compassionate, thoughtful, ambitiously playful, delightfully absurd, and I trust it to have more heart than sense. But mostly, I trust that while the story and Kafka Asagiri are untethered from convention, they are grounded in the hope and love and desperate yearning for humanity that saturates each of the namesake authors' works and legacies.

So, yeah, I'm never worried; but I'm often delighted.

(also, thank you so much for the kind words!!! y'all are ruining me with how sweet you've been this evening 🥺 you're also very, very on point regarding the impact of my law background on my writing, specifically its bluntness and emphasis on clarity. the authoritativeness actually preceded my legal training and even my ability to write. i'll spare you the baby lore, but, like, yeah, i think we should just cut our losses on that one.)

[bunglegaydogs]

bsd ep 61 spoilers fr xoxo

so uh

that was a fucking wild ride

and it was only 30 seconds long

i have a couple of things to say on this subject

i also cant feel my hands from the cold so im dreading how long its actually gonna take me to write this post

ANYWAYS

Obvious spoilers for episode 61 preview!!!

~~~

So, my first thing was that Aya looks much happier in the anime than the manga lol. I don't know why this is important to me but I felt as if I should say it, because I don't know what exactly her plan is? But it's almost as if there's not a chance of her falling to her death involved in this little stunt that she's pulling.

Anyways.

Next thing to note is that she's clearly intending to land on something - and I saw a post just before that said maybe she misses the table and lands on Atsushi and Aku instead and in turn saves Atsushi from becoming a vampire. Which I do think is plausible - because if I've learned anything from this fucking series it's that if you expect something to happen after a certain thing happens, don't, you're wrong. Don't expect what you're expecting. It will be something completely out of left field that you get slapped across the fucking face with like a chilled fish bro that shit stings from the iciness.

Next, of course, Atsushi and Aku. Now, I don't think that Atsushi's going to become a vampire - it seems pretty long-winded now, plus where would the story go after that? Him and Aku just sit there and stare lifelessly at each other whilst Aya falls from the building? I think, maybe, Aku will see Aya falling, and his instinct will be to save her, because he's been keeping his promise to Atsushi, and maybe he recognises that if she falls and dies, it's "his fault" (it obviously won't be, but by means of association, the fact that he put her up there, he's like damn my bad fr) and go to save her, dropping Atsushi and obviously going to her, but I don't know, maybe that's not plausible at all.

Also, Atsushi is awake here??? Hello? Atsushi wasn't originally awake. Plus, Aku has that bitch hanging by Rashoumon - how has he gotten him awake and why's he pulled him closer? Anyways lol.

Next, FUCKING FYODOR AND NIKOLAI.

So, when I saw the split second of Fyodor, I actually almost did scream this time. Because I immediately recognised that he was in a vehicle of some kind. I, at first, thought that it was a van or a car, but someone else pointed out that it could have been a helicopter.

Ah, okay, looking back on the scene, that lowkey seems plausible.

For Nikolai.

Nikolai's hair is blowing in the wind. So either he's outside and it's windy, or he's in a helicopter or something. But Fyodor's scene looks pretty still. His hair isn't moving, the scenery outside is staying the same. It looks like a sky.

Behind Nikolai, it actually looks like a wall of some kind. Maybe a gate pillar thing. What if he's waiting outside Meursault, and sees Dazai and Chuuya coming out? I don't know.

Disregarding that theory, my guess is they're just trying to trick us into thinking that Nikolai is reacting that way because of Fyodor, or something he said, or him escaping, but I think that they're just two completely different scenes set at the same time maybe? I really don't know. I also don't know what Nikolai could have seen or heard for him to be shocked after smiling, I don't know.

Anyway, Fyodor is looking rather smug. No blood on him. And I don't really know, but we can't see his shoulder properly, but from what we CAN see, there's no wound or blood from where Sigma shot him. BUT that might be unimportant because I don't think Sigma actually shot him in the anime like he did in the manga. Just grazed him. Anyways.

He's looking fantastic for supposedly having just escaped Meursault after nearly drowning, burning his hand, getting shot in the shoulder, AND being covered in blood from where he'd just shot the time manipulator ability user.

He's clearly explaining something.

Also, is it weird if I say that he looks eerily similar to Mori here? Because I can't lie, he's looking an awful lot like him - more than he usually does. Violet eyes, long black hair, manipulative, etc. I don't know. It's also... is it an expression we see on Fyodor a lot? It seems... different. Off. What if this motherfucker's actually just Mori in disguise? LMAO Imagine I'd piss.

See, because, Nikolai isn't a happy surprised, or mildly amused. He just looks... shocked. I don't know.

I'm really looking into this sorry lol.

His hair's a bit messier than usual. Which, you know, valid, considering what's just happened. But... everything else is fine. No blood, no wounds, no anything. He's normal. So why is his hair a bit messier? Is it important or am I just looking too much into it? Maybe he was in a helicopter with Nikolai, or in a windy place. Also, just skimmed through episode 10, ignore me about the blood, he's apparently already wiped it off after he shot the bitch lol okay Mr. fucking hygiene.

Anyways, yeah, his shoulder has a rip in the shirt. I know we can barely see his shoulder in the clip we've been gifted with, but the rip is pretty high up. And, even after having a pretend mental breakdown, being drowned almost, getting shot, etc. Even after all of that, his hair does not look messy. WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT TO ME, I DON'T KNOW. I LOOK FOR THE SMALL THINGS I'M SORRY.

There's going to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this and I'm just chatting shit.

Anyways.

I don't actually know what the fuck is happening here. I really don't. I'm just clutching at straws to preserve what little of my sanity Bungou Stray Dogs has left me with. I don't know. The way Fyodor is talking and just his expression doesn't sit right with me. It feels more like the way Dazai and Mori sometimes talk when they like know that they're right or explaining something or predicting or something, do you get what I mean? No? Okay. LMAO.

So, my next thing is of course the two fucking Fuku's because I lowkey wanted to scream when I saw Fukuzawa was not dead. I'm glad we have that confirmation - can I ask where the fuck the 'One Order' has gone though? Because Fukuchi's not holding onto it anymore. His arms bleeding. His neck is pouring with blood (fresh wound), but from what? Fukuzawa hasn't even took the sword out of him yet. How has he gotten sliced up already? He doesn't have any weapons on him. Neither does Fukuzawa. And, to me, it looks like Fukuzawa's just stood up or something.

And Fukuchi's reaching for something.

He's reaching out for something, and Fukuzawa has his back on him. Fukuchi looks enraged before he leaps at Fukuzawa, hand outstretched, maybe to grab Amenogozen, maybe not. But Fukuzawa is alarmed, and turns around, ripping the sword out of his fucking abdomen.

I don't know. The way Fukuchi ran towards him seemed... desperate. He seems like he's losing. His last resort. I don't know. It's just not very Fukuchi to charge towards him so clumsily and try and grab something the way he tries.

And again, why is Fukuchi's arm bleeding, and why is he sporting a rather Aku-type injury on his neck? Because it certainly seems that it wasn't Fukuzawa who caused that - he had his back turned and the only weapon he has is currently wedged deep inside of his stomach. Maybe it was Tecchour from afar. Maybe it was Tachihara manipulating metal. Maybe it was Kyouka. Maybe it was Yosano. Who knows. Maybe it was Fukuzawa.

Right okay so I've just skimmed through the episode again and Fukuzawa doesn't even have the fucking sword inside of him to begin with, so half of my rambling there has been rendered useless lol.

Anyways, and more importantly, where the fuck is 'One Order'?

It's no longer in Fukuchi's hand or ear. What the fuck?

His cape is missing. One Order is missing. Fukuzawa has somehow acquired a sword through his abdomen. Fukuchi is injured from his neck and arm. He's angry. Fukuzawa had his back turned. Fukuchi seems desperate for something.

Man, this is like a fucking riddle.

So, yes. Fukuzawa (quite easily, actually) rips Amenogozen out of himself and makes to swing for Fukuchi, who is without any weapons, injured, angry, and seemingly desperate.

Fuck, the sakura petals and the implication of Fukuzawa using Fukuchi's own sword to kill him, after fighting with him so many times oh my GOD I could get more into this but I won't, I won't. (Maybe later fr)

He seems pretty determined, dead-set on slashing this bitch. However, he becomes shocked at something, and not just a normal shock. That's an "Oh, fuck." shock. Then, it cuts to Fukuchi fucking smiling.

Smiling and reaching a hand out to Fukuzawa. We don't see his eyes. We only see his smile. A portion of his hand. The sakura petals. AAAA I'm so fucking sick.

Then, of course. We get a flashback. They're fighting. And for just a split second, you can see a smile on Fukuzawas face. Literally such a minuscule fucking thing.

And then it cuts to them now. And I don't mean now as in, middle of battle now, nor do I mean prior to their fight now. I mean, now. I don't know where now is or how it came to be, but they're obviously in their current attire. And you can see the wound on Fukuzawa's back. You can literally see it. So, whether they both die and this is some sort of heaven sequence, or something happens and they clash inside Amenogozen, and time is slowed or something, I don't know.

Does a sword count as a subordinate to Fukuzawa? Because if so, he can utilize that sword and manipulate it to his heart's content.

Anyways, it's peaceful. There's two cups of tea on a bench ahead of them. There's a fuzzy sort of outline to everything, maybe trying to make us assume that it's a flashback, when it is, in actuality, not. Unless, they've had a fight very similar to this one, in the same attire, but at a different time (obviously) and it wasn't fatal (again, obviously).

Now, this was honestly just me trying to put the preview in order in my head and I thought other people might like to read my thoughts lol.

Long story short, there was a lot to unpack here, and I think a lot of hidden meanings and misdirections, trying to make us think one thing but in fact it's going another way.

Anyways, have a lovely day/night! Thank you for reading ^^

(Wow, I did not mention Soukoku or Chuuya and Dazai ONCE in this post (shush I mentioned Dazai before that doesn't count) and yes I am hoping that they showed us nothing in this preview because they're fine and safe and going to pull something off and be very surprising but we can only dream and fuck I'm dreaming so hard I'm DELUSIONAL bro)

[caffemochachoco]

im the previous anon that asked about bsd owo

thank you for your advice!!! is your friend on tumblr? like the one who got you into bsd :O id like to ask them some questions!!

ive heard some,,, wild,,, fan theories

hello again anon!!

it's no problem :D i personally started with the anime which was kind of on the wrong foot :,)

yes my friend is on tumblr!! their @ is @unknown-borealis!!

(some of the fan theories can be kind of wild yes but the whole point of bsd for me is technically that you're the one interpreting the characters so how you look at them depends on how you think!)

[fyodcrs]

KATIE YOUR HEADER IS ADORABLE AND OFC YOUR NEW PFP OF FYODOR.

That new bsd chapter was so amazing.

So many theories!

Hope you are doing well. *hugs*

Ahhhh, thank you, Luna!!! Hualian my BABIES, I've been meaning to rewatch TGCF and make gifs but I haven't gotten around to it yet, haha.

Holy CRAP the new BSD chapter, I can't wait for Fyodor to return and for the mystery of his Ability to finally be solved once and for all!! And his full backstory!! I like that every time new information on Fyodor is revealed, the fandom goes wild with theories, myself included, lol. I just love him and want him to return and fuck everything up 😌

Hope you're doing well, too! Love love *hugs back* 🤗💖

[gaoau]

you'll never resemble a human, so stand up on your claws and kill your own God

theory of the two demons warnings — this is set in the bsd beast universe, so if you havent read/watched that, i do not recommend reading this. theres spoilers and it probably wont make much sense anyway if you dont know what the fucks going on for everyone else that has read beast, have fun word count — 5.5k note — bonus 😝😝

prev.

"have you ever heard about the theory of the two demons?"

"i haven't. what does it say?"

"that to combat a great evil, you need an even greater evil. say, for uprisings against the government, the government can suppress the people with forced disappearances, for example."

"so it's bad against worse?"

"precisely. it cancels out. it reaches a point where evil is just the norm. a demon against another demon; do you get it?"

"i see. like… fighting fire with fire. only a demon can kill a demon."

"yeah, that's… that's a good analogy."

"where did you find this theory? it seems interesting."

"that's not important. i just thought you'd like to know about it."

"why's that?"

"so you don't resent me after i'm dead."

"i'd be surprised if you're actually mortal at all."

"now that's a very cursed thing to say, [Name]."

"my apologies, boss."

[Surname] [Name] is not required for his plans by any means, Dazai knows, but there's a needle of an unnamed feeling pricking him on the back of the head. he sits in Mori's office, reading old newspapers from two or three years ago. it's his latest special interest, so Mori doesn't question it and keeps supplying him with new material. but Mori also questions it, because Dazai doesn't give anything that isn't worth it the time of day. it is an interesting topic, he admits, but it raises his suspicions just as much.

strange murder cases across Japan are not uncommon, what with ability users running wild. he tries not to think much of it. he can't, though, not when Dazai excitedly gasps, "Mori-san! this one could be useful!" as he points to a particular article from Nagoya. spontaneous deaths concentrated in a relatively small radius—likely the work of an ability. an interesting one. one that Dazai knows he doesn't need. one that Dazai hears murmurs of from unilateral memories.

Mori hums, "what is it?" he wonders what could have possibly caught the demon prodigy's eye. but as soon as he glances over to the newspaper and the bold kanji from two years ago, a chill runs down his spine.

"spontaneous deaths, no signs of physical trauma or any diseases, unrelated and irregular victims," Dazai starts listing off. Mori knows this case like the back of his hand. "it's clearly an ability user, wouldn't you agree?" Mori's had his eye on this one for the past two years. "probably a child, too, seeing how erratic they are."

Mori thinks Dazai is aware of a lot more than he's letting on.

"we should fetch them like we did with Q. they might be an ability worth having in the mafia's arsenal."

Mori blinks blankly at the cunning child staring right back into him with an unassuming grin. suggestions of a mind with normal thoughts, those abnormal people wouldn't be able to fathom. because Dazai is not special, however his schemes may play out. he offers him a smile, a bit more strained than he wishes to express. "okay, Dazai-kun, i'll leave that to you." 

and a parallel story comes to life—a story where kids can't cry, but they can pray for their lives.

it's easier to find something when knowing exactly where to look for it. Dazai doesn't waste any time paying a visit to the ruins of a research facility in Nagoya. whatever shall be rebuilt from these remains, he'll make sure it doesn't impact his plans. admittedly, he doesn't know what is waiting for him at the next location on his to-do list. among the rubble and the blood, he finds a stainless steel bracelet. he knows who it belonged to and he knows where to keep it for the sake of repentance.

after his short detour, he makes his way to Shizuoka. he's all smiles and innocence when he speaks to the lady in charge of orphaned children. when he's allowed inside and the woman calls [Name]'s attention, he hears the echo of a gunshot ringing in his ear. he remembers cursed words meant to follow him in every new page.

[Name] is sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall and taking up space as their legs are stretched out. one of their little brothers—Dazai doesn't know which one—sits against them, holding a book. as soon as the woman calls their name, [Name]'s head shoots up. they pat their sibling on the shoulder, chuckling at their childish whining, before approaching their beckoning mother. she introduces the two to one another with a warm grin and promptly leaves them to talk in private.

as they're sitting outside, watching children of all ages play with a ball, Dazai presents them with the cheap bracelet. "do you recognize this?" he prompts them to take it, but they don't budge. they scan the jewelry with their eyes briefly. then they shake their head. Dazai sighs, returning the bracelet to his pocket.

he lets silence settle between them, leaving space for [Name] to ask any questions. without stained walls and dying children, he wonders what this version of [Name] has to say to him. how sharp are their teeth? how deep do they bite? how much do they burn? but they don't look at him as they say, "i don't know who you are or what that bracelet is." they flinch when one of their siblings falls face first on the grass. their eyes are soft, without any trace of fear. "why are you here?"

amiability and [Name] are dissonant, Dazai thinks, but truth stands that the looming cloud of anger clinging to their shoulders doesn't exist here. he considers the many paths he can take them down, between violence and comradery. "listen," he starts, choosing to stand neutral where he knows he shouldn't disrupt, "it's your choice, but the ability you have—" [Name] snaps their neck towards him, "—is very useful, and a lot of less than nice people will come to get you for it." 

the last time [Name] used Mirror Mirage was two years ago. the last person to ever know about it was a man in a lab coat. "i'm past using my ability. it's been long enough." with their family and their life, they hardly feel the need to steal from others anymore. they look Dazai in the eye with a passive stare, harmless, curious, willing. the stare of an older sibling scolding him for acting so childishly.

"about that…" he trails, rising from the bench. he can't see [Name] from his peripheral vision. he knows [Name] has no hostility within them unless he gives them some. "i was told to burn this orphanage down just to get you. but i'm being nice about it." and he won't give them any reason to bare their teeth. he's learned his lesson. he knows better from his own parallel mistakes. "you're a smart kid, aren't you?"

"are you extorting me?"

"not quite, i'm just looking out for you." a chuckle slips from his tongue. there's a fine line between his lies and his benevolence. it seems he cannot change his ways—he can only make them softer.

[Name] purses their lips in thought as they ponder over his words. "will everyone here be safe if i go with you?" they crane their neck to look up at him. he's not that much taller than them, even while standing up, wearing nothing but black, hiding behind his bangs and bandages. he still feels unreachable, too big and too lonely, like he takes up too much space whether he wants to or not.

"you can watch over them yourself," Dazai reassures them. he takes a step and turns to face them, offering them his bandaged hand.

"okay then." without a moment's hesitation, they reach for his fingers. they rise to their feet. "i'll go with you."

"welcome to the Port Mafia, [Name]."

Dazai feels in their hand the moment they realize exactly who he is and where he comes from. they blink owlishly at him as he smiles back without a trace of animosity. [Name] relaxes their muscles, now knowing they've made the correct choice. later that same week, they meet again with the man in the lab coat; the head of the Port Mafia itself.

it's fleeting, [Name] realizes, but it's very much there—the unadulterated, baseless animosity creeping up their legs. when they walk into the training room on their first day, Dazai is waiting for them while leaning against the wall. they see it in his eye as he turns his head to look at them. it's a hollow stare, a bottomless pit of strife, reaching out in echoes from the sobs of a child. his lips curl into a small smile. [Name] feels the hairs on their nape bristling in alarm, like there's a bigger threat looming nearby, but all they can see is Dazai.

and Dazai, with that look in his eyes and that simper on his lips, is not a threat at all.

when he's standing so close to them, when he isn't hiding in the sunlight, he feels much smaller. it's almost as if they could see his hands shaking. it's almost as if they could see the tears wanting to overflow. there's a stirring in their stomach where pain bubbles, purely and innocently. Dazai is so, so far away.

he pushes himself off the wall and stands across from [Name]. stepping closer, he finds it unusual to not see their muscles tense in alarm. then he remembers the usual hasn't been established yet. "those scars…" his sentence dies down as he tastes the words. they feel familiar on his tongue, so he finds a way to flip them upside down. "do you want to die, [Name]?" his eye casts down to their uncovered arms. they look the same.

"i'm sorry?"

a sigh tumbles from his lips. "your scars, those are self-inflicted."

"ah." instinctively, [Name]'s fingers reach up to touch their neck. Dazai doesn't look at them. "there was a time, back in the labs. i've grown out of it." they speak nonchalantly, shrugging their shoulders and acting like craving death was nothing more than a short phase. a little something they tried for fun and stopped once they got bored of it—it doesn't follow them, it doesn't cling to them, it has left them alone because they don't want to die anymore.

"why?"

"what do you mean?"

"why did you want to die?"

he sees how [Name] stops to give it some thought. their eyes flicker down and to the side briefly, then return to him, alive. "i'm not sure. it was just easy."

"those tests they ran on you," he prompts.

"yeah." they blink and something flashes in their eyes. it's unnoticeable, but Dazai can see it clearly. he considers briefly, just briefly, keeping his mouth shut. [Name] continues with an explanation that only makes sense to normal people like themself and Dazai, "living things became trivial."

"and by consequence, so did you."

[Name] nods. it's odd, they think, how easily he understands without them explaining a jumbled mess of forgotten thoughts. maybe it isn't that odd, especially considering he's read their files already. "do you want to die, Dazai-san?" but they see him as soon as their question slips from their tongue.

"yes."

in a quick answer with no hesitation, [Name] sees the innocent boy on the verge of tears. he's gritting his teeth and covering his ears with trembling hands. [Name] grimaces, because the closer they try to step, the smaller he becomes. so scared, so lonely, so vulnerable. they feel sorry for him. they pity him. he feels just like another little sibling from the orphanage, one [Name] could easily hold until his breathing settles down again. but as soon as they blink, he fades away, melting into the shadows where they can't reach. in his stead, they meet Dazai's hollow stare.

[Name]'s fingers twitch on instinct. "can i ask why?" they think, ignoring the bristling hairs on the back of their nape, that Dazai has been standing alone and alienated for far too long.

"some may call me a fool," he answers, voice light and airy, shrugging it off like it's something he's heard a billion times before. but then [Name] feels it again, when he looks them right in the eye, the unnerving animosity trying to drag them down. it's as if he's looking at someone else—looking at words he's heard from the same voice, but not quite the same person. "others," he emphasizes, "may call me a coward."

[Name] recoils. they take a step backwards. that statement—that complaint—was not directed at them, [Name] understands, but it was directly for them.

Dazai lets a chuckle drift into the silence. he recognizes he shouldn't be speaking anymore. he recedes and takes his contempt off [Name] with him. "is that enough of an answer for you?"

"i think… it's your choice." ([Name] tries—wants—to understand.) "whether you want to tell me or not."

they don't bite. "you're a lot more agreeable," Dazai hums. in a world in which he hasn't stolen anything from them, [Name] has no reason to bite back. if he hadn't been so childish, maybe they could have held a conversation like this in the right story.

[Name] contemplates asking for clarification, but they keep their mouth shut as Dazai steps closer. he feels small again. he's a kid. he's nothing but a kid, all over again.

with weightless steps, he stands a few feet away from [Name]. "attack me with all you've got."

Dazai can recite this scene from memory. [Name] hesitates, argues, and he makes sure they understand where their loyalties should lie from the get-go. he's long decided to teach them the same lessons in a different way. their attack is as predictable as the first time; he wastes not a single second striking his leg against their ribcage. as [Name] bounces off the wall, Dazai sighs to himself.

"lesson number one," his voice echoes through the training room, "don't rely on your ability alone." he watches unblinking while [Name] struggles to pick themself up from the floor. "you're gonna need a lot of martial arts training."

[Name] can barely register any of his words when their mouth is overflowing with blood.

Dazai gives them time to stand back up on their feet. quietly, he turns towards the door. "that's all for today." [Name]'s blurry eyes follow him as he begins heading out. his back is so, so small. "the closest infirmary is on the ground floor. same time tomorrow, yeah?" he stops at the door, glancing over his shoulder.

finding support on the wall, [Name] clutches the forming bruise on their side, stumbling in an attempt to stay balanced. their head spins, but they answer, "…yeah, okay…" despite the sickening taste of blood on their tongue.

"i'll use a gun, so be ready."

"…gotcha."

[Name] listens to their own choked breathing and takes a moment to properly stabilize themself. Dazai hears an echo in his brain, voices from the dead he has never heard, but he nonetheless remembers. it haunts him, whether he wants them to or not, because wisdom only has worth when a writer is dead. he takes it upon himself to not stress [Name] out too much. promptly, he exits the training room, leaving the door wide open for [Name] to follow once they gather their bearings again.

they think, while heading for the door, that Dazai is simply a lonely kid drowning in future regrets.

Dazai knows better than anyone—or rather, he's the only who knows—that he cannot interfere where he isn't allowed. the best example of this is [Name]'s natural gravitation towards Chuuya. he lets the years pass, working for things to play out the exact same way, changing the course only where it's needed for his plan. while he's busy throwing a quiet tantrum in a former assassin's apartment, he leaves [Name] in Chuuya's hands.

Nakahara Chuuya has read [Name]'s files—only the most relevant ones, because it would take him a lifetime to even scan through everything that has been documented since the moment of their birth. empathy simmers in his chest in the face of another humane monster built from experiments.

that which resembles a human. resembling humans, all of them, dancing on a chessboard in someone else's pocket.

however smart Mori may be, however much respect he may have for the boss, Chuuya believes leaving a kid with suicidal tendencies to a suicidal bastard is undeniably cruel. [Name] is nothing like Dazai, because they value life, because they don't regret being born, because they don't taunt death in an attempt to free themself. and yet despite knowing they are so, so different from the demon prodigy, there still is something. there is something, and Chuuya doesn't know what, but it's very much there. something in their eyes, something very deep in a parallel mirror; something on the scar on their neck and something in their voice.

something, whatever it is, making [Name] feel horribly similar to Dazai.

Chuuya has seen his friends die time and time again. that's just the way the mafia works. he fears he's going to see [Name] end up being another corpse in a pile of distant memories.

after a strenuous day of training, he offers them a cigarette. the more they take from him, the less they'll follow in Dazai's footsteps—he hopes, at least, because Dazai has a plan. Chuuya doesn't know what it is or why he's so determined to see it come to fruition, but he does know no one is safe. so he leans against the wall, taking another drag, listening as [Name] explains their experience in the research facility. out of curiosity, out of concern.

if there's an input, there's an output.

[Name] shakes ashes off their cigarette. they finish their retelling with a closing thought of, "at some point, the concept of life became trivial, as Dazai-san put it." it sounds natural and it rolls off their tongue with the tone of an older sibling. Chuuya argues that it sounds dissonant; that agreeing with Dazai shouldn't be a willing choice. "i could kill anyone and anything, but i couldn't kill myself. they wouldn't let me."

he sighs heavily, "that explains why you feel so much like that lousy suicidal bastard."

with the way [Name] turns to blink owlishly at him, he'd think he's offended them. their brows furrow in thought for a moment, before they chuckle sardonically. "i think Dazai-san's in a league of his own." as a pained afterthought, they add, "sadly." they cast their gaze down to their shoes, a grimace twisting their face. pity burns on their tongue. "there really isn't anyone out there to feel so much like him."

"hopefully," Chuuya snarls, rolling his eyes, "there really shouldn't be."

"do you hate him that much, Chuuya-san? i know he's a lot to handle, but he's just throwing a tantrum." the laughter that falls from their lips is ironic. they don't mean it. they're at a loss. the cigarette between their fingers slips and bounces off their shoes.

Chuuya clicks his tongue. "he's just a cunning bastard with a plan to fuck everyone over." he flicks his own cigarette off to the side to emphasize his words.

[Name] lets his snarky remark swim into their ears, processing each sound with careful consideration. they stare silently at the floor as they take into account everything the mafia has shown them for the past two years. they're well aware Dazai is always slithering around, a heavy presence looming over everyone's shoulders to make sure everything goes according to plan. they know he's doing something, whatever it might be, and it's very important. that's why he's been gone for over a week already. from where [Name] stands, it simply seems capricious.

"i think he's a little kid," they speak up with a hint of hesitation. a knot in their throat tries to keep them from spitting words a parallel story would set them on fire for. they clear their throat, turning to find Chuuya's eyes. "doesn't he feel like a neglected toddler to you?"

immediately, Chuuya throws his head back and cackles from the core of his chest. he pats [Name]'s shoulder harshly, shaking them in a fit of pure amusement. "ha! that's your best joke so far." he pretends to wipe a tear off his eye. the moment his laughter fades away, a peeved frown pulls his brows down. "that shitty asshole's a demon that's been alive for centuries. i wouldn't waste pity on him." as if it were an unimportant discussion about ants on the ground, Chuuya shrugs his shoulders. he's done with his smoke break and he cares little about sympathy for malicious intelligence.

[Name] watches him head back into the Port Mafia building. the demonic crown Dazai wears weighs on him more and more as the years go by. centuries upon centuries of living in isolation should give a demon like him all the wisdom in the universe, and yet he's nothing but a child. even Chuuya is only a child with issues of his own. they all are. and when kids are scared, some cry, some bite back, and some simply cower in a corner while gritting their teeth.

with a sigh, [Name] crushes their struggling cigarette with the sole of their shoe. they follow after Chuuya once the fire has died.

it's strange, Dazai thinks, and it rattles him for a moment. he only has the memories of what will happen, but he's convinced he can still feel frail bones crushing under the pressure of his foot. the moment he sees [Name] in broad daylight, crouched over in an awfully familiar alleyway, he stops dead in his tracks. his fingers twitch. he almost wishes [Name] would try to hide away in the shadows. he doesn't have to even look past them to know there's a box with three puppies in it.

"what are you doing here, [Name]?"

[Name] cranes their neck back, finding Dazai's eye staring down at them with a blank gaze. "hello, Dazai-san," they greet him normally, because they don't know and they can't guess. they step to the side to let him see the three dying dogs, huddled together for warmth inside a humid box. Dazai blinks. these puppies don't just look frail, they look sick.

"what are you doing?"

[Name] turns back to the box. with one hand, they keep searching for a way to help these dying creatures; the other one offers a sense of comfort—or as much as they can—scratching their heads gently. "i found these guys abandoned here. i was thinking of getting 'em to the vet, they don't look too good." when [Name] removes their hand, one of the puppies stirs. it tries to call out in a faint cry. it barely has the strength to breathe.

"oh." Dazai hums in understanding. he doesn't like dogs. he doesn't care about what happens to these dogs. something is probably eating them from the inside out and he knows for a fact they will not survive a ride to the vet. they're on the verge of death already; [Name], this time, is too late. "yeah, that's a good idea." he doesn't care about what happens to these dogs or to [Name] themself, but he lets them do whatever they want. it is not a dare. it is not a challenge. it's simply him taking a step back.

"do you know of any vets nearby? i can't find anything on my phone."

"…i don't really like dogs so i don't know anything." he lies. he does know. he cannot step back more than this.

it's fleeting, but [Name] feels that same baseless animosity trying to drown them. "i see." they pretend it's fair. they don't pry. with a grimace, they turn again to look at Dazai. "do you think they'll make it? they might be a lost cause."

"you should try."

the longer they consider it, the more pity simmers in their chest. when they scan their eyes over the puppies one more time, they're agitated, struggling to breathe. "i'd rather not put 'em through that… i'll just let 'em pass peacefully." an orange glow surrounds their body as they use Mirror Mirage to steal the dogs' lives from them. painlessly, the three of them grow weaker until they ultimately die.

Dazai glares quietly. he watches with a hollow stare as [Name], with their eyes closed, claps their hands and says a short prayer to the lives they've taken.

"i'll find a place to bury them. excuse me, Dazai-san." picking the box up from the floor, [Name] bows their head to him. he trails his eyes after them while they disappear down the sidewalk.

Mori Ogai knew eventually Dazai would take his place. evil expects evil from others. when he finds [Name]'s hand around his throat, he chuckles. he figures this is exactly why Dazai wanted to take them from their orphanage and bring them into his arsenal. he's not given much choice and lets the children do with him as they see fit.

at age eighteen, Dazai Osamu becomes the Port Mafia's boss.

[Name] doesn't mind the changes in the mafia, especially considering they aided the new boss. there's a hefty weight of unbearable responsibility pressing down on their shoulders. they're aware Dazai isn't their problem, and neither do they feel the need to interfere. he is doing something—[Name] doesn't know what it is or why, but they hope he can accomplish it so he'll finally sit down and breathe. they know better than to meddle. but the duty of an older sibling compels them to at least check in on everyone around them.

(Chuuya isn't content. they've heard all of his complaints again and again over cigarettes and drinks. he says he doesn't blame them for helping Dazai out in taking Mori's head. they hardly believe him.)

Dazai calls them into his office. something feels off when they step inside, bowing as per usual, speaking politely like they did with Mori. he's leaning back on his chair and reading a book. the cover is worn, but they can make out the characters for war and crime. the look in his eye darkens considerably as he lets it flutter shut before dropping it in his trash bin.

he leans into his desk and towards [Name], an empty smile curling his lips. "i have a task for you, [Name]." he gathers documents scattered around, brushing off a paper airplane that falls off the edge. [Name] takes them from his hand with a nod. "i'd like some information on this orphanage."

"of course, boss."

they bow one more time to excuse themself. Dazai considers letting them go with their task, but curiosity gets the best of him. he can't keep his mouth shut. "say, [Name]," he starts. [Name] stands up straight, listening attentively. "have you ever heard about the theory of the two demons?"

[Name] blinks, brows rising. it doesn't ring a bell. "i haven't. what does it say?" Dazai knows it doesn't ring a bell.

"that to combat a great evil, you need an even greater evil." it's taken him years to understand what this theory entails. it's taken him memories that do not belong to him to wrap his head around nonsense such as this. the best experience comes first-hand. "say, for uprisings against the government, the government can suppress the people with forced disappearances, for example." he cannot pretend to laugh at this anymore.

"so it's bad against worse?"

"precisely." Dazai snaps his fingers. there's a childlike ring in his voice, like he's happy to finally hold a conversation with the [Name] he's known. "it cancels out. it reaches a point where evil is just the norm. a demon against another demon; do you get it?"

"i see. like… fighting fire with fire." they're close. "only a demon can kill a demon."

like saying long time no see to someone he's supposed to have never met. like stabbing his own leg for someone he knows doesn't have the choice to stray. like offering lies to someone who cursed him in a different story. like babbling words that are not his. "yeah, that's… that's a good analogy." like a corpse smiling back at him. (like animal blood staining his shoes.)

"where did you find this theory? it seems interesting."

Dazai glances at the trash bin only briefly. "that's not important." [Name] doesn't catch on. "i just thought you'd like to know about it."

"why's that?"

"so you don't resent me after i'm dead." he's always known they aren't anything like him.

[Name] lets an innocent chuckle slip, "i'd be surprised if you're actually mortal at all."

"now that's a very cursed thing to say, [Name]." he offers them a smile. it's the smile of a child, innocent and ignorant. it's heavy.

"my apologies, boss."

Nakajima Atsushi is a mellow boy. it doesn't take a genius to realize he wasn't as lucky as [Name] was when drawing straws in the orphanage lottery. he's been blessed with a powerful ability, but he's also been cursed to never tame it. Dazai seems to have been prepared for this inconvenience since the day he was born. [Name] considers that's probably exactly the case.

they analyze the collar Dazai has given them, before their eyes fall on Atsushi. he's mellow and he's scared. he sits quietly on the floor, hugging his knees close to his chest to make himself small, hiding his face in search for safety. [Name] crouches by him, wearing the same gentle simper they used for their youngest siblings.

"i'm sorry about this, Atsushi-kun," they speak softly, careful not to make unnecessary loud noises, "but Dazai-san said it's to keep your ability in check."

"i know. i understand. it's okay." he lifts his head up only slightly. he meets [Name]'s pitying eyes.

they frown. the theory of the two demons states that, in order to take down a great evil, one requires a greater evil; [Name] thinks this is what Dazai meant when introducing them to such a wicked theory. a sigh tumbles from their lips, "it's not okay, but it's necessary." it burns on their tongue, rotten words they should swallow.

they purse their lips and clasp the collar around Atsushi's neck. somehow, they wince harder than him.

Dazai Osamu has completed his plan.

he hits the ground, blood splattering and staining the ground a crimson red, because even in death, Dazai can't keep himself from being a nuisance. his body twitches as the last remnants of life slip away from him.  it's unexpected—not that he managed to fulfill his own goals, but the way he chooses to celebrate. in the moment, [Name] thought their words were ironic. as they catch a glimpse through the corner of their eye, they think they spoke too much.

they freeze, shoulders taut. with wide eyes, they find Chuuya's glare across from them, seemingly just as perplexed. both turn towards the wall of windows; neither dare take a step closer to confirm their suspicions.

"…Chuuya-san," [Name] speaks up with a hesitant tone. Chuuya doesn't answer. "Chuuya-san, was…" their voice trails off, unsure of what to say in the face of suicide. "Chuuya-san, was that Dazai-san?" by the time they manage a coherent sentence, Chuuya is no longer by their side.

[Name] watches from up high in an empty hallway. from this height, Dazai's bleeding body is nothing more than an ant out of line. they sigh heavily, eyes closed. they clap their hands together and say a short prayer for the life that now sleeps forever in solitude.

—あごす (agosu) • 2023

[tachiguin]

Me eyezooming crumbs of Tanizaki content as if I could divine the secrets of his backstory from the limited pieces of information we have on him...

I've heard the theory that something happened to Naomi in school (popular theory being that she died), and that it's partially based in those two official drawings we have where Tanizaki is wearing a school uniform, and in both pictures Naomi is unconscious.

But I raise you another baseless speculation, that this could actually mean the opposite. Sleeping is associated with dreaming and fantasies, (which is also one of the themes Tanizaki-sensei is well known for), which would contribute to my tinfoil hat theory that Tanizaki's entire backstory is a fabrication, where he has fooled both his coworkers and himself into believing that he used to be a student, among other things that we really have no evidence for, except for Tanizaki's own unreliable narration.

A.K.A. the possibility that his past as a student is just a pleasant dream he fooled himself into believing.

[videogamelover99]

You know what's wack? The Dead Apple movie came out in 2018. The Fifteen light novel came out in 2019. There would have been a whole year when the fandom had to sit with the knowledge of Ango calling Chuuya a serial number and having absolutely zero context for it.