#Here have an anti-Dazai series

[anti-dazai-blog]

30-31- Kunikida and Chuuya should start a Dazai-specific group therapy (and other complaints)

Welcome back to the Anti-Dazai Series!!

Please forgive the month-long unplanned hiatus, I’ve been having a very eventful life lately. But the Anti-Dazai Series isn’t dead, it’s just taking longer to create than I originally thought it would. 

Then again, I say that same line every time I post. 

Regardless, I’m here and I have some stuff to say about Dazai. So moving on to what you all came here for:

——————————

After the Guild nearly destroyed Yokohama, the agency is working their hardest to get things back in order. Dazai, as per usual, is not helping. 

Kunikida asks him to do his actual job for once. As expected, Dazai refuses and deflects. It’s then revealed that Dazai was involved in arranging a secret meeting with the boss of the Port Mafia. Kunikida is surprised by this, and asks Dazai why he of all people would be involved in arranging such a thing. Dazai reveals in the most offhanded way possible that he used to work for the Port Mafia, and that Kunikida is the last in the agency to be made aware of that fact.

Now, why does Dazai do this? There are a number of potential reasons, and I’m not satisfied that I’ve reached the right one. Revealing something like this accomplishes a few things; it increases Kunikida’s stress, it makes him feel excluded from the rest of the agency, it enforces the idea that Dazai is “mysterious” and there are many things he doesn’t know about him, it enforces the idea that Kunikida “isn’t as perceptive” as the rest of the agency (in quotation marks to stop people from reading it as a true statement in and of itself), it enforces the idea that Dazai’s “more comfortable telling personal information to the rest of the agency than Kunikida” (in quotation marks for the same reason), and lastly, it’s a subtle way of introducing the idea that Dazai talks to people casually during their breaks or off hours, and Kunikida doesn’t take breaks, so he never would get around to having these casual conversations.

Note that all of those potential reasons are specifically directed towards Kunikida (meaning they could be potential take-aways Dazai wants Kunikida to have from this exchange), and none are true general statements. 

Regardless, the one that feels most accurate to the rest of Dazai’s portrayal is his insistence on portraying himself as “mysterious”. This specific way of going about is clearly ideal, given the above list of potential take-aways and how while Dazai may have intended this exchange to have the outcome of making him appear more mysterious, Kunikida’s take-away could have been anything else on that list (or a secret bonus item I didn’t think of). 

Hopefully Kunikida didn’t overthink this two minute exchange as much as I did. However, I’m obligated to include that (for comedic purposes) Kunikida does pass out from stress at the end of this conversation.

———

The conclusion of the Agency and Mafia’s meeting results in a refusal to agree to an alliance or ceasefire, due to such an agreement being a prisoner’s dilemma. If one side chooses to follow the agreement while the other chooses to break it, only the dishonest side will benefit, and there are no third parties to hold them accountable. 

However, Mori has his own plan; to do the agency a favor in advance, and have them pay him back later. As he’s aware that Dazai will be walking straight into a Guild ambush later that night on his quest to retrieve Q, he decides to send Chuuya to ensure the success of this retrieval mission. 

And here’s where this analysis post becomes a speedrun of every minorly rude thing Dazai might have done—

1—I’m not even gonna get into what was going on with him bombing Chuuya’s car four years prior to this. Did Chuuya genuinely not know it was Dazai? It would make a surprising amount of sense if he didn’t know, since bombing a car doesn’t fit Dazai’s M.O. at all, but I can get into that another time.

2—Instead of just outright insulting Chuuya’s fashion sense, he pretends to compliment him and then takes it back, which is slightly ruder and more hurtful than a direct insult. (was he checking for Chuuya’s reaction to a supposed compliment? Based on how Chuuya reacted, we can assume this wasn’t a standard Way of Messing With Him that Dazai used to do in Mafia days. Was he just testing something new?)

3—Not only did he steal Chuuya’s knife, but he asked Chuuya if he could borrow it AFTER stealing it, to cause him the extra stress of looking for it just to see it’s not there. (Most likely he was checking if Chuuya would agree to lend it to him or not, and on the possibility Chuuya refused, he’d have it anyway. Regardless, that moment of panic when you think you’ve lost something you need was Not Worth It just to check that.)

And on the topic of that knife, let’s talk about what he does with it next. He puts it to Q’s throat and asks Chuuya if he’s going to stop him. Although he doesn’t end up going through with this threat, he did put a knife to the throat of an unconscious child just to, as per usual, test someone’s reaction to something. I do not need to explain how putting a knife to an unconscious child’s throat is not “just messing around.”

As he removes Q from John’s roots, he once again explains that Q needs to be alive to essentially “keep him in business.” So long as Q’s alive, he’ll be needed as a nullifier. 

I’ve mentioned this repeatedly and I’ll mention it again, every single time it comes up: Dazai has this habit of emphasizing his usefulness as a nullifier in front of people who rely on his nullification. Here, he refers to himself as “the ultimate safety device.” It’s no coincidence that so far the characters he most frequently brings this up in front of are Atsushi and Chuuya, both of whom are reliant on his ability to keep theirs in check. Dazai reinforces the idea that he is necessary, and just as the mafia needs to keep him alive because of Q, they equally need to keep him alive because of Chuuya.

4—Using Kunikida’s Q-induced PTSD hallucinations for his own personal entertainment is just. incredibly messed up. It’s one of those trademark Dazai Things that made me start this blog. It’s one of those things that’s entirely played off as funny but becomes disturbing when you think about it for more than a second. Someone is having a panic attack in front of you and you laugh at it and film them? Yeah no what the hell. And then brag about filming them afterwards. Look I know I’m fixating on one single line in the manga that Studio Bones didn’t consider significant enough to adapt. But look this guy is deeply messed up. Can we just acknowledge that for a second. Please.

5—Back to the actual petty complaints: After Chuuya was grabbed by Lovecraft, Dazai walks over and steps on the back of Chuuya’s head/ Chuuya’s hat. This is anywhere ranging from Kinda Rude to Could Be Sued (ha it rhymes) depending on how injured Chuuya got from Lovecraft tossing him around.

[Now, I’ll be counting the following insults as petty, but for most insults between Chuuya and Dazai I won’t be counting them as anything at all. I consider the standard back and forth that Chuuya and Dazai have going on to be immensely non-hostile, as in none of those insults have any real meaning, nor do either of them interpret any deeper meaning behind it. However, any isolated insult will be judged in and of itself.]

6—Dazai says “I hope your hat seizes your consciousness and kills you.”

In general, this would count as a petty insult. However, with the added context of Stormbringer, this falls into the same category as point 4 on this list of Petty Dazai Complaints. Played off as a joke, but is actually horrifying if you think about it for more than five seconds. HOWEVER, let’s keep in mind that this chapter was written long before Asagiri wrote Stormbringer, and he most likely wasn’t aware of the added lore he’d give Chuuya’s hat. So with that in mind, I won’t hold Dazai accountable for something that Asagiri wouldn’t know about. 

7—Pretending to be fatally injured just for the fun of watching Chuuya panic, immediately after Lovecraft morphed into his final form and had Chuuya semi-panicking already. I don’t know how to explain that that’s not the Fun Little Prank the anime makes it out to be.

And that’s it for my Petty Little Complaints, because now we’re up to Corruption.

I will be pointing out here that Dazai’s request for Chuuya to use Corruption immediately follows his Fun Little Prank of getting “fatally wounded”, which immediately followed Lovecraft revealing his true form. Keeping that in mind, it seems as though rather than subduing Chuuya’s stress after Lovecraft showed his true form, Dazai increased the stress instead. The anime really doesn’t do this scene justice, so if you’ve only seen it there I’d recommend reading this part of the manga. Lovecraft is massive. Lovecraft is horrifying. There’s no way anyone could make a rational, life or death decision when faced with something like him. 

The decision of whether or not to use corruption is not something that should be taken lightly. Yet Dazai decides to make things harder for Chuuya by convincing him that he’s about to die from fatal wounds, and after revealing it’s “just a prank”, choosing to speficially say “we should just give up and die” rather than saying “we may need to consider using corruption” or something along those lines. He puts the idea of death, both his and Chuuya’s, in front of them before pushing Chuuya to destroy himself for the sake of the mission. 

All in all, not a fan of the way Dazai presented this supposed choice to him.

{the usual addendum goes here that Dazai is often the audience’s source of exposition. Here as well, his specific way of presenting and talking about Corruption was more to inform the audience about how dangerous Corruption is, how it’s a final resort, and how Chuuya can die from using it. He talks about it in the manner he does because he needs to for the audience’s sake, so I’ll acknowledge that the whole time he’s saying “it’s so dangerous, you’ll die if I don’t stop you,” it’s directed more to the audience than Chuuya}

Now I’ve already gone on a rant about how Dazai leaving Chuuya alone, vulnerable, and unconscious in the middle of the forest at night is pretty messed up. That was actually the first post I’ve ever made about Dazai. So I won’t be repeating all that here. Rather, I’ll be linking the post here and pretending that that counts. If I don’t get this posted now I won’t be able to post it for another week, so I’ll be ending it abruptly here.

So. That’s that for this week’s entry of the Anti-Dazai Series!! Join us next time when Dazai does something else that I take issue with, as I always do, because that’s my job here on the Anti-Dazai Blog!! Thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day!

[renadactyl]

Introduction!

Hello! You can call me Ren or William and I go by he/they/it pronouns. I’m quite new to Tumblr so I do apologize for any mistakes I may make along the way while I get to know this social media. I’m a multi-fandom fanfiction author, and I’m always open to certain requests! Here’s some more about me so you know what fandoms I write for and what I will and won’t write:

Fandoms I’ll Write For

ANIME:

Moriarty the Patriot (favorite fandom)

Jujutsu Kaisen (fourth favorite fandom)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (fifth favorite fandom)

Bungou Stray Dogs

Spy x Family

Attack on Titan

Death Note

Haikyuu!

LIVE ACTION TV SHOWS/MOVIES:

BBC Sherlock (third favorite fandom)

Fleabag

The X Files

Game of Thrones

The Artful Dodger

VIDEO GAMES:

Genshin Impact

The Arcana (second favorite fandom) (still in the middle of playing all the routes, but I’m already obsessed)

BOOKS/BOOK SERIES:

Sherlock Holmes (series of short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

MUSICALS:

Les Miserables

Sweeney Todd

Hamilton

Moulin Rouge

Cabaret

Be More Chill

“Will and Won’t”s

Will do angst, fluff, comfort, smut, whatever you can imagine. I’m willing to write incredibly graphic and intense works, but when it comes to smut, nothing too kinky. And please, although it shouldn’t even have to be said, do not request smut for characters under the age of eighteen (I won’t do aged up versions of minor characters either).

Will do almost any ship, but there are some ships I won’t write for, specifically abusive ships and ships including incest or ships with large age gaps. Other than that, I’m pretty open for even some of the most wildest ships. There’s also a few characters I may refuse to write certain types of fanfiction for because of personal reasons such as them being a triggering character for me (such as Asuka from NGE), me despising their character because they’re a disgusting person (such as Mori from BSD), and etcetera.

Will do character x reader works, polyamory “x reader” works, and other various forms of that genre. I’m fine with pretty much anything.

Will do works featuring mental disorders including depression, anxiety, autism, ADHD, etcetera. I’m very open to whatever and whatever headcanons you may want me to include!

Basic DNI/WON’TS including: racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, pedophilia, sexism, anti-abortion… along those lines.

For more info on me, here are some little facts!

I have diagnosed autism, depression, and anxiety. I have undiagnosed ADHD.

I’m omni-pansexual and arospike.

I identify as a demiboy

I like to analyze characters a lot, resulting in plenty of essays on some of the characters from my favorite fandoms (especially BSD). If you ever want to request an analysis, that’s totally welcome too!

My top eight kins are William James Moriarty, Satoru Gojo, Julian Devorak, (BBC) Sherlock Holmes, Kaeya, Ranpo Edogawa, Fleabag, and Osamu Dazai.

My current top five favorite ships are Sherliam (from MTP), Kawoshin (from NGE), Satosugu (from JJK), Johnlock (from BBC Sherlock), and Asrian (from The Arcana).

I am unhealthily obsessed right now with The Arcana’s Asra.

[tricoloured-cat]

what better way to procrastinate than to write random stuff

reviewing the works that the abilities were based on

Part 1: Armed Detective Agency

I just realized that I've finally read all the works attributed to the abilities of the author's BSD counterparts, at least for the ADA. I plan to do this for all organizations in the BSD universe so I can direct my reading and actually finish something HAHA

DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert on literature, let alone Japanese literature, and my short reviews are solely my opinion as a casual reader. These are all for fun so please don't take these so seriously!

Nakajima Atsushi Ability: Beast Beneath the Moonlight Original Work: Moon Over the Mountain

This short story has the vibes of a folktale but with existential dread sprinkled throughout. The prose is calm but the agony still reverberates. I liked this more than I though I would, perhaps because of how clean it felt. Honestly this would be one of the OG works I'd recommend to a BSD fan who wants to try classic Japanese literature.

Dazai Osamu Ability/Original Work: No Longer Human

This is probably the one novel/work most BSD fans would pick up first - and for a good reason. The themes are pretty universal albeit heavy, the tone of the narrator throughout the entire novel is gripping, the translation by Donald Keene is very readable, and it's just in the most general sense a summary of Dazai-sensei's own life. The last point must be taken with a grain of salt, however, as he's a master liar - something you'll find out if you dig more into his life and other works. If you'd like to see depression in book form, this is for you.

Kunikida Doppo Ability: Doppo Poet Original Work: Doppo Collection (probably)

Here's a case of "I can't really find the original work so I'll be reviewing something else instead"

Reviewing: Those Unforgettable People

I chose to talk about this one since it's the one found in the Penguin Anthology. It's an interesting mix of forms: technically, it's a short story. However, the elements of poetry and even of the essay are present - mostly the latter, tbh. Of course the whole "ideal" thing is such a Kunikida-sensei thing that it appears it almost every story he wrote, yet somehow in this one you'll have to squint a little bit more to see it. The point of this story-essay-poem thing is at the very end (the first half is quite dragging imo) is what gives it a little oomph, but honestly I much prefer his other works (specifically Old Gen and Death).

Tanizaki Jun'ichirou Ability/Original Work: Sasameyuki

You like a slow burn? You like pain? Familial drama? Maybe you'll like this. Maybe you won't. It's a mammoth of a book that feels like a series of extremely detailed telenovela episodes - not that it's necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed it despite the length because the way it ends, although hardly strong at all, ties the themes and messages of the novel cleanly into a single scene.

Miyazawa Kenji Ability/Original Work: Be Not Defeated by the Rain

It's a poem every Japanese elementary student would know. The message and style is so simple yet beautiful (I read Sulz's translation). It's joyful and so sunny... until I read the background on it. I cried over his work. Again. (Night on the Galactic Railroad PLS) Man I just love this author so much. But I'm not really a poem person to begin with, so take this review with a grain of salt HAHA

Yosano Akiko Ability/Original Work: Thou Shalt Not Die

The only complete translation I could find is written in painfully archaic English, so I won't comment on the style HAHA. But I do think the original was just as pointed in its words and message; its anti-war sentiments and middle finger to the Japanese emperor and military (at the time) so characteristically Yosano-sensei. It's sad she'd support WW2 later on - come on sensei WHY

Personally, however, I prefer her shorter poems, specifically the ones from River of Stars. But I'm not really a poem person to begin with, so take this review with a grain of salt HAHA

Izumi Kyouka Ability: Demon Snow Original Work: Demon Pond

It's been a while since I've read a play, and perhaps that's why I had a hard time getting through the first half - either that or it was quite lackluster as most of the actual story happens in the second half. Its influences from folktales and traditional Japanese theater (i.e. kabuki and noh) are very apparent - I wish I could have seen it instead of read it because of that. I think this is the first work of Kyouka's that I actually liked (I've read some of his short stories and one of his other plays) so I'll definitely recommend this one if you want to start with this author. There's also a movie adaptation of it that I haven't watched yet (but I do plan to). I think it could be much better than just reading it as is because of the visuals and mood setting, but a review on that soon. Maybe.

Fukuzawa Yukichi Ability: All Men Are Created Equal Original Work: An Encouragement of Learning (Sec. 1-2)

I couldn't be bothered to read the whole thing, but the essence of the ability only comes from the first two sections (which I'll be reviewing).

It's an essay that imo serves as a good introduction to Fukuzawa's philosophy. His views and arguments are built primarily on morality with logic acting mostly as a way to expound on his points. It's interesting, nothing really new for a contemporary reader, but at least it gives a nice background on the changing environment during the early years of Meiji-era Japan. Of course there are personal biases here (specifically the one with China - one of the greatest criticisms against Fukuzawa, even though he was supposedly progressive for his time) but imo that reflects some views of many Japanese at the time - not that they're right, of course.

But what about our special non-gifted boi?

I guess let's look at what one of the episodes was based on instead lol

Edogawa Ranpo Episode: The Murder on D. Street (S01E05) Original Work: The Case on D. Hill

I will tell you now: they have almost NO similarities whatsoever. Doesn't mean it's bad tho...

Okay ngl I was pretty disappointed HAHA. It's the same type of disappointment I had with Poe's Murders on the Rue Morgue (which was ironically referenced in the story) but it at least had some sense to it. I blame myself for not seeing it coming tho, given that this story is very typical of Edogawa-sensei. If you do plan to read it, however, be warned that there are implicit (?) themes that may be uncomfortable for some readers (this warning applies to most of Edogawa-sensei's work not made specifically for children HAHA).

[bluemooniegif]

besides bungo stray dogs, can u rcm me some manga having thought-provoking theme like that

ABSOLUTELY I CAN!! here are some manga, book and movie recs for you, cause I couldn't help myself :>

MANGA RECS:

1: The Case Study of Vanitas (Vanitas no Carte)

I knowww it's a cliche that BSD fans must also enjoy VNC, but it's genuinely just AHH so good!! it currently sits at 62.5 chapters (10 volumes & 9 uncollected chapters) and it has a 2-season anime adaptation. it's the second manga series by Jun Mochizuki, who's also well-known for her series Pandora Hearts, and is still ongoing.

set in 19th-century France, our story begins with Noe, a young vampire, who's excitedly travelling to Paris for the first time. in his travels, he encounters the strange and enigmatic Vanitas, a human who somehow possesses the power of the Vampire of the Blue Moon- a feared being shunned by the rest of the vampire world.

we learn from the very beginning that Noe is recounting this story to us, and that he kills Vanitas with his own hands- but why? how? nobody knows, but we're bound to find out!

2. Attack on Titan

I doubt anyone was expecting me to mention this one, because it has quite a reputation for being gore-filled and action-packed, but when I say this literally changed my life I'm really not kidding (I wouldn't have this blog or be into anime at all if not for AOT!). it's a completed story, with a four-season anime (including 3 OVA episodes) and 139 manga chapters (in the main storyline; there are multiple spin-offs and 2 bonus mangas/light novels).

many years ago, the final remnants of humanity were forced to flee into a city surrounded by three giant walls. these walls are the only things keeping humanity from perishing at the hand of the titans, giant humanoid figures who hunt and eat them. but a young boy, Eren, wants nothing more than to see the world beyond the wall- until a titan taller than their walls breaks into the city, throwing humanity (and Eren's life) into disarray.

though it's true that a large chunk of this animanga is action, the lore is incredible. I can't say too much without spoiling, but the thought-provoking aspects aren't talked about nearly as much as I think they should be. once you've finished watching or reading, I highly recommend you watch this video, which is one of my favourite video essays of all time!

BOOK RECS:

1. Slaughterhouse Five

this is one of my favourite books of all time, and it's only 177 pages, so it's a super quick read! not only is it severely anti-war, but it's deeply though-provoking. I think about it every day. I quote it regularly. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone, especially now, with everything happening in the world.

I honestly don't have words for how much I love it, so here's the synopsis on Goodreads:

Prisoner of war, optometrist, time-traveller - these are the life roles of Billy Pilgrim, hero of this miraculously moving, bitter and funny story of innocence faced with apocalypse. Slaughterhouse 5 is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centring on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden in the Second World War, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know.

2. No Longer Human

there are so many editions of this, and I would recommend all of them- this is my other favourite book of all time, by the way. I may be barking up the wrong tree when I tell a BSD fan to read Dazai, one of the most accessible and relatable Japanese authors for a Western audience, but hey, I've got to remind you just in case you haven't given it a shot.

No Longer Human follows the life of Yozo Oba, a boy born into a big rich family, who constantly feels at-odds with the world around him. it's an exploration of mental illness, social isolation, self-expression, and compassion. I actually have an entire youtube video talking about it and how BSD-Dazai reflects Yozo as much as irl-Dazai, and it's my pride and joy so please go watch it!

MOVIE RECS:

Okay, I only have one rec for you, but this movie haunts me (in the best way possible):

Forgotten (기억의 밤)

I really need more people to watch this actually because holy shit it was amazing and nobody talks about it!! WATCH IT!!! PLEASE!!!!

Jinseok watches his brother get kidnapped right before his eyes, and it powerless to do anything. 19 days later, he returns, and... something is different about him. Jinseok is determined to uncover the mystery surrounding his kidnapping.

the twists in this are actually insane. I can't tell you anything aside from the synopsis without spoiling major plot points. if you only take one recommendation I bed you to take this one.

okay that's all bye!!

[ifucknglovebsd]

Current theory for where BSD is going based upon the most recent manga chapter

Spoilers below

Okay so, we don’t have many options for who is going to fight with Fukuchi. For starters our possibilities are lessened by the fact some fighters who could get rid of his ability (Dazai) are not in the area, most of our typical fighters with abilities based on combat (Kunikida, Atsushi etc) are a bit busy at the moment dealing with different things and those with actual combat prowess are down (Fukuzawa, though I hope he’s still alive, more on that later)

So here are our options:

Lucy is able to get into the fight and drags Fukuchi’s ass into Anne’s room. Wham, bam thank you mam, manga over. I have my doubts that she will handle it all on her own like that as it seems a bit anti-climactic for a series that has been practically building up to this fight since Fukuchi has been revealed to be the villain. There is a chance she will come into play with the fight but I don’t think she will handle it on her own like that. There is also the possibility that she could find a way to get the page and keep it safe in her dimension which is an actual possibility.

Then there is the chance that Fukuzawa somehow survived and finds a way to get the page at the very least away from Fukuchi for a bit but considering the state he seemed in it’s not very likely that he would be able to get up and win a fight or even be able to hold himself up for long. Again, not very likely though this does hold some merit to at least Fukuzawa surviving as I believe this would hold more weight to Fukuchi’s actions since he wanted Fukuzawa to see that what he was doing was hopeless (also I just don’t want Fukudad to be dead)

There is also the possibility h that Atsushi will be able to break Akutagawa out of his vampirism and then we have one final sskk fight to end the whole series on that but by the time he is able to break Akutagawa out of it it may already be too late but this seems like the second most likely possibility. So far ever big arc of the story has ended with them so I believe it would be fitting to have the whole story end the same way it always did.

Then we come to my personal thoughts about what is going to happen next.

Tecchou is really the only one that would be willing and able to fight against Fukuchi.

He is the only one who seems like he would be able to recover in time to defeat Fukuchi before any damage can be done by the page (I mean, dude took a fucking grenade to the face and was fine like a week later, I think he’ll be good even after fighting Kenji and taking that much damage) and it has its own symbolism we’ve already seen play out before where the government is tearing itself apart on two sides. It’s the symbolism that I believe would hit the most out of all the fights and would be even better than if SSKK fought him and won. Atsushi is someone who has needed help before so I don’t doubt even now he would need someone to at least hold Fukuchi back for a bit. Plus there is the main idea of this story being that the government is rather bad at dealing with certain events that it has to delve into darkness every once in a while but that there is still that glimmer of real justice and human compassion found within it that will fight until the end to ensure a happy ending for all.

Then there’s also the possibility that Tecchou found Jouno (vampired up), learns that Fukuchi did this and just looses it, more than he did on Kenji. I think this would also be fitting as Tecchou is insanely loyal (from what we see) to the Hunting Dogs so to see him turn against the very thing he holds so much faith in because it failed to protect his (boyfriend) partner who was also a member of that same organization. But his urge to provide real justice overrides his loyalty to his commander and is enough for him to possibly quit service of the government and believe more in the ADA’s innocence.

Tecchou is also insanely strong for a Hunting Dog, possibly even the strongest and his ability actually could hold up rather well against Fukuchi with his ability to change the direction and size of his blade he could possibly catch Fukuchi off guard at some point and land a fatal blow. He could even get some assistance from the other surviving ADA members (Yosano could continuously heal him, Kenji could provide combat support, Kyouka could do the same, if Ranpo recovers he could provide battle tactics etc) but I truly think he is the only one who can do this, at least primarily on his own.

Okay yeah, maybe I do just want to see Tecchou fuck someone up but there is also a bit of a possibility!

[autistic-katara]

ALL RIGHT! ANON FANDOM HOT TAKES!

eddie munson sucks

this one is utterly incoherent but bear with me - IF byler hadn't been planned from the start, el and mike's relationship would've worked IF hopper hadn't taken el in. hopper majorly fucked up a lot of her personal growth and her ability to function around people.

hopper should've died

the bungou stray dogs fandom is great actually

the kpop fandom is disturbing but fascinating and i want to study it

i have this insane respect for the marauders fandom cause like they built it from the ground up and if they changed the names and a little bit of the magic system it could be it's own series

yeah idk what this is sorry

THANKS FOR THE LONG ASK AAAHHH (accidentally made the reply super long srry lmao)

honestly i just dont give a shit abt him. like in a vacuum i like his character, yk he was kinda a pretty big asshole to my boy lucas and he sells drugs (idrc abt that one tho) but at the same time idk i do enjoy the idea of eddie being queer nd clocking will and/or mike nd trying to make them feel comfortable talking to him (even if that could be done just as well if not better with robin who is yk canonically queer and a way better character but idk) but all that is ignoring how fucking annoying his fans are like jesus christ why is he this fucking popular like half the fics in this godforsaken fandom r st€ddie (and look i am a shameless will-ship-smthn-based-off-of-one-small-momenter of the highest degree but i genuinely do not understand the hype for them like they literally looked at eachother twice and had eddie tell steve to get back with his ex how in the fuck is that romantic???) and yeah just he is insanely overrated in the worst possible way and the fact that this isnt even the worst case of this in this fandom just proves how much b*lly and his fans suck and yeah i did not expect to go on a huge rant abt this srry TwT

kinda agree kinda disagree. i do think it wouldve been possible for mlvn to work but i wouldnt say hopper taking el in is the problem i think ud kinda just have to rewrite alotta their interactions with some small things in the beginning but with a completely different dynamic in the later seasons (sidenote: honest to god if theyd just written hopper a bit better i would fucking love him as el’s dad like i love the found family trope and i do think they go well together but with the way he acts in s3 + the way their fight that culminates in el’s meltdown and him breaking the tv in s2 just yeah they rlly could’ve been done better)

no comment i dont rlly care (i dont hate that he survived but if he stayed dead i also wouldnt hate it)

yeah honestly while it has its problems ive been in waaaayyyyy worse fandoms and i do actually kinda like the vibe here (even if it has some of the dumbest shipping discourse i’ve seen. not the worst but the dumbest. usually surrounding my boy dazai which just bro that man is a whore ship him with whoever and no its not a proship to ship him with an 18yo bcz they have a kinda mentor/student relationship and no shipping him at 18 with a 24yo also isnt a proship bcz someone decided he was 16 or smthn which if u actually do the maths he was very much 18 and look i’m not a dazatsu shipper and odazai isnt my favourite dazai ship nor am i saying both ships r entirely unproblematic but dude this is why i dont wanna label myself an anti bcz u guys say shit like this anyways sorry that was a super long side tangent it will probably happen again)

again no comment, i know jack shit abt kpop

uhhh i hate everything related to hp so again no comment

again srry this turned out so long 😭

[morievna]

A bit of annoucement

Hello,

Something different this time 😅

I got into BSD over summer, trying to catch up with all content. Frankly, I tend to stay away from shounen genre as usually these stories bore me after some time – action feels repetitive, some disappointing character choices and so on. But since BSD was always in my orbit as series with ‘other Ugetsu’ xD I decided to give a chance and oh my…….. it is really good.

Ofc it would be better it was more queer, but I guess intense male friendships are part of shounen xD Totally not written like romantic relationship xD

And for real they have such similar looks and vibe XD

And since I have a lot of thoughts, probably I will start writing down when I will have some free time.

I know you follow me for Given content so I am not sure if I should put it here or create something new account… if you have any suggestion feel free to write to me^^ or you can simply like this post if you don’t mind me writing here.

If you want to know where I stand when it comes to bsd – here are some my opinions^^ - also some spoilers here !!

Fav characters: Dazai, Chuuya, Akutagawa, Fyodor *plays Anti-hero in background*

Characters that grown on me: Atsushi, Fitzgerald, Yosano, Kyouka, Ranpo

Characters that I like just because xD: Poe, Mori, Tecchou, Gogol, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Adam

Character I wanted to like but nah:/ : Kunikida (because his character arc builds up but leads nowhere - it is frustrating to me too much)

Character that I am neutral on: Oda (imo he is good character, but it was very predictable to me what will happen to him and kids - it was hard for me to get invested)

Characters I dislike: Tanizaki (like literary I can’t find anything interesting about him xD), Shibusawa (imo he was meant to be cool villain but felt too much typical in the end)

Character interactions I want more: 

Chuuya&Akutagawa (I was happy for changes in DA stage play even though Chuuya was a bit too mean xD)

Kyouka&Lucy (they have lots in common and could be good friends),

Chuuya&Verlaine (SB needs follow-up)

Gin&Higuchi (imo more female friendship would turn out good for the story)

Kouyou&Chuuya (imo it is weird how mentorship was teased, but we got nothing substantial)

Fyodor&Sigma (I want more creator/creation dynamic as it is always fun and that betrayed Sigma’s look- oh boi)

Chuuya&Dazai (I simply want Chuuya to punch Dazai for that attempted drowning xD)

Fav arc:

Stormbringer (perfection, I loved everything)

The Perfect Murder And Murderer – I love deduction time xD and how it is like breather between more action-packed arcs. Ranpo-Poe duo is just so much fun^^  Mushitarou’s story was great and I loved his theatrical antics. I liked how Ranpo was developed in this arc – the consequences from feeling guilty from mistakes in Cannibalism

I also love all parts where ADA and PM has to cooperate xD so much goodness. Shin Sokokou and Sokoku are really heart of story, Fukuzawa-Mori and Yosano-Black Lizards were highlights too

Most disliked arc:

Azure Messenger in anime (it was so bad on every level xD I didn’t read LN version and I don’t feel like it honestly xD)

Dazai’s demise in Beast (I was so angry when I read it *throwing-book-kind-of-angry* Honestly I like better that from spoilers movie version sounds more ambiguous on that)

What I like about writing:

Compelling characters – really Asagiri and Harukawa have knack for creating interesting characters

Symbolism – you know it is my jam xD Especially I love ying-yang relationship between ADA and PM – it is soo cool how there is basically light side but with bit of darkness (represented by dark past and trauma) and dark side with such selfless motive like protecting peace in city and comrades xD I like how story makes them cooperate together and this being shown as ‘the way’ and how characters are getting karma back at them when trying to antagonize/distrust each other xD it is really cool that there is no simple PM = evil and ADA = good guys, but more complexity is going on.

Message – imo story has heart in right place. I like how characters have agency and can be who they want - not defined by their dark past, but the will to be better person. I also liked theme of humanity in SB and how it was handled that origin matters less and the most important are ppl in which eyes someone is human.

My issue with writing:

more spotlight on female characters pretty please *siigh* honestly I just want more all of them

when strong competent character is conveniently disappearing from main action XD I mean I understand that is for plot reason, but it is so often and weird sometimes – imo it would be better to just make short notice that Chuuya/Kyouka/etc is just somewhere else doing something

Theories time (I wonder if I will got something right😄):

Chuuya tearing down Meursault completely, alliance with Fyodor on his free will (imo it would be more interesting this way, but opposite is rather more possible)

Fyodor’s ability will be opposite to Dazai (something like ability control like Rogue from X-men) and his backstory will be parallel to Chuuya/Verlaine (because paralells are fun xD)

Fukuzawa will die this arc (maybe Mori too if story will go for soulmate vibe xD)

PM taking over Bram’s skill and staying as vampires, Bram living normal life

Redemption + Atonement arc for DoA (yep, all of them – actually imo it would be neat if Fukuchi founded theatre as irl – art for healing~~)

I hope loose threads will have follow up – Steinback and Fitzgerald confrontation, Mitchell and Hawthorne reunion, healing arc for Q, Verlaine in PM, Tachihara and Yosano’s arc lack proper conclusion too…

[poewritesgayshit]

That's fine bestie I'm in my late 20's HAHAH. And omg mindbreak Fyolai is so good, I'll cry. I'm curious about the kin stuff and the rarepairs if you feel like sharing~! I love finding older fans here because most people out there are either antis or minors (or both, lol). How do you feel about Dazai ships? (Other than Sigzai,which I love but... With top Sigma -sobs- lmao). And, what got you into writing bsd stuff?

as for the rarepairs, the kin-related ones are mostly just poe and tachihara! i'm also not sure if this is a rarepair because i've never looked through the tags for it or anything, and idk what their ship name is or if they even have one? but i'm rewatching bsd (like most of the fandom is, apparently, although i did not realize that until later) and noticing a LOT of chemistry between dazai and akutagawa.

i know it's a lot more common to ship them with other people, but akutagawa spends the better half of the first couple seasons down bad for him and even JUMPS OFF THE RAILING OF THE MOBY DICK because atsushi says dazai is on the phone and wanted to talk to him, and then threw it over the edge. that man is OBSESSED and i will take no criticism.

i guess that answers your question about dazai ships LOL. as a side note, i mostly like soukoku's canon dynamic and try to steer clear of fandom skk stuff. i dont know if i could ever write any of the super popular ships, and i dont know if i could really do dazai justice. but if i get a request involving him, ill give it my best shot. i do have an idea (that i havent started writing yet) that heavily focuses on him, so ill have to write him eventually. thats one reason im rewatching the series honestly

(as a side note, i don't go by poe here just because it's a kin name, i just thought it might be easier to remember a piece of my URL than the name i usually go by online—also cause i thought poe's skill juxtaposed with the weird porn i write is a hilarious combo)

also, i'm pretty new to BSD, i got into it this year! ended up getting hyperfixated, and im thrilled about that because big fandom = a little more anonymity when it comes to writing darkfic. i'm always happy to meet older fans too, all of my mutuals who are around my age are super chill. if you ever make an account, feel free to DM me to chat abt stuff.

[afinepricklypear]

**Update: The works mentioned in this post have since been taken down. The “message” was removed by AO3 because it was a violation of their TOS and it seems the author chose to remove their “opinions” piece.**

Despite the ongoing world crisis, I hope everyone is doing great as the year comes to a close and prepping for a safe holiday season.

I don’t really post here a lot, but I just wanted to talk about a problem that exists in every fandom and has recently come up for me in the BSD fandom. This problem is typically referred to as: toxic behavior, however, I sort of hate that term because it’s an umbrella term that encapsulates a wide array of behaviors that is purposefully vague so as to imply everything can be toxic, which means the definition changes depending upon the person, and ends up getting thrown around to describe any behavior that a person dislikes. That said, most people can agree that the term ‘toxic behavior’ includes “shipper wars” and harassing people because of their “ship”.

Yesterday, a user on AO3 going by the penname E_C_arts posted a message titled “deer Soukoku fans” and giving it the not-innocuous summary “please we’re begging you, please stop”. Clicking through leads to a rather prime example of this particular flavor of toxic fandom behavior, guised as an attempt to defend those who were allegedly victims of this self-same behavior, also a lovely example of emotional manipulation.

Although what’s currently posted (and what I managed to screen shot below) may not seem terrible on first glance, if not a little cringey, and can be easy to agree with (don’t bully people that write for a ship you dislike), this was not their original message and has been edited since being posted and, and only after receiving the number of comments it did and which they’re now noting as “proving their point” – a point which they erased, thus manipulating perceptions. I wish I had gotten a screenshot of the original, but if you scroll through the comments, you can find some people that quoted it.

This person most definitely did open their “message” to Soukoku fans by literally telling them to “stop writing” for it. They claimed there was some unspecified AU (or maybe multiple unspecified AUs) that had been overwritten for, that it was overused, and not original. They went on to talk about how the abundance of soukoku content was turning off new fans to the series (don’t even know how that logics…) and bullying people from creating content for other ships, basing these irrational sentiments off some false claim that removing everything with the soukoku ship from the fandom would only leave behind a sad, inacccurate (and oddly specific) 305 posts.

Evidence of their now deleted perspective can be further seen in another post they made to AO3 a couple days before this ugly rant. Titled simply “My unpopular BSD opinions”, they didn’t manage to garner much attention and went mostly ignored because, well, it’s your opinions about the show and that’s whatever. Of course, when you click into it, the very first “opinion” shared, is that they hate Dazai x Chuuya. Okay, that’s an opinion everyone is entitled to, and that’s fine. You don’t like the popular ship, that’s…not exactly an unpopular opinion, there’s quite a number of people that don’t ship soukoku. No problem. Until, they go on to elaborate.

Despite the title of this piece being ‘their opinions’, they state as ‘fact’ that its confirmed that this is “not a thing”, so ‘please stop shipping them it doesn’t work, it’s way too overused for it to be “funny” anymore’ (I’m a little confused about this wording, because Shipping is Serious Business™, so…not sure there are too many soukoku shippers doing it because they think it’s hilarious or whatnot, in fact, most soukoku fics are tagged ‘angst’, which we all know, angst is very ‘haha, lol’…but whatevs). They then include the same sentiment they expanded on in their Dear John to soukoku fans and subsequently deleted: “Please stop, there are too many au’s with almost the exact same plot Chuuya and Dazai being together, its really difficult to find any non-Dazai x Chuuya au’s”.

On the surface, once again, there are some “truths” to this sentiment. DaiChuu is a popular ship and there is a disproportionate amount of soukoku ship fics on the fandom comparative to other ships (soukoku comes in at a whopping 10,000+ currently, with the next popular ship Aku/Atsushi sitting at a decidedly less 2500+). It’s really not that difficult to find non-DazaixChuuya fics, if you know how to use filters on AO3, but there are going to be less to read from when you filter it down, and depending on your ship, you may find yourself in a fic desert, and I can certainly understand why someone young and lacking in rational thought processes might want to blame the popular ship for this predicament.

The problem with this logic, and it permeates every fandom, not just BSD, is that the shippers sharing and loving their ship are not to blame for your lack of ship content. You just don’t have a popular ship. If all the people who love soukoku stopped creating content for it, as this person is ‘begging’ them to do, that’s not going to increase the amount of content for your ships, because the reason that content isn’t being created is because there aren’t enough shippers for it. So, the only way this person’s logic works, is if what this person is actually saying, isn’t that they want these people to stop creating content for the BSD fandom, they just want them to jump ship, stop creating content for soukoku and start creating content for their ships.

Any creator/fan is going to have a visceral reaction to that: who the fuck are you to tell me what to create? And for free, no less!

This moves us more towards a clearer definition of what is toxic fandom behavior. In short, its telling anyone how they should interact with or interpret their favorite content. I mean, even Word of God does not have this power. That’s because every single fan in a fandom is an individual human being. They are possessed of their own autonomy, and as a creator I know, that once you put something out into the world and give it over to others, you have little control over how people consume and feel about your work. You can tell them your intention, but that’s not going to sway them to interpret it that way, and that’s…just the way it works.

Now, the elephant in the room needs to be addressed. It’s easy for me to be ‘offended’ by this person’s post and not see their complaints because I am a soukoku fan. I’m also the target of this person’s rant, and one of those people this person is attempting to emotionally manipulate into writing for other ships in the fandom for which I have no preference. But I am capable of seeing the other side of this argument.

First, because I do have other fandoms in which I am part, and for which I have a rare-pair ship. For example, I am a Gundam Wing fan and a 2x5 (Duo/WuFei) shipper. I’ve posted two 2x5 fics on fanfiction.net. While 2x5 is not the rarest of rarepairs in the Gundam Wing fandom, it is significantly eclipsed (as are almost *all* ships in the fandom) by the 1x2 (Heero/Duo) ship. Do I hate 1x2 shippers for my lack of 2x5 content? No. I just appreciate what I’ve got all the more, and I’ll create content for it when I feel compelled, and I sure the fuck won’t implore 1x2 shippers to stop writing for their fave and write more for mine because I want more 2x5 – that’s sheer entitlement, right there, pure and simple. I also ship 3xD (Trowa/Dorothy) in Gundam Wing, which *is* the rarest of rarepairs – I think there’s only, like, two stories in existence that features this pair on the entirety of the internet. I’m also a RavenxMurphy (Murven) shipper in The 100 fandom and I do not hate Bellarke fans because…those people are scary and have canceled the show’s creator for not delivering on Bellarke, and in BSD, I ship Atsushi/Lucy (yes, I said it, they’re cute af and I hope Asagiri delivers on that ship). I also low-key ship Yosano/Ranpo (sorry, Ranpo/Poe shippers, I understand the appeal, I just think him and Yosano is sooo cute, please don’t kill me…), and I also ship Yosano with Kunikida – all of which are some of the rarest in the BSD fandom.

Second, because I have seen and called out shipping harassment in the BSD fandom, so I am well aware that this kind of thing exists – as it exists literally everywhere and in every flavor. Against soukoku shippers from antis and by soukoku shippers against shippers putting Dazai or Chuuya with any other characters and by soukoku shippers against other soukoku shippers that are, uh, “doing it wrong”. None of these is appropriate. You’re not fighting fire with fire if you’re an anti-attacking the popular ship, you’re just creating a bigger fire and burning the entire fandom down. You’re not defending your ship if you are a soukoku fan attacking non-soukoku fans, you’re just punching down by attacking a less popular ship. And top/bottom arguments aren’t just toxic, they’re also deeply entrenched in fetishization of same sex pairings through a forced heteronormative lens and is, kind of, sort of, actually homophobic in its basis (yes, I said it. It’s ignorant and homophobic and trying to argue with ‘personality/physical traits’ as evidence of who serves what position in the bedroom can be emotionally and mentally damaging to members of the LGBTQ community. Claiming that Chuuya should be bottom because he’s shorter/smaller, or that Dazai has ‘bottom energy’ because he’s more flamboyant and ‘feminine’ is straight up discrimination – a shorter guy can definitely be top, and a manly man can be bottom, it’s not a behavior based on perceived gendered traits, it is just a fucking preferred sexual position, and no, you are not ‘fixing it’ by purposely using positions for these characters that eschews the stereotypes either. Trying to justify positioning by personality/physical traits at all, in any way, shape, or form is just not okay – if it’s your preference, it’s your preference, no justification needed, just recognize that it is *your* preference and arguing what’s ‘right/wrong’ positioning is just plain wrong).

But this brings us to a different issue: bad actors and blaming a whole community for a ‘few rotten apples’. I could easily lump this one person in with everyone that does not ship soukoku and deem them all toxic, aggressive, entitled, bullies attempting to harass soukoku shippers off the platform. Or I could see them for what they are, individuals with individual motivations and drives and morals that also happen to share the same shipping preferences. Is it true to say that there are no soukoku fans that engage in the behaviors described by E_C_arts? No, there are definitely those that do, as there are antis that engage in that same behavior against soukoku fans. But this person also asserts that soukoku fans turning ‘every BSD post about soukoku’ is also a toxic behavior. To which I refer you back to one. This is how they engage with and interpret the work. Don’t yuck on someone else’s yum. People want to gush about how cute they thought soukoku were in an official art, or that they felt there was some hidden (or not so hidden) interaction between them that validates their ship, or their inspired to create soukoku content based on it, so what (for the record, it irks me too when people go ‘see it’s canon and Bones totally ships it’, because it’s unlikely, given BSDs genre, that any romantic relationship will be confirmed, soukoku notwithstanding). It is not, in fact, toxic to gush over it. Let them have their fun with it, let them enjoy their ship. Now, if you go and make a comment about liking the art for other reasons and they reply to you about “…but also soukoku”, then still, that’s not toxic, that’s just them enjoying the content the way that they enjoy it, so let them enjoy it, and you opened yourself to engagement without any qualifiers for the type of engagement you were soliciting, you can’t then backtrack and go ‘but I’m not a soukoku shipper, they should’ve been able to read my mind and known that, it’s totally toxic of them to share their personal reasons for loving the show in response to my sharing my love for the show’. But if you comment about another ship, and they reply to you “…ew, gross! It’s 100% soukoku” then yes, that’s toxic. A lot of people fail to make this distinction, that they are, maybe, merely being triggered and not actually harassed, by feeling like their ship isn’t being validated because they see another ship all over the place and everyone they engage with ships it.

It’s also toxic, to take an experience with one person and hold every soukoku shipper in existence responsible for that one person’s inappropriate behavior. The truth is, that bad actors amongst soukoku fans are not unique, not to the ship and not to the fandom and not even to fandom culture in general. Every group in existence everywhere has bad actors in it that, while the group disavows their behavior, they continue to be held accountable for those individuals and judged by them. For current events, look at how the BLM movement has been blamed for bad actors (many of whom were not actually BLM activists) that took advantage of the protests and started riots and chaos. A small percentage of people were involved in these behaviors, but the entire movement, despite speaking out against rioting, continues to take the blame for it. For me, that’s the root of toxicity. We need to start holding individuals accountable and stop blaming people who have no control over those individuals, because they share a few similar beliefs or interests. That’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But the shippers as a whole are not to blame for the actions of a few, and the reason that it feels that there are so many more soukoku fans that do this is because of volume, there are so many more soukoku fans. It’s basic math. If two percent of fans are these toxic kinds of shippers, then there’s going to be so many more of them in a larger population than a smaller one.

I try to call out toxic behavior, no matter if it’s my ship being lambasted or one of my fellow shippers doing the lambasting, whenever I see it, but the trouble is, I don’t typically go into fan content that isn’t for my ship and, thus, I don’t see it. The same goes for the vast majority of soukoku fans out there. We’re here for soukoku content, we’re seeking out soukoku content, and avoiding what isn’t soukoku content. But here is my offer to all of those who are outside of my ship. I like to argue. If someone is harassing you for having a non-soukoku ship, call me, let me know, I will argue with them for you. I will explain to them in no uncertain terms, and in many unpleasant ways, that they do not represent the soukoku shipping community and they are an embarrassment to us. Content for any and all ships is welcomed and encouraged within the fandom. Write, draw, contribute, be a part of the fandom and express yourself, please. If you are a soukoku shipper (or even if you’re not), and someone is harassing you about your top/bottom preference, call me, let me know, I will argue with them for you. I will explain to them why their justifications for which character should be top or bottom in a same sex pairing is grossly misrepresentative and exploitative of the LGBTQ community and rather disgusting. Do not assume that because we seem to remain silent on these types of harassment that it’s because we are in agreement with them, it is only because we haven’t seen them – why would we, we’re not going in those spaces that weren’t created for us. Ask the community for help, don’t attack the rest of us for the poor actions of a few that we were not even aware of. Let us help you in policing them, rather than assuming we don’t care. We are just too busy staying in our lanes, but if you need us, we are here. Majority of us want a clean, friendly, welcoming community for creators of all types as much as you do.

All of this aside, there are spaces and places for these debates and AO3 is not it. Posting this kind of message is actually a violation of AO3 TOS, constituting as harassment, which is defined on the AO3 TOS as “…any behavior that produces a generally hostile environment for its target…”( https://archiveofourown.org/tos#IV.G.). This general behavior also falls into the realm of another kind of toxic fandom behavior: hijacking a platform/tag for your own purposes that is a direct contradiction to its express usage (otherwise, known as trolling). AO3 is for posting fan-made content that contributes to a deeper understanding and expansion upon the original work. Using AO3 to attack people who are using AO3 for exactly what it is designed to be used for is an abuse of the platform. It’s not okay and invites similar content that will ultimately interfere with the original purpose of the platform. AO3 is for fan content, not for your own personal rants about other people in the community, please keep it that way

I do also want to note, that this person choosing to edit their post after receiving the justified ire from fans (notably soukoku and non-soukoku fans alike upset by the audacity of this person, who, as far as can be told, has never themselves contributed fanfiction to the community, to tell people what they can and cannot write) for their original comments, is a form of manipulative abuse called ‘gaslighting’. They are now claiming to be a victim that “never said to stop writing”, despite that having been the literal words they used in the opening of their original post. They are now pointing at these comments as “proof” of their point that soukoku fans are aggressive bullies that attack without cause when there was definitely cause from the original comments. This person clearly has bigger issues than just lacking shipper content for their personal preferences on the BSD fandom.

To all of those who are afraid to share content for your ship because you think you’ll be harassed, as evidenced by this person’s claims, that is simply not true. While there might be one or two people that say something, we all get them no matter if you have a popular ship or a rarepair ship, haters are gonna hate – I’ve gotten my share of hateful comments towards my ships too, but there are many more people that share your ship and are interested in your content, in fact, some of them are starved for it. While having a rarepair might mean you’ll garner less interactions with your content, you have a better opportunity to form a deeper bond with the people that do interact, and they may be more appreciative, because what you’re delivering to them is so much harder to come by. The existence of one ship does not affect your ship’s popularity, and if it simply went away, that doesn’t mean that your ship would receive more attention – in fact, it might mean the show itself would receive less attention.

Create and let others create and use platforms for their appropriate purposes, and most importantly, when it comes to addressing toxic behavior in a fandom, look to yourself first. Are you placing the blame where it belongs? Are you addressing the root cause of the problem or swinging blindly and attacking innocent bystanders in the process? Will what you say actually help the problem? Or will it contribute to the issue, and maybe even create an issue that didn’t exist before?

[chuuyas--wine-bottle]

Summary of 2019 (Jan-May!)

Please note, they are not in order like the end of the year summary but that’s mostly because it’s half year summary and a lot have been going on /Not Soukoku focused because genuinely BSD has been giving the fans a lot of good content in general/ 

but leT’S GET IT!

Starting the year with Soukoku, Dazai with a heart shaped ice in his whiskey and what not? 

Sweet Paradise Collab with Dazai in a pony tail (my androgynous Dazai ass had been feed, BONES mother me love thou) 

PriPri cafe collab with Alice in the wonderland au!

Last of dead apple promo basically, Dazai with a wine colored tie and Chuuya with Dazai’s suit colored tie thats it. 

The much wanted and deserved collab, Sanrio X BSD

Animate doing their things

Pash giving us a glimpse of the car that Dazai burned before leaving 

April fools! event, no Chuuya but come get your Shibusawa pleath 

they are: cup noddles Boyfriends 

on: Double date

Fukumori + Elise, eye love them, you love they, we love tH-

SoUKokU CrUMbs!

papi Chuuya eye see you

15 “””””Character””””””””” sheets 

OdAngo side eyeing 

Ah SHeet here we GO aGain 

or

AKA 12th April, when all the Soukoku stans lost their shit collectively like 3rd of March 2018

Toxan back at it again like the Bandage is a heart official art from 02.03.2018 

Upcoming s3 promo!!

Special mentions (Others+ Mayoi!) 

my sweet lil baby boy, lemme bite your cheeks and kiss your nose, then buy you all the soft toys and then take you to McDonalds and then tuck you in a beD FFS 

Soukoku: we thank us for working hard on being gay together for a decade and antis for having faiTH IN US 

Kyoka ur dropping soon!

Natsume sensei knows whose Dazai’s gay boyfriend

Chuuya ur dropped, so did Chuuya stans wallet, panties and wig

First (1st) Kouyou ssr dropped like fucking finally

That update on the 18th feb took ages was was worth it

Chuuya’s ssr had THAT Soukoku gay part 

Still the god tier set to this very day (plus Dazai officially a furry) 

LASTLY

Chuuya’s hands are bigger than Dazai’s no optical illusion, circa 2019

Thank you Bungou Stray Dogs for always feeding us with good content and being one of the best series out in the market! With Season 3′s airing and Dead Apple’s success let’s look forward to more things that is to come!

Also two years since I have meet @aja154ever and got to know wonderful people!

[anti-dazai-blog]

34- To kill two mockingbirds with one stone (and other complaints)

Welcome back to the Anti-Dazai Series!! 

I’s been around 5 months since the last time I’ve posted. I’m back now. I’ll be here until school starts again (this is a joke actually because school starts on Thursday. I’m here for the next two days until I’ll disappear again.) 

Thank you all for sticking around regardless of my inconsistent posting schedule and tendency to disappear for months once school gets busy. I really truly appreciate it. And to people who appear in my notes often—I recognize your urls and love you all individually. Thank you so much for enjoying this series, I hope to continue creating content you enjoy. 

Now onto what you’re all here for: grievances with Dazai.

————————————————————————————

Atsushi and Akutagawa are now face to face on the Moby Dick. This was orchestrated by Dazai, as a part of his artificial rivalry-making project.

The moment Atushi sees Akutagawa, he begins having his standard trauma flashbacks of all the times Akutagawa attacked him—notably, the times previously mentioned in the anti-dazai series, where Dazai provoked Akutagawa into Attacking Atsushi. During those entries, I’ve noted that all of these attacks would not have happened had Dazai not created a personal reason for rivalry between Akutagawa and Atsushi by repeatedly mocking Akutagawa through saying Atsushi’s better than him in every way.

So we already know that Dazai was responsible for Akutagawa’s attacks on Atsushi, as well as those attacks being something that didn’t happen by accident through a butterfly affect Dazai couldn’t have predicted—on the contrary, causing Akutagawa to attack was the sole goal of his provocations. What we now know, however,  is that these attacks did more damage than physical. 

Atsushi’s mental state as always been.. bad. Not good. Right from the start, we see him constantly reliving his trauma from his days at the orphanage whenever anything triggers it. While it’s unclear if the other characters are aware of how severe his trauma is or how frequently he relives it, I find it hard to believe that a character like Dazai, who’s constantly shown to be practically omniscient, would be entirely unaware of Atsushi’s poor mental state. Yet he gives him more trauma to add to his never-ending pile. 

As per usual, Atsushi and Akutagawa spar until Dazai puts a stop to it. Ironic, considering he also put a start to it, but I digress. Dazai, who has been guiding Atsushi from afar through a comm device, tells Atsushi that the way to get Akutagawa off his back is to tell him that Dazai wants to tell him something, throw the comm, and run. 

Atsushi does this—and as Dazai predicted, Akutagawa chases the comm, giving Atsushi an opening to run. 

Akutagawa devotes his entire life to Dazai. Dazai doesn’t spare him five seconds unless he’s using that time to antagonize him under the guise of training. But Akutagawa would prefer this antagonization over being ignored. 

Dazai knows this, and knows that his current goal is buying Atsushi more time to complete his mission. Or so he claims. Because if he were actually acting on that goal, he would have stayed on the comm and had a long, drawn-out conversation with Akutagawa. Or he didn’t even have to do that much—he could just stay on long enough to say “don’t attack Atsushi, I’ll never speak to you again if you attack him today.” 

But as we know, Dazai’s goal is not to help Atsushi or ensure his safety and wellbeing. He instead is working towards establishing an artificial rivalry that serves no purpose other than being an entertaining side project for him to work on. [I’ve elaborated more on this in other posts, but in short—the “second generation of double black” truly serves no purpose and other ability users can do what they do much better than them.] 

So instead of speaking a word to Akutagawa, he decides to kill two birds with one stone by hanging up—antagonizing Akutagawa while furthering his and Atsushi’s rivalry.

Because of this, I titled this entry “to kill two mockingbirds with one stone”—merging the common expression with the name of a famous book. Originally, I was planning on titling this one “kill two birds with one stone,” but that expression has a neutral to positive connotation. It’s usually convenient to get two things done at once. “to kill two mockingbirds” sets the tone much better.

For those unfamiliar with the origins of the book’s title, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is names as such after a very minor yet significantly symbolic scene in the book. The protagonist’s father gifts her and her brother air rifles, and explains that they can aim at any birds they see, since they eat people’s crops and destroy their gardens. However, they must never aim at a mockingbird. Their father explains that unlike most other birds, mockingbirds don’t harm the crops or gardens. They don’t cause harm and therefore they shouldn’t be harmed.

It's a repeated theme throughout the book—harm should not be caused to the innocent. It will be—it always will be—there will always be people out there who, through malice or thoughtlessness or stupidity, harm people who never did anything to them. But regardless, each person must try their best to avoid killing mockingbirds.

And now back to Akutagawa. 

Akutagawa may not seem innocent at first glance, but he doesn’t kill mindlessly. He doesn’t kill for fun. He doesn’t get any enjoyment or pleasure from it. He kills when he finds it to be necessary. Yes, he can be provoked into attacking Atsushi, but that’s about it, and that’s because of the deeply rooted emotions and trauma he has surrounding his former mentor. 

And as for Atsushi—he’s undeniably innocent here. He never asked to be here, he never even asked to join the agency [and similarly, Akutagawa did not intend to join the mafia]. Yet he’s dragged into all of this and is now forced to go on this mission that he’s underqualified for. 

Yet Dazai finds a way to harm both of them at once—Akutagawa, by ingraining his worthlessness into him further by pretending he was willing to talk to him, just to hang up the moment he gets the comm—a needlessly cruel way of going about it, designed specifically to hurt him. 

And Atsushi, by provoking Akutagawa further through making a blatant displaying of showing how he’s in constant communication with Atsushi but won’t say a single word to Akutagawa—thus sending Akutagawa deeper into his own self-loathing and need to prove himself—which he only knows how to do by attacking Atsushi.

So here we have two dead mockingbirds. How tragic. Let’s mourn their loss. 

On top of all that’s been mentioned, there’s one more thing to say about the harm caused by this plan—

Atsushi was sent in alone under the guise that he would be guided by Dazai the whole time. Like I said, this mission is something he’s unqualified for, and although it’s not impossible for him to succeed alone, that was not what he agreed to when getting the outline for this mission. 

Dazai wants to taunt Akutagawa so badly that he was willing to cut off Atsushi’s only contact with the outside world. Now Atsushi’s stuck, alone in a giant floating whale in the sky with two powerful ability users who would attack him on sight. 

So with that, we have the beginning of what will soon be the final boss fight of this arc. 

Please stick around until my next semester is over for more Anti Dazai Series content—I will be back—and if my workload is light this semester, I’ll post a few times during the next few months. Thank you so much for your patience 

[thejestersjack]

Japanese Drama/Movie Recommendation

Heyo this is my first time doing a recommendation on anything actually :,) anyways the dramas/movies am recommending are a mix of genres and thus there will be romance, mystery,family, psychology etc well let's get started.

1. Unnatural

Boi this drama is just perfection the overall concept is circled around a group of specialists that investigate the cause of the deaths of people which are mostly ruled as cold cases.

The main lead has a really headstrong personality about her that serves as an advantage as well as disadvantage to her in situations occurring in the plot.

The other side characters really play out their role well and boost the overall atmosphere of the drama.

2. 12 suicidal teens/children

Thisss this right here has got to be the most unexpected Japanese movie i have watched so far (based on my own opinion) it follows 12 suicidal teens coming together in an abandon hospital to find an unexpected dead body situated there and so they try to solve this unforseen mystery.

And please don't judge it by its title i can gurantee its not what you actually are thinking . I seee youuu~~

Please watch it~

You gotta watch it

Like seriously watch it.

3.  Jimi ni Sugoi! Kōetsu Girl: Kouno Etsuko 

[Ok first of all to clear things up the main lead that is Etsuko is played by Ishihara satomi and am quite a fan so yeah y'all are gonna see her like in atleast three of these recommendations]

Anyways~

This drama is like a ball of sunshine, comedic relief, romance and lots and lots of proof reading . It brings out a unique concept of proofreading honestly before watching this drama i did not even know the existence of proof readers (i apologize to all the proof readerss out there) but after watching this drama it really opened up my eyes to see the actual people who work in the shadows (not only in regards to books but to all the people who do not get the actual credit they deserve for their hard work) so yeah it reallly gives off a new feel to all the dramas out there and is like in a way a fresh lemonade on a hot summers day.

P.S { There is a sequel movie on this drama so if you are interested you can check it out also}

4. Dear Sister

Dear sister is revolves around the lives of 2 sisters in which the older sister is a mature, career women whereas her younger sister is more like a vagabond. The plot follows the rigid relationship between the 2 sisters and how its slowly reveals the jealous nature harboring them whenever they are near each other.

Satomi Ishihara again hehe ......... moving on.

This drama is really warm hearted and centers around family relations and the growth of 2 young women in society ( Note : The drama is not slow pased and does have some mysteries that really hook the audiences in later episodes)

5. A tale of Samurai Cooking - A true love story

Yup that's right this movie will suit all you food lovers out there not to metion it will not only fill you tummy but also your heart ( cringe) the romance is well played out and does not try to push itself in the plot.

As the title suggests its about a young women living in the Edo period who is a very skilled cook and is able to bring out the best of any ingredients presented to her it follows her second marriage life in which she somehow ends up with quite a selfish young man who only cares for what he thinks of what he defines as "right" or "correct". So the dynamics between them is quite off but that makes it all the more interesting.

The show not only brings out romance and family theme but also gives some history lesson on the food culture back in the Edo period and the political tension that occured.

6. Pure! (2019)

This drama has got to be the best drama i have ever stumbled upon by accident.

I was just bored one day ( as usual) and then BAM!! this was there ( not to mention i really love the actress Minami Hamabe and admire her acting skills and presence) moving on~

The plot revolves around an unknown and nameless J - idol who is elected to be a commissioner for a day in a parade thats when she accidentally discovers a dead body and is suddenly involved in a serial murder case with a whimsical detective.

I really love the dynamics between the idol and the detective they have a sort of sarcastic, passive-aggressive nature towards each other that makes it really entertaining to see.

Not to metion their intense narcissism

Amazing~~

7. Kaitou Tantei Yamaneko

Another mystery/detective drama to save your boring days.

And no it does not involve an actual cat detective.

The drama has an anti-hero so to say as the protagonist with his so called partner ("so called" cuz he's actually a police officer) and a high school student who is a genius hacker, quite an odd mix huh.

The protagonist has a really playful character to him and never actually shows his serious side that makes him all the more scary and mysterious ( reminds me of Dazai in a way)

There are lots of mysteries that slowly upon up and reveal themselves as the episodes go on and ola la the twist is just chef's kiss. ;)

8. Drowning love/Oboreru knife

[ Disclaimer: If you are the type who cannot comprehend slow paced as well as shifting scenarios that take time to actually understand the real meaning behind each scenes and are easily triggered with the themes of rape please proceed with caution]

Well now its time to reveal the masterpiece this movie is adapted from a manga of the same name and involves psychological themes that can make it hard to understand but gives a sort of fresh aspects compared to the previous recommendations. But let me tell you this the actor and actress did a really good job in portraying the emotions of the characters and am saying this as someone who has already read the manga.

The story starts with a beautiful and mature sixth grade (yes sixth grade) girl moving away from the busy streets of tokyo to a small town in the countryside where she meets a mysterious boy named Kou and soon starts to get entangled into a series of events ever since that fateful encounter.

And that wraps up my recommendation for now. I actually wanted to add 2 more but the capacity for the amount of images that can be added were limited.

Anyways if y'all want a part 2 i would be glad to do so.

Have a great day/night/evening/morning ahead

Peace ;>

[chouetteffraie]

About BSD S3

Alternative title: Kenna talks about stuff literally nobody asked her to <3

So now that s3 is over and I’ve had a few days to breathe, I think I wanna say a thing or two about the season overall. Now, I’m not a meta writer, I’m not a person who can go in over analyzing everything perfectly- quite simply, I don’t have the brainpower to do that for too long. So rather than this being an analysis of everything and an objective evaluation of the quality of the season, this is largely an emotional response where I just talk about my experience with it. I’m not a critic- I don’t think I have that in my blood. I watch to enjoy, then reflect on what I did and didn’t enjoy, taking snippets and twisting them into something that might become deep and meaningful occasionally if it suits my writing. There’s nothing wrong with being a critical analyzer! We need you all in the fandom for all these fabulous metas and such <3 I just don’t think I’m the right gal for the job.

“So, Kenna, what is it you have to say?” Well, in the simplest of terms,

I really liked season 3.

“...wow. Groundbreaking.”

Now, let me explain myself. There are problems with season 3, as there are with most seasons, but I feel, overall, there were enough things that I liked about season 3 to keep the season in my favor.

I think my biggest criticism would have to be with pacing. The pacing  in this season was so off for me and can be described as sporadic at best. From backstories to character introductions to character re-introductions, there was so much that went by in a blur and so much that seemed to go on forever. My biggest complaint probably has to do with (yup, you guessed it) the adaptation of Fifteen.

Let me explain.

First of all, I think the complaints that Bones used Soukoku as ship bait have a sturdy foundation, and I’m not here to dispute that. As a Dazatsu main myself, I’m not gonna complain about loving scenes with your favorite ship in them- I would absolutely die if next season (hopefully there is a next season!) we got a three-episode plot revolving around Dazai and Atsushi. However, I just don’t think it fit in nicely with the rest of the series.

After all, it’s kind of unfortunate that we got 3 episodes of Soukoku’s backstory, and yet our protagonist only got 1/3 of an episode.

Maybe Fifteen would’ve stood better as an OVA, or maybe if it could’ve been shaved down to two episodes. Maybe if BSD had been given three more episodes for genuine content, things would’ve been better. I don’t know how possible any of these things would’ve been, but they’re ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Fifteen overall. But I remember thinking that it seemed so out of place when I knew the chaotic arc that was coming. 

I’m not an avid manga reader, but I know enough to be able to say that the BSD manga has a lot of content, a lot of nuance, and a lot of personality. The manga is the source material and what got people so invested in the story. If there wasn’t an interest in the manga, would there even have been an anime adaptation? What I’m saying here is that staying true to the manga is a good rule of thumb, and while of course you won’t be able to translate everything into animation, it’s probably best to try and be as similar as possible with a story like BSD.

Manga readers ate up the story of BSD without being interrupted by Fifteen, because as far as I’m aware, Fifteen is fairly new? (Didn’t it come out around Dead Apple time? I’m not entirely sure, but it might’ve been.) And, unlike The Dark Era, the events of Fifteen didn’t have nearly as much of an impact on Dazai (that would later impact our protagonist- after all, how could he mentor Atsu if he never quit the mafia?). Fifteen was more Chuuya-centric in terms of future impact, which brings me to my next point.

Chuuya is a side character. I love him, honestly, and think he’s a great character, but he isn’t our main focus. This seems to be a problem that Bones has a lot: “forgetting” who their protagonist is. 

I can defend The Dark Era because of how it explains Dazai’s connection with the mafia and why he switched sides. Dazai is easier to get away with focusing on because he is a primary character, although not the protagonist, and probably has some of the most influence on our true protagonist out of all the characters we know. Chuuya....doesn’t. At least, not yet. His backstory, while interesting and fun to see, is inconsequential to where our protagonist is at right now in the story. In fact, I’m not even sure if Atsushi and Chuuya have interacted in the anime aside from that standoff in the hospital hallway- and even then, that was an illusion. While Fifteen gave us a glimpse to Dazai’s life in the mafia, it didn’t give us anything we didn’t already know other than how he met Chuuya, and how he met Chuuya didn’t impact his relationship much with him or explain why he hates him so much- they just kind of always did. (what would you call that? Anti-chemistry?) That means it also didn’t really impact the major decisions Dazai had to make to get to where he was when he found Atsushi- which is when he began to matter, because that’s when he started influencing the world of the protagonist who is supposed to drive our experience through the narrative.

Please note, this isn’t a hate on Soukoku, and if you like Fifteen, or thought it fit, or just liked it because it gave you such good SKK content, I’m happy for you! This is just a personal grudge I have with the series.

This is why Fifteen would’ve stood better as an OVA- it doesn’t have anything to do with the protagonist. A core purpose of the protagonist in any story is to make the narrative relevant. The events of a story are connected because they pertain to the protagonist. Let’s take the Hunger Games as an example. The events of the actual game don’t relate at all to the death of the Everdeen father, or the fact that Primrose Everdeen was selected, or the fact that a certain Everdeen was given a pin of a mockingjay. These are all important because they relate to our protagonist, Katniss. Her father dying made her have to step up inthe household and feel responsible for her mother and sister’s safety, which helped prompt her to volunteer as tribute. Her pin later became the symbol of a revolution, but only because it was hers. If our protagonist had been Peeta, Katniss’ backstory with her father and mother and sister wouldn’t matter to us because it wouldn’t be our protagonist’s concern.

So, why, then, did we get 3 episodes of Chuuya’s backstory and 10 minutes (not even) of Atsushi’s? Hell, we got more of Kyouka’s backstory than Atsushi’s, or at least a better buildup to it. We even got more content of Randou, a character they completely screwed up (and also didn’t really affect Atsushi). I know events are tied together and connected, but when trying to fit an arc like Cannibalism into 12 30-minute episodes, you’ve gotta decide what’s important and what’s not.

Bones, I feel, didn’t choose what was most important.

“Alright, Kenna, all you’ve done is complain. I thought you said you liked season 3?”

That’s the thing, though- I did.

I like the time they spent with Lucy and Kyouka’s hostile interactions. I liked the background they gave to certain characters (Gin, Kyouka, Atsu [even though we got so little], Katai [-ish]) plus we got more Fyodor content. Fitzgerald’s episode was really good, too! I’m a newly-fledged, softcore Fitzgerald stan. I think the last three episodes were pretty well put together, and I ADORED the final scene (no, not just for the Dazatsu content- although thank you for the food, Bones uwu).

Now, these are all little things, yeah, but I feel together they make up enough for Fifteen on my end. See, I’ve always thought BSD had pacing issues from season 1. It’s no news to me that they had trouble squeezing all the content in the episodes they were given, to be honest. If I separate Fifteen from the rest of the season, to me, it’s cardinal sin is pacing, and only pacing. The issues of Fifteen are plentiful, but it doesn’t seem fair to me (and for me, it’s more than ok if you disagree) to pile that all on to the rest of the episodes. Yeah, it was disappointing that we didn’t get as much Fyodor time, or Atsu backstory time, or whatever else we wanted. But to me, that’s okay. We still got the point of what’s going on- the city is in trouble, the worst is yet to come, and Atsushi and Akutagawa have a deal now.

Bungo Stray Dogs has always appealed to me because of its characters more than its story, I connected with the people, not the narrative. I still thoroughly enjoy the story, but I’m more interested in how the characters interact in general and how they operate as a team or in stressful situations. For that purpose, Bones provided. At least they did in my book, even if we didn’t get enough of who we wanted to see.

I have hope for next season, if there is one. I have hope that Bones will right their wrongs. I have hopes that they’ll fix their pacing a little bit. The manga has so much content to portray, though, that a certain pacing issue can be forgiven (like the ones I saw in s1 and s2.) And, because I love the characters, I’m willing to hold out for another potential season and see if they can fix it.

If you’re upset, you have every reason to be. But, though I have my complaints, I can’t say I’m too terribly disappointed. Maybe a little, but I still look forward to future content. I hope we get it soon, if at all.

(And, believe it or not, this is the shortened version of all my thoughts. Haha!)

[anti-dazai-blog]

35- Atsushi can relate (and other complaints)

Welcome back to the Anti-Dazai Series!! No big introduction this time, let’s get right into it!

__________________________________________________

When we last left off, Akutagawa and Atsushi were fighting on the decks of the Moby Dick. After throwing the comm to temporarily distract Akutagawa, the fight continues. Akutagawa corners Atsushi and criticizes his life’s philosophy.

He tells him that no one will come and give him a stamp of approval to decree that he has earned his right to live. Unlike himself—he says—who can only earn his life through attaining Dazai’s approval. 

This is a contradictory statement both to the audience and to Atsushi. Which is ironic, because Atsushi’s motivation is exactly the same as Akutagawa’s. 

Who is Atsushi fighting so hard for? You can say he’s fighting for the agency, but he shouldn’t be fighting for anyone in the first place. He’s wildly underqualified, and keeps getting thrown into situations with no training or intel on what he’s about to be dealing with. Even here, where he’s struggling and fighting and already severely injured, he was thrown into this without knowing what he could likely expect out of this situation. Of course Dazai knew, and Dazai sent him, and Dazai could have easily told him, but where’s the fun in that?

Why send Atsushi in the first place? Other members of the agency are significantly more qualified. Tanizaki or Kenji could have had this job done in five minutes tops, but they aren’t the ideal candidates for a forced rivalry with Akutagawa, so they can’t be sent. So let’s say we have to send Atsushi—let’s say this forced rivalry is really that important—why not give him advanced warning? Why not tell him he will most likely run into Akutagawa on this airship, and he should expect and prepare for a fight? 

Atsushi has been placed into a situation that he shouldn’t be in. His life is in danger—both through Akutagawa and through Francis. The person who sent him was well aware of the danger and sent him anyway, with no warning. Yet Atsushi is still loyal and committed, and firmly believes that Dazai must know best—that Dazai must have a reason why. He believes that all the pain he’s currently suffering must be for a good cause, and there surely was no other way for things to play out if the great genius Dazai sent him here.

So of all people, the one to question Akutagawa’s motives is the one with motives most similar to his.  

These are two people who have suffered—and are currently suffering—because of the actions of one person. And that is the person they fight so hard for the approval of. 

Atsushi has been manipulated into loyalty to the agency and devotion to Dazai ever since the start of the series. He had his life planned out for him before he even learned Dazai’s name. And so had Akutagawa. It’s true—they are highly compatible to form a partnership—given how they have so many. Shared experiences like this. But how ironic that the man who formed forced their partnership would be the same as the one who gave them their similarities in the first place.

(By the end of the chapter they realize their similarities, but they never connect the dots of Dazai controlling both of their lives)

…

While all this is happening, Dazai contacts Kyoka, who is being held prisoner in a military aircraft. While he tells her many good and motivational things, he did not manage to get through this short speech without screwing someone over. 

In the four or five sentences he used to convey that having a kill count does not inherently make you irredeemable, he threw in that even her savior, Atsushi, is a “registered threat.” Atsushi’s side of himself that he keeps the most hidden—the fact that he is wanted by the government for all of his tiger crimes—is something that’s easily thrown around without a second thought for the sake of proving a point. 

Atsushi himself does not go around talking about this. Iirc, Atsushi never brings it up outside of the first two chapters. If he were comfortable telling Kyoka, he would tell her on his own time. And he probably would, eventually. But of course Atsushi’s personal life details are things to be freely thrown around when you’re Dazai and you want to prove a point. 

We all know at this point how he has little to no respect for personal boundaries.

______________________________________________________ 

No long concluding thoughts paragraph either but welcome back to the weekly Anti-Dazai series!! [until next semester starts]

[anti-dazai-blog]

32-33- Thousands of lives risked on a gamble (and other complaints)

Welcome back to the Anti-Dazai Series!!

School starts late August this year, meaning this will be the final entry I’ll post before my classes start. But rest assured that no matter how long the gap between entries becomes, the Anti-Dazai Series is NOT dead or abandoned! So long as I never explicitly say that I’ve gotten bored of this, I will continue posting here–

Now onto what you’re here for—

—-------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 32 has no Dazai content, since its focus is Poe and Ranpo. Meaning we’re moving right on to chapter 33–

Dazai and Ranpo have a strategist meeting to decide the agency’s next move. Dazai went into this meeting with ulterior motives: to present the idea of Atsushi infiltrating the Guild’s Moby Dick alone, as to have him team up with Akutagawa once they’ve both already boarded. With that in mind, the way Dazai and Ranpo’s conversation plays out is rather interesting. Rather than going back and forth putting multiple ideas on the table, Dazai throws in a few specific combinations of agency members to send in, knowing they’re a bad match for this mission. Ranpo knows this too, and points out why each of these combos wouldn’t work. Once those purposely wrong solutions are shot down, Dazai suggests sending Atsushi in. Since this would technically work, Ranpo approves of this suggestion and allows the agency to go forward with it.

Dazai’s tactics here are classic but effective. He suggests subtly bad ideas, knowing that Ranpo will see through the flaws in each one, and then hands him a plan that wouldn’t automatically fail, knowing it would have to be approved. It also casts the illusion that all other options were analyzed, even though only a few specific combinations of agency members were considered. In a way, it’s also a standard “make them think it was their own idea so they’ll agree”. Dazai prompts Ranpo into giving the solution he’s aiming for, so he could move his “create a rivalry-partnership” plan forward.

After Dazai’s done ensuring Atsushi will have a Very Bad Time aboard the Moby Dick, he goes to visit Ango to negotiate Kyoka’s release. Ango, as you may recall, is currently recovering from a car crash. That Dazai caused. He’s stuck in a hospital bed in a full body cast. So Dazai’s greeting of “You look lovely! ;)” just seems like rubbing salt in the wound. But let’s be real, this kind of cruel mockery is exactly what can be expected of him. 

Note that Dazai not only caused the accident to begin with, but also removed the airbags on Ango’s side of the car, to ensure he gets as injured as possible. 

I’ll give him credit for negotiating for Kyoka’s release– Kyoka doesn’t seem to have any part in his grand Atsushi-related plans, so for once he’s doing something good for someone else without it being a part of his grand schemes. However, negotiating for anything in exchange for medical attention for the grievous bodily harm you intentionally caused someone is Very Messed Up, to say the least.

And now it’s time for the long-awaited mission. 

Dazai, as per his previously stated plan, sends Atsushi into the Mody Dick alone. Atsushi is reasonably stressed about this, and being the world’s most encouraging mentor, Dazai explains that it makes sense for him to be the one chosen for this, since “[Atsushi’s] the guy who runs away the fastest.” I’m sure Atsushi found courage in that reminder.

Once he boards the Mody Dick, he discovers that the mission was misrepresented to him (in more ways than one, but we’ll get to that). Or to put it more simply– he was intentionally lied to to get him to agree to do this in the first place. He discovers that the Moby Dick is set on a course to crash in Yokohama, and the only way to stop it is to retrieve the control terminal guarded by Francis. Dazai and Ranpo were both aware that this was the Guild’s plan based on their previous conversation during the strategy meeting (“mountain?” “no, sea”). This could have easily been relayed to Atsushi to allow him an opportunity to mentally prepare himself or plan ahead. Yet they allowed this to be suddenly sprung upon him by Melville, causing more unnecessary panic in an already tense situation.

But let’s draw our attention back to the problem itself: the Moby Dick, a giant airship, is about a come crashing down upon a densely populated city. If only we knew of an ability user who could prevent this from happening– Perhaps someone who could… simply decide whether or not any object should fall in the first place? If only we knew someone like that! Unfortunately our easy solution to this problem is in the Port Mafia, and as per Dazai’s conversation with Mori in this chapter, we know that per Dazai’s request, the Mafia is not to interfere with the agency’s current mission to stop the Moby Dick from killing everyone. 

Let me reiterate: Dazai made sure to make a prior agreement with the mafia that they won’t interfere in stopping the Moby Dick from crashing–something  that could potentially kill thousands of innocent people, that a single specific mafia member could easily solve in a matter of seconds– all for the sake of putting Atsushi and Akutagawa in a situation where they would have to work together, thus forming his rivalry-partnership that he’s so invested in. THOUSANDS of people’s lives were risked for a gamble that had no guarantee of paying off. 

Atsushi is, of course, unaware of all of that. And Akutagawa thinks he’s acting on his own free will when he disobeys his boss’s orders and boards the Moby Dick. And now that Akutagawa’s here– yet another factor that Dazai orchestrated in advance, Atsushi has yet another one of Dazai’s pawns here with him to add to his ever-growing stress. 

And that’s that for this week’s entry of the Anti-Dazai Series!! Join me next week when I talk about how Akutagawa is just a traumatized child who desperately needs a great therapist and a hug. And so does Atsushi. So does everyone who has to deal with Dazai. Actually while we’re at it can we get Dazai a therapist too? He probably needs one just as much as everyone else.

[anti-dazai-blog]

26-29- Ango’s epic plot armor (and other complaints)

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Welcome back to the Anti-Dazai Series! I think I should just acknowledge that I have no posting schedule at this point. But the Anti-Dazai Series isn’t discontinued— it’s just taking me longer to create than I was hoping it would. Anyway. Onto a rundown of Dazai Crimes™ in these next four chapters.

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When we last left off, Dazai said he now will get the government involved in this conflict. I sure hope he does this in a normal sensible way, like by explaining what’s going on to them and requesting backup, and not in a Dazai Way, which will most likely endanger people’s lives.

We now return to our protagonist, Atsushi.

After getting scolded (and slapped) by Dazai after the Q incident, Atsushi decides to stay in the agency’s headquarters rather than to go out and risk messing things up again. Kouyou is still being held there, and she asks if he’s here because he “commit[ed] some error that made [him] scamper away from the front lines.” 

Upon hearing that question, he makes a face indicating that she’s right, and when she questions him further, he says “I… I was just trying to protect them all…” while having flashbacks to Naomi and Haruno being injured post-Q fight last chapter. 

If Dazai had chosen something better to say other than “get over it” [the exact quote was mentioned in part 20-25, but it was something similar enough to that], Atsushi wouldn’t be feeling so useless right now. Because he did try his best, and there was nothing he could have done to avoid that outcome. The only person who can do anything about Q’s ability is Dazai, and Dazai was not there with Atsushi at the time to stop it from happening.

Of course, I’m into blaming him for not being there, but I am blaming him for not properly comforting Atsushi. The “tough love” approach clearly failed with Akutagawa, and even though he’s being a lot nicer to Atsushi, in that last Q scene we see him somewhat slip into a tough love approach again. And we see in this chapter that Atsushi is not handling it well, and is taking it quite hard.

Now back to Dazai. Let’s see how his government negotiations are going. 

Seems like he’s meeting with his old friend Ango. I sure hope this doesn’t turn violent..—nope, he’s now pointing a gun at him unprovoked. 

Well at least it can’t get any worse— ah wow it got worse. Dazai just staged a car crash. There is absolutely no way Ango survives this. 

I’m gonna do something I’ve never done before on the Anti-Dazai Series and include a screenshot of the manga, because the amount of plot armor Ango will need to survive this is. a whole lot. I’d really like to elaborate on this scene, but I’m too busy being amazed that Ango survives this.

There is absolutely no way Ango survived that. If BSD didn’t use anime physics, Ango would be very, very dead.

There is a lack of Dazai for a bit, as Kyoka gets captured by the police, Q gets captured by Lovecraft, and Nathaniel abandons the Guild, pushing Francis to speed up their plan of attack. 

But Dazai returns just in time for the Q incident (the actual Q incident, not just a mini fight by the train station). Which is good, ‘cause he’s exactly the guy we need. 

But of course, Dazai can’t handle a city-wide crisis without messing with people first, so when Kunikida approaches him asking about what this mysterious hand-shaped mark that appeared on him is, rather than tying him down to an infirmary bed and sedating him, he chains him up to a chair and simply watches as he has the magical equivalent of PTSD flashbacks [if I’m interpreting these panels correctly]. It is later revealed that not only did Dazai sit around and watch, but he filmed Kunikida for entertainment. I’ll get back to that later, once it’s mentioned in the manga, but keep that in mind.

Meanwhile, Atsushi is fighting for his life out there. With the help of Lucy, Atsushi escapes ((ALSO. It’s really not mentioned enough, but Lucy was the one who originally came up with the idea of the mafia and agency working together to take down the Guild. I’m pretty sure the anime changed it so that it was Atsushi’s idea, but in the manga Lucy suggests it to Atsushi in this scene. I think she deserves more credit than we give her. She’s a pretty cool character.))

Atsushi makes it to the ground safely, and now has the epic quest ahead of him of delivering Q’s doll to Dazai. Unfortunately, Mark is still shooting at him, and manages to hit him, shattering both of his legs . As Atsushi lies on the ground,with two broken legs, reaching for the doll, Dazai spawns out of nowhere and grabs it. Then he reveals that he set up a smoke screen beforehand, and he activates it now.

Sure, it would have been a lot more convenient if he activated it before Atsushi’s legs got shattered, but whatever. What can you expect from this guy, other than this. 

And that’s it for this week’s chapter of the Anti-Dazai Series!! Join me next time when I’ll probably have enough content to stop grouping multiple chapters together like this, because I wanted to include chapter 30 in this entry too, but I scrolled through it and every other panel was Dazai, so I was like “nope! That’s way too much work for today!” and decided that that’ll be a problem for another day.