#Is it Port Mafia or Model Mafia?

[ssaraexposs]

If they're the Mafia, then why so STUNNING?

[originalaccountname]

Finally caved and did my perceived timeline of what happened to Chuuya, from being brought into the lab for project Arahabaki to being taken out of it.

I originally thought about mentioning it in my Chuuya's true original ability being to amplify others' abilities post, but it was way too long, and not as solid an argument to that specific topic.

Because this is about Chuuya being the original, not the clone, but more importantly the why and how that is the case.

Chuuya's humanity is the core question of SB, and the most important part is that in the end, Chuuya chose to accept himself despite it all, and that no matter what, he is himself and no one can take that away from him.

But once we have been given all the pieces of the puzzle, we can try connecting the dots and deduce the true story behind it all.

-

Project Arahabaki was built to create an ability weapon based on the recovered notes of Pan, a French researcher and Verlaine's creator. The technique uses the clone of a human with a "fake" psyche (persona model) who is fused with a singularity life-form. The clone's original should have an ability able to create a self-referencing singularity (to manifest gravity powers). Pan even had a special ability metal to brainwash that individual. Basically, this concept is supposed to create an overpowered flesh puppet.

So. Project Arahabaki. They needed an original with an ability that could produce a singularity on its own, which is super rare. Joy oh joy, there just so happen to be this boy, the son of a military doctor, who fits these needs! They just need his DNA/some cells to create a clone to use in their project. It's the middle of the war, ethics are disregarded, plus no "real child" should be harmed in the making of this weapon. No biggie, right? Lend us your son for the sake of the country!

Except we know that boy, officially at least, died during the war.

According to N's timeline, there once was this certain boy who managed to create a singularity with his ability while under the supervision of scientists, but got swallowed by the black hole it created, never to return.

He also had Chuuya's supposed "original" stuck in a tube full of mystery liquid, the same kind Chuuya once was in, but that one's flesh and organs melted when exposed to air (normal behaviour), changing it into a skeleton that can be ordered around like an overpowered puppet (literally on strings. The tubes in its back controlled it and kept it going, but would severely limit its range)

Back to our Chuuya:

All N does is lie, so we can't take his word as the simple truth. Chuuya was a miracle they never managed to reproduce. Why is that?

In Rimbaud's notes, he says how in their operation to retrieve the new ability weapon Japan was developing (based on Verlaine), they managed to identify the artificial being, aka the clone, A2-5-8. In the flashback, Rimbaud is absolutely positive it is him, so we have to assume this information was recorded as-is somewhere.

And yet, Dazai is the one to suggest later that, perhaps, the original and the clone had been swapped.

And wouldn't that make everything else make sense?

The clone(s) never managed to hold up to the quality standard necessary to be useful outside of their confines. The skeleton approach was the lab trying something different, like N admitted so to Verlaine. There ever only was one successful attempt, a "miracle", Chuuya. The original child is thought to be dead, yet N the liar supposedly had him in a tube, ready to turn him into a skeleton(???). Rimbaud and Verlaine thought for sure they had the artificial life-form, the clone, but they got Chuuya, who has a graphite scar from before he lost his memories, with a past that was able to be dug up by the Flags and Port Mafia.

My conclusion is this: N swapped out a clone for the original child. His research wasn't giving the proper results, but he had found a workaround, where he could use the original instead of his clone, for better/faster results.

Chuuya is the only one who could harness "Arahabaki" in any way that would remotely resemble "Guivre". Chuuya is the only one who could operate autonomously. That's why N wanted to remove "Arahabaki" and try to factory-reset Chuuya before putting it back in: because there really is only one of him, and he couldn't afford losing him if he wanted to continue his research.

[fanon-canon-idfk]

I’m bored time for toxicity

BEAST Dazai Osamu X Male Reader

Toxic

This is another short one <3

You are a high ranked executive along the Port Mafia. Hired by the boss himself, you quickly fit up to expectations and earned such a rank.

Well perhaps you did have a little help..?

Mafia boss, Dazai Osamu, may or may not have a small liking to you, that may or may not be used to your benefit.

Dazai had called you to his office, a regular occurrence between the two of you. He’s always had armed lackeys come for you- even in the middle of a mission- and escort you straight to the boss.

Just as they walked you into the office, you passed by Nakahara. You already knew this meant Dazai wished to be alone with you.

They all left the room, shutting the door behind them. Now, the two of you are alone.

He chuckled to himself quietly before rising from his seat, making his way toward you.

His hand met your arm, his fingers slowly dancing up to rest on the back of your neck.

“Darling~” he grinned “how have you been? It’s been a while since we’ve talked, hasn’t it?” His eyes holding a playfulness in the dark void.

“I’ve been busy. What do you need, sir?” You asked numbly. He smiled mischievously as small giggles left his throat.

“I’ve just missed you, my love! It’s been soo long since you’ve held me or kissed me..” his words turn into a murmur as he begins to pull you in.

He kisses you deeply, slowly, gradually. You try your best to match his pattern as best as possible, wrapping an arm around his waist and holding his hand.

You both swayed as you continued to kiss endlessly, looping yourselves in a small waltz-like dance.

You don’t even notice when your lips are separated, your foreheads still pressed together, eyes closed.

Dazai began humming a small tune as you swayed, you listened to his voice calmly.

That voice that threw around orders, sent people to their deaths, laughed at the misfortune of his enemies.

That voice that soothed you, calmed you, eased your mind after a difficult mission.

You slowly swayed, finally reaching a dip in your dance. You kissed his jawbone gently, he sighed dreamily as he smiled.

His office phone rings.

And yet that man was not yours, and you were not his. This was not real.

He stands up straight, pushing away from you and answering his phone.

This man was not your lover.

Not your boyfriend.

Not your husband.

He was your boss who wanted to live in his imagination of a normal life and a sweet, safe love.

You were just his model to project the role of “devoted lover” on to.

He finishes his phone call, placing the phone down.

He turns to you, gives you a short kiss, and pats your shoulder.

You knew what this meant, your session was over. He no longer needed your presence.

He sat back at his desk, watching as you walked out of his office.

Maybe he does love you. Maybe he needs your embrace, your kiss, your presence, all because he loves you.

But the mafia has no room for love.

Nor does Dazai’s heart.

[mncxbe]

Hiiii i hope you have a great day! I love your blog 🥰 been living my best y/n days lately hahaha

If you don't mind, may i request for chuuya with reader who is a photographer. One day the reader scouted him on the street, not knowing about him at all, just mesmerized by his appearance. So I'm wondering about how Chuuya would be someone's muse. Definitely got inspired by your chuuya x painter!reader one haha.

Thank you so much ^^

Ps: can be sfw or nswf up to your imagination; please feel free to ignore this request if you don't feel like doing it^^

omg anonnie this!!! chuuya's got such model vibes I cannot even he could make it to the high fashion. also tysm I'm so happy I can make your Y/N dreams come true♡♡

it's a normal thursday afternoon and chuuya's walking down the streets of Yokohama, idly scrolling on his phone when you randomly stop him and ask if he's interested in having a few pictures taken. at first, he's a bit confused and suspicious but after you tell him you're a photographer and really love his style, he agrees. after all, a few pictures can't hurt.

the two of you walk to a neraby park. getting everything in place; you tell him how to pose and all and soon enough you manage to take a few good shots.

when you show him the photos chuuya's quite taken aback. he didn't expect them to turn this good: his scarlet hair paired perfectly with the yellowing autumn leaves in the background and the warm sunlight~ engulfing him in a veil of gold. it is mesmerizing. he simply stares at the little screen of your camera, mouth agape and you can't help but chuckle.

"there's just something about you, a certain energy you give off. i'd love to work with you more, if you're interested" you propose, giving him that sweet smile of yours.

and of course he's interested. how could he say no when he has the chance to work with someone so talented?

over the next months chuuya visits your studio from time to time. due to his busy schedule, your photoshoots are quite rare but still the highlight of your week. you both enjoy working together; you are calm and collected, don't pry too much into his personal life and he's receptive, always eager to try any new ideas you might have, your perfect muse.

and oh, how many ideas you have. for those blissful couple of hours in your studio chuuya can forget about his life and become something else; a black and white 90s supermodel, a pop of colour on a white background, an angel in the garden of Eden, whatever you want him to be. with each outfit you make him try on he turns into something else, something of your making and he loves that.

despite your constant pleas he refuses to let you use his picture for exhibitions or contests; after all, his identity needs to be kept secret. so instead you hang them around your studio~ little 3:2 pictures adorning your walls, lined up like celluloid scenes in an old picture movie.

with each evening you spend together chuuya finds himself falling more and more in love with you. it's not only the way you walk around the studio with your camera hanging around hour neck, gently biting down on your lower lip as you try to find the perfect angle for a shoot or how you always offer him a glass of his favourite wine when he comes over; you're his own form of escapism. you're funny and sweet and creative and see him for everything that he is and could be, not as a mere criminal working for the Port Mafia. he can talk to you for hours without getting bored too, which is something new.

things progress and one evening, after an especially tiring day at work and a few glasses of wine, chuuya finds himself entangled with you on the plush couch in your studio; worshipping every inch of your body just like you do with his on camera. it's heated and messy and he loves it so much he just can't get enough. and neither can you.

from then on, you two meet for reasons unrelated to work too; he drops by to bring you little gifts or flowers as a sign of gratitude, takes you out to dinner, visits art galleries with you and takes you on weekend get-aways. and so your muse becomes your friend and your lover. your one and only.

[akutasoda]

don't let me go

synopsis - to you, they were like a sibling and maybe they felt the same way

includes - yosano, chuuya, sigma, tecchou, ayatsuji (all platonic)

warnings - gn!teenage reader, fluff, overprotectiveness?(not controlling), wc - 1.1k

a/n: hii! im so sorry i accidentally posted it before i actually finished so i had to delete it but i managed to screenshot so shh if you saw that! also having serious ayatsuji brainrot. similar posts may be found here and here

akiko yosano ★↷

↪ i feel like you would of either met her through coincidence or you had talen up part time at the agency. either way as soon as you met her and started hanging around her more and more you couldn't help but feel as if she was like a older sibling.

↪she also very quickly saw you as more of a younger sibling. and it stuck, she looked out for you as if you were her very own sibling.

↪also feel like ranpo would be in on it aswell, him and yosano already act as siblings so if yosano saw you as her younger sibling so would he.

↪probably would join her, ranpo and maybe dazai in their gossiping abiut whatever is happening online or in real life. or she would tell you some stories about pther agency members if you promised to keep it secret.

↪maybe if you were really interested in her role at the agency, she would show you the basics. get you acquainted with basic first aid and how she deals with certain injuries. or if you were in school she would really encourage your education.

chuuya nakahara ★↷

↪in a similar way you either met him through coincidence or being another unfortunate child to be dragged under the port mafia. but upon seeing you, he couldn't help but see something akin to his younger self in you and became slightly more protective of you. to make sure you stayed as safe as possible.

↪and with him hanging around you more often and keeping an eye out for you, you started looking up to him. like a role model that felt more like an older brother to you. and soon upon your accidental admittance to seeing him as your older sibling, he couldn't help but feel the same way.

↪and with that he became slightly more overprotective over you. not overbearing but he couldn't help but dote on you. he hasn't had a good relationship with his so called 'brother' per say and maybe he could give you a healthy relationship with him as your older brother.

↪you two probably would get into little squabbled about dumb things but it would always be unserious so it was always something to tease the ither with.

↪if you were still in school he he would really support you in getting a good education, if you were under the mafia he would probably try to push you out off it discreetly.

↪or he would take you out and about, giving you the childhood he wished he had. it would be only natural him as your now found older brother.

sigma ★↷

↪how you met sigma in the first place is quite the mystery. but you two became attached pretty quickly. at first it was mainly because in his 3 years of life he had never met someone who hadn't wanted to use him, until he met you.

↪he noticed how you looked up to him. he had no clue why though. but this was the first time so he thought that he couldn't let you down and started to look out for you. originally he wanted to push you away because he was associated with some... not very good people. and he worried that your affiliation with him would put you in danger.

↪so he had just got to try and hide it. and eventually you told him that you saw him more as an older sibling and how could he just push you away when he too saw you as a younger sibling. and for the first time felt like he truly met someone who wouldn't use him.

↪he would be really good at showing you how he managed the casino, trying to actually keep you away from the actual casino, but would teach you how to manage things. he would also encourage your continuation of education as he believes that's important for you.

↪if you did know about his forced affiliation with the decay of angels, he probably would catch you bad mouthing them and try to encourage you not to, he was scaref they would find out but deep down wished he had that kind of confidence to do the same.

↪he would treasure the time with you, it felt like he truly had a family. just two people who viewed each other a siblings and looked out for each other. who knows how much time you two had left together?

tecchou suehiro ★↷

↪you had probably met through being caught upon a mission or by pur accident. but however you met, he felt like he should be looking after you. and with you hanging around when he wasn't doing his duties he just felt as if ot was also his duty to protect you.

↪and gradually you became a natural part of his life, he truly felt as if you were a younger sibling. and you felt as if he was a older brother. and with his occupation as a hunting dog it made it all the easier just to look after you and protect you.

↪definitely teaches you about responsibility, and heavily encorages you to keep in education of some kind. really does just encourage you i whatever you want to do, within reason.

↪he would definitely just look out for you at all times, as his found younger sibling he would be willing to overllok justice if it meant keeping you safe.

yukito ayatsuji ★↷

↪again probably either met you upon unfortunate circumstances in a mission or by accident/coincidence. an unlikely sight to tsujimura and she is slightly worried for your safety but seeing how his demeanor beacomes softer around you she lays off.

↪you started seeing him as a older brother when you started hanging around him. he was sort of like a role model to you. and soon he started seeing you as more of a younger sibling.

↪maybe it creeped you out alittle that he had a basement of dolls, or maybe it didn't, it's up to you. if you're not creeped out maybe he could show you how to make a few or just show you them.

↪but one things for sure he looked out for you. maybe he was under the watch of tsujimura but if someone truly did anything to you he suppose he could pull a few strings.

↪again really encourages you to actually get a education as boring as it may be you'll need it. then again you two could always gossip about the people that are assigned to watch over him when there not around.

[kaurwreck]

Beast!Akutagawa has a dark undershirt and light overcoat because he's harboring beastial rage internally while outwardly projecting and modeling goodness; whereas Port Mafia!Akutagawa has a white undershirt and a black overcoat because he loves without ego while outwardly projecting and modeling rabid violence.

Meanwhile, Kunikida has a dark undershirt because he hates women, but his vest and slacks are khaki because he only has sex with men.

[semisgroupie]

4k collab — what’s done in the dark ☾

theme: Taboo Relationships! (prof x student, ceo x secretary, politician x prostitute, priest x parishioner, anything you can think of!)

rules:

☾ you must be 18+ to join and have your age somewhere accessible on your blog

☾ any form of content is allowed (art, writing, nsfw, dc) just make sure everything is tagged appropriately!

☾ there can be a repeat of characters but only 2 are allowed! (so if one person chooses toji then only one more person can choose him)

☾ there’s no writing limit! write what you feel is enough

☾ you can submit multiple pieces! (you don’t have to submit more than one piece but if you feel inspired enough then send in as much as you like, but don’t overwork yourself!)

☾ once you’re done please use the tag #wditdcollab☾ or tag me!

☾ and have fun!

FANDOMS: this collab is open to any and all fandoms!

DEADLINE: there is no hard deadline but there is a soft deadline of APRIL 5TH

HOW TO ENTER: send me an ask with your character, fandom and what the taboo relationship will be! (EX: can I join with professor!urahara x student!reader?)

MASTERLIST

BLEACH

☾ professor!aizen sosuke & assistant professor!grimmjow jaegerjaquez x student!fem. reader — ME!

☾ devil!aizen x angel!reader — @stygianoir

☾ actor! Reader x bodyguard! Shunsui Kyoraku — @/chaotic-nick

☾ ceo!Ichigo x secretary!reader x ceo!grimmjow — @/nymphoheretic

☾ ishida ryuken x fem!reader (doctor and nurse) — @ryndicate

☾ ichigo’s girlfriend x isshin — @/ryndicate

JUJUTSU KAISEN

☾ priest!nanami & priest!toji x parishioner!fem.reader — ME!

☾ ex-lawyer higuruma x model fem!reader — @blueparadis

☾ ceo!maki & secretary!reader — @gyuwutaro

☾ demon lord!sukuna and priestess!reader — @angelltheninth

☾ karate!teacher toji x student!reader — @getogasm

☾ professor!nanami x student!reader — @edens-pen

☾ priest/teacher! geto x catholic school girl! reader — @ghoularaki

☾ geto’s ex girlfriend x satoru — @25-30-03

☾ pimp!mahito x prostitute!reader — @rozentias

AOT

☾ therapist!zeke yeager x patient!reader — @ctrlwave

CSM

☾ art dealer!kishibe x art student!reader — @/ctrlwave

☾ director! A-list actor! kishibe x idol! Reader — @chaotic-nick

☾ knight!quanxi and princess!reader — @pcwer

GENSHIN IMPACT

☾ professor!albedo & assistant!reader — @mrskreideprinz

☾ general!pierro x queen!reader — @manjiroscum

☾ tartaglia x reader — @hiraizens

OTHER

☾ Priest!Kakashi x nun!reader x demon!itachi (NARUTO) — @nymphoheretic

☾ bev cart girl!reader x country club patron!kuroo (HAIKYUU) — @lou-struck

☾ fukuzawa yukichi x port mafia!reader (BSD) — @suyacho

[cinnamncornflakes]

Tachihara as an Older Brother Figure

Older brother figure!Tachihara x Teen!Reader (platonic)

OKAY WARNING THIS MIGHT BE OOC

content: slight spoilers for season 4 and 5, fluff, a bit of angst

HE’S LITERALLY THE BEST OLDER BROTHER EVER

hes always taking care of you when he can and loves to tease or mess around with you

he’ll mess with your hair until you start swatting at his hands and grumbling at him to stop or sometimes he’ll jump at you from behind a corner and double over with laughter at your startled face

as a very young member of the pm you usually have the black lizard looking over you

okay well the entire black lizard? they love you and they swear they’re never letting you get hurt

if you’re an assistant to the hunting dogs, they’re the same with you :3

usually you just hang around him, playing animal crossing or something on your handheld in the training room while he shoots down targets or wields his sword roald im coming for you i will get you on my island

okay getting angsty + spoilers for a minute he honestly sees yourself in him when he was younger and he swears now that he needs to keep you safe

he finally understands how his brother must have loved him once he gets attached to you

he didn’t wanna get attached, because well, he’s part of the hunting dogs and the port mafia. he has plenty of enemies and he doesn’t want you to get involved with them

he’s scared they might use you against him

and honestly he’s scared that he’s gonna lose you like he lost his brother too

BACK TO FLUFF

yk how he carried around teruko on his shoulders? he does that with you all the time and you may or may not take advantage of it

you honestly think he’s so cool and you wanna be like him SO BAD

when and if you tell him this he will feel like crying just from pure endearment he’s so proud of himself for being your role model

sometimes he catches you getting hirotsu trying to teach you to use the double pistols or getting tetchō to try and teach you to use a saber

oh my god he feels like such a proud older brother when you try and show him your less than mediocre skills and you have that little goofy toothy grin

sometimes you get really tired and just kinda… fall asleep.

if you’re in the port mafia usually you go on a lengthy mission with the black lizard (they keep you safe dw) and you get so exhausted you fall asleep on the nearest couch or chair you can find as soon as you get back to base

if you’re an assistant for the hunting dogs, you get really tired from hustling around, filing reports, making calls, organizing files for fukuchi or jouno and you just fall asleep at your desk the minute you can

if he ever finds you asleep, his look softens a bit and he takes off his jacket/cape and places it over you, and makes everyone else be quiet if they come across you

sometimes you fall asleep in the car against his shoulder on the way back from missions and he makes sure no one wakes you up and stays perfectly still

if he’s feeling extra laidback maybe he lets you paint his nails or style his hair with curlers and stuff (gin is totally keeping that photo as blackmail)

defo takes you out for ice cream every week and eats some of your share even though he has his own cone

overall 10/10 older brother figure 5 stars easily

[glitch-karma]

hello! can i request the headcanons of bsd boys (ADA, port mafia, guild, DOA, and hunting dogs) playing genshin impact? i wanna know what is their fav characters/elemental/region hehehe~ thanks in advance!

I LOVED writing this one

Dazai

I can see him liking Pryo characters the most

Someone who plays for fighting and building, not for lore and quests

HIS TEAM IS SO CRACKED LIKE BRO GO OUTSIDE???

I can see him maining Klee/Diluc

Definitely, the type to brag all the time

Joins people's worlds to steal stuff then leave like an asshole

I can see his main team being Diluc, Xiao, Ganyu and Xingqiu

When playing with ANYONE he'll pull out Klee and burn the grass to annoy tf out of them

Kunikida

No.

Played it maybe once cause Dazai forced him

Did not understand the point in it

Ended up uninstalling it literally an hour later

Ranpo

Has been playing it even before Dazai

Has almost every character (and ALL of them are built)

Mains Heizou for Obvious reasons

Likes swirling electro the most

Likes to humble brag but in a mean way

"Yeah I mean, I only play it on occasion I guess I'm just good!"

He's lying

In reality, he spends way too much of his and Fukuzawas money

Definitely still not so patiently waiting for Dansleif to be playable

Atsushi

Dazai got him into the game

He plays it mostly for the story quests so his characters aren't very built

LOVES Anemo and Dendro

He was so excited when Baizhu was announced

He cried really hard when he did the Chasam quest

Mains Kazuha

He LOVES Collei so much

When he first started the game he was confused why Barbra wasn't doing any damage

Cyno reminds him of Akutagawa

Yosano

Got into it from random ads

Mains Beidou and Yelan

Has been pulling for Shenhe for so long but still doesn't have her

LOVES Inazuma

Fav vision is definitely Electro

She has played through all of Shonens quests

Poe

Ranpo forced him to play and he likes it

Ranpo helps him with domains and farming

Enjoys the lore and how it's written, specifically Khaenri'ah lore

Is also waiting for Dansleif to be playable

He's an Albedo main

Relates a lil too hard to Sucrose and Xingqiu

Chuuya

Played to try to surpass Dazai

He wants to out-damage Dazai so bad but..

Poor baby doesn't know how to build correctly.

like he gave a physical build to Yanfei

Chuuya LOVES Cryo

He definitely at one point was a Kaeya main

He freaked out the first time he did 2k damage

Joins Dazai's world and says "You suck" Then leaves

Akutagawa

Only plays it because Dazai plays it

Has tried to get good characters to earn Dazai's approval but he ALWAYS loses his 50/50's

Gets on calls with Dazai to try to show how good he is

"...Why did you put blizzard strayer on Diluc." "..."

Trys to get every character Dazai has

Honestly, he doesn't know what he's doing

Fyodor

Bought an acc from someone with insane stats

Bullys kids on the internet with it

Nikolai

He plays unironically (Unlike Fyodor)

Definitely does that ritual of throwing characters off cliffs before wishing

DEF a Hutao main

Has Fydor to actually play but always fails

That trend where you change the models of your characters? He's ALL about that

Changed Klee into a cursed model of a duck

Sigma

Mains Layla because he loves her

It's his comfort game after a long day at the casino

He plays for the lore and character design

Ango

He doesn't really have time for games

Jouno

Genshin, unfortunately, doesn't have accessible playing for him

I don't think he'd play either way but oh well

Tetchō

He saw a picture of Itto and Immediately installed it

Doesn't understand the cooking function

Is also confused about the look of the food

After meeting the Adepti he actually tried eating flowers

Jouno stopped him

Likes Xiao cause of the sticker of him eating snow

Tachihara

Thinks it's a stupid anime game

[manias-wordcount]

Could I request Mori with fem reader who has flirty personality but is clumsy. She works for Guild and she had to break into port mafia to steal something but Mori started flirting with her and she fell for him. But than Port mafia and guild had meeting one day and Mori wanted to trade something for reader and Guild agreed

Suitcases (Mori Ougai x Reader)

𝗔/𝗡: 𝗶 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆!!!!!

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚? ⇒ 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙧?

𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚?

You only carry one suitcase. You were told everything else would be taken care of.

  Still, you’re standing on the street corner left in your messages. Watching out of the corner of your eye as people pass you by without a care in their world. Mothers and fathers with their children. People with their pets. People all alone. People with strangers. Friends with friends. Going about their business. Sometimes with smiles. Sometimes with frowns. With laughter and joy. With stress and sorrow. You don’t know them. You don’t know where they’re going or what they’re doing. Just like they don’t know you. They don’t know your life story or your job or your anything. But most of all?

  They don’t know that your life is being traded away for their safety. For them to live in their bubble of strangers and friends and children and pets. For at least another day.

  You take a deep breath in, but you’re so nervous it doesn’t come out the right way. So you find yourself stifling a cough- taking your sweating palm off of your suitcase handle and bringing it to your face to better cover your action. You’re going to miss your apartment. The one you had in the city. It was still very new, but you had already started calling it home. You’re going to miss your new friends. The girls on the floors below you who were more than eager to take you in and show being young and having fun in Japan is supposed to look like. The ones who called your heavily accented Japanese cute and your ability to wrap any man around your fingertips a superpower.  

   You had a ton of cute outfits you never got to wear hanging in your closet. You had a few books you never got to read, sitting on your shelves. A couple of things that you hadn’t even taken out of your boxes. But they told you that you were only allowed one suitcase. And so inside this suitcase of yours, it’s keepsakes and treasures. Fond memories that you refuse to let die. Still, there’s so much left behind. You wish you knew all the details.

  Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed a black car drive down the road toward you. It drives real, real slow in the lane closest to you. The windows are tinted, and the model looks expensive. Way more expensive than you would expect in the area. You take another deep breath in. This breath comes out just fine this time. But you’re anything but.

  You wished you were allowed one more suitcase.

  But in the end, you only have yourself to blame. At the time of it happening, you thought your mission was just barely successful. You just needed to break into the Port Mafia headquarters and grab a few things. Something that nobody would notice until they came looking. Something so easy to miss and even easier to forget. You had a few close calls here and there- but you really thought you lucked out when you ran into that kind-hearted doctor. 

  He was very sweet on you, and you couldn’t help but feel like if things were different, then you would be very sweet on him too. But he gave you everything you needed. And all you needed was just a drop of honey in your voice, and a smile made a sugar. Though it did help that you looked as helpless and as lost as the new recruit he thought you should be. And in the end, you got your shit with very few issues thanks to him. And he left you with a fool-proof escape route that had you no longer terrified at the thought of trying to get out by yourself. That doctor was absolutely everything you needed to make your superior proud. And you played him. At least you thought. You thought you played him good. 

  But weeks later, when your last mission was far out of your mind, your superiors at the Guild went to negotiate something with the Port Mafia. Something big. Something scary. And You remember watching everyone leave with confidence in the air and determined expressions on their faces as you sat at your desk with your morning cup of coffee while you filled out your paperwork for the day. And you remembered everyone returning when the afternoon sun began to turn the sky into pretty shades of orange and pink and blue. You remember everyone returning with defeated stances and sad looks in their eyes. Especially when their gazes fell on you.

  You were told that you had three days to pack your stuff by Francis himself. You did so quietly. 

  But now the black car is rolling up right in front of you, and you wished you were anything but quiet right now. You wished you could scream. You wished you could cry. You wished you could go back to the day when you had your mission, and you wished more than anything you didn’t accidentally push open that door to the doctor’s office. But more than anything? You just wish you never met him.

  But by the time the car door opens? The current leader of the Port Mafia is already stepping out and on the curve- straightening to his full height. He’s dressed in deep shapes of crimson red and threatening shades of black. His dark formal attire is a stark contrast from his pure white gloves. And that wicked smile on his face is already telling you stories and rules and thinly veiled reminders of the man he is and the power he holds over the city. Over the people. Over you.

  “Hi, my dear.” He greets you. Voice light as a feather, smoother like velvet, and warmer than the burn of whisky down your throat. It’s nice enough. Attractive enough. Disarming, enough. But you wonder. You won’t if you’re the only one who can hear it. If you’re the only one who can feel it. You wonder if he was just a little louder. If the world was just a little quieter… “It’s good to see you again.”

  …if anyone else could hear the poison in his voice too?

  You take a deep breath in. But he seems to widen his smile even more as you struggle to let it out. Your hands are shaking, making it difficult to hold your one and only bag still. Your throat feels dry, making it hard to find the voice to try to barter. To try to fight back. But you won’t meet his eyes. You won’t. Not by your own free will. Because you don’t have to look at him to know that he’s peering down at you like a hawk as he takes your suitcase from your hands and holds it for you in one of his own. 

  You wish none of that ever happened. You wish you didn’t mess up so badly. You wish you never met him. You wished he didn’t treat you so kindly. You wished he did promise the Guild that you’d be happy and safe with him. You wish you didn’t believe him. You wish you didn’t feel for him.

  You wished you were allowed another suitcase. 

  Because maybe if you were allowed another suitcase, maybe he wouldn’t have used his free hand to cup your chin and make your eyes meet his. Maybe if you had another suitcase, he wouldn’t have been able to see the frustration in your eyes as you remember every single decision you made that brought you to this moment. Maybe if you had another suitcase, your eyes wouldn’t be watering as much as they are now. Because you wouldn’t be leaving so much of your life behind. Because you would be able to keep more memories. Because you would be able to buy yourself more time. To convince yourself that you’re shaking because you’re scared.

  To convince yourself that you’re not excited.

  But that’s the thing: you don’t. You don’t have another suitcase. You don’t have an extra day. You don’t have a chance to redo your mistakes. You don’t. But the even scarier part? If you had the chance to go back and change everything…

  “It’s good to see you too…”

  You don’t think you would take it. You know you wouldn’t take it. Because what good is a suitcase…

  “…Dr. Ougai…”

  …compared to a man who offered to give you the entire world?

[anushkab2711]

I like to think Chuuya is a model. This man got fashion sense FR.

☝️quick sketche . Had an idea about BSD fashion AU, where they are all models. The ADA and Port Mafia being modelling agencies and rivals. Atsushi is the new cub in the club.

Also, I want to sketch more like the beast artstyle, Hoshikawa - sensei please tell me your secret !

[joezworld]

The Cars of Goncharov

So, I finally got to sit down and watch Goncharov over the weekend, and it was everything that people said it would be.

A lot of posts have been made extolling the virtues of the film itself, but I was absolutely baffled by some of the choices made behind the camera that absolutely influenced how the film portrayed both itself and its characters: the cars that the characters drove.

Behind the Camera

Ignoring all of it's wild satire of and/or adherence to the popular western view of both the Soviet Union and the Italian Mafia, Goncharov is at its core a movie about Russian/Italian mobster Goncharov trying to run his Naples Mafia organization while also dealing with betrayal, a loveless marriage, and a hidden past. As a result, most of the cars in the film - especially those driven by main characters - should logically be cars that were widely available in Italy at the time - a sea of Fiats, Vespas, Alfa Romeos, and Lancias, with a few Ferraris, Maseratis, and foreign cars thrown in for good measure. Goncharov should be driving around in a Lancia Flavia, while Sofia's midnight meeting with Katya should be lit by the headlights of a classic Cinquecento.

Right?

WRONG

This film plays absolutely nothing straight, and everything driven by a main character is Soviet in origin, and if it isn't, that lack of communist origins means something, even if it wasn't intended to by the filmmakers. Actually, hell, even the Soviet cars mean something. Let's get into this:

Cars of the Stars

1: Goncharov's Limo The original script treatment for the movie called this one out specifically - Goncharov's mysterious past would be accentuated by the fact that he drove around in a "meticulously-kept Volga sedan, in KGB black. From a distance, the car looked flawless, but upon closer inspection, numerous dents can be seen - remnants of a hard drive across a continent."

How Goncharov came to own a car that was owned primarily by the state intelligence agency of the USSR was unstated, however the car would've fit well with the character's intimidating "hardman" aura. However, because it was 1973, and most, if not all Volga sedans in existence were the property of the KGB, there was not a single car to be found anywhere in Italy, for all the scrabbling the crew did in pre-production.*

So, the crew "improvised", and somehow managed to "borrow"** A ZIL 114.

Goncharov's Limo, as seen in the opening scene of the film.

To state fully how insane this is, the Zil 114 is a state limousine, built for the sole use of the USSR's diplomatic corps and those in the highest echelons of the Communist Party. Y'know, people like Brezhnev. For Goncharov to have gotten one is borderline impossible, but goddamn does it look good. The huge limousine dominates every scene it's in, and is an unmistakable presence in its own right. Had he arrived in a Volga, it's unlikely that anyone would've viewed Goncharov in the same immediately terrifying light.

*Tomas JWHJ 0715, son of director Matteo, wrote a book on the film's absolutely wild production in 1999 - it's where I'm sourcing most of my info from - and recalls his father bribing his way into the Port of Rome, in the hopes he could buy a Lada off of a passing ship.

**Real quotes there - nobody knows how they actually got this car. it's assumed that one of the film's local 'fixers' had connections in low places.

2: Katya's Lada 1300

Sold internally in the USSR as the VAZ-2103, Katya's ride throughout the film is actually an export model, a bright red Lada 1300 with the steering wheel on the wrong side - likely imported from the UK under less-than-legal means.*

This is a baffling choice, as production on the UK-spec 1300 began in the middle of 1973, meaning that filming was almost over by the time the car was built, unless it was a pre-production model. Either explanation - along with the fact that the film was shot in Italy, does not explain how they got the car. Additionally LHD models were for sale at the same time in both East and West Germany, making the choice of a RHD car is inexplicable at best, and speaks to the desperation of the film crew as they tried to source Soviet products in the middle of the Cold War.

Katya's UK-registered Lada parked outside a garden party about an hour into the film. She meets Sofia in this scene, and enters the car via the "correct" door, one of three times she does so in the entire film.

That being said, the car fits perfectly with Katya's personality. While the Lada is a very obviously Soviet car, it's based on the Italian Fiat 125, and blends into the background of many street scenes, mirroring Katya's desire to leave her husband and the USSR behind, and live freely in Italy. The steering wheel being on the wrong side is a sign of her refusal to stick to conventional societal norms about her relationship - throughout the movie, she often forgets which door of the car she's supposed to get into, usually after being with her husband. However, whenever she leaves Sofia, and when she (spoiler) betrays Goncharov in the finale, she enters the car via the correct door on the first try.

*In his book, Tomas JWHJ 0715 claims that members of the production were successful at least once in their various madcap attempts to find a car for the film, supposedly stealing something off the street. Stills from the upcoming Criterion Collection remaster were revealed several years ago, and one of them showed the car featuring a UK registration plate. Someone managed to get a result in some forgotten DVLA record, showing that the car was registered and then almost immediately stolen, although there were no specific dates given, the record being over 50 years old.

3: Valery Michailov's UAZ-450

A man with a mission (although we never learn exactly what that is), he arrives on the scene in a red UAZ van. You know the one. That one. It's a former military van, now serving a seemingly more dangerous purpose, although it's not clear what - even in the potato-quality youtube rips and the sole VHS release, the van has clearly been repainted in a hurry*, possibly to hide its origins.

Like Valery himself, the van sticks to the background, driving sedately behind crowds and sticking to the backstreets throughout the film.

It's a close parallel to its owner - Valery seems to be itching for a fight the whole movie, a tight military haircut and rigid firearms discipline giving some clue to his origins, but not his mission. Is he here to rescue his sister Katya from a loveless marriage? Is he on Goncharov's trail? Is he trying to repossess the limo? We may never know for sure and he likes it that way.

*No shit it was hastily painted. Seemingly the only vehicle in the film that wasn't outright stolen, the van had been bought from the Romanian national police, and was still in its police paint until two days before the first scenes were shot.

4: Mario's ZAZ 965 A Zaporozhets

Another bizarre choice for a car that inadvertently speaks to who the character is on a deep level. Mario is usually seen riding with Goncharov in his Zil, and his car is not seen until the end of the film, although mention is made of his "tiny shitbox" well before that. When the time comes, it's revealed that instead of an expected Fiat 500, Mario instead drives a tiny Ukrainian-built supermini.

Mario's "Tiny Blue Shitbox" doesn't do him any favors.

This is, again, entirely on-brand for Mario, even if no specific mention of the car is made in either the script or behind the scenes book.* One of the only Italian characters in the film, Mario desperately wants to be a Soviet citizen, and latches onto Goncharov in an attempt to further this. His choice of an obscure Soviet car instead of a rare-as-rocks Fiat 500 not only speaks to this, but also to his penchant for making bad decisions: the car is a heap of junk that barely starts and smokes heavily from the exhaust. Later on in the film, after he is dismissed from Goncarov's organization for his betrayal, he attempts to drive away, only for the car to completely die on him. His life in ruins, his car derelict, and his dreams broken, he walks away on foot.**

*Considering it's very clearly a Soviet market version, it's assumed to be stolen, however so many cars were stolen for this film that even the production crew was unsure by the end of filming.

**Again, not a scripted thing. The car actually did that and Al Pacino just rolled with it.

5: Andrey Daddano's Maserati Indy

Is there truly a better villain car than a bright green Maserati? Andrey Daddano doesn't think so. Goncharov's rival/subject of obsession is of questionable nationality, but plays the "rich Italian" role to a tee. His Indy is a signature part of his appearance, to the point where the mere sight of it is enough to get Goncharov's full and undivided attention.

The Banker, in his green machine.

Disposing of a liability.

Little is known about this car - according to production sources, it belonged to a member of the crew, although accounts vary as to whether this car belonged to writer Matteo JWHJ 0715 or producer Domenico Procacci. Another account claims that Gene Hackman had bought the car, and loaned it to the production in order to recoup some of the costs. Other accounts claim that Hackman owned the car, and refused to loan it to the production; whenever scenes with it needed to be filmed, he was "distracted" with alcohol and women.

6: Ice Pick Joe's Ford Transit LWB

Everybody's favorite professional assassin had an (pardon the pun) absolutely killer introduction to the movie - exiting Naples' central train station, with no introduction at all, he finds the nearest unattended van, breaks out the window, and steals it right there and then. Gone in 60 seconds, but without the Nicholas Cage.

Ice Pick Joe is one cool customer, and his unassuming murder van adds to his quietly violent ways.

The totally blasé fashion that he approaches his mode of transport is as much a part of his character as his icepick is. He needed a ride, so he stole one. The fact that it's a van designed by the British division of an American car company means nothing to him; it's just a set of wheels. After his death at Katya's hands in the boathouse, the van becomes his tomb, and is shoved into the harbor.*

*For real. In 2019, they found the remains of the van at the bottom of Naples harbor. Its fake license plate survived almost 50 years underwater, and Carabinieri investigators were able to match it to stills from the film.

-----

TL;DR: Goncharov's wild-ass production meant that half the cars used in the film were stolen, and the rest were destroyed or stolen anyways. In the process, they managed to make meaningful and wholly descriptive chariots for each character in the process. I don't think they could've made it like this if they tried.

I'm sure that the KGB still want to know how they got that Zil.

[gerbresonance]

Yoko posting!

I used a 3D Model to try and help my struggle w proportions. Her name is Yoko Ota and she’s meant to be part of the Port Mafia. She’s basically a ticking time bomb, as her light controlling abilities flare out of control if her emotions are not stable.

[cottonpuffmouse]

Beast 4 Beast

Summary: As his attempted death, the former boss of the Port Mafia wakes up in a familiar shipping container. Unable to leave, or to know where he is being shipped, Dazai is forced to reckon with his captor.

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Graphic Dazai Attempt, Dazai Reference(You Know What I’m Saying), Attempted Murder, Manipulation, Weird Fucked Up Love, Stalking, Genuine Affection, Critical Levels of Dazai Apologism

(Divider cred)

He woke up in a terrible position. Without opening his eyes, which he knew would instantly tell his captors he was alive and awake, Dazai could feel just how terrible it was. He could smell metal, maybe even rust. He could taste something tangy on his tongue, which meant he’d been fed all manner of drugs when he was out. And he could hear dense metal grinding on dense metal, a specific sound he only heard by the ports.

For a moment, he was also tempted to say he was in his shipping container. That the last four or so years of his life had all truly been a bad dream. Traumatizing Atsushi, ruining his own life, Oda refusing to give him that recognition he so craved, all of it had only been an illusion of his own diseased mind.

Readying himself for torture, Dazai opened his eyes to the truth.

Which was that he was in his shipping container. Alone and completely secure.

He flung off his blanket, a cheap cotton one he was intimately familiar with, and began searching for explanations. His vision shook as he checked his desk - with its secret drawer still full of his hidden thoughts - and then his fan, which still was the same make and model.

This was his container.

“Think,” he demanded of himself even as his ears started to ring. But his brain would not heed his orders, instead it devoted itself to panicking, to shutting down his ability to do anything but run.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to be dead. His brain repeated over and over that he was supposed to be dead. How could a dead man be running around his old room?

Dazai made for the pod doors and pressed on them slowly. But even when he was shoving with all his might, socked feet sliding against the smooth metal floor, he could not open the green metal lid of his coffin. Pressure built in his lungs as he looked around, searching for an opening he knew was not there.

‘What about the metal cutter saw?’ His brain asked, momentarily helpful before showing him every possible consequence of not finding the saw. He could see himself scratching at the metal until his fingernails chipped off as he opened the drawer he kept the industrial tool in. But there was no heavy weight resisting him as he opened the drawer and - of course - no saw. He slammed it closed as his hopes and mind started to burn up.

Dazai began feverishly opening everything he could. Food, water, and various out things tumbled out but not the saw.

Out of desperation, he opened the saw drawer again and there was something in there now: a single white envelope. He immediately rationed that it must be from his captors - he had captors, someone was not willing to let him die in such a painful and humiliating way, he was saved and safe. Dazai took a deep gulp of air - a raw and undignified one as his brain started to cool down. Then he sat with the envelope and opened it.

“Dear Osamu Dazai,

It was not easy to get my hands on you!!!!!!!!! Wow! You are one slippery bastard!!!

No, no that’s too mean - too facetious. Let me start over, keep your eyes on me (the letter) for now.

It didn’t take me 20 minutes of reading over your internal documents to realize you were going to kill youself. We’ll start there. Even though the idea is preposterous as it is stupid and misguided, I knew there was absolutely no point in trying to save you before you could kiss death’s lips.

You are so stupid in that way.

Did you read that correctly?

Yes you, whom I’ve trapped in your own container for your own good, are one of the stupidest men on this here Planet Earth.

That is why I had to trap you! There is no reasoning with a stupid and emotional animal like yourself - one who earnestly believes their death should be the thing to bring peace. Perhaps someone less familiar(read: obsessed) might see the coded training logs you kept for the White Reaper and think “A sign he was training to create a monster.” But I know, I know, you were trying to train a hero.

Your handwriting gets slightly sloppier: sharper lines to indicate increasing frustration. And you started leaving annotations in the margins in dark pencil marks. If anyone could guess where the margins even started. So I know you were feeling rushed. Because you were going to kill yourself and you needed Atsushi to be ready. Or perhaps broken enough - I couldn’t decipher everything, you still have secrets, you can breathe, Osamu.

There’s more. Of course. But I wanted to prove how easy you were to figure out. To prove I was, at the very least, a competent and worthy stalker for you. And in the glimpses of you I saw, when you got in and out of the mafia’s long black cars, I could see the bags under your eyes.

I had to buy one of those cameras that can see all the way to the moon.

You have very pretty eyes. The moon’s ugly up close.

I am taking you home with me. There’ll be no more Osamu Dazai in Japan for he is dead and his corpse is currently being buried. Chuuya Nakahara is taking off his hat at the sight of Osamu Dazai, dead and being lowered into the ground - believing a “great evil” has been put to rest.

But Osamu Dazai in the Great US of A is only beginning.

Now, now, don’t moan. You’ll come to like our dirty, filthy nature and enjoy our…well, you’ll find something to love, I’m sure. Even if it’s just me.

Right, back to the start of the letter, whoever you saw by the original’s side, it was me. I am the shadow that has been haunting your every move. And I must have done an amazing job to sneak behind you as often as I did. Perhaps you were letting me? Yes, we’ll both agree(you and this letter) that I (the letter’s author) was only allowed to stalk and obsess over you as much as I did. You really are such a generous man; it’s hard to believe more people don’t like you.

But I’ve teased you enough. And you must have been terrified to wake up where you did. So I will explain:

Right now, you(and I) are on a transatlantic journey to my home country, the United States. You are being kept in here partly as a prisoner, partly as my honored guest. You will remain in there until we arrive. Your basic needs are taken care of, you might even see my gentle feminine mind has remembered a bathroom for you, and you should want for nothing over the course of our journey.

In your left desk drawer there is a small whistle. If anything terribly urgent comes up, if you hurt yourself or need assistance, if you get dangerously bored - please whistle. A sailor will come to help you. Please use the whistle as soon as you’re awake and I will come and speak with you within the hour. Please do not save the whistle as the sailors have been trained to ignore you the very first time you do - for that whistle is for me.

The Prisoner in Your Heart,

Annaka Anderfels

Dazai nearly threw up. He felt it creep up his throat while reading the letter. Even though he now knew he was in not danger, what disgusted him was the flowery language, the intensely familiar way the author wrote to him, and the fact he’d managed to fall so low as to let this kidnapping happen to him.

Without hesitation, he found and blew the whistle.

When she did not immediately fling the doors open, he began tidying up the room he’d just destroyed. Dazai took great care to make everything look as undisturbed as possible. He’d just folded the sheets back and sat on his bed when a knock came.

“You may come in.” It came out in a hoarse, grinding way like he had stones for vocal cords. He regretted speaking at all instantly.

While he looked around for water, a feminine voice answered: “Oh, no can do, mister!” A slot no bigger than a jails slid open and he briefly saw her. “The door is welded shut.”

His heart leapt into his throat. “What?”

“I had the door welded shut! I knew you could have eventually figured out how to get to any lock so I just let heat and God’s given materials do the work for me. Much cheaper than bribing one of the sailors to watch over you!”

Dazai let the shiver of disgust roll over him. “You thought a lot about this, didn’t you?”

The sound of ship’s motor filled the air as the vessel carved through the ocean. Other shipping crates ground together as he waited for her to respond. But she was quiet. For a moment, he even thought she’d left when she did speak again.

Her tone was softer now and her voice more soothing to listen to. He crept towards the opening to hear her better as she said, “I know you must be upset, Osamu. I know you don’t like people messing up your plans. And I’m sure you’re mad to suddenly be caged by a crazy lady. But I couldn’t stand by and watch you kill yourself. I love you too much.”

“You must know a lot about me then,” He hissed sarcastically.

He heard her sigh. “You got me there. I don’t know much about you and the stuff I could confirm screams you are a force of nature, a darkness! I have trapped a little god in a shipping container.”

“Could you be more melodramatic?”

“Yes. Why? Do you want me to?”

A cool, violent smile flickered over his lips. Humorous. He could be funny too. “Yes, I want you to prove your love to me-”

“Anything!” She cried, dramatically throwing herself against the door. “I’ll do anything.”

“Get me a barnacle from the bottom of this boat.”

“...Is that seriously what you want? Will you let me talk to you a little more if I do?”

He was practically giggling now; Dazai was so delighted this trick was working. “Yes, but it needs to be from the very bottom. I’ll know everything.”

“...Okay, Osamu. I will return tomorrow with a barnacle from the bottom of this boat.”

She knocked on the opening slot to show him where it was and that he could open it himself. Then he could hear her climbing down the shipping crates to the deck below. Dazai rushed to get a glimpse of the soon to be corpse but saw no one.

In no way did he expect this woman to be able to accomplish such a feat. She would need scuba gear and would be lucky if she drowned instead of being sucked into the blade’s propellers. Perhaps she’d sacrifice one of the crew for him and regret it so deeply that she would kill him to make up for it. In either case, he was reassured death was still coming to take him away from this hellish, impossible world so he could not ruin it.

Once it was clear he was alone and unreachable by danger or otherwise, he started searching for a way to kill himself. The saw was gone, his rations were in loose floppy ziploc bags not nearly big enough to suffocate him, and he realized there was nowhere to hang a noose after destroying his sheets to make rope.

He sat down on the bed defeated. To add to the feeling, Dazai quickly found himself falling asleep. Though he wanted to stay awake and think of more ways he could finish his plans, sleep kidnapped him just as easily as Annaka had and he fell into a dreamless slumber.

He woke up to his opening being slid open and a knock at the door.

Through watery, tired eyes, he glanced over in time to see a rock come flying in. It bounced against the bottom before scittering to a stop.

Once he found the strength to accept there was no god - for a merciful one would have answered his prayers to kill him - Dazai got out of bed to play with whatever his new toy was.

He realized, as he got closer to it, that it was a barnacle.

“I cut my fingers trying to peel it off.” Hands were shoved into the slot for him to inspect. Even from a few feet away, he could see all the healing red slashes across her palms and fingers. “But I got one! See!”

He flung the barnacle back out as hard as he possibly could.

The same voice sighed deeply. “You see, when I was underwater last night, getting dragged along by the boat, I thought to myself, ‘He’s just going to throw it back out or use it to cut open his own throat’. So I suppose I must commend you for choosing the former. It’s very reassuring.”

Before he could start insulting her, she began stuffing a bundle of cloth through the slot. It bunched up and got stuck quickly, to the point she had to begin punching it in. Dazai had to show mercy and began tugging from his side. Finally it gave, exploding over him in soft, fluffy blueness.

Dazai let the sheets settle over his head and blind him to everything but the sound of her voice.

“I saw you tore your sheets. I can’t believe you thought you could out think me on the thought of your suicide. There’s nothing to hurt yourself with, nothing. Please don’t destroy anything else - we’re both lucky I thought you would do that and brought extra sheets for you.”

He, again, tried to destroy the stupid girl on the other side of the wall and was, again, interrupted by her. She prattled on, “Don’t forget you said you’d talk a little more with me if I got you the barnacle! You practically promised!”

Dazai tried to change his ability to one that killed people by thinking of their names but every time he thought ‘Annaka’ he was rewarded with more of her speech.

“Oh!” She cried, finally silent for more than a second. After twelve seconds exactly, a plate was pushed and balanced on his opening slot. “You must be starved! I gave you some snacks but I-D-K if you ate them.”

He decided it wasn’t worth praying this maniac's food tasted good and took the plate with silent acceptance. It looked fine. Orange pasta, too much butter, and a plastic spoon to eat with. His devil waited patiently, blissfully silently, for him to eat a few bites.

Dazai liked it.

It was fine. He ate the entire plate but would not actively seek seconds. The devil accepted the empty plate with a cry of glee.

“Oh gosh! No complaint or anything! You’re so darling, Dazai! I’m even tempted to leave you be for the night-“

He shoved the plate back out. A second later, a bang followed light twinkling noises as the pieces bounced away. The voice sighed. “Oh Osamu. No need to hurt the plate.”

This time he was silent. He would bore her to death and then he would starve. Dazai winced internally - that was not how he would prefer it.

“You’re quiet. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

He tried not to even breathe. Dazai tried to be so still as she tapped on the container like a fish tank. Like he was a pet to be bothered. This was hell, death by a thousand insults. Every one of her noises was a lashing on his mind. She made a wet kissy noise that triggered a sudden burst of flaming pride that he could not contain.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Oh thank goodness!” She cried, jumping for joy and shaking the containers ever so slightly. He stored the knowledge away. “I was so so worried. These first couple of days are the hardest.”

“Why do you keep talking?”

“To stop your brain from working. I think something in me is like…a Dazai EMP. A DMP, perhaps…..”

His chest squeezed like someone punched him.

“Is what I wish I could say! Hahaha!” She fell back against the container. “Now, what do you want to talk about?”

Dazai grabbed his pillow, pulling it to his mouth and taking deep controlled breaths.

Then he had an idea.

Working as quietly as possible as Annaka prattled on, he gathered some of the scraps from the day before and tied them together again. He roped them around the ends of his bed poles until they were taunted against the mattress. Then he slid a pillow under the tense sheet rope. His soul was sobbing in relief as he laid down and took his last deep breath before slipping his head under the pillow.

“Oh, Osamu,” The voice said, in the same way it had over the shattered plate. He briefly heard her running away, feet pounding on the metal before his pillow muffled all sound. It was like trying to breathe through a sheep.

Dazai was ashamed to say he struggled a bit. But he accepted it quickly. The darkness was easy and quiet. He hated how sticky this method felt, his own dying breaths onto top of him. He swallowed painfully, reaching for the rope to tighten it just in case. Instead, he nearly lost the tip of his fingers as a sharp snip was heard. The tension disappeared; the pillow was knocked from his face.

Breathing felt like restarting reality. He genuinely could not believe it. He grabbed the pillow and flung it to the side of the container in fury. There was absolutely no way to relieve the way he wanted to explode. He wanted to melt through the steel he was so hot with rage.

This was a highly personal form of torture.

Only the devil himself could have peered so deeply into Dazai’s heart and come up with this method of eternal punishment. Here he was trapped in his past, confined to the only place he had felt safe in his youth. Even the other him had spent several safe months in this shipping container. Now he was trapped by it, stuck in it’s safe womb and sealed there to live. That was his biggest issue. Dazai did not want to live. He needed to die for several reasons: the dead man switches he’d placed to help Atsushi, confined protection of Yokohama from that Russian Devil, and continued insurance and a golden haired sacrifice to ensure Oda’s health.

Now he was alive and safe. A pole clattered to the ground outside and his head whipped toward the slot. He was prepared to face Annaka with all the anger and dignity he could summon.

Yet crumbled at the sight of her tears.

“Are you okay? Are you? Are you okay?”

She stuck her hand in the slot like an idiot. It was a perfect chance to break her fingers-

“Please! Just say something-“

“I’m fine!” He grabbed her fingers, crushing them. Yet all the muscles were tight in his shoulder - there was no way to break her hand like this. Dazai squeezed all his frustration into it though until it slipped away, sweaty from it’s owner’s desperation.

Annaka’s eyes appeared again, red and filled with tears. “Good.”

She slammed the window closed on her side. Dazai hear the containers dull echoing thud as she stomped away. Exhausted from his own part in the production, Dazai laid on the bed. Staring up at the roof, he tried to ignore a quick living, beating heart.

For the moment, he could not admit to himself that was hers to control too.

[medtech-mara]

Chae-Rin is the Pepe Silvia of LoNC@imaginarycyberpunk2023

The SHINS!!!! Okay, so Chae-Rin is another old character of mine that got ported into the world of Cyberpunk. Originally, Chae-Rin ran a illegals arms trade website on the dark web, where she ended up meeting Jago and pulling a 90 day fiancé kinda visa with no romance in mind, but wanted his help taking over the city. Things had gotten too rowdy in little Seoul (this original version of Chae-Rin & Jago are from Los Santos. Aka gta5) and she wanted to show them who really held all the power. Thus, Chae-Rin started Okkangpae, or the Jade Mafia as they were called by other gangs. The only thing that stands true with Gta5 Chae-Rin and Cyberpunk Chae-Rin, is the attitude and love of guns. Let me introduce you to THE TECHIE of Heywood.

So Legends of Night City, the Shins, Sang-Il (Appa) and Yong-mi (Umma) came to Night city from Busan, the city was suddenly erupting in violence from the extermination of a prominent family in the area backed by Arasaka, creating a power vacuum during the 4th corporate war. Kang Tao was responsible for all of this. See, Kang Tao didn’t like the fact that Arasaka was sitting pretty in busan with the help of the Jung crime family. So they had decided to frame Arasaka for turning against the family (as rumors had been that the Jung’s had married off one of their sons to a prominent Militech family can you guys who I’m talking about yet?)

Settling down in the Wellsprings, Sang-II and Yong-Mi had spent their whole life savings, uprooted their lives, to give their child a better chance at life. They opened a weapons shop called Shin’s Cache and carry, where life would resume as normal. Well… until Chae-Rin turns 27,and is now running the shop mostly by herself.

One morning, just after the shop opened. Chae-Rin was doing some restocking, listening to (tbd station name) which was playing the hit song Spring Day by Korean pop group BackTheScene [I’m a huge K-pop fan, I can’t help myself.] and she used this time to dance and sing, trying to drum up some excitement for another boring day.

Without her notice, a Tall, muscular man, leaned against the counter watching the display, he smiled slightly at the display, and when she noticed, her first instinct was to point out how the man had a crooked smile, or that his smile seemed unnatural to him. However, at second glance, her stomach dropped. This man was dangerous.. he had blood stained knuckles that she couldn’t discern if it was his blood, or someone else’s. That same stomach dropping feeling she experienced at her second glance of the his man, who has now greeted her in her native language, was replaced with excitement, curiosity.

The man’s smile fades as soon as the sour petite girl arrives at behind the counter. He began to ask her if her shop sells a certain gun he’s having trouble getting his hands on. The Malorian Arms 3516.

Kicking a case under the counter slightly, covering it up as if she was leaning against the counter, Chae-Rin informs this strange man, who she’s pretty sure is a street samurai at this point, she doesn’t (she does) have that model in stock, but she does weekly trips to the nomad market, she’d be willing to acquire one for him. The man then flicks his finger at the young woman, sliding over his contact info.

A new contact notification was added to her internal agent: Jago and a his holo icon is that of a Tiger with fire coming from its eyes. Knocking on the counter one time, the man then leaves the shop. Only to return each morning. Which clued in that he must live near by if he is willing to come by every morning.

After about a week, she finally decided to let him off the hook, she sold him the Malorian she hid. The man thanked her, and left. She'd held her breath out that she'd see him again.. but She never did. Until 2 months later.

He'd come in, Bigger, chromed, and dressed as if he was doing well for himself. Nothing like the shape he'd shown up at her shop the first time.

So, Jago wanted to know about this bar owner he had gotten a gig for. He had seen her going in and out of the place pretty regularly, so he figured she'd be the best person to ask. With a sinister smile came across the younger woman's face. She agree'd to give him such information, only if he agreed to go out on a date with her. The rest was history. These two were madly in love with each other.. Except.. Jago wasn't accepted by the Shins. They tried their best to prevent her from seeing that dangerous man, but nothing worked.

You might ask yourself, Chae-Rin is 27, why doesnt she move out? Well, thats because she wants to take over Shin Cache and Carry, if she upsets her father, than she might never get ownership, crushing her own dream to expand the brand with her own drones that she's been making since she was 8. During this time, you had to be in good with some Nomads to keep a good and interesting stock alive, and if Chae-Rin burned that bridge with her parents, the contact with the Desert Foxes ceases.

So I wish I was done with this girl, but im not.

So, Lets Fast Forward to 2065, Jago meets his tragic and untimely demise by the hands of Tetsuo Okada, one of Wakako's sons. Chae-Rin see's that Jago's biomonitor they have linked suddenly flatlines but the GPS signal is still pinging. This meant it didn't mean EMP disruption, Which prompted Chae-Rin to jump on her bike... only to find that Jago is in two pieces in a parking lot, and the only people around who might know what happened, are leaving. Collpasing, holding Jago's head and bringing his body close to her, sshhe craddled him and sobbed, screaming. Mara, who is a pillar of the Wellsprings community, is so recognizeable, that the second Chae-Rin sees her, she knows who she is. Mara, who was in a rush to meet with Wakako and anxious to discuss the events that took place just minutes before. Just slid her details over to the girl, and told her that she would explain everything the second she got home. (oops..... Mara got wasted that night and met Jihzzy).

So fast forward to a few weeks after Jago's passing. Mara is 3 sheets to the wind, tore up from the floor up (because this girl doesnt drink anything but coffee and beer) and lost in her feelings that she wasn't being seen as a woman, because undoubtedly due to her large stature. (Hard being a 6'2 muscle mommy, but reality is that this girl didnt know who she was until she became a merc and learned she's damn good at it too. she hit a glow up, i didnt even notice it til Jihzzy had pointed it out). She's laying on the couch feeling sorry for herself when she gets a ping with just cords from Chae-Rin. This is how Chae-Rin becomes a legend of Night city.

Wanting to get Jago's birth certificate that was at his apartment in the combat zone near city center, so that she could have his remains sent to South Korea with the rest of his family, she had gotten attacked by a group of Lazarus mooks patrolling the area and were itching for a fight. She's barely gotten out, and was about to pass out from blood loss, when Mara shows up and collects her in Blue Remedies repurposed Meatwagon.

Much like an animal you nurse back to health, Chae-Rin chose to stay with Mara, never asking, no. She just stayed there to heal up without worrying her parents, but ended up just never leaving. Becoming Mara's roommate.

Currently, she works as a freelance techie, does some work for Night Raid when requested, she had adjusted Mara's Sigframe. She is also being groomed by Kang Tao by the man the Shin's desprately want Chae-Rin to marry. Cheol Gong-Ji. Who is happened to be the son of the family who exterminated the Jung Family.

[Chae-Rin & the Shins(a shame too cause they would let him be with her if they knew) never learned about Jago's real idenity, nor does Gong-Ji (he has his own thing in the AU going on.... holy fuck) Chae-Rin also never learns of Jago's playboy ways. She never learns about his marriage to L. ]

[kaurwreck]

Y'all know that organized crime emerges from state failure and that participation in the informal economy, even organized participation, does not indicate moral badness, right. Y'all know that laws and state enforcement are not arbiters of evil and good, right. Y'all know that mafias and other organized crime syndicates aren't monoliths and can't be effectively compared or modeled after each other without considering the contexts in which they emerge, operate, and form relationships with the local state and their communities of operation, right.

The informal economy is vast, and organized crime comes in SO many flavors. If you think the Port Mafia isn't very mafia-like because they're not the flavor you expect from organized crime syndicates, consider the context of your expectations against the context in which the Port Mafia canonically operates.