#beast Atsushi is actually good at his job unlike canon Akutagawa…

[amethystroselily]

Ok, I actually did start reading the beast manga, and I think the sad thing about it is how much it makes sense for those two to have switched organizations.

Like, I think Atsushi connected better with the mafia than canon Akutagawa, and Beast Akutagawa connected with the ADA more than canon Atsushi. And like yeah. Atsushi can follow direction well and he’s used to strong authority figures in his life, of course he’s doing better in an intensely hierarchical organization like the Port mafia than the guy who grew up with no parental figures whatsoever and simply cannot follow an order correctly on the first try. Atsushi latched onto Dazai and Kyouka and he seems content with that. Whereas canon Akutagawa is just way to focused on proving himself to be content.

And like, Akutagawa obviously does better in an environment where everyone is patient with him and lets him fuck up a little bit without serious punishment. But also his personality works weirdly well with everyone else in the ADA. He’s eccentric in a way that blends in pretty well with them. He’s their weird little murderous guy, yknow? They can fix him. It’s like a group project. Like a pet.

And canon Atsushi does fine with the ADA, obviously it’s a lot better for his mental health than the mafia could ever be, but I do think it’s hilarious how some of them seem to actually like Akutagawa more. They simply just vibe with him whereas it took a while for any to really form a connection with Atsushi (except Kunikida and maybe Kenji but Kenji and Atsushi’s dynamic just doesn’t hit near as hard as Akutagawa and Kenji’s dynamic). I do blame this entirely on Dazai tbh, he has this subtle yet very present sense of control over every aspect of Atsushi’s life in canon. Which I think effects his relationships with others. But that doesn’t mean the ADA doesn’t care about him.

Anyways this, combined with the possibility that Oda might be the only one who can defeat Fukuchi, leads me to believe that BEAST may actually be the optimal timeline. Like some sacrifices had to be made, but in the long run maybe this really was what was best? (Not for the mafia tho, they’re fucked after Dazai killed himself)

But also it makes sense purely from Dazai’s own wants. Maybe after all the timelines, he just simply cannot bring himself to deal with Akutagawa. He knows he doesn’t have the patience with him that he requires and he probably does want what’s best for Akutagawa to some extent, and the ADA is best for him. He knows Oda and Kunikida could train him right. He doesn’t need Atsushi to be his sheath as much if the agency’s already mellowing him out. Whereas he genuinely likes being around Atsushi. If he needs one of them in the pm with him might as well pick the one he enjoys talking to. His relationship with Atsushi kind of feels like it’s about Dazai’s own ego anyways sometimes, Atsushi makes him feel a little bit better about himself I think, because he’s just so grateful. So maybe it is worth it to prolong Atsushi’s suffering a bit since plans to let him live a better life at the end of this all anyways. It all balances out to a positive in the end.