#chuuya is one of the only people dazai is capable of being vulnerable with

[murrlizas-art-corner]

fem dazai as this sabrina rolling stone cover because I really wanted to draw her

[soukokuwu]

i live for aku angst. could you please write a scenario where he develops feelings for a fem reader during the dark era, but watches as her & dazai fall in love together? he wouldn’t be able to do anything since he’s dazai’s subordinate. but imagine them having a significant friend (ish) relationship, so when she disappears along with dazai he gets left utterly heartbroken and alone, wishing he would have said something to her when she was still with him. thank you! i love your writing

➥ genre: angst

➥ pairing: akutagawa x crush!reader, dazai x reader

➥ synopsis: akutagawa watches as you fall in love... but not with him.

➥ word count: 2k

➥ a/n: and i live for angst 😼 i really really loved this idea & i really hope you’re still here — tried a certain theme for this, hopefully you like it!! and tysm kind anony ^.^

Black and blue

You came out of the blue.

In the form of medicine for his wounds, and a cure for his aches. You were his superior, but you were unlike a certain other superior he knew. You radiated warmth and comfort — something Akutagawa didn’t know he craved. And yet you managed to instil that feeling in him within a matter of seconds.

“Dazai did this to you again?”

What was that he heard in your voice? Was it pain? Disapproval? Sadness, maybe? He was too detached from any emotion to be able to tell. Everything he knew, he learned from Dazai himself. All he wanted was the man’s approval. That was all he worked for. But you ignited a conflict in Akutagawa that he didn’t bargain for. One that he didn’t know would lead to fireworks instead of just a single spark.

“Yes,” was all he said. Was there any other way to respond? This was the first time you spoke to him, was he supposed to continue the conversation? A part of him wanted to. This was the only time a superior has shown any sort of care to him after all. So why couldn’t he get anything out?

You pressed your lips into a firm line, and he couldn’t help but notice how soft and pink they looked. You didn’t wear a lot of makeup, and his opinion was that you didn’t need it anyway. You already looked... pleasing enough to the eyes. Was that how people described someone they found... good-looking?

Endless questions darted across Akutagawa’s mind that day. But none were answered. Because how could they be, when the one questioning didn’t have the guts to say a thing in the first place?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Akutagawa knew.

He knew you didn’t mean to. But you did it anyway. He knew why, too. Because he let you. And just like that, his walls came down. No, they didn’t crumble — he wouldn’t let them fall that easily, but still you were the only one who could take the bricks out piece by piece until the barrier was almost nonexistent.

It was like demolishing a house and rebuilding it again — just better, stronger. You painted over his grey with your red. It was your favourite color, and fitting enough; it was the color of his feelings for you.

Since that day you were always there for him. You had your own tasks, sure, but you always looked out for him when you could. And he found that days when you were especially busy were the days he felt most blue. Akutagawa found it strange though — why did you care? What did you have to gain?

And he found the answer one night, a conversation with you by the bay. You had invited him to take a walk with you, to get some proper fresh air and let off steam. But Akutagawa had read way too much into it, that he knew. Why else would he feel disappointed that there wasn’t so much as any physical contact with you? He merely stayed at a distance as he always did, and you never tried.

One fruit bore out of that night though. He learned more about you than he thought he would. You were much like him; joining the mafia because you had nowhere else, you accepted an invitation from a senior in the mafia, wanting to prove that you weren’t worthless, that you could produce something of value to someone. No wonder you looked out for him. You saw a part of yourself in him, didn’t you? You knew how lonely it felt. That night, Akutagawa felt something he never thought he would — a sense of belonging.

The longer you spoke to him that night, the larger that feeling grew. And somehow he looked at you in a way he didn’t before. It confused him, disgusted him. No, correction — he disgusted himself. Not his affection for you. Why did he feel like pursuing this; you? That night, he denied himself the chance to let you in on his feelings.

A useless kid like him doesn’t deserve you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke was a black sheep. But you were the golden girl.

Should he be surprised then? As he watched the way his mentor interacted with you, should he be worried? No, did he even have the right to be? But then he saw him smile at you, a smile he’d only seen formed when he was around that other guy — Oda Sakunosuke. You were... another exception? Yet again, many questions raced through his head. But one thing he knew for sure — he was turning into the green-eyed monster.

He started to notice how you reacted to Dazai. He hated how you always seemed so mesmerised whenever he walked by. He hated how your eyes twinkled whenever you talked to him — where’s that sparkle in your eye when you talked to Akutagawa? He hated how one day you just showed up with Dazai’s coat wrapped around your shoulders. He hated how much he was affected by it. It really wasn’t unexpected — next to Dazai, who would take a second look at him anyway? He wished he could be him. Then maybe you’d... He shook his head. No, maybe not even then.

What he hated the most? He couldn’t even hate the guy. He yearned for Dazai’s respect; approval, and that never changed. But then the upset dissolved into an understanding. Something in his head clicked. You belonged with Dazai. He knew next to nothing about your relationship and how it worked. But what Akutagawa did know? Dazai was a revered member of the Port Mafia, one likely to take Mori’s place as the big boss in the future. He couldn’t even lay a hit on him with Rashomon. Dazai wasn’t a formidable fighter like Chuuya either, and still he managed to beat Akutagawa into the ground. That man... was exceptional. You deserved that. You deserved the best.

That’s what Dazai was. He was the black that would take no other hue, and fittingly so he was the Port Mafia’s great white hope.

“Devour space? That sounds cool,” you had commented one day while bandaging up the cut on his wrist, one inflicted on by Dazai himself. He noticed how you didn’t comment on his barbarism as you usually would, and the usual concern in your tone never appeared. As it never did ever since the first day he saw you talk to Dazai.

“I still can’t do it.”

“If you try to imagine you’re protecting me, could you?”

You see, Akutagawa knew it was just a joke to you. And yet? His heart started pounding so fast, so loud in his chest the moment he heard it. It was a tiring dance — feeling so happy about a tiny comment and then feeling a heartache after realising your smiles, even then, were never as sweet as the ones you flashed at Dazai.

Did Dazai even love you? Or was he playing some sort of game as he usually does with women? He hated how he was praying for the latter. Hated how he wished that things would crumble for the two of you so that he could be the one to help you pick up the pieces — to be the one. Akutagawa sighed, knowing he could never get inside his head. Anyone who tried would fall into a cognitive prison. But even these selfish thoughts couldn’t last long, because Akutagawa got his answer later that day when he overheard his mentor talking to his friend.

“Odasaku, how vulnerable can humans get?”

Akutagawa is shocked at the depth of the conversation. He didn’t know Dazai was capable of talking about... emotions. He didn’t think he had any. The other man mentioned something about it being to a big extent, Akutagawa let it slip past his ears. He was more interested in what Dazai had to say.

“It’s weird. It’s like finally being seen after having lived in perpetual darkness. The light she holds, it’s small... but is it wrong of me to hope that it will grow with time?”

Was that... hope he heard in his mentor’s voice? ‘With time’? That meant the future... for all his suicidal thoughts, because of you, was Dazai really considering living? Akutagawa sighed in exasperation as he quietly walked away from the spot he eavesdropped from. He would never understand Dazai.

He never did. Especially not when the same Dazai who spoke so fondly of you was the same Dazai who shot three bullets at Akutagawa for killing the enemy. You were a saviour in more than one way. Your words echoed in his mind, and his shield came out of his will to protect you, an imaginary you. That’s why Dazai didn’t manage to shoot him dead this time. Because of you.

“Oh? See? You can do it. How many times have I told you? Cutting open unfortunate hostages isn’t the only thing you’re good for. You should be able to use your powers for defense too.”

“I’ve never been able to successfully do that before this.”

“But you just did. Isn’t that great?”

Akutagawa wanted so badly to argue back in an act of rebellion, to yell out that it was only because of you that he was able to do it. But the words got stuck in his throat. And Dazai’s threat embedded themselves in his brain. He always wondered if Dazai knew his subordinate harboured feelings for his partner. But Akutagawa already knew the answer. Nothing escapes that man. But he’s sure that he doesn’t view him as a threat, not even as competition, no.

To Dazai, it was probably just another reason to hate him; another reason to justify why he was in Dazai’s black books.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It was a complete bolt from the blue.

Akutagawa remembered the day he realised he had lost two important people in his life. He thought that watching as you fell in love with Dazai was the most horrible emotion he could feel. He was wrong. Losing the two of you, not even being able to see either of you, not knowing where either of you vanished to — nothing could top that agony.

The day Oda died, the two of you disappeared along with him.

You took down his walls, painted the insides red, furnished it and made it vibrant again and then suddenly you were gone. You left him in the dark. You invaded his solitary space — slowly, ironically without any violence, and yet the moment you left, it was anything but peaceful for Akutagawa. No, you and Dazai left him even lonelier than before. You graced him with your presence and healed him, only to break him down even more than he already was before he met you.

Everything he heard about love after you left just seemed like everyone viewed the world through rose-coloured glasses. Nothing he found could describe the anguish he felt over losing you; or the regret he held for not telling you how he felt — the remorse that he knew wouldn’t change a thing, and yet wished he did anyway.

Because who knew when he would ever see you again, if he would? What if he never did? Yet ironically, your memory is always there — you’re sitting at the edge of his periphery, taunting him with your smile, tempting him to go and find you. And Akutagawa thinks of it everyday; what it would be like to find you, to hold you, to tell you everything he should have when you were still there.

However, a part of him nags at him not to. After all, the grass is always greener on the other side — maybe because Akutagawa isn’t there. And as an image of you flashed in his mind yet again, he scoffed at himself.

Beautiful. That’s the word he was looking for that first day you touched his soul.

You’re beautiful.

tags: @yokelish @gogolparadise @fyowyn-writes

[ciaran2020]

Hi yes, if you don't mind, I'd be very interested in knowing all the various ways in which you think Odasaku fucked Dazai up. Your headcanons always fascinate me a lot! You're also a fantastic writer, btw 😊

i was actually going to make a post about this and then i forgot, adhd is fun

under a cut because i know most people don’t like seeing this ship like that and that’s valid; most of the time i gravitate towards fluffing them up a little more, but this is just one of those interpretations i can’t let go of -

firstly like--Oda is an assassin. and then he stopped being an assassin. i can’t fathom the depth of moral injury he was subject to as a child assassin with a dangerous and volatile ability, and then to reform himself but only manage to claw halfway up the ladder is...probably not doing wonders for this man’s mental state?

he probably had to dissociate like a champ as a child, and i see no evidence that he has stopped doing that since he stopped being an assassin. he has a kind of studied self-preservation, which mostly uses external motivators to keep itself on up, but by and large he doesn’t uh, really care about himself.

and these things affect the relationships he builds. they can’t not.

dazai is not precisely very present in himself either, but he is also young and vulnerable, and oda is a very traumatized man that dazai latches onto at once because oda is the first person to treat him with a neutral patient understanding, the first person to make an effort on dazai who doesn’t have an extrinsic reason for doing that. which means that for the entirety of their relationship they’re hovering on the outskirts of their bond with each other, wanting to come closer but unable to because even though dazai is desperate, reckless, and needy as all hell, even when he’s willing to trust oda with everything he has oda still has buckets of unaddressed and unresolved trauma to contend with.

i’ve had thoughts before (unposted and unwritten) about how dazai is one of the few people equipped to truly understand what oda went through--he was a deadly assassin, as dazai is deadly. and i think dazai would love to understand, would love to be close enough to know oda and help him as much as he helps dazai, but oda can’t let that happen.

he can’t let that happen because of the kids, because he doesn’t know what circumstances hem dazai in and whether being drawn into those orbits will impact the family oda has built (which it does; it’s not dazai’s fault, but it does). he can’t let that happen because he’s not emotionally ready and will possibly never be emotionally ready as long as he’s in the mafia and still believes he doesn’t deserve to leave a place which makes him unhappy and uses his skills and dehumanizes him.

like people talk about how the mafia was a bad place for characters like chuuya and dazai and akutagawa and kyouka and fucking kouyou and then forget about it when it comes to mori or oda and i don’t get it and it makes me angry.

and because oda is the only halfway “stable” person in dazai’s life and one of the VERY few sources of any unconditionally positive regard (despite holding dazai at arm’s length when he could out of necessity) dazai (who is also deeply traumatized and also a child no matter how smart he is) is deeply attached to someone who can’t open up to him because of his own issues which is just the icing on top of the cake of his attachment issues.

even oda’s last words...“nothing in this world can fill the hole that is your loneliness...you will wander the darkness for eternity” are a devastatingly cruel thing to say even if it’s accurate--and i am not eager to say it’s accurate based on the rush of understanding dazai himself feels, because i don’t think dazai knows the depths of emotion he’s capable of as a traumatized eighteen year old--moreover it’s a very last words thing to say, isn’t it? it’s not like oda didn’t have plenty of chances to say it before, when he might have had a chance of leaving with dazai (but of course not, oda hates himself and wouldn’t leave, and wouldn’t presume to ask dazai to leave with him) and oda is not saying it with the intention of seeing it through. 

he has NO way of knowing whether or not dazai will actually carry these words forward when he hardly believes that he’s dazai’s friend for the longest time--though dazai is head over heels for him in every way possible--and for all he can tell at that point dazai might just walk out of there and forget about it. he doesn’t KNOW and he will not be seeing it through and this is his only chance to hit a moving target and he just lost a lot of blood and used his ability more than he ever has in his life. he’s exhausted, weak, hurting and dying, and he has to make sure his only friend keeps going afterwards. he does it, but he hurts dazai with it too; these are words dazai will hold onto forever: the promise of eternal loneliness and the promise to keep going past it anyway. that’s a lot to put on anyone--and i don’t think the core message of “you will be sad no matter what you do so you might as well do good; that’s wonderful even if you can’t see it” is bad in and of itself, but the timing and delivery kind of fucks dazai up in a major fashion

i want to be clear after saying all of this that i still ship odazai and frankly i ship it harder now than i did before; i don’t think there’s anything oda or dazai could have done differently as the people they were that would have changed the trajectory of their lives. the decision to use oda as a weapon against gide and his kids as the trigger was ultimately mori’s, and i blame him for it and him alone. i like the idea of dazai carrying around vital gaping wounds from oda’s life and death. i love what they have. there’s just so much more to it than anyone wants to give them credit for, though.

also this got longer than intended, sorry.

[straycatsacademia]

Nerd vs. Jock: Kunikida vs. Chuuya

Fandom: Bungou Stray Dogs

Ship: Kunichuu, tiny bit of Dazatsu

Chapters: 1/?

Summary: Kunikida Doppo is just trying to finish high school and pass his college courses when Nakahara Chuuya, the most popular boy in school, starts to sit next to him in class.

Read it on Ao3

It was the first day of senior year, and Kunikida Doppo could not be happier. He was taking half high school half college classes so by the time he entered college he would already be a sophomore.

He had everything planned out and was already ahead of schedule. He walked into class and sat down, immediately taking out his books and setting up his notebooks.

After a few minutes, it seemed everyone had taken their seats, and no one sat next to him. He was used to it. Most of his friends were at the college he went to in the afternoons or had already graduated.

A lot of the kids his age were intimidated by him, which was fine with him as he was usually left alone. Except right before the bell rang, a kid with red hair and bright blue eyes came running in, reluctantly sitting in the only seat next to Kunikida.

Of course Kunikida recognized Nakahara Chuuya, one of the most popular people in school. All of the girls wanted him, and most saw him as a bad boy. Including the teachers.

“Chuuya, if you prepared more you wouldn’t have to run into my class,” the teacher scolded.

“It’s not my fault school starts at the crack of dawn,” Chuuya mumbled.

The teacher rolled her eyes and started taking attendance.

They immediately started going over the syllabus and Chuuya groaned.

Kunikida would never admit it, but he agreed with Chuuya. High schoolers should know common sense by now, and they’ve all heard the syllabus 500 times.

Finally they got through the syllabus and Kunikida could hear Chuuya snoring beside him.

“So Chuuya, how many tests are we going to have this semester?”

Kunikida sighed, arguing internally with himself. On one hand, it’s Chuuya’s fault he fell asleep. On the other hand, even Kunikida was close to closing his eyes.

Nudging him with his elbow, he woke up Chuuya. Kunikida notioned toward the teacher.

“So? Your answer?”

“Uhh….”

“Five,” Kunikida muttered.

“Five?”

The teacher narrowed his eyes at him but returned to the board.

Chuuya coughed into his arm. “Um, thanks,” he whispered.

Kunikida just nodded his head and went back to planning out his schedule.

The bell rang, and Kunikida was surprised when Chuuya turned to him again.

“Weren’t you the guy Dazai Osamu was partnered with for last years project?”

Kunikida’s eye twitched. “Yes, and you can have him back,” he growled.

Chuuya laughed. “Hell no, that bastard is all yours. My condolences though,” he said.

Kunikida snorted. “Thanks, I need it,” he smiled.

Chuuya’s eyes widened, as if he was surprised Kunikida was actually capable of smiling.

All of a sudden, Kunikida heard someone call Chuuya’s name.

“Right, well, we better go. Thanks again for helping me earlier,” Chuuya said as he walked out of class.

“No problem,” Kunikida replied, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he had any other classes with him.

The rest of Kunikida’s morning classes went smoothly, and it was finally lunch-time.

He sat at his usual table with Katai. Yosano and Ranpo usually sat with them but they had graduated.

Not that it really mattered, he and Katai would see them in the afternoon for their college classes anyway.

Kunikida was surprised when Dazai Osamu also joined him at their table, with a seemingly nervous freshman tagging along.

“Hey Kunikidaa!”

Kunikida rolled his eyes. “Why aren’t you sitting at the Mafia’s table?”

The popular kids were called “the Mafia” as no one wanted to mess with them.

“Am I not allowed to join your presence Kunikida? Besides, I don’t think I fit in with them anymore…” For a moment, Dazai’s eyes turned sad.

Everyone knew about Dazai Osamu and Oda Sakunosuke’s friendship, considering it was so unlikely. Dazai was the cocky bad boy, usually Chuuya’s partner in crime. Oda was known as the nicest guy here, and Kunikida had to agree.

Oda graduated last year and moved away, and despite how much Dazai annoyed Kunikida he couldn’t help but feel pity for how lost Dazai seemed to be without him.

“Well, introduce us to your friend then,” Kunikida said, changing the subject.

Dazai’s eyes brightened again “This is Nakajima Atsushi! He used to be home-schooled, so I volunteered to show him around!”

Kunikida nodded at Atsushi. “Hey. Word of advice, do the exact opposite of whatever Dazai tells you,” he smirked.

“Hey!” Dazai whined.

To Kunikida’s surprise, Atsushi laughed. “Yeah, unfortunately I learned that the hard way,” he smiled at Kunikida.

As they ate, they talked to Atsushi about high school and asked him about home-schooling. Kunikida turned around to look at the clock to see how much time they had left when he noticed Chuuya staring at their table.

He immediately looked away when he saw Kunikida’s glance, but Kunikida had to wonder how he felt about Dazai joining their table.

After lunch it was time to head to college, which was personally Kunikida’s favorite part of the day.

After classes he hung out at the lounge with Ranpo, Yosano, and Dazai to study. Well, Kunikida was studying. Dazai was doing nothing.

“So, I heard you helped Chuuya out this morning,” Dazai told him.

Kunikida stopped his writing. “Where did you hear that?”

“Come on Kunikida, you know I have ears everywhere,” Dazai winked.

Kunikida rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I helped him, so what?”

“I’m just surprised you helped a “bad boy” like Chuuya,” he smirked.

“I helped you, didn’t I? Besides, I wanted to get back to learning,” Kunikida defended.

“Get back to learning the same syllabus we’ve heard 100 times?”

Kunikida sighed. “Look, he ended up sitting by me because it was the only empty seat. It’s not like I’m going to have to interact with him again,” he insisted.

However, the next morning, Chuuya was actually as early as Kunikida, and sat right next to him. Even though they were currently the only two in the classroom.

Kunikida was even more surprised when Chuuya brought out his syllabus and started to look it over in preparation for the syllabus quiz.

Chuuya immediately caught Kunikida staring. “What? Aren’t you going to look over it too?”

Flustered, Kunikida nodded and also started studying his.

Soon enough, Chuuya’s friends walked in.

“Yo, Chuuya, why are you sitting next to the nerd?”

Kunikida flinched. He was used to being insulted, sure, but he was hoping to get by this semester with just being left alone.

“That’s a lot of talk for someone who failed basic geography,” Chuuya responded.

Kunikida’s eyes widened, along with Chuuya’s friend.

“Dude, you know that teacher had it out for me!” he whined.

Chuuya snorted. “Sure he did, Tachihara,” he responded.

Tachihara and his other friends sat right next to Chuuya, which meant they were also next to Kunikida. Dazai was going to laugh his ass off when he found out, and Kunikida couldn’t help but wonder how he got himself into this mess.

The second day of class went by smoothly, the syllabus quiz was easy and Chuuya and his friends actually seemed to be paying attention during class. Once it ended, Chuuya looked at Kunikida.

“You know Dazai is a manipulative bastard, right?”

Kunikida looked at Chuuya, confused. “Weren’t you guys close?”

Chuuya snorted. “Not willingly, no. Look, you actually seem like a nice dude, so take my advice. Stay away from Dazai if you don’t want to get hurt,” he added, and with that, he walked out of the classroom.

Kunikida didn’t really trust Chuuya, but he also wondered why Chuuya would warn him about Dazai, what could he possibly get out of it? It didn’t seem like he was trying to get Dazai back, and what did he mean by he wasn’t willingly close to Dazai?

Thankfully, Dazai and Kunikida got to the lunch table before everyone else.

“Dazai?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you really here? Sitting at our table? And don’t tell me it’s because you don’t fit in at the mafia’s table, I know you didn’t give up that popularity and security just because you felt like it,” Kunikida asked.

Dazai took in a deep breath, looking more serious than Kunikida had ever seen him. “When Odasaku graduated, he told me to try to be a better person. To help others, and to hang out with better people,” he said. Then he looked at Kunikida.

“Once he said to be with better people, I knew that you guys would be the best influence. I know I’m not a good person, but I think I can try a little harder,” he smiled at Kunikida.

Kunikida gaped at him. He couldn’t believe Dazai was being so open with him.

He thought for a moment. “You know, I think Oda would be quite proud of you,” he answered. Dazai’s eyes widened.

“Being a good person isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work to be vulnerable, and I think the fact that you’re trying to be better means that you have the capacity to be a good human being,” he added.

Dazai looked down at his food. “You really think so?”

Kunikida nodded. “I think Atsushi is a good influence on you too,” he teased, and Dazai turned red.

At that moment, the rest of their friends showed up. They all had a nice lunch, talking and laughing like they usually do, and when it ended, Dazai walked by Kunikida to head to the bus.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Kunikida nodded, and when they sat by each other on the bus, it was in a comfortable silence.

[somniatcr]

      verses , edition one--- bnha

shinsou hitoshi , bnha  ( canon verse ) quirk , brainwashing---  essentially mind control ; affiliation , u.a. / heroes

his quirk allows him to gain control over the minds of others, though they must first respond to him verbally in order to activate the quirk. upon activation, he is able to force the other individual to follow through with, or to obey, whatever commands that they’re given.

although he is able to use his quirk on multiple people at once, spreading his quirk too thin can cause him to lose consciousness. he is also unable to force those under his control to perform any tasks that  may require advanced brain function.

using his artificial vocal chords, he is also able to modify his voice, to imitate the voices of others, in turn tricking his targets or enemies into responding to him, thus activating his quirk. he also uses a capturing weapon  ( like that of aizawa shouta ),  a cloth made from steel wire alloy woven with carbon nano-fibers.

sero hanta , bnha  ( canon verse ) quirk , tape ; affiliation , u.a. / heroes

his quirk allows him to shoot cellophane / tape-like material from his elbows, essentially bodily tape dispensers, as well as retract it. it’s incredibly sturdy, high quality in make and composition and can be used to capture others, tying them up as if with rope, to swing or to travel long distances  ( think, spider-man ),  and to set traps--- and so on and so forth.

the overuse of his quirk has a tendency to substantially dry out his skin and, occasionally, cause mild to moderate pain.

kimura taihou , bnha  ( oc , canon verse ) quirk , fear ; affiliation , heroes  ( specifically an anti-hero )

his quirk grants him the power to sense and to manipulate the fear of others  ( human, animal, or otherwise )  to varying degrees.

while he can’t sense precisely what it is that others are afraid of, he is able to sense that they are, in fact, afraid at all. in addition, he’s capable of inducing fear in others, of increasing  ( even, perhaps, to the point of hysteria or death; i.e. dying of a heart attack from fright )  or decreasing the level of fear felt, and of negating fear altogether.

to activate his quirk, he must first make some sort of physical contact with the intended target  ( or targets )  in question. furthermore, his quirk may be rendered ineffective by those with indomitable will  ( unusually strong will-power )  or with quirk immunity or negation abilities  ( see, aizawa shouta or, below, dazai osamu ).

though he’s capable of using his quirk on multiple people at once, to spread himself too thin  ( large crowds, for example )  would put him at risk of either over-exhausting himself, thus rendering him temporarily useless, or of his quirk affecting him as well.

nakahara chuuya , bnha verse  ( originally bungou stray dogs ) quirk , gravity touch  ; affiliation , paranormal liberation front  ( formerly league of villains )

his quirk is essentially a form of gravity manipulation that allows him to create and manipulate gravitons, as well as alter the gravity / gravitational pull of anything that he happens to touch; thus leaving him capable of altering weight / density, speed, allowing him to walk / stand on walls and ceilings, etc.

the drawback, however, is that he isn’t able to use his quirk at full power as, in doing so, he ultimately loses control of his quirk altogether.

the true form of his quirk is called corruption, and is exceedingly dangerous, both to those who it’s used against and to himself. when corruption is activated, he essentially becomes an unstoppable force of destruction, able to manipulate the gravitons in his surroundings, to alter his own density, and to shoot gravity itself, compressing it into balls that act as black holes, swallowing anything.

he has absolutely no control over his quirk at its full potential and, once activated, will lose all sense of self, essentially becoming a mindless creature, utterly uncontrollable and existing solely for the purpose of mass destruction. furthermore, once activated, he becomes trapped within his own ability, continuing on in that state until, ultimately, his quirk kills him  ( or until the ability is nullified by someone capable of doing so; dazai osamu being a prime example ).

dazai osamu , bnha verse  ( originally bungou stray dogs ) quirk , deactivation ; affiliation , heroes   ( formerly league of villains, pre-paranormal liberation front )

his quirk, simply put, allows him to effectively nullify the quirks / abilities of others entirely upon contact, whether with the user themselves or with a manifestation of their ability. his quirk is often referred to as being an anti-quirk.

his quirk is ineffective against those with physical quirks or mutations. for example, someone such as ojiro mashirao would, for the most part, be unaffected as his quirk is that strong, sturdy tail of his. everyone else, however, is fair game.

the primary drawback to his quirk is that he can’t deactivate it, rendering him especially vulnerable when injured or near death as quirk users such as recovery girl are unable to help him.

orihara izaya , bnha verse  ( originally durarara!! ) quirk , chaos ; affiliation , himself  ( though he would be considered a villain )

his quirk is, more of less, a form of chaos inducement, allowing him to manipulate or to create chaotic energy, thus enabling him to wreak havoc to varying degrees where ever he goes.

to activate his quirk, he must first make some sort of physical contact with the intended target, whether it be living  ( human, animal )  or inanimate  ( examples being traffic lights, vehicles, technology, etc ).

his quirk, like taihou’s fear or shinsou’s brainwashing, is only capable of being spread so thin, else he’ll lose consciousness. furthermore, he isn’t necessarily immune to his own quirk--- depending on the degree / level of severity of the chaos set into effect, he is capable of being put at risk as well.

[multiimuse]

☆☁ ☂ εжз❤❥❣✖♡ for the stray dogs :)

☆ : Would they ever wish upon a falling star? If so, what would they wish?

Chuuya - Please, as if there’s any value in something that stupid. You won’t catch him doing it. Make your changes yourself, get what you want yourself, and if you can’t, then it probably wasn’t worth wanting, anyway.

Alcott - Absolutely. It isn’t that she necessarily believes it will amount to anything, but there’s always the chance that it could. As for what she would wish for? Her family to be happy and whole again.

Ranpo - Depending on his mood at the time, yes. But he wouldn’t wish for anything serious; maybe that he’d win a lifetime’s supply of candy, or that a case comes it that isn’t boring and barely worth bothering with. ... The candy wish has better odds.

☁ : Describe how they would spend a stormy, overcast/rainy day.

Chuuya - He’s not one to pay too much attention to the weather, unless for some reason he’s spending a rare private day at home. If that’s the case, he’ll devote his time to one of his private hobbies. There is something to be said for writing poetry on a rainy day, after all. 

Alcott - Did you mean an excuse to bury herself in books? Because that’s what storms and rainy days are for her; she’ll stay inside with a good book and some tea and keep herself thoroughly occupied in the process.

Ranpo - If he has to go out on a case on a rainy day? He’ll spend it complaining and will absolutely require a bribe to get him to head out. If he has nothing to do he’ll hole up in the office with his snacks and computer card games; he’s not very fond of having to go out when it’s wet.

☂ : Storms or clear skies?

Chuuya - Clear skies. Storms are an inconvenience. (Though a fight in a storm is pretty damn fun sometimes.)

Alcott - She prefers storms, as long as she can stay inside and watch them without being exposed to them!

Ranpo - Clear skies, if mostly because particularly bad storms make it hard to do anything fun!

εжз : What about nature do they find calming? What about nature do they find disagreeable?

Chuuya - The ocean’s pretty calming, if you can find a place to watch it that’s away from the major ports. It’s relaxing to watch the water now and then. He doesn’t like how quiet and isolated heavily-natural areas tend to be, though: give him the city, give him places full of people and the things they create. It’s what he knows and what he’s comfortable with.

Alcott - She finds rainfall calming, along with falling snow and  warm fires. She doesn’t like when it gets too hot, and pollen is the bane of her existence every spring. ... Also, insects. They’re a part of nature, but they’re a part that she dislikes and thinks should stay away from her.

Ranpo - There’s really nothing in nature Ranpo finds calming, per se; it’s just kind of there, full of things to notice and remember if it involves a care but that can’t hold his attention on its own. Hm, maybe you could call that disagreeable, in a way?

❤ : Describe a physical action that shows complete trust. 

Chuuya - Generally, one of the easiest ways to tell if Chuuya trusts you is if he falls asleep on or near you. He can’t and won’t let himself rest around someone he doesn’t trust, bar overindulging in alcohol. So, then, if he falls asleep, he trusts you not to betray him or harm him or otherwise let him come to harm. (Using Corruption is also something of an exception, because he literally can’t stay awake after it ends; his body and mind need rest too much to let him remain alert in the immediate aftermath.)

Alcott - She’ll smile more, she’ll try to be helpful, and most importantly you’ll see her more often, because she won’t be hiding away as much when she gets shy and anxious. If she trusts someone, she feels safe enough to stay by their side, even when she’s scared. 

Ranpo - With Ranpo,when he trusts someone, he’ll listen to them. He’s naturally prone to trusting his own intellect and opinions above everyone else’s, so listening to and acknowledging others’ opinions and points doesn’t come easily to him. In fact this can be a struggle regardless, but that he’s willing to make the effort to try and to pay attention goes a long way toward showing how much he trusts a person.

❥ : Describe a verbal way they would express complete trust.

Chuuya - A verbal expression of Chuuya’s trust would have to be him admitting things about himself; things he isn’t comfortable bringing up or talking about --- vulnerable areas that would normally never be addressed at all. In addition, he tends to worry more openly about the people he trusts, which includes asking after them especially when he has cause for concern. 

Alcott - When she trusts someone, Louisa talks to them! She becomes more vocal. and while her uncertainty and anxiety aren’t gone, she can carry on full conversations, often at-length. In short, she’s more sociable when she trusts you, and it’s very, very obvious. (In addition, she’s much less afraid of voicing complaints and exasperation with the people she trusts completely, because she knows their reactions well enough to be sure it’s something she can handle.)

Ranpo - This one is hard to answer, because Ranpo is pretty open, verbally speaking. He’ll ramble about anything and everything anyway without caring whether or not it makes sense to anyone but him; he’ll whine and complain and demand ego-stroking from the world at large. His sign of trust is in the pauses, in holding his words back, in not complaining when he otherwise would be --- and, perhaps most significantly, with very specific people and specific circumstances, he’ll be straightforward and focused, dropping the whining and immaturity because there are things more important than his comfort zone.

❣: Describe a way that will earn affection (whether platonic or romantic) from them.

Chuuya - ...For one thing, don’t mock him. Don’t mock him or wind him up and manipulate him. Show an interest in his interests, appreciate his tastes, and don’t pry too much into details that he doesn’t want to share. Granted, to get to this point you already have to have built up a certain amount of trust with him, or else he’ll stay relatively neutral. And if you’re on his bad side, good luck. (That being said, if someone like Dazai stopped mocking him he’d be suspicious and somewhat concerned by default.)

Alcott - Keep her in tea and books, respect her need to have time to herself to think and plan, reassure her if her anxiety’s getting to be too much. Relatively simple things, really; she’s easy to please and doesn’t see a point in asking for much when it’s much better to appreciate what’s being given freely. It’s just good manners, really!

Ranpo - Give him candy, help him navigate the train system, get the marble out of the ramune bottle for him, apply liberal amounts of praise. More specifically? Treat him like a person, have patience with him (he knows he can be aggravating to say the least; he just doesn’t see a point in changing himself. He is how he is and that’s that. Try to give him mental challenges --- even if they end up too easy, he’s still appreciative when someone’s willing to try!

✖ : Describe a way to make them uneasy or apprehensive.

Chuuya - The main thing that bothers Chuuya is the threat of betrayal and a loss of control. If you want to make him uneasy you need to make him doubt the loyalty of the people he’s surrounded by (admittedly not an easy thing) or make him feel like he isn’t in control of himself, his life, or his future. It’s one thing to serve a good boys, it’s another to be jerked around like someone’s plaything on a string, and not only does the latter tick him off, an implication that he might lose that security is unnerving if you can get enough weight behind it to make it convincing.

Alcott - She’s something of a nervous person anyway, so it’s not hard to make her uneasy. In particular, however she doesn’t deal well with risk and uncertainties. That’s why she works so hard to try and cover every detail possible in her strategy plans, and why she wants to be prepared for any eventuality. Catch her off-guard and make her have to deal with that fear she has of things being unpredictable or dangerous and she’ll be unsettled for ages.

Ranpo - It’s not particularly easy to make Ranpo anxious; he’s smart enough to see most threats coming and he’s surrounded by capable people who know how to look after themselves. However, if Fukuzawa and/or the Agency is threatened, and it’s a real threat, one that he hasn’t yet figured out how to deal with, one that can’t be prepared for, he’ll be knocked off-balance. In fact, anything that threatens his security will make him a little apprehensive, but again that’s very hard to do because his safety net is so strong. (However looking at recent manga events... ahaha...)

♡ : Is there a certain scent that brings about nostalgia? If so, describe a memory this scent brings back.

Chuuya - There’s nothing that really evokes nostalgia in him, per se, but being near the docks when the fishing boats are bringing their catches sure does bring back one memory in particular. Mainly that of Dazai being dragged up in a fishing net along with the day’s catch, and the fact that he smelled like fish for a week afterword. He’ll never forget that incident.

Alcott - The scent of a fireplace will always make her feel a little nostalgic, especially if it’s accompanied by other sensory experiences such as soft music, particularly piano music. That particular smell reminds her of her early childhood, winters spent curled up together and listening to her father read to them all, or gathered around the piano while her middle sister played.

Ranpo -  Jasmine and lilies does this to Ranpo. That’s the scent of his mother’s favorite perfume, and smelling it reminds him of his life with his parents while they were still alive. Memories of the world making sense and being absolutely safe, knowing that adults who were smarter than him were looking out for him and loved him. He doesn’t (let himself) think about his parents too often, but that smell will take him right back every time.

[avoresmith]

au where anyone other than atsushi is the main character, go

Kyouka

Kyouka is the most obvious option here, as her character arc literally follows Atsushi’s beat by beat and does it better because she gets to be seen having actual flaws and conflict while Atsushi’s point in life is just to Be Very Good. 

She’s an orphan who was beat down badly by the universe and needs to make peace with her Gift and how it’s uncontrolled presence in her life has played a huge part in all of the painful garbage she’s had to deal with. She has to learn to not just value her own life (Atsushi) but learn to believe she is capable of using the same abilities she used to kill to help people and that there is value to that (Dazai). She has a connection to Akutagawa, a better one than Atsushi, who just thinks that guy is a dangerous asshole, as Akutagawa fucked her up by trying to 'help’ her the same way Dazai 'helped’ him (which echoes the fact that Dazai fucked up Akutagawa by trying to teach Akutagawa the way he was taught by Mori). This creates a way more dynamic and interesting victims vs their abusers and cycle of violence story that they were TRYING to do with Atsushi and his abuser that falls completely flat, on account of how that guy wasn’t actually a character and we are just told we’re supposed to sympathize with him because ‘life is complicated’ instead of actually shown the ways in which life is fucking complicated. 

This would also allow for a narrative of victims vs their abusers where ACTUALLY HAVE, A VICTIM, CHALLENGING THEIR ABUSER AND DEMANDING THEY DO BETTER instead of what we currently have which is 1) Dazai flees Mori and hates him (legit) 2) Akutagawa seeks Dazai’s acknowledgement forever (no?? buddy) 3) Atsushi cries when his abuser died trying to maybe be nice to him for once finally =‘( (ohmygod).

Also, while Dazai and Atsushi mean... something?? to each other, it’s practically only relevant in Atsushi’s arc as something to yell at Akutagawa about, and while we can Assume Dazai Has Feelings we basically never see Dazai impacted by Atsushi. However, if it was Dazai who stops Kyouka from killing herself and takes her out of the mafia we have Dazai directly engaging with his perspective on suicide, and saving someone from the mafia in a way he was never saved, and this leads into him Also Engaging With All Of That, which then could be a continuing theme within their relationship.

(And I didn’t Go In This Direction because my central argument is that Kyouka already does everything Atsushi is doing if better and if given more focus could dramatically improve the manga, but also her relationship with Kouyou could also be given more prominence, and then holy shit, we’d have two important ladies instead of just one!)

In this AU Atsushi honestly doesn’t even need to exist. Kyouka could make friends with Kenji instead, and they could have adorable hyjinks where Kenji teaches her how to be polite to people and then they both get way too extra if politeness fails. 

(MORE UNDER THE CUT)

Akutagawa

This would probably have to be a darker manga, or Akutagawa would have to be less garbage, but as one of the only characters with multiple interesting relationships he is kind of a natural point to focus around. He has Gin, Higuchi, Kyouka, (thREE WOMEN) and Dazai as far as relationships that already important, and Chuuya and Mori and Kouyou are all characters that could be explored more if the manga was more mafia focused. While the mafia aren’t actually villains anyway, this change would make them more sympathetic, but Akutagawa would still be a really interesting MC, and this would fix the fact that Atsushi is only interesting around Akutagawa. 

Unlike Atsushi, Akutagawa has clear wants, motivations, and character progression, so Atsushi makes a lot more sense as Akutagawa’s rival character than the reverse. Boy with garbage life collides into the boy his master replaced him with, only to constantly seethe with anger that this asshole was so fucking lucky. Eventually discovers that his rival’s life actually wasn’t that easy but still can’t comprehend why his rival doesn’t appreciate what he has enough, or why this prick is worth more to his master than he was. Cue a compelling dynamic of Akutagawa improving himself relentlessly while not fully understanding what path he is on, but desperate to get out of the trashfire of his life. He thinks this means earning Dazai’s approval but in fact it means learning he doesn’t need to be a terrible human being to survive.

This would make Dazai far LESS sympathetic, but Dazai sucks so that is only fair.

Dazai

Okay, I won’t lie, Dazai would a SUPER CHALLENGING perspective character for a manga. What makes Dazai’s writing so amazing is how deftly he handles the unreliable narrator, which is hard to do when we don’t actually see the world via the MC’s perspective. And while I am happy to rag on BSD all the live long day, I do think one if it’s strengths is that it picked up on what an interesting character Dazai-types would be viewed exclusively from the outside, and has managed to portray that sort of peculiar contradiction of personality traits quite well. 

HOWEVER, despite being the most popular character, we never really get to see Dazai having a character arc. We know he has improved, we know he has wants and is actually probably working very hard to get his life in order, but we only know any of that from the end of the light novel to the start of the manga. We don’t actually get to see Dazai having conflict, confronting his fears, making hard choices, and growing as a person. 

However, while we never really see it in the manga, given what we know about Dazai’s history, we can probably assume that the choices Dazai makes to help Atsushi is something that actually impacts Dazai quite a bit. The last time he put himself in this position the result was Akutagawa; a challenge which Dazai completely failed on many levels, even if the result was technically a very loyal and capable mafioso and thus something Mori would have slated as a win. Dazai engaging with what it means to teach a human without himself knowing how to be a good human, and probably in the process also learning about ‘goodness’ via someone like Atsushi who is naturally inclined toward the heroic, would actually give Atsushi an interesting place the narrative. 

This would make Dazai waaaaaay more sympathetic, as we would also presumably see him struggling to adapt to ADA life, see his masks slip more often, and more signs of the fact that for real these last two years of being around decent human beings from 9 to 5 is probably the first time in his life he’s dealt with such people. We’d also get to see that he’s probably still depressed, drunk, and suicidal, but may be able to chart the ways he gradually becomes less so and what prompts those improvements. 

Kenji

Kenji is also a nice boy who wants to talk it out but then will beat the shit out of you if that attempt fails. What if instead of being a 2D one time gag character he actually had a motivation and a character arc to engage with? He could more or less follow the same story beats Atsushi sets up, just done better and with less redundancy. Kenji would make an interesting foil for Akutagawa since by all appearances his life wasn’t garbage, and his ceaseless tone deaf optimism in the face of Akutagawa’s ceaseless tone deaf fury would be, if nothing else, pretty fucking entertaining. 

Kunikida

wOW ANOTHER HEROIC CHARACTER WHO USES VIOLENCE TO RESOLVE CONFLICT. IT’S LIKE THERE ARE A BUNCH OF THESE. What if Kunikida being Dazai’s partner was at all narratively relevant and they had a dynamic that went deeper than Dazai aggravating Kunikida for the lulz and Kunikida being willing to trust Dazai when the chips are down.

Since Kunikida is slated to be the next leader of the ADA he makes a potentially compelling choice as a protagonist, as it would be an easy way to involve all of the (MANY) under appreciated ADA characters, by having their future boss learn what it means to actually work with and appreciate the backgrounds of his various future underlings. It wouldn’t need to be slated specifically as ‘Kunikida Is The Heir’ but given that it’s a shounen manga it could be effortlessly set up that way, and unlike Atsushi, Kunikida has a LOT of obvious flaws. He is naive, inflexible, emotionally vulnerable, distrustful, impatient, judgmental, and gullible. He also has CLEAR WANTS (Idealism) seeing him struggling for something fundementally unattainable and the ways he learns to update his ideal of idealism, in part by overcoming his individual flaws and in part by realizing that while idealism might be worth seeking it cannot be achieved. He would have a lot to learn from every member of the team, and in doing so could give them more importance to the story.

Yosano

you waNNA KNOW WHO IS GREAT AND DEEPLY UNDER APPRECIATED?? YOSANO. IT’S YOSANO. AU where actually Yosano is the main character. If you need a more compelling argument than that IDK what to say to you.

Tanizaki

What if Tankizaki had a narrative purpose other than gag and deus ex ability.

Mishima

AU where Mishima Yukio is in the manga, he’s an ex-government worker who was fired for being a bit too radical but he deeply respects and is super gay for Fukuzawa’s aesthetic and agrees to join the ADA. Rather than being Dazai’s protege he fancies himself Dazai’s rival and is intent to expose what garbage he is but the joke is on him because everyone knows that including Dazai. 

None the less, Mishima also is a more callous and aloof person who wears a friendly mask and via picking at Dazai he picks at himself. The more fixated he gets on exposing Dazai, the more he has to confront the fact that the world is more complicated than he wants it to be and it frightens him to examine the degree to which he doesn’t feel he actually belongs among society and thus tries very hard to construct a place for himself in it with his radical behavior and exacting standards, whereas Dazai accepts that he just should go in the trash. 

Dazai, in response, really doesn’t like being picked at effectively. Everyone else within the ADA accepts the masks he wears without question, never actually confronting his suicidal ideation or talking to him about where he comes from, even once they know about it. Mishima, in his relentless pursuit of being able to classify and deconstruct Dazai to overcome him, does just this, and frankly it sucks a lot for Dazai because Mishima would be the first person to A) learn the grueling details of his past and B) understand how fucked up that is for someone like Dazai who is only hiding his sensitivity and C) still look him in the eye and tell him to get his shit together. Mishima becomes the first person since Odasaku who actually understands Dazai but this time it is the worst because Mishima is mean. 

Dazai counters by ruining Mishima’s life in the most extraordinarily petty ways as frequently as possible.

Atsushi

ALTERNATIVELY. Atsushi actually is a good protagonist.

HERE IS AN EXERCISE, WHAT DO EACH OF THESE SHOUNEN HEROES WANT AND HOW DO WE KNOW?

Edward Elric: wants the philosopher’s stone, will do basically anything for it, we find this out in chapter 1.

Gon Freaks: Wants to find his dad, chapter 1

Luffy: Wants to find his dad, chapter 1

Allen Walker: wants to save everyone from akuma because dad feels, chapter, idk, like 3

Naruto: Wants the acknowledgement of his village, works tirelessly for it. We find this out in like chapter 1. (yeah I know naruto is bad don’t @ me but look the MC had a clear motivation)

(AV have you read any shounen manga since 2001-- nO)

Atsushi: Wants... uh. To not starve??? This need is met in chapter 1. Wants to... be.. a good employee...? Wants to beat Akutagawa because... he’s bad....??? Wants to... make Dazai proud...?

It’s not impossible to write a story with a MC who isn’t clearly motivated, but it’s a fuckload harder to make it compelling and you prrrroobably need to have some other kind of clear focus to replace the fact that your MC does not. IE if you are specially exploring the story of an unmotivated hero, you frame his actions around the fact that he is really just doing things by route and how this separates him from the people around him who actually have priorities in their life. 

Or, if you want to be like ‘Atsushi’s motivation is that he cares and wants to help!’ LOOK: If they are sO HEROIC that they just nEED TO BE THE HERO ALL THE TIME (Allen Walker) either because they lack self worth (Allen Walker) or are so empathetic that they can’t help but try to save everyone (Allen Walker), you narratively frame the story around them so that it highlights this as both a strength and a weakness of their character. The inability to save everyone vs feeling like your life only has value if you can save everyone is deeply fucked up and should haunt your MC.

The manga starts to slightly course correct Atsushi after waaay too many chapters, which is why he starts having an actually interesting dynamic with Akutagawa. But now he wants to ‘overcome his abuser’, and though this itself is extremely unclear as to what it means. I suspect it means ‘continue to do the exact same shit he’s being doing until he believes in himself’ whichhhhh is boring. It could work if the framing is consistent and Atsushi begins to have actual conflict with his own behavior and the way he treats his life as disposable and his suffering as unimportant. 

He could also use some flaws, which, again, we only see signs off later in the game with his Akutagawa relationship. Atsushi can be forgiven for not realizing that Dazai was horrible to Akutagawa, since neither Dazai nor Akutagawa will ever explain that, but he is still pretty shitty to Akutagawa deliberately! And it’s nice seeing him be a little prick.

If everything that is happening now with Atsushi had happened from the beginning, you know how you are supposed to start a shounen manga with the protagonist actually doing anything interesting or important, the manga would be much less bad. If Atsushi had more than like 1.5 flaws and a .75 motivation now, the manga would also be a lot better.

I don’t actually like this idea as much as all of my other ones, but if he MUST be the MC, what if he was actually good at it at all.