#i say even tho i’m literally Chuuya sized

[calmlb]

Soukoku Height Difference —Reference

for any fic writers or artists who need it, here’s a reference for skk’s height difference at 15, 16 (according to dead apple), & 22

[miammey]

(Some) BSD Ships and How they Carry Each Other (Literally)

(Contains MANGA SPOILERS (characters, mostly)

Soukoku

⁃ Chuuya has no problems picking Dazai up, Dazai’s pretty scrawny

⁃ Speaking of Dazai’s scrawny ass, he could probably do it but would be struggling

⁃ Chuuya might think that he was faking it to make fun of his weight but no, Dazai’s just struggling

Shin Soukoku

⁃ Atsushi can pick up Akutagawa no problem (he’s probably done it before in canon, I just don’t remember exactly), even without his tiger Ability

⁃ Akutagawa can pick him up with Rashomon, but not without

Ranpoe

⁃ Don’t even ask Ranpo to do any physical labor

⁃ I feel like he’s tried to pick up Poe at least once (ended in failure, Poe’s feet didn’t even leave the ground)

⁃ Poe isn’t exactly physically strong, either, but he might be able to carry Ranpo for long enough to move him, like from a desk to a bed or something

Kousano

⁃ Yosano lugs around massive weapons like it’s nothing, picking up Kouyou would be a piece of cake

⁃ Kouyou can probably pick up Yosano, tho, again, not for a long time

Higugin

⁃ Not much to say, they’re both strong mafia girls, I think they can pick each other up pretty easily

⁃ Gin probably more-so than Higuchi, I just have a feeling, tho Higuchi does carry heavier weapons (guns are typically heavier than knives)

Tachitani

⁃ Tachihara can pick up Tanizaki pretty easily, being a soldier and all

⁃ Tanizaki probably could, again for a moment. Most his his strength comes from adrenaline rushes (when he feels more murder-y than usual), so casually he probably can’t

Fyogol

⁃ Gogol’s stronger than he looks, I and Fyodor’s pretty thin. He would be able to probably pick Fyodor up and twirl him around

⁃ I have a feeling involuntary dancing happens from time to time with these two

⁃ Fyodor can’t, he’s tried but he just can’t

Suegiku

⁃ These two are super-soldiers, they could probably carry ten times the other’s body weight, maybe more. Picking each other up is nothing

⁃ Jouno would drop Tecchou on his ass tho, it’s happened at least once

Montcott

⁃ Lucy can lift Louisa with little problem, idk, I just feel like she would be physically strong

⁃ Louisa isn’t a fighter in any way, I just don’t think she could

⁃ Lucy would find her trying to be adorable tho

Steincraft

⁃ Lovecraft could easily pick up Steinbeck, though I imagine him more so picking him up from the back of the shirt and putting him on his shoulder rather than actually holding him like a person

⁃ Steinbeck is physically strong, he’s a farm boy after all, but Lovecraft isn’t human, he probably weighs more than one

⁃ (In Lovecraft’s wiki is says his weight is “adjustable”. I’m gonna say that’s referring to his massive squid god form compared to his regular form. I’m sorry, there’s no hope in lifting that thing up)

Odango

⁃ Oda could carry Ango no problem, not even a question

⁃ Ango isn’t a fighter, he can handle a gun but I also think a pretty strong gust of wind could knock him off balance (/j)

⁃ He might be able to lift someone smaller than him, but no one his size or larger, so not Oda

(Edit, adding Fukumori because I forgot about them like a fucking idiot and had a few people call me out, I’m sorry)

Fukumori

⁃ Fukuzawa definitely didn’t lose his strength with his age

⁃ He’s definitely just picked up Mori and thrown him over his shoulder, mostly when they were younger (Old Soukoku, gotta love them)

⁃ Mori would probably say that he can lift Fukuzawa, but then completely fail as Fukuzawa just stands there

(Might do a part 2 with different ships? Maybe??)

[head-empty-just-sigma]

why Dazai said goodbye to his partner

(and no it’s not because he died)

so i’ve been seeing posts fly around left and right with fan theories about why Dazai said goodbye the way he did, but none of them really mentioned a specific topic and that’s what i want to discuss and theorize about in this post here

🔺spoilers ahead for the main manga series as well as Dead Apple and Stormbringer🔻

i’m so sorry my theories are novel sized, i will provide a tldr under the cut here for those of you who cannot read all my rambling… the tldr only contains spoilers for manga chapter 101

also, this post is written courtesy of @nataliaphantomhivesblog who replied to my theory comment on another post and encouraged me to make it into an actual post like i've been wanting to so thank you and i hope this doesn't disappoint lol

here’s my “this post is literally the length of an epic novel” summary:

Dazai says goodbye to Chuuya because he thinks that this situation will break the bond of trust that Soukoku is made of. Dazai has always tried to avoid hurting Chuuya, including making him use Corruption, but Dazai has found himself in a situation where he just can’t prioritize Chuuya’s wellbeing. and this makes him feel bad enough to the point of basically apologizing to Chuuya for putting him in this situation, and saying goodbye to their partnership, but he knows Chuuya won’t die at least, or maybe has a plan to get Chuuya out of there, so he laughs it off at the end for a smooth transition back into nonchalant-ness with a subtle nod to real life Dazai's unfinished novel "guddo-bai" in his final line this chapter

let’s first bring up this set of sad, depressing pixels:

(i’m using specifically this screenshot because of the english translation, the context it provides makes more sense to me in this situation for this theory than some of the other translations i’ve seen)

let’s talk about the first and most obvious thing: Chuuya is in a closed room that’s filling with water, and his sole companion is Dostoy. Dazai is somewhere else in the prison, and has no clear way to reach Chuuya. on top of that, Chuuya showed up there as a vampire, and in the last panel above it looks like he’s returning to his human senses, and it’s unclear if people retain the memories of what happened during the time they were a vampire when they return to their human state, so it’s entirely possible Chuuya has found himself in a dangerous situation with no knowledge of how he got there. this, number one, i think would be a little nerve-racking for even Chuuya himself, and on top of that, he’s hearing his partner talking over an intercom saying goodbye to him. Chuuya is in a dangerous situation, with no clear plan of escape, and (the most important thing) he has no idea what Dazai is planning to do here. why is this so important? well, let’s look at a not so brief history of soukoku in dangerous situations like this…

Chuuya vs Lovecraft

i mostly bring this up because i absolutely love watching this fight in the anime it’s in my like top 5 best bsd animated moments but i do have a legitimate point here i promise

so, after 4 years of no contact, Dazai and Chuuya team up again for an epic fight against Guild members Lovecraft and Steinbeck (even tho Steinbeck is only there for 5 seconds before being punted like a damn football) and we see how soukoku functions as a partnership involving Dazai’s mastermind plans and strategies, and Chuuya’s literal godlike strength and ability. and the basis for this partnership? trust. Chuuya’s Corrupted state may be godlike, but it’s also incredibly dangerous to use. during the fight, we see several shots of Chuuya’s face with blood dripping from his nose and his mouth from using Corruption. we also learn that Chuuya can’t come back from Corruption on his own, and he could die in this state. so, why does he use it? because he trusts Dazai to bring him back. despite not working with Dazai for 4 years, despite them being in enemy organizations, and despite Dazai taking every opportunity to harass Chuuya literally like 5 minutes before this, Chuuya trusts Dazai enough to put his life in Dazai’s hands. why? because Dazai trusts Chuuya to get the job done, and because Dazai let’s Chuuya have the final decision when using Corruption. even though there are no other options here, which Chuuya comments on, Dazai still says regardless that it’s up to Chuuya to follow Dazai’s plan. and then, at the end of the fight…

this quote is IMPORTANT because it’s one of the few times Chuuya openly admits to trusting Dazai!!

Chuuya vs Dragon

ok, next up is Dead Apple. there’s no way i’m not mentioning this even if it wasn’t in the main manga series, it’s just too important to this theory tbh

i couldn’t find a gif of his dramatic entrance leaping off a plane *cries*

this point speaks for itself if you read the book/manga or watched the movie. before this scene, Chuuya meets with Ango, where Chuuya’s asked to go beat the crap out of this dragon bcuz he’s the only one who can basically. this whole scene was just two gods duking it out let’s be honest… Chuuya agrees, and while he’s on the plane, Ango admits to Chuuya over a radio that Dazai is most likely already dead. this means that if Chuuya uses Corruption, he’ll die. however, Chuuya knows Dazai well enough to know he’s alive in there (and we later learn that Mori sent Chuuya out in the first place to help Dazai), and Chuuya trusts Dazai and his “disgusting vitality” enough to risk actually dying using Corruption this time. i also think Chuuya points out a good fact at the end of the fight as well, which is where he mentions Dazai hiding the antidote in his mouth knowing full well Chuuya would punch him, therefore proving that Dazai trusts Chuuya to be there to save his life. and this is what soukoku is all about: their equal trust in one another that the other will be there when one of them is in danger

and also this scene where Dazai canonically pushes Chuuya’s face into his crotch, and then Chuuya proceeds to fall asleep in his lap. and also the cheek touch Dazai does to bring Chuuya back from Corruption im SCREAMING

*ahem* moving on…

Stormbringer

i won’t lie, i haven’t read it yet, cuz the official english translation doesn’t come out till the end of next month as of writing this, and i haven’t been able to find any full novel ones out on the internet passed like chapter 4, but i’ve seen a bunch of quotes from it to basically already know what happens

SO… due to me not actually reading it… i’ll keep this part short to minimize any potential context errors. my main point here is to emphasize how Dazai feels about Chuuya using Corruption. we’ve all seen the quote where Dazai, after telling Chuuya his plan and then walking away to let Chuuya decide for himself whether to go through with it or not, is trying to think of alternative plans so that Chuuya doesn’t have to risk his life using Corruption. Dazai genuinely cares for Chuuya’s wellbeing, and it’s emphasized a lot when it comes to Corruption. Dazai really will only suggest it as a last resort if no other options are available. and that he always, no matter what, leaves the final decision to Chuuya. Dazai straight up walks away from Chuuya during this scene in Stormbringer so that he won’t have any influence over Chuuya’s decision here

there's also the whole Dazai believing more than anyone else in the world that Chuuya is human, but im not going to get into that since i have very little information and quotes to go off of on this topic so i'll save that for a later theory on why Dazai and Chuuya bonded on a level outside of soukoku

ok, so, finally. my actual theory

Dazai is breaking Soukoku’s bond of trust

in all the times they worked together (i'm omitting Fifteen since soukoku wasn’t established, and Chuuya admits to not trusting Dazai at the beginning of Stormbringer in chapter 3, which takes place a year after 15) in every scene shown here in this panel of flashbacks, there was a mutual trust between Dazai and Chuuya that they could rely on one another to win a fight. Dazai would come up with the mastermind plans, Chuuya would do the fighting, and Corruption would only be used as a last resort AND only if Chuuya agreed to do it. yeah, most of the time there is no other option, but it’s the fact that Dazai never once orders Chuuya to use Corruption that’s the point here. he doesn’t just say “well there’s no choice so just do it” he always lets Chuuya have the final say on the matter.

but, for the first time, this simply just didn’t happen. Dazai is fighting against time with poison in his veins, his opponent is a mirror version of himself with morals equal to that of Beast Dazai, Chuuya’s a freaking vampire, and all hell has broken loose up top while they’ve been in prison. Dazai has very few options here, and prioritizing Chuuya’s wellbeing in this situation just isn’t possible if Dazai wants to beat Dostoy, or at least force him into a corner where he has to reveal one of his tricks. and Dazai feels bad enough for forcing his partner into this kind of situation that he literally says goodbye because he thinks that this move will ultimately break the bond of trust that soukoku is made of… Dazai knows Chuuya isn’t going to die, that’s not what this goodbye is for. if it was, then Dazai would have absolutely not smiled and joked at the end.

Dazai cares too much about Chuuya that if he were to truly lose him, i personally think he would become similar to the Dazai in The Day I Picked Up Dazai side B, where literally nothing matters to him except his own motives and goals. he would have been so dark and so angry in the final panels if Chuuya were to actually die, that it would put that one panel of angry wet rat Dostoy to shame. we actually do see Dazai's anger in the panel where he literally calls Dostoy a bastard for using Chuuya in this situation. but him joking here is also him putting his mask of nonchalant-ness back on after that vulnerable moment of him reminiscing on soukoku’s past, knowing he may have just drowned their partnership too soon? more like too late it’s been 3 weeks

i also think he joked at the end for a few more reasons. 1. to provoke Chuuya, duh. Dazai always harasses Chuuya at every opportunity, this is just another one of those times, and 2. to kind of antagonize Dostoy. Dostoy specifically played his Chuuya card here bcuz he thought it would give him some kind of advantage over Dazai, whether it was combat wise or not. this is Dazai just being a prick and laughing in the face of Dostoy’s plans. it could also be a subtle hint to Chuuya that Dazai has a plan to save him and this is just a part of that, since we've seen in scenes like the Lovecraft fight that Dazai often teases Chuuya before a big fight happens. we also see that Dazai's strategies are named after works of literature in the Lovecraft fight, and the final "goodbye" here in Japanese is not 'sayounara', which is meant to carry finality when it's said, Dazai says 'guddo-bai', which besides being the most literal translation of goodbye in english, is also the name of real life Dazai's unfinished novel its unfinished bcuz he commited shinju before he could finish it but um well i'm ignoring that. so this could also be another hint from Dazai that he has a plan that involves Chuuya not becoming an actual shrimp under the water here

ok, i think that covered everything… i’m sorry this is literally the length of a short novel thank you so much for reading you’re all greatly appreciated <3 umm here’s a bonus Sigma-related theory

so we all know Dazai is joking about not caring about Chuuya. but why would he fake not caring about his partner, besides to harass Dostoy? to manipulate Sigma. i don’t think we’ve talked enough about Dazai using and discarding people like napkins, and i think this is going to turn into one of those times. here’s why…

we know Sigma’s gift can’t be used on Dostoy, bcuz Dostoy can’t be touched. however, we also know that Sigma is literally 3 years old… a toddler, no thoughts, head empty, and surrounded by lunatics. why would Dazai laugh at his partner drowning? to make it look like he does not care. Sigma believes Dazai just won against Dostoy, and i think Dazai knows this. Dazai even compared Sigma to Atsushi in one panel bcuz they are both mentally immature and don't grasp the fact that Dazai is a master manipulator. Dazai is trying to draw similarities between him and Dostoy to manipulate Sigma. what for? pfft god don’t even know, it’s Dazai. only Dazai knows why he’s manipulating Sigma into thinking he’s heartless with morals on par with Dostoy. i honestly can’t think of any reasons why Dazai would feel the need to do this other than the pure joy he finds in harassing any living creature around him, and also maybe to drag information out of him similarly to the way he did it in the very first chapter of the manga where he deduced Atsushi was the tiger, then proceeded to manipulate Atsushi into working with him using money. it’s also 3am while i’m writing this so i think i’m forgetting something from the last few manga chapters, like how Dazai picked Sigma to have a partner with him before Dostoy’s reveal of a vampire Chuuya by his side. and Dazai wasn’t even surprised, he just seemed angry when he mentioned Dostoy had Chuuya. but i don't have enough info on this to make a real theory so this is just a mini string of thought i had.