#soukoku rivals

[unicornpopcorn14]

Chuuya's reaction to Dazai getting hurt during the Lovecraft fight has always been so interesting to me...

Because it's the kind of worry you'd never expect from a character as gruff as Chuuya, who had displayed nothing but hostility towards Dazai so far. Usually, characters that are labelled as "angry" or "anger issues" (which Chuuya is much more complex than that but you get my point) act more as a tsundere type of way when the one they "don't care about" gets hurt. And show their care in very, very subtle ways (ex. their eyes widen, their mouth parts and closes again, etc) before putting up their front once more.

Chuuya, however, is open, and vocal about it. His worry is clear not only to us, but to Dazai himself, the one he shouldn't be displaying the concern to (as per the cliche). Shouldn't it be some sort of secret that Chuuya does care? Isn't that what skk's dynamic has been shaping up to be until now?

I'm telling you- the way my mind blanked when Chuuya just casually.... showed concern not once, but twice, was a sight to see.

Besides, the context makes it much more confusing, because Dazai isn't some rookie, and Chuuya knows that more than anybody. He was the youngest executive in Port Mafia's history, of course he can handle a hit or two. Of course he'd seen him handle a hit or two, sometimes without batting an eye.

Heck, Chuuya himself was hurling Dazai like a ragdoll in their reunion, which was their last meeting. And you could argue that he was going easy on him, but Dazai has mostly withstood the same damage (as far as I could see), and Chuuya was as bitter as ever.

So that kind of contradicts both what we knew of Chuuya so far, and how their dynamic was shaped to be. I mean, that just makes Chuuya a hypocrite, yeah? What makes him care now, all of a sudden? What makes him care at all?

Well, to me, this backasswards reaction implies one (or more) of the following:

- Dazai rarely got physically hurt during their partnership and thus this is an unexpected thing for him to see (during a mission).

- The four years of separation made Chuuya unsure of how much Dazai can withstand physically now. Also the fact that he isn't in the mafia anymore, aka fighting enemy organizations on the weekly, would naturally make Dazai lose his touch in a way, what prompts Chuuya's reaction.

- Dazai getting taken off guard took him off guard which led to panic. Especially since the situation was (momentarily) out of their depth. Seriously wtf even was Lovecraft?

- During the dungeon scene Dazai was an enemy, while in the Lovecraft fight he was as an ally. The difference might be significant to Chuuya.

- This has always been Chuuya's reaction to Dazai getting hurt regardless of the situation.

- "Only I can hurt him like that" ahh logic

- Asagiri was still experimenting with their dynamic and thus there are some inconsistencies.

This scenario didn't play out again (after their reunion) for me to exactly determine which one is more plausible, but it is 100% canon for Chuuya to shamelessly show his concern and run to Dazai to check on him before properly dealing with their opponent, which I find to be such an appealing layer to their dynamic, and a good spin on the type of character he gets stereotyped as.

Bonus: Dazai also becomes a softy when Chuuya's hurt, especially post corruption. Dead Apple alone displays that multiple times.

All in all, Skk are doing a terrible job at maintaining their 'hostile' and 'antagonistic' relationship post their reunion. Freaks.

[originalartblog]

whenever I see someone being sad over Akutagawa being "dead" and not coming back this is what I picture btw

[that-willowtree]

no you don’t get it. it’s about the

𝘰𝘩.

[nyxi-pixie]

do you guys remember when skk had that shoujo romance ass reaching for a door at the same time and nearly touching hands and then being weird about it moment. bc wtf was that.

???? gay??? as fuck??

[hoao]

brb i have to go put my forehead against my rival’s forehead and intimately glare at them because i simply can’t stand them

[loz-tearsofahomo]

Are they gay for each other or just rivals? (just kidding they're always both you fools)

[wistyxx]

And even still, the canon always manages to be gayer than the fanon

[nureon]

More fanart for chapter 3 of my friends sskk fanfic! Atsushi is so awkward it's endearing tbh. Idk if Aku is that impressed tho.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Bsd Dazai saying to Sigma that "it's fine because every day for the past 7 years I've been thinking of ways to kill Chuuya."

Beast Chuuya (movie end credits) saying to Atsushi, about Dazai "and for 7 years. For seven years I've been looking forward to the day I could kill him."

[evilkaeya]

skk official art of that day !! Can they behave for like five seconds

[ssaraexposs]

Atsushi says,

Akutagawa does

[monarchamos]

the headcanon that chuuya and dazai have been living together since they were teenagers and haven't moved out makes like. every skk interaction way funnier. like yeah its probably not true, but imagine they just secretly live with each other and neither of their organizations know

like, the whole dungeon scene thing? when they went home after that they couldnt stop laughing abt it like nothing was said chuuya just opened the door, looked at dazai on the couch, and then the both of them just fucking lost it. all day they had to pretend they were finally meeting again after 4 years and hated each other(which they totally still do haha)

Dazai waiting outside the PM headquarters in chuuya's car, waiting for Chuuya to come out from the mafia clinic. like yeah dazai isnt gonna drag chuuya back to the extraction point like he was asked to, but he still made sure to clean him up and fold his coat+hat, and he sure as hell isnt letting the still-injured-from-corruption Chuuya drive home alone. Chuuya knowing full well Dazai wouldn't

chuuya and dazai complaining to each other about how stressful work is like their organizations arent actively going against each other. mysterious cold cases with barely any evidence dazai is working on that may or may not be traced to port mafia activities but he cant prove it bc theres no evidence beyond gut feeling. chuuya complaining abt how the police/gov are getting up the pm's asses and are getting better at tracing shit back to them so now his work has to get more and more complicated. they know full well they can't help each other (confidentiality, safety, etc) but they sure as hell are going to bitch about it

[strangelysilver]

my ship has some really cute nicknames-- like "asshole" and "dipshit" and "bastard" <3

[kyouka-supremacy]

The thing about how Atsushi deals with Akutagawa is. Atsushi has always been terrified of retailing against his oppressors: to him, his oppressors were always in positions of power that he found impossible to rebel against. Akutagawa, on the other hand, was the first person Atsushi met who was socially accepted to fight back against. Akutagawa was presented to him as the big bad guy, everyone's evil enemy. Atsushi's got personal beef with him for how he treated Kyouka (which is very important for Atsushi, because if he never had it within him to stand for himself, at least he can stand for others). The person Atsushi looks up to the most repeatedly and unapologetically mistreats Akutagawa. Then mistreating Akutagawa must be allowed, right?

It's truly remarkable how despite the guess one would take judging from their good side / evil side affilations, more often than not it's Atsushi going for Akutagawa's throat than the other way round. Sure, Akutagawa threatens to kill Atsushi all the time– but that's exactly the point‚ he never actually follows through‚ and his real actions actually end up telling us his intentions are quite the opposite (re: “I won't kill you today because you look miserable” *saves Atsushi's life* *saves Atsushi's life* *dies to save Atsushi's life*). On the contrary, Atsushi's ALWAYS trying to attack Akutagawa both verbally and physically. Remember that time in chapter 51 when Dazai was keeping them separate? Back then, Akutagawa very much wasn't the one actively trying to attack the other. Not to mention the “You fight 'cos you want to be feared– that's far more worthless in my book” and of course the “It's no wonder Dazai-san chose to abandon you and disappear”. There's even the “if a fight is what you want, then I'll take you on” like lmao, of course you will. The thing is, Atsushi has always found it socially acceptable to retail against, loathe, fight and hurt Akutagawa no-guilt-attached like he never had the chance to with any other abuser. Please keep in mind how thanks to Dead Apple we know that the only other time Atsushi ever fought back someone who was hurting him, it was a most instinctive and involuntary reaction that ended up with him killing them and which gave him several trauma and unresolved self-hatred and feeling of guilt for life.

But hurting Akutagawa, that's peer approved. And it sounds quite cruel, and Atsushi is a fundamentally selfish character, yet it must have come off as so refreshing and even liberating for him to finally have someone he can openly hate, someone he could drop the facade of the polite, harmless guy in front of. That's why I can actually find it believable that Atsushi would, very subconsciously, look forward to fight against Akutagawa; as a way to let off steam, you know? A chance to finally stop acting and start behaving like his true self, determined, brave, protective, a bit of a prick. Not to mention, fights against Akutagawa seemingly always end up as a self-esteem boosts for Atsushi in a way or the other. That's why I wonder: if Akutagawa is the only person Atsushi can be himself with, if he's the only one he can act natural around without feeling he has to put up a front for; what about when Atsushi will stop hating him? Which doesn't sound that unlikely, I mean, after chapter 88 and everything. I'm not saying he's going to forgive Akutagawa for everything he's ever done but like... The perception Atsushi has of him must have changed to an extent, his judgement shifted at least a tiny bit. Then, Atsushi will be left with only one person he can freely be himself with, and he doesn't even hate him that much anymore. Just thinking about that.

[need-a-name-101]

How can you make two characters red and blue coded and then make them enemies/rivals and expect me not to ship them

[chotachica]

If you like dazai from bsd you like gojo from jjk and if you like gojo from jjk you like vash from trigun, its literally stated by god