Imagine Being Collun & You're Like 1 & Barely Gaining Consciousness & You're Starting To Realize That

Kouyou and Verlaine are so similar, no wonder they are both Chuuya's older sibling figures and Kyouka's mentors. Both are executives whose specialty is murder, and who we know have trained several assassins for the Port Mafia. They both encounter a teenager so much like themselves when they were younger that they decide to do everything to stop them from making the same mistakes they made, even if they end up hurting them in the process. They both genuinely believe that what they are doing is the best for Chuuya and Kyouka, based in their own past experiences, because they are so alike that, to them, there's no way that the outcome won't be the same. Their only interaction in Stormbringer is them fighting with each other, exactly because they disagree in what's best for Chuuya. Verlaine killed the flags to make Chuuya agree in letting the mafia, Kouyou was willing to kill Atsushi to distance Kyouka from the ada. Like, even their personalities are similar. I could totally see them being friends if they had met in a different way (but with the way they met in the cannon, I'm sure they still hold a grudge against each other. It doesn't matter that Verlaine understood the mistakes he made, and that Chuuya accepted him as his brother at the end of it all, they still don't get along and don't plan on doing so anytime soon).

Just because I've seen a few people complaining about Dazai "knowing exactly what was gonna happen from the start" I just want to point something out

Dazai didn't know what was going to happen, he had 0 control over the situation, all he did was trust in Ranpo and the ADA.

The point of it all, or at least how I've interpreted it, is portraying just how much he's grown to admire and love the agency. His faith in his "allies" gave him enough confidence to let them handle it, funnily enough Dazai had barely any hand in the planning of it at all!

He put together what each person was scheming by watching the events play out, and don't forget he had Ango communicating with him all the while.

I have no issue with anybody upset over this, I just thought I'd put my take out there. I think the subtlety of Dazai's growth sometimes causes it to go unnoticed, his redemption plays out in small moments like this, hidden beneath much bigger actions.

Bungo Stray Dogs Harukawa Sango Art Collection cover. Releases on March 10th.

It’s been clear that the Tanizakis aren’t siblings from the very beginning

here’s some evidence now that it’s been confirmed canon…

everyone who’s read irl Tanizaki’s book knew that Junichiro & Naomi weren’t siblings as soon as they introduced themselves

BUT just because the Tanizakis aren’t siblings doesn’t mean you can’t feel uncomfortable about them. if you feel uncomfortable, GOOD. that’s exactly what they want

the Tanizakis, Mori— they all use these disturbing ruses to disarm or distract people in order to protect themselves, or to accomplish their goals. this is a writing device that asagiri commonly employs as a way to parallel the irl literature (it’s actually ingenious)

there are 4 main indicators that have always made it clear to me that Junichiro & Naomi are not siblings:

1. most obviously— their character designs. Harukawa is extremely intentional with character designs, & she very intentionally made Naomi & Junichiro look nothing alike

their eye shapes are purposely different

their color palettes are contrasting

even their differing styles of clothing have meaning

this was all done so that the audience could PLAINLY see that they’re not related— so that WE know that they’re lying when they say they ARE related

2. how the people around them respond to their act.

the general reaction is “don’t question it”— which is exactly what they want. “be distracted by how uncomfortable you feel so that you look away from what we’re hiding” (this is likely a protective measure)

3. most importantly, this is meant to parallel irl Tanizaki’s book “Naomi,” where the main character Joji picks up Naomi to raise her into his ideal woman, but since she's so young (& a minor) they call each other cousins (Joji makes no sexual advances on young Naomi btw)

however, his plan backfires because when Naomi gets older & they get married, she flips the script on him & manipulates HIM so that he's under her thumb (which is why bsd Tanizaki is at a domineering Naomi's mercy). Joji let her have her way because of his masochistic tendencies

4. lastly is the emphasis that Asagiri and the Tanizakis themselves put on calling each other siblings.

over & over, it’s “my brother this” & “my sister that”

like they’re desperately trying to convince us that it’s true (“don’t let your lying eyes deceive you”)

here are just a few of many examples from the light novels…

again, if you’ve read “Naomi” you knew that Junichiro & Naomi weren’t siblings as soon as they introduced themselves

just like if you’ve read irl Mori’s works, it’s clear that bsd Mori isn’t a pedophile

just like if you’ve read No Longer Human you know that Dazai’s an unreliable narrator. he makes you think he’s a bad person bc he believes he’s a bad person, but those around him see him differently (btw this doesn’t mean he’s never done anything “bad,” though bsd isn’t about morality— but that’s another discussion)

anyway, i’m so excited for the Tanizakis backstory to be revealed so that we can better understand why they use this defense!!

also let this be a reminder to READ THE LITERATURE if you’re able to!! even reading synopses & analyses of the coordinating books makes bsd make much more sense 🥹

reminder that this how you’re supposed to react while reading bsd:

also, if you’re interested in a post explaining how Mori isn’t a pedo, i wrote this analysis on twt. OR you can read this document that one of my moots sent me (remember: analyzing a character does NOT mean you condone any actions they may or may not commit!)

Seeing Zeus gives me hope that we can see Nami fighting in this arc

Happy birthday to the best boy and cutie, Sanji 😍

[magical girl au]

guess who lol

we as a society need to stop focusing on verlaine angst. "ohdhhh rimlaine they're so doomed :(( " "ohhh verlaine and chuuya :((("

we as men (gender neutral) need to acknowledge this man, this absolute loser, this girlfail, test tube baby, government spy and assassin is fucking hilarious. the audacity to be making silly little jokes while murdering people and plotting the downfall of society. fuck adam being the comic relief, verlaine was the real hero nobody wanted but we got anyway. this man backhands chuuya while driving THENG HE FUCKIGN "ohdhh chuuya :(( dear little brother of mine you're so light are u you eating enough :(((("

this pathetic pathetic man walks into dazais shipping container with "awwwhh are you scared of property tax :(((" THROWS A COIN THROUGH HIS WALL ANDN LEAVES

ICANT DO THIS

I can't explain how weird it is to see Zoro kicking someone.