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daydreamalley · 3 days

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A Ramble about Phase 19 of the Fifteen Manga Ft. Storm Bringer spoilers

Just absolutely cannot get over the 15 manga. I love the light novel so much, but this manga adaptation is so ridiculously amazing. Dazai and Chuuya’s proximity/touching has been amazing of course. I adore the way Hoshikawa draws Dazai and Chuuya as well (my baby boys, especially Chuuya). But these last two chapters with Rimbaud and Verlaine. Like, fuck. The whole “At least, one of them felt that way,” part just hits so much harder in the manga for me, with the art and page placement. And this whole most recent chapter. Like firstly, you don’t have to end every chapter with like Chuuya getting stabbed okay, help me out here.

Comparing the last page of phase 18 with Verlaine and the first page of phase 19 with Chuuya makes it so obvious that Rimbaud is seeing the similarities between them with just that parallel, which is confirmed later with Rimbaud quite literally seeing Verlaine standing behind Chuuya.

Not to mention in phase 18 the “That’s right Paul, I remember you,” in conjunction with him seeing Verlaine in Chuuya.

Then that flashback with Verlaine carrying Chuuya and Chuuya’s just so small I could cry.

Like, I knew he was small, but he's just so young, I can't. People were experimenting on him. Like, how??

The way Rimbaud wants to ask Chuuya something and Chuuya crouches down to him. Which leads to Rimbaud putting a hand around Chuuya as he tells him to live. How close and personal they are when Rimbaud says all of this just make it feel so much more impactful for Chuuya. Kinda love too that Chuuya isn't just standing over Rimbaud. He's making it obvious he's open to listening.

Rimbaud says a lot of shitty things to Chuuya up to this point, even complaining that he has to kill a kid while only referring to Dazai, completely not acknowledging Chuuya as anything more than Arahabaki. But once he fully remembers what happened with Verlaine, I feel like that’s when Rimbaud remembers what he truly believed about Verlaine and his humanity and how that extends to Chuuya’s humanity. Because Rimbaud’s whole final speech is most definitely things he’d also thought of or told Verlaine before (as I think is confirmed in SB). I think those are Rimbaud’s true thoughts and beliefs on the matter, it just took that long for him to remember the full story and how he felt about it all. Rimbaud saw Verlaine’s struggles with humanity, and now he also remembers why Verlaine betrayed him. And so he tells Chuuya to live, just as Verlaine wanted him to back then, live without the burden of worrying about your humanity or where you came from, because “you are you.” It doesn’t matter if Chuuya (and Verlaine) “are but a pattern etched on the surface of raw power.” In Rimbaud’s mind, and honestly where we eventually end up at the end of SB, is that it really doesn’t matter what your origins are, whether someone is an artificial personality (aka pattern) etched onto raw power, because really everything is some version of a pattern upon the world. And in a word with abilities, a lot of people are a pattern connected to a power. Just as in SB Chuuya decides that even though Adam isn’t human and he knows it, it doesn’t take away from Adam’s actions, his sacrifices, or his dreams. Same goes for Chuuya and Verlaine. Their origins don't affect how human they truly are. Their humanity is significant no matter what. It just took a bit more convincing for Chuuya to get there, a little more than what Rimbaud could offer on his (almost) deathbed.

Anyway, Chuuya holding Rimbaud’s hand as he dies just does things to me. Like, the book described that “Both Chuuya and Dazai quietly listened as if there was something in what Randou (Rimbaud) was saying that they couldn’t allow themselves to miss… Some things, however, would not return to normal: the body of a man who no longer felt the cold, and the hearts of two boys who stood rooted to the spot, staring at him. A gust of wind peered through their souls as it passed them by.”

This page just so well depicts that last line. It truly feels these boys have heard something so monumental, that they won’t ever forget. Standing in the aftermath of their first fight together, hearing these words about humanity that both mean so much to both of them. Dazai’s expressions really convey this to me in the manga, and convey it just so beautifully. And Chuuya being so close to Rimbaud when he speak those words just makes it feel like those words truly are so monumental for him. And also this means that Chuuya fought to kill a man, that to be entirely fair and clear was trying to kill him first, and then held to his hand as he dies, and there’s just something about this added detail that’s so significant to me in portraying the weight of it on Chuuya. Chuuya's connection to Rimbaud is a complicated but important one. But really these words are important for both boys, because let’s not forget that Dazai also struggles with his humanity. Even if he doesn’t have a physical reason to doubt his humanity, like Chuuya, there are many other reasons that he does doubt it. So hearing that all people and all of humanity are really just patterns within the physical world, human or not that’s true of everyone and everything, and that’s important for Dazai to hear too. I think both boys think back to Rimbaud’s final speech quite a bit, if I’m being honest or did for a while.

I am NOT getting over the detail that someone (Chuuya??) put Rimbaud’s scarf on his grave. I just… it does something to me and I love that detail so much. And cutting back to that “You are you” line while Chuuya’s talking to the grave is just so perfect in my opinion, and again just shows the significance of it so, so well. It’s like, he's talking to Rimbaud, complaining about his actions really, and then it cuts to that “you are you” and it just shows almost the contrast I guess between Chuuya feeling unrest at not finding stuff about his past that Rimbaud could’ve given him, but maybe wouldn’t have anyway, and Rimbaud’s statement that those things don’t matter because Chuuya is who he is beyond all that. Also the little dandelion blowing into the wind, to me also signifying a wish being spread.

Anyway, entirely unnecessary to end the chapter with a big knife in Chuuya’s back, thanks. Especially after Chuuya mentions how he’s still exhausted from everything. Like let’s just, stop, please.

He's just a boy, leave him alone for the sake of all things good.

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chuuya-fan-page · 7 months

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hoshikawa my beloved

can we talk about how cool this panel was? omgg

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severaltuesdays · 9 months

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Not to talk about The French but I'm going to talk about The French (Stormbringer Spoilers)

I've been hyperfixated on Rimbaud and Verlaine for 5 months and I'm going batshit insane about them (I feel like my obsession is dying down but let's hope I'm just feeling the general affects of mental illness, anyway) and due to my regular perusing of Stormbringer and Fifteen, I noticed something that stuck out to me.

In Rimbaud's log-book entries, the moon is mentioned a total of six times,

Initially I wanted to use this to calculate the time between entries, thinking I could estimate the time frame between them (since Asagiri won't even bless us with the DATES) but then I noticed just how many times the moon is mentioned in reference to Verlaine.

This is all in the epilogue of Fifteen, but it's so evident in Stormbringer

Again, all of these are from scenes that include Verlaine, or are in direct reference to Verlaine, or in lines said by Verlaine. The real kicker for me though was this next one.

This is the last time the moon is referenced in Stormbringer. After the Singularity Beast within Verlaine is killed, the moon is never mentioned again.

Now all this is Super Exciting and all, but just you wait.

MOTHERFUCKER

Mind you, I figured this out after researching moon phases for half an hour so I was PISSED. (Seriously my notes about Rimbaud's journal just turn into incoherent rambling about here)

But read the actual poem and tell me this isn't Verlaine

Firstly the imagery of songs and dancing fits with the metal particles that were used by Pan/N to control Verlaine

Also the disguise/mask imagery connects with the cold demeanour that Verlaine presents

"Singing all the while, in the minor mode, Of all-conquering love and life so kind to them They do not seem to believe in their good fortune,"

Not believing in good fortune???? Like Verlaine didn't believe in Rimbaud's love for him?????

Now I can't tell if I'm going insane (I am) or if this makes sense but I've been told this makes sense so hopefully it does.

In conclusion, I think Verlaine's ability is called Clair de Lune, thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

#i hate the french #also the moon is a symbol of romance so like #im just SAYING #paul verlaine #bsd paul verlaine #stormbringer #bsd stormbringer #bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #nakahara chuuya #arthur rimbaud #rimlaine #me when the storms are brought

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laxmiree · 10 months

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[CN] MLQC Lucien's Arriving As Promised event translation (Prologue + Day 1)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

This post contains a HEAVY SPOILER for the event that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Arriving As Promised Free SR Event | Prologue+Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6-9 | Warm Fragrance Date

Translation under the cut!

[Note]: This is a FREE SR event, so it’ll take 9 days to get the karma. The event’s ‘name’ is actually longer but I decided to shorten it bc it’ll be long af if I wrote all of it 😂.

The event’s full name is 如约而至生如夏花 which translates to “Arriving as promised, life is like a summer flower”. “Life is like a summer flower” (生如夏花) symbolizes the ephemeral and transient nature of life, comparing it to the fleeting beauty of a flower that blooms during the summertime. This phrase might be a reference to one short poem in [Stray Birds] written by Tagore. The full phrase of the referenced short poem is “Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.”

[Prologue]

The golden desert stretches out flatly towards the distance, connecting undulating dunes. The wind freely brushes against this desert.

In front of me, Lucien crosses a gully filled with quicksand. He stands on a dune, turns around, and reaches out his hand towards me.

Lucien: Give me your hand.

He grabs my hand, and I follow his large strides, stepping steadily onto the sand dune.

MC: Walking here is even more difficult than climbing a mountain... The sun is so intense, and one wrong step could lead to sinking into quicksand.

Lucien: That’s why the residents here prefer to travel by camel for convenience and safety. Occasionally, they also take public off-road vehicles.

MC: Are you also going to ride a camel or take a public off-road vehicle to the research institute later?

Lucien: The research institute doesn’t allow external vehicles to get inside the enclosed experimental area, so they will come to pick me up at the waiting shelter later.

MC: It’s good that someone will come to pick you up~

Lucien was invited by the Great Western Neuroscience Research Association to come to this desert town and study the frequent occurrence of brain diseases among desert residents and its connection to the scarcity of vegetation.

I heard they also have a large experimental greenhouse. It sounded intriguing, so I took the opportunity during my vacation to come here with him.

I had initially thought that, like before, we could explore around after he finishes work. However, I didn’t expect it to be completely closed off and tightly managed.

MC: After your experiment is over, can we go around nearby?~

Lucien: Of course, there have been many local events recently that showcase the unique characteristics of the area. I think you will find them interesting.

Lucien: However, after the closed experiment is over, I still have a day of running the flower shop as part of the experiment.

Lucien: So, I will have to ask you to wait for me for one more day.

Lucien: However, if you’re interested, I would also be delighted to welcome MC to my “garden.”

MC: Can I go too?!

Lucien: By that time, the experiment should be in a phase where it is open to the public.

Actually, whether we go to the flower shop or not is not important. Being able to see him sooner is already enough for me.

However, just the thought of Lucien as a flower shop owner makes me can’t help but smile.

MC: Then I will have to buy the most beautiful flower from you when that time comes.

Lucien: Perhaps ‘Shop Owner Lucien’ will prepare some special gifts in advance for someone he likes.

As we cross the final gully of quicksand, the waiting shelter finally comes into view.

Lucien's phone starts ringing almost simultaneously.

Lucien: The research institute’s vehicle has already departed. They said it will arrive in about fifteen minutes.

Lucien: Don’t worry, my colleague’s car will come later to take you to the hotel.

MC: Oh...

Although I know that this is a normal part of Lucien's work and have prepared myself for it, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed as we part ways.

I won't be able to see him for over ten days from now on.

I quietly pout my lips and step forward, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face deep in his embrace.

Lucien: There are still ten minutes left. Don't you want to talk to me a bit more?

MC: ...Remember to drink plenty of water. It's easy to get dehydrated in the desert.

MC: No staying up late secretly doing research, and no forgetting to eat because of meetings.

MC: If you go out, always remember to wear a hat. Don't get heatstroke.

Lucien: Then, MC, would you like to lift your head and listen to my answer?

A laughter-filled echo that comes from above reaches my ears. I pause for a moment and lift my head up.

And at the moment I lift my head, a sensation of intimate warmth lands on my lips.

Lucien: I don't remember any of the things you just said, what should I do?

MC: Liar.

Lucien: Because all I can think about right now is you, I can't remember any other unnecessary things.

A restrained sigh resonates in my ears, and as if unable to hold back, he lightly pecks me once again.

MC: Then I will make sure to write it down specifically so that you can't use the excuse of "thinking about me*" to avoid resting.

[T/N]: 想 is to think of/to miss someone/something.

I rummage through my backpack and earnestly start writing with pen and paper.

Seeing the words I wrote, Lucien strokes my head gently, his gaze softening.

Lucien: Then, I have one for you too.

[To Do List, From Lucien to MC]

Install a dust-proof bed curtain on the bed.

On the third day, go to the warehouse to collect a special package.

Visit the market to buy a windproof shawl for sand protection.

Visit the woodworking workshop to make a grand opening sign.

On the day the experiment ends, I will wait for you in the flower shop.

Lucien: Only one minute left, I want to use this last minute to hug MC again.

[Day 1 – A curtain of dreamy longing]

After the long journey through the desert, I finally arrived at the garden villa near the oasis.

MC: I didn't expect to find such beautiful accommodations in the desert!

MC: It’s a pity that such a spacious place is only for me to stay in alone.

MC: I wonder if Lucien has arrived yet...

I originally want to give him a call, but then I remember that he will have a meeting after arriving at the laboratory.

MC: I’ll call him later then.

I suddenly remember that Lucien also left me a note before he left.

MC: After putting away my luggage, I’ll go to the supermarket to see if they have any dust-proof bed curtains.

MC: It's a good idea to take out the desert map and study it while I have some time!

[Diary]

Day: June 25th

After installing the bed curtains, I sat on the bed and studied the small town map Lucien gave me. Surprisingly, the research institute’s plantation base is not far from where I am, just a half-hour drive away. I wonder if he would notice if I sneak a glimpse of him from afar?

#that any other unnecessary things is crucial for your life SIR #the longing and yearning :"#the way they stay clingy until the last minute until getting separated sob sob #mlqc lucien #mr love queen's choice #mlqc spoiler #mlqc translations #mlqc cn

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asachuu · 3 months

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I have no clue how desktop Tumblr works, so pardon me if I mess something up, but upon drawing 17 pages of a manga for a week straight, I don’t think this is the biggest problem for me anymore.

Minor spoilers for specifically the Fifteen manga below the cut, but it’s really just one visual detail.

I’ll make the joke for you so you don’t have to; yes, there’s four things I don’t draw often and it shows: Dazai, Chuuya, backgrounds and facial expressions. Now that that’s out of the way, I’m still delighted to present you with my week-long full-time torment I’ve chosen for myself, just because the last chapter of the Fifteen manga was ever-so-slightly frustrating, albeit admittedly visually right up my alley.

I’m not going to go into why, I’ve already spoken about what I find dissatisfying in particular about this manga that extends to every chapter and is no different this time around either, but I’ve decided to honor Hoshikawa-san’s creative choices nevertheless and borrow at least Arthur’s eyes from the latest chapter, just because…why not? Still, to achieve balance, I had to take phase 16 and turn the absolute lack of any emotion whatsoever to the exact opposite, and although I’d be willing to admit I’ve had to mildly overdo it, the stage play disagrees with me on that anyway, so I suppose that’s just fine here.

Now. Do I believe half the pages look as if I were drawing them in an extreme hurry? Of course, because I was. But do I care? Not enough to prevent me from posting this, and if anything, I can redraw some stuff later if I feel up to it and edit this post. I don’t have enough time nor a decent budget to try and create some kind of Mona Lisa at the moment, but what I do have is at least more care for the original source. At this point, I’m somewhat grateful for this slightly lengthy, tiring experience, just because doing this again will be easier the most-likely-inevitable next time.

All novel translation credits go to DarkestJay8686.

#art #my art #rkgk #bsd fifteen #bsd arthur rimbaud #bsd fanart #bungou stray dogs #bsd osamu dazai #bsd nakahara chuuya #randou #asachuu #I quite literally procrastinated on being sick to draw all this #I find it funny how the first pages have so much effort put into them #meanwhile the last pages seem like I’ve been slamming my head into a wall #it wouldn’t be far off from the truth

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lucifermeo · 2 years

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Keeping Up with the Port Mafia: Lore Edition

I might or might not have a favoured spot for the Port Mafia and Asagiri definitely has the habit of dropping lore and timeline all over the places, so I thought I'll compile an everything-we-know-about-the-PM (and some speculation maybe?) post in chronological order (mostly for my own reference). For easy timekeeping, time posts are converted to years-before-present aka Chapter 1 of the main manga, and characters' ages at the time will be in brackets, eg. Dazai (14). There will be spoilers for canon materials up until June '22 (to be updated if we get something new).

Let's categorise the PM history into three main phases: (1) Before Mori, (2) Mori's entrance and MPMGA (Make the PM Great Again), (3) Dark Era and the Present PM.

1. Before Mori (?? – 12 years ago)

Known members: previous boss, Hirotsu Ryuurou, Kouyou Ozaki (join times: all unknown), Randou (real name: Arthur Rimbaud, join time: 15 years ago)

Not much is known about the mafia during this period. What little is known, though, paints a pretty terrible picture. The Port Mafia was the biggest and most powerful underground organisation in Yokohama, but the previous boss was described to be violent, sadistic, and grew progressively even more insane and unpredictable towards the end of his illness, and his rule was described as a "bloody tyranny."

One [..] day, the residents of an entire housing complex died when their water tank was poisoned on the off chance that a rival organization's executive was hiding there. And on yet another day, the previous boss issued a citywide notice that anyone who spoke ill of the Port Mafia would be put to death and anyone who reported such talk would be rewarded. The entire city spent the next several years engaged in a witch hunt with everyone suspicious of one another. Yokohama became a city of traitors; over a thousand people were executed, many of whom were apparently known at the time to be innocent. (Dazai, Chuuya, age Fifteen LN)

While he maintained the power of the PM, the previous boss also caused the reign of terror over the city and directly led to its instability, as shown by smaller gangs taking advantage of the PM's reputation to sow more chaos without repercussions (Ch. 50, Fukuzawa and Mori's flashback), as well as the rise of groups like The Sheep, originally formed to protect orphans against the Yokohama underworld. We know he treated his subordinates terribly, through the story of Kouyou (14?) and her mysterious man (Ch. 37), how most men had deserted the mafia by the time of his death, or how Hirotsu, probably the most 'traditional' loyal mafia man, barely blinked when he heard proof Mori cut the previous boss's throat (Ch. 33). It was also implied he didn't know how to use his subordinates efficiently, as Randou, with his OP subspace ability and presumably above-average intelligence even after losing his memories, was only relegated to a low-level grunt during his reign. This serves as contrast to Mori, who promoted Randou to sub-executive immediately after his ascension to PM boss.

What other main players were doing at the time:

During the Great War (?? – 14 years ago), Mori (?? – 26) served as the JPN army doctor, while Fukuzawa (?? – 31) served as a government assassin alongside Fukuchi, until the former quit. For unknown reasons, Mori left the military after the war to work as an underground doctor and informant, where he (28) met Natsume-sensei sometime 12 years ago.

Fukuzawa, after quitting assassin work because he was enjoying killing too much, worked as a bodyguard until he encountered Ranpo 13 years ago (the events of Untold Origins of the Detective Agency). 1 year later, to protect Ranpo, he (33) approached Natsume sensei for a Skilled Business Permit and was introduced to Mori (Ch 50, flashback). Both men undertook their first mission together at the manor and were then inducted into the Tripartite Plan. We also know both of them shared hatred for how the previous boss ruled the PM.

Dazai's whereabouts at this point are unknown. Fifteen LN suggests he and the previous boss were familiar (antagonistically) with each other, but whether it's due to them having known each other before Mori or purely due to Dazai's association with the doctor after he was 14 is hard to say definitively.

After the Arahabaki incident 15 years ago, Chuuya (7) joined the Sheep and acted as their 'leader', while Verlaine (age?) defected from his previous job as a French spy to become a rogue assassin

Oda had gained infamy working as an assassin in Yokohama since time unknown until he (14) read Natsume Souseki's novel, was approached by the man himself about writing the ending, and then quit assassin work 14 years ago. He continued doing odd jobs before the events of The Day I Picked Up Dazai (Side A) bonus story

2. Mori's entrance and Making the PM Great Again (12 years ago – 5 years ago)

Members initiated, by chronological order: Mori Ougai (personal physician, boss), Dazai Osamu (member, executive candidate), Nakahara Chuuya (member, executive candidate), Sakaguchi Ango (accountant, Special Division for Unusual Powers spy), Paul Verlaine (member, trainer), Oda Sakunosuke (low-level grunt)

Members lost: previous boss (assassinated by Mori), Randou/Rimbaud (betrayal, killed by SKK), the Flags and others (killed by Verlaine/Guirve), 84++ members and executive member 'Colonel' (killed in Dragon's Head Conflict)

12 years ago: Sometime after Fukuzawa's and Mori's first mission together, Mori managed to gain employment as the PM boss's personal physician and Fukuzawa's somewhat established the ADA with Ranpo as its only member (Ch. 66, their info boxes)

11 years ago: However, at the time, the previous boss was presumably still lucid and had the full backing of the PM members, which must have led Mori to believe the "most optimal" option to take him down was through force. Having no manpower of his own, Mori remembered his botched Undead Army plan during wartime and searched out Yosano ("3 years after the war" Ch. 66), which led to the breakdown of his and Fukuzawa's partnership. Upon Ranpo's invitation, Yosano (14) officially joined the ADA.

8 years ago: Without Yosano, Mori continued to bide for time while the PM's brutality continued. However, during this time the previous boss's illness grew worse (naturally? or did Mori poison him with something slow-acting as his plan B??) making his actions more volatile. Regardless, the previous boss started losing the trust of the PM members, as well as the PM's standing in the underworld due to increasing casualties. The time was ripe for a takeover.

It was then that Dazai (14) came into Mori’s care after a suicide attempt. Recognizing Dazai’s intelligence as an asset (and missing the fact that he can’t be trusted), Mori enlisted Dazai’s help to plan the assassination of the previous boss. Their plan carried on without a hitch, and Mori (32) succeeded as the Port Mafia boss (this might just be a hint towards Dazai’s real past; after all, people don’t send just any suicidal kid to the care of the mafia’s private doctor)

7 years ago aka the events of Fifteen LN: Mori had successfully removed the previous boss from power, but the succession was not smooth; he lacked trust from the factions still loyal to the previous boss, the mafia still lacked resources and talents due to the previous boss's action, and they were losing territories to rivals (Takasekai, GSS, Sheep). However, after the "Fake Predecessor" case, Dazai (15) and Chuuya (15) officially joined the PM and worked under Mori and Kouyou, respectively. With their help, Mori would go on to regain control and expand the PM.

Sometime during this period, Ango (19) joined the Port Mafia as a spy for the Special Division for Unusual Powers.

Two years ago, Ango went to Europe for business after he had been in the mafia for a year and gained their trust. (Dark Era LN pg 68-69, suggesting Ango joined the PM 3 years before its events.)

6 years ago, part 1 (Assassination King's Incident aka events of Stormbringer LN): Verlaine came into town looking for his 'brother' Chuuya (16). The resulting conflict resulted in heavy casualties for the PM, with 5 executive candidates (the Flags) and many ability users dead, and forced them to withdraw their influence significantly in the Yokohama underworld to protect them from the government's scrutiny. However, it was not a total loss: laying low would later help them through the DHC, they gained yet another government-level secret weapon in Verlaine (though his ability was significantly weakened), and Chuuya now knew how to activate Corruption (this can also be considered a turning point that secured Chuuya's loyalty to the PM as well as continued to build momentum for Soukoku's later infamous partnership)

6 years ago, interlude: Dazai (16) went undercover to investigate the rumours of a powerful figure in the city and ended up establishing a friendship with Oda. Upon Dazai's invitation while they were drinking in Lupin, 'Odasaku' (21) joined the Port Mafia (The Day I Picked Up Dazai, Side A short story.)

6 years ago, part 2 (Dragon's Head Conflict): An 88-day war occurred in Yokohama's underworld over a 500 billion yen inheritance. Due to laying low since the Assassin King Incident, the PM got away with the least damage in the beginning of the conflict. During this time, Dazai and Oda befriended Ango, thus began the trio's friendship until Dark Era. The Special Division brought in Shibuwasa (23?) intending to end the war, but he turned on them, started his own organisation, and made the casualties worse in his quest to acquire ability gems. He was eventually confronted by Dazai and Chuuya (16) and believed to have died when Chuuya used Corruption (Dead Apple multiple adaptations). This was implied to be the first time 'Soukoku'/Double Black term was coined ("[Chuuya and Dazai] destroyed an entire organization in one night" - Ch. 30) and marked the end of the DHC.

After the end of conflict, [the Port Mafia's] influence expanded rapidly in the burn-out underworld. Like a young tree after a forest fire that was remarkedly growing without the sunlight being obstructed. (Stormbringer LN, translated by @/Chibikko_Chuuya)

5 years ago: unknown (please ask twitter user @/kafkaasagiri)

3. Dark Era and Present PM (4 years ago – Present)

Members update: Sakaguchi Ango (intelligence agent, defected), Dazai Osamu (executive, defected), Nakahara Chuuya (executive), Paul Verlaine (executive)

Members initiated, by chronological order: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke & Gin (Dazai's subordinate, Black Lizard), Kajii Motojirou ('Sneering Lemon Incident'??uncertain), Tachihara Michizou (Black Lizard, Hunting Dog spy), Higuchi Ichiyou (Akutagawa's assistant), Izumi Kyouka (assassin)

Members lost: Sakaguchi Ango (defected), Oda Sakunosuke (killed by Gide), Dazai Osamu (defected), Izumi Kyouka (defected), Ace (executive, suicide by Fyodor), everyone? (vampires???)

4.5 years ago: Dazai (18) was made executive, the youngest in mafia's history. On the same day (The Heartless Cur short story), he professed to come across the news that a PM sub-organisation killed all of Akutagawa's friends and after baiting them to kill each other, successfully invited Akutagawa (16) and his sister, Gin, to join the PM.

(Note: the "4.5 years" was taken from Beast manga, where the same event happened except Beast!Dazai rejected Akutagawa to take Atsushi as his protégé instead. Since it is assumed Beast!Oda picked up Akutagawa the same time as canon!Dazai picked up Atsushi by the river, the length of time should apply as well?)

(to be confirmed) According to the order of events listed chronologically at the end of Stormbringer LN, a 'Sneering Lemon Incident' was supposed to take place between Dazai's promotion to executive and Mimic Incident. This might be when Kajii was recruited to the PM.

4 years ago aka events of Dark Era LN: Mimic came to Yokohama after getting Ango (22)'s information, which was actually manipulated by Mori (36). Everything went according to Mori's plan: the spy Ango was removed from the PM after exhausting his usefulness as a Special Division liaison, Mimic was removed with minimal casualty as Oda (23) would not have contributed much to the PM when he refused to kill, and the PM obtained the Skilled Business Permit, which would free them from most government interference and basically solidified their uncontested position as ruler of Yokohama's underworld. It is heavily implied Dazai (18)'s defection was planned as well, though Mori's reason was never stated definitely.

The organization had received an item of great value, something that more than made up for the total pecuniary damage and loss of talented subordinates. That included Dazai's disappearance as well. Logically, the results couldn't have been better. Everything was going according to plan. (Dark Era LN, Mori's PoV)

(The surface meaning of the above quote suggested Dazai was another calculated loss like Oda, while Dazai said Mori was afraid he would be usurped by Dazai. However, the words "logically", the fact the position is left open for Dazai, and how Beast manga implied Mori wanted to 'save' for Dazai, could also suggest Mori saw Dazai was getting worse the longer he stayed in the PM and wanted to kick him out for his own good?? Debatable.)

Interlude: Sometime after Dark Era, Tachihara joined as a spy for the Hunting Dog to replace Ango's position as the designated government spy, and Higuchi joined as well (reason unknown). Sometime after that, Chuuya (age?) was promoted to executive position, as Akutagawa and Higuchi were seen already working together when he received his gift from Mori for the promotion. At some point before present, Verlaine (age?) was also promoted to executive.

Present: Yay, we finally reached present timeline! Taking the final count of members before the Decay of Angels arc, by rank:

The PM boss: Mori Ougai (40). Role: everything

The Five Executives:

Dazai Osamu (22) (defected). Known roles: former Mori's right-hand man, former leader of Guerrilla Corps (The Heartless Cur short story), in charge of mafia's merger and acquisition of new businesses (Stormbringer LN)

Kouyou Ozaki (26). Known roles: Managing mafia's business ties and front organisations (Fifteen LN), in charge of the mafia's interrogation units (Ch. 19), combat when the situation calls for it (Stormbringer LN, Cannibalism arc)

Nakahara Chuuya (22). Known roles: Mori's current right-hand man(?)/next-in-command (Cannibalism arc), combat when the situation calls for it (suppressing uprisings in the west - Ch. 11, Soukoku - Ch. 31, Dead Apple, Cannibalism arc), formerly in charge of the mafia's jewellery trade (under Kouyou - Stormbringer LN)

Paul Verlaine. Known roles: ?? (side job: basement dweller assassin trainer)

Ace (deceased). Known roles: managing the mafia's casinos and finance

The Guerrilla Corps: previously led by Dazai, currently led by Akutagawa (20). Higuchi is a member and acts as Akutagawa's right-hand man. Follows orders directly from the boss.

The Combat Unit (Black Lizards): Led by Hirotsu (50) ('Commander of Hundred') with subunits led by Tachihara (19) and Gin ('Commander of Ten'). Acts as the offensive arm of the PM, follows orders from the Guerrilla Corps members and boss & executives.

Unknown rank: Kajii (28), Q/Yumeno Kyuusaku (13)

Other known roles/units:

Mafia's personal informant: previously held by Ango. Liaise with/spy on other crime syndicates. Answer directly to the boss, unaffiliated with the executives.

Accounting firm: in charge of money laundering, bookkeeping and the PM's banks. A senior accountant may be very well-respected among high-ranking members.

"The accountant you killed at the bank - he was a senior in the profession who had devoted himself to our organization for many years. He was highly trusted among the executives. The boss will probably attend his funeral as well. I, too, was personally acquainted with the man." (Akutagawa, 55 minutes LN)

Medical team: former member, Doc. "Extraordinarily valued and favoured" unit in the PM, due to Mori's past.

Public Relations Officer: previously held by Lippmann. In charge of negotiating with front companies, government officials, and the media.

Vehicle support: previously held by Albatross. Supplies and manages transport for all PM members.

(now it's time to keep up with manga updates and hope they're not all dead by vampirism 💀)

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd port mafia #bsd dazai #bsd chuuya #bsd mori #bsd kouyou #bsd verlaine #bsd akutagawa #bsd ango #bsd odasaku #bsd dark era #bsd fifteen #bsd stormbringer #bsd lore #sth like that #i got tired of tagging

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thecurioustale · 4 months

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You Should Read Shirley Estar Goes to Heaven!

Friends, tumblrs, countrymates, it is my rare pleasure to make a book recommendation that I've been looking forward all year to making. Winston Rowntree, of Subnormality fame, has just published his first novel—or, rather, his first conventional, text-only novel: Shirley Estar Goes to Heaven.

That link will take you to the landing page where you can learn about the book, watch the trailer, and purchase the paper and/or e-book editions. I recommend it very highly!

I realize that my excitement is not something that will automatically carry over to you, and that I have to sell it a little bit. So, in a SPOILER-FREE way, here is why I am recommending this book:

To get the selfish part out of the way first: Last winter I was fortunate enough to be a very early reader for this work, months before the main beta reading phase. A genuine delight, to put it simply. I haven't gotten my physical copy of the book yet (it just published, after all, and is in transit), so I don't know yet what changes may have resulted from my feedback; but, regardless, it's not every day that I get to have involvement with another artist's work before its publication—so I am very excited on those grounds.

More importantly, however, this book is painfully personal for me. It is a book about a person who can't. You would think they can. They are able-bodied, intelligent, and self-aware. But they can't. In cold clinical terms it is a mental impairment. Qualitatively, it is as though a watery pane of glass separates you from the rest of the world. You can see everything beyond it, but you can't go there. I have struggled with this since I was a small child, much more severely than I have ever fully explained, and I will never not struggle with it. It is the central dominating force in my life. This book is a book about that, except with dramatic elongations of the terrible shadows it casts. Anyone who has struggled with this illness or perhaps let us call it a fault is likely to be able to relate to this story in some way, and it is also a recommended read for those who don't suffer from this condition themselves but want to learn more about it. I particularly like one of the other early readers' pithy assessments: "Characters that you'll love but one of them will always do the thing you don't want her to."

Shirley Estar Goes to Heaven is a reimagining of Winston Rowntree's graphic novel from about fifteen years ago called Captain Estar Goes to Heaven, which old-timers may recall was (and is) also very dear to me. But this novel is a completely different work. It's uncanny, actually, because the characters and the flow of events are very similar, yet the story and the mood and the tonality are all different. Even the core themes have shifted somewhat. The artist has had fifteen years to grow in power and change in perspective, and the new novel makes full use of that transformation. It is a mature and intellectually challenging read. Not so much as in "the sentences are really difficult"; it's actually quite easy to read in that sense. But more like "you don't know where it's going but you're bleeding and you desperately need a band-aid so you hope really hard that there'll be a drugstore somewhere along the route." So, if you like that kind of thing, I can definitely recommend this book.

It's a sci-fi story, so if you like sci-fi then you have another reason to read it. And this book lives up to the name of "science fiction"; it's not just contemporary drama in spaaaaace! It makes creative use of the sci-fi canvas. There are some wonderful settings, futuristic conventions, and technological conceits. The sci-fi on display here is in many ways similar to and in many ways different from my own work. When I read it I saw that there are definitely similarities between Shirley Estar and my own Cherry from Galaxy Federal. But I think the most important comparison to make is that Winston Rowntree has his own pair of eyes and his own point of view, and approaches these issues in different ways and from different directions than I do. Shirley Estar Goes to Heaven says some things that I've been trying to say in my own work for ages, but it does so in ways that I never would or could.

Lastly, this book is also quite creative with its use of the medium, with decisions about the book's narrative structure and even its physical formatting serving to facilitate uncertainty and questions.

Anyway! I think I've said enough. Less is more, here. I don't want to tell you what to think about this story or even what to expect from it. But I do want to tell you what to do: Go read it!

#Shirley Estar Goes to Heaven #Winston Rowntree #Subnormality #Book recommendations #Galaxy Federal

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tennessoui · 2 years

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kuwsk 🥺👉👈 love you 🫰🏽

hello hello!!! here is 835 words of KUWSK that i wrote in the last 30 minutes. no spoilers for the kenobi show, as KUWSK could not be further separated from the kenobi show, but if you've seen the kenobi show then you'll definitely be able to see what i was imagining while writing this lol.

Early June, half a year (six months, three weeks and one day, if you ask Anakin) after they get together

“Obi,” Leia says, reaching up to tug at his pants leg. Obi-Wan hums to show that he’s listening, even if he really isn’t. He’s trying to decide which of these blown glass pieces will look better in their kitchen window. One depicts a soft sunrise, pink and yellow and green. The other is a beach landscape, darker blues and swaths of orange.

Objectively, the sunrise would be much prettier, and since the kitchen is west-facing, it would throw a beautiful blanket of light over the countertops while (usually) Anakin prepared dinner, which the man would surely be delighted by.

Subjectively, of course, Obi-Wan has spent the last two months trying to subtly hint to Anakin that he would like to go to the beach this summer, and frankly, they’re running out of time. Anakin sometimes needs things laid out for him to understand. After all, he’d needed Obi-Wan to accidentally kiss him before they started dating, even if Obi-Wan had spent several months before that trying to show him how much he loved him.

Whenever Obi-Wan brings this up, Anakin likes making noises like he’s a dying cat before he leaves the room.

But, unfortunately, he does love this man, and he thinks the play of the pink lighting will look absolutely heavenly on Anakin’s cheekbones. And if he has the sudden urge to kiss him, then he can just do it. Amazing. It’s been half a year since they got together, and it still manages to blow Obi-Wan away every time he remembers Anakin is willingly allowing him to call him his for now.

Perhaps he should just tell Anakin about the desire for a beach trip.

“Obi,” Leia says, more insistently, tugging harder on his pants, and Obi-Wan tears his gaze away from the glass to check on her.

“Yes, Leia love?” he asks, when their eyes make contact.

“I haven’t seen daddy in ages,” she reports, stepping closer to him.

“Your daddy’s over by the tent with all the maps last time I checked,” he tells her, running a quick hand over the top of her head. Anakin and Luke had been fascinated with the selection of maps and compasses and star charts, stopping in the middle of the pathway and cutting through another row to get a closer look, as if Obi-Wan did not make and share the perfect, most efficient plan for walking through this crafts fair without missing a single tent.

That had been roughly fifteen minutes ago probably. Obi-Wan, who’d sort of hated looking at Anakin and the kids surrounded by stuff that could be used to make leaving him easier, had wandered away from the tent to the one adjacent to it, the glassblowers. Leia, who has been going through a phase where she’d choose her Obi for anything over anyone else in the entire world, had followed him.

“He’s not anymore,” Leia says. “He left.”

Obi-Wan blinks and carefully puts the glass back onto the table. The craftsman looks disappointed, but it’s not like Obi-Wan isn’t going to buy one of the pieces he’s just spent ten minutes putting his fingerprints all over. He cranes his head out the tent to look across the way into the map tent.

No Anakin.

Alright. That’s fine. That’s great. He can’t see Luke either, which must mean that Luke is with Anakin, which is the best place for him to be. They probably went to the bathroom. Or to the foodstall selling kettlecorn that Luke had been dying to try. Or back to the car so they could drop off all the maps they’d bought before Obi-Wan could see.

“Did they…leave?” Leia asks, little hand tightening its grip on his pants.

Obi-Wan turns to look at her, and then over to the craftsman. The glass can wait until after they’ve located Anakin. And he will get the beach one, he’s just decided. He leans down so that Leia can easily hop into his arms. He makes sure that she’s secure the way she likes to be—both arms wrapped tightly around his neck and one leg dangling down—before he moves out of the tent.

“Don’t be silly, darling,” he tells her. “They’d never leave you. Let’s go find your brother and your daddy.”

“Maybe the map people can help us,” Leia suggests seriously with wide eyes.

Even though Obi-Wan can feel the beginnings of real anxiety stirring in his chest—his phone’s been dead for an hour now because Anakin had rolled over its charger in his sleep and unplugged it—he has to bite back a chuckle at this. “Do you suppose they have a map they can sell us to find your daddy?” he asks, trying to mimic her serious tone.

“No, Obi,” Leia says. She sounds like she’d be rolling her eyes if she were a few years older. “They might be able to tell us where they went.”

#asks #kuwsk #this will tentatively be a chapter on ao3 sometime hopefully this month maybe tomorrow who knows with me #ever since someone said all my obi-wans are a teensy bit manipulative ive noticed it (and included it) everywhere #look at this bitch #he can't just say 'anakin loml and man who would probably take a bullet for me if we were in a more dramatic au #i would like to go to the beach this summer'#no instead hes like im going to leave subliminal messages around the house until he brings it up himself #quinlan the psychology professor is like 'i am dying to study you. just one afternoon in the lab. we'll let you back out i promise'#had this thought (anakin and obi-wan getting separated at a crafts fair and leia and obi-wan go around trying to find them)#like right before going to bed lol

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chrxnicdaydream · 1 month

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So… Stormbringer manga next?

please?

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mistresspandorawritesthings · 2 years

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TASS - Chapter 2

Take a Sad Song: Chapter 2 is now live on AO3!

Excerpt:

"What was our first date, do ye suppose?" There were a million horrible things they'd done together that he could never connect to what they had now. "Claire's Halloween party?"

"Top Gun," John answered, certain.

"That was the end of summer." Jamie hadn't meant that to be a date when he'd invited John to go with him. They were just friends. He'd had a crush on him then, sure, as if he were some hormonal fifteen-year-old boy, Christ. But he wouldn't have ever said anything about it, not after the shit he'd dragged John through. "Did ye think it was a date at the time? Because I didn't."

Read the tags, heed the tags, they're there for your protection.

New to Songs About Getting By? You can start with Part 1: This Ain't A Love Song.

Read Chapter 2 of Take a Sad Song, exclusively on AO3.

Or, start from Chapter 1.

Relevant notes below the cut, may contain spoilers:

What Jamie was doing in the car is called beat displacement: beat displacement - a term popularized in drumming over the last 10 years. It refers to permutation where all beats will move forward say, one eighth note. This method will create numerous variations of rhythmic possibilities on the drums.

8-track tapes came out in the 1960s and were largely phased out in the mid 70s. Some cars had them until the early 80s. Unlike cassette tapes, which could be rewound or flipped over to play the other side, 8-tracks couldn’t, they played on a continuous loops.

Geography is not my strong suit. We know in canon that Helwater is somewhere south of Gretna Green, but I don’t think it’s ever indicated what town the estate is near. So I spent a grueling four or five minutes on Google maps, dropped a pin into the Lake District, and came up with Rockcliffe Cross. My apologies if you have firsthand knowledge of the area and I blew it.

#TASS #Take a Sad Song #Songs About Getting By #Jamie/John #Jamie x John #MistressPandora Wrote it

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signalwatch · 1 year

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00's Rewatch: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Watched: 02/04/2023

Format: Apple+

Viewing: Unknown

Director: Wes Anderson

It may be that the truest line of dialog, clunky as it sounded at the time, to ever be put into a movie was in The Dark Knight. You either die a hero live long enough to see yourself become the villain. And if my former life on twitter taught me anything, it's that the next generation of people who were not there at the time are going to come along and not understand the world or context into which a film was delivered. That's not their fault, but to assume that something like The Royal Tenenbaums arrives into theaters and now Wes Anderson is considered a faultless filmmaker who will enjoy a career of deeply specific filmmaking and be dubbed a key filmmaker was not a guarantee.

Even then not everyone loved Anderson's mannered, structured take that drew attention to the film as a film, as a chaptered storybook. And that's fine. Not everything is to everyone's taste.

Re-watching the film, it strikes me how much the film does a thing I processed a bit at the time and which feels even more present now: showed a vision of a Generation (X) that had grown up in the shadow of giants of the American century. In some ways 2001 was the demarcation point of the old guard and that we didn't really know what the next phase would be. The house is a time capsule, existing in the wake of 1960's and 70's, the golden period of the Glass children - when they were famed child prodigies and the subject of their mother's book and intense media coverage. Fashion is all over the place, pulling from the 60's and 70's, the music is Velvet Underground and VU-adjacent. The feel of the books the movie references, shows, etc... are the 1960's and 70's books we saw in libraries and our parents shelves. Ritchie travels by ship. It's a timeless, post WWII look and feel, and could be a period piece, I guess.

The movie clearly lifts from JD Salinger's books and stories about the Glass family, something self-respecting Gen-X'ers read whether they liked these books or not.* But it's also an entirely different concept - there's no one remotely like Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) in the books, and while it's been 30 years since I read much Salinger, I don't recall any books about all the Glass family coming back together. This is cuter and fuzzier, the nihilism toned down. And that's okay. There's liberty in being an homage and your own thing.

In the end, the story is about Royal's return to the family (due to extenuating financial circumstances) and how that return and the children coming back under their childhood roof helps push the now adult children back in the right direction (spoilers). It's some curiously adult stuff for a movie that feels like it could be taken as a novelty comedy. What seem like disparate paths for much of the film are pulled together by the ne'er-do-well father - and despite what the movie says til the last minutes, he does actually make good, in his way.

In a career of phenomenal performances, it's the one I think of as Hackman's best. The character seems utterly unlike Hackman as I'd seen him in other roles (well, his Lex Luthor has some echoes) and certainly in interviews, there's no hint of Royal. Famously, he didn't like the role or the production. I've no idea what he thought of the final product. I doubt he watched it.

Which may be the most Royal Tenenbaum thing possible.

Anyway - it was a pleasure to rewatch the film. I don't really have comfort films, but I have films I'm in the mood for at any given time, and in the wake of our weather last week and some internal and external factors being kicked around, this was the movie that jumped out at me on Saturday. I'm glad it did. It's been years since I'd seen it, and when I saw it the first time I was seven or so years younger than the children. I'm now at least fifteen years older than those same characters, and the quirks and edges now feel like... how you wind up viewing the people you know. A series of issues, and the ones you decide to spend time with in your shared dysfunction.

*It's unclear to me if The Kids canceled Salinger or if he's still a favorite of sulky teens.

https://ift.tt/HLiAw2u

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/W2tzhk1

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spirit-of-the-westao3 · 1 year

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I give you: Blythe Jackson Roe

TW: character background includes trauma caused by *shiver* men

Blythe is a year and a half younger than the twins. She befriends Leo quickly, and they bond over medical education. Blythe moved to New York to attend Pima Medical Institute of Veterinary Technology. On occasion, Leo might need an extra steady hand or a second opinion on turtle anatomy, and Blythe is happy to step in and help.

Donnie is not great at emotions- we all know that. It’s not his fault, but it’s just the way things are. Empathy is not one of his strengths.

Blythe suffered an emotionally and physically abusive relationship that started when she was fifteen years old, and she suffers from severe depression and PTSD. She has a service dog named Arlo, and for a long time it’s was just the two of them. She doesn’t want children, and she’s not even sure she wants to trust anyone ever again. Anyone except Arlo, of course.

In the timeline that follows the RISE movie, she officially befriends Donnie after stitching him up- he says something insensitive, and when she pulls away from the Hamato’s, he doesn’t understand why.

When she finally does come back, he dives deeper into the knowledge of mental health and the symptoms that can occur. Emotions and feelings are complicated- but maybe if he can get some statistics he can understand why he strives to please her, why he’s so interested in her.

She and Leo discover they have more in common than they think when he admits that he’s noticed the symptoms of PTSD in her because he suffers them as well.

In the bad timeline, she still meets Donnie and plays the role of medic in the resistance. Leo trains her, and she quickly grows close to the family.

She’s not much of a fighter- but if she ends up on a mission she takes her job very seriously. She guards the back of the pack, watches out for the team and is very skilled in long distance combat, thanks to her Hunger Games phase from when she was like twelve.

There’s still a lot for her to learn and endure, but no spoilers! Check out All Roads Lead Home for the bad timeline, or Pain: the Mental and Emotional kind for the story of Blythe and Donnie after the movie.

P. S. Her favorite color is blue much to Donnie’s disdain…but she still decks herself out in his color

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martianbugsbunny · 2 years

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OUAT Thoughts Pt.49--Episodes 11-12

I have watched through S5E12; spoilers DNI. Also, spoiler warning for anyone further behind than I am.

—I am *officially* the stupidest human being on the fair face of the Earth. I actually believed they would let Rumple be good. What. An. Idiot.

—Really, I don’t see the reason. The only thing I can think of is that they needed his magic to make this Underworld storyline work, but they couldn’t come up with a creative way to give him magic as a hero. If he had stayed a hero, he still could’ve gone with them, because he mother-loving wanted to, not because he was under threat.

—I have been screeching like a wet pterodactyl for fifteen minutes. Nothing about these two episodes has been good. There is literally not a speck of good to be found.

—I even had to put up with Zelena, Cora, and Pan! All three of them in two episodes! Can I not get a break?

—At least Zelena has been flung back to Oz. Although I bet she’ll show up again when I least want her to.

—They actually killed Hook. I can’t believe it. But hey, if he gets back to Earth (there I go, being a fool again) and he and Emma get to share a heart, the romance might be worth it?

—Yeah, no. Somebody is going to be left behind. I would be most upset if it was Rumple, but I think the general audience might be mad enough at him at this point that the writers will avoid him. Maybe Regina? Snow? Hey, maybe they’ll go for the double whammy and have James kill David, which kills Snow White too because *they* share a heart! YAAAAY!!!!

—Speaking of James, Snow should’ve kneed him in the nuts.

—I can’t believe these grown-ass heroes thought it was a good idea to bring Henry into the Underworld. He is a child. For shame. And you know, it might’ve been nice for him and Roland to have some bonding time back in Storybrooke.

—The Underworld is a bad place. Very spooky, but not in a fun way.

—Can I just mention real quick that I adore the way Rumple says ‘Dunbroch’? HIs accent is so cute.

—Cora getting her punishment is one of the highlights of my evening. She had it coming.

—Henry Sr.’s death is one of the most beautiful moments we’ve had in a little while. He got to see Regina being a hero, and he got to meet Henry Jr. I loved it.

—I just don’t know what to do with myself. I love Rumple, he’s got a Thanksgiving-pie-slice-sized piece of my heart, and he occupies about 50% of my thoughts, but I feel like the writers kinda screwed him over. There could’ve been a better way to give him magic. His relationship with Belle would finally have been genuine. He would get some growth for once. I think a lot of the time, even at times when the story is more focused on him, he’s used as a means to other characters’ ends. He’s used as a placeholder villain, a vehicle to get the heroes from one flavor of the month villain to the next. This is all just to give Emma a legitimate excuse to go after Hook, without seeming like *she* is making the same mistake as before.

—At the same time, it also feels like the writers didn’t recognize how well they had done crafting him as a hero. He was terribly raw, and vulnerable, and compelling. He was one of the most interesting ex-villains I’d ever seen, in just a few episodes, because his regret and his self-hatred and his pain was so incredibly, exquisitely well portrayed. Like, just thinking of it takes my breath away.

—Also, logically, his heart was pure. It’s not like he was still in a blank slate phase. He was more like Emma, who was able to resist the darkness even as the Dark One, because his heart was literally the purest heart possible. A heart like that shouldn’t even be tempted by darkness, so it doesn’t make sense.

—My first option is that he is the pet character of some writer. You know, the kind of writer who can only see what *they* want for the character, their original plan, and can’t see the organic changes that have occurred in the character (because contrary to what the Author thought, characters have life of their own and they do whatever the hell they want). The second option is that new writers were brought in who only looked at the surface of Rumple’s character and saw ‘big bad’ and never bothered to look at the significant, deep content behind his villainous actions. I don’t really care which. Either way, the writers have slipped.

—Belle is going to find out at some point. Therefore I would like to propose a clean break. Belle leaves Storybrooke to go see the world, more power to her. Rumple either reforms FR this time, for the love of mud, and settles down with someone nice, or gets an equally-bad/grey partner who will love him for his evil shenanigans. Give him a boyfriend, give him a girlfriend, just make them make sense and make them better than Rumbelle.

—This. This is the Hades they think we want? This little noodle of a man with his icky bare feet and his lack of a black toga? With his stupid tiny plaza instead of a big-ass black rock palace? THIS IS THE HADES WE GET?!!?!?! I wanted fat, fruity, well-dressed Hades!!!!

If you stuck around through all the musings on Rumple, you are stout of heart. I spend a lot of time thinking about him, so I have a lot to say; and he’s important to me, so I spend a lot of time saying it. And I’m very disappointed in the way he’s been written recently, so I’ve just spent a lot of time bothering about it.

#once upon a time #ouat #rumplestiltskin #zelena #Cora mills #Peter Pan #James uncharming #Snow White #prince David charming #Emma swan #Captain Hook #Henry mills #Henry mills-swan #belle #hades #the underworld #martianbugsbunny reviews

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asachuu · 2 months

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It’s that time of the month, folks, you know what that means…naturally, my thoughts on Fifteen’s phases 16-17, as well as just some more stuff I simply want to add, because this manga keeps on giving me things to talk about, for better or for worse.

Please note that there will be image spoilers for phases 16-17 below, proceed with caution.

This will be more of a freehand ramble about whatever comes to mind while I’m typing, I’m admittedly somewhat tired today and there’s not much new I could really add as a whole atop the persisting flaws in it, but what I will say is that I’m now starting to think even Chuuya fans are slightly losing here as well, looking at some of these panels. That is not to say they’re badly drawn, once more, I must give all credit to the artwork as I have to admit I very much like it and appreciate the effort that goes into it, but the focus of many of these pages seems to be purely to shock, intimidate or disturb the viewer in a certain way by highlighting the exaggerated abilities of the characters, rather than having the visuals balanced with the actual point of the story itself, which is not— and never has been— about the amounts of power Arthur and Chuuya hold, respectively. Perhaps I will be repeating myself here, but if anyone is to read the novel, they’ll come to find out that there is no more focus on abilities than there is on expanding Dazai, Chuuya and Arthur as characters and human beings within the story of BSD.

Nevertheless, it just so happens that Chuuya thankfully has a certain fanbase, of which the majority of people seem to understand he isn’t meant to be a cold-hearted maniac despite harboring the power of Corruption and being depicted/interpreted in various ways showcasing the extent of his abilities, but speaking from personal experience, the same can’t be said about anyone who comes to know of Arthur, which I don’t mean inherently negatively— I was also once such a person, for which I must sarcastically thank the anime adaptation that initially introduced me to him. At least, on Chuuya’s end, there are always attempts to show his humanity, his actual personality, and I’d have two guesses as to why— first, he’s one of the two most popular BSD characters who has the spotlight on him either by the creators or the fandom almost everywhere he goes; second, his story directly revolves around whether he is or isn’t human anyway, so it’s entirely understandable that a contrast between himself and his abilities would make sense to show, even sometimes exaggerate, just like in Hoshikawa’s adaptation.

Unfortunately, this contrast is just lost on Arthur’s end, because there is no other side of him being anyhow shown to the readers. Personally, I wouldn’t come out thinking Chuuya is some kind of heartless monster, given that he’s shown to interact with other characters normally, he’s seen coming back to his senses after a few panels, and generally, no matter what has been cut out and what has been left in, it just so happens that there is simply enough content of him to be able to merely afford to do any of this— all of which can’t be said about Arthur, who has all the necessary content to understand his character better specifically in the Fifteen light novel (and Stormbringer), not scattered all around several other books and mangas to be able to sacrifice one adaptation of the source material and still carry on. Albeit we still haven’t seen the end of the fight, in which I’m dearly hoping his dialogue is going to be portrayed properly with the same emotion it was presented to us with in the light novel as the absolute last chance for this to turn around in the slightest, I can safely say that there were opportunities to create this same effect with Arthur as with Chuuya, yet these opportunities were all passed up.

From the start, we’re introduced to this strange, yet harmless-looking sub-executive of the Port Mafia, that of which is revealed to be a ruse set up by him, and from that point onwards, throughout the fight, there is no further indication of anything beyond Arthur supposedly being nothing other than a simple cartoon supervillain who doesn’t really care about his actions, even though the novel has enough evidence scattered around that he does— he doesn’t want to be in that situation, he doesn’t actually want to kill anyone, and what he’s after is a memory of someone most dear to him which he’s desperate to get back, and believe it or not, all of this dialogue is, in fact, not supposed to be said coldly and flatly before having his ability centered to no end once more, shining the light on that aspect instead of a character who was originally someone most unfortunate and hopeless, someone who was in an inescapable situation that would have never ended well for him no matter what he’d done, and someone who was far from the person being portrayed in the manga currently.

With all that being said, one more thing I’d like to point out, which is a bit more specific to phases 16/17 at the current moment, is the way the interactions between Chuuya and Arthur are being portrayed as of right now. In the novel, it is made quite clear the two are, indeed, opponents in their fight, but Arthur has no actual desire to kill Chuuya, and Chuuya himself doesn’t actually hold anything against Arthur— in fact, it’s quite explicit in showcasing the fact that Chuuya has respect for him, understanding his motive of wanting to save a dear friend, even cursing out Dazai for not believing it or taking it seriously, and never showing any kind of outward excitement for this fight, which…will be relevant in just a second. If that’s not enough to convince a person, there’s also Chuuya visiting Arthur’s grave further in the novel and quite literally stating he will return to it again, and before that, I believe that Arthur telling Chuuya to live in his last moments also speaks volumes about the fact that there was no resentment or genuine conflict between the two, rather an unfortunate fate they were met with. In the manga, however, I don’t think it’s a reach to say that I’m not quite getting the same feeling. I’ll go ahead and admit that I’m focusing on this because of personal bias, but even despite that, I feel as though having Arthur written off as merely Chuuya’s opponent and nothing more is still not the right way to go about it, considering what I said before— there wasn’t an actual hostility between the two, and not only did Arthur tell Chuuya to live, he also was the one to call Chuuya a human being and see him as such, that of which I’d expect far more attention to just due to the mere nature of Chuuya’s character.

Now, for the first time ever, I will go into some very specific details, because I need them to show what I’m talking about. All further translation credits go to DarkestJay868 on Twitter.

This page from phase 16 was the one right after what was originally Arthur’s monologue about wanting to save his partner, and I believe it’s quite clear how I feel about that part, but I haven’t redrawn this page in particular despite it being in my original plans, so it’s only fair I give my thoughts on it while it’s relevant.

I would normally only nitpick these aspects privately instead of posting them online, but since this manga makes even such small things important for all the wrong reasons, I have to point them out. I initially didn’t think so much of this page, though I did find it a peculiar choice to make him look almost excited for the fight, atop the final line which never appeared in the novel itself— something that may seem insignificant, but ultimately, it does create the effect that Chuuya is somewhat eager to engage in this conflict for whatever reason, which is simply not the case. I could go on about some smaller dialogue changes, even his lack of harshness towards Dazai’s comments that makes his original reaction quite downplayed, but I’m leaving those in a quick mention of acknowledgment, as they’re only secondary to what I’m aiming at here.

I would have ignored this, given there’s a much bigger issue for me to focus on, had Chuuya and Arthur’s skewed interactions not continued onwards to phase 17 as well— more specifically, after Chuuya’s attacks, by the end of the chapter.

If someone were to tell me these two didn’t actually have any kind of internal conflict going on between them beforehand, I wouldn’t have believed it for a second, but here we are. From the first page, in which the original Chuuya of the novel was hurt and tired instead of almost feeling as though he isn’t taking anything too seriously, all while Arthur never said a word that nearly implies him looking down on the latter (his direct quote is “Nothing I say will help…this is my space”, you simply cannot tell me that isn’t far more neutral than what the manga turned it into), to the second page, where not only is Chuuya’s first line much more accusatory and directed at Arthur himself, rather than the original (“…everyone’s an ant to a European ability user…”), but also, might I add that Arthur wasn’t the one to hold Chuuya in place? It’s explicitly stated that Chuuya could no longer avoid the attacks by fault of using too much of his power, and even though this may sound like an insignificant detail when one is to consider the following scene of the novel— that is, almost being the one to end Chuuya’s life, which is absolutely no less cruel than a mere action like that— it still gives off the impression as though there’s some kind of hostility between them when there really wasn’t, not even during a fight to the death, and that, in the context of this manga and its very likely fandom reception…well, I’d much rather just cover even the smallest of details than watch as it ultimately gets misconstrued, as so much media surrounding this novel often does.

Anyway, that’s my take on these chapters for now. I’m aware it’s messy, I’ve only seen phase 17 a couple of hours ago and haven’t exactly prepared some kind of proper dissection. Naturally, feel free to take all this with a grain of salt, or even a whole bucket of it, because yes, I am very salty about the way this manga is going, but I’m hoping to ultimately compare it to the novel and give my own opinion on the development here.

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd fifteen #bsd manga #bsd arthur rimbaud #randou #bsd nakahara chuuya #thoughts #my thoughts #asachuu #well if there’s one thing I will slightly agree with #it’s that yeah. that man IS a creepy son of a bitch #but at this point it’s just not Arthur anymore #and hey I’d be the first to love a character like this #so it’s not as though I just wouldn’t love a villain because believe me I absolutely would #not to mention manga Arthur looks sick as shit #but this isn’t the actual character from the novel whatsoever

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