Akutagawa Ryuunosuke - Blog Posts

Red (Sskk's Version)

A little sskk comic/manga redraws inspired by the song Red by Taylor Swift<33

The grey Atsushi is my favorite tbh idk I think his expression is really silly

Can we talk about how *safe* Atsushi and Akutagawa feel with each other

How much they're connected to each other is actually insane

They have innate trust with each other (Akutagawa even gave his coat to Atsushi), and they're comfortable with each other, it's wonderful

I think the best depiction of canon "domestic sskk" per se, is in beast

The direct passage from the beast light novel is:

"They continued to shoot the breeze for the next few minutes or so. Both boys shared small yet profound experiences that their colleagues would never be able to understand or even empathize with. The two of them could just be kids, something they seldom did around others.

'This is the first time I've ever been able to talk to someone like this,' the white-haired boy said with a chuckle."

They can relate to each other so strongly, they're opposites yet they feel intertwined. God they have such a well written and like at this point really romantic relationship

I really like how beast can show us a new perspective on sskk (among other things in the Bsd universe), comparing their first meeting in the main series to their first meeting in beast is kinda crazy. When Akutagawa nor Atsushi has the prior information of who they work for, they can get along. In a world with no abilities, no Mafia, no detective agency, they would know each other so well

Also, I'm sure Akutagawa has smiled more than twice in the series, but both most memorable times he's smiled they were both directed at Atsushi (one smile was the one he gave Atsushi while he told him to run before dying, second smile was in beast, shown in the picture above)

It's like Atsushi brings out the best of him, and vice versa. They're just so *perfect* for each other 😭

I will always love their parallels and similarities, their relationship balance is a perfect representation of the yin and yang

Atsushi knows he can't bear to live without Akutagawa. Akutagawa knows that Atsushi is the only person he's ever met who really, truly understands him. And no matter how much they're in denial about how they're a lot more than just "rivals", they still scream each other's names when one of them gets hurt, because they both *care*

Akutagawa is definitely going to go feral in the next chapter or so oml

Okay so we all know that Atsushi must've replayed Akutagawa's death and final words like a million times in his head,

But what about the bite?

I know Akutagawa biting Atsushi while he was a vamp was after Akutagawa's death, but still, Atsushi had ample-ish time to think about it

I love how Akutagawa bites Jouno, Higuchi, etc all on their shoulder but when it's *Atsushi*, Akutagawa pulls down the collar of his shirt and bites him on the neck

There's no way in hell that Atsushi *didn't* think over that moment a bunch (the romantic tension was insane in that scene)

The fact that Akutagawa's lips and mouth have canonly come into contact with Atsushi's bare skin is something that I hold dearly in my heart

But really though, if sskk ever addresses the bite thing it's going to be so awkward, I love it 😭

First Akutagawa dies to save Atsushi, then he gives Atsushi a hickey in the middle of the war, and now Atsushi just died to save Akutagawa. How have they not kissed yet

Random quickly drawn Akutagawa doodle inspired by, you guessed it, chapter 121.5

The panel where his eyes grow lighter and lighter as he realizes who he is, who Atsushi is, and how much Atsushi means to him just as Atsushi dies to save him, is honestly magical

Okay so first of all

OH MY GOD?? THE NEW CHAPTER??

Second of all

Did Asagiri really name this chapter "A Mysterious Thing Called The Heart" AND THINK WE WOULDN'T NOTICE

Atsushi died FOR AKUTAGAWA. I'M GONNA PASS OUT

No one does tragic love story like sskk does

Atsushi must have thought about Akutagawa's death over and over and over to remember the words he said to Atsushi right before being killed by Fukuchi, aND THEN HE SAID THOSE FINAL WORDS BACK AT AKUTAGAWA

Akutagawa's eyes says it all (they're in love)

Akutagawa didn't even remember who Atsushi was and what made him remember was Atsushi mirroring the sacrifice he made back on that ship and then right as he recollects who Atsushi is he DIES. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster

Also can we talk we talk about how Akutagawa screamed "Jinko/weretiger". The amount of worry and fear on his face is so evident and insane (thank you Harukawa for more of your gorgeous art). He CARES about Atsushi. I gotta sit down

Screaming crying throwing up I'm so happy and also shit, Atsushi died (sorta. It'll be fine, probably) 🙏

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AKUTAGAWA

I KNOW HE LOOKS WEIRD IDK WHERE IT WENT WRONG LOL 😭

No idea why I drew BEAST Akutagawa instead of normal Aku but oh well

Happy birthday to my favorite mafioso, gay vampire and wanted criminal<3

A random drawing of Akutagawa inspired by the latest Aku art from chapter 120.5

The scar I drew on his neck is well...from you know what. Also the rose in his bleeding eye socket is a silver rose because silver roses represent protection and he's Atsushi's knight/protecter

Hey sskk shipper, come here. Sit down. Listen to me please. If in ten years bsd ends and there's a time skip and Atsushi and Lucy are married with kids we are NOT going to hate on Lucy. We are NOT going to blame or disrespect or insult her. We are NOT going to hate on one of the very few women with a protagonist role of this franchise just because we may disagree with the author's writing. Okay? Thank you for listening to me, you can go.

Wonder who he got it from

It breaks my heart that if young Akutagawa met young Atsushi he would've taken him in and cared for him in the way he did the other orphans

Hi by the way I'm never going to not throw up when thinking about what BSD says about abusers and victims. Abuse can occur out of love or a desire to protect or save or help someone and it's still abuse. Abuse can occur and years later you will still feel the affects so deeply it's as if it's a part of your body. Your abuser can change and regret and sometimes that means you will walk away over and over and sometimes it means you will throw yourself at them over and over and both are because you never developed a sense of self beyond what they made you to be. Your abuser will die and you will cry and you will hate him and in your weakest moments his memory will be there. Your abuser will live and become a better person and you're still stuck there unable to move on. The sheer complexity of what it allows and asks of us - to understand that at the end of the day we're all people fucking each other up and making mistakes. No one is a monster and wouldn't it just be easier if we were?

can't think of a haha funny caption for this because whenever i think about how they were both kids for more than a quarter of a second i suffer a brain hemorrhage

I feel very conflicted with my opinions on Dazai. He is not my favourite character, he never was. But I feel a weird sympathy for him at times when he is seen as a total villan?

He is not evil. I don't know how people mischaracterize Dazai as evil.

With the recent chapter 122, there are a lot of people who hate Dazai and want him to die for what he did to Akutagawa. For a second, I felt like that too. I can't see children being abused, not that anyone wants to see it, but I feel very emotional whenever I see hurt children. My first instinct was to hate Dazai too.

But Dazai isn't a responsible adult. Dazai himself was a 16 year old, trying to find meaning in life, guiding a 14 year old into the dark side. This isn't an older, experienced, manipulative man who knows what he is doing but a teenager who thinks he knows everything. Dazai himself ran away from home and was suicidal already at the age of 14, just the same lonely child as Akutagawa. But he found "meaning" in the Port Mafia, or at least trying to. When he gave his word to Akutagawa that he'll "certainly" find meaning in life, I don't think it's manipulation, Dazai himself believes in it. An adult putting you in a dangerous climate is very different than when your cousin tells you to smoke because "it's cool, dude"

I am NOT defending Dazai's abuse of Akutagawa, as I said before, I am not some Dazai superfan (which, Dazai being portrayed as completely innocent also irks me!). I want there to be balance in the conversation surrounding it.

Dazai AND Akutagawa were children, they were both trying to find reasons to live. They grew up in the Port Mafia. We have seen how cruel and unhinged Dazai can be during his time in the PM. We have seen Akutagawa, and his constant internal battle with good and evil. These two are not some heartless creatures, both of them are changing for the better. Dazai found proper guidance in Oda, and taking his words, he became a better mentor to Atsushi. Akutagawa was left in the PM alone, so he grew stone cold and ruthless until he saw the light again, because of Atsushi (in recent chapters his eyes are literally lighter)

Does Dazai feel bad for what he did to Akutagawa? No, at least not now or we don't know what he is feeling, I don't trust anything that comes out of his mouth. But he doesn't HAVE to feel bad. That's what morally grey characters are. If Dazai immediately repented for what he did, it won't be realistic or true to his personality. Yes, he is in the ADA, but he is NOT some great person just because he chose to leave PM, even he himself knows that! That's why he felt so shocked when Atsushi called him a good person. Dazai knows he is not a good person and that's why he doesn't repent for what he did to Akutagawa. We don't accept our mistakes easily, not when we thought of them as means to an end. Dazai truly believed what he did to Akutagawa was a pro and not a con. If he will change that perspective now, is more about his own character arc.

Akutagawa was just a kid, influenced by Dazai. He wanted to impress him, like we do to our parents. Like we fight tooth and nails to defend our parents mistakes and sometimes even abuse. He isn't ready to accept what Dazai did to him was wrong. But when he saw how Dazai treats Atsushi, I am pretty sure he felt like dying. Because imagine your parent treating their step children better than you, that's how I see Aku's jealousy to be like. Dazai was his mentor first, why is he praising and coddling this random guy who just came into his life? But Akutagawa doesn't hate Atsushi in particular, he hates the treatment he gets from Dazai. I think considering what's happening in recent chapters, just like how Atsushi overcame his conflicting feelings towards the headmaster, Akutagawa will do the same with Dazai.

Akutagawa carried the cycle of abuse, doing the same thing Dazai did to him to Kyouka, another 14 year old (she trained since she was even younger). But unlike Dazai, when Kyouka is finally free from PM, Akutagawa doesn't want her to come back to him, he stops abusing her, Dazai still is awful and manipulative with Akutagawa at times. He feels happy for Kyouka, because HE wanted someone to rescue him too. Of all the abused children, Akutagawa was the one who never got rescued. Akutagawa was abusive to Kyouka, it can't be erased because of his own tragic past, he also hit Higuchi and seem to answer everything with violence. This is why the cycle of abuse is so painful, Akutagawa was taught to be this way and he CHOSE to stay this way, until he made the bet to stop killing people with Atsushi. I don't think Akutagawa will ever go back to his own ways after this arc is over. You can't undo your past, you have to move on, keep walking, keep living and trying to do better next time.

I want Dazai to get some good old karma! I want him to face the consequences for what he did to Akutagawa. I want Atsushi to have conflicting feelings towards Dazai but I don't want him to hate Dazai. Atsushi understands people on a deeper level, he's going to try and change people no matter of their pasts. Akutagawa and Dazai aren't going to be on good terms ever, that can't happen. I want Dazai to stop treating Akutagawa like shit and I want Akutagawa to stop wanting validation from Dazai.

Now the final verdit from me, is Dazai evil? No. Is Dazai a good person? No. Can Dazai change? Yes. Did Atsushi have a huge impact on both Dazai and Akutagawa? Yes. Is Akutagawa already changing? Yes. Can Dazai be vile? Yes. Can Dazai be soft? Yes. Does Dazai deserve to die? No.

Morally grey characters cannot be good or evil. They are grey. Let them be grey. We shouldn't erase their bad sides and we can't act like they didn't do good. BOTH Dazai and Akutagawa are morally grey characters. They are just different types of grey. Akutagawa is speed running to the light and Dazai is stuck in the middle of the grey. People have the ability to change for the better or worse, no matter who they are.

No matter what Dazai did in the PM, I can't hold a child to the upmost standards. There's a reason why Juveniles have a seperate court. Juveniles shouldn't get death penalty. Dazai committed heinous crimes as a child. But he is NOT the only child who did this. Everyone in PM has committed several crimes. It's a fictional story after all. Because of that I can't HATE Dazai. I believe all children deserve to be saved, to be given a second chance. Dazai went to the ADA and started to use his dark sides for the good. I can't call him evil for his past, when he was a suicidal kid, mentally ill, having a god knows what tragic backstory. Yes Dazai was smarter than an average teenager, but if you have read "The Day I picked up Dazai", you know despite all that; he was just a kid.

A kid abusing another kid cannot be any less tragic. There is not one childhood loss. It's TWO childhoods lost.

(ps: I was scared to post this lol 😭😭😭😭)

I have my doubts that Akutagawa would be able to tell Atsushi “I love you”, like, ever. But - and you gotta meet me halfway with this one - I think his equivalent to it would be staying silent when his thousandth snarky remark or insult or aggression of the day comes, and make the effort to let it die on his tongue instead of hurting Atsushi.

Because that is in Akutagawa. Because he's evil and only made to hurt, because love has never and will never come natural to him. Because it's his nature to harm others, because he can't help it even if he didn't want to. And it's foolish to think he'll suddenly become a good person after getting together with Atsushi; Atsushi knows that.

But this one time– this one time, he can love Atsushi the only way he can. He won't give in to the temptation of reprimanding Atsushi when he trips on a mission. He won't maliciously comment on the fact that he's all messy and disheveled. If Atsushi asks him to do something, he will swallow the bitter impulse of crudely telling him off, and do as he says– just this time. Because for someone who's survived all his life on animal instincts and irrational impulses, maybe the greatest act of love he can manage is putting the beast to sleep for a little time. This time, even though it might not be what I was created for, I'll love you.

~ you're my sea you're my sunshine the star the moooon ~

You know maybe Atsushi’s the one who gets transferred to the Port Mafia.

Not because there’s maybe no one else to go although that’s…definitely a reason for it.

But because after that stunt he’s just pulled he’s gonna be lucky if Akutagawa ever lets him out if his sight again.

maybe i’m too much of a staunch “atsushi is kind of a dick” purist but i actually don’t think him witnessing dazai’s abuse will actually change all that much in terms of the direct relationships between these characters and how they act towards each other.

part of it is i think sskk’s ultimate arc is moving past the spectre of dazai haunting them, and part of it is like. akutagawa is (was..?) an abuser too. it would make no sense for atsushi to flip on dazai for akutagawa because it’s either he believes redemption is real and dazai has changed (which like, he objectively has, regardless of whether he handled his relationship with akutagawa well) and akutagawa can change too, or abuse forever tarnishes your moral character and then atsushi must hate both these guys (which he clearly doesn’t).

ultimately bsd has a complex relationship with abuse that’s often uncomfortable to acknowledge, like the fact that akutagawa has abused two women on screen and hasn’t actually made proper amends either, and the fact that bsd both acknowledges that the mafia is a cruel organisation based in child abuse and exploitation that largely operates by grooming children into violence, and also posits that the mafia is kind of a necessary entity for the safety of the city. child abuse in bsd is interpersonal, yes, but it’s also a larger system of exploitation of ability users, largely for combat, and practically every character participates in that system to a degree.

even the agency has child members, and while for some it can be argued that the agency saved them from bad situations, kenji, for example, seemingly lived a normal peaceful life until he was recruited to be a child soldier.

ultimately i don’t think the wish fulfilment scene where atsushi explicitly rags on dazai for treating akutagawa badly will ever happen, especially considering this isn’t news for him and atsushi hasn’t been sympathetic to akutagawa about it before. i’m not saying it’s not going to be called out, but i don’t think the #dazaiisoverparty is happening guys hold your horses

Oh baby.....

Bsd doodles part... uhh

tbh i think that scene is less about atsushi “learning the truth abt dazai” and much more about him finally being able to acknowledge how much of himself he sees in akutagawa without the mental block of his warped perception of dazai. and even then i don’t see this seriously impacting atsushi’s relationship with dazai like this is about his relationship with aku

They're gonna be ok right? They're just little guys, they'll be fine, Right????? :)))))

I just love this page. Atsushi realizes that he almost lost someone who he never took the time to understand. this boy, this stranger, who has burrowed so deep into his mind, who has been completely incomprehensible to him, who died for him, is, beneath it all, just like him. they're the same. they always have been.

its regret. about the words he's said, the wound's he's inflicted, the fact that he did not see the boy right in front of him. he walked away, a specter, misunderstood, never being told that its okay for him to live. okay for him to exist in this world.

for the first time, he thinks he understands akutagawa ryuunosuke and its breaking his heart. he's breaking his heart.

remembered this line from Beast and now I have to kill myself

For those who haven't seen it yet, the official translation is already on mangadex!

MangaDex

Bungou Stray Dogs - Ch. 122 - That Which Pushes Us Forward - MangaDex

Read Bungou Stray Dogs Ch. 122 "That Which Pushes Us Forward" on MangaDex!

Bsd chapter 122 - translation

(this translation may be incorrect, so if you read this remember to check the official translation! This post only has the pages with dialogue, also, read from left to right)

Dazai: Think about it. It's what people do to remember the past.

Atsushi: H-here is... the agency?!

Dazai: Physical distance doesn't matter in the fourth dimension.

Dazai: To get from point A to point B on this sheet in the quickest way... what should be done?

Atsushi: ? Go in a straight line, of course...

Dazai: Normally, but we are in a higher dimension.

Dazai: Just do it like this.

Dazai: It is possible to intercept all the places here... and attack the origin point, which is ame-no-gozen.

Atsushi: Will you do the same with me?

Dazai: If you understood, let's fly.

Dazai: Focus.

Atsushi: Dazai-san! You...!

Dazai: Just look...

Past Dazai: I want to recruit you for the Port Mafia

Akutagawa: Jinko...

Akutagawa: Why did... you protect me?

Dazai: I want to recruit you for the Port Mafia

Akutagawa: Why am I... remembering this now?

Akutagawa: I just... hated... this world that let my street friends die for nothing.

Akutagawa: I wanted revenge... for being born into this world.

Dazai: If you're ready... I'll give you what you want.

Akutagawa: What I want? Are you... able to give me a meaning to live?

Dazai: I am.

Atsushi: Akutagawa...

Dazai: It's taking too long to activate your ability! You won't survive like this in the organization!

Akutagawa: I didn't feel any pain. Dazai-san was the one who gave me a meaning to live. But...

Akutagawa: ...He disappeared without any explanation

Akutagawa: And when we met again, he had a new subordinate.

Dazai: "My new subordinate is much better than you"

Akutagawa: Jinko! Jinko! Jinko! Jinko!

Akutagawa: Feeling humiliated and resentful… I feared I would never be accepted. This motivated my heart. And I bet everything on the tiger's execution.

Akutagawa: And then.. then...

Akutagawa: Fool... go now

Dazai: We arrived.

Dazai: The true body of the god is beyond this door.

Atsushi: Where are we?

Atsushi: It's big. And it's completely sealed…

Atsushi: It doesn't work, it's too heavy. It doesn't even move.

Orphanage director: You stupid brat. No one will save you.

Orphanage director: You don't deserve to live.

Dazai: I can only get you this far.

Atsushi: Thank you. I couldn't have gotten this far alone.

Dazai: I was the one who called you to the agency. Who brought you into a dangerous world. It's the least I can do.

Atsushi: No. You are not Dazai-san.

Atsushi: Because of the nullification ability… he couldn't become an illusion and talk to me. And you sometimes… didn't behave like Dazai-san.

Atsushi: You thought I wouldn't listen to you… if it wasn't in this form, didn't you?

Atsushi: You're right…

Atsushi: Director. When your illusion disappeared… I started seeing Dazai-san. Then…

Director: It was… the only way.

Director: I don't have… the right to talk to you. That's why…

Atsushi: You are just a shadow… created as a consequence of Q's ability.

Director: Yes. The real me is already dead. But…

Atsushi: Enough. I don't want to talk to you.

Atsushi: It's no use. It's not moving at all. But… if I don't defeat the god behind this door, everyone will…

Hey so like. With the chapter 122 coming out. Did some people collectivelly forgot that Atsushi isn't stupid?

Like. I know that Atsushi SEEING how Dazai treated Akutagawa with his own eyes is a huge thing and all but honestly.

Atsushi for sure already knew what sort of relationship Aku and Dazai had at this point in the manga. He might have not know the details, but he for sure already knew that Dazai abused Aku. He isn't stupid. He saw how Akutagawa acted and spoke about Dazai so many times and you think he didn't get it? Especially with Akutagawa behaviour basically screaming it out in not so many words at Atsushi every time they fight together?

And thats why it doesn't shock him when he sees Aku and Dazai interactions.

He isn't shocked at all. He is just sad.

This isn't news for him. He already knew it was bad and horrible for Aku. Now he just sees how much.

So like

Akutagawa is in love with Atsushi

If you took this out of context this would genuinely look like an enemies to lovers romance manga scene 🙏

Also Harukawa wrote an illustrator's note (I think it's at the end of volume 5?) about how she draws eyes, and how she portrays the character's current growth, personality and aspect on the world through their eyes

Akutagawa's eyes have almost always been dark, the representation for how dark his life and character is

But Atsushi brings light to them

In chapter 121.5 where Akutagawa's eyes grow wide as he sees Atsushi die, it's not just a show of how shocked Akutagawa is, it shows how Atsushi lightens Akutagawa's eyes, how much he's affected him for the greater good. Atsushi brings out a new side to Akutagawa

His eyes are incredibly light as he recalls his memories and gets hit by Atsushi's death that wasn't even just a death, but a death to save him. To protect him

Because Atsushi thinks Akutagawa is worth protecting

So just, like, I really love how chapter 122 not only shows Atsushi finally seeing Akutagawa's past and fully understanding Akutagawa's trauma and even relating to him, but it also shows how Akutagawa truly feels about Atsushi (although the "and then..." definitely left us on a cliffhanger)

I love them

Can I talk about the fact Akutagawa doesn’t understand why Atsushi saved him, even though he did the exact same thing for Atsushi. Him using the word 'protect' rather than save is also so powerful to me because that's inherently what Akutagawa always has been- a protector. He was born with his ability and he protected his sister, the other kids in the slums with it. He sacrificed himself so Atsushi could leave the ship. And now, we've yet to see how Bram's wish will play out, but he was asked to protect Aya. Rashomon is shaped like knight armour on him at this exact moment.

And yet he can't understand why someone would do the same for him???? Absolutely INSANE. He's spent so long protecting others and then trying to better himself for approval, to be able to survive on his own by sheer violence that he can't fathom anyone doing the same for him. It was probably the same when Higuchi and the black lizards saved him when he was comatose.

And likely, he knows Atsushi views him as immoral and his actions as abhorrent, and is stuck on the fact Atsushi has had a sudden switch (sudden to him) in such a huge way that he'd die for him, since Atsushi has never been shy about telling Akutagawa just what he thinks of him. He can’t fathom Atsushi seeing his violence and hatred toward him and knowing him so deeply without understanding him and also choosing to save him.

Asagiri you're insane for this truly.

Dead apple but everyone is still in their pajamas

I think it would be funny if everyone collectively just didnt care to change in to their work clothes for the plot of dead apple cause imagine Chuuya fighting that big ass dragon still in his dog themed pajama pants 🐶