I Would Like To Make My Contribution To The Chuuya Has Reading Glasses Headcanon:

I find it kind of ironic that the fandom mischaracterizes Dazai in the same ways that he tends to get viewed in the series itself. For some reason, he's either just an eccentric man with a penchant for suicide, nothing more than a silly little detective who happens to also be a murderer, who cares about his friends and is always considerate towards them. or he's a demon, an awful human being with hardly any redeemable qualities and does everything for some ulterior motive, uses everyone as a pawn and cares for no one (except maybe Oda), and will never ever change. I just feel like these extremes are literally how he's viewed by different characters in the series, and I find it interesting how often I see people take one side or the other, and one of the saddest parts about his character in the series itself is that so many people don't truly understand him, and I see it so much in the fandom itself.

i think this is the only series that could manage to fit all these tags and then some. like where's "detectives" and "time travel"?

It's objectively hysterical that it took Kunikida so long to figure out Dazai was in the Mafia.

For starters, the entire Entrance Exam light novel, he and the president were commenting on how suspicious it was that this man just seemingly had no past at all. and stated numerous times that he thought he was some sort of criminal.

And then there's this scene:

Dazai *randomly gives a detailed run down of the organ trafficking business*

Kunikida: how do you know that??

Dazai: Oh i heard two people talking about it once.

Kunikida:

Kunikida: yes that makes sense.

Or that time when he ran into Akutagawa and electrocuted him:

Aku: yes you are worthy of being Dazai's partner.

Kunikida: "worthy of...?" Do I know you?? Does Dazai know you??

Aku:

Aku: goodbye now.

Like all the clues were there but Kunikida just thought this man was too lazy to have ever really been a professional criminal.

I like to think that, the first time Dazai met Chuuya, he made fun of Chuuya's height without realizing from his position on the ground that he was only five centimeters taller. And when he did find out, he went "ah. well, in too deep to stop now, ima just go with it" and kept up the short jokes, despite the fact that they were practically the exact. same. height.

what they don’t tell you about writing is AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHH!!!

So like.

If that's not Fyodor, does that mean Nikolai is just hugging some random dude's hand???

Just wondering.

There's something so interesting about how the ADA is associated with cats the PM is compared to dogs.

How there's Atsushi, who is quite literally a cat (sorry, tiger). How Fukuzawa, the president of the Agency, is obsessed with cats and caring for them.

While characters in the Mafia are dogs. There's Akutagawa, the Rabid Dog of the port mafia. Chuuya, who's loyalty could be considered dogmatic. Who literally wears a choker, or "dog collar."

And then there's the fact that Odasaku constantly compares Dazai to a cat, especially in The Day I Picked Up Dazai. Like a subtle hint that Dazai doesn't belong with the Mafia. As a matter of fact, he hates dogs. He belongs with the Agency, the ones who are associated with cats.

beast dazai is considered a tragic character for all the obvious reasons: carried the weight of the memories of his other selves and using that knowledge to save oda from his fate even if it meant dying/killing himself in the end. This sympathetic narrative allows you to ignore the utter selfishness and immaturity of beast dazai and how he runs away from grief and pain, and I mean this in the best way possible.

The real tragedy of beast is that unlike all the other dazais, beast dazai never got the chance to meet and know oda, thence allowing him a new perspective to grow. In The day I picked up Dazai , dazai shows personal growth by the end of the novel, hence why he respects oda a lot. He is treated as a human being who still doesn't know much, and that brings comfort to someone deemed a demon prodigy. In side b of the same novel, beast dazai makes an effort to not know or bond with oda; yes this is because he wanted to ensure his survival by steering him away from the port mafia, but that event is what fundamentally changed dazai- gave him a better understanding of his own humanity.

Despite having all that knowledge of his other selves, of how each universe's timeline will play out, beast dazai didn't seem to grasp that it is grief that allowed the other dazai to grow and be a better person. He didn't understand that in the end, it is the time he (the other dazai) spent with oda that made living worthwhile, not his life. His state of living, the state of perfection in beast dazai's eyes, will still cause him more suffering than the act of losing a good friend.

Because if he had only wanted him to live, then he wouldn't have been so shocked when oda refused to indulge in a friendly conversation, not when he clearly went out of his way to antagonize himself in oda's eyes in tdipud. It's because the realization hit him: he wanted his time with oda to not be cut short.

Having memories of another oda is clearly not enough, he needed his own intimate friendship with his own oda. But with this elaborate plan and his reaction to being rejected, it's clear that beast dazai was trying to avoid pain. He could not accept the grief and pain of loss that he's seen and felt in his other selves, ignoring what came after: growth and satisfaction of ever having oda in their lives at all.

Pain is inherently human and by ignoring and rejecting it, beast dazai rejects his own humanity. Or runs away from it, because it catches up to him regardless. He still ignores it throughout the rest of the story, especially in other characters.

Beast dazai, as we all know, eventually takes his own life. While there is a reason as to why he did it, but it was still part of his plan from the beginning. Meaning, he knew this near fruitless pursuit would still have him unable to handle grief. It's an inherently selfish goal with an inherently selfish way out under the guise of "leaving the rest in atsushi and akutagawa's hands"

(Note: I do not mean in any way that suicide is selfish, but rather the narrative and character of dazai in beast alludes to this. Both concepts can co-exist in a fictional setting)

Despite seemingly helping other characters, beast dazai also trampled on both akutagawa and atsushi's self worth. This made them easier to manipulate for his grand plan, but ignores the damage he's done to them and other characters after his death.

For akutagawa it is the loss of his sister and convincing him of his monstrosity due to Dazai's meddling. For atsushi, someone he conditioned into severe fear and dependency on him, was left alone watching the person he cared so much for fall from the building. And yes, he left him in mori's care afterwards, but dazai should know more than anyone the damage the death of a loved one has, unless it doesn't apply to him.

In the epilogue, mori openly mourns dazai's death along with atsushi. Due to being free of his rigid responsibility as the pm boss, he had the liberty of finally being the caretaker he's always wanted to be but at the cost of the person he considered his son (in comparing dazai to atsushi, who he then calls his son + all the other stances where mori treated dazai like a son etc)

The thing that beast dazai, or dazai in general, tends to not fully understand or accept, is that he is also loved, and his death will cause others pain as well. I am by no means saying he should've thought of others before dying, but it is the lives of others that dazai from the main manga also cherishes after oda's death. Beast dazai made it his entire life goal to essentially protect oda, realize its not the only thing he's wanted from him and gave his raison d'etre a flimsy excuse of meaning in life. It's inherently selfish.

Selfishness is a common theme in bsd, and beast dazai fits right in. Atsushi's selfish desire to save people to give himself a justification to be alive, Sigma's inherently selfish nature of self preservation and identity and so on.

I've probably ranted for much longer than anticipated, but the point is: beast dazai's purpose is a selfish desire to escape pain and loss when it's crucial to the human experience. Dazai in the main manga seems to grasp this much better than beast dazai, it's something the latter is "missing", refusing to grow out of his selfishness and it makes his character more of a cautionary tale.

You know, after this arc, the detective agency is really going to have to kick up their marketing skills to get clients back.

So I've decided to make an ad to help start them off. Ehem:

*deep voice here* Do you have a problem too difficult for the police to handle? Cases you need solved, people you need to disappear? Problems with the Port Mafia who we definitely hate and do not like at all? Well, we're the people for you! Come to the Armed Detective Agency *insert picture of the Agency's mascot here* Members include:

~one dude that's actually armed

~one dude that's actually a detective

~a furry

~a super chill guy named Tanizaki. Just don't go near his sister, like, ever

~his sister

~a 14 year old farmboy who is either hungry or sleepy (can move mountains, confirmed)

~a 14 year old former assassin (she's changed now swearsies)

~a former mafioso/torture specialist. Moonlights as a suicide romantic

~a doctor who can heal all (fatal) wounds*

*if wound is not fatal, it must be made fatal for her to heal it

Does not include:

~anyone who gives a frick about the law

The Armed Detective Agency has taken on a great number of cases, and someone there has probably saved your life (or taken the life of one of your loved ones) at some point in time. Come show your appreciation! Led by, you guessed it, another former assassin, this group of fundamentally messed up individuals can solve your toughest cases!

PS we swear we're not terrorists.

....on second thought, this might not be such a good idea.

War is bad. And we all know this. But I think that no matter what side of a war you're on, we can all agree on one thing.

All wars would cease to exist if both sides were sat down and given a bowl of hot soup.