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Bsd Sskk - Blog Posts
Every bsd ship ever
The two best reasons to ship anything are:
1.Incredible, deep and detailed narrative themes. The parallels that seem to hit just right, the narrative foils that they can be to each other, the intricate dynamic that's both extremely complex and easily understood. The juxtaposition between something that's harsh and undoubtedly toxic, with the softer undertones, the parts where you read in-between the lines and find a mutual feeling of loneliness from both parts, their intrinsic understanding of each other comes from the mere fact that they're each others mirrored reflections and shadows. In the end both sides will be together forever, and you as an audience can clearly see their tragedy laid out before in a path that blurs pure anguish and tender romance
2.It would be so fucking funny
One thing I love about bsd is the fact that you can have multiple pairs of the "hate each other but trust each other" trope, and they all feel different.
Fukuzawa and Mori are exes, Dazai and Chuuya have an on-off again relationship, and Atsushi and Akutagawa are in middle of their enemies to lovers arc.
I LOVE CODE GEASS
Notice how Higuchi has the most detail
Lelouch = Akutagawa's outfit
Higuchi= Kallen's outfit
Atsushi= Suzaku's outfit
Akutagawa =lelouch's outfit
More crossover!!
NOT SHIPPING ATSUSHI AND KYOKA
The villian of villians will save us
Lowkey did not finish this
Mom: are they lovers?
Me: that would be easier to explain
The new chapter turned me into a whole sskk shipper. I used to just like them. But now I am a whole airconditioner. I am so easy to please.
THESE two are going to be the DEATH OF ME-------WTH IN THE ROMEO AND JULIET ARE THEYYYYY???? And I even mentioned how they PARALLEL EACHOTHER? AHHHHHHHHHHH ASAGIRI-----
Sskk is one of the most emotional rivalries/ships I have ever seen. It is a relationship that actually hits the heart. Skk is iconic. Kyoukenji is cute. Fyolai is poetic. HiguGin is heartwarming. But sskk?
Sskk is deeper than all these dynamics. The more you get into it the more parallels you see, the more symbolism you see. The things they say to each other both stings at times and also makes you cry.
Akutagawa is both at his best and worst whenever he is around Atsushi. And the more the story goes on the less bitter he becomes.
Atsushi despises Akutagawa but he still works with him, because working with Akutagawa makes him more secure, feel as if someone's got his back.
"Don't worry, go you fool"
"That's why Dazai-san left you"
"Just the two of us?"
"Do we need more?"
Akutagawa and Atsushi support and help each other. They work as a team. Putting their differences apart
Because they are quite similar, looking for one thing; reassurance and praise
They have had difficult childhoods with no parental guidance and they grew up to be very different in terms of personality because of their unique circumstances.
All of these emotions. All of this pain in them. That keeps them separate but it also brings them together. Because that's the thing that they both understand. What's it like to have nothing. And they fight because they just want to be a part of something.
And maybe in one universe where Dazai never brought them together, they might be the best of friends like they were always supposed to.
It doesn't matter how their relationship is, soulmates will always find each other.
After all the only person Akutagawa has smiled at besides his sister-------is Atsushi
Sskk is one of the most emotional rivalries/ships I have ever seen. It is a relationship that actually hits the heart. Skk is iconic. Kyoukenji is cute. Fyolai is poetic. HiguGin is heartwarming. But sskk?
Sskk is deeper than all these dynamics. The more you get into it the more parallels you see, the more symbolism you see. The things they say to each other both stings at times and also makes you cry.
Akutagawa is both at his best and worst whenever he is around Atsushi. And the more the story goes on the less bitter he becomes.
Atsushi despises Akutagawa but he still works with him, because working with Akutagawa makes him more secure, feel as if someone's got his back.
"Don't worry, go you fool"
"That's why Dazai-san left you"
"Just the two of us?"
"Do we need more?"
Akutagawa and Atsushi support and help each other. They work as a team. Putting their differences apart
Because they are quite similar, looking for one thing; reassurance and praise
They have had difficult childhoods with no parental guidance and they grew up to be very different in terms of personality because of their unique circumstances.
All of these emotions. All of this pain in them. That keeps them separate but it also brings them together. Because that's the thing that they both understand. What's it like to have nothing. And they fight because they just want to be a part of something.
And maybe in one universe where Dazai never brought them together, they might be the best of friends like they were always supposed to.
It doesn't matter how their relationship is, soulmates will always find each other.
After all the only person Akutagawa has smiled at besides his sister-------is Atsushi
"if they are enemies, let them stay enemies. They are enemies in the canon 😡"
Me: No they are lovers, hope that helps ❤️❤️
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATSUSHI
I just finished writing this fanfic for him! It's a little sskk fluff where the two meet up for Atsushis birthday and Akutagawa gets him a gift! Sadly it's a little bit rushed since I didn't find out about our resident cats birthday until last night, but I think it still turned out well?
Chapters: 4/? Fandom: 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Nakahara Chuuya & Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs) Characters: Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Ryuunosuke (Bungou Stray Dogs), Ozaki Kouyou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Izumi Kyouka (Bungou Stray Dogs) Additional Tags: Minor Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Minor Akutagawa Ryuunosuke/Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caring Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nakajima Atsushi Needs a Hug (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nakahara Chuuya Needs a Hug (Bungou Stray Dogs), My First Fanfic, Not Beta Read, I'm Bad At Tagging Summary:
"He was stuck in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by only green grass and the orange hues of the setting sun. He was contemplating what to do, when he heard cursing. 'Goddammit! Why the fuck did it have to break now!?'"
Or a fanfic based on if Chuuya found Atsushi instead of Dazai!
If you're bored feel free to read this fanfic I am writing!
Also if anyone has AU names PLEASE tell me for this cause I REALLY wanna write some side stories for it soon but I need to shove it in a collection and have no fucking clue what to name it TAT
Also if I finish up writing the first Arc soon I might just dump a bunch of chapters at once since I'm excited for people to read it :D
Atsushi: Dazai said he wants you to take me out.
Akutagawa: With pleasure. How would you like to die, weretiger?
Atsushi: On a date, you murderous asshole!
Atsushi: Why did you cut my leg off!?
Akutagawa: Because you made me mad!
Atsushi: All I said was “Do you want ramen tonight?” And then you cut my leg off!
Akutagawa: I don’t want ramen I want pork buns!
Atsushi: Then tell me like a damn human being not some damn rabid animal! This is why you don’t have any friends!
Akutagawa: Have you thought about not being such a crybaby, weretiger?
Atsushi: Have you thought about not looking like an E-boy with a subscription to Victorian Hot Topic?
The fact Chuuya calls Akutagawa "my boy Akutagawa" is not only sweet on his part but also SALTY towards Dazai?
Like Chuuya saw this kid getting treated like that by Dazai and decided "no no no, HE'S MINE"
The background friendship of Akutagawa and Chuuya will always be heartwarming to me. And this is completely in character for Chuuya, he has shown affection to Kenji, Elise and Q (in the manga, anthology, official arts, etc.)
Sure Atsushi can be Dazai's favourite, but Akutagawa is Chuuya's, always.
*Highschool AU*
**Dazai**
*swarmed by his fangirls/boys*
Girl: Dazai-senpai, I really like you 💖
Others: meee toooo
Dazai: I think you are very pretty too~
Girl: would you go out with meee?
Dazai: *omg I am so popular, omg I am so loved, omg so cute juniors, omg I can't---*
Dazai: how about we meet up at----
Atsushi, dragging Dazai out of the place: Dazai-san not this again!!! Chuuya-san's been watching you out of that window
Dazai: H-He was?? Atsushi....can you hide me somewhere, I might die---
Girl: omg omg do you think Atsushi's the one senpai's dating?
Girl #2: why is it ALWAYS Atsushi taking the good ones?
Girl: I think it's cuteee
************************************
**Chuuya**
Girl: I l-like you, Chuuya-senpai
Chuuya: *not this again* I am sorry, I am not interested in dating
Girl: a-are you dating someone?
Chuuya: *there's no way I will admit I am dating that bandaged freak* NO
Girl: then do you like someone?
Chuuya: I guess so...
Atsushi: *walking outside the class*
Chuuya: *yes I can excuse myself now* hey Atsushi, wait for me!!!, sorry I gotta go
Girl: WHAT WHAT THE FUCK ATSUSHI AGAIN? IS HE COMPETITING AGAINST ME?
*later*
Girl: did you know Chuuya-senpai is in unrequited love with Atsushi
Girl #2: Atsushi really has it all huh?
************************************
**Akutagawa**
Girl: Akutagawa-senpai, I...I...
Akutagawa, staring into space:....
Girl: I like you...eh..I.
Akutagawa: sorry, I am dating someone
Girl: woah...I didn't know-who is it?
Akutagawa:....my pet
Atsushi, listening to this: hey, I am not a pet!
Dazai: you are like a cat, a pet cat!!! Hehe
*later*
Girl: I got rejected again
Girl #2: did you know I saw Akutagawa-senpai and Atsushi walking holding hands!
Girl: ATSUSHI AGAIN!!!
Girl #2: maybe you should try Gin-chan
************************************
Atsushi: why are you all following me?
Girl: teach us your ways
Girl #2: how do you do it? Catch em'all?
Atsushi: what
(after studying seriously for a month and still being aggressively average as usual I am back to Tumblr)
Asagiri really loves SSKK that's why he's killing everyone so they can have their gay ass reunion and say nice things about eachother and reassure eachother and support eachother in a mean way
Akutagawa: Stupid were-tiger lets everyone dieee
Atsushi, tears in his eyes because he is happy to see Aku: then why are you here bitch?
Akutagawa: to save you
Atsushi: 🫥🫥🫥
Akutagawa: because Dazai-san told me to! That's why I am gonna save you! For Dazai-san! For the mission!
Atsushi: well, I'll admit it's nice to see an.....ally
Akutagawa: yeah yeah sure...we are not allies..
Aya: I am right here. Stop flirting. The world is literally ending!
*Akutagawa and Atsushi fighting*
Dazai: *playing "Kiss Kiss Fall in Love" in the background*
....................................
Atsushi: I really HATE Akutagawa
Dazai: you mean you love him?
Atsushi: no.
....................................
Akutagawa: jinko gets on my nerves and my mind 24/7
Dazai: so you like him
Akutagawa: no.
....................................
"I love you" ❌❌❌
It's boring, overused and predictable
"Just the two of us?"
"Do we need more?"
✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
(doing this again cuz it was fun)
*Atsushi and Akutagawa got called to Aya's school*
Teacher: Aya punched another student and broke his nose. Both of them fought.
Atsushi, anxious: SHE what? She never acts like that please believe me! I apologise for her actions
Akutagawa, looking at his watch and tapping his feet: do we have to pay damages?
Atsushi: this is not the time for that? Aya-chan, apologise!
Aya: I am not apologising! Daddy, that kid said you are a terrorist and dad is a criminal
Atsushi: no we are not
Akutagawa: we aren't?
Atsushi, gritting his teeth: you're not helping here
Teacher: it's okay...Aya and the kid can talk it out tomorrow and say sorry.
*they get home*
Aya: you're mean, I was defending you!
Atsushi: why am I the villain here. Why aren't you reprimanding her, Akutagawa?
*Akutagawa leans towards Aya and whispers in her ear*
Akutagawa: so who won the fight? Did you?
Atsushi: RYUUNOSUKE----
*Akutagawa tying Aya's hair*
Aya: Ahhh are you trying to kill me? You can't even make pig tails?
Akutagawa: if you complain too much I'll use rashomon to tie it up
Aya: HEY that's not fair!
*noise and smoke from the kitchen*
Akutagawa, rolling his eyes: jinko I thought you could cook
Atsushi: uh yeah I can cook basic things. Your kitchen is too advanced for me!
Aya: I don't want to eat burned toast again papa
Atsushi: I know honey, I'll make sure it's only slightly burned
Akutagawa: now did you do your homework?
Aya: what homework?
Atsushi: what homework?
*Akutagawa making a science project and Atsushi writing essays*
Aya: are you sure you two can do this? You haven't been to school before
Akutagawa: I am smart enough to do it unlike a certain weretiger---
Atsushi: oh you SHUT UP--
(shhhh BSD is about two rivals raising a little girl together like it's buddy daddies)
*after dinner*
Atsushi, confused: what are you doing Ryuu?
Akutagawa: planting the tails of shrimps to grow them into new ones
Atsushi: h-how is that possible?
Akutagawa: Dazai-san taught me this, it is going to work, you will see.
Atsushi: you can't believe him he was ly---
Chuuya, shuts Atsushi's mouth: don't say things that will discourage a child and stop their imagination
Atsushi: but he is just wasting his time!
Chuuya, shaking his head: let him experiment and find the truth out himself, it's a learning experience for him.
Atsushi: w-where are you going now?
Chuuya: to beat the shit out of Dazai
Atsushi: understandable.
BSD and Shipping
Since Valentine's day was coming I was interested in discussing a huge part of the BSD fandom: Shipping
( ⚠️ RANT INCOMING. DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED ABOUT OPINIONS ON SHIPPING. PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL TOWARDS OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS IN COMMENTS AND REBLOGS. ⚠️)
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So where to start?
For a long time I have been noticing one specific trend in the BSD subreddit. And that are posts that talk about unpopular opinions/Headcanons/fav or least fav ships etc.
What I find interesting about these posts is that one thing is always in the forefront, and it's the debates about the sexualities of the characters in BSD. While Headcanons can be annoying and some people do push their opinions on others, there is nuance that is lacking in the community when discussing some topics. Finding posts about Mori being a pedo and how Dazai is unlikable or overrated is very easy and the discussions surrounding topics like that are always the same. People would pick sides and end up writing a lot about what their opinion is and while that's valid, it also ends up in fandom wars where it's hard to like or dislike something without your head being in the chopping block.
Now let's go to the original topic: shipping. To examine the environment of shipping culture in BSD fandom we have to start with the headcanons that people have adopted for sexualities of the characters.
1. THE PROBLEM WITH HETRO-NORMATIVITY
Now, the posts about shipping often contain a lot of people writing paragraphs and paragraphs about what ships they like or dislike.
One of the ships that takes the most bullets for its existence and popularity is Soukoku or Shin Soukoku. There are lots of comments about these ships that "remind" us that canonically Dazai, Chuuya, Atsushi and Akutagawa are all straight. They should not be shipped with each other because they are straight.....
Dazai flirts with women and wants to commit a double suicide with a beautiful woman. Atsushi is very clearly set up to end up with Lucy. Akutagawa couldn't care less about romance as we see how dismissive he is with Higuchi. And Chuuya.......wears fashionable outfits and has a slutty waist, but we won't comment on that.
Dazai and Chuuya have a lot of queer subtext that anyone can see. Akutagawa and Atsushi are pointed out to complete each other and complement each other several times. These ships don't exist out of thin air.
Now there is nothing WRONG with anyone having the headcanon of any of these (or any other) characters to be straight, after all we are not given enough information about their sexualities. But by stating "Dazai is straight, he likes women" or "this ship doesn't make sense because they are not gay" not only does it imply that characters can't have other preferences but also that being straight is the default, which it isn't.
This is coming from a straight woman from a very conservative country where we don't have exposure to queer media. It took me a long time to stop being so heteronormative. I think assuming someone is straight until they prove to you or tell you directly is just as bad and as assuming someone is gay. I think we have come far along as a community to understand that it shouldn't be our first instinct to assume everything is heterosexual until we get some sort of proof or stamp of approval from its creator.
Asagiri isn't going to stand up in a stage in front of the world and say "yeah Dazai and Chuuya have gay feelings for eachother" because the manga is from Japan. If there were explicit queer characters then BSD would no longer get the label of being universal because of certain censorship laws. Even if it's getting more acceptable in Japan to show queer characters in manga and anime, BSD isn't a romance or slice of life story. It's a seinen, not a BL/GL. Besides, Asagiri shows little to no interest in romantic relationships in his story.
So by saying "______ character is straight because we don't have any other information proving otherwise " isn't a valid excuse to tell shippers not to ship certain characters, it's making it seem like heterosexuality is the default state of being.
That also doesn't mean you can say "Dazai is gay, don't ship him with women" because that's the same thing. If you think Dazai is gay/bi/pan/etc. then that's your opinion, pushing that on others only worsens the rep of skk shippers especially.
You have the right to like or dislike certain ships or have your own Headcanons. This is why even feminising certain characters also isn't as problematic as people call it. It's just a different take on a character (but that time people were correcting those who called Sigma a "he" instead of "they" was genuinely wrong). Headcanons of some random online stranger doesn't make anything canon. So if you find yourself around annoying people like that, just leave the conversation.
2. WHY SUBTEXT MATTERS
Subtext is really important when discussing media; in case of BSD whether it is the anime, manga, anthologies or LNs. BSD is not new to subtext, even from the start of the story there is a lot of queer subtext that people can figure out easily.
When we are introduced to Dazai and Chuuya's partnership in the first season, it's clear as day to see the dynamic and its underlying tension. We can see how close those two are that their relationship can't be explained just as simple partners turned enemies. Time and time again we get so much queer subtext between Skk's interactions. The entire 15 arc and well as Stormbringer shows us the bond and trust between the two as well as the intense amount of gay scenes. At this point I am sure Hoshikawa is a hardcore skk shipper. All of their official art is also gay (that could be queerbating though). Asagiri must know what the public thinks about Skk and still writes subtext about them. It makes sense why this would be a popular ship; it's not made out of thin air with no context (*ahem* Kousano *ahem*) but has actual roots and the proof to back it up too.
SSKK is a similar story, it's not my favourite but it has been growing on me ever since S5. Similar to skk, we get a lot of subtext and homoerotic moments between Aku and Atsushi. They are yin and yang. They are enemies that sought to kill eachother but still team up to fight together. Atsushi is literally the centre of Akutagawa's life since the beginning. Atsushi and Akutagawa grow together as characters and as different as they appear are similarly looking for one thing: validation and acceptance. Their relationship is so compelling in so many levels that it too makes sense why their ship is as popular as it is (especially regarding recent events in the story)
Ranpoe.....let's be real, those two got married a long time ago. They are the definition of "be gay, solve crimes". They are undeniably a cute ship regardless of whether it's one sided or not. Fyolai as well makes complete sense with the context behind Fyodor and Nikolai's relationship, while I also consider it quite one-sided as it's mostly Nikolai that is fascinated by Fyodor (and wants to kiss kill him) Fukumori isn't my cup of tea but it too has enough subtext to back it up, same with FukuFuku.
While I would love to talk about other ships, I wanted to show the reasoning behind the most popular pairings.
Personally, as a multishipper, it's very fun for me to have so many characters to examine and spend time obsessing over.
Now, there are straight ships that I like too as well as ships I don't ship for myself.
The reason I don't like Yosano and Ranpo together is because I see them in the same position as Kyouka and Atsushi. The scene of Ranpo recruiting Yosano (who worked with Mori) into the ADA parallels Atsushi saving Kyouka (who also worked with Mori). I consider them siblings and like how they are platonic instead of it being the typical "a boy and girl can't be besties". Another ship I love and cherish is AtsuLucy because it's so adorable, Lucy is my fav Guild member and her and Atsushi are "Girlboss and Malewife". I ship Tachihara with Gin, Higuchi and Gin as well as Kunikida with Yosano (surprisingly I don't find the appeal of Kunizai; though I still like that ship from time to time, just don't ship it actively). I prefer not to ship Sigma with anyone (he is still a baby to me)
So it's not that BSD doesn't have straight ships, when you make a majority male cast and have them be rivals or enemies, obviously people will ship m/m more. Especially if there is more subtext and tension behind the male characters and they have little to no interactions with women.
And I might get some heat for saying this:
It is okay for most of the BSD characters to be considered queer because if comp het is so normal in anime/manga then why can't the opposite be the case? We already have enough series with little to no representation, so why can't we have a bunch of queer characters?
3. TOXIC SHIPPERS AND THE FALL OF FANDOM CULTURE
I have been raving for the past two sections and defending the shipping community. But it isn't a conversation with nuance if I don't address the problem of a small group of people that take shipping too seriously. The reason why fandom itself gets a bad rep is because of shipping more often than not. I will admit, it's not all sunshine and rainbows when people argue about their fav ships. And a lot of the aforementioned ships are to a point, toxic. Yes, some shippers are annoying and ruin everyone else's fun. There are ships that don't make sense at all.
But that doesn't mean that a small part of people should represent others who are just having harmless fun and don't even believe their ships to ever become canon. Let's be real it's highly unlikely we will have any couples by the end of the show (the closest could be AtsuLucy). Sometimes people are too intense about ships and that goes for both antis and pros. Both of the extreme are toxic. And instead of shoving down our opinions down other people's throats, we should be celebrating the very story that brought us together in the first place.
Yeah it can be hard for those who don't like shipping at all to enjoy the story and have discussions. But we have to remember the roots of fandom culture start with shipping. It's always been the case and it's always been the most popular way to discuss one's favourite fictional work. From Sherlock to Genshin to boy bands to streamers, everything has been shipped and will always be. There is a reason why AO3 works so well.
4. SO WHAT?
The ships are what brought me to BSD in the first place. I wanted to explore the world of BSD because of its characters and their dynamics. And a lot of other people have gotten into this fandom for the exact same reason. While there are unflattering moments in our fandom, that doesn't mean it's not a place for people to come together and have some fun. Whether you ship or not. Whether you like fanfictions or not. We have to accept that there are a lot of pros to shipping too. It brings our ideas together, makes us feel giddy inside or tears our heart apart, it produces beautiful fanarts and fanfictions, it makes us analyse characters, it makes us look deeper into the story....and it makes us wait for what's next to come.
And I want nothing more than to be able to enjoy shipping without the guilt that comes with it.
Shipping isn't free from its flaws, but it is not defined only by its flaws. It might not be for everyone, but it is someone's everything. So even if you don't like it in particular, let's not spoil other people's fun. One's trash is another's treasure.
~Peace out 🕊️✌️
Atsushi really said "I can fix him" AND HE DID
sskk makes me ugly cry (both romantic and platonic)
Every time I hear "Do we need more?" I spontaneously combust
Dazai getting out of Chuuya's apartment in the morning: 😶
Atsushi getting out of Akutagawa's apartment in the morning: 😶
Dazai: let's keep this a secret between us and not tell anyone about this in the ADA
Atsushi: deal.
Akutagawa using intimidation tactics on Atsushi because he doesn't know how to flirt: Jinko look at my eyes when I talk or else....
Atsushi: but, you are holding my wrist and pushed me into a corner, what do you want? I thought you agreed not to kill me
Akutagawa: if you don't want your sister to go missing, then let me take you to a restaurant
Atsushi: first of all, Kyouka would never get kidnapped by you and why a restaurant, are you trying to sell me drugs or something?
Akutagawa: why are you not understanding me?
Atsushi: what are you talking about? What is wrong with you?
Akutagawa: stay here, I have to ask Dazai-san for more pointers. If you run away, I will put handcuffs on you
Atsushi: ......
Atsushi: wait...I am the DETECTIVE HERE NOT YOU.
Meanwhile, Dazai watching this with binoculars: Dammit, Atsushi is even more air-headed than Chuuya. How can they not get such simple things? I should have given Akutagawa the dog collar already. It worked on Chuuya, surely it will work on Atsushi-
Chuuya, kicks his back: can you stop ruining kids eh, shitty mackerel?