a secret little party🎂
Though the latest chapter was relatively short and rose more questions than it gave answers, I believe Fyodor's speech about the "dimensions" is hinting Atsushi's role in the upcoming fight against Amenogozen.
In this panel, Fyodor is clearly talking about Akutagawa, who is able to block Amenogozen's space and time attacks. What's interesting here is the choice of words.
The individual inhabits "the paper world".
Ofc, this could only be a callback to the paper that magically popped out of thin air right into Fyodor's hand, and which he stabs to demonstrate that a two-dimensional character cannot escape an attack coming from someone outside the paper.
But! It is interesting to note that it can also call back the The Book, which Fyodor referred as "our origin" in chapter 119.
Akutagawa, like any other character in BSD (minus some exceptions), is part of the Book. Therefore, that would mean he is a two-dimensional character, since his life is part of a piece of paper. Now that Fyodor controls Amenogozen a singularity which defies the logics of the BSD world, he is "a dimension higher" than the Book. Which allows him (through Amenogozen) to land attacks that seemingly "come out of nowhere" (in the panel below Amenogozen's arm comes from Aku's belly instead of piercing it from side to side)
Now, back to Atsushi. In chapter 119, Fyodor said something that I believe is the hint for Atsushi's role in the fight against Amenogozen.
Atsushi is a bookmark. Therefore, that means he's not completely part of the Book, but outside the Book. Thus, a dimension higher than the Book, on par with Gozen (dimensionally speaking, at least).
It's also interesting to note that, in the panel below, Fyodor says "us three-dimensional beings", which could mean he's including Atsushi in this label - but this is kind of a stretch imo, since he could also just be referring to Gozen and himself.
At any rate, Atsushi's role as a "bookmark" has to be relevant for the upcoming final clash against Gozen. Especially if he fights alongside Akutagawa (forget that the latter has been stabbed. He is fine. The anime says sskk will fight together and I believe it. RYU IS FINE 🥲🥲)
After all, chapter 119 has already showed us that Aku can fight on equals terms with Gozen in terms of space and time (the first two dimensions).
All he lacks is the ability to counter the thrid dimension, "depth", that only the people "outside" the Book possess. In other words, people like Atsushi. We already know that the tiger's claws can erase abilities, so I think Atsushi is able to counter Gozen's 3D attacks... theoretically speaking.
So in conclusion, I think that chapter 119 and 120 gave us the hints of what the cast needs to defeat the divine being: someone who can counter him in the two dimensions of space and time (Akutagawa), and someone who can block the attacks coming from the third (Atsushi). Which would eventually lead to the final clash the anime has teased, with sskk facing Gozen, and this famous sentence finally taking on its full meaning:
No. Technically, there is no need for more than Atsushi and Akutagawa.
Technically. As long as they manage to complete each other's weaknesses with their own strengh.
Please note that this post is merely my own interpretation of the recent chapters, from which I've built my theories. They could be a total stretch and be proven wrong in the upcoming chapters. But I firmly believe that the elements from Fyodor's villain monologue have to be relevant at some point in the future. Hopefully chapter 120.5 and its successors will provide more answers than questions...
The port mafia presents
I feel like a lot of people misunderstand the relationship between Verlaine and Chuuya. There's a lot of argument over whether they're biologically brothers or not. That's not the point. The point is how they came into the world and their unnatural birth. Or, at least, how Verlaine perceives it. He sees both him and Chuuya as artificial beings that will never be human no matter how hard they may try, so they may as well stop trying to fit in with these disgusting humans and just find solace in each other. He calls Chuuya his brother because he feels like he's the only one who can truly understand what he's going through. Their "brothership" stems from their shared existence as artificial beings. This is why Chuuya rejects it so violently at first. He doesn't want to be anything like the man who slaughtered his friends. He wants to be human.
Then, throughout the book, Chuuya comes to accept that however he came into this world, naturally or otherwise, he chooses to be human, and that's what it's important. His actions are what make him human. Verlaine learns this, too, but it's already far too late. He, too, had the chance to be human, but he was too focused on the possibility of being inhuman instead of actually trying to be a good person or to accept the care and support of his friend, Rimbaud, and now, he's gone. That is the tragedy of his story. He always had the opportunity to be human, but he threw it away for the sake of anger and hatred.
Only when they have both learned this lesson that Chuuya accepts Verlaine as his brother. Not because they're biologically related or anything, but because they do have this shared experience with one another, and he's here for him. Not because he forgives him for what he did. But because he has an opportunity to be better.
I love stormbringer. It's so good. Anyone reading this who hasn't read it, READ IT!! IF YOU LIKE CHUUYA AT ALL, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK! IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO HIS CHARACTER!
Previous Part: Part ½
<Thanks for lovely cover page @bsduwu​)
Sorry it took me so long but I finally finished the first half of the au novel that was included as a bonus in the DVD/BD of the anime. The novel is called Gakuen Bungou Stray Dogs  (Bungou Stray Dogs School) and is consisted of 2 parts, the first half is included in DVD/BD Vol 2 and the second half is in Vol 8. It is about 80 pages in total. It has also been adapted into a story in the game Bungou Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost so you may find the story familiar.
Below is some of the notes I would like to read before proceeding.
- Please buy the DVD/BD to support the authors if you can.
- I don’t mind if you use bits of it for analysis or credits, but do not repost the whole thing out of Tumblr.
- Feel free to retranslate it if you want, but keep in mind that my translation is not perfect as I am not fluent in neither English nor Japanese.
- I am translating casually at my pace so I can’t promise when the next part will come out. But I will make time for it when I can.
That’s it. Happy reading!
Continuar lendo
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?
they want to be friends so bad it makes them look stupid
Muzan possesses such a high level of emotional intelligence that enables him to read people deeply, manipulate them to his advantage, and exploit their weaknesses. He knows how to agitate them to get what he wants and how to break them down by amplifying their worst traits. His top three Upper Moons reflect his own faults such as apathy, immaturity, arrogance, greed, and an endless quest for more power.
Muzan treats each of them differently to serve his purposes. He humiliates and belittles Akaza at every opportunity because he knows that he craves guidance and praise. By doing the opposite, he inflicts emotional pain. He continues this harsh treatment until Akaza's final moments, pushing him to persist in a meaningless existence.
With Douma, Muzan exacerbates his emotional stuntedness by being emotionally distant and allowing Douma to stay in toxic environment he grew up in, preventing any personal growth or change.
And lastly, Muzan manipulates Kokushibo's jealousy and greed by tempting him with what he desires most, rather than what he truly needs. This leads Kokushibo down a path of betraying everything that once mattered to him.
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