Neku Day :) The Boy

Neku day :) the boy

I don't know how people have suddenly decided Chuuya is a trusting person, like sir, have we read the same Manga/Light Novels or was Chuuya never telling the Sheep about his past or assuming the Flags were gonna kill him when he found out they worked for Mori part of his trusting personality?

Like, what's more interesting, Dazai being an unstrustworthy manipulative asshole and Chuuya still trusting him because of a character flaw? or

Dazai being an untrustworthy manipulative asshole and Chuuya, a person who has never relied on anyone having his back, like, ever, for some inexplicable reason extending that trust to him? Someone more demon than person? Dazai would lose his fucking shit.

I'm really intrigued to hear your thoughts on Shirase. For all of his very apparent faults, he's one of my favorites and I find him very interesting so I'm always intrigued to know what other people's thoughts on him are (especially those who have read Stormbringer).

Ah, well anon I hope you don't take offence but I think he's the wrost XD. But in, like, an interesting way? He's the type of toxic person that's very typical to find in our day to day lives; unlike all the villains and whatever Dazai's got going on, Shirase is just. Someone who responds to growing up powerless in the worst way possible.

On the other hand, it's so facinating to read into his and Chuuya's interactions cause...man, if the fandom wants a codependent relationship, there's one right there. The "how many times am I gonna have to save you" line from Chuuya is so indicative of what Chuuya was to Shirase, and by extension, the rest of the Sheep. I'm gonna do a post on this dynamic specifically later, but the bottom line is. Shirase needs Chuuya, for power and protection, and Chuuya, at least in the past, was desperate to be needed by someone because if he gives enough, that means he's worth something, right?

I also have a small theory. While the anime portrays the Sheep getting kidnapped in Fifteen as just dumb kids being dumb and Chuuya being the only one with some common sense, the Light Novel's conversation with Shirase on the matter is a little different:

“Hang on. You went to the factory road?” Chuuya asked sharply. “Did you go to steal booze again? This is war, ya know! And you got that close to the Mafia’s base?! That’s like begging to be kidnapped!”

“Quit yelling.” The boy frowned. “It’s not like we went to kill anyone. We’re only acting in self-defense just like the rules say. Besides, isn’t this our chance? The Sheep always get their revenge. You lay a finger on us—we pay you back double. Right?”

A) Shirase immediately dismisses Chuuya's fruatration as an overreaction (it's not) and B) tries to justify invading mafia territory by saying that they didn't intend to kill anyone, and whatever skirmish that happened was just self-defense. Like, to me, it seems that Shirase had pushed against those rules before, for him to need to justify himself to Chuuya. Also, he was the only one of that group not captured. Sounds kinda sus XD.

Also, he's so bloodthirsty??

Shirase: "Kick his ass and tie him up! Then we can exchange him for— Wait. Actually, just kill him.”

Dazai: "Oh my. That took a dark turn."

Combined with the stuff in Stormbringer and how Shirase claims he was the one running the Sheep the whole time and laments the resources and power he lost when the gang was broken up, I think he deliberately entered mafia territory to provoke them into capturing the other Sheep, giving Chuuya no choice but to retaliate and, in the process, gain more Sheep territory. Simply put, Shirase was using his position as Chuuya's (probably closest?) friend to gain power for himself and the gang. Gaslight gatekeep girlboss?

In his defence, Stormbringer also showed his capacity for kindness. If Shirase hadn't given Chuuya that bread, I think Chuuya would have turned out a very different person. Like all BSD characters, he's complex and very grey.

I am happy with how Stormbringer ended, that the little codependent dynamic the two had going on was finally broken up, that Chuuya could freely state how much Shirase owes him, and that Shirase could take it fine. Them not looking back at each other is also them putting that relationship behind them.

So, in conclusion, Shirase is a little shit but he's an enjoyable little shit? Dazai immediately spots his brand of manipulation, and it's great, because he is a parallel to Dazai, in a way. He's there to point out how differently Double Black functions from the relationship he and Chuuya had. How Dazai, while capable of being even more manipulative than Shirase, still regards Chuuya on equal footing, not as a tool to be used, but as a person with his own desires. There's a reason why, as soon as Chuuya turns his back on Shirase one last time, Dazai's the one waiting for him.

"'He can’t. All you can do is trust him,' Dazai interjected once more. 'Isn’t that enough? You’re friends, right?'"

how (not) to get your hatrack to pay attention to you

Ok ok so the thing is.

Thing #526 I find frustrating about how a lot of people write Chuuya is.

He, canonically, has a shit ton of insecurities and self-worth issues that are left unresolved.

BUT he doesn't turn them over in his head all the time. He doesn't wallow in self-pity. That's Dazai's thing. Dazai will pick at every inner scar he has. Chuuya? Chuuya will stuff every insecurity and doubt he has into a little box and bury it 200 feet under cause he doesn't wanna deal with it, and doesn't notice when that box spills over into his actions. The only time he unearths that box is when someone from the outside forces him to. And that's especially true for 22-year-old Chuuya.

And he sure as hell doesn't let himself care about what Dazai thinks of him, or if he matters to Dazai more than someone else in his life. What Dazai does or does not think about him isn't really worth his time. It's what Chuuya thinks of himself that matters to him.