#I'm just writing out my thoughts about BSDs framing of actions

[whathorselegs]

This is probably going to be controversial take (I mean no harm by it, and its not hate directed at anyone), but the reason Dazai shooting at Akutagawa in Dark Era is so shocking to people is because he did it to a character we've had time to get attached to.

If Dazai had shot/killed/wounded a random subordinate for messing up his plans, it would be in all the PM!Dazai remixes as one of his dark and cool moments. Like when he's repeatedly shooting that guy in fifteen. It's messed up, but it doesn't happen to a character we're attached to, it happens to an enemy, so we swallow Dazai doing it much easier. If Akutagawa had been a random subordinate, people might even say Dazai was right to do it because that subordinate did a dumb thing that led their investigation to a dead end. (This is theoretical example not my opinion, I don't agree with what Dazai did)

I'm not justifying what Dazai did, but it's the framing that makes this so much more "evil" and unforgivable for people than anything else PM!Dazai did. It's stated multiple times Dazai was terrible to his enemies AND his own subordinates. Akutagawa wasn't the exception, he was just the one we care about. (Q too, though I see less talk about that and we're not actually shown what happened to Q)

Yes, it is cruel, no denying that, he hurts Akutagawa to teach him a lesson, that what's the mafia life has taught Dazai is effective. I'd argue though, it's not anymore cruel than what Yosano does to Tanizaki and Kunikida. She literally tortures them, but it's fine because it's played off as a joke and they're healed in the end. When in reality it's Yosano taking out her trauma on her patients and friends, and she's enjoying it. She didn't need her patients to be half dead in the flashbacks, that came after the trauma. She hurts them to discourage them from getting hurt again in the future. (Again, no hate intended, I love Yosano and all her complexities)

Dazai hurt Akutagawa the same way. Except it's never told as a joke. It happens brutally because it is and the show wants you to feel it in those moments. There is plenty brutal things that Dazai does that are played off as not serious. What he does to Ango with the airbag in his car is brutal. Yet its framed as a dark but necessary action, we're supposed to agree with Dazai because it ultimately saves Kyouka and Dazai gets to have some vengeance. It's a framed as a victory over Ango that we're supposed to support.

Chuuya is constantly being brutal in fights. He kills those people in the woods when he goes to retrieve Q and it's not a gentle killing either. He enjoys the fight, he's happy to get his hands dirty, he likes throwing bullets at people. And we accept this because he does it to the "bad guys".

Yet when Chuuya murdered the guards at Meursault, people thought this was out of character for him. It wasn't. These characters simply seemed more like innocent bystanders to the audience so the reality of how vicious Chuuya's actions were, kicked back in.

So many characters do messed up things in BSD, to pin one as irredeemable because of them doesn't make sense when so many characters are guilty of similar actions. People put Oda up on a pedestal just like Dazai does, because he stopped killing and took in some kids, but he was still a murderer, he still shot and maimed people with ease, as long as they were breathing he was fine with hurting them.

Sure, you can certainly say, "I no longer like this character because of their actions." and that's perfectly fine. You have no obligation to like a character, your preferences are perfectly valid. I just don't believe there's meant to be such a thing as irredeemable or truly evil in BSD. Just people who choose to keep hurting others, and those who try to be better than who they once were.

Dazai has hurt literal hundreds of people during his mafia years but that's off screen and to nameless background characters, it's easier to dismiss. The way he treats Akutagawa is a reminder to the audience that all the characters' actions have consequences. That Atsushi's hero was another person's nightmare and that BSD has many characters like this.

#bungou stray dogs #bsd dazai #bsd akutagawa #rambling #bsd #I'll say it again in the tags #no hate is intended here #this is not a post saying you have to like Dazai #I'm just writing out my thoughts about BSDs framing of actions

[the-bloody-sadist]

Hello Sadist, I'm back to ask my 'How to' (I'm flattered by the way to be considered a pal).

You see, I'm chipping away at this whumpish bsd fic I'm writing (it's centered around the time frame in-between Dazai being arrested and transferred to Mersault) but I'm struggling on how to depict the transition from strong-willed to broken.

I'm wanting the emotional journey to feel ethnic and convincing, and slow enough to fit the various experiences.

I admire your work in both art and writing and was wondering if you might have a tip or two to spare.

~Mr. Noose

Hey Noose! Nice to have you back for the ask. Noooow it makes sense what you meant about the 'how to' questions.

Oh, gods, it's really hard to sort out advice, especially on so big a scale as it would be for this topic. Because half of it just comes naturally? To me, at least? So it's hard to sort out the details of how to make that progression happen.

But I'm assuming by the emotional journey feeling "ethnic" you were looking for the word authentic, in which case I can try to give a few tips!

In my style, at least, I'm really big on subtlety. The most effective way to break someone down is not to do huge, horrible things all at once, but to do scenes where small things are made big. Emotional manipulation is the most destructive, so things like wearing a person out in an argument to make them accept something, even something small and insignificant, can be a good start. Or tiny, nagging ways of abuse. The victim doesn't get food if the abuser doesn't like their attitude that day, or he doesn't get to wear clothes if he acts out of defiance.

The back and forth of action and punishment for that action is probably my default. Punishment doesn't have to be physical, either, but it can be. If your victim is a smart-mouth, the way to break him eventually is to keep up a cycle of punishing him for every time he is. My greatest experience is in the domestic realm of abuse, so with your situation it might be different, but hopefully you get the idea.

What you want, most importantly, is a series of events and aggressors that will continue to build upon each other until finally it hits a climax, the victim can't take anymore, and he gives in to the abuser's wishes. Since I'm long-winded and like to build things very subtly and over a great period of time, for me it might look different than what you're going for. Physical abuse and the extremity of it can make that process much faster, but will be pretty worthless if you don't have some undercurrent of emotional weight to it. Otherwise I firmly believe a victim like Dazai would just keep resisting without a problem. So make sure you locate the victim's biggest weakness, have the abuser find out, and have the abuser use that in the best way possible.

If that's employed to create the climax, it will give a lot of authenticity to that being the victim's breaking point.

OKAY HOPE THAT HELPED AT LEAST A LITTLE. There's a lot that goes into my thought processes on this subject, but it's highly specific to my stories and dynamics, so I hope that can be generally applied enough to be useful. But hopefully you've chosen characters that will play off of one another very well in this dynamic. That always makes the story stronger as a whole. Character is always the most important part.

#sadist’s answered asks #how to write #whump #defiant whumpee #tips on writing #cycle of abuse #breaking down mentality