#but I highly suggest you read the light novels for bsd if you like the series!!

[dourpeep]

WAAH okay I just finished the first ep of season 4 for bsd and I just OTL

I remembered something from the light novel that season 4 is opening with (book 3, The Untold Origins of the Detective Agency), so don't peek if you don't want to be spoiled for those who either haven't read and want to, or want to wait for the anime to release more episodes

BUT MAN I'm so sad remembering this, but seeing it happen and reading is just???? It hits different but in a good way (or as good as angst can get lmao)

but just seeing 14 yr old Ranpo versus 26 yr old Ranpo and realizing that he really hasn't changed-

He knew, when he was 14, that people didn't see what he saw and understood that his 'ability' was something that was unique to him due to his upbringing and parents (both brilliant people--his father specifically being an incredibly well-known detective- so really, it makes you wonder if this influenced his bragging but that's something for another time), but kept himself under the guise that people understood because...

If adults can't see what he can see, then how are they supposed to help him out when he's still a child? A child can't do everything themselves, so the idea that no one would be able to help him just makes his parent's death that much worse

And despite Fukuzawa not really knowing this straight out, it's interesting to see how he handles it

Not sure how to comfort a child whose essentially jaded with a lack of trust towards others and a continually decreasing will because he just keeps on getting beaten down? Oh easy, just tell him that the thing that's been giving him indirect woe is a skill. He only is being affected by his own brilliance because it's something that can't be helped. Give him a reason to be proud of it instead!

Uh but I'm getting carried away.

Anyway-- then we see 26 yr old Ranpo now who, really, has known the entire time that his 'skill' isn't a skill, but instead accepted Fukuzawa's attempt at comfort those 12 years ago because now it's more the idea that...if it isn't a skill, then what is he useful for? Within a group of people so talented--not just due to their individual skill, but their combat abilities and all that--why is he so special that he is a part of them? And why would he be so deserving of everyone's praise if he's just...normal?

Long story short, I just mainly remembered Ranpo's deep insecurity that's rooted in his view of his own competence and the effect of the loss of his parents at an early age and I just wanna grab his cheeks and stretch

ALSO ALSO in season 4's first ep when he's trying to nab a bite of the actress' sweets and she eats it instead that was soiefhoih what a brat

#peep peep #I got carried away as per usual but anyway it's always Ranpo hours-- he lives in my brain (and sitting on a tiny chair on my desk) rentfree #OTL I should re-read book 3 just for the sake of it #AH MAN THAT REMINDS ME SO I'LL RAMBLE HERE NOW #but I highly suggest you read the light novels for bsd if you like the series!! #it's Asagiri's first time writting in a novel form iirc and it's quite nice to see the development of voice and style as well as going from #something that's more directive to more descriptive instead!! #You can really see the effort that was put into them considering the base idea is that manga tends to entirely dialog heavy #so seeing how Asagiri went about it as well and his notes at the end of the novels is cool!! #Especially considering the development of a voice is so drastic between the first and third books if you were to compare! #Ahhhh alright alright that's all- just wanted to touch on this because it's something that I've been very inspired by nodnodnod #bsd #bungo stray dogs #edogawa ranpo

[violets-arepurple]

Your theory on abilities being a trauma response is actually kind of correct! In the Gaiden light novel, it was stated that people develop abilities after some major event occurs rather than being born with them. I apparently can't send images on anon, so instead I'll copy and paste the specific excerpt I'm referring to (all translation credit goes to profqlasses on Twitter, she really did us Gaiden fans a massive service with her translation).

---

"Because my ability does not listen to my commands.

My ability lives in the shadow beneath my feet. With almost no definite form and like the shadow itself that wriggles autonomously, it’s an elusive ability lifeform. What I only know is that it has goat-like horns and is a bipedal beast, with nothing more than a black sickle to attack with. Everything else is ambiguous; even if you stare at it carefully, you still won’t be able to make out its figure. I don’t even know what it’s thinking.

I call it the Shadowling.

It’s hiding in my shadow now, thinking of something.

I don’t know when it will reveal itself or whom it will attack.

I don’t even know if it’s an enemy or an ally.

Sometimes when I’m walking down the street, I feel its gaze in my shadows, and my skin would grow cold.

A monster lurking within me.

An abnormality holding my breath behind my daily life.

“Sensei,” I muttered hoarsely. “Have you ever wished you didn’t have your ability?”

“What a very mature question,” replied Ayatsuji-sensei. “I can tell you the answer, but I don’t think a fledgling like you would catch it. You’ll need about ten years of suffering for that kind of excellent question. How many years has it been since your ability first awakened?”

I didn’t need to count with my fingers; the number had always been in my head.

“……Five years.”

“There are lots of obscurities as to when and how people acquire their abilities. But most of the time, there’s a certain trigger. In your case, it was your mother’s death. In Reigo Island’s Serial Murder Case five years ago. If it’s from something like that, it’s no wonder if one or two abilities would get involved there. And it’s regardless whether the person in question wants it or not.”

The Reigo Island Serial Murder Case that happened five years ago.

A case where tourists who visited the island suspiciously disappeared one by one.

Ever since Mother died in that case, I’ve had to deal with this unstable and baffling ability.

My senpai from the Special Division analyzed this ability as “a memento of my mother”. Whatever the reason was, my ability manifested because of Mother, which led me to be scouted by the Special Division. In that sense, it’s all thanks to Mother that I became an agent. In reference to that, Senpai once mentioned, “Think of it as a gift from your mother”.

However…

I remember the moment when the dark and cold figure of the Shadowling pierced the Special Forces members’ chests.

Without even a murderous intent but rather with a transparent and pure will to kill.

This—is a gift?"

---

It's kind of a long excerpt (so sorry for how much space this'll take up in your inbox), but it's really interesting and important. I'd also like to specifically emphasize the part where Ayatsuji says that "it's no wonder if one or two abilities would get involved there". One or two. This confirms that people can develop several abilities, which is an absolutely fascinating concept.

Anyway, Gaiden is literally So important to overall BSD lore, and it pains me that it's so criminally underrated. So, if you have the time, I highly suggest reading it :)

Thank you for the info Anon

The several abilities part is quite interesting as it could be reminiscent of people having multiple trauma responses/coping mechanisms in the face of trauma

Peoples abilities being uncontrollable at first is also important as for many people who have trauma it can be difficult for them to prevent the negative effect of their trauma and in Bsd it seems to be that the people with the most control over their ability have some sort of support system or recovery. Even characters like Akutagawa who seems to have control over his ability but he in fact uses it in a very self destructive way that only really causes harm to himself and others (this isn’t to say he’s bad due to his trauma that is a contributing factor but mental illness is a reason not an excuse)

This is also has interesting for Dazai as he has one of the most uncontrolled abilities, he’s constantly in defence mode as well as this he is the most obviously traumatised characters, as shown by his constant suicide attempts, manipulation and self sabotage. This means it may be possible that with some character development and healing he’ll be able to turn his ability off one day

#sorry for the late reply anon #y’all feel free to send more asks on the theory in I enjoy thinking about it #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd theory #bsd dazai #bsd aktugawa #ask

[fantastic-rambles]

Random BSD Thoughts: “The Untold Origins” and The Decay of Angels

WARNING: Spoilers for “The Untold Origins of the Detective Agency” LN (Brief spoiler for Chapter 91 near the end.)

So I’m still plodding my way through the light novels and making notes on the various things that catch my interest. For those who have read the third novel, saying that I’m going to discuss the Decay of Angels in relation to it might seem odd, but there’s a method to my madness (in my own head, at least).

Right now, we’ve been introduced to the five members of the Decay of Angels in the manga, which seems to have rounded out the group. And the light novel, as the title suggests, refers to events that happen a long time before the events of the manga. But I think that the novel could be hinting toward the existence of the Decay of Angels even back then, with Ranpo and Fukuzawa briefly catching its tail.

(My thoughts/reasonings are pretty tenuous, so there’s a very good chance that I’m wrong/will be proved wrong since I’m no Ranpo who can solve a mystery by looking at it, but this is just where my brain went and I felt like sharing. xD) 

“V” and the Decay of Angels?

(I’ve learned how to use headers instead of having enormous walls of text, go me!)

The lines that caught my attention and sent me spiraling down this rabbit hole are these, which appear near the end of the light novel:

Behind it all was a domestic underground syndicate known as “V,” whose goal was to rid the country of skill users.

And the battle against them was only beginning.

Of course, it doesn’t name the Decay of Angels explicitly, but there are a few things just in the first line that caught my attention:

They are a domestic syndicate. Of course, the Decay of Angels (currently) has skill-users from several different countries, but their leader is very much Japanese. And maybe back then, they were primarily Japanese, with Fukuchi recruiting the others in the years since (more on this later).

“V”: the Roman numeral for 5, which could refer to the five “signs” of the impending death of an angel (one of which is the “lack of delight in their heavenly seat” or something along those lines that the ADA fulfilled--I think I’m mixing up the Mouryou no Hako description with the BSD description, but you get the point). It could also refer to the number of members, but I find that unlikely given that “V” does seem to have more than five people at this point in time.

Their goal, to rid the country of all skill users: isn’t that literally what Fyodor wants to do? Though on a slightly larger scale, as he apparently wants to rid the world of them altogether. But again, if he were recruited later, that would have provided him a strong incentive to lend his support to the DoA.

We also learn that this organization is willing to use any methods in order to achieve their goals, which is rather reminiscent of the methods of the DoA, especially Fukuchi orchestrating an enormous terrorist plot in order to gain control of an international, non-affiliated army and destroy all of the countries.

Plus, the member of the organization who is caught by Fukuzawa and Ranpo is a police officer, Jun Mitamura. Was he an early member of the DoA or the Hunting Dogs under Fukuchi? Yes, he doesn’t seem to be a skill user, as is the case with both organizations now, but it’s also established that back then, the knowledge of skill users wasn’t well-known, and the government seemed to be trying to collect them. So I don’t think it’s unreasonable that some of the earlier iterations of the groups might have had non-skill user members, and it would make most sense to recruit them from law enforcement and/or the army.

To prevent him from talking after he was captured, Mitamura was stabbed by a blade that disappeared (as was Kurahashi); I don’t know when Fukuchi obtained Amenogozen, but it certainly seems like something he could have done if he did have it then. Especially since he was also affiliated with the military (and maybe was starting to get a reputation?) and could probably walk around a police station/jail without raising suspicion.

Angels in the Light Novel (an aside, mostly)

Another interesting tidbit is that “angels” feature prominently in the story, most particularly in the play that is performed early on that has a minor mystery for Ranpo to solve, including the death threat that is received:

An angel shall bring death, in the truest sense of the word, to the performer. - V.

Although this is part of the plan to fake Murakami’s death, it seems clear that “V” and Murakami and/or Kurahashi were in contact in order for this note to be written. After all, it would be a wild coincidence for them to have randomly chosen “V” to be the anonymous sender of the letter and then for this organization “V” to show up later in the novel.

Of course, the “angels” in the play don’t actually have great bearing on the story (as far as I can tell), and the depictions of skill-users in the play are considered inaccurate/dramatized in general (again, since they’re not well-known about at this point), but it is noted that it’s very unusual to include them since they’re generally considered some sort of urban legend. But if “V” had a hand in writing the play through Kurahashi, they could have provided information about skill-users (possibly to pique Natsumi’s interest and get him to show up?) as well as influenced the theme of the angels.

Overall Timeline of Events

So with this information, I’ve organized a rough (theoretical) timeline of events for the development of the Decay of Angels. Starting from three facts:

14 years ago (prior to the present shown in the manga), Fukuchi joins the army and comes to hate war.

12 years ago, the ADA is founded.

8 years ago, Fukuchi defeats Bram Stoker and forces him to join the DoA.

Presumably, around those 14 years ago, that’s when Fukuzawa left the army/being a government assassin and found employment as a bodyguard instead. But Fukuchi did join the army and was caught up by the horrors of war, which led him to start forming plans to destroy all of the countries and establish world domination. So by the time Ranpo meets Fukuzawa two years later, possibly Fukuchi has formed a proto-Hunting Dogs/DoA organization that is called “V” with his charisma and growing fame.

Then, in the following years, he goes on being the world’s hero, fighting against highly skilled and dangerous skill-users. With his reputation and image of reliability, trust in him grows and he’s able to freely go almost anywhere, which would give him opportunities to meet and recruit people like Fyodor and Gogol. Gogol seems to be close friends with Fyodor, so they probably came as a package, while Fyodor may have agreed to the cooperative relationship so that he could get the Book and erase skill-users, while Fukuchi would be able to benefit from Fyodor’s malicious and thorough ability to devise complex plots to achieve their goals. Also:

MANGA CHAPTER 91 SPOILER: “One Order” is apparently an ability that “frees soldiers [people] from the yoke of sin”/takes away their guilt (over committing murder). Sound familiar??? This might just be a coincidence, though. But if Fyodor is also interested in this, it could further explain why he joined up with the DoA.

But not all of the collaborators are working with Fukuchi willingly, as is seen by Bram Stoker. But when he defeated Stoker, Fukuchi clearly thought that he would be useful (either his own idea, or possibly Fyodor’s if they’re working together by that point) and kept him secretly for 8 years. So this is a plan that’s been in the works for a very long time and only coming to a head now, since the ADA has grown enough to be able to realistically pin the terrorism accusation on them.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

How does Fukuzawa get his ability of “All Men Are Created Equal”? If he does have this ability, at the very least, he doesn’t recognize it at this point of his life. Possibly it’s again due to the dearth of knowledge/interactions with skill-users (especially any that would be under his leadership since he’s very much a lone wolf), but is it actually possible to develop a skill later in life as is mentioned in the play, and which Fukuzawa uses to convince Ranpo that he’s a skill-user? (I’m inclined to think not, and that it just becomes applicable after he establishes the ADA and skill-users join, but still curious.)

Little Oda! When the assassin with two pistols showed up, I hoped he was Oda, and he was! Which means that Ranpo and Oda met (ish) before Oda decided to stop killing, and again when Oda decided to start killing again. And Little Oda still likes curry. D:

#bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd #bsd light novel #bsd decay of angels #bsd hunting dogs #fukuzawa yukichi #yukichi fukuzawa #edogawa ranpo #ranpo edogawa #fukuchi ouchi #ouchi fukuchi #random thoughts #analysis #mine