Bsd 119 - Blog Posts

spoilers for anyone not caught up with the manga

I wouldn’t really consider the excessive ‘deaths’ (i say this with heavy air quotes) in bsd ‘death bating’. i’m pretty sure asigiri wants us to believe they’re not really dead and considering the most recent chapter this was confirmed. can we stop assuming that every time a character dies and it’s unbelievable that it’s ‘death baiting’? it’s literally just foreshadowing you media illiterate fool. on another tangent, i love how much of a stinky little manipulative liar fyodor is.

bsd spoilers!!

do you guys think poe and mushitarou are still in contact with what’s going on with the agency or are they just gonna be like ‘hey guys what’s going o- OH SHIT, THEY’RE ALL DEAD’

Bsd 119 spoiler

NO NO NO NO PLS I CAN'T

I just hope that he gets his memory back😭😭

My face whenever I see fyodor breathing:

Atp I REALLY NEED fyodor to fucking die like how dare you bitch how dare you make my little pookie atsushi cry like keep you fucking hands to yourself I really want him to get fucking sealed forever

WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING IN THE NEW CHAPTER??? I ALMOST THREW MY PHONE 5 FUCKING TIME😭😭😭

I really don't think Akutagawa forgot who Atsushi was. When he said "Who the hell are you?" I think he was referring to how moments ago Atsushi yelled at him that it's no use. Akutagawas number one source of respect for Atsushi comes from that unyielding determination of his, to Akutagawa, it was his number one defining quality. It was what made Atsushi, Atsushi. Now he's seeing that same person yell at how it's no use while Akutagawa now has the capability to fight back, and Atsushi was groveling on the ground in front of Dostoyevsky moments ago. He doesn't feel like the Atsushi we all grew to know and love throughout this whole series. Akutagawa asking that question jot literally, but in the rhetorical "Where has the quality that made you, gone? Who are you without that blinding determination that fights even in futility?" Besides, when I see one of my friends go through a drastic change, I'll jokingly ask them "Well who are you?" to tease them that they changed a lot. So when I read that, I automatically went, "Oh, Akutagawa is seeing how much Atsushi has changed since he left, and that's just how he expressed it." I don't know, with Akutagawas personality, I don't think any effects of vampirism can erase the people around him, at least not entirely. Maybe it made him forget some of their nuances, but the person entirely? Well, I don't think he'd really be Akutagawa anymore. Besides, you can't tell me he'd forget Atsushi when their abilities fought on sight and when Akutagawa died for him. That's a bond no amount of weird ability shenanigans can destroy.

I don't think Akutagawa has lost his memories, neither do I think he's faking it, or doing it as a way to get Atsushi to react and get back on his feet.

In chapter 117, when Bram saves Aya from the airport wreckage, he says that he transferred his consciousness into Akutagawa's body when Fyodor's ability took over his own body, and that his ability would also die with him, his consciousness disappearing as a consequence. . The question is: we don't know what happens to a vampire who turns back into a human, nor whether all vampires were transformed back, or just Akutagawa, because Bram took his body. I don't believe that all vampires have become human, as Fyodor mentions that as long as he has Bram's body, the echoes of his ability would still exist, and he can still control everyone who has been turned into a vampire around the world, so it is likely that only Akutagawa was transformed into a human again (vampirism having disappeared along with Bram's consciousness), even if remnants of his transformation are still present in his body, like a vampire's durability. It is these vampiric remnants and characteristics that make me think that Akutagawa's sudden amnesia was caused by traces of Bram's soul/consciousness in his body.

When Bram dies, we see Akutagawa accepting his mission to protect Aya. Everything in the manga suggested that this was Akutagawa's own decision, and to a certain extent, it is, but it is quite likely that Bram's traits and characteristics remained in Akutagawa's body even after his death. This whole role of a "noble knight" was a striking characteristic of Bram, who always saw the current world as if it were still his time, and used terms from that same time to refer to everyone. Part of Bram's consciousness may have remained in Akutagawa's body along with the vampire characteristics, causing his consciousness to mix with Bram's consciousness, or be overwhelmed by it, which perhaps could have been the cause of his lack of consciousness, and memory. Something I found curious is that Akutagawa not only has protecting Aya (or the princess) as his mission, but also the commoners, something that was not included in Bram's order/request.

So where did the part about protecting the commoners come from? Is it something caused by Bram's influence? A part of Akutagawa's new (and probably temporary) knight persona? Or a wish of his own? His own desire to protect people?

Well, I don't know, but if that's the case, I can see a lot of ways this memory loss could really add something to Akutagawa's character arc. We know that he is someone who is truly true to his promises, and when Bram's consciousness and influence begin to dissipate from his mind, he will probably still remind that he promised to protect Aya, and will commit to fulfilling his promise. Being placed in the role of protecting someone, for Akutagawa, would be something really good, it would help him understand that he doesn't need to kill for his life to have meaning, that there is also value in protecting other people, that this is not necessarily linked to a failure (the last time he protected someone, they all got killed), and that there is something good about protecting and helping people. Finding a new reason to live would also help him get rid of the idea that the value of his life is linked to Dazai's approval of him. It's clear how he was using rashomon in a much more effective way in the last chapter compared to his other fights, so much that even Atsushi seems surprised. I believe this comes from the fact that Akutagawa learned (due to his life both on the slums and in the mafia) to use rashomon as a weapon, not as an extension of his own body, as a part of himself, in addition to that he does not need to use rashomon to fortify his body, which allows him to use rashomon more freely.

Other things that I think could have caused Akutagawa's amnesia are his transformation back into a human (dying, being turned into a vampire, and then back into a human again could definitely do some damage to anyone's brain), and Bram's promise to Aya to protect her, as we know that in Bsd promises can be kept even after someone has turned into a vampire (as we see with Akutagawa and his promise not to kill anyone). Bram's promise to Aya surpassed Dostoevsky's ability, causing Fyodor to create a great will to protect Aya, so it is not so impossible that it also surpassed Bram's death.

I hate that that was the first thing I thought when I saw that Atsushi panel

2X DAZAI MENTIONNED LETS GO

sskk are winning but at what price

I suspect we've actually seen evidence of Atsushi manipulating the timeline already.

"Remi, what on Earth are you talking about? Surely, we would have noticed such a thing! And also who are you and when did you get here?"

We've actually seen him do it quite a bit. But we've gotten so used to it and it arrived so early, we didn't question it:

Every time he heals.

Let's jump back to chapter seven - remember what Yosano says?

"A complete restoration" like the injury never happened. Now, my Bleach fangirl isshowing, but there's a character in Bleach with a similar prowess when it comes to healing, and it's eventually revealed that he ability is not healing, not regeneration, but negation. She undoes what has happened to restore things to how they were before. It's a time ability.

So consider: the Tiger doesn't heal, doesn't regenerate. Rather, it merely jumps to or pulls on a page or timeline where the hit never happened, restoring itself and Atsushi to full health.

Snip, snip.

*cackles in validation* Hey. Hey guys. Is Atsushi the bookmark because he’s the protagonist of the story and thus the page is marked depending on his phase of the journey, or is he the protagonist because he is the bookmark, where his very existence necessitates him becoming a catalyst so the story can unfold and be read in linear time?

I've been thinking about Akutagawa's "Who are you?" for HOURS and I'm begging- hands and knees -for this to be a "get your shit together atsushi" moment and not actually "whoops brain wipe because of vampire shit" moment.

Like, these two goobers know each other better than they'd like to admit- particularly when it comes to combat because of how they've fought side-by-side so many times. So, it would make sense for Akutagawa to see Atsushi's current state and go "I don't know any pathetic losers like you" because he doesn't have time to deal with Atushi's current state at the moment and also because he's just that kind of blunt asshole (in the most affectionate way possible). The weretiger he knows always fights back and never gives in and is constantly fighting to live- to prove he deserves to live -no matter who the opponent or how powerful. Yet, the person before him is begging for death and on his knees before a foe, crying and sniveling. That person isn't someone he recognizes. And as we all know, Akutagawa isn't someone to mince words or give platitudes, especially to someone like Atushi who he regards as his rival in a sense, so he'd never say anything like "this isn't like you" or crap like that. And this goes double since he's now also busy facing pretty much a god and doesn't have time to dissect whatever's up with Atsushi.

So, of course, the natural thing for him to do is be his usual, straightforward, and somewhat mean self. "Who are you?" Not a simple question of identity but a statement of disappointment (for lack of a better word here at 1AM). A challenge directed at Atsushi to get it together and remember what they're doing here. Obviously, Atsushi's behavior is the result/has been heavily influenced by- y'know -literally everything that's happened in the last few chapters but regardless of whether or not Akutagwa even knows that (betting on not at the moment, me thinks), what he does know is that this isn't the time to be letting Fyodor have his way and that he needs to fight. He's telling Atsushi to stand up and be the weretiger he knows and has fought beside every time and, in terms of SSKK, his other half.

And now, we're all just waiting for that moment when Atsushi gets back up and Akutagawa gets his partner back and then they bully (AKA flirt) with each other in standard SSKK fashion while they beat up Fyodor and his god best friend.

Of course, I've already seen a couple other people mention this idea as well because A) we're all coping together and B) it would be a clear and interesting narrative line to take (in my personal opinion). A show of how these two enemies/rivals truly see each other and that they are a team despite appearances. A moment that reminds us, and potentially even them, that they know each other better than they think.

Probably just stating the obvious here or doing a longer-winded version of what everyone's already been thinking (especially since I'm like 3 days late to the party) but whatever lmao. Just needed to yell into the void a little bit and put the manifestation of this scene into the world.