I'm not a hater but so much shit is stupid
Ages ago I went to a flying tiger and saw these..... and I was like "the universe is giving me a skk sign"
the ada is such a loser compared to every other organization they go up against. they've got like eight members. they work out of a rented office above a coffee shop. half of them probably also live there. they're all broke. and yet everyone from the mafia to the government to the most powerful foreign gifteds see them as an equal opponent. and they're right.
Kafka Asagiri, 2018 // bsd chapter 88 // Takuya Igarashi, 2023 // bsd chapter 121.5 // Kafka Asagiri, 2024
Bungo Stray Dogs Harukawa Sango Art Collection cover. Releases on March 10th.
One thing I've been struggling to articulate is how meaningfull the “now we're even” line is to sskk. Because I believe it's really so poignant even beyond it's meaning of “returning the favor”. With sskk, it's always been a fight to surpass, to get the upper hand, to prevail. Always trying to come first before the other, always trying to win over the other. Akutagawa literally tells Atsushi “defeating you, that alone is my meaning”, and Atsushi too says “I have to become stronger [...] that is what I must do to deny Akutagawa's strength”. It's fight for supremacy: for Akutagawa first of all, since he feels like the only way he has to gain his validation to live is by the way of proving himself to Dazai through defeating Atsushi; but it's a matter of triumphing over the other for Atsushi, too, for whom doing good equates to it being okay for him to keep living, and for whom doing good often came in the form of defying evil, evil that Akutagawa so perfectly embodied. It's always been a fight to prevail, it's always been a “either you, or me”. Coexistence for them was simply unthinkable.
But now Atsushi knows better. He's grown to recognize Akutagawa's value, and to appreciate his sacrifice. Most importantly, he concluded that they don't need to fight for supremacy anymore; now that he aknowealdges Akutagawa's humanity and respects him, he can finally think of the two of them as equals, peers. That's the “even” there is to it: they've finally found their common ground. Aid, support, look after one another: it's not about trying to get in front or surpass the other anymore, but rather, stand side by side. And it gets me so emotional.
super duper quick messy doodle but omg ! harukawa has been cooking i am so in loveee
The besties of all the time!!!
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