#ability users

for those who didn't know, fyodor's ability is called “crime and punishment”, and even if it isn't described or explained yet, in my opinion there is a high probability that it's connected to punishing people's wrongdoings. however, these wrongdoing/‘crimes’ are defined as such by fyodor's morality and by what he believes is right or wrong; he's practically a t3rr0rist, but him being convinced that he's taking action for the greater good/he's in the right, his ability doesn't punish him.

however, thinking about this made me realize something.

one of the most confusing scenes in “bungō stray dogs: dead apple” is this one (cr: @/tortoise_anime on ig):

and i found this on fyodor's wiki page:

focus on the last part:

“another hint towards the nature of his ability is that it didn't turn against him even when affected by shibusawa's mist. it even declared itself to be the "punishment" to fyodor's "crime" and said that they were closely linked”.

this would mean that fyodor commited an action which he considered a crime. but then, one could wonder: “what was the crime? and what was the punishment?”. i have a few ideas, i'm not sure if they are correct or not though.

fyodor's goal is to exterminate ability users, in his eyes they are ‘sinners’ (this could be linked at his religion — maybe, as atsushi, he was traumatised because of his ability) who deserve to suffer and d1e. and him having himself an ability, makes fyodor himself a so-called ‘sinner’; therefore, what punishment would be the best for an ability user who hates abilities, if not to continue having one instead of being k1lled by it? (if fyodor di3d from his ability, he would stop suffering, so his ‘penalty’ can't be d3ath) (i'm talking about d3ath because this is what his ability causes, from what we've seen). or, his ability hasn't yet had an effect on him because to get rid of his suffering (= being an ability user) he must first fulfill his ‘mission’, which is to punish all ability users for god's sake, and consequently fyodor - if he succeeds in his plan - would be the last to d1e?

help said so it's confusing af and makes no sense, but at the same time it does?????? idk if y'all want, tell me your opinions or ask me questions !

I wondered that for a long time too, anon, and the fact that Atsushi’s ability is based on a reference to “The Moon Over the Mountain” rather than the title made it very difficult for me to find the short story at first. I’ll try and go through the abilities names and explain what I can:

Nakajima Atsushi: Beast Beneath the Moonlight, this ability name refers to the short story “The Moon Over the Mountain,” also nicknamed “The Tiger Poet,” and references the scene in the story where a man traveling through a mountain forest at night encounters his old friend who has now turned into a tiger and they talk most of the night about how his friend, an aspiring poet, has turned into a tiger and why he has suffered this fate. So the tiger is the “best beneath the moonlight.”

Dazai Osamu: No Longer Human, book title

Kunikida Doppo: Doppo Poetry, the name of a collection of poems that was considered a landmark of new style poetry.

Tanizakai Junichirou: Light Snow, book title. This book’s title in English has been changed to “The Makioka Sisters.”

Edogawa Ranpo: Super Deduction, a reference to Ranpo’s detective novels and detective-type short stories (e.g. “The Psychological Test” does not feature his detective character Akechi Kogorou but it does have a plot that includes a lot of the detecitve-type analysis to deduce the crime and catch the criminal, though it is told from the criminal’s perspective rather than the detectives). 

Miyazawa Kenji: Undefeated by the Rain, title of a poem.

Yosano Akiko: Thou Shalt Not Die, title of a poem.

Fukuzawa Yukichi: All Men Are Equal, reference to his essay entitled “An Encouragement of Learning” that begins with the statement, “Heaven, it is said, does not create one person above or below another. This signifies that when we are born from Heaven we are all equal and there is no innate distinction between high and low.”

Kyouka Izumi: Demon Snow, reference to the play “Demon Pond”

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke: Rashoumon, short story title.

Nakahara Chuuya: For the Tainted Sorrow, title of a poem. And the words he chants to use Corruption are taken from the poem “Song of the Sheep” second stanza. 

Kajii Motojirou: Lemon, short story title.

Hirotsu Ryuurou: Falling Camellia, I have no idea where this ability name comes from to be honest. I do know that he wrote a novel entitled “The Black Lizard” which is where the name for the assault team comes from in BSD.

Mori Ougai: Vita Sexualis, book title.

Ozaki Kouyou: Golden Demon, play title.

Oda Sakunosuke: Flawless, book title.

Yumeno Kyuusaku (Q): Dogra Magra, book title.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald: The Great Fitzgerald, reference to the book The Great Gatsby

Lucy Maud Montgomery: Anne of the Abyssal Red: reference to the book Anne of Green Gables where the character Anne says things like, “Red hair is my life long sorrow,” and hates her red hair to the point of trying to dye it black, but it turns a horrid shade of green instead. 

Margaret Mitchell: Gone with the Wind, book title.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter, book title.

John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath, book title.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft: The Great Old Ones, a reference to Lovecraft’s invented pantheon of god-like beings. You can look into these beings on the H.P. Lovecraft Wiki here. 

Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, reference to his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

Louisa May Alcott: Little Women, book title.

Herman Melville: Moby-Dick, book title.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Black Cat in the Rue Morgue, a reference to two of his short stories “The Black Cat” and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

Ango Sakaguchi: Discourse on Decadence, title of an essay.

Andre Gide: Strait is the Gate, book title.

Fyodor Dostoevsky: Crime and Punishment, book title.