#rasetsunyo

Gyokumen definitely the favorite concubine—purple was not an easy colour to obtain for dyes 500 years back.

Red chosen for Rasetsunyo to mirror her son, and also to mark her as more of a regal Lady Of War compared to Gyokumen.

Elements of both Kougaiji’s future outfits (black jacket with silver detail, full-white top/pants underneath) fitted into a single piece. Headcanon; he’s worn those silver/gold circlets on his head since he was old enough to walk because his dad wanted him to feel and prepare for the ‘weight of the crown’.

Dazai is this AU’s MC, former Japan-based actor turned Hollywood movie star and friends with Odasaku, a young playwright. Rasetsunyo (Luo-Sha Nû / Princess Iron Fan), based on the Chinese legend Saiyuki (Hsi-Yu Chi / Journey to the West) is the last play he had written before he died.

A few years passed since Dazai moved to LA. Back in Japan, Fukuzawa’s troupe plans to put up a production of Rasetsunyō, so Fukuzawa contacts Dazai and asks him if he’s interested to help out. Because it's for Odasaku, Dazai says yes.

Fitzgerald, CEO of Dazai’s American agency’s, hears of this whole thing his actor is gonna get involved in. He wants to milk as much publicity and money from it as possible. He contacts Mori’s agency in Japan, which happens to be the #1 home of top entertainment stars. As it turns out, Dazai used to be part of Mori’s agency, but left after certain events involving Odasaku. Mori sees this as a chance to make Dazai regret his decision, and agrees to help Fitzgerald.

So Mori and Fukuzawa, under Fitzgerald’s suggestions, eventually agree on a double-cast competition, where Fukuzawa’s troupe’s production is pitted against Mori’s agency’s production, and both performances will be streamed live on major entertainment channels and sites for the public to vote their preferred production. (Mori, a director and producer himself, is confident, of course, but he has always been wary of Fukuzawa, who is both a retired actor and an amazing director in his own right.)

Team Fukuzawa stars the following: 

1. Yosano is Rasetsunyō (Princess Iron Fan), the lead role for this production. But she hears that a certain Dazai Osamu is coming back to Japan just for this, and she resents him for it. She hates the fact that she is being relegated to the sidelines as supporting lead instead, even though the Monkey King is the actual supporting lead. In the end, she has a change of heart and decides to help Dazai after she hears his backstory.

2. Dazai is Son Goku (Monkey King), the deuteragonist and antagonist of the show, who faces off against Rasetsunyō for ownership of the magic fan. Predictions are that people will be watching this show only for Dazai, and not for the play. The whole troupe plans to prove the public wrong. Dazai's whole stake in the show is actually a lot more complicated than it seems, and the night before the play, a single incident ruins all their efforts. The whole cast now has to work together to save Dazai and prevent him from losing himself during the actual play.

3. Kunikida as Genjō Sanzo (Tripitaka), who hates Dazai’s capricious motivation with a passion. It reminds him of an old friend who lost himself in the past. The role requires an enlightened, refined persona, but Kunikida has to face his issues first. 

4. Junichirō as Sa Gojō (Sandy). Originally Naomi's role, but she backed out due to an emergency a week before opening night, and Junichirō takes over for her. (He hasn’t joined the troupe btw.) For a total beginner, he has a peculiar knack for acting, which makes Mori interested in scouting him for his own agency.

5. Atsushi as Cho Hakkai (Pigsy), the newest recruit of Fukuzawa’s troupe. Orphaned at an early age, Atsushi has lived in the back alleys behind Fukuzawa’s theater for god-knows-how-long, always watching them practice from the shadows. One of the few times Dazai has visited Fukuzawa’s troupe to hang out with Odasaku, he notices Atsushi acting out a soliloquy by himself, and it touches him. He immediately recommends Atsushi to Fukuzawa, who accepts him into the troupe.

On the other hand, Mori handpicks his best-suited actors to face Fukuzawa’s troupe, as follows:

1. Kouyou as Rasetsunyō. A queen in her own right, with the looks, wit and charm of a top actress to show for it. She does, however, have beef with Dazai over how he betrayed Mori’s agency in the past, citing how unprofessional Dazai had been during that time. She intends to put Dazai in his place by winning this contest. (She may or may not have had a past relationship with Odasaku. It was a major topic during the initial press conference; it was quickly shot down before it could die a natural death.)

2. Chuuya as Son Goku. He’s actually a rock star who ventured into acting, and has won the new actor’s award recently. He was on good terms Dazai until, well, events. At the outset, he feels honored to share the role with Dazai and to face off with him in a fair and square manner, but his increasing interactions with Dazai over the past few weeks leave him confused and conflicted, and it destroys his acting. The whole debacle breaks his idealism but lets him grow as an artist. (Of course this is gonna be minor Soukoku/DaChuu. What’d y’all expect? Lol) 

3. Hirotsu as Genjō Sanzo. A veteran actor who retired into the countryside as a small village teacher. Life has been quiet, until Mori, his old student, calls. He was inclined to say no until he hears Dazai is involved. (The same thing also happened to him before.)  It greatly piques him as a result, and he says yes because he has things he wants to tell Dazai, things his kouhai needs to learn for himself before he is destroyed from inside. Hirotsu's one-time return out of retirement also makes big news, increasing the hype for Team Mori’s production.

4. Higuchi as Sa Gojō. A top idol in her own right, known for her cool, stoic image, but actually is pining for Akutagawa a lot. She jumps at the chance to co-star with Akutagawa on this production, but Mori’s directions put her into a lot of pressure and mental torture, and she is practically rebuilt from the ground up to become a better actress. She is still far from a real one, though, and everyone can see that she is but a “manufactured” product.

5. Akutagawa as Cho Hakkai. Known as the “chameleon actor”, he quickly fits into any role given to him— but only on stage/set. Offstage/off-cam, he is brash, quick to lose temper, and refuses to cooperate with anybody for whatever reason at all. He thinks this whole competition is stupid and pointless until he finds out Dazai is in it. He, too, has issues with Dazai— namely, the fact that Dazai never acknowledged his acting skills throughout his stay in Mori's agency. Akutagawa agrees to play this role to make Dazai recognize him once and for all.

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Some notes on the title, “deuteragonist”

Officially, Dazai plays the deuteragonist in Rasetsunyo, but he’s actually the central character of this whole debacle, not that he realizes it. This title also references the fact that no one can be the full protagonist of their own story, as much as they want to think they are.

There's Yosano, who's the play's lead but is being relegated to the sidelines. There's Akutagawa, who never got Dazai's attention and is unsatisfied as a result. There's Higuchi, who uproots her whole life for Akutagawa but still isn't enough, and that acting is not for her. And then there's Chuuya, who gets way too involved with Dazai, that it destroys that sense of identity he has always been proud of. Also Fukuzawa and especially Mori, who think (and try to) get everything under control, but are actually just playing right into Fitzgerald's hands.

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And that's a wrap! Thank you so much for reading until the end.