I’ll be talking about the “pros” and “cons”, if you can even call them that, of Dazai living in a shipping container near a dumping site. Also I am using what architecture knowledge I do have on the subject of container homes.
This is on the longer side so brace yourself. Also Stormbringer spoiler warning, in case that wasn’t realized yet.
Before I actually start I’ll preface this by saying that I’m a former architecture student but it was with a design focus. I have also previously designed a shipping container home so although I have some knowledge, it does have its limitations.
Also this will be updated when the fan translations get to this part of Stormbringer. Currently, I’m getting the information from chazukekani and popopretty’s summaries and translations, so please check them out too!
As a general reference for what to expect of a shipping container home, the average shipping container is 8 x 20 ft or 8 x 40 ft. As a more visual example, here is a portion of the container house I designed. Note that it’s total length is 30ft because I have two 20ft long containers stacked on top of each other, with a 10ft offset. The space beyond the sliding doors is a balcony and can basically be ignored for the purpose of this analysis. With the pictured dimensions, you can consider it to be insulated from the outside, so as not to sacrifice internal space. Despite this, you can see that it feels fairly cramped even with minimal furniture (a sink, toilet and shower unit in the bathroom and a bed, desk, and wardrobe closet in the master bedroom).
Dazai’s current living arrangement
Now for comparison, let’s first take note of what’s known of Dazai’s living conditions for comparison.
he’s living in an illegal dumping site, and there are toxic substances coming from the ground because of this
“Not even a field mouse would dare to approach it.” (Popopretty)
the area is not on the map and Dazai lives near the center of it (which can easily be one of the worst parts in terms of health and safety)
the container was previously “used to export passenger cars overseas” (popopretty)
his only furniture is a fridge, (exhaust) fan, desk/table, a chair, and a bare light bulb
no one would approach “not just because the place itself was weird. It was because no one could predict how Dazai would react if someone approached his private residence.” (Popopretty)
it’s been a year since he’s joined, yet no one trusts him → he could’ve been living here since before he joined but we don’t know as of yet
he’s sitting in complete darkness, lightbulb off and door shut, until Verlaine opens the door and walks in
Verlaine asks if he’s living here because he’s afraid of property taxes but Dazai claims that he’s afraid of Verlaine. He’s not actually addressing his choice of location because he only corrected Verlaine on what he fears, and gives no actual explanation for why he chose to live here.
The “pros”
Naturally unapproachable location. Even if Dazai being PM Dazai wasn’t a factor in people staying away, the nearby smell alone means no one would normally approach it, much less suspect a Port Mafia executive of all people to be living there. It’s also unmapped territory so even less reason for him to be found. This means enemies and allies alike would have a more difficult time trying to find him (ie. to come for his life) and there’s unlikely to be anyone else around. After all, if even a mouse won’t go there why would a whole person live there?
It costs him nothing. Not that it’d make a difference with what we can assume of his financial wealth. He has money, likely more than Chuuya who lives in a nice apartment in a nice area, yet chooses to live in a shipping container in an illegal dumping site. This is beneficial for Dazai, since there’s no paper trail or record of where he lives, which goes right into my 3rd point.
Ease of abandonment. Considering his whole goal at the time is to off himself without troubling others in the process, it makes sense that he’d want to leave minimal traces behind. No unpaid rent or mortgage, no one on a waiting list to move into a nice place, and no personal belongings or attachments. This winds up being a pro/advantageous when he does leave the PM since there wasn’t a trace to follow him with in the first place. He can simply grab his few things of importance and find a new shipping container or abandoned building outside of the PM’s territory. In fact, he might’ve even been able to stay there or in that general area since no one dares to approach it in the first place.
The “cons”
Or should I say say the dangerous living conditions he’s in. I don’t find them surprising because again, he doesn’t have a long term plan to live at this point. He doesn’t have much reason to care about what happens to himself, as we can deduce from his overall disregard towards being constantly injured and in danger for example. This is also where the architectural stuff comes into play.
Let’s start with the most visible one, lack of insulation. With a shipping container home, you can insulate from the inside and lose about a foot of interior space in each direction (6 in. off each wall) or from the outside and lose the aesthetic of the textured walls. Either way, it costs time and money to do it. We know it’s not insulated from the inside because of the illustration and, in my opinion, it’s very unlikely that Dazai would’ve gotten it insulated from the outside because at the very least, it would make his container stand out among the others nearby. You need to insulate a container home because they get very hot or cold in the summer and winter respectively, as they are made of metal. I’ve heard that at the very least, Japan’s summers are HOT.
This one is a little harder to confirm and will likely be updated as fan translations are released, but a likely hazardous set up for electricity and (hopefully) plumbing. If you don’t have the insulation on the inside but you still have your electrical and plumbing, it can possibly become both a visual mess and a safety hazard. It’s possible that he kept it all in the back portion of his container for example, or maybe he has it taped to the floor or walls somewhere, but that also brings the question of where it’s connected to on the outside. Since he’s on a dumping site, then where’s the electrical going to go at the very least? Sure he can use nearby public facilities but every day? He has a fridge, single lightbulb and a fan but where is the power is connected to? In terms of plumbing, I think it’s equally likely he found a Porta potty nearby or there’s (hopefully) some sort of public or PM owned facility nearby. Really, his hygiene, especially during the PM days when he was (as far as we the audience are aware) likely at his lowest, can easily become its own separate question/discussion for another day. After all, we’re just talking about the condition of his container in this post.
The possible fumes and chemicals left over. The paint on shipping containers is meant to withstand the sea water splashing on to them, so it may contain harsh chemicals. And we know that his container was used previously to ship cars overseas, but that still leaves the possibility for things to have leaked on the inside at this time. We don’t actually know if it’s been used more than once, but seeing as we do have a usage history, I’d say there’s a fair enough chance for it to have been a single use container. Still, chemicals could’ve previously leaked and the paint may be a concern in the long run. It’s also possible that it has begun rusting as well, due to the metal being exposed to the likes of sea water. Also, let’s not forget the toxic substances from the illegal dumping site itself, possibly going into the container over time.
Also as far as we can tell, there seems to be a lack of windows. This means no natural light, aside from opening a whole door. Keep in mind that windows can help with indoor temperature control, not just natural light.
Living in a dump site, especially an illegal one. This one should speak for itself but I’ll list some concerns anyway. Seeing as it’s illegal, we can probably just forget about regulations altogether, much less any possible existing ones being followed. This means that there can be literally anything from hazardous waste material, to dangerous and sharp objects on the ground, to who knows what kind of smells and fumes, etc. In short, not a safe area to live in, for health concern reasons at a minimum.
Again, my knowledge on shipping container homes themselves is limited and I do recommend checking out Belinda Carr’s videos on some of the downsides of them from a professional’s POV.
7 reasons why shipping container homes are a scam
Responding to comments: shipping container scam video
Also, just because Dazai was making presumably LARGE amounts of money obviously doesn’t mean that he has to spend it all or live luxuriously if he doesn’t want to. It’s not that hard to infer why Dazai did choose to live in such conditions and I mainly wanted to draw attention to how these conditions can affect him, with both the advantages and disadvantages.
Hi everybody! This time I'm going to do a detail detecting about Sigma from the Decay of Angels, but there are a little too many questions, so I'll divide it into three different titles.
Sky Casino
As we know, the Sky Casino was created by The Book 8 days ago. But there's something puzzling me here. The exact whereabouts of The Book itself are unknown. According to Dazai, it was written into the "page". So Sky Casino could only be created through the page currently with Kamui. It was written on the front of the page that the Detective Agency was terrorists. The back of the page will be used later. So where was the Sky Casino's existence exactly written?
Sigma's Ability and Atsushi
Sigma has the Information Exchange ability. He learned the location of the page when he used his ability on Chief Taneda, and in return Chief Taneda learned the plot of the Decay of Angels. However, this isn't the only time Sigma has used his ability. Sigma also used his ability on Atsushi.
Atsushi learned the location of the page thanks to Sigma's ability. But in this case, what did Sigma learn from Atsushi? What could Sigma want most to learn from Atsushi?
Sigma isn't a human?!
Now let's come to the most curious subject about Sigma. Who the hell wrote Sigma in The Book? And why? What was he/she aiming for? Does Sigma count as human?
What about Sigma's train ticket? “The destination was a station that exists nowhere in the world”… This is just too pointless, isn't it?
According to Chief Taneda, The Book must have been blank. However, Sky Casino and Sigma could not have been created with the single page which is with Kamui. So The Book is not completely blank. Some pages must be full. In addition, the Beast universe was created by writing in The Book. Who knows, maybe there are other things written in it…? It seems things are much more complicated than they seem.
All I can say is that someone definitely knows the location and power of The Book. This person has written something in The Book, but who is this?
If you have any theories or questions, please share! I wonder your thoughts! (◠‿◕)
2087
snowghoul
tangentwithtanner
prguitarman
origamiaround
dailybridgerton
areudirty
