How I feel about this character: oh boy. that's my baby. my babyboy. darling sweet prince.
on a more serious note I love how he is a deity that is explored through what he lacks in his humanity and what he was robbed of. he's an interesting character to analyze and take apart. I feel like i project on him a bit too much though.
All the people I ship romantically with this character: Corvo, that's a big one and pretty much the only ship I have for him that I am really into. Outsider/Thomas for crackship points.
My non-romantic OTP for this character: him and Emily!! I see the appeal of a romantic take on this ship but they're besties your honour.
My unpopular opinion about this character: him "abandoning" his Marked is not a shitty malevolent action on his side and is in fact the best thing he can do. not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or just a take no one really tried to explore before.
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: within canon, I kinda wish we got more interactions/shrines, or dreams in between levels. at large, I wish we got to know more about what he did before the events of the games, his interactions with other Marked and how he chose them, who he was before he was a god, and who he became once he was no longer one. Final Release is my canon ending.
I find it very interesting that the first thing most fanfic authors latch onto is Chuuya's unwavering loyalty to the Mafia. It's almost treated like something unnegotiable, a staple of his character, but when you actually look at the canon, it's a lot more complicated?
Uhh lets go in order.
Fifteen: Chuuya joins the Port Mafia not of his own volition, but to save the lives of the Sheep, who at this point have betrayed him. While he seems to place the most blame on Dazai, it's pretty clear that this was Mori's plan from the beginning, since Chuuya is a very valuable ability user to have, both for his own sake and for the influence he has on Dazai. Chuuya only pledges his loyalty after Mori explains his view of leadership to him, and Chuuya takes it in his head that his way of leading, by prioritizing peoples' safety first, is what got him thrown out of Sheep. Mori's speech is about treating everyone, including himself, as a pawn for the sake of the stability of the organization, which, while practical, is not the only solution.
Chuuya's mistakes when it comes to the Sheep are...complicated, but I think Dazai saw them immediately when he met them: Chuuya never saw himself as worthy of consideration or care, because he was the strongest, and, in his eyes, the least human. So by not giving himself and his needs the same priority, he ended up being a very powerful doormat for every other kid in the gang to walk all over, and when he finally decided to pursue something for his own sake, they immediately saw it as a betrayal. They were scared of his power, because they only saw him for his power and not for the boy underneath that.
But Mori gives his speech, and Chuuya takes it as something to live by, something to fix about himself, and so he pledges his loyalty to Mori, both because of that new purpose and because of the documents on Arahabaki Mori is keeping from him.
Stormbringer: Haha the most fun Chuuya's had in a week of his existence (not). The Flags come clean that they've been assigned to spy on Chuuya and make sure he doesn't betray the Mafia, and point out that he never really joined out of his own violition. Chuuya is offended mostly on principle, which is how his loyalty to the Mafia is portrayed in the novel? The detective guy asks him to betray the Mafia and Chuuya writes a very helpful "Eat Shit" and refuses. It's not so much an emotional connection at this point as it is his own principles that are guiding him. He swore his loyalty, and he's not going to break the promise. He even seemed regretful that the detective couldn't give him the "turn to the light" speech he kept trying to do.
And this is the fun part. Chuuya's loyalties were always to the people first, and the organization second. You can see it in Stormbringer, when his main reason for fighting for the sake of the Port Mafia were his friends, and how he went out of his way to help the remaining Sheep, despite the gang being long since disbanded. Despite Mori's speech, this part of him never went away.
And, of course, there's the ending. When Chuuya asks Higuchi and Akutagawa to stake out the place his parents were from, information given to him by Mori, as well as the fact that Chuuya was always human from the very beginning. He goes out of his way to find them, gets his subordinates onto the task of finding them, and yet decides then that the Port Mafia is his family. And Mori is pleased by this. Because Mori understands Chuuya, and he understands exactly what cards he needs to play in order to keep Chuuya's loyalty. I suspect he's been very careful in crafting Chuuya's surroundings in the Port Mafia. He didn't just task the Flags to spy on him, he gave Chuuya people he could grow to love. His own part in helping Chuuya was engineered exactly the same way, as was Chuuya's partnership with Dazai, and his tutelage under Kouyou. He knows Chuuya could probably destroy the Mafia from the inside out if he so chose, and so Mori makes sure that can never happen.
Anime/Manga: The Chuuya we see in the manga is very different from the Chuuya in the prequels, because the events that have shaped him into who he is present day are still largely a mystery to us. He's a lot more cynical, for one. He calls out Dazai's "goody two shoes act" as well as the "naivety" of the ADA, admonishing them from seeing anything deeper than a business transaction between the two organizations when he saves them. Crazy, but that's not really the teenage Chuuya we've spent the most time with. Ironically we the audience know more about him in the past then we do in the present. However, it's not a far cry to assume Chuuya's cynicism and hesitancy to trust came, at least in part, from Dazai's leaving. I don't wanna assume anything because I know we're probably getting content that covers that part of Chuuya's arc, but from what we see of Chuuya in the manga, the only close connection he seems to have is with Kouyou and, of course, Dazai. He treats everyone in the Port Mafia as equals and friends, but that's not really anything like what Chuuya had with the Flags. He seems to be distancing himself from his co-workers, who, in turn, hold respect for Chuuya, his status and ability, more than anything. We see a glimpse of the boy he used to be from the way he talks of his subordinates who were killed by Q and the way he treats the other main Port Mafia members, we know that he still cares about the people under him, still cares "too much", but it's not the same. Chuuya's attatchments, which defined who he was as a character, are hesitant and blurry. Which is such an interesting characterization, because?? What happened??? It wasn't just Dazai leaving, was it?? Why doesn't Chuuya seem to have any close friends?
Then, we see what Chuuya's loyalty is like to the Port Mafia now during his first appearance, when he's having his showdown with Dazai. Dazai points out Chuuya will be implicated in his escape, and that's so telling. Like, Chuuya? The most loyal Port Mafia member? Assumed a traitor bc of his past attatchment to Dazai? Chuuya doesn't argue that they'd know better, because they wouldn't. Because Chuuya's loyalties have always been to the people, not the organization. To him, Mori and the other executives assuming his betrayal makes perfect sense. Hmm, I wonder why.
And then he just? Casually gives Dazai all the info and leaves? Goes off like "the weretiger is Akutagawa's problem not mine lmao good luck". If he was so die-hard loyal to the organization, he would never have let Dazai walk about, trick or no trick. He would have given away Dazai's plan and tried to stop him. The Port Mafia is going to lose so much profit from Dazai rescuing Atsushi, but to Chuuya, that doesn't really matter. Instead he just? Does not care? At all? Someone pointed out he could have made Dazai rot in that basement even with all the threats, but he doesn't. (Funny, if you think about it, the Guild's war with the Port Mafia was partially Chuuya's fault).
AND THEN there's the rescue scene with the ADA, and how Chuuya's immediate explanation to why he's there is that they're going to get one of the detectives on the Port Mafia's team. Again, Chuuya's attatchments are to the people, not the organization.
This is so long holy shit. Where am I going with this. Ah.
So it's pretty clear to me that Chuuya's being set up as the next boss after Mori, both from his arc about leadership and from the way he's already in charge when Mori is incapacitated. (aaand his first order of business as the Port Mafia boss is to beat up the ADA, underestimating them in a way that is so very Chuuya). I have a feeling the series will end with Chuuya taking up that position for real, and Mori being dead. Will Mori die by Chuuya's hand?
Well.
Let's remember that Mori is The Worst. The only redeeming quality he has is his love for the city and the organization as an idea, and this is what draws Chuuya to Mori in the first place. But Chuuya's loyalty to the Port Mafia is also something entirely manufactured by Mori, from the Flags to Double Black. He's been concerned that Chuuya could betray him from the very beginning, because his and Mori's principles are so fundamentally incompatible. Mori sees the mafiosi and himself as pieces on a chessboard, as tools for the "greater good". Chuuya will never see it that way. And if there's going to be fricition between these two characters, it's gonna come from there.
Which is also why I am fascinated about Chuuya's thoughts on Dazai's betrayal. Like, yeah, Dazai left, but it was because Mori sacrificed a man for a piece of paper. It wouldn't be hard for Chuuya to put it together. And I want to know why he is still by Mori's side, despite that. Like, did they talk about it? Did Mori convince him it was better for the organization, admonished him for putting people first again? He knew Oda personally, he couldn't not have, so why did he stay?
Did he think he could protect people from Mori, if he stayed?
Or perhaps Mori lied to him.
I want to know.
The point is, Chuuya's loyalty is not to the Port Mafia. Not really. It's not to the organization, it's to the people, and that, I think, is an important thing to consider when writing him.
