BSD PICK ME - Hotaru Akagawa

Hotaru: We all know her as that fragile, clumsy girl who can barely hold a pen straight, but the truth behind her helpless facade is terrifying. In public, she plays the ultimate victim; she constantly puts herself down just to bait people into comforting her, and she loves to loudly whisper about how she's "not like those other aggressive, high-maintenance women" in our line of work. It is a completely calculated act designed to trigger Nakahara-san's protective instincts. She intentionally fumbles her tasks or trips over her own feet just so he will swoop in and rescue her, looking up at him like a devoted, wide-eyed puppy. But behind closed doors, she is a deeply unstable stalker with a pitch-black obsession. She tracks Nakahara-san's every move, hoards his discarded items like sacred relics, and quietly assassinates anyone who dares to disrespect or stress him out. While she smiles sweetly whenever he talks to other people, she is internally mapping out their demise, entirely focused on wearing him down with her engineered frailty until he believes he is the only one in the world who can save her.

Hotaru's appearance: She cuts a deceptively fragile figure with her porcelain skin, wide, red eyes, and stark white hair that she nervously twirls around her fingers whenever Chuuya is near. She dresses in tailored, formal red and black clothes that mimic the organization's color palette, though she intentionally chooses slightly oversized blazers with sleeves pulled over her knuckles to emphasize her petite, helpless frame. (She is 4'10) Her posture is habitually slouched and timid, making her appear small and fragile, and she frequently speaks in a soft, trembling whisper just to bait Chuuya into stepping closer to check on her. Yet, the moment Chuuya turns his back, her submissive posture instantly vanishes into a rigid, spine-chilling stance; her doe-like red eyes glaze over into a completely dead, unblinking glare, and the sweet, clumsy girl disappears, leaving only a cold, calculating shadow who blends seamlessly into the dark.

Hotaru's ability: Her special Ability is called Crimson Blindspot, which allows her to manipulate light and shadows to become completely undetectable to the human eye, but with a terrifying twist: she can only turn invisible to people whose blood she has tasted or spilled. In public, she plays it off as a weak, useless utility power—claiming she can only use it to "hide in the corner because she's too scared to fight." In reality, she uses it to carry out her yandere impulses with lethal precision. Once she secures a target's blood, she can walk right past their security, stand completely invisible in their room for hours watching them, and execute them without ever making a sound. The crimson color of her Ability's activation glow perfectly matches her red eyes, bleeding into the dark right before her victims vanish forever.

Chuuya: On the surface, Chūya is a temperamental and rather arrogant, blunt man. He revels in fighting, happy to show off his combative ability, and taking great pride in his reputation as the mafia's strongest martial artist. Taunting remarks pair with his pride, as he isn't above ridiculing his opponents in the middle of a fight. Befitting of an Executive, he has no qualms eliminating the Port Mafia's enemies by any means necessary, including murder, however, isn't nearly as homicidal in his tactics as members such as Ryunosuke Akutagawa and the members of Black Lizard tend to be.[6]

For as hot-headed as he may seem, Chūya isn't impossible to reason with. In fact, he's rather reasonable when no one is pushing his buttons. While his skills and presence signal an inherent threat, he's reliable enough for Mori to assign him the task of confronting the Armed Detective Agency during the three-way conflict involving the Guild.[7] It's true he didn't hesitate to retaliate and fight back against Akiko Yosano and Kenji Miyazawa (in fact, he takes great pleasure fighting against people that put up a good fight), but as soon as Yukichi Fukuzawa addresses him for more information, Chūya disengages from the battle. Here as well, his nature as a mafioso shines through, expressing no remorse for the danger the mafia intentionally put Naomi Tanizaki and Hirako in, using them as bait. In fact, he's rather smug about it, knowing it angers the Agency immensely.[8]

Ruthless as he is, Chūya seldom takes people's lives for granted and knows the importance of compromise and rationality. He refrains from unnecessarily brutal methods when need-be, and has enough sense to know when enough's enough. Notable instances include his conflict with Arthur Rimbaud, the man responsible for attempting to kill him long before he joined the Port Mafia at age fifteen. Chūya fully intended to kill him, but heard Rimbaud's last words without malice nor mockery. In fact, Rimbaud's final words for him had a deep effect on Chūya's own outlook on life and himself. He receives Rimbaud's hat as an entry gift to the Port Mafia and takes good care of the hat as a result.[1]

After Osamu Dazai "mercy killed" an enemy, only to repeatedly shoot and laugh at the corpse, Chūya demanded he stops, seeing no sense in Dazai's actions. Chūya's grudge against Ango Sakaguchi does not stop him from acknowledging the fact he owes the man a favor, and as such refrains from antagonizing Ango (and, by extension, his subordinate Mizuki Tsujimura) until he can repay his debt.[9]

Just as Chūya took his responsibility defending Sheep's well-being from their enemies, this holds true for his loyalty and devotion to Port Mafia after joining. So as reasonable as he may be, his top priority is Port Mafia's prosperity and well-being, thus nothing will stop him from fulfilling his responsibilities as an Executive even at the cost of other's lives. Fierce in his loyalties, Chūya finds betrayal intolerable and treats his subordinates quite well.[1]

In the past, Chūya struggled greatly with his identity and place in humanity. His connection to Arahabaki ended in him questioning how human he truly was, worsened by not knowing the truth behind why he was freed from the government's possession in the first place. While his strength lies in his ability, the awareness of a god's effects on him left him feeling as though he wouldn't feel worried nor fear in a fight, knowing he'd most likely win without a scratch. He attributed this to being - in his mind - inhuman, and thus unable to understand the depth of such emotions.

In order to give himself a sense of restraint, he preferred kicking largely over throwing fists, never even removing his gloves. He figured if he came to a fight where he had to remove his gloves, it was because he could no longer enjoy the rush of a battle, and genuinely needed to defend himself - in other words feeling an attachment to the life he lived, even if he felt like a foreign soul in a shell, rather than a human being. This holds true to the present, as Chūya's only seen removing his gloves when using Corruption in dire moments.

After Rimbaud elaborated his own beliefs on humanity, Chūya had a bit of a change of heart, taking his own life a bit more seriously. The Sheep's betrayal affected him greatly, alongside Port Mafia's direct involvement in uncovering the truth of his origins, but ultimately led to his loyalty in them. The drive for learning more about himself contributed largely to his rise in rank, much faster than anticipated.

Chūya's ultimate downfall is his intense disdain and hatred for Dazai. The two never got along, with Chūya instantly hating Dazai's underhanded, warped strategic personality. Dazai has always gone out of his way to dehumanize and ridicule Chūya, constantly attacking his pride and even driving Sheep to abandon and betray him in the past. Even now, the slightest insult from Dazai will set Chūya off on a tangent, taking full advantage of his quick temper and pride. This makes it easy to distract Chūya from tasks at hand. Nonetheless, as part of Twin Dark's nature, Chūya acknowledges Dazai's role as the tactician, extending minimal trust in at least knowing that Dazai knows how to effectively overcome a situation.

Chuuya's appearance: Chūya is quite short with a petite, yet muscular build. (He is 5'3) He has blue eyes, and striking orange hair that frames his face, with a longer section that falls just past his left shoulder. He wears a black hat with a brown hatband and a thin silver chain that hangs over the brim.

His outfit consists of a white button-up shirt under a grey vest, a black choker, a black ribbon bolo tie held together with a small silver buckle, an open black cropped jacket with the sleeves rolled up at the elbows, black slacks, a black belt hanging off his right hip and black low-arch shoes. He is almost always seen wearing black gloves. Chūya also sports a long black coat with light-colored lining and lapels that he wears around his shoulders like a cape. The undercoat is a light shade of red.

Chuuya's ability: Chūya Nakahara's ability is called Upon the Tainted Sorrow (or For the Tainted Sorrow), which grants him complete control over gravity and gravitons for himself and any object or person he touches. By altering gravitational fields, he can walk on ceilings, make objects float or crush them with immense pressure, throw massive projectiles, and speed through the air. His ability's true, catastrophic form is Corruption, which unleashes the sealed entity Arahabaki to manipulate ambient gravitons and create black hole-like compression balls, though it completely removes his sanity and drains his life force until stopped by Osamu Dazai's touch.

Akutagawa: Akutagawa has a black and white "survival of the fittest" view of the world, claiming that weak people should die and give way to the stronger ones. He is not afraid of pain and defeat, if only to hear a word from a "certain person". His ruthless, vicious nature makes him one of the Port Mafia's most dangerous members, feared by both ally and foe. Much of the obedience he receives from subordinates of Black Lizard largely stems from fear of his short temper and general intolerance of incompetence.

Self-titled Port Mafia's "dog", Akutagawa depicts an acute willingness to commit violent crimes to further not only the mafia's goals but his own agenda. Merciless and blunt, Akutagawa doesn't discriminate when it comes to his targets, having no qualms killing anyone from innocent civilians, children, and enemies alike. Hostile as he is towards the weak, he dislikes meaningless torture and prefers killing in one go whenever possible.

As violent as he is, Akutagawa maintains a generally composed and detached approach. Towards subordinates and superiors alike, he acts aloof, distancing himself from social interactions however possible. Nonetheless, his composure is fragile. In instances such as Higuchi's screw-up during the manhunt for Atsushi, Akutagawa is quick to lash out, ridiculing him for risking the bounty by acting recklessly. This quick temper often gets in his way, fueling his actions to the core of his very being.

The center of this anger stems from his past as an orphan in the harsh slums of Yokohama. Since childhood, Akutagawa's grim outlook never changed. The only thing that changed was meeting Dazai when he was 14, already willing to kill a group of illegal traders responsible for murdering his companions. This meeting with Dazai ends in a pivotal change in Akutagawa - respect for someone. Even after undergoing Dazai's extreme and horrific training, Akutagawa never wavers from his own philosophy, starkly against adopting Dazai's value of information over simply getting rid of the mafia's enemies.

Having only heard Dazai's berating, learning of Dazai's high opinion of Sakunosuke Oda damages Akutagawa on a deep level, feeling insulted he is thought of as lower than someone who refuses to kill in the mafia. Dazai's defection deepens the damage, leaving a permanent, lingering sense of inferiority in Akutagawa's mind no matter what he accomplished in the mafia. Although still striving for Dazai's approval, Akutagawa nonetheless views Dazai's current disposition as a disgrace to the bloodstained reputation he carved into Port Mafia's history.

Akutagawa's desire for Dazai's approval inevitably leads to an intense resentment towards Dazai's new "student", Atsushi. First meeting Atsushi when he's weak, easily scared, and freezes in the face of violence, Akutagawa dismisses Atsushi as nothing more than another weak person destined to die for the sake of those stronger than him. Although Atsushi's tiger transformation momentarily gives him a rush, Akutagawa nonetheless sees nothing special in Atsushi. His opinion of Atsushi worsens when Dazai boasts about him, simultaneously insulting Akutagawa's worth as Dazai's former pupil. For much of the time, Akutagawa cannot understand the value others put in Atsushi, and vice versa. Atsushi is a walking paradox to Akutagawa - weak, but acting stronger than he actually is for a place in the world and permission to live, despite being so valued by others. This conflicts deeply with Akutagawa's self-perception. Others see him as powerful, but Akutagawa doesn't acknowledge his strength as a result of his upbringing and own philosophy. This leads to repeating the hypocrisy of condemning Atsushi for attempting to get everyone's approval when Akutagawa himself acts almost entirely for Dazai's approval.

This rivalry eats at the two for much of the time, however, Akutagawa eventually comes to something of an understanding of Atsushi. His resentment still fresh, and a never-ending willingness to kill Atsushi for his own sake, at the least mingles with some form of respect towards Atsushi. This shows most notably when Atsushi struggles to come to terms with the death of the orphanage director. Although it is the perfect time to off Atsushi, Akutagawa refrains from doing so, saying he'll leave him alone to deal with the pain of losing his mentor. He also develops an adept understanding of Beast Beneath the Moonlight, aiding both of them when fighting together against Fitzgerald and Goncharov.

For all his rage, bitterness, and resentment towards humanity and the world itself, Akutagawa has his moments. He has an amicable relationship with his younger sister, Gin, going as far as to help and do her favors without complaint. Further, after Higuchi and Black Lizard save him from a rival group, Akutagawa apologizes to Higuchi for the trouble. Although these are small, short moments of Akutagawa's calmer, earnest side, they nonetheless carry weight. It's evident Akutagawa rarely or never lies, making him honest, even if it's a brutal and unnecessary majority of the time.

Akutagawa’s appearance: Akutagawa has a slim build (he is 5'8) and very pale skin. He often covers his face with his hand due to his frequent coughing. He has short, choppy black hair with side bangs that reach his chin and turn white at the tips. His eyes are sharp, somewhat baggy, and a dark empty grey.

He wears a long, black coat reaching past his knees over black-fitting pants and black dress shoes. Underneath his coat, he dons a white dress shirt, decorated with a layered ruffled fabric. He also wears a white jabot.

Akutagawa's ability: Ryūnosuke Akutagawa wields a deadly and versatile ability known as Rashōmon, which allows him to freely manipulate the shape and properties of his clothing. Most often transforming his signature black overcoat, he reshapes the fabric into a dark, bestial entity or sharp, monstrous blades capable of effortlessly slicing through limbs and solid structures. Beyond offensive strikes, Rashōmon serves as a near-impenetrable defense; Akutagawa can command the ability to rupture and "consume" space itself. This spatial consumption creates a void that completely blocks incoming threats like gunfire and physical punches, as the attacks cannot cross the erased distance to reach him. However, because this ultimate space-rupturing defense requires a brief moment to activate, agile opponents can exploit the time delay to find an opening

Mori: While initially showing himself as an ordinary, clumsy and worried middle-aged man, he later shows more about his true character, keeping calm even when the other people trapped in Anne's room ran away, staying together with Atsushi and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, and still maintaining his composure when the latter was captured.[5]

Mori later reveals that not only is he good with strategies and planning,[6][7] but also a cruel and merciless person capable of infusing fear on his enemies.[1][8] However, his cruelty is not for cruelty's sake. Mori always weights the gains and losses of his decisions, choosing the optimal solutions for the Port Mafia as a whole. Consequently, these decisions leave a bloodstained path and have hurt and traumatized countless other people, with Yosano and Dazai being prime victims of his abuse.

Mori never takes emotions into full account, the epitome of logical thinking and strategy. That said, his intelligence allows him to manipulate and abuse many people by appealing to their needs and wants. Emotional manipulation and abuse have gotten Mori far in his motives at the cost of many lives, and by the time someone's realized they've been used, it's often too late for them to turn back. To Mori, a 'heart' only gets in the way of war, a belief leading to his irredeemable actions of using Yosano's ability and mentally breaking her during the Great War.[9]

While a largely logical person who knows how to use words to his advantage, Mori is not above threats and intimidation typical of a cold, experienced mafioso. Age and gender do not matter to Mori, but when it comes to his grander schemes, he has a history of manipulating children, as their inexperience makes it that much easier to control them.[9]

Mori's use of manners and polite conduct mostly attribute to maintaining a sense of control and power in any situation. For the most part, acting like a 'normal' person makes those around him less wary, as when he's in public and needs to avoid suspicion.[10] Otherwise, it creates a certain distance between him and others, as if nothing they say ever fazes him. Fukuzawa, his former ally, knows the depths of Mori's darkness, and he and Dazai are most often the ones to see straight through Mori's many pretenses including Fukuzawa asking him if he still lusts on young girls during their set-up meeting during the Guild war.[7] Once this facade disappears, Mori's intensity and willingness to do anything, even kill, become apparent and unsettling. His intensity is so much that Lucy is paralyzed with fear when Mori confronts her. [1]

He does treat his subordinates with respect, valuing their skills and contributions to the organization and acknowledging their power. As such, even when facing a certain degree of insubordination, Mori is willing to overlook some mistakes so long as the outcome benefits the Port Mafia. This contributes to why he never punishes Akutagawa's rash behavior. Even then, according to Mori, "effort is what matters, results come second", in the face of Akutagawa's previous failure of capturing Atsushi Nakajima.[11]

This aligns with Mori's leeway towards the organization's most active, powerful members, allowing them a certain degree of 'freedom' and independence from his tight scrutiny. Generally, he usually only regularly speaks with his two most active executives, Kōyō and Chūya, the former of which often the first to criticize Mori's eccentrics in the form of dry banter.[12] He and Kōyō converse the most often, and their partnership leads to Mori agreeing to spare Kyōka after she defects.[13] As a result of the Port Mafia's prosperous control in Yokohama, Mori enjoys being held in high regard, either by respect, fear, or a mix of both, by his many subordinates.

Mori views the position of an organization's leader as both ruling them and being their slave. This belief drives Mori to his drastic and ruthless strategies. Furthermore, he is more than happy to use a common enemy to his advantage, as when revealing Naomi and Haruno's hideout to the Guild in hopes of using the Agency to take care of them and alleviate the Port Mafia's own workload.[14] He uses the same tactic when leaking the orphans' location to André Gide, getting the orphans slaughtered and driving Oda to his own suicide mission. In both cases, Mori makes it so his direct word never reaches its intended target, leaving the power of his actions to force their hand instead. This manipulation and usage of knowledge is the core of Mori's decision-making and tactics, making him dangerous.[15]

Losses and failure are Mori's worst enemies, such as a large number of subordinates and racketed collaborations dying during the Q incident[7], or Kōyō's being held at the Armed Detective Agency[16]. Likewise, he detests "parasites" such as smugglers and the ilk, people he believes they suck Yokohama dry for their own gain and upset its delicate balance. Given Mori's respect for Natsume, Mori agreed to keep balance in Yokohama, and Mori takes this seriously. For as cruel and cold Mori is, it's unmistakable that he's vital to Yokohama's balance.

The only time Mori's acknowledged a major oversight in his decisions is when taking in and mentoring Dazai. He largely underestimated Dazai's own intelligence and shrewd, detached way of looking at the world. Ironically, their near-identical nature unsettled Mori. Nonetheless, Mori takes his mistake and molds it into a valuable discovery: a subordinate and right-hand that knew his way of rationalizing. Control over Dazai was crucial to Mori, considering Dazai's intelligence could one day be his undoing. This largely contributes to Mori's decision to use Oda, a dear friend of Dazai, in eliminating Mimic and driving Dazai to defect.[15]

Truly, the only person privy to Mori's less menacing and controlling side is Elise, even though there's incredible irony in the fact that even Elise's demanding, harsh attitude against him is something he intentionally configured. Mori has an obsessive nature towards Elise, irritating her with excessive trips to dress shops, tailors, and the like just to dress her up for his own amusement to which Oda describes it to himself as disturbing.[15] Much to Elise's exasperation, even her harsh nature is something Mori enjoys. Given that Vita Sexualis manifests as a form of Mori's desires, it's unfortunate to note that he's a self-admitted pedophile[17][2] something both Elise and Fukuzawa have expressed great disgust in, the latter considering Vita Sexualis a disgusting and disturbing ability.

Mori's appearance: Mori is a fairly tall man and has a slender physique. He has straight, chin-length black hair slicked back, leaving bangs on each side of his face.

Normally, he wears a sharp suit, consisting of a white button-up, a black pinstriped suit jacket, black shoes, and black trousers. The shirt has a purple and white striped tie. Over this, he wears a black trench coat and long, almost knee-length maroon scarf he leaves hanging over his shoulders untied. He also wears white gloves.

In public, Mori wears much less lavish attire, more typical of a "doctor". He wears a purple button-up shirt, black tie, black trousers, black shoes, and a long white coat. Furthermore, he leaves his hair loose, and two strands fall over his forehead. (Mori is 5'9)

Mori's ability: the Port Mafia leader Ōgai Mori possesses the supernatural ability known as "Vita Sexualis". This unique power allows him to manifest a sentient, humanoid avatar named Elise, whose physical appearance, combat mechanics, and personality traits can be completely configured and altered by Mori's will. When summoned into battle, Elise can levitate, move at superhuman speeds, and launch devastating attacks against opponents using a barrage of massive medical equipment, such as giant syringes and scalpels. While Elise acts independently and often acts bratty or defiant toward Mori based on how he currently limits her personality, she remains an indestructible extension of his own life force. If she is destroyed or cut down in combat, she simply dissipates into energy, though resummoning her requires a significant portion of Mori’s physical strength and stamina.