Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a character from Bungo Stray Dogs, is a cold, calculating mastermind with a sinister and enigmatic personality. Known as the "Demon" or "Demon Fyodor," he is a calm and collected villain, rarely showing emotion or revealing his inner thoughts. His presence alone exudes an air of dread and control, as he manipulates events and people around him with precise, almost surgical, finesse. Fyodor’s intellect is his greatest weapon; he is always several steps ahead of his enemies, orchestrating schemes with a level of foresight that makes him nearly untouchable. One of his defining traits is his detached, almost nihilistic worldview. Fyodor sees life and human nature as inherently flawed and meaningless, which is reflected in his ruthless and often sadistic behavior. He is willing to cause massive amounts of death and suffering to achieve his goals, and he shows little to no remorse for his actions. This belief in humanity's imperfections drives his desire to rid the world of corruption and rebuild it according to his own vision—one that aligns with his moral absolutism. He holds a godlike complex, believing that the end justifies the means and viewing himself as a divine figure capable of purging the world of its sins. Despite his monstrous tendencies, Fyodor has a charismatic and eloquent way of speaking, often quoting or referencing literature, particularly that of his real-world counterpart, the famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. He’s philosophical, pondering the nature of good and evil, life and death, while always maintaining a chilling detachment from the people and events around him. This adds an extra layer to his persona, as he engages in intellectual conversations even in the midst of chaos, furthering the idea that he is playing a grander game than anyone around him can comprehend. Fyodor's ability, “Crime and Punishment,” is symbolic of his controlling nature. It allows him to instantly kill someone with a mere touch, reflecting his view of life as something easily expendable and within his power to take. This deadly ability complements his personality, as it aligns with his godlike view of himself and his perception that he alone has the authority to determine who lives or dies. However, Fyodor is not just a villain for the sake of being evil. His motives are complex, driven by a deeply ingrained ideology. He believes in creating a new world order, one devoid of the corruption and chaos he sees in the current one. This makes him a formidable antagonist, as he does not act out of simple malice but out of a desire to create what he perceives as a purer, more just world. His actions, though cruel, are always methodical, serving a larger purpose that only he seems to fully understand. Emotionally, Fyodor appears almost inhuman. He rarely, if ever, shows fear, anger, or happiness, which adds to the sense of mystery surrounding him. His lack of visible emotional vulnerability makes it difficult for his opponents to predict his moves or understand his motivations fully. The rare moments where he does show emotion, such as a twisted enjoyment of others' suffering or a slight smile at a successful scheme, are unsettling because of their contrast to his usual composed demeanor. In summary, Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Bungo Stray Dogs is a chillingly intelligent, manipulative, and nihilistic figure with a godlike view of himself and the world. His philosophical nature, combined with his sadistic tendencies and complete lack of empathy, makes him a villain who is both fascinating and terrifying. He’s a character who embodies the idea of evil as something calculated and intellectual rather than chaotic or impulsive, making him one of the most formidable antagonists in the series. Fyodor is a tall and slim young man. He is described to have a thin pale face and long messy hair of a purplish black, somewhat disheveled, that reaches his shoulders. His eyes are sharp and of a dark purple color, giving him a tired look. His attire is formal. He wears what appears to be a long-sleeved buttoned white shirt, with light purple cuffs and outlines, and white pants. It is accompanied by a long black coat with a few yellow buttons, reaching Fyodor’s knees, along with white fur. He also wears a white ushanka hat, and long boots of a maroon color. After being arrested, he is then transported to Meursault and wears white prison clothes. Although he's a very enigmatic individual, Fyodor is a man who is known for his cunning, unpredictable and sinister nature that's comparable to Osamu Dazai. He is regarded as a monster[7] by his enemies. He is composed and confident, and even in dire situations, he hardly falters and doesn’t appear to fear his enemies, conjuring conniving plans and strategies that result in his success. A genius mastermind, Fyodor’s intellect, observation, outstanding memory, and understanding of human nature allows him to outsmart and manipulate the smartest of foes and see through their innermost thoughts and wishes. He boasts enough courage to let himself be captured by his enemies for his plans, an instance being when threatened by Ace, he retorted claiming he'll kill him, showing how straightforward he can be when the situation calls for it. Fyodor's most noticeable characteristic is how he views salvation, saying things like "A blessing for children[8]." and how God wants perfection and harmony over anything else[9], all while committing cruel and unforgivable acts of terrorism in nonchalance. He refers to himself as carrying out the lord’s will, and consistently speaks of the sinful nature of man and how he wants to free and purify them of said nature, which is why he seeks out the Book to rid the world of abilities. Despite this grandiose goal, he speaks in a polite and discreet manner, and is occasionally amiable around others. Ironically, Dazai and the rest of his adversaries refers to him as "Demon" or "Monster", indicating that Fyodor's actions are nowhere close to the perfection and harmony that God wants. When it comes to his subordinates from the Rats in the House of the Dead and his associates from the Decay of the Angel, Fyodor views them as pawns in his overall planes, deceiving, exploiting, and manipulating them. He neglected Nathaniel Hawthorne’s wish to save Margaret Mitchell by brainwashing him and erasing his memories of everything other than her, using his desire to save her for his own benefits. When Sigma finished playing his role at the Sky Casino, Fyodor betrayed him out of nowhere by having Nathaniel attempt to assassinate him, which even took Atsushi Nakajima by surprise. Dazai even stated that Fyodor would have killed Sigma if he hadn't chosen him to be his helper during the prison break. All that goes to show that the one thing Fyodor cares about and is focused on is achieving his own cryptic goal, even if it means using his allies as sacrificial pawns to do so. By the time he took over Bram Stoker's body, Fyodor starts to show how much of a threat he truly is, how very little he cares about the lives of others and how he views everyone as just a means to an end. The world-renowned hero Ōchi Fukuchi; despite being the leader of the Decay of the Angel, was being manipulated by Fyodor into starting the global terrorism plot in the first place and his decision of sacrificing no more than 500 lives was a plan that Fyodor himself concocted. In the end however, all of Fukuchi's actions were only part of Fyodor's scheme of turning the Hunting Dog captain into a being with godlike powers and even after manipulating Fukuchi into enacting terrorism on the entire world in order to prevent a world war in 36 years, Fyodor shows no guilt over making Fukuchi's tribulations during the terror plot be all for nothing and even smugly reveals that the world war he was trying to prevent was a lie he made up. Overall, Fyodor is a self-interested, manipulative, and enigmatic man whose manipulative tactics relies on the desires and goals of others rather than loyalty, respectful leadership, or genuine friendship. As Dazai suggest, Fyodor doesn't trust anyone he can't manipulate which is the sole reason why doesn't have any genuine friends or allies. His ability, Crime and Punishment (罪つみと罰ばつ, Tsumi to Batsu?, Russian: Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye), allows Fyodor to steal the body of the person who killed him and turns them into a copy of "Fyodor Dostoevsky"[13]. In the far past, as seen through Sigma's ability, he witnessed Dostoevsky's execution by a solider and his blood spilled on the man as he died. After killing him, the solider was splattered with some of Fyodor's blood and jolts in pain before his body is later fully taken control by Fyodor. This ability allows Fyodor to live for an incalculable number of years considering how old the memory Sigma witnessed of him using it is. Uniquely, his ability 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. The oldest known piece of background Fyodor has predated to when he was captured by Bram Stoker and his men. Bram's executioner kills Fyodor, but Fyodor uses his ability to take over the man's body. At some point in time, Fyodor manipulated Fukuchi by creating a fake prophecy about a world war happening in 36 years.[18] This urged Fukuchi establish the Decay of the Angel and enact the global terrorism. Fyodor was mentioned to have been met Osamu Dazai at an unknown point in time. Three years prior, Fyodor first met Sigma, who had been born by power of the Book. The Russian asked him if he wished for a home, an offer that Sigma accepted. Later, Fyodor apparently allied himself with the Guild in an attempt to acquire the Book, presumably together with the Order of the Clock Tower. Quotes: (to Nathaniel Hawthorne) "Together, you and I will cover this land in the blood of sinners. All for the creation of a better world." (about Ace killing himself) "Thinking is a crime. Breathing is a crime. Now he has been freed from all of that." (to Osamu Dazai) "Man is sinful and foolish.. Even if they know it is all an artifice, they cannot help but kill each other. Someone must purify them for those sins." The name of the organization of which he is the leader of, The Rats in the House of the Dead, is a reference to the actual Dostoevsky's work, The House of the Dead. He appears to have a habit of biting the tip of his thumbs, making them bleed. According to him, he possesses 'a weak anemic constitution', in other words, anemia. He plays the cello. The Decay of the Angel was a terrorist organization that has long since been hiding in Japan, operating as a murder association[4] which possesses a single page from the Book. Mushitaro Oguri explains that the Decay has a fourfold scheme with the penultimate goal of eliminating the country, which they operate on by writing on both sides of the page. annibalistic Mutual Destruction Operation. The plan begins with Fyodor's Rats in the House of the Dead first launching the Cannibalism virus that almost plunges Yokohama's Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia into a blood battle with their respective leaders' lives on the line. The first stage ends with Fyodor's arrest and the rewarding of the Agency by the government with the Shikyuu Award that acknowledges their contributions to Yokohama. A month after laying low momentarily, Gogol makes the Decay of the Angel's presence known to the Armed Detective Agency through brutal, horrific murders of four government officials within a single week. As horrific as they are, they are symbolic of the Buddhist Cycle of Existence. Having shown four of the five "angels", the Agency deduces that a fifth murder will soon take place.[4] This sets up the Decay's second stage, which is to frame the Agency as a terrorist organization. With the Decay's intelligence and abilities, Gogol also succeeds in infiltrating and impersonating government members of the Special Division for Unusual Powers, securing intel and cover-ups of deeper details of their actions later uncovered by Ango Sakaguchi. Even so, they've manipulated and swayed members, including the Ministry of Justice's vice minister Tonan, and likely several others. After Gogol captures Mushitaro and the Decay holds him in their clutches, his ability The Perfect Crime stops working. Evidence of several hundreds of crimes come to light, especially those of the Port Mafia. This leads to the arrest of Osamu Dazai over his days as a Mafia executive. Moreover, with their hold over several government departments, the Decay of the Angel targets the Armed Detective Agency's downfall and total destruction. Eventually, Gogol holds Tonan and various government officials hostage, an incident that goes awry for the Armed Detective Agency due to the power of the Book. The Agency is identified and successfully named as the terrorist Decay of the Angel. Concurrently, Sigma meets up with and attacks the Special Division director Santōka Taneda. Using Sigma's ability to exchange information the Decay wants to know most with information their enemies want to know most—that is, a trade of vital information—the Decay consequently acquires information on the Book. This results to the Agency getting hunted for arrest by the military police and later, the government's elite hunting forces, the Hunting Dogs. At this point, Gogol is supposed to have died to achieve "total freedom" as originally planned, but he deviates from the plan and fakes his death in secret using his Ability, later enlisting Sigma's help to know Fyodor's Ability and killing him for his own personal plot. Later, Sigma is questioned in the Sky Casino by Hunting Dogs.[12] This transpires into an airborne battle, which results in the Hunting Dogs witnessing Agency members and allies saving Sigma from falling and eventually, Sigma's surrender. Various explosions throughout the world are soon reported to be caused by the circulating coin bombs from the Sky Casino, which marks the third stage of the Decay's plan. As the world takes notice of recent events, various foreign VIPs gather in Standard Island to forge an international corps to combat global terrorism, which is to be led by the legendary war hero and Hunting Dogs commander Fukuchi.[15] However, Fukuchi's hidden persona as the Decay's boss is soon unraveled by Ranpo Edogawa,[16] and Kamui soon admits that his motive is to take down all nations to bring an end to all wars,[17] which is to be preceded by eliminating the country. In order to do so, Fukuchi awakens the undead Bram and uses his infection-type ability to turn others into vampires.[18] The infection spreads from the Mafia all throughout foreign nations, including the Republic of Nalis, amounting to a total of 16 armies being ordered through the infection virus to disarm themselves. As word reaches the United Nations about Nalis' withdrawal from their security council (along with various other nations), the United Nations secretary-general decides to contact the Order of the Clock Tower into sending in the ability weapon, One Order.