“At the base was single dandelion blooming and swaying in the breeze.”

I feel a tiny bit robbed of the blooming dandelion in front of Rimbaud’s grave in the anime, because it carries different meanings you could apply to Chuuya and Rimbaud.

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The name dandelion has its roots in France, which is IRL Rimbaud’s home country. “Dent de lion” actually means “tooth of the lion” (France is IRL Rimbaud’s home country).

Did you know that the stem of a dendalion is hollow? So it looks beautiful blooming yellow and white on the

outside, but it’s empty on the inside. And I think that describes perfectly how Chuuya feels about himself and I also think it’s also how Rimbaud must have felt before gaining back his memories before he died.

In theological symbolism the dandelion stands for grieve.

Around the globe the dandelion is more associated with the image of the innocence and purity of childhood and genuine happiness. Due to their high resistance level and longevity, literature uses dandelions to symbolize endurance, deep and strong to relationships and trust –

the topic that determines both Chuuya’s and Dazai’s relationship and also Rimbaud’s and Verlaine’s given the fact how Rimbaud kept on searching for his partner without remembering that he killed him himself.

Giving someone a dandelion as a gift means to promise faithfulness.

Comradery and partnership are topics Rimbaud as well as Chuuya value pretty much and it’s also something the dandelion can represent in literature. The way FIFTEEN describes Rimbaud's and Verlaines's partnership sounds pretty "SKK-ish" for me

You can find them blooming nearly everywhere, even in cracks on pavements. And this is what I connect the most with Rimbaud and Chuuya.

Their ability to thrive under the most adverse conditions can teach us persistence and survival. No life is free from struggles, but we /can/ learn how to live with them and focus on the moments of joy and happiness.

Rimbaud basically was the person who pretty much made Chuuya “bloom” and overcome his struggles to mindlessly search for something he wouldn't be able to find in the end.

In Western countries there are different myths and saying about dandelions, for instance that the largest dandelion stalk a child finds will show how much it will grow until the coming year (I’m sorry Chuuya).

A blooming dandelion is called blowball. If you make a wish before blowing the head of the dandelion, making ALL seeds fly away with a single blow, it might come true.

I’ll keep pondering about what Chuuya and Dazai might have wished for by the time they were 15 and later by the time they were 22. I would wish for their wishes to come true!

Thank you Rimbaud for provoking essential changes and being a meaningful character!