#stray dog incomplete

[solunstell]

Notes I've taken from dead apple:

Chuuya called odasaku a grunt

"So how did he do it? Timing. He promptly calculated the course of the projectile and slowed down his motorcycle so he wouldn’t take a direct hit. While he got hit by the shock wave, Chuuya could use his engine’s and motorcycle’s weight to minimize its impact. His powers of observation, kinetic vision, and computing capabilities helped him instantly predict the speed and trajectory of the grenade, and his dexterity like a race-car driver allowed him to handle his motorcycle with such precision."

Dazai: I got punched three times / chuuya: how about I kill you with a fourth

Chuuya: you want me to kick your ass (at dazai)

When ambushed, dazai says to chuuya that it's not like chuuya didn't see this coming. Chuuya is much smarter than fandom gives him credit for

Ranpo has "innocent almond-shaped eyes that were nearly impossible to read"

"Junichirou Tanizaki—essentially a salesclerk for the agency—had a face that just screamed helpless" "delicate-looking collarbone" while we all know that Naomi is canonically beautiful, her twin is also soft and pretty

"Sitting one seat away from Kenji, as if to distance herself from his cheerfulness, was a kimono-clad girl named Kyouka Izumi" HAHA I wanna see them argue now

"Kunikida made absolutely sure to set his watch to the time signal broadcast every morning"

"Amid the pleasant music was an ice-filled glass garnished with white alyssum flowers." On odas seat. Alyssum symbolize beauty, bitterness, and anger.

[unicornpopcorn14]

An add-on to the touch averse Chuuya headconnon!

Chapters: 3/6 || Words: 16.3k || Category: Platonic Teen Skk

Summary:

Chuuya was never a tactile person…

But for the one who’s trying so hard to initiate contact for no other reason than to spite him, he might as well try to be.

Or: 5 times Chuuya hugged Dazai when he didn't/couldn't hug back, and 1 time his partner requited the gesture.

[hellonoblesky]

The way I’m clinging for dear life to my theory that the ending victory of this arc will only be achieved by all three skk generations teaming up (as yet another display of moral grey and necessary evils and the strength of relationships chosen over relationships forced into that is so inherent in the bsd story) in the wake of ch 109 bc it’s the only thing stopping me from bawling.

[chuu-huahua]

ok because @downbadforpixels told me that one of the new fontaine characters from genshin (neuvillette) shares the same english va as fyodor, i’m here to brainrot because OH MY GOD I WANT HIM NOW WHEN IS HE COMING OUT-

no because imagine having a dazai in the fontaine plot too?? genshin remaking the prison arc with fyodor and dazai, except fyodor being the chief justice of sorts and dazai being a mastermind criminal with an insanely high bounty. arc ends with dazai managing to escape, and it’s revealed that they knew each other when they were younger and dazai had always been a kind person to fyodor, so he decided to let his emotions cloud his judgement just once and let the one he considers his dear friend evade capture.

even though fyodor, now neuvillette, might end up being executed for letting such a criminal escape from fontaine’s grasps, he supposes it might not be too hard to bend the nation to his will. he does have enough blackmail he collected over the years, after all...

ok but fontaine people have guns?? wtf is this, the genya-fication of genshin impact???

ok but if genshin can have a prison arc, they can have a chuuya. inazuma has another puppet flitting through the shadows and weaving through the crowds, and is said to be in possession of a rather odd ability. witnesses have reported craters on the footpaths of smaller villages, trees that have been crushed into tiny pieces, and one has even claimed to have been crushed into the ground by a young man with flaming red hair, the last thing they heard before passing out being something along the lines of “you will be crushed by vicious gravity!”

ok but imagine if chuuya was the puppet of orobashi?? i mean, if raiden can have two, then the snake can have a puppet too :D

[etrevil]

Using my brother's birthday celebration to dress for the new bsd chapter coming out tonight 😌🤌

So lucky I got most of these for free, the coat was just like, three dollars from a thrift shop. Pants were my dad's wedding pants 🤣

Still need to buy that vest 😭

[soukoku-love]

I want a fanfic where Dazai is this normal obnoxious high school kid, too smart for his own good. And despite what his appearance (covered in bandages) would suggest, he is pretty popular at school for his good looks and flirtatious behaviour. And then comes his guardian, who works at a not so safe place and during a particularly dangerous time, he hires a bodyguard for Dazai.

Chuuya Nakahara, a pretty boy whom Dazai mistakes as a weak helpless kid but oh boy was he wrong. They hate each other to hell the moment they meet. They fight they bicker but in the end Chuuya protects him well and slowly a bond forms. It will be just a bit of a slow burn. With lots of soukoku moments, the buckering the insults and the trust.

[gh0stsp1d3r]

would you ever write another part of "A Mini You" but this time with a puppy?? i bet it'll be so cute aaarghh!! 🥰🥹

LOVE THAT SM !

A mini you part two ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ.

Part one

Logan is sitting on the couch, nursing a beer in his hands, waiting for you to come back so he can help with the groceries.

He did not hear the car pull up, hence his surprise when you walk into the house, without any bags in your hands, but rather, walking in with a dog at your feet.

He furrowed his eyebrows, you looking back at him.

“Loga-“

“Y/n. Absolutely not. No way. I let it slide with peanut, we are not keeping a stray dog.”

“Logan, she’s all alone! She’s just a baby. She needs a home. She told me that they left her on the side of the road, the poor baby.” You said with a small pout, leaning down to pet her head.

He knew you, he knew you too well. He sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. “Fucking….”He murmured, you now having a little frown on your face, your sadness making guilt rise up in his chest.

“Sorry, bubba.” You murmured to her, glancing up at logan as you stood up, her little watery, large puppy eyes staring at the man. He sighed again, looking back at you. “Fine.”

You perked up at that. “Fine…?”

“Fine. We can keep the dog.”

Your smile made him think it was worth it, you immediately going to hug and kiss him on the lips. He chuckled at your happiness, and the way he could see the dog behind you with what looked like a smile on her face and her tail wagging.

“What will we name her?” You asked him this time, him thinking before speaking.

“I don’t know. Maybe like…”

Logan jr, however, did not take so easily to the dog. Sabretooth tried to play with the grumpy cat multiple times, but it ended in the cat swatting at her face, scratching her in some cases.

It took a while for the both of them getting used to each other, but once they did…

Peanut tolerated her, and she fucking loved peanut. Truly, they would be incomplete without each other.

And it was funny to Logan how peanut took more to you, and sabertooth took more to him. Because of the name and because sabertooth was more like you than peanut was.

He loved that dog. While originally not wanting her, she sat down next to him on movie nights, taking up your spot, she barked at him whenever he came through the door, jumping on him and licking his face, much to his chagrin, and she slept next to him on days he didn’t feel like pushing her off, taking up all the room in your bed.

And you might be thinking, who the fuck names a dog after your enemy brother? Logan does. Don’t let that man name your dog.

[yes-i-read-sappho]

So you want to read "No Longer Human"

One of the things that fascinates me most in this world is translation, and when it comes to reading literature not originally in English I always wonder how accurate what I'm really reading is, especially seeing how much a work can vary from translation to translation.

With this in mind, I set out with a friend to read all three official English translations of Osamu Dazai's Ningen Shinkkaku (best known in English as No Longer Human) in order to figure out which one was the best.

DISCLAIMER: I do not read Japanese so my ability to comment on the actual accuracy to the original text is limited, so most of what I am saying here is based in the readability in English etc. (That being said, if you know more about the original and the accuracy to the original of any of the translations below PLEASE let me know I would be so so interested.)

With no further ado, here are the translations in the order I read them:

1. No Longer Human, trans. Donald Keene (1958)

This translation is easily the most familiar to English speakers (for BSD fans, this is where you can find "page 21, 'Mine has been a life of much shame.'") The main pro of this translation is that is very easily accessible in the literal sense. On top of this, the writing style is relatively easy to understand, if a bit antiquated (see: published 1958).

Unfortunately, while much of the vagueness in this book is almost definitely a consequence of Dazai's own writing, this translation is far from perfect. When discussing it with my friend, we realized that a confusing scene (pages 153-154 in the paperback) actually appears to be a consequence of a mistranslation, as both of the other translations we read presented the same contrary interpretation.

Overall, Keene's translation is fine but can feel incomplete.

2. A Shameful Life (Ningen Shikkaku), trans. Mark Gibeau (2018)

New title alert!

Gibeau's translation felt more complete than Keene's (and I may have gone a little insane using my limited Japanese knowledge to see if a single detail was accurate which it did appear to be). The only real downside to this translation was the lack of italics used within the text, which made it a bit more difficult to follow at times when it came to the character's inner thoughts. That being said, I actually like this as a literary device, especially given that the framing of the novel is in the form of personal journals.

What really made this version stand out to me, however, wasn't necessarily the translation itself, but how the translator addresses it. This book provides a translator's afterward (rather than an introduction as in the other two) where Gibeau gets into the historical and cultural context necessary to really understand the novel, including the I-novel literary movement and Dazai's own life. This really helps readers (especially those less familiar with Japanese history and culture) to really understand some of the nuances of the novel, while the placement at the end - pointedly - first allows the text to stand on its own. Also, in addition to the afterward, Gibeau also provides a brief "Note on the Current Translation," where he explains the merits of multiple translations and a bit of his own process/experience translating, which I enjoyed reading.

3. No Longer Human, trans. Juliet Winters Carpenter (2023)

(I don't know why this cover image is massive but oh well.)

Most of what I remember about this translation is wanting to like it more than I did. I was excited to read a translation by a woman because of how female characters are treated in the novel, but I do not remember there being a distinct difference. (The only notable difference was in the specificity of the language used at one point in the first journal, but this wasn't related to gender and I'm not going to get into it here.)

This translation initially endeared itself to me by directly referencing Bungo Stray Dogs in the introduction for its role in increasing the popularity of the novel among English speaking fans (even though Winters Carpenter somewhat misrepresents the series), but the introduction as a whole does very little to contextualize the novel, especially not compared to Gibeau.

Broadly speaking, I found this translation forgettable.

In conclusion,

I would recommend Gibeau's translation over the other two. However, each translation has its advantages and disadvantages, and you will still get the story from all of them if that's what you care about most.

[neousfics]

Bungo Stray Dogs Fic Recs (The Ties That Bind Edition)

If you liked my fic The Ties That Bind here's a bunch of other fics I think you'd love :)

dolls don't have emotions (so why am I so scared?) by DeviBlue

Words: 15,313

Rating: E

Status: Complete

Summary:

“You found me,” Dazai croaked.

She walked towards him and rested a deceivingly gentle hand on his cheek. He tried his best not to lean into it. Soft touches were rare, especially from her, and she used them to wrap him around her finger. Giving him the love he craved whenever he strayed too far. It was disgusting and humiliating that she still had that effect on him.

“Shuuji-kun, you know you can never hide from us,” she said, just like all those years ago.

OR

Dazai's past comes back to destroy the life he's built for himself in the light.

Review: This is one of my absolute favorite BSD fics. The angst and horror in this concept are such a gut punch and I adore it. If you like the more raw, intense parts of The Ties That Bind, you'll love this fic

People-Pleasing and the Affects of Caring by Allegory_For_Hatred

Words: 4,565

Rating: Unrated but I would say M for violence

Status: Complete

Summary:

Dazai may have let himself be tortured to get information. It's not that big of a deal. You guys are just overreacting.

OR: the agency has a revelation about Dazai's... let's say "work ethic." Is it too late to fix what the Mafia has drilled into his head?

Review: A really solid exploration of the ADA reacting to how absolutely dreadful Dazai's mafia work-habits. I enjoyed the idea and characterization quite a bit

5 Times this, 1 Time that (but After that, Always) by gev_ao3

Words: 15,994

Rating: M

Status: Complete

Summary:

Just a quick 5+1:

Five times Chuuya thought there might be something… off about Mori and Dazai’s relationship, and one time he decided to do something about it. Can be read as a ship, but it doesn't have to be. The world is your oyster. (just, please, don't ship Dazai and Mori)

Review: If you like the Soukoku aspects of my fic/you're looking forward to the Chuuya confrontation, you'll enjoy this fic. It's well written and a good mix between indulgent and moderate

the bones are melting (the skeleton is ash) by FlowerCitti

Words: 2,879

Rating: T

Status: Complete

Summary:

When Dazai first joins the Agency, there is something inside of him that is waiting to mess up. Something inside of him that is almost craving it, if only to get it over with.

He gets his wish after only three months of working with the Agency.

Or, Fukuzawa Yukichi is not Mori Ougai.

Review: Honestly, I love this entire series. I think it captures the dread that is Mori Ougai very well, and the ADA provides a great contrast

Ruiner by gev_ao3

Words: 124,622

Rating: E

Status: Incomplete (Ch 13/14)

Summary:

from S2E9:

“Do you still wear the coat that I gave you?”

“I burned it.”

They’re the wrong words to say.

Mori’s abuse runs deep—deeper than anyone, including Dazai, had realized. And he’s doing it all over again.

[WARNING. *PLEASE* MIND THE TAGS.]

Review: Brutal psychological warfare, 10/10

Nivea's Mirror by Raiimil

Words: 42,077

Rating: E

Status: Complete

Summary:

Every night, a purple letter appears in his doorstep. Every night, the letter have different contents inside. Every night, Dazai breaks a little more. And this time, it might break him thoroughly.

Previously called: RAVAGE (Before I Break)

PLEASE, read the tags, PLEASE

Review: Also brutal psychological warfare, utilizes new ideas / characters in a way that doesn't feel self-indulgent or distracting from the plot. This one is very unsettling /pos

There's a few for now :) I will likely add more later

[neonfretra]

one of the most important skills continues to be not about being good at what you doin but to be barely servicable about it. jack of a sparse handful of trades, barely scraping mediocre of some etc

i am barely knowledgeable about identifying local plants + animal + fungi but the fact that i can tell any apart has made me hold INFINITE more fondness and appreciation for the world around me. also no living thing likes me i even LOOK at the stray cats in my area and they bolt LMAO <- typing through tears. please keep your cats indoors.

i am inexperienced in so many things and i am getting SO much out of being bad. like i think the wider and thinner i cast my net the more i am getting out of the lived experience

i dont have the a hand or eye for sewing (its debatable how well my hands work LMAO) but i can mend small tears, hem edges, and fix buttons and it is honestly really awesome to look at damage or issues to clothing and know i can fix it later, just dont ask me about darning LOL

i need to stress i know jack about code. i have written one successful random quote generator in javascript with generous help, i have a grasp on HTML and CSS about as secure as a wet bar of soap

BUT im able to actively use inspect element on webpages to change backgrounds and font colors to be friendlier on the eyes for a session ^_^ i made minor adjustments to my desktop theme for the sake of readability! its awesome, i have a flaming trash fire of a personal site (incomplete as hell) i want to add fish to my tumblr blog ^_^

i am DOG in guitar and embroidery and bracelet making and writing and all three other languages i am learning and its AWESOME!!! i love doing a subpar job <3 i love doing things that copy cooler and more experienced artists <3 its so much fun i need to be completely honest. i dont care about being bad. i love being awful and having fun with it <3

[scpharys]

WAHOO!!!! First bsd fic on the AO3

Status: Incomplete

Warnings: None! Just fluff and some crack

Ships: SSKK minor/implied SKK and maybe some KNDZ nd Ranpoe in the future.

Relationships: Dazai & Atsushi, Chuuya & Dazai, some Dazai & Kunkida, Dazai & Akutagawa, some Kyouka & Atsushi

(Some aren’t in the fic yet)

Some to be added as chapters go on

Sum: Atsushi comes into work wearing a sweater he’s never worn before. Dazai takes notice.

Or, Atsushi wears Akutagawa’s sweater to work, fluff and crack ensues.

[animeyanderelover]

Ah yes, there is nothing more beautiful than watching the Crunchyroll Awards when I am in a masochistic mood and still come out crying. I’m not even a seasonal watcher but even I could predict all of the winners when I checked out the nominations. I didn’t vote by the way since I don’t even use Crunchyroll. Since me and my friend already complained about it, I’ll rant a bit too so please take my salt.

I don’t think that Jujutsu Kaisen should have won Anime of the Year for the simple reason that apparently the Shibuya Arc didn’t even count for this nomination since it aired in Autumn. That means that pretty much only the first 5-6 episodes were a contender for this nomination and that isn’t even half of the show. They should have either completely excluded it from the nominations this year and instead nominated it next year or should have put in all of Jujutsu Kaisen. Instead now the season was split in parts and I will bet my liver that the Shibuya Arc will be nominated next year again. 5 episodes of an incomplete season are not better than other nominated Anime like Vinland Saga or Oshi No Ko. I’m not even sure if I would put Demon Slayer as a nomination since I liked this season but it just did not reach for me the same level that previous seasons had reached and I am sure that there were other Anime that were a lot more deserving of a nomination instead of Kny.

Best Continuing Series I already suspected either One Piece or Jujutsu Kaisen to win. I can’t say much about One Piece since I am currently at the Water 7 Arc but I will take it over freaking Jjk with its 5 nominated episodes. Once again I would be hesitant to put Demon Slayer in here since for me best continuing series implies that the newest season is either on the same par or even surpasses the previous season. Demon Slayer did not do this with the Sword Smith Village Arc for me for a couple of reasons. The antagonists felt very shallow and boring, the fights weren’t as good for me and whilst the last episode was quite good, it did not reach for me what the Entertainment District Arc did. Bungo Stray Dogs would have been in my opinion a better nomination than Demon Slayer.

Not surprised with Chainsaw Man winning Best New series but since I haven’t watched any of the shows nominated, I can’t say much about it. Same goes for Best Movie with Suzume as the winner and Best Original Series with Buddy Daddies as the winner.

Is anyone surprised by Demon Slayer winning Best Animation? I’m not and that was the only thing that for me was as good as previous seasons, although I do know the whole argument of them using 3D this season for some of the demons but honestly, that was nowhere near the worst CGI that Anime has given us such as Berserk 2017. I see why people would be upset since other contestants for Best Animation were shows like Mob Psycho 100. With Jujutsu Kaisen as a nominee I am conflicted due to the whole arguments of this season having the worst Animation in comparison to the first season and the movie but the poor Mappa employees were on such a tight schedule and the fact that they still delivered such amazing fight scenes despite the terrible treatment deserves respect. Also, where is Bleach in this nomination?! You cannot tell me that they couldn’t nominate it since Disney owns it considering that there were actually some categories where Bleach was still nominated for some reason!

Best Character Design went to Jujutsu Kaisen… How??? How did school uniforms win against the character designs of Hell’s Paradise, Oshi No Ko and Demon Slayer? Is it just Gojo that carried this category?? Am I the blind one for not loving him as much as other fans do??

Best Direction went to Jujutsu Kaisen.

Best Camera Work went to Jujutsu Kaisen.

Best Art Direction went to Demon Slayer.

Best romance was won by Horimiya: The missing Pieces. I’m not sure if that’s true but isn’t this series basically some sort of flashback where the characters look back on their school time. I’m pretty sure My Happy Marriage, Insomniacs after School or Skip and Loafer can beat what, if my memory is correct, is basically a series that shows all the scenes they couldn’t feature in the first season.

Best Comedy was won by Spy x Family and my friend was quite upset by that since she is a big Bocchi The Rock fan but I haven’t watched any of those shows.

Best Action was won by Jujutsu Kaisen. Considering that only the first arc of the series was nominated, I do not agree with this win. If Shibuya Arc would have also counted, I wouldn’t have complained but as it stands I would have preferred something like One Piece or Bleach to win this award.

Best Fantasy was won by Demon Slayer… Again. Guys, what is this? I love Demon Slayer but you can’t tell me that a show playing in a real historical period of Japan with the only fantasy element being the demons as well as maybe the Breathing Forms is a better fantasy show than Mushoku Tensei or The Ancient Magus’s Bride.

Best Drama was won by Attack on Titan The Final Season Chapter 1. What does that mean? Will the second chapter be nominated again then next year?! Oh, come on. How did an incomplete season win Best Drama against Mister I have no enemies?! Vinland Saga should have won that category.

Best Slice of Life went to Bocchi the Rock and since my friend was happy, I was happy too.

Best Main character was won by Luffy. I guess I can live with that. I’m actually surprised that they didn’t nominate Gojo in here but since the whole award show was basically sucking Jujutsu Kaisen off, I am happy to have a few categories where I am not haunted by Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. I am just more biased towards Thorfinn in this category since his character development was amazing. If they really only counted the First Chapter of Attack on Titan in these Awards, I am not sure about putting Eren as a contender in this category since he had barely any screen time.

How are you going to take Jujutsu Kaisen’s Hidden Inventory Arc for the 2024 Crunchyroll Awards and then nominate Gojo as a side character?!?! He was the bloody main character in that arc since it was his past!! And then Gojo also wins this category where he absolutely doesn’t belong!!! The same counts for Suguru!! How can you nominate two guys from Jujutsu Kaisen who were on top of that main characters in this short arc?! Why not nominate someone from another Anime instead?! What about Bungo Stray Dogs?! What about Hell’s Paradise?! What about literally every other Anime that aired this year with an actual side character?! Why did Gojo win?!

I don’t care about the Must Protect At all Costs award going to Anya Forger. It’s just a weird award in my opinion.

Best Anime Song going to Idol from Yoasobi was no surprise and was deserved for the sheer impact it had not only on the Anime community but also the international success it earned.

Best Soundtrack going to Attack on Titan is no surprise. Hiroyuki Sawano, if you worked there again I will accept it.

Best Opening and Ending go to no one’s surprise to Jujutsu Kaisen and at this point I have no energy left anymore to be angry. Congratulations…not.

Best Japanese VA performance goes to Yuichi Nakamura for voicing Gojo Satoru… Why is Eren here again? That dude barely spoke any lines in the first half of the Final Chapters. There are a ton of other Japanese Va’s that not only spoke more than Eren but were also far better. Whilst I am not really suited for picking any since I don’t watch seasonal Anime, I think Uemura Yuuto for his performance as Thorfinn or Miyano Mamoru in his role as Dazai were far more deserving of a spot in here. Yuki Kaji, I really love you but you shouldn’t have been nominated in here for your performance as Eren in here due to the lack of a performance.

[animentality]

I started playing as a Tav and switched to Durge before I even finished the game bc the story felt… incomplete? Shallow? Like, every companion is intricately tied to the story and has good reasons for being there! Every companion feels like they could be the main character! Except Tav, who is a total nobody blank slate who comes in and saves the day because they’re supposed to be a stand in for your D&D blorbo.

But Durge feels like they belong in the story in a way Tav doesn’t. Durge feels like the actual main character of the game, meant to lead the other companions. Whereas Tav felt like a stray dog they picked up on the side of the road for all they bring to the game.

The ONLY reasons I could justify someone picking Tav over Durge is if they legitimately cannot handle gore, like it’s a trigger, in which case fair enough I guess. Or they wanna project their D&D oc’s background onto Tav, in which case they’re definitely playing manic pixie dream girl and should admit that with their whole chest.

I don't actually care that much how others play the game, I just resent the way the Dark Urge and ALL the origins get cucked out of meaningful development because of the game's slavish devotion to catering to player interests.

The game is entirely dedicated to your customizable character, but you can't write a real story when you DON'T KNOW what a person might choose to do, and instead of focusing on one or two meaningful developments, they instead split into 1000 different small, useless dialogue changes to account for a fucking rock you tripped on in act 1 that has to be referenced all the way to act 3.

I have played the game far more than most people, backwards and forwards, and I can see this issue.

Others can't, because they played the game once, were satisfied, and then dropped it.

All it takes is a couple of playthroughs to see the holes and tears in the story, which were unavoidable, because they stretched out the story too far, until it was close to tearing apart.

So. I don't necessarily care how you want to play the game. I just resent the game, for how it churlishly throws situations at you to react to, rather than having an organic story that, in exchange for removing SOME of your freedom, actually unfolds and tells itself.

[mosswolf]

reading summary - march

vespertine, by margaret rogerson: i really enjoyed this one, YA but no romance, about a horrible fucked up little death nun who gets possessed by a bitchy ghost and becomes a joan of arc figure in a fantasy french setting. whats not to like really

river of teeth, by sarah gailey: this one's like alternate history lousiana, usa, with hippo cowboys. the concept fucks, but i was definitely hoping for more mystery than this novella had, possibly due to it being a novella? but if you like fantasy cowboys u gotta check this one out

sword, stone, table: old legends, new voices, edited by jenn northington and swapna krishna: LOVED this anthology, lots of really interesting retellings of arthuriana. my favourite was flat white by jessica plummer which is about elaine who works at a coffeeshop and gets tangled up with regular customers lancelot/arthur/guinevere in a messy codependant poly situation and i genuinely think about it such a lot. really really well written,,,

lorehaven bound by joy demorra: love ursula cant wait to see more ursula!!

the starfang trilogy by joy chng: hugely let down by these. theyre about werewolf clans in space which sounds great but they were super nothingy when it came to the main plot, had a really random cousin incest thing and a really weird attitude towards drug addiction? finished the trilogy because theyre all really short and feel super incomplete alone, but man. what a disappointment

clockwork boys & the wonder engine by t kingfisher: these were really fun, you can definitely tell that theyre earlier books than the saint of steel series but still lots to enjoy. the end of wonder engine had me screeching

swordheart by t kingfisher: wasnt as immediately engaged with this one because theres no paladins..... but i listened to this audiobook on a long coach ride basically all in one go and it was extremely solid in a very familiar and comforting way.

guides for dating vampires 0.5, 1, 1.1, 1.2, by d.n bryn: predictable in a very soothing way, loved vincent as a character

the dawnhounds, sascha stronach: very discworldy, but if discworld was biopunk and way more specifically about autonomy. i was also hoping for more of a mystery or central plot from this one, it felt quite scattered, but the concepts were super cool.

atomic awakening by james mahaffey: read this for uni, and it SUCKED. i always forget that people think that nuclear weapons are cool and that the usa is good. why.

gathering moss: a natural and cultural history of mosses by robin wall kimmerer: this was really interesting, and robin wall kimmerer reads her own audiobooks and her reading is super relaxing to listen to as well

consort of fire by kit rocha: this was about dragons and magic and poly romance and stuff but i dont know, i didnt really like it. just didnt really ever grab me despite the subject theoretically being exactly my thing

dirty strays 1 & 2 by riley nash: okay i picked these up because the description starts like this "We’re lost boys, wild and forgotten. Born into a world of poverty and crime, my two best friends and I have nothing to rely on except each other. But I have a plan: if I can film viral BDSM porn" and it carries on but THAT WAS SO HILARIOUS TO MEEEE LIKE BRO REALLY WENT THERE INSTANTLY. DIDNT CONSIDER ANYTHING ELSE FIRST. but yes theyre EXTREMELY horny and also i really liked them especially the first one. a fucked up family of fucked up people, semi verbal mc, they get a dog. really endearing in a strange kind of way

how to do nothing by jenny odell: this was okay, nothing lifechanging and i'd read a lot of the books that are quoted already, so i kind of felt i already got the gist

[im-not-a-l0ser]

Here's the beginning of my WIP for this prompt.

@milgram has also written this prompt, which definitely motivated me, since people were actually interested in it-- and you can go read that if you aren't satisfied with my incomplete story-- along with @gomen 's comment. So. Hope you guys enjoy.

Comments, reblogs and any other form of peer pressure on this will be very helpful, so have at it. Even art mayhaps 👀

Max wasn’t a nerd, but he did like Pokemon. Looking at Pokemon shit on TikTok didn’t make him a nerd. 

Everyone liked Pokemon! Everyone grew up with Pokemon and wanted a relationship with their pet like Ash had with Pikachu. And most people liked Pokemon Go, especially Max, since it gave him a nice excuse to not be in the house.

Either way, scrolling through Pokemon stuff and going down a rabbit hole of Pokemon cosplays didn’t make him a nerd. 

The person he was stuck on right now went by the name Rocket or “Rocky”, which he assumed was a reference to their first cosplay: James from Team Rocket. Which was also the first one that Max saw.

The third video on their account was one of him in both a Jesse and a James cosplay, doing the Team Rocket opening. 

(Max might’ve watched that video about seven or eight times, entranced by how amazing the cosplays were)

The most remarkable thing about any of Rocky’s cosplays was the makeup. With white eye-liner making his eyes look bigger and more like an anime character, and contour depeaning their features, and everything accented the colour of his contacts and the shade of his wig. 

Max scrolled through about half their content in two hours, everything ranging from Pokemon to Persona 5 to JuJutsu Kaisen and Bungo Stray Dogs. Max didn’t know what most of those were, but the cosplayer made them look so beautiful and interesting. Despite the fact that Max didn’t know any of the characters, he was always heartbroken through every angst post. 

Ones that really got to him were characters named ‘Atsushi,’ and ‘Akutagawa.’ Admittedly, Akutagawa reminded him of himself, and how much he wanted to please the Dazai that was his father. 

Apparently Rocky liked Dazai, which Max just did not understand; he did not seem like a likeable character. Hell, the character himself did not like himself— from what Max saw, it looked like his whole personality was suicide and killing. 

A video of Rocky dressed like ‘PM Dazai’ essentially flirting with the camera, captioned ‘POV: You’re literally anyone in the Port Mafia,’ made Max blush. He’d never ever admit that, but wow. Who knew a dark wig, brown contacts, a suit, and bandages could be so charming. 

Max liked his ‘Rin Okumura’ cosplay, which looked like he used his natural eyes and hair for. 

Well, not natural hair, but his actual hair. His hair was dyed a dark blue, but Max could tell it wasn’t a wig because of the shaved sides beneath the hair. 

He looked kind of familiar, but he was just… he was kind of just a white guy with blue eyes and short hair. And Max wasn’t great with faces generally, it was probably just another white guy. 

Max laughed loudly when he found Rocky’s Hatsune Miku cosplay, and smiled at the caption that said ‘look… my friends kept harassing me about cosplaying her, and they bought everything for it, so i guess i owed it to them.’

Not that it was the first time seeing Rocky in shorts, but Max did quite like the Hatsune Miku cosplay too. 

Rocky seemed to be most proud of his ‘Sigma’ and ‘Nikolai’ cosplays. Which, when Max looked up pictures of the characters, he decided that yes, Rocky should be proud of them. They were both very personalised, and Rocky did an amazing job of making Nikolai look as deranged as he did in the show— according to a few gifs Max saw. 

Sigma made Max sad, but wow Rocky was so pretty. With shimmery eyeshadow and coloured lashes that matched Sigma’s split hair, and beautiful lavender contacts that exposed just enough of Rocky’s natural blue eyes to compliment them perfectly. 

The first night Max had seen Rocky’s account, he didn’t end up getting to sleep until about 2 am.

From there, he kept up on his account. 

In every video, Rocky was so amazing and beautiful, and Max who wasn’t in any way interested in cosplay and cosplaying but anyone would be able to tell how much passion and dedication was put into every character. 

Just looking at him made him smile. 

He left one comment and a few likes, despite watching dozens of videos. He didn’t want to spam like and get Rocky shadow-banned. 

‘I don’t give a shit about anime, but you look fantastic. Just wow.’

And he finally went to bed.

In the morning, he had a notification; a response from Rocky. 

‘... What? How did you get here??? Wtf??’

Max laughed. 

‘Idk, but I like it here.’

The response came fairly quickly. 

‘Okay I guess?’

___________________

“Hey, so you guys know my online self, Rocky?” Richie asked, stabbing the sub-par cafeteria food with his flimsy plastic fork.

“Sure,” Pete responded. 

“Yeah, still waiting for you to invite me to film with you,” Ruth pouted.

“After you get the headgear off,” Richie dismissed. He swallowed and leaned closer to his friends. “Max Jagerman found my account.”

[emilthe1diot]

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs

Title: Satan's Clause is Coming to Town

Writer: kloudlessky

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52397371/chapters/132550660

Status: Ongoing / Incomplete

Main Characters: Sigma, Dazai

Description: Sigma, the bastard son of a rich family, has never felt love. However, it is the day before 1st December, a very important trip to see his Grandfather, and he needs to present a Fiancé. Not that he has one ready.

It's a good thing that Nikolai is dyslexic though ;)

Or Sigma accidentally summons Satan (otherwise known as Dazai) and makes a deal with him to act as his fake Fiancé until Christmas.