#there's a reason menthols came out in the 1920s | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kaurwreck · 5 months ago

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okay, but irl Ryuunosuke Akutagawa was also chronically ill and smoked. like, I hear you, but Ryuunosuke diagnosed-with-dry-pleurisy-which-refers-to-inflammation-of-the-lining-of-your-lungs-that-causes-sharp-chest-pains-known-to-become-worse-when-you-breathe-or-cough Akutagawa loved filterless Golden Bat and Shikishima cigarettes to excess.

it is innately human to indulge at our own expense sometimes (or nearly all of the time). then again, in his own words—

He put a cigarette in his mouth and was striking a match when he collapsed face-down on his desk and died. It was a truly disappointing way to die. Fortunately, however, society rarely offers critical comment regarding the way a person dies. The way a person lives is what evokes criticism.

Horse Legs, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke (tl: Jay Rubin)

It’s so funny when people draw aku smoking like guys, please, he’s literally dying

#akutagawa ryuunosuke #bsd #bsd akutagawa #bungou stray dogs #bsd meta #tbh i think it's a net positive when the fandom blurs the lines between the characters and irl authors #it shows a level of engagement #but even if that's not what's happening here #i am chronically ill and ive loved many chronically ill folks #some of whom were terminally ill #and ive noticed that when your time is already short #you dont always have enough to spare best practices #idk i used to hate the smell of filterless cigarettes and now they make me think of chuuya and dazai and akutagawa #and so maybe im too soft on those depictions #but i dont think lung disease is enough to stop him from smoking a cigarette #as it did not stop his irl namesake from smoking multiple packs a day #nor do i think he would shame smokers as the notes suggest #he's not exactly someone i'd accuse of being didactic #also to preempt someone missing the point #im not saying irl akutagawa would have known about all of the health risks associated with smoking #but you do not need to have read the medical studies that were then beginning to come out albeit while being suppressed #to cough when inhaling smoke #there's a reason menthols came out in the 1920s #but golden bat was loooow grade tobacco #that shit was a absolutely noticably irritating his lungs #idk why im acting like someone's going to defend irl akutagawa's addiction with the reality of manipulative tobacco company practices #when the notes are acting as if smoking is a moral choice and not an addiction pushed on the public for over 100 years #but i can dream

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