#so i blame bsd for this

[always-a-joyful-note]

*listening to the VNC, BSD, and MTP songs on repeat for x days straight*

Me, today: Ah...I've entered That Phase...

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era: the visual novel (a fan project)

On a whim, I've decided to finally just publicly release this project that I've had laying around for two years at this point, for Dazai's birthday today. It was originally made for my very dear friend @letmereachforthestars , when I first introduced her to the series and wanted her to be able to read my favorite BSD light novel in an easier-to-read format. You need a computer to be able to play. The details and links are under the cut:

If you've never played a visual novel before, it's basically a novel in the form of a video game. Text will appear line by line, one a time on the screen, and it will be accompanied by relevant background visuals, music, and sound effects, to make the reading experience more immersive, and more stimulating than just reading from a book. Some visual novels have actual gameplay elements to them, and some are just books and nothing else (oftentimes dating sims/choose-your-own-adventure novels), the latter of which this is. If you've played the mobile game Bungou Tales/Mayoi, the story sections of that game are basically mini visual novels.

This game was made with screenshots and music from the anime, sound effects from the anime and Bungou Tales and free sound effect online sources, as well as graphics and fonts and other assets from Bungou Tales and other official BSD art (particularly the official anime soundtrack cd covers). The script is taken entirely from the official Yen Press translation of Dark Era, with the exception of about two or three iconic lines that I used different translations of because I felt like they had more impact. Additionally, at the very, very end, I added on the original ending scene from the Dark Era stage play and wrote a few fanfic lines of my own to accompany it you can tell because they are very cringe and don't match Asagiri's writing style.

Before playing the game, there are a few very important things to keep in mind; PLEASE read all this:

I am not a professional in the slightest. I took some coding classes in high school, and have some photoshop skills (when it comes to the design elements of the menus), but for the most part the former wasn't much help here; this was my very first time ever using the Renpy engine, and I made this entirely from scratch. I used my knowledge of playing other visual novels to emulate the kinds of effects and timing that is typical for these games, and I think it turned out pretty well all things considered, but it's still very amateur. This is most evident in the sound effects. The sound effects have no volume consistency between them, and some of them, particularly the gun/battle sfx, can come on very suddenly and be loud. I highly, HIGHLY encourage going into the settings and turning down the sound effects volume (the music should be fine), so that you're not startled by certain sounds when they happen, and for a lengthy time. I wouldn't blame you if you decide to turn the sfx off entirely if's too distracting, honestly 🫠 I am no expert in sound files equalizing and making sound files loop seamlessly, so this was by far the most tedious and frustrating part of the process of making this for me. Hopefully it doesn't ruin the game or break immersion too much if you decide to leave them on (I hope you do, for the rain and clock sounds at least, but again I wouldn't blame you if you can't).

Dark Era is the most faithful light novel adaptation in the anime, but there are still a handful of scenes, mostly fight scenes, that got shaved down significantly. Because of this, there are numerous occasions where I had to simply linger on a black screen or the same screenshot for a long period of time, while tons and tons of narration happens, because there's simply nothing I can show to accompany said narration. This is not ideal, but unfortunately I didn't have much else of a choice in those instances, so I hope it's not too distracting. There are also a few instances of straight-up inconsistencies between the novel and the anime (ex. the fight between Oda and Akutagawa happens in the woods in the novel, but in the anime it's still right outside the art museum), so sometimes what you're reading won't quite match the screenshots I use. Fortunately it's never anything major, but it does happen.

There will sometimes be long, unchanging black screens. Don't worry, the game isn't broken; just wait long enough and it will continue.

Sometimes, a character will get cut off when speaking, and when that happens the dialogue will auto-force to the next line. If you didn't get a chance to see what was said before, check the text backlog/history (in the menu or the H key).

Last but not least, this game was made with the default text speed in mind. Meaning, that when it comes to certain specific scenes, the mood/tone of them, made up of the timing of music, transitions, sound effects, etc, all of it was arranged around the speed at which things progress when using the default text speed. I completely understand if you can't, but if at all possible, please try not to change the text to go too much faster or slower, especially faster, because certain scenes will lose a lot of impact otherwise. If you already know Dark Era, you probably have an idea of some of the scenes I'm referring to. At the very least, during the more high-stakes/intense scenes, please try to play through those all at once without stopping, for the greatest impact based on how I designed the game, and only pause/quit during the slower scenes. There are specific moments that I'm really proud of how they came out, and I'd like for them to have the maximum impact that I intended :') (also note that if you make the text appear instantly, the cut-off dialogue mentioned above simply will not appear at all, and you won't even know to look back for them, so please refrain from making the text instant at the very least)

Ignore the cringe sappy final message

...I think that's everything. With all that out of the way, here are the links for both PC and Mac:

Download the PC version

Download the Mac version

This was a passion project for me for a good many months back in 2022. It started out just as a gift for my friend, but in the end I was really satisfied with how it turned out, despite how tedious and frustrating it was to work on. I've been hesitant to share it with the fandom for all this time because I kinda doubt anyone would really be interested in something like this especially since it's not stormbringer or beast, but someone on discord who tried it told me that I should share it, so here it is. I'm sharing it not just because I'm proud of my work, but because Dark Era is a truly amazing light novel — underrated, in my opinion (yes, I said what I said) — and far better than the anime adaptation, as good as that is, and I want more people to read it. If reading the books is hard for you and you've never read Dark Era before, if I can help just one more person to read it with this, I'll be happy, and consider my job done. 💖

I so desperately want to make more of these visual novels for the other light novels, but sadly, some of them simply aren't possible thanks to how many scenes are missing from the anime, like with Entrance Exam in particular. I've also been waiting with vain, thin hope that Bungou Tales will eventually reach seasons 3 and 4, so I can use their Fifteen and Untold Origins title screens like I did here, if those ever exist. However, I'm also held back thinking about certain scenes that would require some redrawing/drawing additional details to match what's written in the novels. If anyone has any ideas on things I could do to possibly get around these issues, or just thoughts in general about how the other light novels might be tackled, or if you're an artist who can recreate the anime's style and takes commissions/knows someone who does, I'd absolutely love to hear from you! As well as any advice/help on how I can smooth out/improve this project here!

Anyway, sorry for the long wall of text. Thank you for reading all this, if you did, and if you do try the game, please let me know your thoughts; I crave any and all feedback. 💙✨

[naetles]

[winewinebloodwine]

Pourquoi esque jai besion de vivre ici- dans cette vie qui est tout plein des chose mal et unjusté, mais ci j'alle ja passe le chance, le plus petit que c'ai mainterna, du vue mon amour, mon coeur, ma raison de vivre, encode just une fois.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Can the author maybe please stop doing this before I completely lose my sanity

[amo-bsd]

[unicornpopcorn14]

Something that lowkey bothered me when I reread Stormbringer was Lippman's introduction.

Asagiri was clearly setting up something with this, and I don't know if I've overlooked something or missed it, but as far as we can tell, nothing catastrophic regarding Lippman was ever mentioned after his death.

And it might be that, a few days after that, the whole Guivre fiasco happened that made the media outlets focus on bigger things, but idk.

It would've been interesting to see the uproar Lippman's death actively caused, how the media would have tied him to the mafia, and the public's opinion about it. Or Verlaine being held accountable after being defeated bcs of it. Or how the European division, the one that Verlaine used to work at, would handle being exposed or outed amongst the other messes that occurred.

Or, more interestingly, having Verlaine spare killing Lippman in opposition to the others because he's aware of this very threat. :)

[sherxplained]

So, long awaited Fyodor's backstory.... Asagiri dropped the bomb on us just like that, huh?

First of all, he looks so fine. And we established he has a thing for being underground and chained up, et cetera.

For all we knew, he could be the very first ability user ever, or if he even the one who's created these abilities in the first place. Hence, his obsession and all these talk about "God, Men, and Devil" and why he's also there in alternate universe.

His existence is a crime and his punishment is to always continued existing.

I do hope he won't be the classic case of "I'm immortal and I want to end it all" and that only can be achieved in a world without ability.

Or, he simply misleading Sigma and in extensions, Dazai and Agency (unlikely though)

[vypridae]

i can never figure out the "who fell first, who fell harder" question for suegiku. all of it makes sense at once and i can't explain why.

for one, tecchou falling first just sort of works. he realizes far too late into their partnership that he's got feelings, and he knows there's no way jouno would reciprocate. jouno hates his guts, and he knows that, so he does some things that may show how much he cares (holding his breath when he's breathing too loud) but still does all of the other stuff he's always done that may get on his nerves (same color food combos, working out during meetings...) in hopes that maybe jouno will fall for him, and not some made-up version he created just for jouno.

then again, jouno could have also fallen first. he falls for tecchou, and denies it entirely, assuming that he knows tecchou would never fall for someone like him. he hides his feelings, even tries to push tecchou away, just because he knows--or thinks he knows--that tecchou wouldn't reciprocate.

tecchou falling harder would also just fit so well. he falls so hard, he doesn't even realize how much he cares until he loses jouno. until he has to put him above justice--his ideals--because he's gone. he needs to find him, and he knows he does, but he can't figure out why he cares so goddamn much.

jouno, on the other hand, would realize how hard he's fallen for tecchou. he'd grow used to tecchou's antics, to the point where there's an off feeling if he does something different, to the point he almost misses the bickering. he'd feel it, how much he knows he loves him, but it'd only be after something happens to him. he'd only realize just how much he cares when tecchou is in danger. when he might never see him again.

what do y'all think?

[uzi-x33]

atsushi is actually going to experience so much ptsd from this point on in the manga omg. why is bsd getting the jjk treatment wtf💀 like, was this here not a ptsd attack?

[ladyvenusss]

I want this plushie so badd😭

(MIGHT make a Nikolai/Fyodor version soon)

[frankenjoly]

kunichuu + “what did you just say” for the ask game

“Wait.” Chûya blinked, staring right at him in more than evident confusion as well as surprise. “What did you just say?”

And Kunikida? Kunikida quickly started wishing for the ground to swallow him. 

“Uh. Thanks, man?” He instantly replied, tried to save himself from the upcoming embarrassment and both of them from what would undoubtedly become a very awkward moment. “Y’know, for taking care of Kenji-kun.”

“I think you got it wrong, Kunikida-san. You just said: thanks, babe.” Kenji corrected, with an expression which perfectly mirrored Chûya’s. He couldn’t be mad at him for the way he had just dynamited his attempt at a save, though; there was no way the kid was doing that on purpose, but genuinely thought he had just mistaken his own words instead. Plus, Chûya may have picked it up already, and merely asked as a way to either process or look for confirmation.

“That’s what I thought I’d heard.” The redhead grinned, and if there hadn’t been a smidge of fondness alongside the obvious amusement, Kunikida might as well have exploded by sheer power of shame.

“I– well, I dunno why I–” Since denying it was out of the question now, explaining himself and apologizing was the most obvious (and better) course of action, except words escaped him. That added to how his cheeks were starting to light up… fuck, he surely looked like an idiot right then.

“Ah, no worries. For anythin’, really. It’s my pleasure, hun.”

A giggle of relief escaped Kunikida’s lips before he was able to contain it, and despite his face only getting redder, he was visibly relaxing at least.

(Also on ao3.)

[etrevil]

That smile is the reason you're behind bars Dazai

[orangewsunglasses]

uhhh take a chuuya

started this on his birthday but guess what!!! im lazy

also ik it's really hard to see here but i'm joining the heterochromia chuuya bandwagon

[nyquilfishtank]

listen. i know it's unrealistic, but part of me wants to see gin get ryunosukes coat,

[verlaines-corner-archive]

"𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭?"

☆ Ft. Paul Verlaine

☆  Verlaine immediately has a frown on his face when he hears you ask this, eyebrows scrunched together as he turns to look at you. He’s shocked that someone as wonderful as yourself could think such a thing. How could he ever grow tired of you, how have you not grown tired of him? This is the only thing crossing his mind at first.

☆  And it leads to an anger of sorts, because in his mind it almost feels like you’re making a mockery of what he feels, selfish as that may be. You’re not inhuman, you’re not unlovable or wretched, so how could you possibly understand what it’s like to feel like a burden, to fear having someone cast you aside? It’s unfathomable to him, but he doesn’t vocalise any of those thoughts. 

☆  Especially when he sees the forlorn look on your face, when he notices the way you seem to curl in on yourself, almost as if you’re scared of what he’ll say. It hits him that what he’s seeing is the truth, that there is no ulterior motive to your question, no sense of mockery; just you and him and that feeling of being ever so discardable. 

☆  And it scares Verlaine, leaves him uneasy to his very core because he just feels so… helpless. Made worse by the fact that a part of him is certain that he’s the reason that you’re feeling like this, that it’s nothing more than a mere byproduct of knowing him.

☆ Yet despite that there’s another part of Verlaine that almost wants to say that yes, he’s bored of you, to take this chance as a way to free you of himself and how he taints you, ruins you with every moment spent in his presence. But the thought dies as soon as it’s born, and with an uncharacteristically shaky sigh and a sense of understanding only he could possess, Verlaine tries his best to comfort you.

“Oh, mon ange,” Paul’s voice is gentle and kind as he speaks, and yet in it’s tone there is something you could almost consider to be accusatory, an offence just as subtle as the sharpness in his honeyed eyes, “I understand how you feel, more than you could ever know.”

And then there’s a sigh, something sad and quiet, before you see his shoulders slump and a hand goes to ruffle through his hair. His usual bravado is lost as he gets to his feet, replaced with - as he walks over to you - an almost uncharacteristic bout of unease, hands coming to rest on your shoulders before squeezing lightly. 

“Do you really think so low of yourself as to believe that I could just throw you away?” There’s a distant look on his face, as if he’s remembering something from long ago. You’re given no chance to think about it however, not with Paul’s arms pulling you close to his chest, head coming to rest in the crook of your neck.

“Mon âme, je t'aime plus que tout au monde.”