THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS!

List of describing exercises to help you improve your descriptions.

As I try to improve my technical writing skills, I've noticed my describing skills are pretty lacking. So, here is a list of description exercises.

Setting Description

Pick a setting and describe it in a way that evokes a positive emotion, then describe the same setting negatively.

Pick a setting and try to describe it by using all of your senses.

Find a setting you've written before and write 500 words of pure description on it.

Describe a tree from the point of view of a character that's feeling a strong emotion, whether they're depressed, frustrated, or excited.

Character Description

Pick one of your characters and write a 500 word description of them.

Write a 500 word description on how your character feels about different people.

Pick 3 different characters and write 200 word descriptions for each of their voices.

Write a 500 word description about how your character looks at different people.

You wait and wait for happiness, and when finally you can't bear it any longer, you rush out of the house, only to hear later that a marvelous happiness arrived the following day at the home you had abandoned, and now it was too late. Sometimes happiness arrives one night too late.

Dazai Osamu, Schoolgirl

that feeling when youve written down 2k+ words and havent even got CLOSE to the main part of the fic yet </3

「Hate You, Love You」 ʙᴜɴɢᴏᴜ sᴛʀᴀʏ ᴅᴏɢs ғᴀɴғɪᴄ

Short rewritten excerpt from Chapter 9:

sᴏᴜᴋᴏᴋᴜ ғʟᴜғғ

~𝙻.𝚁. 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚝

︾︾︾︾

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

"So, where did you go yesterday?" Chuuya asked through crunches as he ate some cereal. He looked up at the brunette across the small table from him, who began to grin. "Dazai?"

"Hehe, don't worry about it." Dazai continued to curl his lips as he took a bite out of a piece of toast.

"That's only making me worry about it more. Please, where were you?" Chuuya whined. He put his spoon down to look at Dazai, now getting concerned as well as annoyed.

"It top secret Chuu-Chuu!" Dazai yelled as he dramatically grabbed the butter knife and held it in the air as if to prove a point.

"Don't call me that and answer my question, jackass."

Dazai dramatically gasped. "My heart! I've been wounded! How could you call me such a foul name!" Dazai grabbed his chest as he flopped back in his chair, and Chuuya did everything he could to keep himself from slamming his own face onto the table and into his food, he had just gotten out of the shower after all.

"Damn it Dazai, just tell me." Chuuya said with a sigh as he rubbed his temples, and wondered how the hell he fell for someone like Dazai.

"Fine fine." Dazai said as he calmly sat back down like a normal person, putting the jam covered toast down on the elegant plate in front of him. "I was doing some research." Chuuya raised a suspicious eyebrow and questioned, "About...?"

Dazai then dramatically threw his arms in the air as if what we was about to say was the best, most revelitional thing ever. "I wanted to find a way to make my Chuu-Chuu happy! And I found it!"

Chuuya sat up straight and looked at Dazai attentively, now more curious and slightly confused than anything. He knew the younger man wouldn't stop with the nickname, and that wasn't the battle he was choosing to fight at this moment. "Go on...." He prompted tentatively.

"One moment!" Dazai sang as he got up and went to the fridge, leaving Chuuya unable to see what he was doing behind the silver insulated refrigerator door, but he didn't take long. As he walked back to the small table, he held whatever he grabbed behind his back, and as his wicked grin grew, so did Chuuya's suspicion. "This!" Dazai said as he slammed the milk carton he was hiding behind his back down on the table. "If my Chibi drink's some of this every day, he'll get taller, and he'll be happier!"

Chuuya's aura grew dark as he slowly stood up, his piercing blue eyes downcast and hidden from sight. His silk purple robe began to float slightly with a scarlet hue as he activated his ability. The spoon in his hand snapped in half with a grudge before it flew towards Dazai with such force, that after Dazai smoothly dodged it, it stuck at least half way into the wall. "You little shit!" The redhead snarled through gritted teeth as he threw the milk at Dazai, and again Dazai dodged and it, making a mess on Chuuya's sparkling kitchen floor.

The brunette began running to avoid Chuuya's wrath, laughing all the while. "Haha, no~ you're the little one! AHH- ANGRY CHIBI!"

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!!" Chuuya screamed full of rage, while arming himself with more food floating behind him like bullets aimed directly at the cackling brunette as he ran around, dodging the oncoming assault of dairy, grain, and produce based bullet hell attacks.

Mistaken again! I thought, for just a moment, I saw my lover’s face- but mischievous, capricious, all the little gods of love.

Yosano Akiko, River of Stars: Selected Poems of Yosano Akiko

Hair all tangled this morning - Shall I smooth it With spring rain Dripping form the jet-black Wings of swallows?

- Yosano Akiko, “Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka from Midaregami”

“When I describe Dazai to the staff, there is a phrase that I always use, “an unworldly being with a mental age of two thousand years.” Dazai has far surpassed the mental dimension that human can reach, thus no-one can even tell if the emotions he shows are the real things or not.

There are rare moments when that Dazai shows his very “human” side. That is when he talks to another superhuman who is on the same level with him. The other is when he talks about his old friend who has passed.

This is the scene when Kyouka wondered “Maybe I’m, after all, just a murderer at heart.” and refused to be saved. And Dazai’s reaction to that. When he said “Don’t give me any of that!” here, he really meant it. That was an outburst from Dazai, as a 22-year-old boy, in this scene.”

(Bungou Stray Dogs Chapter 35 - Easygoingscan’s version)

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TN: I went to the BSD exhibition in Ikebukuro today and they have Asagiri’s comments on each character and their important scene, that I find very nice so I’m gonna find time to translate them little by little.

There’s not a single person back home who reads my works. Or, if they do read them, no doubt they merely focus with a pitying smile on the vile nature of the main character, recounting his flaws to others with exasperated shakes of the head, scornfully deriding me for bringing shame upon our homeland. Once, four years ago, when I briefly met my eldest brother in Tokyo, he told me to stop sending my books to the relatives. ‘Not even I want to read them,’ he said. 'When the relatives read what you write, how do you think they…’ He didn’t finish, but bowed his head, as if the words had caught in his throat, but he’d said enough to make things perfectly clear to me. I didn’t intend to send another one of my books back home as long as I live.

Dazai Osamu, “Thinking of Zenzo” from Self Portraits

Hi everyone! :D After rereading the BSD novels I noticed a rather interesting pattern and came up with a fun idea!

How about a new impossible drinking game? Take a shot every time you notice Asagiri describing Dazai in the edgiest way possible when you're reading the light novels.

Sounds not so bad at first, however... Well, take a look yourself and have fun:

"I look at the young man. He is just staring at the ceiling. No emotions, no intents. Just a flat expression, like one who is just telling his age. I cannot believe my own eyes. I don’t even feel like there is a human there. If it was late night instead of a refreshing early morning, I would think that he was a ghost or a hallucination".

"His eyes remind me of a burnt black cat, his build reminds me of a burnt black cat, his presence reminds me of a burnt black cat. He has a tone that sinks into the abyss of the spirit, and deep, dark eyes that seem to hold the conviction that the sun will never rise again. He is a man of few words. And his voice has the sound of severance that rejects mutual understanding from the very beginning. No one could understand him. No one ever will. And he himself knows that very well. That kind of voice".

"When Dazai finally says so, his eyes look different from those of any human being. And those of any living things. Those are wounds. A pair of open wounds on his face, from which darkness is peeping out".

"Dazai’s face when he says that reminds me of the end of a culvert, or a black wall at the end of the road that leaves you no way to go".

"Dazai looks at me. Those eyes are like the bottomless see at night. Dark, cruel, quiet, endlessly sucking people in and never letting go".

"Dazai looks down at the opponent. Even people who look at the pebbles on the riverbank would show more interest than that".

"Dazai’s gaze towards Hirotsu turns dark instantly, as though representative of the gravity of his next words. If it were any ordinary person being stared at, they would be seized by nightmares for the next few days. Dazai’s eyes foretell the impending blood and violence about to come".

"I look at Dazai. There is something invisible within that can’t be seen with the naked eye, like a breeding ground for spirits that will raze everything to the ground".

"I look at Dazai intently. Although we have known each other for very long, this is the first time Dazai has spoken about himself. One can see something as sharp as a giant fishhook piercing and gnawing into Dazai’s life".

"“No.” I say. “I don’t think so. At the beginning, I thought you and Dazai were very similar, unable to see the value of your life, hoping for death, hence jumping into a world of violence and fighting. But that’s not the case. That guy is just a child who’s too smart. Just a crying child who’s been left alone in the darkness, a world of nothingness far emptier than the world we can see”".

""I know. There's a certain anxiety, anxiety about whether the previous boss's assassination was leaked". Dazai's expression was still unreadable. It was quiet as a freezing lake".

"The boy's gaze quietly penetrated Mori. Like a medical device that looked through the human body".

"The doctor and boy exchanged a silent gaze for a while. The Shinigami and the Devil seemed to glare at each other as the room filled with their spirit. In Mori's head, a word that he didn't know flickered many times and echoed like an alarm".

"The nightmarish thoughts Dazai sometimes showed through his observing eye was like an unprecedented, frozen eagle in the mafia's demonic nest".

"His expression returned to his usual Dazai thing. It was a gray expression that wasn't interested in any concept".

"I’m not a person with an excellent observation skill. But even so, just by looking at those eyes, I understand a few things right away. He probably has killed before. Not one or two digits. Hundreds of people. When you have killed that many people, you will reach the other side of the mentality that ordinary humans can possess, beyond the other shore where neither light nor gravity can reach. The spirit of those who have reached that state will be seen first in their eyes, then in their mouth. Their eyeballs become black holes, and the muscles around their mouth become organs to show the depth of their sin, not their facial expressions".

"I ask again. There is no answer. I don’t even know if he is listening. Because the light in his eyes show no reactions to my question. No matter how cold-hearted a person is, if you look at him in the eyes and throw words at him, you can still see some kind of responses. But this young man does not have any of that. Just black eyes looking at where my figure is".

"There is no heart here. Just a heart-shaped emptiness".

"He doesn’t reply. Those eyes are filled with a quiet emptiness. From that, I assume that he is listening. Because if he is deaf, there should be a reasonable amount of confusion and signs of claiming that he cannot hear".

"I say, my words echoing in the emptiness and dropping into the corner of the room, in the middle of nowhere".

"Dazai is standing in the corridor of the bunker, where it is completely dark. The distance between him and Odasaku is more than ten meters. Because of the darkness and the distance, Odasaku and the other guy cannot see Dazai. In fact, they wouldn’t even notice Dazai if he came within an arm’s reach. That is how much Dazai has melt into a dense shadow and become one with the darkness himself".

"Seeing that violence doesn’t even make his eyes move. His eyes are as still as those of a dead man, not showing the slightest flicker of emotion".

"Dazai has become one with the darkness. That is why no one is able to find Dazai".

"There is only darkness. As if no one was there from the beginning. It’s as if darkness has taken the form of Dazai, and has finally turned back to the original darkness and disappeared".

"The voice is intimidating, assertive, and filled with raw danger like a bleeding wound. It is high-pitched as that of a young boy, but it lacks the human-like characteristics a young boy should have".

"The cop can feel cold sweat squirting from his whole body. This young man is not lying. It shows in his eyes. That this young man is only seeing him as a fly in his kitchen".

"The cop’s body trembles in fear. This is the fear of pain, the fear of his imagination. But the most frightening of all is the young man in front of him, the king of the Pain land, the one who creates pains and controls pains".

"When Dazai finally opens his mouth after a long pause, that voice completely lacks emotions. No mockery, no cruelty, not even a carnivorous smile, nothing. A complete hollow".

"“You really don’t listen to others.” There is nothing left in Dazai’s voice, not even the ruthlessness. There is nothing in there. Not even a sign of someone holding a gun, nor talking to a human being".

"Suddenly, I feel like someone who got lost in the freezing cold weather at the top of a mountain, with only his underwear on. Having nothing to cover for myself, nor a way to escape. Far beyond the pale darkness, a mysterious monster is waiting to tear me into pieces".

"That voice had the dignity of a king and the mercy of the devil at the same time".

"When he saw that cold look heavier than a hundred eloquent words, Atsushi tensed his back".

"From the main office you could see the sunset of the city. In the middle of the room, Dazai was sitting alone at the desk with his arms crossed. He had a thin smile on his lips, and in his only visible eye the light darkness of the world".

"Because in the depths of his eyes lay a jet-black darkness deeper than any of the nights found at the disposal site".

"Dazai’s expression didn’t change whatsoever, and he spoke in a gritty voice devoid of any emotions".

"“It’s simple.” Dazai smiled faintly. His voice was low, as if it were the sound of a growl in a nightmare".

"Dazai smiled after he said that. It was like you could hear the sound of his broken soul with that smile".

"Dazai smiled and held out his hand to help me stand up. He saw through everything with the eyes of a sage, seeming to stare at a place that wasn’t anywhere on Earth". 

And etc.

*reads all this through*

*tries to proceed the information properly*

*inhales*

GODDAMIT, ASAGIRI. WE GOT IT.

We kill others to save our own skin - that’s the way of the world, isn’t it?

Dazai Osamu, “Run, Melos!” from Crackling Mountain and Other Stories