This felt so drunken and painful to read. Beautiful and wonderful.
As I was reading I felt it was maybe less of a "good time" in the way that loner_dog is despite its subject matter, but I actually think that works in Dog Days favor. Everyone is a prisoner to the past here, drowning in meaningless cruelty, misery and every substance they can get their paws on. It feels like the other side of the coin; where Loner_Dog puts you through it and tells you there's still hope and beauty in life, Dog Days is not so "kind" to the reader. It demands you find that same meaning in persisting on your own terms. You're never handed some grand meaning to it all.
But despite the more fatalistic tone, it manages to feel hopeful, in a way that wouldn't hit as hard without being familiar with the figurative despair basement these characters have all either been in, are trying to escape, or are wallowing in.
Loved this one a lot, thank you everyone involved.