#I did post about this on Reddit a while ago before I left Reddit

[01zfan]

bad friend: bestfriend’s sister

brothers bestfriend!sungchan x reader | 5.3k words

well...you guys know i couldn't end it without sungchan getting his lick back.

contains: eunseok and sungchan are in a war that hasn't been vocally waged, sungchan is kind of a manipulator, reader is semi-innocent, some sort of tension between sungchan and eunseok that neither of them acknowledge

bad friend: AITA

Sungchan was disappointed that it took him so long to figure out what to do. After he read Eunseok’s Reddit post he had to think, picking at the peeling skin of the vinyl seat he was in. 

He sat in the seat of the cafe closer to their apartment basking in rage while his bestfriend was unaffected. Eunseok barely looked up from his laptop, Sungchan imagined his friend was editing the post as he sat right across from him. He could see Eunseok mouthing words, repeating phrases back to himself before he could hear backspacing on his computer and some more typing. Sungchan felt his friend’s eyes occasionally lift to look at him, and when he would catch his eyes Eunseok would snap right back to his screen.

Sungchan could feel the atmosphere around them change, until Eunseok couldn’t bare it anymore and closed his laptop. Sungchan stared at the logo of Eunseok's laptop, thinking about the post that his friend was working on only moments ago.

“Are you ready to go back to the apartment?”

Eunseok hesitated with each movement. Sungchan was unbothered, stretching his back and arms until they rested on the vinyl seats again.

He couldn't lie and say he didn't enjoy seeing Eunseok uneasy from the tension. Asking about something as trivial as food left in their shared fridge made Eunseok finally drop that nonchalant act. The facade fell to show what Eunseok truly was, remorseful even if he tried to hide it and thinking about what he did to his alleged roommate and bestfriend.

Sungchan enjoyed seeing Eunseok uncomfortable, he hoped that it was guilt. Eunseok was so used to being the diplomat he didn’t know what to do when he was the one waging a war. Sungchan recalled the times Eunseok's easygoing attitude got him out of trouble while growing up. Eunseok asking Sungchan is it worth it? when he was about to lose his cool or telling him to calm down in that annoying monotone voice.

Sungchan could tell his friend didn’t know how to face a problem he created. Sungchan was sure the comments on whatever he was going to post would be telling him that he wasn’t the asshole. That's what losers on the Internet did. They convened in the dark corners, circle jerking and letting eachother know that even at their lowest they're justified. There would be someone like Sungchan, well adjusted and socialized telling him he should come clean. That he should tell Sungchan that he slept with his girlfriend. Sungchan even gave him the perfect segue into the conversation. All he had to do was come clean about the leftover food in the fridge. Sungchan would even let Eunseok lie, he could tell Sungchan that you came onto him, and he couldn't deny you. He could spare Sungchan the details because he read them already, he could just say that he wanted you to feel better.

Sungchan looked from the barista behind the counter back to Eunseok. He was taking too long to slip his laptop into the secure place in his backpack.

“My sister is coming over later today, by the way.” Eunseok was still looking into his backpack, speaking to it quietly. “Some mail still ends up going to my parents house for some reason. So she’s bringing it to me. She might bring some food too.” He added.

Food was always the olive branch extended between the two of them. When Sungchan was invited to that birthday party in elementary school and Eunseok wasn't he brought him vegetable dumplings from the convenience store. When Eunseok beat Sungchan at the schools spelling bee they ate samgyeopsal until Sungchan thought his stomach would explode. Food was always how they silently told eachother the other went too far without directly saying it, and each time it worked. The resentment that built up over the twenty years of friendship was in no way related to the fact they never actually talked about their problems. That was something that couldn't be explained, or maybe Eunseok could ask a fucking sub-reddit about it.

But what was important was that Eunseok was offering another olive branch. Although Eunseok nodded his head, Sungchan barely listened to the rest of Eunseok’s mumble, they were going to be even. Eunseok was talking about the mail that ended up at his parents house, or something about the coffee here, but Sungchan couldn't be bothered. Revenge walked into his lap, mentioned candidly while Eunseok tried hard to push past the uneasy feeling in his heart.

When Eunseok finally looked up from his backpack to look at Sungchan, he had already honed his emotions and changed the expression on his face to something neutral.

“I didn’t know your sister was coming over.” Sungchan tried remembering what you were doing with your life now. Your brother rarely mentioned you for some reason. You were just a contact on Eunseok’s phone that would call when you had a question about your computer and an old contact photo in his family’s groupchat. “Is she back in town?” He asked.

After Sungchan asked his question Eunseok had the nerve to side eye him from his backpack. As if Eunseok wasn’t the one who fucked his bestfriends girlfriend then was going on the Internet to garner sympathy. He looked at Sungchan like he was the crazy one for asking about your life.

“Only for a month or so." Eunseok stood up from his recliner and Sungchan followed suit. "She's staying in town for a friend's wedding or something.”

Sungchan could tell that Eunseok really wanted to repeat what he told him all those years ago. Back when the three of you became young adults and Sungchan stopped looking at you like you were Eunseok’s little sister.

Eunseok caught on fast, but you were more like Sungchan when it came to hiding things. All cards were on the table, you couldn’t hide your adoration for your older brother's bestfriend.

In the beginning Eunseok and Sungchan just chalked it up to you wanting to know how boys had fun. When he would complain about you suddenly taking an interest in video games or action figures your mother always told Eunseok to let you play. When he was still young and hardheaded he would protest, saying you were a girl and his sister and he didn't want to play with you. But when you wouldn't budge and neither were his parents, Eunseok was forced to become indifferent.

He had to be indifferent about your presence because his parents would always take your side. Sometime during that, Eunseok became indifferent to you as a whole. He never wanted the responsibilities of an older brother so he nevver doted on you or was protective.

Sungchan noticed that you two never became close. Even when you got older and started to become your own person, Eunseok was unconcerned with what was going on in your life. Sungchan watched you both separately behave like only children, living under the same roof but never having conversations that went beyond telling the other that dinner was ready. 

Eunseok would never admit that you were closer to Sungchan than you were to him, that you favored being around him. There are pictures of you hanging on the wall at Eunseok's parents' place. An old digital picture at Sungchan and Eunseok's soccer game, clinging to Sungchan instead of your brother. You were barely to his waist then, but your smile was bigger than the two of there's put together. You held onto him so tight it wrinkled his jersey. When you would call for your older brother it used to be in reference to Sungchan, when you wanted comfort you used to run past Eunseok right into Sungchan's arms. You used to complain about Sungchan having to go to his own house instead of spending another night at your place.

When the looks you started giving him became more obvious and turned to something different. Overnight you started hanging on every word Sungchan would say, batting your eyelashes and looking up at him. Eunseok and Sungchan still hung around after they graduated highschool and you were nearly done yourself. During that gap year you seemed to always be home, seniors in highschool always seemed to be everywhere else but school.

Eunseok was casual about it, he always was. He would only look between you and Sungchan's exchanges, nothing more than a scratch at the top of his head and everything else was forgotten. Sungchan knew that being an older brother was never something Eunseok strived to excel at, he remembered the casual confession from his friend that he never asked for a younger sibling. Eunseok described your existence as something that just happened one day, his parents went to the hospital and he was watched by his grandparents all day. Sungchan could even recall the day sometimes, how he was buzzing with excitement at the thought of seeing a baby while his friend only shrugged his shoulders.

Eunseok was convinced that he had to still remain indifferent to you. But Sungchan could tell that it upset him to no end that he was bested at another thing. Even if something was irking Eunseok so deeply about whatever was blossoming he refused to let it show. The idea of Eunseok truly not caring upset Sungchan even more. He was too stoic.

Eunseok’s calm demeanor regarding you pissed Sungchan off. If he had a sister and he caught wind of mutual attraction he would’ve forbid Eunseok from coming over before it ever turned into whatever your stares at him had become. But Eunseok was a sleazy older brother, nonchalant and more concerned with video games and anime than being protective of you. Then Eunseok went as far to accuse Sungchan of liking you because he cared more about where you were going dressed the way you were. Sungchan was the one asking if you needed to be picked up later, if your parents knew what you were doing. Eunseok would only ask more questions to follow his friends lead, side-eyeing your conversation he was pushed out of. Eunseok would have to clear his throat to get the focus back on him, and then he would finally try being an older brother. But it was obvious he was only doing it for show.

He thinks to this day Eunseok never truly cared about protecting you when he gave Sungchan the rule, he just wanted to stand between another thing Sungchan was good at.

Eunseok was casual about it, paying more attention to the game than Sungchan. Sungchan stopped playing entirely, he could feel the controller vibrate in his hand with each hit he was taking. Eunseok didn’t look towards him once. He bit his lip in concentration from pressing the buttons at the right time, leaning back like the game was fair as Sungchan lost. Eunseok watched his character rip out the spine of Sungchan’s character in a gruesome way while the announcer called out the fatality. 

You had to have picked up on the rule. The dynamic between Sungchan and Eunseok changed that night and Sungchan knew you noticed, He gave you more credit than Eunseok ever did, even if you conflated things and blew them out of proportion. You thought that it was funny to call them boyfriends, and you said they were always in competition with eachother. Your commentary on their relationship was one of the things that pushed Eunseok to get his own place, because he couldn’t get rid of you but to his dismay he couldn’t get rid of Sungchan either. So that night only after Eunseok won a game over Sungchan, he told him two things.

He was getting his own apartment but he needed a roommate.

Sungchan absolutely could not, under any circumstance, fuck his sister. 

When you’d come around looking for Eunseok but find Sungchan you still had that look of adoration in your eyes, but Sungchan had respect for his friend. He avoided you, looked past you, would end up gone each time you came around. He knew you were looking for him, because he wasn’t stupid and you were more like your brother than you would ever know. When you stopped coming around after they moved in together Sungchan knew you knew he was purposefully making himself scarce. He also knew that Eunseok would feign benevolence each time, and would’ve just shrugged his shoulders if you asked where he was. 

Sungchan convinced himself that all was fair in the car ride back to the apartment. Eunseok was the one who waged the war, and the way you always looked at Sungchan was reminiscent of something tender. Maybe not love but blind adoration. A childhood crush that was never requited. Sungchan knew the crush was still fresh for you, because you still asked where he was each time he came around. He knew it still bothered Eunseok because he would always avoid giving you a straight answer. Sungchan would just have to be there to tell you himself.

Sungchan and Eunseok spent another quiet night on separate ends of their couch, watching a television show neither of them liked. The episodes dragged on after they were finished eating. It was obvious both of them were focused on other things. Eunseok’s leg was permanently restless, and Sungchan had his head balanced on his hand while the other picked at the couch. 

Your knock on the door gave Eunseok an excuse to call it a night, he got up too quick and paused the television show too fast. Sungchan lingered on the couch. When Eunseok’s back faced him he fixed his appearance, making sure his shirt fell just right and his hair looked nice, that he wasn’t getting the life drained out of him by boring television and his boring roommate. He made sure the hair you always used to pull at when you were younger looked fluffy, and the shoulders you used to hang off of when Eunseok didn’t want to play with you looked broad.

Instead of going back into his room when Eunseok opened the door for you Sungchan stayed right there, he even leaned forward to come into your line of sight. Sungchan watched you try focusing on your brother before you looked over his shoulder, then he watched Eunseok follow your line of sight until he grabbed the mail from your hands.

“Is that it?” Eunseok spoke loudly but you still didn’t look at him. Watching him try to be a big brother after all this time was amusing. Sungchan hoped he saw the way your eyes still focused on him, how you spoke to Eunseok but stayed looking at Sungchan on the couch. “Mom found some of your clothes laying around and she made me bring that too. She also made me bring food because she knows you guys are eating only eating takeout.”

“She made food for me too?” Sungchan asked.

He got up from the couch, and he watched you two focus on him. You two were too easy to fluster. Eunseok narrowed his eyes and you nodded your head mindlessly.

“Of course, she loves you.” Eunseok turned back towards you, because his mom rarely said something so heartfelt. Like Sungchan hadn’t been there a majority of Eunseok’s childhood to see it first hand, he watched you take your shake your head and quickly motion between him and Eunseok. “She loves you both. She loves you both and the food is in my car.” 

Before Eunseok could reluctantly offer to help you, Sungchan was clearing the apartment and sliding on Eunseok’s crocs. He took his friends small shoes and crammed his feet in them, knowing those were things Eunseok had chided him for in the past. 

Sungchan didn’t close the door in Eunseok’s face. He let him see the way your expression lit up, he let him see the way he looked down at you with a smile. He wanted Eunseok to bask in it, he wanted you to ignore him when he insisted he could help you instead. He let Eunseok’s thoughts ferment in the entryway and wonder what you two were talking about while he scrambled around the apartment for another pair of his shoes. When Eunseok finally made it down the stairs to the parking lot Sungchan let him see the moment you put your number in his phone before realizing he was there, and he let Eunseok see the way you tried to act inconspicuous about the whole thing. 

The following weeks, Sungchan played you and your brother. Eunseok’s guilt made it easy. Eunseok knew that Sungchan was texting you because he didn’t try to hide it. He saw your name pop up on his phone screen, he saw the way you came around everyday. Eunseok suddenly had a million things waiting for him at his parents place, and you were the only one who could bring it by. Eunseok didn’t press the issue further because he didn’t know how to be a good big brother after years of pretending you didn’t exist, and he didn’t know how to be a good friend after fucking Sungchan’s ex. He just watched and waited, question on the tip of his tongue when Sungchan would tell him he would be bringing company over at night.

Eunseok did try to catch him in the act once. In the middle of the night after Eunseok came back from what Sungchan assumed to be another visit to his ex he heard him come through the door. Almost instantly when the front door close Sungchan let himself get louder, letting go of his bitten lip to let the smallest sounds slip through the walls. Sungchan had the biggest room but it was right by the entryway, he could hear Eunseok’s loud steps stop right by his closed door. Sungchan ignored the quiet knocks, instead getting louder and squeezing his hand tighter. 

When Eunseok opened the door, Sungchan jolted in his bed. He pretended like he didn’t hear Eunseok the past week try to subtly drops hints about how he was too loud late at night. He watched his friend’s expression shift from triumph of catching him in the act to pure horror when he realized it was Sungchan in his room by himself.

After Sungchan told him to get out, he had to worry about Eunseok’s presence alot less. Guilt from walking in on his roommate masturbating tacked on with the guilt of fucking his ex-girlfriend made Eunseok disappear all together. He was doing things on his own throughout the day and turned the sound up on his headset late at night. When Sungchan would come out to grab something from the common area Eunseok would duck away no matter what he was doing. Food was left on the table and the fridge was practically left open, the only trace of him being there was the glow from his headset and the sound of his door closing. 

Eunseok unfortunately made himself too hidden. Sungchan realized after the fact that he foolishly pushed his bestfriend past his limit, turning him into a complete hermit. When Sungchan started sneaking you into the apartment Eunseok never got the chance to get a glimpse of you. The first night you were in Sungchan’s room and your body was leaned against his shoulder the only thing Sungchan was paying attention to was the sound of his friend coming out of his room. Both you and Sungchan sat on the edge of his bed facing the door, his fingers deep inside of you. You made him promise to lock the door but you two still managed to end up there, practically on display just waiting for the door to open. The anticipation made it so Sungchan couldn't look away even if he wanted to. He didn’t take his eyes away from the door, he still looked at the handle when he'd turn his head ever so often to plant a distracted kiss on your lips. You were no better, not even paying attention to what was going on beyond the walls of Sungchan's bedroom. You still held your sounds back then, the same way Eunseok always held back his, so worried about your unknowing brother who did not care.

The second time you got too loud. Sungchan was thinking about other things, like what was going on beyond the wall he shared and you were distracting him. You called him by the nickname Eunseok gave him mockingly, telling jinsu to go faster and that you were so close. He had you bent over the dresser that was against their shared wall, and he had to finally clasp a large hand over your mouth. By the end of that night you were sucking on his fingers, and moved to the center of his bed and pushed down to a pathetic position on your stomach. Sungchan had to wrap a hand underneath your waist to keep you up.

Sungchan found out you were weak just like Eunseok too. No endurance, no sports you stayed involved in. There was a pattern between the two of you that was never brought up, where you two started in sports but developed a liking for indoor activities instead. There was a time where Eunseok played sports with Sungchan, then overnight his friend ditched him for anime and video games. You went down the same path, you were just able to cover it up with makeup and making friends. When Eunseok became a recluse you became a social butterfly, a homebody that was ironically out every weekend. Sungchan told himself he could never bring this up because how much you hated being compared to your brother, and Eunseok spent most of his days forgetting he even had a sister.

You were also low maintenance just like your brother. The pretty hair and expensive clothes were just for show. The spoiled princess accusations Eunseok used to say under his breath passing was false. The concept of someone wanting something and vocalizing it was just so foreign to Eunseok he assumed you were rotten. If anything it was Sungchan who was spoiled. You came running with just a text, ditching your friends and any plans just to sneak into his apartment. The only thing you asked was if your brother would be there. That didn’t seem to bother you too much, because Sungchan said maybe and you still were at his door with an overnight bag tucked underneath your arm.

When he opened the door you came right into his arms. Like the day you went without seeing him was a century, you buried your head deep in his chest and breathed him in. You smelled like Eunseok but sweeter, as if he was drowned in rose and vanilla.

“I missed you.” You whispered it when you pressed the side of your face into Sungchan’s chest. Sungchan felt you squeeze him tighter and play with the bottom of his shirt. He hummed and rubbed your back, easing out that tension in your shoulders. 

He didn’t know someone in your family could be so vulnerable. He had known Eunseok for years and there were still walls he didn’t bother to break down anymore. He let his friend be mysterious and he let your parents be passive. You treated Sungchan like a gift because he let you be vulnerable, even if he only responded with i know or it’s okay.

Sungchan almost felt bad for what he was doing. Even in the dark entryway he could see that look in your eye. Always like a lost puppy, seemingly becoming even more innocent in debauched circumstances. Eunseok was going to come home at some point, Sungchan knew that. He knew that you were going to make noise that would bleed through the cracks in his doors and the thin walls. He had to clasp a hand over your mouth anytime he had you like this, or push your face into the mattress until you got the hint. Being vulnerable came with being loud, a bumbling mess with tears welling in your eyes and broken words falling from your lips. You looked like a puppy and you sounded like one too, whimpering and drooling while you wasted all your energy.

But that wasn’t his view just yet. You were kneeling on his bed for him right now, left in your underwear and a camisole as you looked up to him. Sungchan was still fully clothed, looking down at the way your thighs pressed together the more you leaned back to try and settle yourself. He brought his hand up to your face, already knowing you’d eagerly move to put your chin in the palm of his hand.

“You’re too cute.” A pitiful exhale fans his palm. Your eyes manage to get even more watery, almost twinkling as you look up at him. He almost feels bad for what he’s doing. “Do you know how cute you are?” He asks.

You shake your head, and Sungchan is grateful for Eunseok being a terrible brother. Sungchan even feels gratitude in his heart for Eunseok being a terrible friend. If those things hadn’t happened, and Eunseok hadn’t made that post Sungchan would’ve never been here. Caressing your chin, feeling you give all your free will to him. You were malleable, made in Sungchan’s image after a little less than two weeks. His hands crafted you into whatever you were becoming. The power was intoxicating, because even he had no idea what you were molding into. Submissive, eager to please, reaching for something you didn’t know how to handle. 

“Do you think your brother is an asshole?” Sungchan’s hand underneath your chin tilted your head up to him. Your pretty eyebrows knit together in confusion, and Sungchan tried not to laugh at tripping you up. He remained serious, tilting your head even further up. “Do you think he’s a bad person?” He asked.

He gave you the smallest amount of authority when you started messing with his belt. He let his hands fall to his sides and he overcompensated your strength, letting your shaking hands pull his hips towards you. Sungchan sighed at the thought of you being dominant. He knew you didn’t have it in you. Your avoidance of responsibility made Sungchan relinquishing power hard. Even if it was for your benefit, even if it was all a show the second sigh he let out was smug. His hands went to resting at his hips as yours became more hesitant.

You didn’t take well to being in charge. You didn’t take well to questions you didn’t know how to answer. You don’t know your brother, even if you grew up in the same house and had so much in common. Sungchan almost wants to tell you about the Reddit post, to let you know how truly sleazy your older brother is. But if he was honest he’d have to tell you that’s the reason why you two are in this room when there’s only a wall separating you from your brother’s room. Almost immediately your hands started to falter, the thought of disapproval from Sungchan made you fix your gaze on his stomach instead. You pulled his belt tighter instead of pulling it loose. You were more like your brother than either of you would ever know. Sungchan knew your palms were lining with sweat, the same way Eunseok would get whenever he knew he wasn’t doing something perfectly. Your face was hot to the touch, he could feel it when his hand went back to your chin. 

“You’re really too cute.” Sungchan said again.

He notices that you two both have the same habit of denying compliments when you first receive them. Eunseok looks to the side while you slowly shake your head. Sungchan manually nods your head with his fingers holding your chin.

You and Eunseok were meant to be lead by someone like Sungchan. The self-proclaimed brains to his brawn. One couldn’t exist without the other, no matter how miserable the other had become. That’s why Eunseok fucked his ex. That’s why he was about to fuck you. Eunseok would eventually find out about you two, if he didn’t already know he would figure out by the clothes Sungchan would strategically leave laying around in the common area. He could tell you were going to make noise for him tonight. Eunseok was still up around this time, the banging on his wall and the sound of things falling would keep him awake.

Sungchan watches your hands go back to your thighs, resting in a clenched fist. Everything about you was made to please Sungchan. From his favorite color on your underwear to your shirt that was a size to small. You gave him everything, the little bow on your waistband like you were his gift. He should feel terrible for doing this. Breaking the one stipulation his bestfriend gave him. But he waged the war, and this was fair. You didn’t mind, because you started digging your nails into your leg when Sungchan took too long undoing his belt. He kept you waiting, until his pants were at his ankles and you were watching him grab himself over his boxers.

“Turn around for me baby.” He said.

You were better at listening to him than Eunseok. When Eunseok would’ve shaken his head or pretended not to hear him all together you were scurrying to the center of his mattress, turning around and sticking your ass in the air. Sungchan watched you let out out a pensive breath, settling into the arch he showed you the very first night. You were a faster learner than Eunseok too.

Sungchan took off his underwear and touched himself, knowing you wished you were the one doing it. The first night you told Sungchan a million times how much you thought of him, how you waited so long just for the chance to touch him. Sungchan let you remember while he slowly worked his hand up his length, the same way he did when Eunseok caught him all those weeks ago. He put on the condom slowly after he watched your shaky hands pull out the slimy latex. The top of the foil packaging was still between your teeth, only falling out when you let out another labored breath. Your head fell back to the mattress and Sungchan settled behind you, hands gripping your waist tight.

“Be loud tonight, okay?” Sungchan watched you preemptively bite your lip and look towards the shared wall. The occasional thud on the other side could be heard, the dull whirring of Eunseok talking into his microphone came through. Worry crossed your pretty eyes, you wiped your palms on Sungchan's comforter. Sungchan come clower to you, until he felt your frame give slightly underneath his. He focused on your big eyes and he pulled together his most sincere look. “Please? For me?” Sungchan asked.

That’s all it took for you to nod your head. You were easier than Eunseok, that was for certain. He pushed into you with ease because you were made for him, and you groaned loudly solely because he asked. Sungchan made sure you made noise for good reason, until you were rivaling with the creak in his mattress and his headboard bumping into the wall. He hoped that it rocked Eunseok’s computer setup, that his friends could hear it in their voice chat. The thought of it made Sungchan prop a leg up and pull your hips backwards to meet him. The thought made him make sounds of his own, until his throat become dry and his voice become hoarse. He was made for you too it seemed, because you squeezed him tight and your sweaty hand clasped around his perfectly. 

He knew when you were getting close. He knows your brother so by extension he knows you too, and the same time you started forgetting about anyone else in the apartment he finally heard Eunseok’s door open. Sungchan heard the creak in the floorboards and then Eunseok's timid steps outside his door. Eunseok knocked just like he did the first night, and Sungchan wrapped his arms around your chest to bring you up from the bed to pull you against him. He let your sounds come out, the identity of who was crying obvious even to indifferent brothers. Eunseok didn’t knock again, he left the apartment completely and closed the front door so loud pictures on Sungchan’s wall shook. You shook in Sungchan's arms before you melted to his bed.

Sungchan broke the one rule Eunseok set for him. All is fair. Eunseok waged the war and Sungchan would end it. He wouldn't make a Reddit post about it, he would only leave the white sweater Eunseok bought for you on Christmas draped over the couch in their shared common area.

[cresneta]

It's entirely possible that the current arc of the manga is finally going to put a nasty suspicion that I have about Nightfall to rest.

Hard-core Nightfall fans may still want to skip this post if you don't like seeing anything negative said about her. You have been warned!

Also, manga spoilers ahoy!

I've always found it a bit suspicious that there were no female spies left in WISE that could take on the mother role. It always felt like they were targeted deliberately to me.

Now here's the scene that really made me suspicious of Nightfall

Here we see Nightfall considering destroying the lives of the women fawning over Twilight only to restrain herself because it would interfere with Twilight's current mission. If we assume that the lady spies adored Twilight as much as the gentleman spies in the castle episode in the anime it's easy to see Nightfall wanting to get them out of the way. Once the spy sweeps started, it would be pretty easy for her to anonymously tip the SSS about them and let them take out her romantic rivals.

Then there's this exchange between Franky and Fiona

This one is a bit more of a stretch, but Nightfall also briefly considered directly eliminating Yor before deciding to try and make her leave on her own

If we assume that Franky is right and Fiona DID call the SSS on them in order to get their way, then that means that Fiona is no stranger to using the SSS as a means to an end. I've seen it posited that the people that she called on them were fake SSS agents, or possibly just the regular police, but whenever Twilight has done that we've been shown that the SSS agents were fake.

As an aside, I doubt Nightfall will try and call the SSS on Yor as that could potentially put Twilight in danger as well and would likely jeopardize Strix by destroying the Forgers' reputation.

All that being said, it's entirely possible that Wheeler is the reason why the SSS was able to catch so many spies. Perhaps we'll get an exchange between Nightfall and Wheeler in chapter 84 where it's revealed that he has a personal vendetta against young female spies and that he's surprised that he missed Nightfall during the spy sweeps - this would explain why there were no lady spies who could take on the role of mother in the beginning of the series. We could also get nothing about the spy sweeps and thus I'll be left to continue wondering if Nightfall crossed that particular line or not. Just how far is Nightfall willing to go for her mission to be Twilight's wife?!

I just wanted to throw this out there in case it gets debunked soon, haha

[drawing-prompt-s]

Notice:

Hello, as some of you may be coming here with the belief that I am the same admin that runs @/Writing-Prompt-s please know that is incorrect! I am NOT! We share a similar name because he started it years ago, but I have been running it solo for almost 8 years now and have nothing to do with his other blog(s) or whatever it going down. Thank you!

Also I don't scrape(?) my prompts from Reddit or any other site - they're all submitted by other users who follow this blog and I just pick some to post (that's why you can find posts on here where I remind others to send them in). Occasionally I may make my own if I have an idea! But that's a misconception I keep seeing that I wanted to add this about.

Further explanation/information under the cut about who runs this blog:

While the/an admin of Writing-prompt-s did start this blog years ago, he then left it to idle and focused on his original blog. I saw this and reached out, again years ago, asking to run it - to which I was promoted to admin. I have been running Drawing-prompt-s solo for about 7 or 8 years now.

Until yesterday (08.06.24) I had no idea anything was even going on with his blog. I have nothing to do with it, I barely even see anything from it aside from the rare prompt come up on my dash nowadays. I only found out when I went to Q a bunch of posts up and found a slew of hate mail ranging from calling me a zionist, threatening violence, and telling me to kill myself. And one of my followers having sent an anon informing me that one of those posts had incorrectly stated he ran this blog as well - that user has since recognized that this is not the case, and various others have pointed it out.

I had a pinned post about this before and when I left for a few hours and came back it was gone. I am working under the assumption right now this is just the fault of Tumblr, though I am tentative about that. So if you see this posted again that is why, and if you see this exact post made again then just be aware it is becuase I am saving a copy of this message and each time the post is removed I will be reposting it, as i am saving this elsewhere so I do not have to rewrite it each time.

I do not want argument under this - I have caught up on everything going on, I have seen the post saying he runs this one, etc. All I wanted for this blog is to post prompts, share art, and encourage others to follow their passion for creation. And occasionally to drop cute cat pictures of my little gremlins.

To those who have been here for years and know who I am, know I am not that same person, I say thank you for sticking around - and to those correcting the misinformation, thank you again. I appriciate it <3

Yours sincerely,

a very confused chick in her early 20s who had no idea anything was even going down.

-- Prompt Prophet

[babyjinsu]

[r/TrueOffMyChest] i killed my girlfriend with my words.

PAIRING ⟢ eunseok song x fem!reader

GENRE ⟢ reddit au, written, oneshots, nsfw

CW ⟢ suicide, suicidal reader, asshole eunseok, manipulative eunseok

💭 extreme tw!!!

[r/TrueOffMyChest] i killed my girlfriend with my words. posted by u/[deleted] • 3w ago

throwaway account. i just want to let this out.

i met my girlfriend when she was at the lowest point of her life. it was a mess—she was a mess. her mother kicked her out after finding out she’s her father’s guarantor for the money he borrowed from loan sharks. my girlfriend barely made ends meet with her thousands of part-time jobs and was constantly running on empty. she was also juggling between classes, jobs, and taking care of her siblings at her grandmother’s house.

she never asked for help in any way. i always saw her skipping meals, and she wore the same hoodie every day. i wanted to take care of her, and so i did. 

when we got together two years ago, i told her she didn’t have to work anymore. i could take care of her with my allowances from my parents and grandparents, and my savings. i wanted to provide for her and make things easier. she insisted and told me that she didn’t want to rely on anyone—which was understandable. but it’s stupid to not want someone take care of you. financially, specifically. so i reported this to her academic advisor and she was told to stop working (given a warning letter) unless she’d be kicked out. eventually, she had to, not like she had a choice. yeah it's mean but i was doing it for her.

for a while, things were okay. her life did get better and she started smiling even more, looking healthier, and smelled nicer. it was beneficial for me too. she cooked, cleaned, and kept me company since she moved in with me. but things weren’t perfect because her mother was still bothering her—asking for money and threatening that she’ll give my girlfriend’s contact number to the loan sharks. i asked her to block and change her number, and she did.

she just kind of lets me have my way in her life. maybe because of dependency. i mean, i gave her, and her siblings money. she lived under my roof, wore the clothes i bought, she ate meals that i wanted her to cook, and everything. and it's not like she can go out since i'm also the one giving her pocket money. her life practically revolved around me. it felt good.

one night, few months ago, we had an argument. it was so stupid and so so fucking small. i think it started because she’s graduating, and she’s thinking of working under her auntie at a small company and i didn’t allow her. who will i take care of if she starts being independent like before? she snapped and said i was suffocating her, and she felt useless around the house. and she ‘accused’ me of taking care of her so i have control over. i mean yeah, but who told you that? you weren't supposed to know that.

i got angry and told her how much of an ungrateful bitch she’s being. and that i should’ve just let her struggle her way out of her shithole life and work paying off her father’s debt until she’s dead. i think i said more, but i don't remember.

she said something, i forgot, but i remember slapping her. it was so loud it woke our dog. then she went quiet. i didn’t apologise but i probably should’ve. i should’ve told her i didn’t mean to, but if you were there, your pride would stop you too.

anyway, she left right away, slammed the door behind and didn’t come home that night. 

or the next.

it’s been a week after then and she didn’t picked up my calls. i figured she just needed more space or something, so as much as it worried me, i didn’t file a report. i didn’t ask around because if they ask, i’d have to tell them what happened. i didn't want them to know the things i said or the slapping. so i just let it be. 

about 9 days after that, i got the news. she was found three days after the night we fought in a motel room, no signs of struggle, just a handful of sleeping pills. she didn’t leave me a note or anything and she was still wearing the same pyjama from three nights ago.

they classified it as a suicide, it was one. nobody knew what happened, or what drove her to killing herself. nobody knew i was probably the reason—for saying such things and for slapping her. they just talked about how sad it is, being so young and dead, how she must’ve felt so alone. her friends wished me condolences, her mother never came to her funeral that i paid for. that bitch...

i pretended i had nothing to do with her suicide and blamed it on her family. It’s been quite some time after the incident and i still don’t know what to feel. yeah, she’s my girlfriend. ya i love her, still. i feel like it’s my fault but she looked the type to do it either way, without having me to trigger her. so do i feel guilty? i'm not sure. maybe if i think about it for too long.

but deep down i also feel superior because i was the last person she talked to, seen, loved, and had. her life was mine and she belonged to me until the end of her life. she probably cried before swallowing the sleeping pills because i slapped her—or maybe how much she missed me. i don’t know, just assuming.

i don’t think i want to know what i feel but yeah. hope she's in a better place.

Top Comments:

[u/honeypie] what the fuck???

[u/morallygray] op dont even fucking say you love her. you destroyed a girl who was already on her last straw to begin with.

[u/artificialflavouring] has anyone ever told you youre fucked up in the head?

[u/wildefire999] i did some digging and there are thousands of suicide cases since the last few months. i found one of a college girl who died in a rosecreek motel, wearing pajamas as stated in op's post. but since there's no location, no timeline, no details, or anything, i can't confirm anything. [link]

[u/iamellie replying to u/wildefire999] holy shit i know about this case. that girl went to my university. i dont know her personally but ive seen her around campus before. if it's truly her who OP's talking about, i i think i know who is OP.

[u/goldenhour] shouldn't this post be reported? this is an admit-tion to emotional abuse and hidden disappearance?

[u/jjj4000 replying to u/goldenhour] are you new here? you'd be surpise to see the amount of murderers admitting to killing people still active in reddit lol.

💭 yeah................. poor reader

[straightcraig]

Nine Sols headcanons and scenarios.

My first post On tumblr. Joy. I suck at wording stuff so if something is misunderstood i'm sorry.

Headcannons(some of them were also written on Reddit almost half a years ago)

1 Eigong didn't understood that there was an actual hatred between Yi and Goumang. She just though it was a friendly bickering like the one she had before becoming head of tiandao council.

2 Lady Ethereal was a fan of horror genre. Either became a fan after Xiaohe showed her or even before.(That changed after the accident)

3 Yanlao was very good at all types of video games. His favourite were claw machines.

4 Goumang has issues with being left behind. Possibly abandoned by her parents. Which also translates to trust issues.

5 Ji could outdrink everybody.

6 Yi gets good at everything when he's drunk even things that he sucks at like cooking(Yi's diet consists of cup noodles and whatever his sister sends him).

7 Yi is THE densest guy on Penglai. He just doesn't understand romance except few romance novels he read and scientific explanations of it.

8 Fu Die and Kuafu tried playing cupid and help Yi find somone, there was alot of problems with it as most girls were very wary due to his status as a Sol and felt very inadequete or Yi being Yi said something that made other hate him. Lady Ethereal almost strangled him when he made another girl cry. She still picked him up like a toddler and shaked him while screaming at him.

9 Lady Ethereal found Yi endearing like a child pretending to be adult. He also made her realise she likes short people.

10 Jiequan is suprisingly a good motivational speaker.

Scenario 1 "mind to mind" (platonic/romantic?(I don't know how romance works.))

Goumang:Just my s$&@#8 luck to run into you of all people.

Yi:(just minding his own buisness while trying to ignore Goumang, which is hard taking into account she's sitting next to him. Why did he chose to sit next to her again)?

Goumang:What are you doing here?

Yi:Am I forbidden from drinking?

Goumang:Well you definitely don't look like you can. You don't act like it either.

Yi:(ouch an indult that strikes both of my insecurities. As ruthles as ever).

Yi:Listen I came here just to have a nice drink in possible quiet and outside of everyone's consistent nagging. So we can either make this a very s$&#@8 evening for everyone involved or we shut up, have our drinks and leave like nothing happened.(Yi wasn't joking Kuafu and Lady Ethereal already gave him a great headache when they tried to get him to meet with another "candidate" and no he wasn't interested in men Jiequan stop asking).

Goumang:Fine but if you pass out don't expect me to help you get back to dorms. You're on your own.

Yi:You think you can keep up with me?(Yi may not look like it but he did outdrink everybody. Ok, almost everybody, the amount of wine Ji drank is scientifically impossible and yet it happened. How did he drink 2 times the body weight of Kuafu is beyond him but honestly he's to scared to ask).

Goumang:Is that a chalenge, shorty?

Yi:I don't know, do you accept it?(Yi was honestly too tired to even question why did he agree to this. He already got stuck for several days while trying to fix many Bugs and glitches in the new systems. Overworking himself and when he was done the Kuafu asked him nicely to come help with something that something being Kuafu playing matchmaker with him. Kuafu might be one of the only friends he has in the council but sometimes his nagging reminds him too much of a mother hen.

Goumang:You're dead.

Spongebob narrator voice:3 bottles later

Goumang(absolutely wasted):I never envied somone as much as I envy you right now. That's why I hate you!

Yi(Dazed after Goumang rant about how much she hates him for taking away her teacher and a rolemodel she never had as a child):...I never felt like I deserved it.

Goumang:...Hah?

Yi(tipsy):I mean yeah I kinda understand that Eigong is interested in me but I never really felt as if I deserved to be in a council or rather not as fast as I did. Like everyone there feels like an hyperinteligent monster. Kuafu helped recreate entire rhizomantic tower system, a technology that was lost after Lear turned his back on science. We had next to nothing about them in terms of technicalities and we were left with their ruins and he reverse engineered entire thing. Jiequan is heir of the kingdom that sparked entire science revolution during the warring era and despite its falls from grace is still the country where science is most prominent(made it up but if we take into account that transmutation is legal in Jie Kingdom I wouldn't be surprised). Lady Ethereal helps created technology that can make mental images into computer ones many of the modern system run on her research. Fuxi and Nuwa basically financed the entire thing while supporting Feng clan which is quite a feat. Yanlao for as much as I hate him is very knowledgable about history and his collection has a lot of past technologies so at least he's useful. Eigong is the leader of entire council, my teacher and knows about science more then all of us. And as for you...

Goumang:...WELL?!

Yi:Your research into biotechnology did basically feed half the Penglai. And you were here before me. So lucky, you were already here making people life easier with science. While I was making small experiments surrounded by ignorant folk and my first experiment almost killed me. Taken under Eigong wings only becouse I survived.

Goumang:...Now you're just trying to make me feel bad about myself for bashing heads with you.

Yi:I see no point in lying about it. Also we should stop here before you forget how to walk.

Goumang(reaches for the fourth bottles):Is that a chalenge?

Yi:Well you said you won't carry me but I can't exactly carry you either.

Goumang:Hah weakling.

Yi(while taking bottle from her):Lightweight.

Goumang:Well now look at us, talking as if were friends.

Yi:Are we?

Goumang:I don't know you're still an annoying shortstack but at least I know you a little bit more then "mr. Steal your teacher"

Yi:...What does that mean?!

Goumang:Do you not know what is a meme?

Yi:(slightly embarrassed)...No.

Goumang:...huh...(hysterical laughter)

Yi:...Yeah that's enough wine for you today.

Scenario 2 "friendly rivaly"

Context:Its been two weeks since Goumang and Yi's heart to heart, and they haven't argued with eachother. No bickering, not even a verbal jab.

Yi:Huh...maybe Heng was right sometimes being honest can make miracles happen. I jinxed it didn't I.

Ruyi:Master Yi am I interrupting something?

Yi:You didn't Ruyi, what is it?

Ruyi:Eigong wished to meet you here in your lab.

Yi:Why my lab specifically.

Ruyi:she didn't mention a reason just that she wanted to speak with you. From her tone I imagine it to be rather important or maybe very personal.

Yi:...Ok, when?

Ruyi:Right now.

Yi:Wait, she's waiting under our door! Why didn't she knock?

Ruyi:She did. Four times infact. However you weren't reacting my Lord, you were just staring into workshop wall.

Yi(in a whisper):Why do I feel existencial dread, its like that one time my mom called me 3 times and I didn't answer.

Ruyi:...should I let her in my lord?

Yi: ah! Yes yes.

Eigong:Hello Yi.

Yi:Good morning, teacher.

Eigong:Its noon Yi.

Yi:Good afternoon then, what is it you wished to talk about.

Eigong:Lets sit Yi.

Yi:Very well. Abacus prepare tea.

Ruyi:Understood-

Eigong:It won't be necessary. I'm just here to ask Yi a question. ... What happened?

Yi:... Teacher may you elaborate?

Eigong:You haven't bickered with eachother and Im a bit worried for relationship of my Students. So what happened? Did you two fight.

Yi:Are you talking about me and Goumang? Nothing happened we just talked with eachother and came to an understanding.

Eigong:Was there a misunderstanding between you I wasn't aware of?

Yi:...Ok, with all due respect teacher. Relationship between me and Goumang was nonexistent up until two weeks ago.

Eigong:???

Yi:Frankly we hated eachother. Well more like she hated me but I was just adding oil to the fire.

Eigong:But you were bickering like an old married couple.

Yi:Yes we... Hold on did you think our screaming matches were just friendly "bickering".

Eigong:...(Nods).

Yi:...And Kuafu calls me the densest guy on all of Penglai.

Eigong:What Kuafu Has to do with anything?

Yi:Absolutely nothing. Going back to your question teacher all you need to know is that we explained stuff between eachother and we won't bicker as much.

Eigong:I'm unsure if that should calm me down or make me more worried.

Yi:...Anything Else?

Eigong:No this will be all thank you for your time Yi.

Yi:No problem teacher.

[bones4thecats]

Their Aku! S/O Competing in Ragnarok

Characters: Beelzebub, Adamas, and Loki Inspired By: A random video on Youtube A/N: I love Aku. He's literally my favorite character in the whole series. Anyways, enjoy I guess. ⚠️ Spoilers/Trigger Warnings for: Nothing (maybe mentions of fighting... idk) ⚠️ What I based the Reader's design on: Art by pachelbellart on Reddit (Original Post)

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Beelzebub ═════════════════════════════╝

🪰 As a well-known demon lord that once ruled Earth many centuries ago, your power was something that many wanted for themselves

🪰 Beelzebub and you were hailed for your differentiated personalities; you were far more outgoing and outspoken while he was more introverted and quiet

🪰 So, when you were both called upon for Ragnarok, you happily popped out of the shadows and accepted the opportunity to battle a human just so you could embarrass them and remind everyone why you were called the Shogun of Sorrow

🪰 Your husband walked alongside you as you both sat down and watched the many rounds, and while he busied himself with something since he found it boring at first, you smiled and cheered for the Gods as they fought

🪰 As you were called by Zeus for your round, you smiled at your husband and noticed how he put his data-pad down and allowed you to kiss his forehead, and how he wished you luck

🪰 The sound of Heimdall's horn coming through the arena made the many members look up and either shiver with fear or shake with joy as the mention of the fighters

"Introducing the defender of humanity, the Japanese Warrior Prince who once defeated one of the strongest forces of evil the world ever faced, the Samurai, the anti-Shogun of Sorrow, and the one nicknamed by those he defended... Samurai Jack!"

🪰 A human walked into the field and Beelzebub noticed how his kimono flowed in the wind alongside a cherry blossom tree nearby

"And defending the Gods and going against Humanity's rule once again, it is my mass pleasure to welcome the Deliverer of Darkness, the Shogun of Sorrow, the Master of Darkness, and the Dark Lord... Y/N!"

🪰 The sight of a large mass of darkness appearing from above made everyone stare, including Beelzebub. The sloppy-darkness splat down on the ground and began to mold itself into a familiar figure

🪰 Your long flame-like hair and eyebrows were the first thing that everyone took notice of, especially Jack. The way you smiled, holding up a half-oni mask making him grit his teeth lightly

"Samurai fool. I figured I wouldn't see you for quite some time. How fortunate for me that our paths have crossed once again." You laughed.

🪰 Beelzebub smirked as you pulled your mask and put it on before raising your left hand and molding it into claws while your other one revealed a sharp tekko kagi, moving around like the flames you produced naturally

"I shall defeat you once again, Y/N. And protect Humanity the same why I did all those years ago."

"We shall see about that, Jack."

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Adamas ═══════════════════════════════╝

🥀 You guys were one of the most powerful duos when it came to immortal-relationships. From his bloodthirstiness to your manipulative nature, almost all feared you guys

🥀 When he began watching Ragnarok and heard that you were going to be sent in as the newest addition to the Gods' Fighters, since Apollo decided to stand down, saying his beauty was far to important, he was beyond scared

🥀 He already lost two of his brothers, the youngest being the only survivor of the competition, he didn't want to lose his spouse next

🥀 Adamas ran up to you and yelled your name, making you turn around and look at his face, seeing how it contort into a more frustrated expression instead of his usual stoic one

"What were you thinking?! Going into a dangerous event, nonetheless Ragnarok without coming to me first?!"

"I'm sorry, Adamas. But last I knew, you were barely standing up in your new cybernetic body! Besides, I'm not doing this for the bloodshed. I was promised a fight to win no matter what, a fight to revoke the pain that I was dealt all those years ago on Earth."

🥀 He noticed how you bunched your hands into fists as your fanged teeth gritted together in anger, and he knew exactly what you were talking about now

"You're going against the Samurai, aren't you?"

"Correct."

🥀 Instead of getting angrier, Adamas sighed and laid a hand on your shoulder, making you face him with your flaming hair and eyebrows beginning to go down to resemble a calming campfire

🥀 He wished you luck and kissed your nose as you held his hand and kissed his palm in return before melting and moving down the many hallways towards the entrance into the arena for your fight

🥀 Adamas walked back to his stand alongside his brother, Zeus, and nephew, Hermes, and waited as he listened intently to Hermes' predictions for the battle. Thankfully, they were all in your favor

🥀 While Heimdall yelled the introduction of Samurai Jack, he rolled his eyes and began to pat his fingers against the railing in annoyance before yelling for him to hurry up, making the Nordic God jump and quickly say the human's name

🥀 But, when he said your introduction, he just allowed his smile to get larger and more smug as he continued with your many names, and sense of pride of being married to you flowing through his body

"Oh, Samurai Fool. What a funny coincidence to be fighting you today. I was just daydreaming about tearing you apart, maybe now I can make that dream of mine a nightmare for you and the rest of your foolish kind."

"I will not give into your manipulative wording, Y/N."

"We'll see about that, Jackie."

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Loki ═════════════════════════════════╝

🐍 Local psycho couple? Local psycho couple.

🐍 You guys are feared by almost all, the only not fearing you being those of Chief God's ranking or those like Poseidon and Thor. And despite the fact that many others fear you, you always found a way to make them listen to you

🐍 Loki adored your manipulative nature, the way you could make somebody do your bidding easily was something he adored

🐍 But, when you came by and said you were chosen to fight in Ragnarok, he was surprisingly chill with it. He was very confident with your ability to defeat any human that challenged you

🐍 He floated down from his tree and patted the ground next to him, signalling for you to sit down next to him. And instead of turning away like you would for others, you smiled and sat next to him

"Do you know who you're fighting?" He asked, a curios-yet cheery tone coming out of his throat.

"Yep. I'm fighting that Samurai from when I ruled Earth. Y'know, the one with that damn pure blade that could harm me."

"Oh yeah, that thing!"

»–•–«

"Y/N! You're up next to fight!"

🐍 Standing up from your seat, you patted your husband's head as he happily swung side to side while your nails scratched his scalp before you left

🐍 As he sat up to pay more attention, Thor and Odin conversed on how the fight would go, to which Thor praised your skill in mental warfare while Odin just nodded along, his birds voicing their hopes in your win for him

🐍 Loki smiled as Heimdall began his small rant on you, letting your multitude of names coming out of his mouth and into the ears of all there

🐍 The mischievous God began to laugh as you spoke to the Samurai, oh how much he loved you and your spirit~

"Y/N. I shall not allow you to lay harm to another generation of humans."

"Oh, what a brave claim, Samurai." You then yelled in anger, "Fool! Just because you defeated me once while you lived doesn't mean you'll defeat me again after life."

"We shall see."

"Yes, we shall." You laughed.

[mysticstarlightduck]

OC Reddit AITA Tag Game!

Thanks for the tags, @willtheweaver (here), @wyked-ao3 (here) and @the-golden-comet (here)!

So let's go with Deimos Soll from Supernova Initiative!

Deimos Soll

AITA for setting up my siblings and their crew for capture bu our worst enemy in exchange for safety against the warlord hunting me down?

Hi. So, I have been struggling with this for a while, and honestly wasn't sure if I should technically post this but since I've got few people I can vent this to, so I might as well give this a shot.

So, for context, I (26 M), did NOT want to betray my adoptive siblings. It was always us against the world growing up and we have always been all each other has had - well, at least until we had The Big Argument a few years ago and went our separate ways.

It all started to go downhill after that day, now that I'm thinking about it. After I left Jack and Cassie behind to pursue a solo career as a sniper, I ended up joining a Khosmonian war faction - I was very much an idealistic youth who knew little of the world of warfare at the time, but I believed that, by joining the Junction's greatest enemy in the civil war, I would have a chance to fight back against the government that destroyed my life in the past.

I was mistaken. Very much so.

It turns out that, for all the propaganda, the government in the Khosmonian galaxies - and especially the military branch I had joined - was just as corrupt as the Junction. I was quickly disillusioned and planned to desert that cause and go back to my siblings to make amends.

And I didn't even get that chance. I had packed my things and was ready to leave, but the warlord that commanded the faction I had misguidedly tied myself to - a monstrous woman named Eldora Thalax - wasn't about to let me go so easily. Apparently I was her finest sniper, and she didn't want to lose that asset.

Before I knew it, she had her soldiers capture me and bring me to her - she made me a final offer, saying she might forgive my 'treason' if I continued to work for her. I said no, and told her I was going to leave once and for all. She... didn't like that.

Eldora decided that, if I wasn't going to comply willingly, she'd make me do so by force - and so the nightmare began. I was locked in a freezing cell, and every day I was brutally tortured and experimented on - it didn't take long for me to realize what she was doing. Her plan was to break my mind and brainwash me into a living weapon.

I spent 3 years trapped in that living hell, barely holding onto my identity and sanity, until finally - on one extremely lucky day - I managed to escape and steal a spaceship to take me back to my galaxy. But Eldora wasn't going to stop hunting me down: 1. she didn't want to let others think she would simply let a prisoner get away from her, and wanted to make me an example, 2. she still planned to recapture me and brainwash me into her obedient soldier. Even as I went back to the galaxy I hailed from, I spent countless days trying desperately to avoid the assassins and agents she'd sent after me, barely getting a moment to even think.

I was at the end of my rope when I made the decision to seek the Junction's government for help - they'd always been my worst enemies, people I despised more than anything and who had destroyed my life and that of countless others over and over again. But I couldn't take it anymore, living on the run with the ever-looming danger of being caught again. Which I knew would happen sooner or later if I was on my own. I turned myself in and made a deal with one of the most influential Junction politicians, the Director, to get protection against Eldora.

They asked for something in return - and their price was that I helped them set up my siblings and their crew (since Jack, Cassie and the others had been the Junction's Public Enemy Number 1 for years now and Jack was the most wanted intergalactic thief of his generation) for capture. I didn't want to do it, but given that I had no choice, I accepted it.

Soon after, Jack, Cassie, and the crew were captured during one of their heists - something the Junction only managed to do due to the information I gave them.

They tasked the crew to do a dangerous heist on a hostile planetary system, making them work for our worst enemy in order to avoid the firing squad, and the Junction made me join them on the heist as well, probably out of sadism to see me struggle to keep the truth of what I had done hidden. At the time, no one in the crew knew I had been the one to blame for their capture.

The worst part is that, by saving myself from harm, I ended up subjecting my brother to the same - if not worse - struggles I had endured, as the Director made him his favorite test subject, torturing and experimenting on him for fun in the guise of seeking scientific progress.

I hate myself with every fiber of my being for what I did, and I would do anything to go back and change the decision I made in the past. If I had known what the price of my betrayal would be, I would never have done it. I would have preferred to spend the rest of my days working with Eldora than to let my brother go through what the Director did and does to him.

In fact, I never should've left them - abandoned them - in the past, after our argument in the first place.

I have kept my betrayal a secret from them ever since we had to start working together again, and it's eating me up inside. I know that if I tell them the truth, it would be the final crack to Jack's spirit - and Cassie... well Cassie would probably try and kill me for it.

And she'd be right.

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid @thecomfywriter

@thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams

@differentnighttale, @leahnardo-da-veggie

[samflir]

What makes a good boot sequence?

A while ago, I had my first truly viral post on Mastodon. It was this:

You might've seen it. It got almost four hundred boosts and reached beyond Mastodon to reddit and even 4chan. I even saw an edit with a spinning frog on the left screen. I knew the post would go down well with tech.lgbt but I never expected it to blow up the way it did.

I tried my best to express succinctly exactly what it is I miss about BIOS motherboards in the age of UEFI in this picture. I think looking at a logo and spinner/loading bar is boring compared to seeing a bunch of status messages scroll up the screen indicating hardware being activated, services being started up and tasks being run. It takes the soul out of a computer when it hides its computeriness.

I think a lot of people misunderstood my post as expressing a practical preference over an aesthetic one, and there was at least a few thinking this was a Linux fanboy post, which it certainly is not. So here's the long version of a meme I made lol.

Stages

I remember using two family desktop computers before moving over a family laptop. One ran Windows XP and the other ran Windows 7. Both were of the BIOS era, which meant that when booting, they displayed some status information in white on black with a blinking cursor before loading the operating system. On the XP machine, I spent longer in this liminal space because it dual-booted. I needed to select Windows XP from a list of Linux distros when booting it.

I've always liked this. Even as a very little kid I had some sense that what I was seeing was a look back into the history of computing. It felt like a look "behind the scenes" of the main GUI-based operating system into something more primitive. This made computers even more interesting than they already were, to me.

Sequences

The way old computers booted was appealing to my love of all kinds of fixed, repeating sequences. I never skip the intros to TV shows and I get annoyed when my local cinema forgets to show the BBFC ratings card immediately before the film, even though doing so is totally pointless and it's kinda strange that they do that in the first place. Can you tell I'm autistic?

Booting the windows 7 computer would involve this sequence of distinct stages: BIOS white text -> Windows 7 logo with "starting windows" below in the wrong aspect ratio -> switch to correct resolution with loading spinner on the screen -> login screen.

Skipping any would feel wrong to me because it's missing a step in one of those fixed sequences I love so much. And every computer that doesn't start with BIOS diagnostic messages is sadly missing that step to my brain, and feels off.

Low-level magic

I am extremely curious about how things work and always have been, so little reminders when using a computer that it has all sorts of complex inner workings and background processes going on are very interesting to me, so I prefer boot sequences that expose the low-level magic going on and build up to the GUI. Starting in the GUI immediately presents it as fundamental, as if it's not just a pile of abstractions on top of one another. It feels deceptive.

There may actually be some educational and practical value in computers booting in verbose mode by default. Kids using computers for the first time get to see that there's a lot more to their computer than the parts they interact with (sparking curiosity!), and if a boot fails, technicians are better able to diagnose the problem over a phone call with a non-technical person.

Absolute boot sequence perfection

There's still one last thing missing from my family computer's boot sequence, and that's a brief flicker of garbage on screen as VRAM is cleared out. Can't have everything I guess. Slo-mo example from The 8-Bit Guy here:

[earthling-wolf]

An Echo and Arches' critique

(This is a slightly rewritten version of a post I made on Reddit months ago before GS left TEP and TSR was de-canonized.)

I must preface this by saying I love the Echo trilogy; they are some of my top ten favorite FVNs. However, I also struggle to describe what I like about something; it's much easier to explain what I don't like. So, I figured I could be more constructive by pointing out areas in which I believe Echo/Arches could have done better.

I also did a similar thing with Adastra a while back if you guys are interested.

Echo Nitpicks

First, there's the art direction. It's so inconsistent that it's debatable if Echo even has an art style. It is self-evident that multiple people did the sprites, CGs, and backgrounds; the whole thing is a patchwork. I understand that that's due to how the development went down, and honestly, it doesn't damage the experience; after a while, I don't even notice it anymore. That is why I put it under nitpick, but I also noticed how unvaried the sprites are. Even with the main character, the torso and head are almost always the same, and the arms have very limited configurations (I mean, Leo only has two poses: crossed arms and hands on the waist). This is especially noticeable compared to the rest of the TheEchoProject library; even Adastra has significantly more dynamic sprites despite being made simultaneously.

Then there's the plethora of continuity errors. I heard an engine problem makes returning to fix small mistakes a pain. I believe The Echo Project team is just waiting for The Smoke Room to finish to align all the continuity in one go. I also noticed a section on Flynn's route where Chase looks at the town records. I believe they are planning to revamp that section so that every file he checks alludes to each route from TSR. I also heard they plan to rewrite Carl's route, which I hope is true.

Jenna's Route

I was going to have a section on my problems with how Jenna's route is written and how that damaged how the fanbase sees her, but blindseer0 made a post that pretty much refutes all my points.

Carl's Route

There are a couple of big problems with Carl's route.

First, it feels disconnected from the rest of the Echo. Looking at the game as a whole, this route feels like a filler arc, but even the characters don't seem to care about the plot of this route. They are essentially being dragged at knifepoint by James and John, but no one, not even Jenna, cares about the mystery, and if the characters aren't invested in what they are doing, then why should we be?

The other big problem is how repetitive it is. The "puzzles" in the ghost mansion get old fast, but beyond that, how the characters play off each other is also kind of all the same once we enter the ghost dimension. The character dynamics are one of Echo's greatest strengths, but this route isn't the best display of it. All the interactions boil down to Carl and Jenna fight, Chase peace-keeps between them and comforts Carl, and Raven is comic relief. Speaking of Raven, many people complain that Raven doesn't fit in the story and should be replaced with someone more connected to Carl. I partly disagree; all the route-specific characters serve an important story and thematic function. They all allow the main characters to connect with someone unrelated to their collective baggage. However, Raven's out-of-placeness isn't without reason. He doesn't have a strong dynamic with the other characters; he just serves as comic relief and fades into the background until the plot needs a fourth person to watch Jenna while Chase is with Carl.

So here are my hopes for a possible future Carl's route rewrite:

To streamline the ghost dimension section, cut the first mansion and cabin sections in half and either remove the second mansion section or merge it with another section.

Make Chase more invested in the mystery; as I said above, the characters don't care about the plot of this route. I figured Chase would be the best candidate for the role of "detective." It is established that he wanted to study history before his parents vetoed it, and the end of this route heavily implies that Chase has become serious about being a journalist; all the pieces are there for a nice arc for Chase if he would only show more interest in solving the James/John mystery.

Add Flynn to the ghost dimension. Adding him would be the spice that the character dynamics need (and I'm not just saying this because I'm a shameless CarlxFlynn shipper). Flynn would be better in Carl's corner when Jenna gets aggressive. He could interact with Chase when Carl and Jenna are fully possessed. Not to mention his dynamic with Jenna herself. His pessimism would contrast with Raven's optimism. If you have him look after the possessed Jenna, it would free Raven to have more character-building interactions with Chase and Carl.

The Route Order

If you ask most fans, they are sure to give you similar recommendations on route order: Carl>Leo>Jenna>TJ>Flynn; Carl and Leo sometimes switch places, and people who like happy endings tend to recommend playing Jenna last, but it doesn't tend to deviate a far from this pattern. The problem is that this order is completely unintuitive. Most people going into the game blind without a recommended route order will likely play the game like this: TJ>Leo>Flynn>Carl>Jenna, and here lies the issue. Playing TJ's route first actively damages the experience of reading the Echo. If you play TJ first, not only do you get revealed on one of the game's biggest mysteries less than halfway through the game, but the way his route is written heavily relies on the reader having played at least one other route. TJ's route is not so much horror as it's suspense, as we see Chase's mental state slowly deteriorate, which loses a lot of its punch without having read other routes to have a point of comparison to Chase's normal behavior. And then there's the fact that the Hysteria doesn't even happen in this route, which should be a big deal, but you won't even realize anything is unusual without playing at least one other route first. TJ's route is fundamentally incomplete. The TEP crew themselves expressed frustration with people consistently choosing TJ first (I guess they assumed that Leo's sheer sex appeal would be enough to make most go for him first?). I sincerely believe that Echo needs a route-unlocking system so that you can't play TJ before playing at least one other route first (and also make sure you can't play Flynn before TJ).

Arches's One Problem

Arches is almost perfect, in my opinion; the only problem, and it is big, is that the set-up is very contrived. From the moment Cam and Dev first try to leave Echo, you can feel the hand of the author railroading them into their eventual meeting with Brian, and you can say that there are reasonable explanations for why things happened this way; Artie was oblivious to the danger, Cam was being manipulated by the town, etc. But that doesn't change how it feels like the author is cheating to get the story to go the way he wants. From the second the characters become aware of the danger of Echo, we, as the audience, can no longer suspend our disbelief when the characters find excuses to NOT leave as soon as possible. And what's especially baffling is that there is one very easy fix, just tone down that first haunted motel scene. If instead of getting their shit scared out of them, things just go the way Dev thought they would, it would remove the in-universe urgency for them to leave Echo, and so it won't be frustrating to the audience when they waste time NOT trying to go. Dev had already decided before that first scare that he didn't want Cam to come back, and we, as the audience, saw the first scene with Brian, so we knew Echo was dangerous even if we didn't play the other games. So, the tension is preserved either way. What it would change is that Cam wouldn't look unreasonable for wanting to stay in a town he knows is dangerous, Dev wouldn't look like a spineless enabler caving to Cam's demands that would put him in danger, and Artie wouldn't come off as annoyingly oblivious for not treating the situation seriously and indirectly placing everyone in danger as a result. Also, they should've made it so they find Cam in the forest after his freak out instead of the road because Artie suddenly needing to pee at that moment also felt contrived.

[lotusmi]

uhhh neville did talk abt the void state as the I am state. the void state is just the nickname to it. check @zen-shu s post to it. don't assume we don't even know what it is & ur experience does not change that ur pure consciousness aka the I am state is the sane pure consciousness as the void

ok, here we go then...

I got many people asking me why I said that I AM State is different from Void, I never really made a post about it since I did not wanted people to overthink by thinking they can enter 'I AM State' by "accident" while wanting to tap into the void, which is not possible, since the difference is in the intention, not in the affirmation "I AM..." that can be used to tap in both experiences. ♡ I know other bloggers don't agree with me in this topic, yet a experience is a experience. I don't feel 'upset' with it, I still appreciate them so much and it is okay if you don't agree with me.

I AM x VOID

"the I am state is the sane pure consciousness as the void" This is obvious, since there's not 2 consciousness. "Imagination is God, and there is no other God! His name is "I AM" forever and forever." I AM is the name of God, I AM is, actually, not a state. Nor is the void.

A state is what you identify as being or having. States are temporary, I AM is forever. States are not permanent, but I AM is. "A state is simply an attitude of mind, a body of belief, a phase of experience." “There are an infinite number of states. The state of health, the state of being unknown, all are only states and everyone is always in a state.” We are at many and many states right now. But we are ALWAYS I AM. And the void is always, nothingless. That's why I don't really like to call those experiences 'states'.

☯︎ I like to see I AM and VOID as yin yang. Creation is made by opposition. Hot and cold, good and evil, WHOLENESS AND NOTHINGLESS. Consciousness can experiment both.

+ "ur experience does not change that ur pure consciousness" I never said that.

Before reading about the void, I had read At Your Command by Neville. So I tried to do it, and it was exactly as most of experiences people had 3, 4 years ago, before 'void' being a 'method' to ''get desires instantly''. Neville Goddard students had experienced the same I did.

I closed my eyes and started repeating "I am.. I am" and I got numb, then I felt like I was everything, saw my city from the sky (it was not a astral travel), then I felt like I was the trees, the world, other people, I saw the Gold Melting and then I saw myself in the body of my sp, we had fighted some weeks before, and I felt he was sorry and saw him apologizing, I understood "everyone is you pushed out" that day. Then I really entered the state of being forgiven, as Neville said, it's simple to enter a state when you know you are all the states. When I left, I got a text from my sp, saying he was sorry and missed me.

I had others I AM experiences where I felt like being every part of creation, feeling myself being them and all of that. The last was last year, I shared one with Vesora. (ignore the grammar)

A lot of people said to me "this is just what you experienced, it's some random thing." well but it was not only me, here I linked lot's of I AM experiences from NevilleGoddard/reddit. Most of them were posted way before of void being know as this 'magical method'. They did what Neville Goddard said, this was the "I AM" meditation. Am I saying the void did not existed back then? No! The void always existed, but it was not knew as a "manifesting tool" as it now is. And it was not knew this way (we now know) by the old Law of Assumption community. They believed they could change their states using 'I am technique', but they thought they would have to wait a "bridge of incidents", and that the desire would not be manifested instantly. Then here we found the difference.

+Golden Melting experiences commented by Neville (you can skip if you want): "A bolt of lightning splits man in two from the top of his skull to the base of his spine. He is cleft as though he were a tree that had been struck by lightening. at the base of his severed body he sees “the blood of Jesus”, a pool of molten gold; he knows it is himself; then fusing with “the blood of Jesus” he ascends his severed spine in a serpentine motion into his skull. This is to fulfil the Scripture; “This Son of Man must be lifted up as the serpent was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness” (John 3:14)." - Neville Goddard (from He breaks the Shell)

"I was sitting in the Silence, not thinking of anything in particular, just simply contemplating this interior structure of the brain as it were. If you turn your eyes, mentally turn them inward and just let them rest upon the interior of your skull, in a little while all these dark convolutions of the brain grow luminous and they fascinate you. The whole thing becomes liquid and golden liquid light. So while watching this wonderful golden liquid light, suddenly out of the nowhere came a stone, a rock. There’s nothing more sterile, nothing more opaque, nothing more contracted as far as imagery is concerned than a rock. So here was a rock, this quartz. As I looked at it, just simply looking at it, not wondering why it’s before me, but there it is before me, and suddenly it became fragmented, broken into unnumbered pieces. Then all these little pieces were gathered together, but not re-formed into the rock (the original form) but into a human shape. And here it takes human form. Here, I am seeing a man seated in the lotus posture. I became intrigued. As I looked closer, I’m looking at myself. I am the being that I’m contemplating. Here he is seated in the lotus posture and just the very image of the being I knew myself to be. As I looked at him, he began to glow and he increased in luminosity until he reached the limit of intensity, and then he exploded. Then I returned to this level with only the memory of what I had experienced." - Neville (He Is Meditating Me)

"your whole body is split from top to bottom, revealing blood…but the blood is living, golden, liquid light. As you look at it, you not only know it is yourself, but you know it is the Creator and Redeemer…and yet you know it is yourself (Blake, Jer., Plt.96)." - Neville (Everyone Has the Plan in Him)

"you see the golden liquid light that is truly life itself" - Neville (What Must We Do? Believe!)

"At the base of the spine is a pool of golden living liquid light, and as I looked at it I knew it was myself. Here I am a pool of living liquid light" - Neville (Imagination’s Power)

"When you go into the Silence and you see this golden liquid light that moves and moves and moves all through the brain." - Neville (Remembrance of Things Future)

Another topic, most important one for me, is that I AM was knew as this experience where you discover/FEEL you are God, that the world is within you, that everyone is you pushed out. Not as only a tool to "change the world", but as a way to understand YOU are the world and the world comes from you. Then you stop desiring, since you know there's nothing to create, but to accept. Accept that creation is finished, and it is all coming from us. So we don't have to change the world, but change SELF with the knowing we ARE GOD.

The void obsession comes when you think that in order to have what you want, you think you need to access something outside of you, "God power", you have to do something, you have to do a method, you need to tap into the void, etc. But you forget, you ALREADY are God. You focus in 3d and you think "I have to change it". But you don't have to change nothing in the outside, you have to change SELF. And repeating/feeling I AM, which first was a beautiful way Neville taught of understanding you are God, a way to free yourself, "be still and know I am God", turned into a 'hype', a 'escape', a obsession, something that people think they need to somehow enter so that they can change their world, they forget that there's no way to change the world since all you can change is SELF, and that Self, is GOD.

So, at least for me, those are the meaning of the names we are used to think are synonym of "void", based in what they meant in the past:

ps: yes, I know void, God and I AM WORDS have the same meaning of "Conciousness, awareness, mind". But the meaning the community gave to each of them in terms of the name of the different experiences, mean different things.

God State:

"The god state is when you know that you are creating, you know that everything that you desire is coming to you [is already yours!!]. It’s a state where you have full trust that you are manifesting your life.

Being in the god state feels effortless, you know that everything is responding to your thoughts and assumptions."

I AM (as a meditation/experience):

A experience where you feel yourself to be all. Wholeness, everything, everyone. Gold melting. The nature, the animals, you get visions, you almost feel overwhelmed by the knowing nothing exists without being part of you.

VOID:

"When he attains the state of void, all thoughts cease for then pure Thought thinks itself alone." Stillness, emptiness, blackness, nothingless. You don't feel nor see nothing. Know as method to manifest instantly or shift.

+ Can I accidentaly experience one of those? No. If you want to enter THE VOID, you have the intention, you are naturally expecting to 'enter' the void, so you will enter the void.

Again, you don't have to agree with me. But I guess I had included great evidence that sustain my arguments, so that's the post, my views on it.

✩ I see I AM and VOID as WORDS to represent what it is to be/feel God aware of the whole creation, and be/feel God aware of the nothingless the creation was made of.

[bonnyhoddie]

Ocellus - Teenage Exocolonist OC

I need to post more so here’s something I made in February for a game I love a lot - I was a Teenage Exocolonist!

The character is called Ocellus (yes, like the changeling in MLP I could not think of anything else that sounded sciency or eccentric enough, ideas are welcome!) and their augment is chameleon, because I thought it’d be easiest for my mental health and art block to create a character with obvious signs such as that, without going into classic animals, like a cat or mouse. (Also I had a snake as a pet called Misty and I wanted to give a character a reptile tail)

The idea sketches (as you’ll find from the inconsistent outfits and lazier style, and also Ocellus being pink and blue to match the butterfly, when in the reference, it became decided that those colours would be romantic (I might change them actually)) and the reference drawing was actually made either on the same day or a day before I left my toxic environment lol

Also, fun fact, someone accused me of character theft because a bunch of members were planning to make a mod called Extracolonists (NOT Extracolonist by Seraphic on Reddit) so, AFTER I made Ocellus and just had to do some final details, I was like “omg how cool would it be if I joined in on the mod, they have some space left” so I looked through the discord search thing, looking up “chameleon” and I found a character called “Chanterelle”.

So, finding a chameleon augment character already I was like “oh ok so it won’t go in the mod, ah well, I’ll just post this in the art channel and make a little joke about it.”

Important thing to note: These characters looked nothing alike, aside from being POC and having multi-coloured hair. However, Chanterelle was default blue/pink and all I saw was an image, so I imagine a lot of the functionality stuff like the sign language and the tongue being too big in the mouth, is all mine (or, it’s ours now because sadly I did probably give too many ideas to them). Another thing to note is that I was exclusively following Exocolonist eccentric explorer styles, while the image I saw was Chanterelle’s child version just kinda in a blue hoodie.

And, at first I got compliments and, what confirms my thoughts about the functionality being mine, is that I was being COMPLIMENTED for my ideas AND my character. UNTIL, one person, decided to be like “I’m really uncomfortable with this” and, when I asked why, I get “Because it’s character theft! The characters look exactly alike!”

(They don’t, at all, whatsoever, again, aside from being POC and having multi-coloured hair with COMPLETELY different types of hair texture and multi-coloured types (Ocellus has straight thick hair that’s essentially just very tiny chameleon scales, so it’s a little heavy, with colours at the ends, while Chanterelle had afro space buns and split dye), which, is probably telling that those features make characters look “exactly alike” but idk I’m white, I don’t think I get to decide on what’s telling)

So then, the ENTIRE group, even ones that were COMPLIMENTING me, decided to just turn on me LMAO, (fucking pick a lane a stick to it dudes lmao /j) which, from the perspective of “I had just joined a few days ago and they don’t know me and they have established friendships” I get, but, first of all, I was doing a bachelor of ARTS at the time, which I stated on the first day, I’m sure that I wouldn’t be doing that if I was uncreative enough to be a thief, and, whenever I tried to defend myself and prove my innocence, I was not listened to and I had the EXACT SAME PHRASE repeated to me “you know how it looks right?” Over and over and over again no matter how many times I responded to that, it just was not going anywhere, my attempts of defusing the situation just was not working at all, and I was not being listened to. So then the person who “called me out” decided to post in another channel “let’s make another server for the mod because this doesn’t feel like a safe space for me anymore :(“

EXCUSE ME??? YOU accused me of character theft and dismissed my Timelapses, which is the ONLY way of proving that I didn’t steal a character design. I was reasonable and polite the whole time because I wanted to calm things down and clear up a misunderstanding, while you wanted to argue, and accuse me and my friend of being toxic because she has harsh tone sometimes, while YOU YOURSELF were displaying extremely toxic behaviours, the only bad thing I said to her was:

“I’m so sorry, this saying is only ever said in a mean way and I have no other way of saying this, but, I’m not gonna lie, I feel like it has to be said, you aren’t special, not every coincidence you see in a character is theft against you, and I’m literally in Uni for ART and MAKING CHARACTERS, where I am watched and observed when doing character design tasks, I’m not gonna be uncreative and steal a character design. I just checked to see if Ocellus could be in the mod, that’s it”

Because, I’m gonna be honest, the character wasn’t basic, and was fucking adorable, I’m not trying to insult the character, BUT, she had a LOT of popular character design choices when I checked, and not really much to separate her too much from the norm, which is absolutely ok, BUT, that means that that person is going to see a LOT of characters that look similar, and they can’t expect people to NOT have coincidental ideas of things that ARE unique to the character.

So I just sent a really long message about how I’m gonna leave because I TRIED to peacefully and calmly settle the issue, but everyone was willing to just attack me DESPITE complimenting me before, and not listen to me at all despite showing my Timelapses to show my thought process. And then for the person who started this whole thing to suddenly feel “unsafe” despite the fact that I was the one being attacked.

So, one of my friends (me and 3 others joined because we wanted to be a part of a community) stayed in the server, either that one or an 18+ one to see what happens after or for anyone to try and talk to me through her, and one of the mods did contact her, super sweet like:

“Hey I’m so sorry your friend went through that, we had a talk with the others, we don’t think Chari (me) did anything wrong and we’re gonna make a ticket system so things never escalate like this again, so if they want to join back at all, they are free to, again, we’re so sorry, we don’t let these things slide without a reaction.”

Anyway, I haven’t joined back since, because I said that I would if the person who called me out apologised, and, if I DID rejoin, I should get an apology from the people who escalated everything (bit immature I know and I did state that), but the mod kindly explained that she wouldn’t apologise and would just leave if I joined back, so I just decided that, instead of chasing her out of possible safe spaces by just existing, I was just gonna stick to talking about it with my friends and maybe in the future join another server, which I haven’t done yet. Also there was some Vace lovers /j

So yeah, fun story lol, I wonder how they’re getting on and I do hope the project is going well for them.

Might also add some more patterns and details to some parts of Ocellus and make an Ocellus mod, not out of spite at all, I promise, but because I really wanna do something with them and I really wanna make mods.

Also, despite how it seems, I’m not actually mad, I find this haha funny. I was also stressed and annoyed at the time but not exactly angry.

[moonspirit]

hi! I hope you’re doing great today ☺️ I wanted to ask you one thing

how do you think Annie got her ring? was it her idea so that she would not have to bite herself? and if so, what does it say about her personality?

Hello! I hope your day is going well too :3

Interesting question tho. I don't think anything about Annie's ring was ever mentioned in the manga beyond the obvious reference to its purpose. Please correct me if I'm wrong tho, my memory these days is WELP xD

However, assuming I am right, this is where I have to say that I like picking tidbits of information from other published sources to expand upon lore, as long as it doesn't straight up contradict canon information.

So, I'll dive into Lost Girls for a bit.

I recall a chapter in it where Mikasa confronts Annie over her ring that she found in the training grounds (we already know that Annie doesn't wear her ring all the time, only putting it on when she's likely to use it, and Lost Girls maintains this). Annie's response to this is that it was an item given to her by her "parents" before she left home, and that it's important to her. Mikasa then asks her something like, "Why are you here, in the military?" And follows it up with, "It doesn't look to me like you're here to secure a place in the inner districts, rather, you're doing it because you have to." Annie then explains that the ring is what gives her purpose, and that's good enough a reason.

From this I've always assumed that the ring wasn't a thing Annie made or bought herself - it was given to her by her father, probably once she was seen by the Marleyan military as a definite successor to the Female Titan.

Now where did the ring itself come from?

Since we aren't told much about Mr.Leonhardt either except for the fact that he was shipped off to Liberio for his half eldian blood, his background remains murky. But I remember reading a reddit post years and years ago about how the pointy blade on Annie's ring was a bit similar to real life poison rings that were used in the middle ages by nobility. These rings were used to poison enemies as well as to facilitate suicide in case of capture. Sound a bit familiar? Anyway, somehow I ended up imagining that Mr.Leonhardt came into possession of a similar such ring with a blade as a part of a loot of stolen goods before he arrived at Liberio, and that has been fact in my head haha xD

So while I've just taken Annie's words (about being given the ring by her dad) at face value and accepted them, it is also highly interesting to explore the possibility that Annie bought it herself. Why? Let's see:

Whichever take you go with, the ring is very symbolic. The choice of using the ring to transform instead of a bite or cut, is very much reflective of what Annie was taught: to be quick, powerful and lethal. With a ring you attract less attention, and the cut will be smaller and therefore easier to hide as it heals. It can assist in situations where the hands and mouth are bound and gagged. It can also act as a psychological trigger: putting it on means you have a mission to complete and see through, no matter what; aka, you mean serious business.

So to put it simply: Annie getting the ring for herself would basically speak about her tactical mind and quick problem solving abilities, leaning towards methods most efficient and able to get the job done with minimum effort - the ring achieves exactly that.

On the other hand, Annie getting the ring as a "gift" from her father would speak to narrative symbolism. The reason I personally like this more than the first one is because Annie calls the ring "important to her", and perhaps that is because the ring is her one, single tangible link between her and father (in the Lost Girls chapter, she pats her left breast pocket to check for it), and as such, it's very precious. This brings out Annie's softer side that yearns and longs for affection and love.

Anyway xD Long ass reply, but I hope that satisfies you!

[mrs-gauche]

Ok, I'm pretty sure no one actually cares about this and I'm probably *really* overthinking the plot of a very simple comic here, but hey, wild speculations are fun and since there's still a bit of time left until the final volume of The Missing releases at the end of this month, why not write it down just in case there could actually be more to this (or you all get a reason to laugh at me in about two weeks)! 😂

Because for some reason, I just can't stop thinking about the "true identity" of the mysterious "Venatori assassin" that had been stalking Varric and Harding since volume 1...

(...Assuming the person we see here was actually one and the same throughout all these scenes. 👀) But before I go on, just beware of spoilers for the whole comic obviously, but also some stuff about the DA4 reddit leaks from a few weeks ago under the cut! 😁

So, to reiterate real quick, by the end of volume 3, Varric seemed to think that, whatever happened the moment he was almost killed by a Leopard and then heroically saved by a "Venatori assassin", was somehow instigated by none other than Solas himself. First of all, let me start by saying that there's a good chance that none of this actually matters, the guy was simply a cheap plot device to keep readers guessing and we'll never see them again, there won't be any grand revelation about them nor will they play any significant role whatsoever, given that the poor guy, whoever it was, appears to have basically disintegrated because of the strange time-altering magic in the Arlathan Forest after saving Varric from that Leopard and is therefore presumably.. pretty dead now, I guess. lol

Yet, in any case, the way this mystery person had been presented to us throughout all this, almost made it feel like they were setting this person up for something big or some grand unmasking by the end of this comic? 🤔 At least, that's what I thought until the end of volume 3... Which leads me to believe that there’s still a small chance for some sort of surprise in the final volume despite the unceremonious disintegration. lol (Or that’s just wishful thinking...) I kinda already did this in my post on volume 3, but after giving it some more thought, here are all the potential "identities" I consider possible now: 1) What I have come to realize now and what seems to make the most sense actually - and thank you again @thebookworm0001​ for pointing it out to me 😁 -  that it could've simply been one of Solas' agents who was ordered to keep an eye on them throughout this whole journey and to save them in case they got in any dangerous situations. Which would also explain what happened at the end of volume 1, when Varric and Harding found that deepstalker lying dead in front of Solas' hideout, suggesting that this agent had killed it to prevent it from attacking Varric and Harding, saving their life yet again. lol

This could also fit in with some comments I’ve seen, assuming that this pouch thing that the assassin carried in that scene in volume 3 showed the same “Dread Wolf” symbol that was also seen on that wax seal on Solas’ letter.

Though I still think it would be kinda weird for a spy to openly carry a symbol of identification like that? lol But if that’s the case, might I add that Solas’ agents would therefore quite literally be wearing a badge of Pride. (*ba dum tsss*)

2) The guy was actually a real Venatori assassin, but somehow manipulated by Solas to save Varric. 3) The Venatori was Solas himself in disguise. Now, while that IS the most fun scenario to think about, it still just doesn't make much sense to me tbh, because of basically all the reasons I talked about in this post, so I won't bother to elaborate again. 😂 I'll just say that, again, ever since "the Orlesian Bard", anything is possible, so I can't fully outrule it either, I guess. lol (Though in addition to this, I also don't know why Solas wouldn't just kill that Leopard (or the deepstalker in volume 1 for that matter) with a simple spell or something, instead of jumping in and "sacrificing" himself. lol Actually, now that I think about it, it seems a bit suspect now that he also wouldn't interfere when Varric and Harding were being attacked by that Tevinter mage in volume 2?) 4) Varric was simply wrong. lol Solas wasn't involved in this at all, the Venatori was the real deal and this is all actually part of some grand plan by the Venatori to get Varric and Harding to lead them to Solas/the ancient artifacts like the Crucious Stone. Which is why they saved Varric to ensure they made it out of the Arlathan Forest alive to continue their pursuit and use those ancient artifacts for... something not good. lol With the way Varric and Harding were seemingly lead to follow all those (purposefully laid out?) clues, only to end up at this letter telling Varric not to interfere, makes me actually hope that this was all part of the Venatori's schemes, just because I still don't fully understand what the whole purpose of this was then, if Solas was the one behind all this. (Unless his intention was to simply keep the Inquisition distracted or something.) And looking at the blurb for the final volume again, which seems to have Varric and Harding going back to Minrathous because Solas "has been spotted" there, maybe this will all culminate in the Venatori trying to get the Crucious Stone back from him/Solas trying to stop the Venatori from doing something really stupid with yet another ancient artifact (much like what he did with this one Tevinter mage and the red lyrium idol in Tevinter Nights). 5) The person was someone else entirely, neither associated with the Venatori OR Solas! Which brings us to the last and probably my favorite theory (and actually the main reason I even wanted to talk about this again)... What if this mysterious person... is actually the next protagonist? 😂 Hear me out! This comic was marketed to lead directly into DA4 somehow, right? So this should be taken almost like a little (yet ultimately irrelevant) prologue to the main story, right?

It also seems pretty clear by now that the overall purpose of this whole comic is to introduce us to/highlight the four factions (Grey Wardens/Antivan Crows/Veil Jumpers/Tevinter... something) that are probably going to play an important part in DA4's story in some way, or rather the four factions that are likely going to be options to choose for our next protagonist, if we're looking at how those four factions were already presented in concept art/short stories, but also the 2020 teaser, along with Varric's narration talking about how "It's time for a new hero" and "Someone they'll never see coming".

And with this, I'm also looking at the reddit leaks again from a few weeks ago and how "Rook" will apparently be the name/title of our next protagonist. A name that might suggest a spy background (along with everything we know about the first version of DA4 "Joplin" and the ominous "red book" with a rook on its cover), someone who goes by an alias rather than their actual name to operate, like many of the spies we know from DAI. So... when Varric's talking about "a new hero" and "someone they'll never see coming", wouldn't it be so hilarious to have that one mystery person disguised as a Venatori assassin, turn out to be literally the one spy no one saw coming? 😂 Obviously, I have no idea how they would even be involved in all this.. Like, why would they stalk Varric and Harding and why would they even want to save Varric? But who knows, maybe at the end of this comic this person will pop up again in Minrathous, which will segue directly into the start of DA4 when the protagonist will bump into Varric saying "Oh wow, I don't know who you are but you've done an amazing job at spying on me, would you be interested to work for us?" 😂 "Rook, it is? Oh don't worry, you can keep your silly spy name." Or what if Varric will be the one to assign this name to the next protagonist then when he’s recruiting them? After all, Varric IS still a spymaster, right? lol

What kinda speaks against all this though is, for one, that the Venatori assassin was already shown to be of human or elven like stature, which would therefore already "canonize" the next protagonist to be of a certain race, and while BioWare has used their own canon default Hawke/human Inquisitor for promotional stuff before, I don't know if they would do it like this... Also, I can't see BioWare actually have the next protagonist be introduced in a comic/additional media that most people aren't going to read anyway. lol But still, I think it's a lot of fun to think about. 😁

So that's where I'm at. Again, I'm about 99.9% sure that none of this will actually be addressed or matter at all in the final volume and we'll just be left to forever speculate who the mysterious no name was who saved Varric's life. lol

If anything, thank you mystery person for saving our favorite dwarf (unless it was actually you Solas, in which case, shame on you for even getting Varric in a situation like this in the first place. 😂)

[capyphoenix]

I'm sure Max loves Donatello, but he doesn't use his animals to get attention like the other two // the man who said he isn’t getting anymore pets while he is an active driver got a new pet. He doesn’t care. He gives no fucks about that cat. If he truly did and if he actually loved the cat he would not have gotten it and fucked off right afterwards and have his heavily pregnant partner deal with it. He wouldn’t have gotten another pet during his active career.

Maxs cats spend too much time in cat hotels for him to actually use them for attention? When max is not racing he is on vacation (with the cats in the hotel again if they even left that before he went on holiday)

Max does what makes mg happy so she doesn’t throw a tantrum. He said having a dog is more work than a kid. He said no more cats during f1 (last time around the summer break and 2 months later a new cat). He said no baby until retirement.

We all see how bad max looks around her and how often she scolds him for the tiniest thing because she is unhappy. We have no clue how she actually treats him behind closed doors. In public he is always drinking and wasted around her. We see how p treats max (hitting him, yelling at him, disrespecting him and not listening to him most of the time) she has picked it up from somewhere. For sure not the Nannie’s as they aren’t allowed to parent her in any way, shape or form. There was one rumour a long while ago that people saw mg hit max in Monaco after he took a picture with a fan and she didn’t like that he gave attention to another woman. There was never more than the “observation” of someone posted online but it actually wouldn’t surprise me if she gets angry at max easily and smacks him a little bit 🤷🏼‍♀️ we saw how she treated him for celebrating not catching the bouquet. We saw how she scolded him after the fia gala in either 23 or 22 before entering the car. Those two instances were in public. If she treats him like that around hundreds of other people and in clear sight of cameras? I don’t want to imagine how she acts at home towards him… And we see how p treats him constantly and she copies the behaviour she sees. P is not around enough other people or children to copy them. She copies the life she sees at home. Meaning she copies how mg treats max. And re-enacts that behaviour towards max.

I remember those rumors and for transparency nobody ever found the original claim. It was spread on gossip accounts ngl and said somebody on reddit claimed it. I think it was early 2022 and we all rushed and searched reddit and found nothing. But since than people have come and with proof realised that reddit deletes some F1 gossip. You know how a deleted account usually says "deleted by moderator" but in some cases it vanishes completely without a trace the comments were ever made in the first place. I have a source who said they witnessed this twice herself. One was about Checo and the other about Estelle I think.

[thesunfyre4446]

(1) Before the show aired I used to say I was on TB, now I feel like that's admitting a shameful secret? Because I'd be putting myself in the same bag as A LOT of delusional TB/Rhaenyra stans, most of whom are just bullies. The more I see both teams fighting on reddit or here the more stupid it looks to me; I end up wanting to correct them but then it comes off as me siding with TG. I'm not but it kills me to see how wrong they got the story. Most TB fans read F&B and filled in the blanks with their own delusions and think that's what really happened; what's even worse is they can't separate book from show. They think they have the moral highground but a lot of them are terrible, with their double standards and self righteousness. Like when they accuse TG of mysoginy but then crucify Alicent for everything she did and didn't do. Even young Alicent, who did absolutely nothing wrong, but still gets attacked by Rhaenyra's feminist stans.

If anyone asked me now I'd say I'm not in any team; my favourite characters are aligned with Rhaenyra, whom I think is the rightful heir based on my understanding of succession. I will defend Alicent cause she's an interesting character that people refuse to try to understand and is treated unfairly. I actually loved watching most of the characters (and relationships) because they are all so complex, even if I don't agree or like them . They are engaging, despite what "team" they're on. It really annoys me that so many fans miss out on this because they're busy with the TB vs TG war.

i think that not being in any team is the best way to watch the show, anon.

i mean i'm TG but watching daemon is def very entertaining. he's a horrible person but matt smith (who's one of my fav actors from the good old doctor who days) is incredible. i can enjoy daemon's character while also acknowledging the fact that he's a horrible person. appreciating characters for their complexly & just how entertaining they are without agreeing with the things they do or even liking them is a skill this fandom desperately needs to learn.

i got a hate anon a few days ago accusing me of "having bad morals" for saying alicent did what she believed was right and honorable, and then just refused to understand that what alicent believes is right is not necessarily what i believe is right (i mean she's a fictional character from a medieval inspired fantasy world, of course we're not going to have the same set of values ? ). i'm not TG because i believe that men should inherit before women, i just like the characters better and find them more interesting.

i also think that this fandom has a HUGE problem separating headcanons from actual canon. with daemyra shippers being the obvious example. daemon and rhaenyra's relationship is very toxic. he's psychically abusive to her, he gr00med her, he abandoned her in a brothel... like this is obviously a very bad relationship. but people still insist on labeling daemon as a MaLeWiFe and a femenist (?) [he smashed his wife's head with a rock because he didn't like her but ok] and get very angry whenever someone tries to suggests that maybe... daemyra isn't that great of a ship.

don't get me wrong it's fine to ship daemyra, we all like to ship fictional toxic relationships, but you have to separate the headcanons you have from the actual show.

yeah the double standard with the so-called feminists attacking alicent is... a lot. an unhinged stan left a comment on one of my posts talking about alicent's "lowly hightower c***". a lot of them are accusing her of "seducing" viserys when she was 14-15, or defending corlys for offering his 12yo daughter as a bride to the middle aged viserys... i'm not very comfortable with these posts so i usually just end up blocking the op. (and don't even get me started on how some of them treat nettles)

thank you for the ask! ;)

[quirkymarshmallows93]

The westernization of Poland as exemplified by flagship fast food restaurants

Hi everyone! It's time for a full-on blog post, I'm talking paragraphs and shit. This will be another then and now comparison post, also set in Warsaw, Poland, now with multiple sections.

The First McDonald's

On June 17, 1992, McDonald's opened its doors for the first time on Polish soil. That day, the taste buds of 45,000 Varsovians would discover the hyperstimulative combination of the Big Mac, French fries, and fountain Coca-Cola, the American counterpart of a traditional meal of kotlet mielony (frikadelle), ziemniaczki (potatoes), and kompot (homemade juice). At 8 AM, the ribbon was cut by Jacek Kuroń, the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, who was asked to be present in exchange for a donation from the company to the impoverished children of Poland. Also in attendance were cultural figures such as the coach of the Polish soccer team, Kazimierz Górski, and poet Agnieszka Osiecka. The opening and the fanfare surrounding it was as much a celebration of Polish culture as American culture. The building which housed the restaurant was located on the facade of the Sezam department store, a staple of the communist era, providing a juxtaposition of life in the Soviet Bloc and in the West.

Above is the restaurant the day of its opening, and below is the modernist building shortly before being demolished and after its shuttering in 2014.

The location of the fast food joint is at the corner of Świętokrzyska and Marszałkowska streets, two main thoroughfares in midtown Warsaw. Following the closure of the seminal McDonald's, a new restaurant was opened just slightly east of its forebearer. Below is a comparison of the locations, with the emblematic Palace of Culture and Learning in the background of both photos, the latter photo being taken in May 2023.

The department store was replaced by an L-shaped high rise building visible to the right of the present-day McDonald's, with Sezam still occupying the ground floors. The replacement McDonald's is not as grandiose as the original; however, these days one can walk several hundred meters in any direction and come across another one of the company's franchises, which now number 517 in Poland.

The Stillborn Taco Bell

A while back I posted photos from the 90s of an ultra-rare combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell/KFC restaurant in the center of Poland's capital. These are likely the only images, on the surface web at least, of the lone Taco Bell which operated for merely a few months in the country, according to PortalSpozywczy.pl. Evidently, the chain's offering didn't quite align with the market's tastes. Still, memories of the restaurant's presence live on online, with a dormant Facebook group pleading for its return to Poland. A Reddit post links to an article about Taco Bell's unsuccessful entry into Central Europe, with commenters reasoning that currency exchange rates in a nascent free market economy made fast food a luxury for consumers, and that the Polish customer simply deemed Tex-Mex adjacent food too exotic, especially when compared to the already unfamiliar offerings of hamburgers, pizza, and fried chicken by competitors.

While visiting the city for a few days, I decided to photograph the site to contrast between 30 years ago and now, as I did with the site of the first McDonald's. Below on the left is the restaurant pictured in 1993, while in the center, the site in 2023. I tried to take the photo on the right from the same vantage point as the 90s image, but the frame isn't quite identical since the lens of my iPhone SE camera doesn't have as wide of an angle. Also, it appears that the restaurants’ signs have been moved back, rendering them not visible from where the photographer was standing in 1993.

Below on the left is the second of the two rare photos, showing the northwest corner of the building. On the right is my recreation.

For some context, the restaurants only occupy the ground floor of the building. It was built as one of Warsaw's handful of pavilions, which were meant to showcase cultural exhibits and provide a space for various expositions. Built in 1968, the complex bears the name "Zodiak", and remains a venue for architectural exhibitions and events, itself a post-war modernist structure. The astrological theme is currently slightly subdued, as the original pavilion featured a neon map of constellations on the building's facade, and a cosmic-inspired mosaic, which was replicated in the renovated building as pictured below.

Back to the fast food chains. The most obvious difference is the erasure of the Pizza Hut and its replacement with a Starbucks café. The pizzeria was relegated away from the street and toward the interior of the block. Gone are the branded trash cans and tiled enclosures, which were cleared to make way for Starbucks' tables and umbrellas. It's clear that Pizza Hut was running the show here thirty years ago, having prime frontage and dominant branding in the complex. Burger King has also invaded Yum! Brands' former fort, now nestled between the still-strong KFC and the Pizza Hut that let itself go. Today, just like thirty years ago, this site is still an example of an old order public institution, here an exhibition space for architecture and design, coexisting side by side with iconic American foodservice brands.

Communism to Capitalism: the Failed Attempt to Convert a Socialist-Nationalist Symbol into an Outpost of America's Largest Export

A similarly famous pavilion to Zodiak in the capital is the nearby Cepelia, which was constructed in 1966 to house a gift shop with the purpose of "solidify[ing] the rural identity of [Poland as] a socialist nation." That's a tall order for patterned mugs, kitchen towels, and woven baskets, but the store was a staple of Warsaw until May 2019, when it closed as a result of the building being sold. The ownership of the building was privatized following the creation of the Third Republic in 1989, and the company which owned the pavilion had been in a state of bankruptcy ever since, while the company which operated the store became the spiritual successor to the brand Cepelia in a schism of sorts, still profitably in charge. Before the closure even took place, McDonald's proposed the construction of a new restaurant in honor of the original vision of Cepelia's architect, Zygmunt Stępiński, after the land's change of hands to a new developer. The fast food giant went as far as saying that the design would go beyond this dream, because building technology had advanced between 1966 and the modern day in such a way that even more remarkable architectural features could be added. However, in 2022, it was announced that the redevelopment into a McDonald's would not take place at the request of the Masovian voivodeship's historical commission. The future of the pavilion remains unclear; meanwhile, McDonald's has not had a true flagship location in Poland since 2014.

Above, from left to right: Cepelia pictured in 1971 in the evening, Cepelia pictured in 2019 with its architectural elements obscured by advertising, and a rendering of the McDonald's which was to replace the pavilion while replicating its original distinguished design.

Fast Food Ephemera: Taco Bell's Free Drink Coupon

Back to Taco Bell. While researching more about its Polish presence, I found a photo of a coupon for a free medium drink with the purchase of any combo posted by a Reddit user.

I figured I could exclude it from this deep dive into the world of Polish fast food, as it didn't add much value to the analysis. That is, until I looked at the bottom of the coupon and noticed its expiration was at the end of March 1997. This shattered my view of the world, to put it hyperbolically. It was my understanding that Taco Bell was only around for a few months in 1993! This is the historical consensus at least. The only explanation for this could be that the coupon was simply valid for a few years instead of the standard few months, as the chain saw a bright future ahead for itself in Poland. Also, since we're here already, it's interesting that, at least in this promotional material, the brand emphasized its vegetarian offering, perhaps since all of its competitors served beef or chicken as their core products. This is the only piece of ephemera I could find online for Taco Bell's Polish presence, but the failure of Taco Bell in the 90s reminded me of the double failure of Dunkin' Donuts (now just Dunkin') in Poland. Buckle in for some more franchise lore.

Dunkin' Pączki?

The coffee chain operated in Poland not only from 1996 to 2002, but also from 2015 to 2018, when the company attempted to reenter the market. When searching for traces online of the company's first presence in the country, I could not find a single photo of a Dunkin' Donuts branch, but something arguably more interesting: a dormant Blogspot blog devoted to a similar mission as this post. Its author posted four entries, all in 2006, and one of them was of ephemera from 1999 that advertised DD's offerings.

Clockwise, from the top right, we have three pamphlets side by side advertising the chain's seven locations in the city of Warsaw, a brochure featuring photos and detailed descriptions of the product offering, complete with pronunciation tips; a flyer which brags that because the donuts are made with vegetable oil and not butter, they contain 40% fewer calories compared to traditional Polish pączki (quite bold of them); and an ad showcasing frozen coffee through iconic 90s graphic design. 14 years after closing its doors in Poland, Dunkin' Donuts came back, making the same mistakes, so I've included below a photo of a storefront with signage proclaiming its grand opening for August 11, 2016, in the city of Łódź, and below it a tweet from the company's Twitter account, stating, "We're coming back, and for good this time! :)" Foreshadowing at its finest.

My take is that Dunkin' Donuts did not have the correct marketing approach when coming to Poland. In other European countries, the chain was able to succeed despite, or likely because of, its emphasis on donuts, since in those cultures, there was room for a novel pastry, and the rest of the shop's offerings - coffee and sandwiches, mainly - could complement the American-style donut. Dunkin' begged Poles to understand that their pastries are unique, but we just saw them as shitty pączki. When the core item, already disliked by the average consumer, is in the place's name, it's no surprise that the rest of the product range didn't catch on and that customers weren't coming in. Perhaps if Dunkin' makes another comeback sans-donuts, it may be more fruitful given the company's shift to a "beverage-led" strategy in recent years. As they say, third time's a charm.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading! I'd like to acknowledge that this shit took me literal hours to conceive of, research, do my own field work for, write, edit, and publish. I was almost late to my great aunt's apartment for dinner because I took those pictures of the old Taco Bell! I know my worth, and what I'll say is that this quality content that you bitches get for free on here should be behind a $500 paywall on ScienceDirect, I'm just so philanthropic I could cry. Now give me my honorary history, marketing, and sociology PhDs. But seriously, I don't know which niche of the internet this sort of thing fits into, but that's the beauty of Tumblr and its randomness. For the most part, I'm just writing this for myself, to put my thoughts into words and try to make sense of capitalism and globalization.

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