#maybe that's what you're supposed to use for theories? because i can't REMEMBER most of the actual details/clues presented in the actual te

[burinazar]

(Umineko spoilers maybe idk)

i forget if i've posted it here but I've been reading Umineko for a really long time

I've just finished episode 5, the first "answer" arc, believing it would finally reveal what "really" happened in some of the earlier episodes (actually for some reason I thought it would be a retelling of episode 1 from a different POV, but it became clear it wasn't lol), and...it was really confusing and the whole ending was a huge slog and I still feel like I'm waiting for it to 'pay off'. I'm very willing to be patient with fiction but at this point the amount of time invested versus amount of enjoyment/portions where I actively felt like reading onwards instead of a sunk cost thing is getting ridiculously unbalanced. I've never spent this much time working through a single a piece of entertainment in my entire life, I think, not counting things that I dropped or put on hold.

The thing is, I watched the episode one stage play recently and relly enjoyed it. That I feel capable to theorize about, et cetera. Having full visuals of everything happening, even if we couldn't take the visuals as exact reality, really helped. f the whole thing was available as plays I wouldn't be having this problem, both the format and the length are far more appealing to me. I know there's a manga, but I've never heard anyone say to read that instead of the VNs or a suggestion that's the way to do it, and it's probably late to switch. I feel really frustrated. If I keep reading, it's throwing more time at somethingI've already spent so much time on with little reward, but if I don't keep reading, I'll never know what is really happening and unfortunately I do want to know.

And...I just...don't get why it isn't working for me. It's obviously true not every person will click with every piece of entertainment -- but everyone says this is good fiction for people who like to get meta, who like to interrogate the narrative, who like to form their own theories. If you've followed me for any length of time you know I love overanalyzing shit, I love reading much farther into things than the author intended, I'm enamored with 'stories about stories' and the idea of pulling out characters in the middle to talk to them and see what they think of their fate and whether they might fight against it and against the conventions of narrative is all catnip to me.

I just don't get why none of that is happening with this story for me. Could it be because I don't feel a strong enough connection to the characters and story to analyze it THAT much? It's true I'm not fixated, and that's usually what leads to me super-analyzing a series --but obviously that's not a requirement for me to watch/read/enjoy something, and I don't *dislike* the characters. Surely a lot of people were just reading this VN the way one reads a mystery novel normally, with a "normal" amount of interest in what's going on and thinking about it... I really like sherlock holmes and agatha christie (at least i used to a lot growing up), and the fact of 'i'm not that obsessed with whoever holmes is helping this time because why would i be' was not at all a barrier to following along with the mystery or applying reasoning to it...that really can't be it...

It feels impossible to theorize because I understand the format so little, and having it explained to me doesn't help -- it's just way too hard for me to tell what narration is from the point of view of a character (who may be unreliable) and what is from the point of view of a story and 'actually happening' and thus can be used as a clue to deduce off of, and the red and blue truths are supposedly to help with this but like, I'm trying to look at the story and theorize off *that* and those aren't meant to be the entire story on their own (one can use them to falsify theories but to come up with theories you're supposed to use the story itself as told in the white text...and I don't know what in the white text can "really be used", and also there's so MUCH of it and I forget half of what happened by the end of an arc).

......I've been trying to finish this VN for over a year and a half at this point. The entire experience has been so defeating to be honest. If I heard someone tell me this about LOGH when they were seventy episodes in I'd tell them they shouldn't force themselves to keep watching and that it's very likely the series just isn't their thing, but the difference is in Umineko I feel like all the time I've spent so far will be hugely wasted if I never get to find out what happened, and i DO WANT to know, it's not just a sunk cost fallacy, I don't want to miss out on knowing -- whereas someone who watched 70 episodes of LOGH would at least fucking know what happened in those episodes and quit with some comprehension of the portion of the narrative that they've covered already...

I guess I'm particularly dejected right now because I thought the ending of the fifth arc was going to have, uh, answers. Since it's an "answer" arc. But unless we're meant to believe that the culprit named at the end is the real one (it seems like no? Unless we can't even rely on her internal monologue about not being guilty. After all, her internal monologue isn't in red, so It can't be relied upon to be her real thoughts...or something...?!) I would have called myself a fan of mystery, but none of this makes me want to "think" at all because it's so confusing and so long and there's so much. I've finally hit the "answer" arcs and there are still no answers.

[firegirl888101]

Insatiable Madness (8)

|Sagau Yandere Fatui Harbingers x Reader|

Bedroom arrangements... You have to sort them out soon.

Reader is Gender Neutral!

"Would you stop staring at me? It's borderline creepy." You turned behind you, seeing Dottore and Sandrone peering from the doorway.

They had been doing this since you allowed the Harbingers to get comfortable. Some of them in your opinion had been too comfortable considering the current circumstances... But other than that, everything had been going shockingly smoothly.

Well, until you realised none of them could cook using modern technology.

So here you are now, cooking for 12 people with food you definitely couldn't afford everyday.

"You won't let me delve into machines of this century, like 'The Television'. Therefore, you will allow me to study what you're doing..."

"I'm cooking, you fucking weirdo."

"I do not see anywhere that could possibly let out heat, surely a fire is required to cook food?" Dottore argued.

"Just because electricity isn't hot, doesn't mean other materials can't change the temperature."

"I see... So you have an infinite source of electricity which is cooking your food. Then conducting that electricity with a material, perhaps a type of conductive ore, to warm up that pot you placed on that flat slab. To be able to do that... You truly must be powerful and knowledgeable."

"...It's just science and mechanics bro-- and it's not a 'flat slab'! It's a hob."

"Heeeeey, when will the food be ready? I'm starving over here!" Childe whined, entering the kitchen and walking past the two peepers.

Oh my god. This is the fifth time he's said that.

"Ask me that one more time and I'll pour this boiling water over your head."

"How long do you expect us to wait?" Pantalone walked up to you.

"Taking your time as usual, mortals truly are slow." Scaramouche rolled his eyes.

...Maybe it was too early to say things had been going smoothly earlier.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Getting everyone to sit at the table together proved to be a challenge.

The few who did so without complaint soon got up and left when you came back with more willing people, and some refusing to cooperate even when you got Pierro to help you out.

And then you had fuckers like Capitano insisting he 'guards the house' as if it's a fucking castle or private expensive estate.

"I do not see the point in sitting to eat if there could be danger lurking around every corner."

"This is my house. There won't be any danger unless it sneaks in from outside." You tried to convince him, truly you did.

You were so close to getting everyone to sit down. He's the last harbinger you needed... and the dinner is still warm too!

"Your argument is weak and insulting. I have offered to protect your home, and protect your honour. Yet, you force me to move away?" He questions you, his voice showing unfiltered offense.

Well, if he puts it that way.... I suppose he's doing me a favour, he thinks he is in his mind at the very least. If I challenge him I think he'll grow hostile and refuse further...

"Please," You said after a short while of thinking. "Please join us at the table. I promise the moment you finish eating you can return to your duties, Lord Capitano."

If I remember correctly, most if not all Fatui soldiers respected him due to his loyalty towards his soldiers, no matter what age or gender. He would spend his time for them after a battle, and would make sure everyone was healthy and ready for the next day.

Of course, this couldn't possibly be the full truth, he's a Fatui Harbinger! I doubt he got the first rank by just handing cakes to people.

Besides, this was all from memory. If things turned for the worst, you could always google some theories and knowledge. Or...! Or, you could wait for the game to update! Surely more would be revealed there?

"Even if I... joined you for dinner... I wouldn't dare eat." He sighed after thinking about your words.

"Why? Ohhhhh! It's because of your mask, right?" You suddenly realised.

You were just being insensitive all along! How did it take you this long to come to the conclusion he doesn't take it off?

"Could you please still join? I won't pressure you to eat, I promise." You smiled at him.

You heard a deep sigh, then he slowly nodded.

"When the first person finishes eating, I'll return here."

Wooohoo! Finally, that took way longer than you would have liked. You did lie a bit though, you were going to lock the front door so he couldn't just stand in the middle of it anymore.

It was beginning to get a bit cold in the house, and you didn't feel like hearing extra complaints from a certain banker...

You led him towards the dining room, and when you finally arrived, every single harbinger was looking at the two of you with boredom present on their faces.

"Took you long enough." Scaramouche scoffed with his arms crossed. "Why did you even make us sit together anyway?"

"When you go hungry, don't expect me to make you food then."

"They're kidding right? I don't have to eat to survive, unlike some of these mortals." He rolled his eyes.

"It's still polite, show some etiquette." Pantalone lightly scoffed in his direction, a smile present on his face.

"This all looks rather lovely." He complimented you, watching you sit down at the head of the table, opposite of Pierro.

"Thank you, but please don't compliment my cooking. This is the first time I've actually cooked a proper meal."

You didn't actually cook this. You just took all the noodles you had left in your personal cupboard and combined them into one boiling pot.

You were surprised Dottore and Sandrone didn't notice, especially since they were focusing so intently on you.

"Seriously? You're one talented chef! The noodles you made are perfect, just as good as the ones I've tried in Liyue!" Childe praised you, taking the fork on the side of his plate and dragging the noodles up to eye level.

"Wait a minute... Why has everyone else got chopsticks besides me!?" He suddenly realised.

"Because I need to get rid of them, I'm sick of my cupboards piling up with these shit ones. Plus, I'm aware you still can't use them."

Speaking of your personal and reusable chopsticks, you left them in the kitchen.

"I'm excusing myself from the table to get my own chopsticks since I forgot to grab my personal pair. If I come back and see any of you out of your chairs, I'm kicking you out of my house.

"You're not in any position to say--"

"STAY IN YOUR FUCKING CHAIR."

"Alright, alright! Psh, they can't take a joke."

"If you don't want to use the chopsticks I've provided, you may use the forks I placed in the middle of the table." You added in, almost forgetting that part.

Some harbingers let out a sigh of relief.

...I'll not question that.

You stood up and pushed your chair in, walking to the kitchen and grabbing your chopsticks with a special pattern.

Now is the time to take a deep breath, relax, prepare a couple questions you want to ask and get these Harbingers out of your house.

You've gotten too fearful. They killed your family, your neighbours, your friends. You should never forget that fact, you can't fight them or resist in fear of being killed. But, you can learn how to survive with them.

Take another deep breath. Hide your fear as best you can.

"I'm back!" You announced, a smile present on your face as you sat down where you left off.

You watched each Harbinger eat the food you prepared respectfully, some with small smiles and others looking as bored as earlier.

"So...." You started, nervously stirring your noodles.

"You want to ask questions, correct?" Pierro interrupted your collected thoughts, a sigh erupting from his lips.

"It's obvious that's why you grouped us up together, it's downright clear you know some of us can't eat or don't like to."

"Well, now that you've told me it was obvious, I won't beat around the bush."

"Beat around the... excuse me?" Arlecchino raised an eyebrow after eating another.

"Figure of speech."

"Ah, understood. Continue."

"Actually, before you get down to business I'd like to ask a question of my own." Signora raised her hand.

"And... what would that be? Don't you think I've earned the right to ask my questions first?" You turned your attention to her.

Now that you think about it, she hasn't spoken much at all. This is the first time she's directly addressed you since you first got captured.

...Apart from calling you a child of course, you could never forget that of all things.

"The noodles are a little plain, too plain for my liking. Do you have anything extra to add to it? Perchance some condiments? Your bowl looks... different to our own bowl's. What did you add to it?"

"I forgot you don't know how pot noo- I mean noodles work in this world! Sorry, I keep forgetting how you came from another place entirely different to this planet." You gasped, running to the kitchen and returning with different coloured packets.

"What... are they?" Sandrone pointed at the plastic packs.

"They look like poisons my clone's deliver for me to test out." Dottore thought outloud.

"Not at the table, please." Pantalone cringed.

"These, Harbingers, are a miracle in the making." You began, catching the attention of all of them.

'They look like puppies... It's cute.' Is what you would think if you forgot these are bloodthirsty monsters.

"Allow me to introduce you to the world of Sauce Packets. Each colour and size represents a flavour in the packet, and what garnish you'd like on top of your noodles!" You explained, placing all the packets you could find next to the pile of forks which had been unused.

"Amazing! You just get to pick like that?"

"Yup!"

"And... There's nothing else to it? No storing the packets in a cool area so they don't go off?"

"Nope!"

"Incredible... How does the food not become moldly or uneatable?" Dottore muttered.

"They're sealed really well. No air can get in or out until you rip the packet open."

"I want these two." Scaramouche rolled his eyes, grabbing two packs from the pile and holding them above his bowl.

"Be careful not to grab them too tight or they'll--!" You tried to speak as loud and quick as you could. But, unfortunately... "Burst..."

"What the actual shi--!?"

"There's a lot of sauce in those packets... Luckily for you, you held them above your bowl so the majority went in it! Thanks for not wasting any." You struggled to hold your laughter, grabbing a couple tissues from your pocket.

"Did any get on you?" You let a small giggle pass you lips.

He stared at you for a moment, his eyes burning through yours. After a couple moments, he came to reality and noticed all the harbingers laughing, giggling and chuckling at his previous actions.

"...No." He snatched the tissues from your open hand.

"How amusing and childish Scaramouche." Dottore commented, covering his mouth which hid his grin.

"I don't want to hear that kind of comment from you of all people." The puppet shook his head with a snarl, wiping his lap with the tissues.

"Alright, I only have these two flavours left, the red packet on your left being a really spicy flavour. The orange packet on your right being chicken. Oh, and, the smaller packets I have contain either basil and garlic, as well as coriander here."

The Harbingers, after hearing your explanation, picked which packets they wanted and put them in their bowls of noodles. Except Capitano, he hadn't touched anything since he sat down at the table.

Once demonstrating how to mix the noodles with the cutlery, the Harbingers began to eat once more with happier smiles than before and light chatter.

"So, you wanted to ask some questions?" Pierro coughed into his hand, his expression soon turning stern and distant.

"Yes! Thank god we're back to this topic." You shook your head, a wry smile on your face.

"...What exactly are you planning to do next?" You asked the first question.

"What do you mean by that?" Columbina smiled eagerly at you.

"You're stuck in my world, thanks to Dottore's compass breaking... which looked oddly close to an illegal chest compass - but I won't judge the design."

"Yes, thank you for adding the 'DOTTORE'S COMPASS' breaking in your reasoning." Sandrone nodded with a satisfactory smile.

"Anyway, what do you plan to do next? You can't just hideout in my house until Dottore somehow creates a new machine, with materials he won't ever get his hands on since you're all no longer in Teyvat."

"You mean you don't have the same minerals here as in Teyvat?" He questioned you, tapping the table to form a little tune.

"Did you really think an ore called 'Magical Ore Chunk' would exist here?"

"...We didn't name it."

"I suppose the one thing you could say exists would be Iron. But I have no idea whether they work the same, they could very well have different effects when mined due to different adaptations to their environment."

"Do you use Iron to craft weapons?" Capitano spoke for the first time since entering the dining room. Too bad he sounds so excited, the answer won't please him too much.

"We do... or, we did. In the past hundred years, we've developed new weapons using different minerals and... chemicals." You grimaced.

"Oooh, this is getting interesting!" Columbina laughed, finishing her noodles with a pleasant sigh. "Sooo good."

"Glad you like them." You nodded at her, before returning your attention back to Dottore.

"Don't ask me about the chemical part. It's illegal for those to know how the dangerous substances are made, unless they're working for the goverment or a specially trained company."

"How dangerous could they really be...?"

"Again," You sighed. "Don't question it."

"I'm still traumatised when you put on that surgery channel earlier this afternoon."

"Back to my question?" You asked them again, tone sounding hopeful for a proper answer.

"Truthfully, we don't know what's going to happen. Haven't had a meeting to discuss it yet." Tartaglia shrugged, finishing also and putting his fork in the bowl.

"Tartaglia." Capitano scolded.

"Yes, Captain!" Childe saluted. Capitano and Pulcinella just shook their heads as a reply.

"Tartaglia is right, we don't know what to do."

"By chance, did your parents happen to know anything revolving machinery and world travelling?"

This is unwelcome territory now.

"Maybe. However, we wouldn't be able to ask them anyway." You shook your head, resisting the urge to lash out.

"Why? Are they out of town? Or perhaps they're at work someplace else?"

"You killed them."

Silence then took hold of the Harbinger's, not one person touched the food in front of them nor moved a centimetre.

"What?" Childe broke the silence, his voice as quiet as a mouse.

"You murdered my family in cold blood, butchered their bodies when you found they had no use to you and then dumped them to the side."

They all continued to stay silent, some closing their eyes, while some's faces showing an ounce of guilt.

Like you believed that guilt though.

"Fuck this." Scaramouche rudely announced, pushing his chair out and walking out of the room.

"I wanted to ask a few more questions, but you know what, I'm not in the mood anymore. Enjoy what's left of dinner, I know I won't. With my bruised body, I'm surprised I've lasted this long without collapsing in pain."

And with that, you left the table for the final time that evening. Carrying your bowl with you, you ascended up the stairs to your bedroom with tears threatening to spill from your eyes.

A bit sad, isn't it? Well, they've got more coming to them so I wouldn't get sad just yet. You wouldn't believe what I've got planned lol

Please don't expect too many happy, nice and generally fluffy scenes.

This is Yandere, a genre which should never, under any circumstance be considered normal. It's abusive, unhealthy and leads to a lot of victims facing awful conditions which they never should or ever have to endure no matter who they are.

This is fiction that I'm writing, meaning it's all taken light-heartedly IN A FICTIONAL SENSE.

If anyone, by chance, is currently in conditions where a loved-one or yourself has suddenly become distant and/or being hurt when away from eyes please get help. Talk to them, or if it's you, talk to someone you know you can trust.

If you can't talk to anyone, find authorities who can help you. Call 999, as it is in the U.K, or your local emergency service. They will always help you, and will never deny your rights or freedom.

Thanks for reading this, I hope all who's reading knows this information already, but I thought I'd include it since who knows when it comes to where you are in the world and whether your education programs taught critical information like this.

On to more happy stuff!:

Thank you all so much for the support, I hope you'll stick with me for the rest of the parts in this series until I get to the finish line. :)

Back to the fluffy stuff convo... I'm really trying to squeeze them in, because if Y/N isn't showing kindness or anything nice to any of them, none of them will begin to grow feelings for them. It may seem out of place, but Y/N is coping right now. It's not like they can leave the house to run for help.

They saw what the Harbingers can do without thinking of other's lives being a consequence.

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Quick Reminder Here! If you no longer want to be on the taglist that's completely fine; I take no offence whatsoever so please don't hesitate to tell me. ^^

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

It looks like the rewind Theory might be coming true

There are many variations of that theory, but yes.

Honestly, it is badly needed in the story if what Horikoshi is aiming for is an ending where the kids and the villains survive.

Introducing a character that can undone damage is always insurance for the author. You have to be careful to not overuse it to the point it loses its impact. If no one ever dies and everyone keeps on resurrecting, the predictability becomes boring.

The good thing is that bnha doesn't overuse Eri. They don't use it to rewind the damage done to the characters when they lose an extremity, for example. It didn't work on Nighteye. They didn't try to use it on All Might—and if they did, I can't remember when it happened.

The point is that I liked that Horikoshi left Eri's quirk to the end of the manga. That way he could make the characters give their 100% without it meaning sure death. It scares the readers, like it should, it creates tension. Knowing that Eri's quirk might not work is another good decision. Even if she shows up after the big showdown, the public doesn't know who is going to survive.

Now, when I say there are many variations...

I'm against the version of it where the villains are turned into kids. Where is the fun of it, uh?

It erases the complexity of each character and all they fought for. What was the point of fighting so much if you're gonna erase what happened? If there's no consequences, no accountability? Any story should grow from the risks of the actions taken. We want to know there's something to be lost, that's where the adrenaline comes from. That's the entertaining part!

The version that completely heals their wounds is also kinda... bland. I'm a fan of bnha because the story doesn't solve most disabilities with magic.

If a pro-hero loses a leg or an eye, they'd have to learn to fight with the cards they were dealt with. Like I said before, those wounds tell a story of the risks they took. Aizawa cut his leg to survive and see another day with Eri and his students. Mirko lost most of her limbs giving her absolute all!!!!

It's the same for villains. It moves you, the way those villains would sacrifice themselves for their goals. Compress' lost arm tells the story of how they lost Magne. Giran lost his fingers when he refused to sell the League, so their absence is the evidence of his loyalty.

I want irreversibility. I want permanece. I want to see the growth that comes with accepting what we do in our lives and how we have to keep going.

My favorite version is the one that heals enough for the person to survive, but not much more. It is not going to take you to step one, it can't erase all you did and all that was done to you.

A second chance, but you have to make it from where you were left. No shortcuts, no easy way out. Either you commit to it or you're over.

I don't want to see Touya without his burns. That is boring! I don't want squeaky clean Touya, all perfect and smooth skinned and whatever. That is not him. He's the boy who burned in the flames of his passion, right or wrong. He's the boy who is supposed to be dead, but survived because he was a stubborn bastard.

The story can lessen them, of course. At this point Touya is more scrap put together by metal than anything else. He cannot possibly survive like that, so he needs to be healed enough to live. The burns can even lessen with time, fading as Touya heals, but I want the memory to last. I don't care if he forgives Enji, I want him to be forced to look at the burns every day knowing how they're there.

Another example?

Tomura's scars tell a story. You cannot resurrect his family, so don't go erasing the scar in his eye or in his lip. Don't go erasing the evidence of his struggle.

To be fair, Tomura has changed a lot since his first appearance. I remember him with yellow teeth, all skinny to the bone. It shows that no one cared for him. Well, maybe enough to keep him breathing, but there was no delicacy involved. It's funny to think how he got better and better the more time he spent far from AFO. That and the surgery he had to undergo...

Which is a wonderful terrible concept. It's about the cleansing, how AFO was preparing Tomura's body to be his. Body modifications to assert ownership, that's a horror favorite. The idea of being "cured" to the point you can't recognize your own body. You know what I mean.

I'm glad that when rewind was used on Mirio, it cost him something. He lost his quirk for a while and he had to make an effort to go back to who he was. I'd say that the nature of the story helped him bounce and that's a chance we didn't see his struggle a bit more.

Anyway, that's my opinion on the matter. I hope it'll be a variation I like and not something that's gonna leave me sweating cold every time I dare to remember it.

[slashthrashandcrash]

Okay, I had to go see what JedMEg was for myself and now I'm hooked. Can you talk more about them? Like does Meg ever find out the truth and how she reacts, for example?

I had to go digging for the last ask (here) about them just to remember where I left off in my insane ramblings lmao

So my original idea for this AU was that there is no fog, meaning once the Jed Olsen cover is purposely blown as per the lore, then it's totally game over, there's no Entity to whisk Danny away from the fall out. But that's part of the problem, isn't it? He's gone and gotten himself a little too attached to what was supposed to be a fake girlfriend, a girlfriend who's in love with a man that doesn't exist rather than the actor playing him.

Normally when he would snag himself a partner to accompany whatever persona he was putting on, Danny would kill them just before he skipped down. That satisfying moment of betrayal in their eyes, the soul crushing realization that everything was a facade, a convenience, that he never even liked them enough to give them a quick death no matter how many sweet "I love you"s he told them prior. As well as just another "fuck you" to the cops and community for how close under their noses he had been all along.

But he can't do that with Meg. He has no idea why, it was never this difficult before, but he's also never felt this way about any partner in general either. Fucking hell, he's really gone and gotten a crush on a pretty little redhead, huh? It doesn't matter, Jed Olsen was never someone who was meant to be around long term, and it's about high time he moves on since eyes are starting to shift towards him a bit. As much as it weirdly twists his heart to abandon Meg and leave her behind with the awful truth of who he really is to come out to the public afterwards, he knows it's for the best. Well...best for himself, anyways. And maybe for her, too, so that she's not entirely caught up in the shitstorm (of course, being the very public girlfriend of the now most wanted suspect in an ongoing murder case isn't going to be an easy ride...)

And Meg is beyond horrified to say the least. She still can't comprehend the entirety of the betrayal, that not only would her boyfriend leave her without a word, but that he would leave her because he was the very same murderer who had been harassing her for weeks! The one he was closely reporting on, the one whose ass Meg would try to kick every time he broke into her home, the one who used to threaten her "boyfriend" when they were in fact the same person. Everything she ever knew about him was a lie while she unfairly shared her whole heart to him. Not only that, but it's near impossible for her to try and imagine sweet, dorky, shy Jed being anything remotely close to a coldhearted killer. He couldn't even open a sauce jar half the time!! And you're telling her he can easily overpower multiple victims and haul their bodies around for sick poses???

Now Jed (?) is still out there, still on the loose, and Meg has no idea what to do. Reporters are hounding her for a statement. Police want to wring her dry for any clues or information that might help. People stare and spread rumors about just how "involved" she might have been from the start. And what if he decides to come back in the end, to tie up the loose end he left behind for whatever reason, is she even safe here anymore? Well, not for long, because that stupid ache in Danny's chest still hasn't subsided...it almost feels like it's gotten worse. It's not remorse or guilt, it's longing. He wants his bunny back, he liked how she felt sleeping in his bed and holding his hand and smiling so perfectly for a candid shot when she wasn't looking.

The dirty laundry has already been aired. They could start fresh, in theory. Whether she wanted to or not.

Although again, this was only the original idea I had when I first started making brainrot. There are so so so many new paths I've ended up concocting for them...if Meg found out Jed was a killer right before he left by catching him in the act or fitting in too many pieces herself...if Meg refused to believe Jed was the killer and was instead framed by Ghostface who she now has to hunt down for answers about Jed's real whereabouts...if they got taken into the fog shortly after that anyways per canon with Meg either not knowing or not believing that Jed is Danny/Ghostface while he keeps up the ruse to avoid her truly hating him (plus the outcome for when Meg does find out the truth while they're stuck in this hellhole)...if they were taken into the fog while he was still Jed and then him having to painfully confess why he was put into the killer camp and having to live with the heartbreak he's trapped her with...

[askdread]

How did you end up getting the job as Lemongrab's butler?

Ask one! Transcript for convenience! : Dread: Wow! That's a good first question, and by GOOD, I mean I still don't really get it. Bare with me, I'll try to explain it as best I can... even though you might be MORE confused after. I don't know the specifics, but it seems like he was pondering on the thought of a butler for a minute. He'd apparently tried to make his own, and they didn't really satisfy his expectations (I like them all). The earl tried hiring a few people, but from what I know it did NOT go well (sounds about right). I was in the Candy Kingdom, and pretty down on my luck. Sure, there were a LOT of jobs, but you had to travel super far for even a chance. and not to mention one look at me was enough of a reason to turn me away. I noticed at one point, this guy was EYEING me, I'm talking HARD. I was used to candy people staring, I stood out y'know? But this was just different. It didn't come off as scared, judgmental, or anything like that. To my shock, he actually approached me, and not only that but he had paperwork in his hand. OFFICIAL looking, fancy royal paperwork, seal and all. I haven't ever seen anything like that, never thought I'd even consider something so out of reach... but he was already going on about the expectations, the schedule, all that like I'd walked up to HIM, like I'd already said YES. I can't even remember exact words, I was too taken aback by it all. Maybe what I said next was because of his confident, insistent attitude. or the idea of being "chosen" by someone... or maybe it was SO out of left field that saying no would eat at my thoughts... but I said the first reply on my mind."Ok" Honestly did I have a lot of choice? I mean technically, yeah, but where else did I have? Soooo yeah, that's pretty much it. Kinda weird. I guess. If you're wondering why this happened ummm... I don't know still. My friends have theories. Most of them think it's because I'm threatening, I guess that one makes a lot of sense. Some of them think it's because how miserable I looked spoke to him, or something. I kind of want to believe it was some sort of wacky cosmic fate junk, like it was supposed to happen... but that's REALLY corny and everyone would make fun of me... You can ask, send trinkets, or send whatever you like here! Thanks for reading! :3 @askdread on Tumblr

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

I wanna talk about this today.

Mostly I want to talk about objective truth versus subjective truth. But let me start with what's happening in this scene. (Spoilers for Original Sin and Loki: Agent of Asgard)

So in this moment from Original Sin: Thor and Loki in the Tenth Realm, Loki is talking to the queen of the Angels about what happened in the previous issue of Agent of Asgard. Loki has been working for the All-Mothers in an attempt to erase his past crimes and start anew, but discovered that they were taking cues from Old Loki in order to ensure the future he said would come about, a future in which there was (mostly) peace in Asgard, Thor was king and All-Father, but Loki was still the villain. It was a price they were willing to pay for peace. So Loki's grappling with this in this issue, along with having to deal with Thor's reckless attempts at recovering their long-lost sister (not Hela).

So then the queen says, "[The Asgardians will] never understand you, god of what works. Go ahead, use your truth-sword. Tell me you don't know I'm right."

The sword she is referring to is Gram, the sword that Loki stole from Asgard's most famous hero, Sigurd, which was forged at Old Loki's bidding when he went further back in time to ensure it would exist for the current Loki to claim (the timeline gets confusing in AoA). The sword forces those it wounds to face the truth of themselves and their actions.

But truth comes in different forms, objective truth and subjective truth. Objective truth is indisputable fact, and if you say something otherwise it would simply not be true. "Earth orbits the sun" is an objective truth. We can and have proven it. Subjective truth is something that may be true for you but is not necessarily objectively true. This is why the testimony of innocent bystanders is sometimes not permitted in court. For whatever reason, you may be completely convinced that the person you saw stealing a tv from Best Buy at 2:16PM three weeks ago was wearing a blue shirt, so convinced you'd be willing to say so under oath. They could attach you to a lie detector, and the results would say you were telling the truth. However, when they get the CCTV footage, the person was wearing a red shirt. You weren't lying; your memory had you convinced it was a blue shirt. You believed it was the truth, so you believed you were telling the truth. This is how lie detectors work (theoretically; there's also the part that it only detects physical changes that only sometimes mean someone's lying anyway), and how truth serums (in various media or CIA conspiracy theories your subjective truth may or may not have you believe) are supposed to function.

Now, it could be argued that Gram functions as a detector of objective truth. Previously in AoA, it forced Thor to come to terms with the influence an infection of evil had on him (I don't remember exactly what happened, but essentially Old Loki more or less invaded Thor like a virus and forced him to act rather nastily). He didn't seem to realize what was happening until Loki stabbed him with Gram. This is a valid argument, and honestly I don't understand this scene enough (I think a lot of background for it came from other comics if I remember correctly) to make an authentic counterargument.

However Gram acts with Thor, though, I do believe in the above panel, Gram functions like a lie detector or truth serum. The "truth" Loki speaks is subjective truth. He believes it's true, so Gram is essentially like, "Sure, yep, sounds about right."

But because Gram doesn't do whatever it does when someone lies (or maybe because it functions like Wonder Woman's lasso, and you simply can't lie when you're wounded by it), it just further convinces Loki that his beliefs about his inability to be loved are true. Or he's aware that this may merely be a subjective truth, but because he knows how the sword works and he's banking on the queen not understanding the difference between types of truth, he's using it to gain her trust. He still can't lie while holding Gram, so either what he says is 100% indisputably true in an absolute sense, or he wholeheartedly believes it to be true with such certainty that it doesn't matter that it isn't objective. He may be saying it to gain her trust, but he also still believes it.

And I'm in pain.

[withahappyrefrain]

I wish you would write a fic where...Bob leaves Reader flowers at her work but due to a miscommunication, she thinks they are from Hangman or Rooster (much to her disappointment since she only has eyes for a certain WSO). 😘

AHHHHHHH MY HEART!!!!

Bob would be so damn nervous, his hands are visibly shaking when he walks into the training room, whispering to Phoenix that he finally did it.

"Are you serious?" Natasha asks, eyes wide because Bob has chickened out on this like three previous times.

And Mickey, who was only trying to help, tells you that they're from "someone you know but wouldn't expect." Because in his defense, most wouldn't expect Bob to be the type to leave someone flowers at their work place.

And in most cases, Mickey would be right!

But for you, it's obvious Bob likes you. He has no business to stop by your office EVERY DAY, especially as it's on the opposite side of the base. Also no reason to bring you coffee either. Every day.

So if it's not someone you'd expect, it had to be Hangman, right? Because he doesn't strike anyone as the "romantic" type (more like the use em and lose em type). So when Bob brings it up, you try to shrug it off, to let him know it means nothing.

"It was just an ordinary day yesterday. Besides this weird thing that happened this morning. Like, it was nice in theory but in reality was just like, odd. Someone left me flowers on my desk, I gave them to my coworker."

Bob would be so heartbroken!!! He can't bring himself to bring you coffee (the first day, Mickey agrees to drop off the coffee to you, the 2nd day he cuts off Bob). So he just stops coming by.

And you notice immediately!! You miss your bespectacled WSO who always remembered you prefer oatmilk and asks how you're doing in your latest playthrough of Stardew Valley!

It's those darn flowers! He thinks you like someone else, which couldn't be the furthest from the truth!

So the next time you hear someone talk about dropping off some papers over by where the aviators debrief, you jump at the chance. Do you go through some doors you weren't supposed to? Maybe. What Uncle Sam won't know can't hurt him.

You run into Bob while he's still in his flight suit, the smell of gasoline and sage driving you wild.

"I....hadn't seen you. Wanted to make sure you were okay," you tell him, nervously wringing your hands.

"Oh, I figured you....would prefer that after what happened," he says softly, wishing a black hole would swallow him.

"Are you talking about the flowers? Bobby, I told you they didn't mean anything!"

"And that's exactly the problem! If it doesn't mean anything, what's the point? Why torture myself knowing you don't feel the same way?"

And that's when your eyes go bug-wide as you softly ask Bob to explain what the fuck he's talking about.

[vesora]

hi!

MASSIVE question thats been rlly heavy on my mind and i hope i can type it out to the point where u can understand bc im awful w words lol 😭

so, most ppl think that when you manifest you shift to a reality where u have it (i believe this too) bc ur shifting ur conciousness bc thats what we all are. pure conciousness.

but if we, or I, are all the god of our own reality, how are other people simultaneously living in it aswell? and ik eiypo but how does that work for other manifestors that live in this reality with us?

bc they are the gods of their reality too, but we share a reality, how does it work?? there cant be multiple gods in one reality. but how do we all live together here ?

also! when people go into the void and affirm for other people to go to the void, how does that work? because theve shifted to a reality where those people have entered the void, but that also means theyve shifted away from the original people who havent entered the void, isnt it impossible?

very sorry fir the long ask, justs so curious!! thank u <33

ahhh it depends which school of thought you prefer! (also you are not awful with words)

in one theory, it says that there is no one here except you, meaning everyone is you and you are everyone so there is no other, there is no duality. therefore there is no other god in your reality except you (regardless no one else has power over you in either case). you just are God. This is all your creation and it's a play and you're living in it. They're all forms of consciousness stemming from you.

in another pov, if you believe in the statement that everyone is a god then my assumption is that you all shift to a reality where that thing is possible. i have switched timelines accidentally where someone i was with did not recall something that happened (not because of faulty human memory, it is like that day just never happened). so if you don't wish to undermine someone else's free will but also maintain your own sovereignty as the ultimate creator of your reality, I would go with this. remember that no matter what you believe, you have full control of your circumstance as you are the Creator.

If you believe in a more spiritual side, your soul and their souls may have signed a contract in order for you to help them grow and vice versa. So the soul is real but the form is unreal.

well! i don't believe people can manifest for others in the void. the person in the void just has their 3d change to what they prefer. if you are someone who got help from someone in the void, you did not receive the help, you created it. it is all you.

im not gonna lie there are* a lot of things that don't make sense and fuck it, maybe they're not supposed to. i wasted a lot of "time" thinking about logic in a place where it doesn't exist. forget about all these questions and just focus on the end and let everything go even if it's hard or you will be stuck in a cycle that will be hard to get out of as there is NO answer thats clearcut. you can't really find an answer through reading, apply what you've learned and find out for yourself

[taylortruther]

In the midst of all these deeply controversial and infamous lyrics of Taylor's, I've always wondered about Question, one of her most confusing songs till date for so many reasons.

First of all, for a song so obviously inspired by one of her exes, Taylor is very bold for including lyrics like "You painted all my nights a color I've searched for since" And "Does it feel like everything's just like second best after that meteor strike"???

I mean firstly I can't for the life of me pinpoint WHEN Question was written, or atleast supposed to be written. It's obviously looking back at a relationship in retrospect (hence the first lyric being "I remember") so like...was this written DURING Joe? Is she seriously saying that the two month situationship that happened more than a decade ago screwed her up that much?

Also speaking of Question, it also reminds me of the insane "star crossed lovers" and "soulmates" narrative she was hinting towards during the OG 1989 era. She was going HARD on the superlatives; We NEVER go out of style// You know for me, it's ALWAYS you// I'll NEVER forget you as long as I live// I would stay FOREVER if you say don't go etc...like it confuses me SO MUCH you have no idea.

What do you think? I really wanna hear the theories on Question. Midnights, atleast as per Taylor's own words, is a purely autobiographical album. I don't think she has ever alluded to anyone else being "the one that got away" this bad in all her other songs. It's a pretty popular theory that The 1 is also about Harry.

Anyways what do you think?

well, i think harry makes sense, given the ootw references with color and ootw intro.

as for writing those things in her present: i don't really find it strange that a writer would write about previous relationships and how they affected her. even if they affected her in a good way. i think if you look into your own past you'll find that you're still hurt, or fond, or whatever, of people in your past and they informed who you are now. and if you're an artist, maybe they still find their way into your work.

i don't pearl clutch about how joe might've felt about her writing about exes. idk. if he had an issue, they presumably talked about it.

also, this logic is funny (not laughing at you anon, but just this idea, which i've heard many times before) because it implies that taylor is unique in that she reflects on the past. but she's not. she's unique in that she puts out albums, but the rest of us still deal with our regrets, memories, the ones who got away, the what-ifs, we just suffer in silence LMAO. however, this is something i learned as i got older, because, well, regrets take time to pile up.

[blueteller]

I really love your theories so I have a question for you, what do you the sealed tests were ?

Reading it, I felt like they had way to much informations and stuff happening in it to not be a real world somewhere and then Raon kinda said he sorta remember Dodam so it can't really be another earth because I feel like Raon would not be feeling Dodam either so maybe another timeline ?

Do you think they'll come back at some point ?

That's an excellent question! I've given it a lot of thought, myself.

Personally, I think the twist is that instead of all tests being illusions, each one worked on completely different mechanics: it was to fool the people undertaking the tests to make them stuck for as long as possible, if not indefinitely, and absorb their despair at being trapped.

The first test was an extra one: unofficially called "test of despair", courtesy of Clopeh.

This test was an "illusion of conditionally alternative reality". The world itself was fake, however, the God of Despair had limited influence over it, due to it being heavily based on the TCF reality. I imagine the God of Despair used up a lot of his power for that one.

That reality was altered in two key ways: one, Cale Henituse did not exist. As in, he wasn’t a member of the Henituse family and was never born there. Two, the White Star was replaced by an avatar of the God of Despair, who made himself look like Cale Henituse. It was to trick Cale's group into fighting an "evil Cale", then display the footage in the real world and present it as "Cale's group betraying him". This scheme ultimately failed, because of the God of Death's cintamani. I am not sure what the passing requirement actually was in that test – because the Sealed God himself destroyed that test before it was finished. He probably figured he had a better chance of tricking Cale into using Embrace on him and using it to control him, somehow. Another scheme failed because of the God of Death – who had Cale use his Divine Item to seal him.

The rest of the tests followed the "standard format" of the Sealed God's temple: sadness, sloth, failure, indignity, and wrath.

The test of sadness was based on a person's memory. That was all there was to it. No alternations, no changes. Pretty simple. To pass it, you needed to "accept your sadness" – the same way Cale had to "accept the despair yet to come" in his test back on Earth 2.

The next test was a lot trickier. It was still based on memory, but it had specific properties: indulgence and numbness. It made the person gradually forget that they're in a test at all. It might seem simple on the surface, but in my opinion, it was the most dangerous test of all. Because once you forget you're in danger at all, how can you defend yourself? Luckily, it seems all of Cale's friends managed to pass that one somehow, even thought the passing requirement was never quite made clear to me. I suppose you just needed to "let go of indulgence" and move forward to face the difficulties of the real life.

The test of failure is where things get interesting. It was intended as an "impossible task" kind of test. As Choi Han's case with Harris Village had shown, it was a test where you experienced a failure of your past in a continuous loop. Try as hard as you can to correct your failure, it was an illusion where reality was actively against you. Choi Han should have no problem returning to Harris Village on time, knowing there was an attack coming. And yet the test made him fail over and over. Choi Han was implied to eventually out-stubborn the test, which is truly impressive, as Clopeh believed such a thing was not possible, and the solution was to "accept failure" in order to proceed.

The test of indignity is the strangest of them all; because all signs show that it was the only one where an Actual Alternate Reality was involved.

From what we know about Single-Lifers, such as Choi Han, they’re the only ones who are able to travel between dimensions in their own bodies without issues – of course in Part Two (slight spoiler alert!) we are introduced to Cale's mirror, another Divine Item from the God of Death. However, even with the mirror or the Hunters, they're all required to pay a price for such travel. Even during their travel to the murim world, Cale and his group needed to change appearance in order to "fit in".

That's because regular people are not meant to dimension-travel. Such things seem to be usually only for Gods, Wanderers or other divine beings. For Variables, such as transmigrators, it's necessary to change bodies to "native" ones when they change dimensions.

It is no coincidence that while Choi Han just got dropped into the TCF universe out of nowhere, Cale's soul was placed in the body of a local. That's because he couldn't be simply transported in his own Korean body. Notice how in each test, except the indignity one, Cale and the others were in their own bodies. Only in this one they were all temporarily transmigrated into someone else – although with how 20-year-old Kim Rok Soo was still inside Cale during the Sealed God's test, it's clear that the God of Despair doesn't switch souls, but temporarily places a second soul in another person's body.

That's why I'm 100% sure the indignity test was the only one with a real other universe involved. There were also differences Cale noticed, such as the absence of the Super Rock in the villa. It wasn't an illusion world based on his memories. It was a different world entirely. But it was still similar enough for the Sealed God to choose it his test target, as the same thing happened with Earth 2.

And finally, we got the last test: wrath.

While the extra test was an illusion of an alternate reality, sadness was a memory, sloth was a mind-numbing trap, the failure was a time loop, and indignity was another world… wrath is the only one which is 100% fiction.

It is a world crafted by a sneaky temple AI for one purpose only: to piss you off.

The thing is, if Cale hadn't thought that nonsense of how "kids complaining about food" et cetera are things that "make him angry", his test would probably be a little different. Because, let's be clear here: if the White Star truly had won over Cale, he would never let him live peacefully with the kids. Especially not comfortably enough for them to complain about such mundane thing as food.

The temple took Cale's absurd suggestions and meshed them all with the vision of what truly pissed Cale off: the White Star winning and doing whatever the hell he wanted. If the White Star had won, he wouldn't leave a single one of Cale's allies alive. …Especially not Raon, whom that bastard threatened to cut his heart out of and feed it to Cale.

The point is: logically, the wrath test made no sense. There wasn't any internal consistency to it – even illusion!Eruhaben himself pointed out it did not make any sense. Clopeh's version of the wrath test was seeing Cale and his group in jail and awaiting a trial, as if that would ever happen! If Cale got caught, they would have tortured and killed him, not involving any legal procedures. What would even be the point?

From my observation, the only way to pass this test is to cool off – so unless you're able to defeat whatever it is that "makes you angry", you'd be stuck. Which, honestly, doesn't seem like a very effective trap to me… but I suppose making someone pissed off enough makes them reckless (as seen by Cale bleeding and all over the place and beating up the White Star with a rock like there's no tomorrow…), which is quite dangerous in itself. And if a person manages to pass all the previous tests without issues, it would make sense that anger could be their final weakness.

To answer your final question - do I think Dodam!verse will come back at some point?

Yes. Absolutely.

So yeah - that's my take on the Sealed God's temple tests. I hope you enjoyed it!

[paradoxicalpaldeann]

hear me out. cenobite!stan (cause he's a pinhead main). (tw: gore, general grossness. cenobites are like that man)

he's honestly a completely normal guy once you get past the fact that he's an extradimensional entity who's job is torturing people.

he's more neutral like the cenobites used to be before they got made evil in the later movies cause i really prefer the neutral cenobites to the evil ones.

SR jokingly summons him via lament configuration after it's mysteriously sent to their PO box in the office he goes "oh you guys don't want to be tortured? alright thats fine, consent is important and all. bye"

he gets fired from his job because "dude no you're not supposed to leave, if they open the box they've gotta go with you"

he ends up completely stranded on earth. he's still a cenobite with all his fucked up powers he's just. stuck

ends up tracking down sr via the lament configuration and goes "yeah can i crash with you guys i got fired"

he does pay rent lol

he has a human form/disguise since most cenobites are... yeah.

his cenobite form is definitely a bit gross cause there's a lot of exposed muscles and missing skin. his teeth are fully exposed because the skin on his cheeks and chin has been completely removed in a way that almost looks like a mask until he speaks and you can see each individual part of his face move. there's several patches/'windows' of removed skin on his arms, legs and torso exposing his ribs, and the largest patch is almost his entire back. had an idea where the skin from his back is still attached and it's pinned/connected to his arms in such a way that it looks like wings when he raises his arms

i was thinking that MAYBE he had some pieces of super sharp metal lodged in his skull that look like horns because even though cenobites really aren't traditional 'demons'

he doesn't really feel pain. it's more like constant pressure being applied to those areas, like a weighted blanket.

has to take off his human form semi-regularly cause it itchy :(

he gets taller as a cenobite because 1. he's just. taller like that. more leg 2. Holy Fuck He Is Floating

his height really pisses kaif off because what the hell man stop going upwards get down from there

he's a very curious boy. hasn't been on earth for quite some time and now he's stuck here, might as well take a look around

most cenobites used to be human and he is no exception, he just can't remember anything of his human life and he's pretty curious as a result.

Human!Stan was not a good person. complete opposite of how pinhead's original human form was kind of okay

Human!Stan was a Baron (noble) who lived around the start of the nineteenth century (1800s) who killed... a lot of people, is considered one of the UK's most prolific serial killers even though he lived a long time ago, especially with more recent evidence showing he killed more people than was previously thought. He had a pretty long run before being caught, and mysteriously vanished the day before his execution. To this day, nobody knows what happened to the Butcher of the Hollow.

In reality, Human!Stan came into possession of the Lament Configuration through his status in the aristocracy (specifically LeMarchand's box) and his mysterious disappearance was him solving the box and becoming a Cenobite.

i just thought it'd be really funny if cenobite!stan was completely normal. he went so downhill he came out the other side as Tolerable and not a serial killer.

cenobite!stan is interested in who he was before... and then he's not because oh nooooo i sucked massively

he does get a kick out of watching all the crazy conspiracy theories about what the Fuck happened to him. nobody is right.

all in all he's a pretty chill dude once you get past the Everything

[sugar-grigri]

i love your theory but the only thing i have an issue with is how makima directly calls out “death, war, hunger… with chainsaw man’s power, i’ll blot them all out” which i suppose could be a red herring but it would be super shitty of fujimoto to do that, i just don’t think chainsaw man’s #1 fan would confuse him, especially if she hates death to the point of wanting to “blot them out” and she identifies devils by smell, you know?? i dunno, maybe i’m reading too much into things, i wanted ur take on things !

I'd just like to point out that it's a theory, although I like the fact that it's very poetic, that has 50% of working in reality.

You're absolutely right that Makima has an excellent sense of smell, but I think the key to understanding was held by Pochita and not by her.

In chapter 84, to which you refer, she mentions the fact that there are names she can't remember, a sign that she herself is sensitive to Chainsaw Man's power.

Makima's plan was simple: defeat Chainsaw Man in order to control him.

Makima knew that terrifying concepts had been erased by Pochita, so what she surely wanted to do was to use her power to attack not demons specifically, but concepts that terrified the most of mankind

Death, war, famine and control are empirically the greatest fears today, and the concept of the Knights of the Apocalypse remains unclear, but some information was given in part 2.

Yoru is indifferent to demons that are not her family, but rather demons of her own rank, whereas Makima had been willing to subjugate them. Fami represents a third option, as she sees them as possible allies, although she also seeks to subdue them with or without their consent.

That's why, even if I can say that Makima was informed, I still can't say that she met the other Knights of the Apocalypse, she simply saw them as obstacles to humanity through their concepts, it wasn't personal/individual revenge.

I agree that she's Chainsaw Man's #1 fan, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't be completely wrong about his essence.

Pochita remains shrouded in mystery while the control demon has also been drained of his essence, of her own feelings by the government

Makima saw Pochita first and foremost as a means to achieve the goals humanity had assigned her; she was so instrumentalized by her mission that this ultimate means was also the only way to be happy.

The demon of control was not a free demon, especially mentally, so she saw other knights only through the eyes of humanity.

What is the most common trait that defines these four demons? The fact of not having forgotten the demons erased by Chainsaw Man.

Why this particularity? Only demons of the same rank could have it.

Makima wanted to destroy the other demons of the apocalypse and has an excellent sense of smell. But why are the Knights of the Apocalypse the only ones to remember Chainsaw Man's deeds? Why couldn't Makima consider herself above Chainsaw Man? Was she necessarily inferior? Or was she of the same rank ?

Especially as part 1 ends with Pochita having grasped Makima perfectly, and not having communicated with her once during their fight, surely because he knew that the control demon was not acting according to her own will.

Chainsaw Man had a better grasp of the control demon than she had of him.

[nemirutami]

hi i was curious what fic you were refering to in your minato/akechi art :>??

It's a fic i've been writing on and off for a year now but i havent posted it anywhere yet haha.... unless?

In summary: It's about Akechi finding new work at a company called R.E.I (reliable, experienced, innovative) where Minato is the CEO (and widower) with a child Akechi comes to know as Rei (yep Minato named the company after his daughter). The fic focuses on all 3 influencing each other and helping each other cope/grow from their traumas but is also my biggest excuse to write cute scenes where Akechi gets to have an adopted daughter and be the dad he never got to be (he's terrible at it). If you're wondering "why would Minato hire Akechi" then don't worry. He has a very good reason. Minato hired Akechi because Akechi gave him shitty customer service and Minato took one look at him and said "I can adjust his attitude." now Akechi works for Minato bc he's an idiot. Most the fic is also me writing them comedically stupid and sad and very stupid. Oh, and I guess they kiss maybe. But really it's about broken people building a family w/o knowing. I made the fic as a joke and that's why it can't be named anything other than "Is it wrong to hit on my boss?" I've made a ton of art for it (some which I guess i've already posted alluding to the fic). I did make a cover sketch for it tho! There's a bunch of foreshadowing in the items on display (but it's too sketchy to make out I'm sure).

The 100k part of this fic is already up on patreon but I'm writing/editing the other 100K. So like, uh... 200+ pages of text and 29 chapters so far. In theory, the fic is already finished/has an ending, but I just need to fill in the gaps and tie plot points together.

If you're interested, I'll add the prelude/first chapter below the cut lmfao. It pretty much sets up the premise as tightly as possible in under 2K words. It has not been edited at all so take this abhorrently constructed first draft with no shame. You can judge my noodle words all you want but remember if you say a mean thing I will die.

Title: Is it wrong to hit on my boss?

Pair: Minake

Ch 1: That's not how this was supposed to go.

10 AM on the dot, to no one's surprise, he was flawlessly punctual as usual. Today was too important for missteps, and Akechi had carefully calculated each and every word he was going to use to land this job opportunity with one of Japan's biggest corporations in web development and online advertisement. Having worked at a low paying job for the most part (one with a boss that relentlessly attacked him and tried to convince him that he would amount to nothing, no less) didn’t prepare him for the call he received from R.E.I's founder about a new job opportunity. 

Cocky with confidence, he quit his job before the interview. 

After all, if this founder somehow went out of his way to request him, he must have done so with good reason.

With his hair tied back neatly into a ponytail and his shirt tucked beneath a more-than-a-little expensive looking business suit, he walked into the lobby, checked in, and got told to take the elevator up to the 3rd floor. He cocked his head curiously at the attendant before turning his gaze towards the elevator. Next to the elevator was a fire extinguisher for emergencies, and a metal plate outlining over 100 floors for the building. Naturally, there had to be some mistake. Floor 1 was considered the lobby, floor 2 was a storage for supplies and spare parts, and floor 3 was where their call center started. Their web developers were a fair bit higher up in the company, which made his directions only more confusing. What was a web developer supposed to do at a call center? While the thought of not having to fake a smile over the phone was comforting, the very image of having to do customer support 7 hours a day for the rest of his life put the fear of God in him.

"Pardon my rudeness, but there m-" Must be some mistake. The old lady at the counter was one step ahead of him and delivered her message with a sharp tone that left Akechi speechless.

"The founder's office is on the third floor," she interrupted her sentence with a huff, "-treat yourself to the coffee upstairs, you're gonna need it." and punctuated it with a dismissive wave of her hand. If more people hadn't entered the building and tried to take care of their own business, Akechi would have asked her to elaborate. But since he now for sure knew he was going to meet the founder, he decided not to make a scene.

"I… see. Thank you for the offer, but I must decline. I'm sure everything will go smoothly." But if they put him in a call center to provide customer support around the clock he was prepared to personally wire that black coffee maker into a homemade bomb and take down the whole building with him. While that thought crossed his mind, he smiled politely at the woman and took the elevator ride up.

Never in his life had he been so confused by a layout. He was aware of the building's size, but this was beyond ridiculous. The hallways almost looked like a maze, with paintings scribbled from wall to wall. Upon closer inspection, they looked like kids drawings. Either this was part of some PR stunt, or the founder was really into bright neon colors. If Akechi didn't hear the man on the other line himself and came here looking for a job, he'd expect to find a kindergarten at the other side of the many doors down the hall. His confidence was dwindling more and more with each step.

Once he reached the door he assumed would take him into the workplace where the founder was seated, he grasped at the handle only to find it locked. He blinked, and twisted the doorknob again, hoping it would open the door. When it didn't, he pulled a little harder until he heard a click from the other side, and noticed that the plate beneath the handle had the word "push" written in caps. Without thinking, he put far too much swing into his movement, and ended up smacking the poor sap on the other side that kindly unlocked the door for him, and the man's coffee poured right onto his suit and onto the floor in a loud mess.

"Ah, sorry!" He would have stayed and apologized properly if he wasn't at risk of running late. "If you give me a minute, I'll be right back and help you clean up!" and he was gone. He could have stayed and helped but chose to prioritize the meeting. In the end, that guy was out one cup of coffee and still had a stable income, whereas missing out on this interview might cost Akechi not only his career, but his livelihood. If this went south, he could wind up homeless. Unless he begged for his old job back.

No, the chill of winter would be less humiliating than going back on his hands and knees to the boss that not only demeaned him, but continuously plagiarized his work for his own benefit.

"Hewoo," In the midst of his early mid-twenties crisis, a soft voice spoke to him, but the only people he spotted were already head-deep in work. Another faint cry, this one, a bit more shy.

"Heo…" he turned his head down, and spotted a tiny girl hiding beneath a desk with her fist against her lips and her knees up to her chest. She looked about four years old, short curly hair with a clip-on to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Really, if she hadn't called out to him, he never would have spotted her in those shadows. He stared at her stupidly before turning his head up and asking if anyone brought their daughter to work. The girl shushed him, and got his attention once again.

"M, hidin…" 

"Ah," It was too early for a break, but he supposed someone might have taken some time off to call a responsible adult to come pick up their child from work. Still, he couldn't help but smile and crouch next to her, putting one finger over his lips with a whisper. "It's ok, I won't tell anyone." The little girl smiled so wide she was practically squinting. 

"Who r u…" He cocked his head slightly. Did she know most of the people on this floor? She spoke as if she knew he was a stranger. He shrugged it off. That can't be right. Must have been childish curiosity. 

"I'm Akechi Goro, and you?"

"Ake...ak...e...Aket…" She struggled and fumbled over her words, before she furrowed her brows with confidence and looked upset she couldn't yet pronounce his name.

"Gowo." He couldn't hold back a smile, and the little girl, now forgetting she's supposed to be hiding, shouts at him.

"Don't laff! That's mean!"

"Sorry!" His words said sorry, but his smile told her differently. At least, until his phone began beeping. It was now exactly 10 am.

"Sh-!" Too much in a hurry, he rushed to stand up quickly, and banged the back of his head against the table. He fell to his knees again, pushed down by the tabletop, and grabbed the back of his neck. The little girl, to no fault of her own, laughed at him without a shred of sympathy. Before he could get up on his feet, an arm patted him on the back.

"Hey, you ok?" He couldn't tell with his eyes closed, but the little girl mimicked the man's movements and reached her tiny hand out to pat Akechi's knee as if to comfort him. Before he could respond, he heard the man say "There you are!" followed by a tiny high pitched scream that honest to God was only giving Akechi a headache.

Still better than his old job, despite the abuse and trauma he's had to endure thus far.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the man that he accidentally slammed into squishing the little girl's cheeks, possibly as punishment.

"What did I tell you? You can't win."

"Mmmrmmmrrrr"

"Do you give up?" The child stubbornly stared him in the eye and only repeated her mumbling louder. The man sighed, but with the hint of a smile.

"Alright, go hide again." The joy in that little girl's eyes could part the skies on a cloudy day. She beamed and quickly ran off to hide elsewhere while the man covered his eyes and began counting. As soon as she was gone and he no longer heard the tip tap of feet, he got up and extended his hand towards Akechi.

"You look lost. Do you need any help?" This was humiliating. A kid laughing at him, he could handle, but a future coworker extending him his aid this early in their partnership was shameful. Especially since this was the same guy he left high and dry just moments ago.

"No, no, I'll be alr-" His voice was now much less sympathetic.

"Just take my hand." So much for debate. He didn't appreciate how everyone in this company cut him off mid-sentence, but took the other man's hand to get back up on his feet. As soon as he did, he got looked over rather thoroughly, a little too intensely to his liking.

"Doesn't look like you're bleeding, but if you're feeling dizzy, there's a nurse just two doors down to the left. She can examine you in case you've suffered any severe damage." His concern was flattering but unnecessary and sadly a waste of time.

"Haha, no worries. Actually... I need to get to the founder's office. Do you know where that is?" 

"Yes, but I wouldn't worry about t- Rei, don't climb the bookshelf! Junpei, will you-" 

"Aye, aye, boss! Come here you trouble bunny! How about you hop hop into bed and take a long looong nap? Man, uncle Junpei could use one too. I'll show you how it's done, like a pro!"

"Iori, sleep on the job and you're fired."

"Come on Philei, your dad is scary when he's talking to people that are not you!"

So much happened in the span of just a couple of seconds.

"...Rei?" He felt his blood run cold. "Her name is… Rei?" The man, somewhat confused that he was still standing there with a dumb look on his face, spoke as if this was basic knowledge Akechi should have known before stepping into the building.

"Of course, that's my daughter," he holds out his hand again, this time, expecting Akechi to shake it. "-and I'm the founder, Minato Arisato. And you are?"

Absolutely screwed.

[justali-anne]

So... How do you think Sans handles anger?

Look, I see two options. He either bottles it up until it leaks out for a few seconds, then it's immediately back to hiding it... Or he really is that apathetic and he's slow to anger, but when he does get angry, he can't STAY angry for very long.

Either way, I don't think getting caught in arguments suits him.

And either way, he's emotionally challenged.

Actually, he's either emotionally challenged or he just expresses his feelings in a confusing and more subdued way. He's very hard to read.

Ironic. He's so good at reading people yet he's really hard to read himself.

Are you sure YOU'RE not the anomaly, Mr. Funny Bone?

Anyway, moving on from that, The Amazing World of Gumball is a GOLDMINE for stories and ideas. I have almost 100 stories that are inspired from Gumball.

Most of them are Undertale fanfiction, but hey! That's something!

That aside, WHAT THE HECK SANS?! Why. Are. You. The. Way. That. You. Are.

Seriously, he might as well be an anomaly or something. Him and his brother both. Papyrus casually breaks the laws of physics and acts like it's normal.

Imagine those two just casually going about their day, breaking the laws of physics, even though one enjoys that kind of thing yet he messes with it all the time...

Hmm... Maybe that's why Sans has those powers. HE'S MASTERED THE ART OF QUANTUM THEORY AND USES IT TO HIS ADVANTAGE.

Also, I feel bad for Sans somewhat mainly because he can't remember resets like Frisk or Flowey can. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF PRANKS HE MISSED OUT ON?!

Although, I suppose remembering your friends and family dying over and over again would be pretty lame. Never mind.

I'm just practicing typing my thoughts out as I go along. I have a lot of insight on things and my brain goes a million miles per hour so I lose it really quickly... And now I'm rambling.

So, have a good day, a good week, and a relatively good life.

[duhragonball]

Mega Man Ecch

I decided to ruin my weekend by playing Mega Man X7, and yeah, it was terrible. I was kind of fascinated by the decline of the Mega Man X series, and the videos I've watched about it never quite seemed to give me the full picture. Reviewers and analysts can give me a lot of technical and critical explanations, but at the end of the day, they're just really bad games. At best, they're boring, and at worst they're really frustrating from a UI standpoint.

The word "broken" gets thrown around a lot, but that almost gives X6 and X7 too much credit. "Broken" sounds kind of cool or funny, like "Big Rigs". X6 and X7 are just tired and annoying. This is what happens when you've done thirteen iterations of a game and no one cares anymore. What sucks the most about X6 and X7 is that both games put a lot of emphasis on replay value without making the first playthrough compelling enough to make you want to try it again. Like you're supposed to go back through all the other stages and find new items and stuff, and then have fun using those items on the same levels you beat before, but the levels suck, so why would anyone bother?

One video I watched made the point that you can't call these the "worst games ever", because they're not "Superman 64" levels of bad. This is true, and I suppose that's what I find so frustrating about X6 and X7. They're reviled, but they're not so terrible that there's any juicy details about their failure. I went out of my way to play these things just to see what their deal was, and I don't have much to show for it.

The thing is, I really don't enjoy the good Mega Man X games either. X4 is supposed to be one of the best ones, and I found it annoying. The big problem with these games is their over-reliance on story. They keep putting cutscenes and voice acting and long, unskippable dialogue boxes in these games, like this is Resident Evil and not a bunch of bug-eyed cartoon robots shooting at each other. I've played seven of these things and I still don't understand what the fuck is going on, or what Sigma wants, or why I'm supposed to care about any of the characters when their allegiances can literally be changed by flipping a switch. All the dialogue is stuff like "According to this data, if the DNA from the Reploid Virus interacts with the Maverick Virus, it could infect all Reploids who used to be Mavericks with a new type of virus, called the Virus Reploid DNA Maverick Virus."

I feel like somewhere I heard there was a fan theory that Sigma is basically the remnants of Dr. Wily digitized intelligence. Like, Zero was established to be Dr. Wily's ultimate creation, making him an evil version of X. But then Sigma tracked him down and tried to turn him good, only to get infected with bad guy juice or something, so that's why Zero is good and Sigma is bad in the games. So maybe the evil influence within Sigma is just Dr. Wily living on as a computer program. Which sounds kind of compelling, until you realize this would mean it all boils down to Dr. Wily being the final boss of all the games, which got old in 1992. It also undermines all of the cutscenes and handwringing in the X games, because "Dr. Wily is a jerk and we have to stop him" is a pretty elementary. All of these games are just repeating Mega Man 1 and trying to turn it into some elaborate moral dilemma. No, Dr. Wily is a jerk and we have to stop him. He decorates his castle with skulls. This isn't complicated.

At least the worst is over, and I have X8 to look "forward" to. People seem to look back generously on this one, mainly for offering the series a hint of redemption before it ended once and for all. From my perspective though, I mostly remember seeing X8 at Wal-Mart in 2004 and thinking "They're still making these things?"

[the-rockstar-lestat]

Good Morning Prince. How does the whole prince thing work when you're away from court with sad boi? And what did sad boi do to get you away from a place as cool as a vampire court????

Good morning dear. Sorry for taking so long to reply, but your ask came at a very appropriate time: I just got back from a visit to court.

So when we set up the court I suppose I thought I'd live there full time. But even a rockstar can't be on stage 24/7, and, I imagine like many kings and queens have, I found the environment stifling.

Look, I've always wanted to be a hero, I've always wanted to be seen and loved and wanted, guilty as charged, but I've never been good at dealing with pomp and circumstance and ritual and the Court seemed to positively BREED that sort of thing. Maybe vampires are pompous by nature. Maybe too many of them were born in a world of royalty and divine right. But I'm a creature of chaos, as Louis will be glad to tell you. The brat prince, remember? I've never been good at falling in line. I'm also a child of the enlightenment; I was no fan of the revolution when it happened (it did kill most of my family...) but I've always been a little skeptical of titles, despite being born with one. Or maybe because of it. Our title didn't keep us warm during the winter, it just made it impossible to ask for the help of our neighbors because as aristocrats we were above such weakness.

Maybe we shouldn't have structured it in such a regal fashion, but it was a busy time. I was trying to figure out how to put out Roshamendes' fires (quite literally) , and then they wanted me to be leader and then they were calling me prince. Not sure how it all escalated that quickly either. Better than a new religion, which seems to be the OTHER thing vampires like to do.

Anyway, court was uncomfortable, at least to be at full time, and I longed for a backstage area. Louis and I were also repairing our relationship, trying again, and while Louis loves the court in theory and what it stands for, he finds it overwhelming. When I held the core we didn't have much choice in the matter, I had to be protected, and my understandably paranoid subjects insisted I be somwhere safe and accessible, for THEIR safety. But after it's removal and our serverencr from the core, there was no reason to keep me in my gilded cage, so an idea was reached. Louis and I would live our private lives in whatever city we chose, and would both be in attendance a few days out of the month to run business. I usually average about a week out of the month, sometimes less or more if things ar happening. We also have a Season now, a month or so when court is officially opened, we have a series of balls and parties, announcements are made, major business is attended to, and all vampire kind is invited to attend. THAT'S when I'm most busy, and tend to live there full time while the court is teeming with people, both for business and pleasure. I don't mind it so much! The show must go on, and most of this prince stuff is being a pretty figurehead that people can identify with.

Honestly, I'm a pretty hands off ruler. Could never stand being told what to do, don't really like to tell others, but I'm happy to step in to settle disputes and mediate. That I can do. Sometimes big things come up and require my presence, like the vampire Nazi incident that brought Louis and me to Thessaloniki, then Rome, then England, then back to Thessaloniki (more for a vacation...) slightly before the pandemic.

Anyway, other than that, I live privately with Louis in New York, and very happily. I like being the vampire prince, don't get me wrong, love the attention and the adoration, and yes, the ability to do something for my people and my kind that helps them cope with eternity, and gives them the pride in their culture and nature that so many of us lacked for so long.

I hope my service there somehow makes up for what I did to Louis and Claudia. All this started because I separated two vampires from their community, and what is Louis' story, immortalized in his book, but a search for community? I hope I have finally brought him that.