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canmom · 7 months

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The themes of NieR Reincarnation

A post about the recurring elements of Drakenier and the use of branching timelines as a storytelling device. I'll be discussing spoilers for basically every DoD/NieR game.

Records

A somewhat understated recurring motif of the Drakengard/NieR series is the idea of stories or memories of humanity being stored in some massive archive.

It's an idea that first entered the series in NieR Gestalt/Replicant. Early drafts of the game focused on the idea of a world built out of stories and fairytale characters, and while most of this was cut, some remained in the Forest of Myth area.

Following NieR's obsessive love of hopping between different game genres, the story here is delivered through prose/text adventure segments. There is a sense that this area of the game exists as prose, with the characters slightly aware of narration - narration which absorbs the characters until you find a way to escape. Eventually you find out - it's rather cryptic in the actual game, but spelled out explicitly in Grimoire NieR - that it's a huge computer system storing records of the deceased humanity.

In your second visit to the area, the story focuses more on distant history, that all these stories are fragments of memory of the lost pre-apocalpytic world. You encounter a Gestalt (human soul extracted from body) that is eating the memories stored in the tree, and kill it, and for Nier and co., this is enough - but for the player, you really don't know half of what is going on.

In the story The Lost World, which was adapted for the additional Ending E added in the Replicant remake, Kainé returns to the Forest of Myth and finds the computer system expanding. She fights clones of herself before eventually speaking to a mysterious administrator and descending into a virtual world that seems like a corrupted version of her memories. But she's able to connect to her memories of NieR, Emil and Grimoire Weiss, and through that connection cause a kind of timeline collapse effect that allows her to resurrect Nier. Terms from DoD3 such as 'singularity' come back again.

youtube

In NieR Automata, the idea of the legacy of humanity becomes increasingly central. While the androids believe they are reclaiming Earth for humanity, the Machine Lifeforms' motivation is in large part driven by their efforts to pore over the records of humanity and learn how to evolve their condition, even by blind imitation. Many of the different Machine Lifeforms you encounter are shaped by their interpretations of human society. The motif of human buildings recreated in white blocks recurs at certain points.

In the final sequence of the game, you climb a tower, and inside it visit simulacra of locations from the Replicant/Gestalt. You learn that the machines have infiltrated the androids' network and downloaded basically all the information the androids have, including all their records of humanity. When the machines' 'Ark' is launched into space, it carries their memories and consciousness in data form.

The YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse raid series in FFXIV continues this idea of obsessive, blind reconstruction. The machines you fight here are now all the more explicitly connected to the apocalyptic shit in DoD; they have also been frantically creating duplicates of YoRHa android 2P, the Bunker and so on in corrupted form. Although the story here has mostly other interests, it's another recurrence of the idea of trying to recreate things that were lost.

Along with this idea of the archive comes the idea of preservation of that archive. Whether by accident or deliberate attack, the survival of the archive is not guaranteed.

This is all absolutely central to what Reincarnation is about.

Branches

The Drakenier series has played around with branching narratives pretty much from the start. It's somewhat infamous for it in fact - did you know that NieR is actually a spinoff of ending E of Drakengard, the one where you appear over Tokyo and have to do a rhythm game? Yeah, so...

Most games are fairly cagey (ha ha) about the mechanics of these branches. Indeed, although we speak of branches, the structure of these games is not really a branching one like a visual novel. The branches and 'endings' are usually unlocked sequentially.

Drakengard/Drag-on Dragoon (DoD1) is probably the closest you get to a traditional branching structure. You can unlock routes in certain missions by fulfilling certain conditions. The exact logic of these branches is not really explained - you can go back to a point before you recruit a party member and get a different branch where they're present for example. That said, it's not like a visual novel where you can be 'on' one branch or another - you can always jump to any level from any timeline.

This oddness of the branches is also lampshaded a little more in DoD3, the game that is most explicit about the nature of the branching timeline. DoD3 is, from the player perspective, a linear game. After you complete the first 'ending', you unlock new levels that appear at earlier points in the timeline, and diverging branches appear. In the later branches, the logic of the world is starting to break down. Party members who you'd recruit later in the story are in your party much earlier, in some cases suffering from amnesia, the implication being that it's an effect of the Flower's corruption.

The game is intermittently narrated by a character called Accord, an android 'Recorder' whose job is to document all the different versions of the story for an unknown party. Accord isn't supposed to intervene in the story, though she occasionally talks to protagonist Zero, and in the final D route, she decides to break the rules and save Zero. Otherwise, she's responsible for 'sealing' branches where it seems the world cannot be saved.

This is Accord:

The final cutscene of DoD3, available only after you beat the ludicrously difficult rhythm game that is the 'final song', shows a bunch of other Accords appearing and talking about what a mess this all is.

Accord's other role in the game is to sell weapons. Another series tradition running back to DoD1 is the 'Weapon Stories'. In each game, you can collect weapons, which can be upgraded through a series of four stages. Each stage unlocks another part of a story. These stories tend to be quite brief - each entry is at most a short paragraph. They also, particularly in the DoD games, tend to be comically grimdark.

DoD 3 came out after NieR Replicant/Gestalt, but in every game since then, there have been cryptic mentions of Accord. In Automata she's mentioned in a note as a weapons seller; in the updated version of Replicant she is mentioned as visiting Nier's village while the party is away on her adventures, and you see a documention that mentions the 'Accord Corporation' supplying magic weapons.

OK, so, put a pin in that, we'll come back to her later.

The side material commits further to the branching idea. The original Drakengard is established to follow from the DoD3 Story Side novel, while Branch A gives rise to the Shi ni Itaru Aka manga and the DoD 1.3 novel. The YoRHa stage plays spawned alternative versions, namely YoRHa version 1.3a and Shōjo YoRha version 1.1a, with the gender of the casts flipped. YoRHa 1.3a also has Accord in it. The anime NieR Automata ver. 1.1a also presents an increasingly diverging version of the events of the game - notably, Adam turns into a multi-armed monster.

DoD2, something of the black sheep of the franchise, was originally written to follow DoD1 ending A; later it was retconned to belong to its own branch. Just 'cause.

With me so far? ...no? Yeah, that's fair. You can read about all the details I've gathered so far here, but in short, there are lots of timeline branches, and multiple versions of several stories with small or large divergences.

Reincarnation

NieR Re[in]carnation is a gacha game that's been running for the last three years, and is going to be shut down at the end of April. At the time it came out, it was acknowledge for having unusually nice graphics for a mobile game, but rather desultory, grindy, repetitive gameplay. Which remained true throughout the game's life, so I can't exactly recommend playing Reincarnation, especially at this point.

But! I would definitely say it's worth your time to dig up the story on Youtube/Accord's Library if you're into NieR stuff. I won't be going into all the ins and outs of the story and how it all fits together in this post, but I am gonna talk about how it's structured.

NieR Reincarnation places you in a vast stone city called the Cage, calling to mind the environments in Ico. At the outset, you play as a young girl travelling with a weird ghost-like creature called Mama, tasked with restoring the memories stored in objects called 'dark scarecrows' which are being subverted and corrupted by black birds which form into various monsters.

Within each chapter of NieR Reincarnation, you get a short story in four parts, presented in a kind of cutout style, which are the four segments of a weapon story. You collect the weapon and the character.

The Cage is shaped by the content of the weapon stories somehow bleeding into the simulated setting. A character's memories can be used to restore the stories to their proper course. It is possible to interfere in small ways with the worlds of the stories.

The corruption of the stories tends to involve subverting characterisation to make them crueller, more prone to random violence etc. - or points when a character could be threatened in a narratively unsatisfying way. For example, a peace-loving runaway prince could be turned into a warlike king.

Over the course of the first arc, you discover that the girl you are playing is actually a monster who has taken the form of a human girl and, regretting it, wants to give her her embodiment back. The second half of the arc has you playing the girl trying to reunite with her monster friend; at the end, you get her own backstory as a victim of brutal prejudice. After all is said and done, both characters transform into weapons, which Mama picks up and hides away.

The second arc, The Sun and the Moon, deals with a brother and sister from present-day Tokyo. Both of them have been transported into the Cage by more of the weird ghost thingies, to participate in a strange ritual that is allegedly going to restore the Cage. The rules are highly mystical - a significant sacrifice is needed.

In the most recent arc, The People and The World, the characters all emerge from their stories as the Cage becomes increasingly corrupted. We finally get the long awaited point where these characters can interact with each other, and advance the stories from a series of tragic vignettes to something more. At the same time, we get a lot more allusions to other games in the series - from the Lunar Tear room where Emil memorialised Kainé and later 9S memorialises 2B, to a brief appearance Devola and Popola.

There's even a nod to Yoko Taro's other terminated gacha game, SINoALICE, which is going to be made into a movie oddly enough. There's a wry nod to the game being shut down.

And in the most recent chapters we find out that the Cage is actually a server on the moon containing records of humanity - 10H from A Much Too Silent Sea is one of the main characters. 'Mama' is actually the Pod tasked with overseeing the archive, and wiping 10H's memories whenever she learns too much - though it seems at some point 10H learned the truth and affirmed that she'd protect the archive anyway and they stopped wiping her memory.

Over the course of the chapter, 10H helps the gang make their escape from the moon through the androids network, to Earth. But when they get to Earth, they find themselves in a strange white city more resembling the Cage.

We'll finally get some answers, maybe, later this month. Anyway...

So, these records come from multiple diverging timelines, and they take the form of weapon stories. You have a unity of the ideas of character - weapon - memory - world. A record is simultaneously a tragic series of events, a person who can manifest inside the Cage itself, a simulated world which other people can visit, and a weapon.

In addition to the main storyline chapters and 'character stories', each character is associated with two additional 'EX' storylines, termed Dark Memories and Recollections of Dusk. Each one is a much more substantial narrative than most in the game.

Some of these EX stories clearly take place in different timelines to the first ones we encounter. Akeha's story, for example, takes place after her death in the original version. For the brother and sister from the Sun and the Moon arc, originally from present-day Tokyo, their Dark Memories take place in the backstory to NieR Gestalt/Replicant - the period where humanity is dying out to White Chlorination Syndrome and fighting monsters called the Legion. In this one, before the siblings could be torn apart by family drama and resentment, the apocalypse happens. Both of them end up coming into their own as heroic fighters. In the finale arc, the characters learn a bit about these alter egos, and it's made very explicit that this is a different timeline.

The monster Levania's Dark Memory is especially weird. It's the story of a salaryman who plays a monster called Levania in an MMORPG. His MMO character inspires him to live more bravely in the real world, and his life seems to be improving, but he is murdered by a jealous coworker. He wishes for reincarnation as he dies - classic isekai stuff. But the connection to the Levania you encounter in the main story is far from clear. Are all versions of Levania derived essentially from this man's tulpa?

The nature of the 'enemies' attacking the Cage is still not yet clear. They take the form of black birds. The birds are given a small amount of dialogue and characterisation, and they seem to not be malicious, just confused. The girl from the first arc in particular tends to interact with them sympathetically. However, they seem to be connected with the mysterious 'God' who was trying to destroy the world in DoD1, and the Angels and Flower of DoD3.

The birds are able to gathe together to manifest much larger monsters, the largest being giant elk and fish called Cursed Gods. During the finale arc, one of these becomes something that resembles the Mother Angel from DoD1 - and yes, there is a rhythm game - though mercifully a pretty easy one.

In the same arc, the character Yurie, an AI city overlord with grandiose ambitions and a loathing of imperfection attempts to download the entire history of humanity from the Cage and become a more perfect being. She succeeds, only to find the answers disappointing...

This is perhaps the closest thing we ever get to an explicit statement of what all these stories and histories add up to, but despite all this, the throughline is very strongly that these stories are essential to preserve. NieR characters exist in small groups, and it is their intense connections to these others, their treasured memories of travelling together, that motivate them to fight to preserve that thing, even if the results are destructive.

Similar themes emerge for example in Noelle's Recollection of Dusk story, which sees her travelling to preserve a place valued by her sister in crystal. And they also connect to the theme of sacrifice - the recurring ending device where the player must delete their save data in order to help someone (something echoed in Hina and Yuzuki at the altar of the sun and moon, or Levania and Fio). It's perhaps fair to say that nothing is more valued in the world of Nier than memories of a treasured person.

What about Accord? She has in fact made a brief cameo in Reincarnation already...

It seems incredibly likely that Accord originates from the Cage, and the accumulation of weapon stories is accomplished by androids like her. Definitely in the fandom there's a lot of excitement for the idea that Accord - something of a fan favourite - will show up at Reincarnation's ending.

So mystery solved, the Cage exists in the world of NieR Automata on the moon server? Not so fast - there are various discrepancies which seem to suggest that the world of the Cage exists in a separate branch than the one we see in Automata. For example, the androids are aware that the humans are dead and what remains on the moon is a huge archive of their memories; the humans seem to have survived much longer; 2B and 9S seem to have died in different circumstances. There are other oddities which fans have compiled.

And yet, despite being a divergent timeline with a much older point of divergence, some things seem to be fixed. There is still a YoRHa, still a 10H deceived about being on the moon, still a 2B and 9S.

One popular fan theory is that Reincarnation belongs to the NieR Automata anime (ver1.1a), since Adam turns into a monster there similar to the ones in Reincarnation. The black birds are reasoned to be the Machine Lifeforms, since we know they come from Earth. I'm not 100% sure of this, but maybe?

Anyway, that's basically the gist of it.

A story told through permutations

In many fictional series with a shared universe, there is an effort to maintain a consistent shared universe, so all the different events can fit into a timeline with understandable cause and effect and characters living out their lives. Even when this proves impossibly unwieldy, as in comic books or Star Wars, the attempt is made.

NieR does not really take this approach. The creators leave many details of the world, such as place names, incredibly vague - the focus is always on telling an emotional story with characters. There is, as we've seen, an almost gleeful willingness to declare another new timeline.

There is also a certain aspect of repetition, or more kindly reiteration - the same core character dynamic revisited and retold in various forms. (2B9S gets the worst of it). A character is something like a principle or ideal, and each story shines another light on that 'core'. In the earlier storylines of Reincarnation, it became quite frustrating because it seemed like e.g. the character event stories were just rehashing the same idea rather than advance the story.

However, the more accustomed I get to this style of storyline, the more I think this kinda works. It is of course quite similar to the ideas proposed towards the end of Homestuck, or to time loop stories - the idea of varying the contingent circumstances to try to better illustrate the core characterisations and dynamics.

Yoko Taro has talked about how he constructs stories from a very simple idea, typically a moment of high emotional impact at the climax, and then works backwards to figure out what sort of story could lead into that. In Reincarnation, each character gets fairly limited time to establish themselves, so they tend to be defined in terms of a pretty narrow high concept.

For example, Akeha is an assassin in a vague historical Japanese setting; her introductory story sees her decide for the first time to disobey her lord after she finds another person who has been treated as instrumentally as her. Most Akeha stories focus on her assassinations, her relationship to her retainer, and what she sacrifices to perform the duty. Only her Dark Memory lets us see an Akeha who has escaped that life - it's a simple story about preparing food, but that's given meaning by all the other Akeha stories.

Hina and Yuzuki are defined by the same traits in their flashy scifi Dark Memory stories as in the more mundane ones - Yuzuki the quiet outcast, Hina the self-sacrificing star. Fio is defined by kindness in the context of abjection, seeing the good in monsters. Levania stories are about the desire for escape and transformation. Argo is always a shitty dad who only feels alive while climbing mountains.

The staticness of these characters seems on some level to be the point - in that we are told in Hina and Yuzuki's story that the mechanism of the Cage is to sort characters into 'Light' and 'Dark' natures, and push them to inevitable conflict, even if they try to break free. In the final arc, the characters seem to finally approach some resolution as they leave their contexts behind. Given the themes of Automata in rejecting an inevitable tragic fate, similar movement may be at work. There's an ambiguity - the need to hold on to even tragic histories, vs the wish to not be confined to them. (Perhaps it's significant that it's called the Cage...)

With so many balls in the air and so many mysteries still unanswered, it's hard to figure out how Reincarnation can deliver a satisfying resolution in just one remaining chapter, but the final arc has been really cooking so who knows! But I'm also coming to appreciate it as a kind of broader lens to notice all these recurring elements and tie them together.

Stories about alternate timelines and branching narratives are very common nowadays, particularly as a tool for revisiting a nostalgic franchise. Something something effect of the fan wiki era. So I can't exactly say NieR is doing something completely unique, but I do think there is something to its fragmented, collage-like approach to putting together story elements. There's something quite honest about it - an ability to say 'these details aren't important'.

Yoko Taro always talks about himself as an entertainer rather than an artist. And probably it is true that a lot of this eemerged from an iterative design process rather than being the plan from the beginning (the first draft of NieR envisioned it as something closer to what SINoALICE ended up being, about a world of fairytale characters; NieR Automata began life as backstory for an idol project). There's definitely a strong sense that it's being improvised. And yet despite that, it does feel like it is cohering into some sort of picture, that there is an artistic throughline to all this.

Or perhaps that's just the effect of getting way too invested in something. I won't deny that NieR brings out the fan in me.

Anyway Accord had better show up next month. Guys. You've been teasing us for so long...

#nier #nier replicant #nier automata #nier reincarnation #drakengard #drakengard 3 #computer games #Youtube

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bad-tf-fic-ideas · 2 months

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(325) When the Decepticons raid a research laboratory attached to Tokyo U — at which Miko's mother is a mid-career, highly-regarded materials science researcher — the Autobots travel halfway around the world to put a stop to it.

Miko immediately agrees to be their guide to her hometown, but over time the fic reveals Miko's reservations about facing the respectable and suffocating life she left back in Japan... and, worst of all, her own parents.

#tf fic ideas #maccadam #miko nakadai

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i-hear-a-sound · 8 months

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Drakengard/NieR: Twin Theory, Part 1

The post ahead is… long. Insanely fucking long, and I’m certain half of it is incoherent. Oh well. It’s a Tuesday.

So, to preface:

This is all just theory.

Spoilers for NieR and Drakengard.

Homework:

(post regarding copied & cathedral city)

(post comparing adam, eve, and a secret third thing)

Good luck down here.

NieR Automata: Ending D.

It’s the ending you get if you choose to play as 9S in the final boss. 9S kills A2 and incidentally gets himself killed when he falls on her sword. Dumb hoe.

However, when his memory data starts performing an emergency evacuation, he, and we, find ourselves fading into…

an “Ark.”

He first sees the red girl, N2, who explains to him the vague purpose of this ark.

To take the memories of the “foolish machine life forms” and send them to another world, after they’d seen the androids and contemplated their own existence as machines.

9S also sees Adam and Eve there, the ladder asleep and the former holding him. Adam asks 9S a simple question,

“Will you come with us?”

And If you choose to go onto the Ark, it’s assumed 9S’s memory & consciousness data become “part” of the Ark, traveling off to whatever… “world” they may be heading to.

And if you stay.

9S does not get on the Ark. the Ark flies off, without him.

And we actually get a follow-up to this ending. “Farewell” is a script that takes place sometime after Ending D, in which 2B wakes up but 9S does not.

Though she tries everything she can to find a way to revive him, she eventually just… shuts down on her own, due to grief.

(Except for in the final reading of this script, where the ending was changed and 9S wakes up— but you know what? Fuck you. I’m not making this any more complicated than it’s immediately about to get in like, 5 sentences.)

(Edit: we then got a follow up to that script that follows this scenario. talk to your parents about it)

So… the Ark. About everything I just told you is about all we have on the Ark itself.

The most we know is this: The Ark was created by Machines. It carries memory data that it will take to a different world. It

Memory data.

…Memory data.

Sorry. It’s just that… typing this all out right now, it’s starting to ring a bell. But I don’t know where that bell is, why it’s ringing.

Holding memories.

Storing memories.

Machines storing memories This sounds familiar.

But where else could I have heard this from?

I remember now.

The Seeds.

In YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse, the NieR:Automata Final Fantasy 14 raid, something returned after over a decade and a half that totally took me off guard: the Seeds of Destruction.

Introduced in the first Drakengard, they were “tools of the gods” that would appear when all seals were broken. While they were believed by humans to be holy items that would bring all living creatures, man or monster, to them in times of great peril, to guide them down a path of salvation— in reality, they just kinda did this

Creating extremely powerful monsters capable of carrying out the god’s one motive: the destruction of humanity.

But back to the raid. In this collaboration the Seeds returned, and not only that, but they… well.

In the 3rd raid, N2, the red girl I was talking about earlier and the “ego of the machine network”, goes up into a seed that’s inside of a portal, and becomes this… False Idol.

Clearly meant to be derivative of the designs of The Queen Beast/Mother Angel & the Intoners. Always these gray bitches.

Anyways. After you fight her, she makes this weird… light thing? which goes up into the sky, into the portal I mentioned earlier, and then…

We are dropped into a copied Tokyo, straight out of Drakengard 1.

But…

Question. How?

How did we get here. Is it really just a copied Tokyo? How did it get copied?

And if not, did we like… Time Travel? Did we…

Oh, I got sidetracked. My bad. We were talking about the seeds.

So at first, we see the seeds transform someone, this time a non-human. Nothing new, although I do find it strange how differently it changed N2 in comparison to how Furiae became… that.

Perhaps it works differently for machines? …Put a pin in that for now.

Anyways. I didn’t swerve this car just to talk to you about how stuff we already fucking knew was just used AGAIN.

No, the very reason I brought up this whole raid at all, and got so sidetracked I nearly transitioned into a different topic, was because of this singular excerpt.

Maybe I’m reading this wrong. Maybe I’m not. And if I’m not, then

these seeds are storing people’s memories. Hundreds of them.

(Edit: I wasn’t reading this wrong :) )

Isn’t that just like what I described with the Ark? The Ark stores memory data, the seeds hold memories…

I mean, the description of what the Seeds were believed to be by humanity, along with Drakengard’s usage of various themes regarding religion, has always reminded me of one specific thing: Noah’s Ark.

Noah’s. Ark.

Ark. Seed. Seed. Ark.

Perhaps, they are one and the same.

Perhaps… The Ark is a Seed.

Surely not though, right? I mean… yeah, this is solid evidence, but it’s really the only evidence I can give you guys. There’s not much we know about the Seeds in all honesty, and there’s even less regarding the Ark, so it’s nearly impossible to find any other lead in

Wait.

Let’s go back for a second.

“Let the light in?” What light?

What the hell is this referring to? The whole raid finished like, two years ago, and for that same amount of time I’ve genuinely had no idea what this “light” is.

I mean, she does conjure up this sort of light that goes into the portal, and… then we go to Tokyo. Maybe that’s what it’s referring to?

Let the light in…

Light…

Light.

Do not bring back the light. Do not bring back the vessel. Do not bring back the future. Do not bring it back.

Every beam of light is an invitation to death.

I’ve heard this before.

These two excerpts are from the World of Recycled Vessel DLC, in the diary of Nier/The Protagonist’s deceased mother.

These are the last two lines in the diary. Both referencing this “light” with a… negative connotation?

Why.

And… wait, why am I going off on this? When I was talking about the Ark and The Seeds and whatnot I never once mentioned their connection to any sort of light.

Because I never thought there was. Because I looked over it.

I lie collapsed in a space of blinding white. The pain is... gone. The light envelops me. It's so warm.

My damage worsens. I start to lose my memories. The space fills up with pure white light. It's like being buried in snow.

These two excerpts are from 9S’ dialogue during Ending D— you know, the one where the Ark makes its “appearance.”

“A space of blinding white”, “the light envelops me”, “the space fills up with pure white light”.

…

Hm.

I’m beginning to wonder if this “light” is, in some way… connected to memories? And a “space of pure white light”… that feels familiar. Really familiar.

Real fucking familiar.

After being encroached upon, the light overflowed. Poured into, we overflowed, the connection has AWAKENED.

This is from decoded text in Automata, taking place after Ending A/B. I think it’s meant to describe Eve briefly connecting to 9S’ consciousness in some way? (Given there is a mention of a brother who “learned a lot from books.” Fact-check me though.)

The Pods decide to abandon the body after the personality data has been completely restored, and to destroy any machine life forms in the surrounding area. And at the very bottom of this story…

Do not bring back the vessel.

The infection spreads through 2B's consciousness. She prays. Before death's footsteps reach her, she screams. Even if nobody hears me. 9S saved me. Within a crumbling memory, she bids farewell to 9S's consciousness data. I did feel a little bit lonely but now my h eart is filled with such wa rm li ght

Then there’s this. It’s the final line of “Voices from the Verge”, a short story from a Nier Fan-Festival in 2022.

I think it’s meant to take place in the copied city— no, not the one we see in game, at least I don’t think— a different one. A different memory.

A place to celebrate life and send off the deceased. A place of prayer. The city's records can be gleaned from within the tranquil light. A record of humanity's end. A history of machines copying a city. And also... the hesitance they felt. This city is a replica. A city built by machine lifeforms based on the siblings' memories of where they lived. And even the very siblings themselves were nothing but imitations born from memories.

“The city’s records can be gleaned from within the tranquil light”… “a city built by machine life forms based on the siblings’ memories of where they lived.”

“A history of machines copying a city. And also… the hesitance they felt.”

…um. How?

If you’re thinking the “siblings” being referred to in this script are Adam and Eve… no. This city is meant to be a replica of Nier and Yonah’s memories. Hell, they themselves in this script are replicas made out of their own memories.

God this shit’s fucking stupid to type

But… thing is. Again! How? How did the machines know what this city looked like? Sure, maybe it’s in one of their “records”, but even then.

…Well. If we go back to the screenshot I showed you all earlier from the Dark Apocalypse raid, it mentions how the data in these Seeds are stored by “machines bearing the names of gods.”

These machines are possibly using the seeds to store people’s memories.

And— hey. I mentioned earlier how the seeds can transform whatever enters it, but do you know what I neglected to add?

They also

Copy.

Maybe this “light” can be connected to the seeds and the Ark as well. But what that means I… don’t really know right now.

So we have one connection. And now, possibly two. Are there any more connections I should know about?!

In NieR: Replicant ver 1.22, Ending E, the— if I’m correct— “canon” ending, was finally added after only being contained in the guidebook “Grimoire Nier.”

And this is the achievement you receive at the very start of it.

It’s in hexadecimal. And thankfully, it’s already been translated.

“Memory server”

“I can see the light”

Memory… server.

I can see the light.

Memory. Server. I can see the light.

The light. Memory server.

Light. Memories. Memories. Light.

Light…

Light

A SPACE OF BLINDING WHITE.

Fucking… finally. I get to talk about Drakengard 1. Most of the talk regarding this game is being saved for the part 2 of this post I’ll get to… eventually, but what I want to focus on here is this game’s ending D, and “The Great Time.”

In this ending, Seere breaks his pact, unleashing the Queen Beast’s time(?) and enveloping the world with this… light. The great time. From it, a black tower also emerges. A tower. A… I’m gonna stop. Nope. Back on topic.

But it wasn’t until the novella, “Magnitude Negative”, was fully translated that we finally got a better understanding of what this “time” is.

It is everything.

Every living creature. Every structure. Everything, everywhere, past, present, future.

And every

single

ending.

“He could see the shadows of crowds, coming and going. It was loud, all indifferent to all around them, and full of different interests. There were tall buildings whose likes he had never seen before, and vehicular machines that ran faster than horses. … Caim is crying, clinging to the dragon. ‘I have never seen you weep before.’ … The dragon states its name. ‘Angelus. My name is Angelus.’… Caim and the dragon are going to kill each other. ‘Caim. Our pact ends here.’ … ‘Miracles cannot be asked for.’ The Goddess, revived with the Seed of Resurrection, is destroying humanity. … Seere rests within a giant womb. In a strange place, but rather familiar all the same, the dragon fights against a song.”

“A strange place, but rather familiar all the same”…? That’s for part 2.

But case is, everything is the Great Time.

And it is

light.

EDIT: FUCKING HELL I TOOK SO LONG TO FINISH THIS THAT REINCARNATION GOT ANOTHER UPDATE. AND I CAN ADD THIS SHIT.

10H states that “The Cage”, which IIRC is where “all” of NieR: Reincarnation takes place, is inside of that… egg. It’s supposed to hold the “data” (memories asshole!!!!) of humanity until the time comes for them to… you know. Reincarnate. But it’s not meant to be there, it’s supposed to be on the Moon, why is it now on Earth. And

I FUCKING KNEW IT. I called it. I never verbalized it but I CALLED THIS BULLSHIT DAY… um…. While ago. Source: trust. 😁

Time is light. Light is memories. Memory server. Memories are recorded in the seeds. Memories are recorded in the ark. The ark is light. The seeds are light. The ark is a seed.

Hang on.

Who records the memories in the ark again? Machines… “Machines with the names of gods.”

I don’t recall us ever meeting a machine of that kind of name? The closest would be Adam and Eve, of course, but one 1. They died and 2. Neither’s name derivations were gods. Adam and Eve were not gods.

And, hell, how the fuck did machines get their hands on the Seeds anyways? Even looking past the theory part, them being what is messing with the seeds is canon.

And— hang on! New question coming through, how the fuck did the Seeds get here?!

This is thousands of years after Drakengard 1. Not only that, but these are TWO SEPARATE FUCKING UNIVERSES. Two timelines!

The seeds are intrinsically tied to the watchers. Hell, watchers gradually transform into them over time in one of the novellas.

How are the machines putting memories into the seeds? How did the seeds get here in the first place? With all this time talk, where does Ac

The aliens.

I need to talk about the aliens.

The aliens of Automata are… fucking weird.

Sit down, and listen. Look here look listen. Basically, in a franchise where giant scary gray babies exist, one’s that devour scary bitches and wreck havoc and shit, it’s not them that fully take out humanity— well, they likely do in their universe, but in NIER’S? It’s…

It’s fucking FETUS SHAPED ALIENS

Aliens who time, and time, and TIME AGAIN we are told FUCKING SUCK!! They are traaaashh!!!

Their heads look like an asscrack. They look like if you fucked up a perfectly good turtle. And in all seriousness, they created machines so much smarter than them that they essentially doomed themselves by creating their own exterminators. Sure, they got control over the Kingdom of Night/North and South America, said control which only grew larger and larger as they began rapidly producing machines, but… that was honestly their only W. These fuckers suck. Clutch or kick.

And Adam, the machine who, along with his brother, killed off the rest of the aliens, describes them as being… “infantile.”

And I paused.

Infantile?

Out of everything… that’s such a specific word. Infantile.

Infantile. Infant…ile.

Infant.

Like a baby.

baby.

Wait. What did I say they looked like?

Fetuses. The aliens… they look like fetuses.

But not natural fetuses, no… no. Like if you took an infant and forced it to revert back into what it looked like in the womb. Gross, I know, but… just look at them.

Just.

Look.

At.

Them.

Look at their skin. It’s… bumpy. Scaly.

Scaly.

I’m not trying to imply that they’re dragons. At least… not exactly.

No, what I am trying to imply, is that the answer as to what these things are has been staring me in the face the whole fucking time.

When the flower descended at the beginning of this story, dragons were not the only things that came down with it.

Infantile, you say?

This idea is, out of everything in “Twin Theory”, the one I’ve held onto the longest. It’s stupid, yeah— but just like with the Ark and the Seeds, and a certain third theory that still waits after this section— I started scripting, and evidence manifested*.

*I looked shit up and fact-checked myself🦅🦅🚬

Anyways. Do I think the aliens are the watchers? NO. No, no, no. One fucker is a tentacle ass bitch and the other belongs in a crib at the tenth circle of hell. But i do absolutely believe that a connection can be made.

First of all, I want to look at the aliens’ ship. Look at it good and hard. Does it remind you of anything?

Maybe… A FUCKING FLOWER?

Because that’s exactly what this looks like. Hell, the big ball in the middle would obviously remind one of a Seed itself… but that’s a little too silly for me. (Edit: You will soon see that I should’ve never doubted my gut.) Then again, the first time we see the seeds in the final fantasy collab is in the aliens’ ship and I… am going to stop myself from having a hernia :3. (Edit: You will soon see that I should’ve never doubted my gut)

Second. I want to look at Drakengard 1.3, specifically its ending. The whole novella is kinda… well, weird, and not in a good way weird most of the time, but its ending has always struck me as being particularly interesting.

The dragons, who I will again mention are connected to the watchers— like— genetically, devour humanity. Their size increases in number and over time they begin to change shape. First slowly taking on the forms of “lumps of meat”, then the forms of babies, then a whole bunch of them fuse together to become… a seed.

(This moment isn’t the only time we’ve seen entities fuse together to create a seed-like object, but… I’ll hold that thought off for now.)

Anyways. What does any of this have to do with the Aliens?

Well.

Take into consideration that the dragons only transformed because they were devouring humans. They had shit to eat. And given the fact that these dragons transformed into Watchers, I doubt it would be too much of a stretch to ponder whether or not Watchers themselves have this similar capability.

But what about in Automata? A part in the timeline where… there are no humans left. There’s nothing to feed off of. Most of all, there’s no Queen.

The Watchers’ entire “goal” in the first game was to break the seals and free the Queen Beast. There’s no humans left. What would they do now?

…Start a pointless war between the next best thing? Build machines they can control with ease. Forge a logic virus that will perpetuate this war for as long as it can, with a notable trait of it being: red eyes. And create a manifestation of the machine’s own egos in the form of a little girl, so akin to the girl they made their high priestess so long ago.

Edit: I continued to take too long to finish this theory and the nier concert happened. While the full script isn’t out yet, I was able to read an (I think) fairly decent summary that one part of caught my eye.

2B and 9S discover a place known as “Eden”………. hehehehehheheheheeeeee… and it’s basically just a huge alien ship, iirc. Inside they find a transporter that opens into a white city, and after walking through it a lil bit they find a copied YoRHa bunker.

Continuing their disastrous walkalong they find a bunch of dead machines in a… church…

ok….

(l was real!)

And also there, is a circle of Android corpses, surrounding a black orb.

It’s said that they formed this place as a “place of worship in their final moments”, and that the black orb likely comes from the aliens ship.

And we know this.

Black orb! Never doubt your gut ever!

But given what I’ve already said about the aliens… hm. The thing powering their ship being in a place of worship in one’s final moments…

speak not the watchers, write not the watchers…

Just a little idea.

I may have explained all this “evidence” poorly, so sorry for that. But anyways.

If the aliens were connected to the watchers (and the dragons?), so many weird connections in Automata could possibly be explained.

The cult of the watchers’ emblem appearing on either of the twins’ tattoos? Connection.

N2 resembling Manah? Connection.

Logic virus being derivative of the Red Eye Disease? Connection.

The Seeds of Destruction being in the NieR universe, specifically at the time of Automata, at all? C word. Connection.

It could even explain why no other aliens ever… you know, showed up. These aliens were the only ones, because no more could be formed with the Queen dead, the dragons gone, and a lack of food.

“The aliens look like if you took an infant and forced it to revert back into what it looked like in the womb.” And gave it… tentacles and scales. 😁

But even with all that, this is still a theory that I’m going to continue working out the kinks in. Could the Aliens have ties to the Watchers? Maybe, but I still need a lot more evidence to fully make that conclusion.

But for right now, it’s moreso food for thought.

I wish I could say the same for the final theory I’m going to be discussing today.

So we’ve talked about the Ark. Its existence is shrouded in mystery, but the conclusion I came to is that it is, in some form, a Seed of Destruction, used by machines to record memories and travel worlds. Both seem to be connected with this… “Light”, which I concluded is connected to “the Great Time”.

Hell… just typing this out, I forgot another physical example of this light in action—

This whole large group of machines merge to form a “seed”, and as light begins to build up inside of it, Adam is created.

Does this light… create, as well? Put a pin in that… maybe. I don’t know.

(Edit: I think it do..)

Anyways. Then, we discussed the Aliens. I theorized that they could have some connection to the Watchers of Drakengard, looking at all the strange ties the two species have with each other— from how the aliens’ ship suspiciously resembles a flower, to how the watchers’ most likely have the ability to change forms over time when strong enough. The conclusion I came to is that the possibility of the Aliens being the weakened remains of the Watchers after the extinction of both their Queen and humanity as a whole, is… well. It’s there.

But there’s one thing we haven’t talked about yet, and I’m sure you all have an idea of what exactly that is.

We’ve discussed two very perplexing entities in the Drakenier universe today, but there’s one last character I chose to leave as my final topic. One that, funnily enough, also has an A name. And is more mysterious than the two topics I’ve already gone over combined.

Accord.

Accord is by far the most “mysterious” character in the entire Drakenier franchise, despite being one of the only characters to be mentioned by name in multiple games.

It’s why it’s so hard to theorize about her. But there’s enough we do know about her that tells us she might as well be the most important character in the series.

Accord is a recorder android, one who… well… records. Riveting script writing ☝️

She records singularities, entities with the capability of creating branches by altering timelines. Normally she doesn’t intervene and just records the singularity once the branch has been made. Her goal in this endeavor is to prevent a “Fall-Down”, the collapse of all timelines.

She can time travel, as while we first see her in the beginning of the timeline, Drakengard 3, she was actually created during the time of NieR: Automata, around 6230 or so, in the Kingdom of Night. She also has multiple clones of herself, all of which hold the same goal as the one we follow in D3.

She also works a weapons shop and presumably even writes the weapons’ stories. She collects minerals from the old world(?) which she came from, and wields a large suitcase and phone.

In Automata, it’s mentioned she supplied weapons to the resistance; in Replicant, it was added that Yonah actually met Accord; in the Automata anime, hidden(?) text is likely from Accord, aaaaaand…

That’s it. That’s all we know about this girl.

Yes, it sounds like a lot but it’s really… not.

Specifically, two key things are unknown to us. Them being:

•How does Accord time travel?

•Who created Accord?

And for so long, these two questions just kinda sat there in my mind. I had ideas but… nothing that big.

I just assumed that, maybe, we haven’t seen how Accord time travels yet. And that Accord could just be a product of the Army of Humanity, connecting her back to YoRHa.

But then… in a NieR: Reincarnation update…

10 years after we last, physically saw her…

We got this:

These three images are what prompted me to finally, finally, put this theory in its entirety into words.

Because it got me thinking.

Puppet? Why puppet?

Yeah, stuff like “puppets” and “dolls” have been used in reference to androids, machines whatevs in this series before, but for some reason… reading it made me recall a very small detail. Something I’d always overlooked.

The final fantasy collab… puppet… puppets’… What was the title of the 2nd raid again?

Ah. The Puppets’ Bunker.

Now, why am I making such a big deal over Accord simply being referred to as “puppet” in this small section of a game? Why am I focused more on that than the fact that this is most likely teasing her return at all?

Well… it’s the same reason I bring up the collab again.

2P.

She & the other P units are the primary antagonists of this specific raid. She’s a machine copy of 2B, with an inverted palette.

And I’ve always been curious as to what the P in her name meant. Of course, it initially just meant “Second Player”— but Yoko Taro himself has since stated that there’s a double meaning to it.

And after a while of thinking and thinking, someone suggested the P to mean…

Puppet.

And shit blew my mind. It totally works! So I went with it, and then…

It made me remember another thing. Back to Accord.

Do you remember the post I made on Adam and Eve? Yes, the post where I dropped the maybe-possible-bombshell that Eve (and his brother, likely) could possibly have some sort of connection to Mikhail of Drakengard 3, at least visually— but do you know what I mentioned in kind of a side comment?

Adam distinctly looks like Accord. And that was that. For a while, the only question I had regarding that was: “Why does Adam look like Accord?”

But what I realized after lots and lots of thinking… is that I should’ve been asking a different question.

“How does Adam look like Accord?”!

Adam’s a machine. He was created by machines, created by aliens. If Accord was with the Army of Humanity, why does this machine share so much resemblance to her?

I mean, fuck— if the Copied City he creates really does have ties to the Cathedral City in Drakengard 3,

why is Accord at the fucking Mercurius Gate?

You know, the place where all the world’s “knowledge” is stored, as well as… oh I don’t know, the fucking Flower.

“Receptionist?” Strangely, that isn’t even the weirdest thing Accord’s been referred to.

Just think back to that Reincarnation update. Accord is called a “puppet.”

Why?

I already just talked about “puppet” being possibly the double meaning of the P in “2P”, connecting the term to the mock androids/machines, but I didn’t even mention the usage of the word in Drakengard 3.

In one of the novellas, the dragons, specifically Michael, fought entities described as “Puppets”. This novella is one I’ve seen occasionally brought up in discussions regarding the Kingdom of Night, due to the existence of “dragon-like machines.”

Hell JUST LOOK AT THEM SIDE BY SIDE.

The first is the mechanical interior(?) of a YoRHa android, 2nd is… of course, what we see of Accord’s. Look at the rib area. For a while I assumed it looked like that because her arm had been blown off but… no. Shit’s clean and smooth. It was built that way. It also seems as though Accord’s body is connected via… ball joints?

Why is an Android from the future so… I don’t know. Old-fashioned? Mechanic?

Especially when compared to YoRHa androids. They bleed, she doesn’t.

But. But but but.

She’s… confirmed to be made DURING the period between Replicant and Automata, during the machine war. It’s one of the only things confirmed about her backstory, and yet every little thing about her would make you think otherwise.

She’s built like a legitimate doll, not an Android. As such, she gets called a puppet. There are multiple identical copies of her and from what I’ve read it isn’t because she’s a line of… idk, Accords. Take a shot every time I say her name btw

She can time travel seemingly with as much ease as the universe allows her, and yet has to self engage special abilities like… run fast mode.

Stuff that other Androids of her time period are shown to do naturally.

But… that’s the only case for her. The only answer we have of who exactly created the first Accord is in YoRHa, the Army of Humanity.

But.

Don’t.

Know.

None of this makes sense, right? None of it. Nothing that I’ve just discussed should logically make sense if she was made by the Army of Humanity.

But that’s the only option for her, right? That we know of? Right?

Why is she closer to a machine than she is to any of the androids?

Who? Is? Accord?

Then it hit me. A realization.

Didn’t I… wait. What was the estimated year of Accord’s creation?

…6230?

Okay. And we know she was created in the Kingdom of Night…

But.

What?

Hang on. Kingdom of Night… do we know anything about the kingdom of night?

I mean… we know what it is. It’s North and South America, cast in an eternal state of Night. It’s the reason why in every NieR game, the sun never sets— it’s always set in the Kingdom of Day.

We’ve never seen the Kingdom of Night. All we know is that Accord was made there… dragon machines fought against the machines inside there, and… oh… oh.

Oh.

The Kingdom of Night.

North and South America?

…where the first machines were being mass produced. The first machines were made in the Kingdom of Night, in 5100.

The Army of Humanity never managed to gain control over that kingdom. In fact, in 7645 the aliens’ control over the kingdom of night had increased to 80%.

And Accord was created in 6230.

In the kingdom of night.

In the kingdom of night

WHICH THE ALIENS HAD TOTAL OCCUPATION OVER, AND WERE USING TO BEGIN PRODUCING THEIR FIRST MACHINE LIFEFORMS.

Accord isn’t a product of the Army of Humanity. Isn’t a product of humanity at all.

Accord didn’t come from YoRHa.

Accord is a product of the aliens.

She’s a machine!

I want to go back to the tower. Don’t worry, no more talk about time and seeds and light and arks and useless crap like that

At least, not for the next… I don’t fucking know. 1,000 words. Lol. Lol😬

Do you remember what was inside the tower, aside from the ark itself? Aside from the countless copiesof B/E models?

The library.

An exact replica of Popola’s library, all the way back from Replicant.

And I always saw this moment at its face value. Oh, it’s THE library. The library that holds all the records for the machines is a copy of the one from the other game. Cool.

Same thing with when Popola’s office appeared in both the game and the anime, though they both served mildly different purposes.

But when I looked at these moments as I was writing this theory I thought… hm. Why here?

So I did what every normal fan does and

I read the Drakengard 3 complete guide.

4/5ths of it.

Long day. Thank you Accord’s Library.

But among the things I took note of, this page caught my eye:

A page that’s Basically an outline of the timelines in Drakengard 1, 2 (told you it’s technically canon, bitch), and the first NieR. Done by accord.

Let’s zoom in on NieR’s, actually.

Atta boy. First of all, fucking banger of an image. Second of all, so… did…

Did an Accord meet Devola & Popola? Because if so…

… it makes a lot more sense as to why the machines’ archives are stored in an identical copy of their library.

What I’m getting at is that I think Accord had some involvement with the data recorded in the tower, or at least… the tower itself.

Second of all. Let’s go back to the complete guide, and narrow our focus on its documentation of the games’ events— specifically, the branching phenomena.

Something interesting that I noticed is that everything regarding either

Accord

Branch activity at all

Is labeled as “Top Secret.”

And yeah, this is probably just for some cool flare or whatnot, but I really want to narrow down the Accord stuff in this.

From what I was able to get translated off this page, I actually found some very interesting things.

To start, it’s described that the fact Accord is an android/machine/whatever the fuck at all is… prohibited information. That she was a “machine made from an advanced civilization in the Old World. Specifically… prohibited to be published.” It’s also described as being “an embarrassing secret.”

The “embarrassing secret” thing could honestly just be in Accord’s own words, but I don’t think the “prohibited” part is.

After all, it was also prohibited for Accord to intervene like she did in Ending D.

So she’s prohibited from interfering with events in a timeline, as well as ever disclosing her identity as an Android/machine…which she also considers an “embarrassing secret.”

And we should also talk about the… the fucking… NieR Desktop PCs that have lore on them. I fucking hate this franchise.

4198 AD Humanity's extinction is confirmed. All records relating to humans are moved to maximum-pirority folders, and backups are sent to regional quantum servers for safekeeping.

5012 AD An Attack by aliens from outer space is recorded. Numerous buildings and androids are destroyed, and some quantum servers are catastrophically damaged.

5155 AD Machine lifeforms created by these unidentified alien visitors launch an ark into space, resulting in a new divergence. An attempt is then made to sync up with servers from the past.

2021 AD Synchronization with past server is successful. As the original network was small and designed for personal use, expansion will be required. - Accord

First of all, quantum servers. Server. COUGH COUGH. Memory server.

(Also, it’s mentioned that there is a quantum server in the Forest of Myth in another one of these… most likely being, Sleeping Beauty itself. Obvious.)

Anyways.

Second of all… the ark launching causes a “divergence.”

Not a branch, a divergence. There’s a difference between the two.

It’s kind of hard to explain in words, but thankfully— the Complete Guide has a trusty visual aid.

So the ark did breach off into separate timelines… and Accord doesn’t at all sound concerned.

In fact, she sounds like she fucking contributed to it.

I might be totally tripping as I’m sure I’ve been this entire post but this all makes it sound like she herself was the one, or one of the ones, who recorded & stored all the records we see in Automata into the Ark.

especially when you read what the other PC had to say.

2021 AD A certain manufacturer releases a high-spec personal computer. This model of PC, designed to receive perpetual updates via the network, is soon adopted across the globe.

2025 AD These PCs, now spread the world over, begin to link up and share data as part of a neural-networking experiment conducted by the manufacturer without the knowledge of its users.

2032 AD Large-scale data breaches and acts of cyberterrorism are carried out over the network, during which time information regarding Replicant technology is leaked. The experiment is soon halted, and the computers stop receiving updates.

3021 AD A thousand years after the experiment, consciousness data from these computers is detected on the network. The Collection and merging of this data is performed by the quantum server located in the Forest of Myth.

Hey, look. The times match up. 2021 AD, 2021 AD.

But if we carry over the fact that this is all coming from Accord…

“These PCs, now spread the world over, begin to link up and share data as part of a neural-networking experiment conducted by the manufacturer without the knowledge of its users.”

Hm.

Go back to Reincarnation. What did it say Accord’s purpose was?

This puppet’s goal

is to observe how humans live their lives.

Maybe it’s just me. That’s a new one.

One of the few things we’ve known about Accord, for sure, is her goal of recording singularities, branches, etc., all in order to prevent the collapse of all timelines.

I don’t think we ever got “study human lives” in the equation.

And so I thought. Maybe we did. Maybe I just looked over that answer, too. Maybe…

It was her original purpose?

Okay.

I’m sure one thing has been lingering in your head as you’ve read all this.

I’m gonna lead up to a big reveal that Accord is secretly a big bad evil, who is recording the world and beyond for the machines,and that we should watch out for her or some shit.

I think the complete opposite.

Because while I said that she’s prohibited from ever interfering with events in a branch… which she is.

Here’s the kicker.

She does it anyway.

In ending D, Accord breaks that “rule” and runs in at the last second, ensuring that the flower would be sealed off in that branch.

Why did she do this? Is she stupid?

And the best answer we’re given is… firstly, Zero.

Whatever feelings Zero made Accord feel while recording the events of Drakengard 3 were so strong that she went against that prohibition just to help her, even if it meant getting herself killed.

And do you remember the “embarrassing secret” comment I brought up when discussing the information in the Complete Guide? How I concluded that that phrasing was likely coming from Accord’s own perspective?

Perhaps she considers her identity as a “puppet from the old world” an “embarrassing secret”… because Accord isn’t affiliated with the machines anymore.

She’s been working against them.

The most recent Reincarnation update as of this script revealed a shit ton of really, really important lore.

The Cage is inside of a Seed. Humanity is planning on Reincarnating.

But out of everything there’s one thing that I… genuinely did not see coming. It was probably the most obvious reveal out of everything, but still.

After the Ark leaves, the machines who left on it begin assimilating everything.

They start collecting data to an almost catastrophic degree, eradicating androids. Building a kingdom, taking over earth.

Not just earth— If I read it right, their goal is to completely dominate all timelines, all earths. That is, until a civil war between machines breaks out.

And what occurs sometime after this is, presumably, NieR:Reincarnation. Inside of The Cage, a repurposed Seed of Destruction perhaps taken from the machines & used now to store the data of humanity so that they may one day resurrect.

But here’s the real kicker. A seed taken from the machines?

Yes. If I’m correct, the machines have access to the seeds. It could just be what is giving them the power to assimilate on such a catastrophic scale.

And they’re bringing them across timelines… ah! You know what that sounds like?

Exactly what I fucking said about the Ark. Shit’s clicking. I think. I could totally be wrong about this and if I am my bad.

But let’s go back, back to Accord. Samurai Jaccord. Or something idk

When I brought up the two biggest questions regarding her mere existence, I skipped over one.

“How does she time travel?”

And the question always kind of nagged at me. It felt like an obvious answer but it just… wasn’t.

Until I asked a different question. How does she copy herself?

It’s brought up time and time again that there is no given answer as to how Accord just has so many… identical copies of herself.

And while it would lead me to just believe she’s a line of machines, I… no. Because that’s not what it sounds like at all.

It always just reads as though the original Accord found a way to copy herself on her own.

Copying herself… copy, copy… wait. We’ve seen something that copies. We’ve seen something capable of storing data. We’ve seen something capable of traveling across worlds.

And just like that, I found my answer. She uses the Seeds to time travel and copy herself.

And how might she have initially gotten her hands on one of these seeds?

Well… perhaps, the machines. Whom she was very likely affiliated with, before this war.

She collected the data from humanity and stored it in the ark. Surely it wouldn’t be so hard for Accord to snatch it all back and put it into the Cage, right?

After all… she’s said to come from the old world. Perhaps whatever was the first iteration of the Ark breaching… is the “Old World.” It’s said the machines built a kingdom.

And at the end of this update, we see Pod fly towards a city in white.

And do you know what this city fucking looks like? Guess. Just. Fucking. Guess.

IT’S FUCKING CATHEDRAL CITY.

It’s a time loop. It’s a time loop, and it’s not a new time loop— it’s been a time loop. And who the hell knows how long this shit has been going on.

The Complete Guide mentioned that one specific entity was causing altercations to the “flow of time”— Accord! And no, that’s not a theory— the book legitimately states that Accord is causing changes in time itself.

Hell, if we’re going with the possibility that Accord uses the Seeds in some way to traverse time and space, perhaps she copies herself for every time she does it. For every jump in time, she’s replicated.

And given the ending of Drakengard 3… Girl’s been going at it for a while.

A couple more things I’d like to bring up before we reach the “conclusive statement” of this post.

I say Accord is a machine… what do I mean by that? Earlier I compared her appearance to Adam, does this mean I think Accord is moreso akin to him & Eve?

No. Because like I also pointed out earlier, Accord isn’t organic like we see they are. She doesn’t bleed. Not even when Zero drives that sword straight through her abdomen in order to kill One. One bleeds, a fucking lot, nothing from Accord. I’m gonna quit talking about fictional characters bleeding. Anyways.

No, I think it’s more likely that she’s closer to something like 2P and the P(uppet) units I mentioned earlier, or just… any regular machine.

Secondly, let’s go back to Utahime Five. She’s only in it for like, what, a panel? But I feel as though this singular panel says a lot.

First of all, the Mercurius Gate is what “holds the knowledge of the world” in Drakengard 3. Accord is its “receptionist”, as we see, and she noticeably looks “younger” here. As young as, you know, a machine CAN be.

And if we take into consideration the Copied City’s connection to the Cathedral City, and perhaps now the Ark’s connection to the Mercurius Gate, it would make sense as to why Accord here is its receptionist.

Perhaps this was her original function. A puppet who observes how humans live their lives, storing that data & then serving as its receptionist. Which would give her such an easy out to snatch some of that data back when the time came.

But there’s another thing. How come she looks so much younger here? She’s a machine, I don’t think machines age like… people do? Unless there’s like… Robots 2005 logic you can apply here…

which I doubt. I don’t know the answer to this one. And I don’t wanna just spew more bullshit I’ll probably be pulling out of my asshole. Continuing.

Thirdly. What about in Automata? If Accord’s… you know… giving out weapons to the Resistance, as told to us in this line:

“Oh, the lady who owns the place sends ‘em over every once in a while. Her name’s Accord, and she’s the proprietor of this here business. I just tend to customers and keep all the repair devices humming. I only see her every few years, to be honest. She mostly just uses delivery drones to drop things off. I don’t know where she gets this stuff, but most if it’s in pretty good condition! Say, if you ever happen to run into her, say hello for me, all right?”

how could she be affiliated with the machines?

Well. Like I said, the most likely answer to the time loop is that we aren’t seeing its first go-through. It’s been happening, and there are already a possible infinite amount of Accords in the… whatever zone.

I wanna focus on two lines here.

“I only see her every few years, to be honest. She mostly just uses delivery drones to drop things off.”

Her using delivery drones is… interesting. It makes sense. I imagine that in timelines that are, at least in certain ways, “going strong” she wants to minimize her interactions with the world to as limited as possible.

Meanwhile in Drakengard 3, as shit was going to shit, Accord was just outright toying with Zero until eventually intervening during the fight with One.

(Why she then was then showing things in her bag to Yonah I… don’t really know.)

Fourthly.

Group B.

From Sinoalice:

August 2 The origins of Group B is still largely unknown. It is believed they come from an undiscovered branch. I suspect the reason why they remained unnoticed for so long is because they have set up Recorders near Singularities to keep us away from them.

March 12 The last time there was a Cataclysm, it gave rise to a large number of Group B. They even have weaponry capable of countering our aerial weapons… things are getting out of hand. We’ve managed to keep them at bay so far, but if this situation continues, we will be completely overpowered.

June 5 It seems that we Recorder models, will need to adapt. The development of replaceable armament parts is progressing, but more investment is needed. Weapons distribution needs to be increased to facilitate memory recollection. There is lot of work to do.

August 8 The previous Recorder was destroyed by Group B. Since there is a possibility that it was captured, I’ll have to request assistance from the Association.

This Group B is something I didn’t really touch on ever due to having literally no fucking clue what it could be, but recently it was brought up again in the anime, so I’m bringing it up now. Because I think I might have an idea.

The first bolded line. “I suspect the reason why they remained unnoticed for so long is because they have set up Recorders near Singularities to keep us away from them.”

I think that Group B, in some way or another… is Accord. At least, variants of her that are more malicious.

Variants of her that are… still affiliated with the machines? Time is most likely all happening at once, in separate universes/timelines, and therefore while one group of accords are on our side, the other still is with the machines, from the “past.” I sound like a fucking flatlining heart rate monitor I’m so sorry.

Anyways… shit. You know what just clicked? Everything in this makes sense.

Do you remember Michael’s novella, when he and the other dragons were battling “puppets”/“insects”?

That was Group B. It had to have been, given that we know there is some weird kind of connection between the dragons of Drakengard and the Dragons from the “Kingdom of Night”, and that these dragons in the kingdom were deployed to fight against machines and aliens inside the kingdom.

And wanna know something? It’s parroted information, but the first of the Dragon machines and Accord were created around the same time, same area. But no matter how hard I try and convince myself otherwise, everything points to these two entities having not been originally created by the same entity.

And guess the fuck what? I’m not even theorizing about Accord being both group A and B, I’m just rewording actual canon.

In Sinoalice, there are two characters, these two:

That Accord is said to be the “ancestor” of. Fucking. They’re puppets. They are puppets with red eyes. And they’re fucked up little assholes.

And not only, but these two characters are also “mutated variants” of, what? Group B. Two characters are descendants of Accord & simultaneously variants of Group B, what conclusion does that leave? Accord and Group B are connected. Accord is Group A, the Accords still with the machines are Group B, Group A and Group B are both Accords. Circle A on your SpongeBob SquarePants punnet square worksheet and meet me after class

Going off of this, it’s said that Group B also has the capability to change forms based off parts they assimilate from other entities. And… hm. Hm!

If we apply that this same power hasn’t changed for Group A, then we just answered two questions regarding Accord.

First thing. How I mentioned that she looks younger in Utahime Five compared to her appearances in everything else. If she has the ability to change forms due to whatever she “assimilates”, then that explains why she looks slightly older now.

(Could also possibly explain the existence of male accords too, like in the stage play? I don’t know bro…….. I’m deep but not that deep)

Secondly. Ancestors… ancestor… hm…

Could she be. Um.

Could Accord have been the first “android-like” machine? And it’s because of this that she’s not as “advanced” as the ones we see, like Adam and Eve who are all but virtually organic beings?

Perhaps that’s why Adam resembles her so fiercely. And fuck, I just realized— it’s not just Adam. It’s N2.

And this time I promise I’m not just talking about black hair and pronouns.

I’m talking about narrative framing.

They’re basically inverses of each other. One’s trying to resurrect humanity while the other is actively pushing for its decimation on a dimensional scale.

Actively pushing back against one another. Constantly observing. Constantly… watching. And both possibly created by entities who once did the same.

Fifthly. And at last, finally.

What does Accord have to do with the Cage?

Well. It’s something very, very interesting.

The Cage, formerly situated on the moon before… for some reason… being found on Earth, is what’s keeping humanity alive.

At least, their data. Their data from all timelines, if I recall. And from cameos we are given little breadcrumbs that tell us Accord is very likely its creator.

And this Cage, inside of a seed, is revealed to be what is intended to bring humanity back— to resurrect them.

If this seed, this Cage, is destroyed— everything is destroyed. Humanity dies.

I fully believe that this event, the destruction of the cage— if it happens, this will be the Fall-Down. The destruction of all timelines. The destruction of humanity.

And think about all the characters we see from the games in Reincarnation. 2B, A2, 9S. Nier, Kaine, Emil. Even fucking Zero herself.

It’s all their data. It’s not them, per se— just their data. Why’s Joker Persona 5 there? Ummmmmm shhhhhhhhhh 🤫 🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫

And you know what? I think I just solved another question I’ve had for ages.

We know who took Angelus’ body.

During the legion war, Angelus’ body is stolen from where it’s being kept and we just… genuinely do not know where the fuck it went. At all. Not a fucking clue.

But do you know what I’m wondering now? Maybe Accord took it, and she’s in the cage. Because look at THIS. FUCKING. SCENE.

While Yuzuki and Hina are going through this weird “gallery” of paintings (WHY IS IT ALWAYS FUCKING PAINTINGS BY THE WAY. maybe accord & adam were in the same art class), a FUCKING DRAGON FLIES OUT OF NOWHERE, GOES INTO THE PAINTING, AND DIES. Obviously it’s just a reference to the only thing in Drakengard 1 that ever gets referenced— but we’re already so fucking deep I can’t see shit. I’m going with it.

And finally… finally, finally… I think I have everything. And if I’ve just confused the fuck out of you all for the last 7000+ words, allow me to attempt to amend that with my concluding…. bullet points

•The Ark the machines use to traverse time & space is a Seed of Destruction, in some shape or form, which we’ve seen them possess before. Seeds can also be used to store memories & “data”.

•The “light” frequently referenced throughout the series is most likely in reference to The Great Time.

•The Aliens of Automata are most likely connected to the Watchers of Drakengard in some genetic way.

•Accord is a machine, who stole data from humanity without their knowledge for the machines’ server.

•She later rebelled when their assimilation began and created the Cage.

•Accord uses the Seed(s) to copy herself & possibly time travel as well.

•The humans of Midgard were always right; there is an Egg of Resurrection.

And. That’s. EVERYTHING.

Shit. Sorry if this all kind of fell apart near the end, this took waaaay too long to finish up and every time I got close new shit got revealed that I could add. YAY.

But anyways. Hope you guys liked my nonsense, and until next time,

Hold on.

I just realized something.

…I think I was wrong.

Like, completely wrong, about something. One thing. Completely wrong about one, small thing.

Accord… isn’t the only character we see in these games that can travel across time and space.

…So does Caim.

At the end of Drakengard 1, ending E, he and Angelus send themselves and the Mother Angel (Queen Beast) across time into modern day Tokyo. This event is what would cause the NieR timeline to kickstart at all, bringing the origin of MASO as well as…

This event is what… caused NieR to occur.

This… event… caused… NieR.

This event caused NieR Replicant, which caused NieR Automata, in which the Ark was formed, in which the first Accord was created, in which assimilation began and kickstarted the time loop.

And the real kicker? Remember when I brought up “Singularities”? Entities with the capabilities to cause branches and alter timelines. The ones that we know of include Zero, Two, and recently, Kaine—

but with information given by Drakengard 3’s Complete Guide, we were given three more. These being,

Nier,

Nowe,

And CAIM.

It’s confirmed. Thank fuck, by the way— one of the biggest portions of the original twin theory was me trying to prove that he was a Singularity at all, but little did I know the truth was right under my nose. Waiting. For ten years. I’m the smartest bitch on planet earth

But there’s something… off, I feel.

In every instance of a singularity taking effect that we’ve gotten to see they always stay on the same… I guess, “Earth.” The branch changes, I guess, but the earth really doesn’t.

I’m saying this, because

Caim branches into an entirely different world, and he brings the two beings that shall end yet another humanity with it.

I’d bet the Gods were sure happy about that. More humans to…

I’d bet the Gods were sure happy about that.

What? Hang on.

Look at that.

These birds show up right before the Queen Beast falls into Tokyo. Birds have always been common imagery in these games, usually for symbolic purposes.

But every time Drakengard 1 uses this kind of imagery it’s… weird. The birds are weird.

Especially inverse of this, the very beginning of the game:

It’s in the opening cutscene of Drakengard 1. Furiae says, “It begins.”

(What begins? What does she already know…?)

And after a fade to white, we cut to a bird circling in the sky over the battlefield Caim is currently in. The very same one where he will be fatally wounded, forcing him to forge a pact with Angelus, the beginning of the end.

It always struck me as odd as to why this shot was included. Why include such seemingly meaningless imagery as… you know, a bird flying. Like a bird can do.

Well, that’s the thing with Drakengard 1. It’s by far the entry in this series with the heaviest religious imagery and theming.

And thus, with that in mind…

I looked it up.

What is the significance of a bird circling in the sky?

Oh.

So… It’s an Omen.

It’s an Omen.

A bird circling in the sky is considered an omen in certain religions.

A bird circling in the sky is considered an omen that God is either sending a message from beyond, or is watching over you.

God is watching over you.

God is watching you.

(watching me, watching you)

Hm. Hm! In the context of this series, that’s kind of…

interesting.

#MY BULLSHIT INACCURATE TEDIOUS AWFUL STUPID FUCKING THEORY IS BACK ON THE MENU #nier #drakengard #drakenier #square enix #yoko taro #drakengard 3 #drag on dragoon #dod #nier replicant #nier automata #nier reincarnation #twin theory #drakenier twin theory

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sweetyyhippyy · 20 days

Text

Die with a Smile. Eddie Munson x Fem! Reader. *ANGST*

Summary: Eddie and his girlfriend try to escape town from a larger Mind Flayer that is destroying town.

Word Count: 1.2k

TW: End of the world trope. Final moments alive. Mentions of gun shots and bombs. Final goodbyes. Dying.

Note: This is a song inspired fic, obviously by the title. And I also loosely inspired this off of the end of the movie Cloverfield.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie’s hand squeezes hers, tightening his grip as they run from the gunshots and explosions that were going on in the distance.

Even though the Mind Flayer had been defeated over 2 years ago at Star Court Mall, somehow another one made its way into Hawkins, but this time this one wasn’t going down without a fight. And this one was on steroids, towering hundreds of feet in the air, reminiscent of Godzilla terrorizing Tokyo.

The town had been destroyed both by the Mind Flayer and all of the efforts to try and take the creature down. After hours of trying to shoot it down, shooting grenades at it it was clear that nothing was going to work. The military was quick to set up evacuation of everyone in town.

Her and Eddie rushed to one of the evacuation sites from the trailer park, getting out of there was a war zone enough.

Eddie worried about Wayne, if he had gotten on a bus and if he hadn’t where he was and if he was safe and alive. He had hoped he had gotten out of town in the first wave.

One of the school buses was packed with people from the town trying to evacuate, but as it was driving an explosion went off near the bus and caused the bus to crash onto its side.

They were closer to the Mind Flayer that either of them ever wanted to be, getting caught in the crossfire of bullets and crumbling concrete.

Her and Eddie, along with a few other people were able to escape from the bus. But they were all on their own to find a way to get as far away from town as they could before it was too late.

“Eddie!” She yells from behind him, losing her footing in the rubble surrounding the ground in the woods. “Eddie! Wait, I need to stop for a second!”

“We have to get out of here, baby. We have to get as far as we can.” He was determined to get her out of the blast zone that he overheard some of the military soldiers talk about.

A large blast goes off, making the entire ground shake below the couple, making her hand slip from his and causing her to fall to the ground.

“Oh shit.” She groans, struggling to get back up onto her feet. Her vision goes hazy from the falling dirt in the air.

Eddie quickly rushes to her, taking a knee to look at her. “Can you get up? We just have to go a little bit further.” Carefully he helps her onto her feet, draping her arm over his shoulder. “I got you, baby. Let’s go.”

Just as Eddie is about to start walking, the air raid siren starts to echo through the air along with a loud screech from the Mind Flayer.

“Shit.” Eddie curses to himself, freezing in place. “Shit!” He yells, the word echoing.

The instructions were clear from the military soldier that Eddie had overheard.

“If you hear the air raid siren, it’s too late.”

The military was planning on leveling the town in order to take down The Mind Flayer. Their hope was that all, if not most of the town’s population had evacuated to keep the casualties at a minimum.

“Oh my god.” She grips onto Eddie’s shoulder, turning to look at her boyfriend with terror in her eyes. “W-what do we do?”

He shakes his head, sighing loudly. “Nothing baby. This is it for us.” His large wet eyes looking into hers, no terror in his body like hers.

Her heart drops to her stomach at the realization that this was her last moments alive. Her last moments with Eddie.

“Can’t we take shelter somewhere?”

“No baby. The bomb they’re going to set off is going to make Hawkins something people only read about in books. There’s no saving ourselves anymore.”

Eddie looks at his girlfriend, her forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat, dirt, and blood causing her hairs to stick to it. This was going to be the lasting image of the girl he had loved for the better part of 3 years.

“Eddie… I don’t want to die.” Her voice breaks at the end as she swallows sobs.

He helps her onto the ground, sitting next to her and hugging her close to his body. “I know, sweetheart.” His own eyes filling with tears that he blinks back, kissing her hair. “I don’t want to go either. But we don’t have much of a choice.”

From up above their heads, multiple helicopters fly away from town, the military getting away before dropping the bomb that would wipe Hawkins off the face of the earth.

“But guess what?” He unhooks himself from her and grabs her face. “I get to stare into those beautiful eyes of yours before I go. Somehow that makes it all the more worth it to me.”

Tears start to flow down her cheeks as they sit together, studying every inch of each other's face to commit it to memory.

“At least I get to be with you.” She says, holding his hand tight.

“I love you baby. This isn’t how we should be ending things, but I’m so glad that I’m with you.” Eddie says to her as he presses a kiss to her lips firmly.

“I love you, Eddie. Love you so much.” She sniffles, letting her sobs out fully. “Eddie, I'm so scared.”

He was terrified too, but he didn’t want to show her how scared he was and send her into a full blown panic attack. “I got you the whole time, sweetheart. You don’t have to be scared.”

She shuffles her body in between his legs, cuddling into his torso while he wraps his arms around her.

“Love you so much, baby. Love you so much.” He repeats in her ear over and over, tears rolling down his cheeks now that she wasn’t looking at him.

Her grasp against his jacket gets stronger as the Mind Flayer continually screeches in the distance and the ground shakes each time it walks.

A loud woosh from overhead makes both of them look up at the hazy night sky, several planes soar in the sky toward town followed by a large explosion and debris flying around both of them.

She screams as large branches start to snap from above and land next to them, making her squeeze her eyes closed. “Eddie!”

Eddie squeezes her tighter into his chest, trying to shield her as best he can. “I got you, baby. I’m right here.”

Everything around them gets louder, more and more explosions booming, some of them sounding close to them. Debris falls into her lap, Eddie yelping in pain as some of it hits his back.

“I love you, Eddie!”

“I love yo-,” A loud whistle from above their heads interrupts Eddie, followed by the sound of a tree snapping from behind them.

Both of them knew this was truly it.

She looks up at Eddie, tears clouding her view of him. “I’ll see you soon, baby.”

Eddie grabs her face, nestling it in his palm. “I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”

#Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson x fem reader #Eddie Munson x fem! reader #Eddie Munson x fem!reader #Eddie Munson angst #Eddie Munson fic #Eddie Munson Stranger Things

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sickonthedancefloor · 5 months

Note

can you please do a Taehyung sicktember fic on-

8. Persistent fever.

Caretaker of your choice.

Thank you <3

Finally! Sorry it took so long, but I finally got something out here~

Sickie: Taehyung Caretaker: Jimin, Jin Content: fever, sinus issues, nausea, vomiting (mentioned)

‘Home early’, Taehyung types in the chat with Jimin, answering the two billion question marks he had sent while he was on the flight. Taehyung was set to do some photography in Tokyo for the next few days, but his managers and one on-site nurse told him they’d postpone and reschedule in two weeks, when the photographer had another open period. Taehyung didn’t think he was doing that poorly, certain the fever was mostly from the hangover and the stage lights, but his manager didn’t believe him for a second. So they packed up, wished him well, threw him in a mask and took the chartered jet back to Seoul.

Taehyung was under strict orders to ‘rest and recuperate’, and with a scoff he just maneuvers himself and his suitcase into his apartment and wishes his manager-hyung good night.

“I mean it,” his manager said, “I’m only leaving you alone because you said you can take care of yourself. So you better. I’m checking on you daily.”

“Hyung, it’s not that bad,” Taehyung dismissed that day, accepting the small hug and rough back pat before his manager moved back. He didn’t even bother checking his messages, didn’t even worry about his suitcase and let it drop in the living room. Shoes off, door locked, security on, Taehyung just ended up flopped in his bed and conking out for the night. He doesn’t catch his manager laying medication out on his dining room table, or the water bottle set at his bedside table next to his phone, before he let himself out and trusted Taehyung to sleep on his own.

~*~

Something felt… off. When Taehyung awoke again, he felt all sorts of wrong. His sinuses felt heavy and swollen, and he just felt overly warm and sweaty. His limbs felt heavy, but he really needed to be awake for a few minutes. He managed to get up for a little, when an odd emptiness bothered him into finally making his way into the kitchen to get something to eat. He didn’t have many fresh groceries, concerned most of it would spoil while he was out, but he did have juice. He grabbed a bottle of orange juice and then raided the pantry for his dry salvageables.

Ramen, perfect. Low-energy, little effort, still delicious. He heated up a small cup, oddly not wanting more. His stomach didn’t feel very solid… but this exhaustion just clung to him like a second skin. This wasn’t normal jetlag; jetlag didn’t normally come with sore limbs and a growing headache. But no food usually came with a headache, he remembered that much.

As his ramen cooked, he took two paracetamol from a pack laid out and sat at his table, checking his phone to send a thanks to his manager. A wonderful 6%, which had him going to find his charger while he waited for the painkillers to kick in. And he smiled. His darling Jiminie had sent him a message, full of emojis and silly aegyo-inspired phrases to greet him. He wanted to know when he was free, they could hang out or call while they didn’t have an agenda.

‘Anytime you want,’ Taehyung answered. ‘I’m free whenever.’

‘You’ve been back for 12 hours, why are you ignoring meeee?’

‘sleepg :(‘ came Taehyung’s lazy reply.

His ramen was done. Taehyung brought the cup to the table with a pair of chopsticks and began to lazily munch away. Just as he shoved a mouthful in, his phone began to buzz—with Jimin’s name flashing over the screen. Taehyung didn’t think twice before opening it, mumbling a weak “Jyiminie!” over his noodles.

Jimin frowned at his friend’s appearance on the camera. “Tae-yah… you don’t look so hot. Did you get sick?”

Taehyung shook his head, but the feeling had him grimacing a little. “Nah… just a headache,” he grumbled. “I think I’m still sleeping off the plane.”

That had Jimin’s frown growing. “But you were only in Japan… Taehyung, what happened?”

Taehyung shrugged. He knew Jimin was off traveling with his family in Europe, he didn’t want to worry him, especially given he was so far away. “They rescheduled everything for a few weeks, when the photographer’s open again. It’s no biggie.”

“Yes it is… Did they send you home sick?”

Taehyung’s deep sigh answered it all. “I’m fine, Jimin-ah. I have meds, I’ll sleep it off. It’s just a cold.”

That had Jimin sighing. He took a moment to doublecheck, asking what medication Taehyung had in his cabinet, offering to order him something if necessary. Taehyung waved him off, assuring Jimin of the cold medication he still had and a half-empty bottle of cough syrup. He showed Jimin the boxes as they chatted, for his friend’s approval. Jimin didn’t keep him on the phone long, telling him to sit still and eat his noodles. Taehyung put on light jazz and ate quietly, before he just trudged his way back to his room.

He was out by the time his head hit the pillow.

~*~

Taehyung woke to the sounds of something clanking around his kitchen. Worried about an intruder—a sasaeng, maybe?!—he sat up carefully, eyes darting around the room to look for any hidden cameras or ropes or odd people. Intruders to celebrities could be dangerous, and despite his apartment complex having top notch security, there had been a few incidences here and there. He felt wide awake, immediately although a thick feeling creeping up his throat made him want to cough. Taehyung slapped both hands over his mouth to stifle his sounds, then sipped at the water.

Then worriedly stared at the water: what if it’s poisoned?!

But… it tasted like water. It was warm, boring… maybe not poisoned. Taehyung glanced at his phone, to realize it’s been plugged into the bedside charger. Weird… When he tapped the screen, he noticed a few messages, all from Jimin.

Oh gods, Jimin could help.

Taehyung didn’t hesitate to open the contact information, ignoring the texts in favor of dialing him immediately.

There was a ding from the living room, followed by a light ringtone that Taehyung recognized instantly. And Jimin’s soft, light voice asking aloud, “Who could be calling right now?”

Taehyung didn’t move the phone until he heard the ringtone stop. Then Jimin’s voice on the other line, lighthearted but very confused: “Tae-yah? Why are you calling?”

“Jiminie… Are… are you in my house?”

That had the smaller boy huffing out a laugh, followed by footsteps shuffling to his room. When the door opened more than just a crack, he could see his best friend standing inside, his dyed-blonde hair peeking from underneath a beanie. Immediate comfort flooded Taehyung’s senses, and as he dropped his arm with the phone, he just huffed in a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

“You moron, you scared me!”

Well… that was valid. Now that Taehyung mentioned it, Jimin realized he didn’t really leave many clues. Just the message, as he pointed to Taehyung’s hand. “Well, I texted you I was coming over. I’m sorry.”

Groaning, Taehyung laid back on the bed. He felt drained again already, ready to sleep that fear out of his bones. Jimin just walked in, smoothing down his hair. “Sorry, friend. You didn’t seem like you were doing so well, so I came to check on you. I’m making soup.”

Oh.

Well, that was nice.

Taehyung smiled, a wide, dopey look as he leaned back on one arm. “You’re literally the best friend I could ever ask for.”

“Good!” Jimin danced back to the kitchen with a little wiggle, which had Taehyung laughing as he watched him head back. Feeling far more relieved, he flopped back against his pillow and opened his messages, clicking through them lazily. A response to manager-hyung—he’s fine, and a bonus Jimin!—and some emojis to Jimin himself, and one back to the group chat to send kissy faces and tell everyone he’s fine. He was just tired. He lets out a loud, obnoxious sneeze, before he just sniffles and turns onto his side.

He didn’t mean to doze off, but he woke up when Jimin calls his name, sitting on the edge of the bed. Jimin’s tiny hand reached up to smooth back his hair. “Tae-yah?”

“Hmm?” Taehyung’s eyelids felt so heavy. His limbs felt weighed down, but so warm.

“Taetae… your fever feels like it’s gotten worse. Have you taken any medication? Today?”

Taehyung just shrugged. “Dunno… when did you first text me?” Honestly, Taehyung wasn’t even sure when he got back. How many hours had it been since hyung took him home? He figured it’s been more than enough time, and shrugged, sitting up. Jetlag is a bitch. “It’s okay, Jyiminie. You cooked, right?”

Jimin nodded. “Food, then medicine, then you can rest some more.” But his words had an edge of finality to it. Taehyung knew this voice well: it meant Jimin was going to get his way because he said so. But the idea of food is enough to get Taehyung out of bed. He flopped himself over Jimin’s shoulder, laughing when Jimin complained about him stepping on his heels, and the two trekked into the dining area. Honestly, Taehyung just had a dining table because he had drinking guests; usually, they ended up in front of the television to eat and chat, but the table was a good place for shots and bigger course meals. All two times a year he hosted anything.

The soup Jimin made was absolutely delicious. There was minimal kick in the spice, gentle for Taehyung’s sensitivity to spicy foods, but flavorful enough it makes him smile. He drinks more broth than noodle, picks around a few of the vegetables, and nearly yawns into his spoon. He’s just… drained.

“I hope this helps bring down your fever,” Jimin says softly, reaching over to stroke his curly hair. It’s a mess, hardened with old hairspray and oils he hasn’t washed yet. “Have you had any other symptoms? Are you coughing?”

Taehyung just shakes his head. “Not really… most of it’s just drainage. I had to blow my nose a lot yesterday.”

Or, what he thought was yesterday. This fever just makes him feel foggy, warm and heavy-limbed and exhausted. A tickle in his throat has him leaning his head into his hands, letting out a few wet-sounding coughs. He wipes leftover spittle onto his napkin.

“Okay. Medication then sleep.” That sounded great. Jimin gets some nyquil into him, and some tea, makes him wash his face, and tucks him into bed with the promise that he’ll be there when he wakes up.

~*~

When Taehyung wakes up, his body is sore and he feels rotten. His limbs ache and he feels overheated, enough that he roughly kicks his blanket before he kicks too hard and finds a leg.

Jimin looks over. He’s typing away at his phone, playing some sort of game, but pauses when he catches Taehyung trying to free himself from his blanket. To help, he reaches a hand over and tugs the blanket down to his legs.

“Taetae-yah, what’s wrong?” he asks softly.

“I’m… hot.”

Jimin tries not to snicker. “Well. Yeah, you’re sick. Feeling overheated?”

Taehyung groans, turning onto his stomach. Jimin sets a hand on his back and begins to rub his spine, but the sensation makes him feel itchy and uncomfortable, and he wiggles. “N-no…”

“No?” Jimin’s hand stops. “Taehyung, talk to me. What are you feeling?”

Taehyung groans. Laying this way doesn’t help either. Just laying here feels uncomfortable, and he turns on his side, freeing his legs completely. His pajamas feel too rough, but the idea of standing to move, change, or remove anything seems to be the worst thing. When Jimin moves his hand to touch Taehyung’s neck, the younger one squirms a little.

“No, Jyimine, it hurts,” he whimpers into the blanket.

“What hurts? Did you injure yourself?” Jimin asks, but he’s kind enough to move his hand back, shifting closer to Taehyung’s face. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Taehyung barely shakes his head into the pillow, groaning as he does so. Why did every terrible symptom have to hit him then? His headache is back, with a slow, steady throbbing. He feels nauseous from it. “No just… anything touching me… it hurts.”

“Oh…” Jimin knows this too well. When he feels too sick, his old injuries flare up and he feels nothing but pain in the worst areas for hours. But it’s been a while since Taehyung’s last dose, and he’s slept long enough that he could take some more. “Can you sit up? Let me get you some painkillers, we can see if that helps.” Not the strongest, not while he’s like this, but… Tylenol should help. Jimin slides from the bed to get the pills and water ready, leaving Taehyung to work the strength to sit up. When he finally manages to, he takes the pills from Jimin and lets his friend help him with the water. With the pills flushed down his system, Taehyung drops heavily back onto the bed, groaning when Jimin places a cold compress on the back of his neck.

But it… feels good.

“Thanks, Jyiminie.”

“Anytime, Taetae. Get some more sleep.”

~*~

By day three, Jimin had called in reinforcements. Reinforcements come in the form of Jin making a good soup, bringing in good OTC medication, and an extra person to cuddle on the couch. Taehyung felt absolutely rotten by this point, taking to dragging around his comforter around his shoulders any time he left his room. He ends up tucked into Jin’s side, letting Jin feed him whenever he got hungry for some snack or another.

Taehyung doesn’t remember much about day three.

~*~

On the fourth day, more so later that evening, Jimin tugs the thermometer from Taehyung’s mouth and frowns. Taehyung takes the chilsung cider offered and sips at it slowly, enjoying the cold feeling. The carbonation isn’t comfortable for his throat, but it settles his stomach. The nausea had worsened overnight, to the point where Taehyung was struggling to keep food down. Besides a bit of broth from that afternoon, he hasn’t had much luck.

The chills are worse, and he’s buried deep in his comforter and still asking for another blanket. His legs have been aching, on top of all of that.

“Your fever’s up, jagiya,” Jimin says softly.

“What’s new?” Taehyung responds, pouting around his straw.

Jimin strokes his hair gently, what little he can reach from Taehyung’s comforter, and the younger one leans into the touch. While the rest of him is sore, Jimin’s touch is light and familiar, and comforting. He’s worried, Taehyung can tell, but he’s too drained to do anything about it. He trusts his hyung and his soulmate, he’ll be okay.

If he listens vaguely, he can hear Jin on the phone. The eldest had stepped away to make a phone call, but Taehyung can tell it’s either to their team doctor or to the staff’s nurse team. “—up to 38.9 now,” Jin murmurs. Or rather, Jin could be speaking normally, but things sound muffled. Taehyung just leans into Jimin’s touch and closes his eyes. “It’s not spiking, just… steadily climbing. He said he’s achy, he had a headache earlier, and right now he’s been nauseous. Ne, ne. He vomited earlier, but I think he’s trying not to again. Mm.” Jin trudges back into the room. “Tae-yah?”

Taehyung groans. “Hyung?”

“Do you think we can get you to the car? The nurse says we should get you—”

That has the sick boy groaning, shaking his head. “I ‘on’t wanna,” he groaned. “I can just sleep it off. It’s only been a day.”

“Tae-yah, you’ve been home for four days. Your fever is persisting for too long, and you’re literally not getting better…”

Taehyung groans, shaking his head. He tugs the blanket over his face, pulling away from the solace of his friend’s gentle touch. When he feels a hand press on his shoulder, he flinches and tucks himself in further.

“Jin-hyung, don’t—” Jimin protests. His voice is muffled, but the hand goes away, and Taehyung’s shoulders droop, but he’s trembling. Taehyung whines into the blanket.

Gentle fingers reach for the blanket, easing it away from his face. “Tae-yah, you’ll overheat. Jin won’t touch your shoulder, okay?”

“Do I have to get up?” Taehyung asks softly. “Jiminie, I don’t want to leave…”

Jimin hesitates, looking up at Jin. Jin, frowning at them, turns into the phone. “Can the doctor come to us? Taehyungie’s not sure he can get up right now. He can? Oh that’s perfect. We’ll be here. I’ll give him some more ibuprofen while we wait.”

Perfect. Jimin releases the breath he didn’t realize he was holding, but he grabs the water bottle while Jin opens the ibuprofen and knocks four pills into his hand.

“Okay, Tae-yah. The doctor’s coming to you, but you have to take some medicine first.”

Awful. But a deal is a deal. Taehyung grumbles, propping himself up on one arm, his opposite hand reaching out for the tablets. He lets Jimin help him with the water and washes down the medication quickly. It’ll be irritating, on an empty stomach, but the doctor knows best. If the nausea settles, if his fever goes down, he’ll get to eat again. As Jin looks at him with worry and gently scratches his hair, Jimin glances up and hopes to see his friend’s health make a turnaround soon. Both help him lay back on the couch before Jin joins Jimin to sit on the floor. As Taehyung begins to doze again, the two older ones take a breath and let it out slowly. Their doctor is coming. Taehyung will be okay.

#whit writes #bts sickfic #sick!taehyung #caretaker!jimin #caretaker!jin #cold and flu season #fever

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sakaimii · 22 days

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Hello again!

Your monthly update to say that I handled the English translation for episode 8 of Tokyo Debunker. This was my first time really working with material with the Sinostra boys (or Crime Dorm, as I’ve taken to calling them) since I only did Vagastrom, Hotarubi, Obscuary and Mortkranken previously, and it was a lot of fun. Ritsu really tests the limits of my abilities to fit legal jargon into the character limits I’m given…

I find Romeo really funny because his relationship with the MC reminds me of an “otsubone” (お局), which is a term for an older woman in an office who throws her weight around when dealing with newer members in her workplace. There’s a certain vibe to the role and Romeo fits it perfectly.

Taking of my translator hat for a moment and speaking as a regular player, I’m curious how Nightmare Raid levels stack up on other servers. I have a hunch the system itself must decide based on the relative levels of the players in the server but for example in J-1, where I’m at, it looks like this:

I generally have to cling on for dear life onto the strongest members of my guild to do the top ones since I’m only at 4 million, but I can usually handle up to 20ish million on my own. I just wonder if J-1 isn’t full of a bunch of super powered people in general LOL

This was a busy month for translation for a number of things and I’m glad it’s over! Next month will mainly be me wrapping things up with my manga series and hopefully working on some new stories, but it will be thankfully less hectic. I need the break for sure.

#tokyo debunker #translation #original manga #life

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centrally-unplanned · 5 months

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Been watching the original Sailor Moon with partner (@stifledlaughterao3) and there is this character, Motoki:

He is Mamoru's (Tuxedo Mask) genki bff and in Season 1 a crush of Usagi's, and overall is just a general good civilian friend of the whole squad and a recurring character all the way through Season 4. He never appears in Season 5 (I think) for no stated reason, presumably because that season stuffed a healthy dose of new boytoys into its ensemble and needed to balance the scales by putting some others on a bus, but anyway...

In the aforementioned Season 4, the main plot is a Snow White Queen style villain capturing people's "Beautiful Dreams" (shown as mirrors) in a hunt for magic crystal (its Sailor Moon, its always a magic crystal). Said crystal is btw protected by a pegasus/alicorn prince with whom Chibiusa fulfills the deepest fantasy of every eager horse girl in the audience:

Get it girrrl don't let your dreams be dreams. But anyway (again)... the minions of our Distaff Evil Queen raid everyone's dreams hunting Chibiusa's beau, and I mean everyone's; at some points they are just dragging bodies by the truckful to inspect mirrors:

Those are the mirrors - I promise you the piles of bodies they got them from are just off frame. Point is, pretty much everybody has got a beautiful dream, which is why its so hard for these minion girls to find the needle dream in the haystack, insane hairstyles or no.

Season goes on, villain finds the macguffin, fighty fighty plotty plotty and it all culminates with the villain having sealed away all of humanity's dreams in darkness and Chibiusa & Usagi calling everyone to channel the power of their dreams into a planet-wide counterspell. Or Tokyo-wide at minimum, Chbiusa speaks like God from the sky over Tokyo and huge crowds go glassy-eyed to help her:

Even our boy Motoki's sister Unazuki jumps in to help, yelling into space as a confused Motoki tries to figure out what is going on with her:

Which...wait a second, why isn't Motoki helping? Everyone else is! He is the only character on screen in this sequence in Tokyo who isn't helping. Its not just girls, you see plenty of guys, its not just "kids", we see a confirmed late 20's school principal for example doing it too.

I get that not literally everybody had a Beautiful Dream probably, but like everybody the main cast interacts with does! Its used frequently as like an inherent, thematic statement of the essence of humanity, and its lack as a serious problem. So wtf is going on with Motoki! Why doesn't he get a dream?? I thought this would have some like nitpick explanation, but digging in I can't actually find one, I think he just...is dreamless, and therefore by implication kind of sucks.

This is literally the last time you see him, too! Dreamless and confused. My new headcanon is this moment outed him as some form of an alien spy minion and he was summarily executed by the post-dream-apocalypse reconstruction authorities, explaining why we never see him again. Rest In Peace, Motoki - in death may the void of the universe finally meet the void of your heart.

#sailor moon

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cult-of-husbandos · 6 months

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toji fushiguro [☯︎] - Himo Romance

synopsis: toji fushiguro takes you on a romantic date to the most fanciest place on earth.

genre: hella crack, angst(?), fluff(?)

word count: 4.9k

warnings: cursing, if you care

The scent of incense lingered in the air, mingling with the warmth of the setting sun as you waited in your small Tokyo apartment. It was a modest space, cluttered with polaroid pics and random shit from either thrift stores or shady internet dealers. Why spend $90 on an air fryer when NutCrusher2378 will sell you one for the low, low price of one feet pic?

Inhale. Exhale.

You once read an article that stated that meditation can decrease stress, pressure, and homicidal tendencies within a person. You glanced at the clock for what felt like the hundredth time, your patience waning as the minutes ticked by. Clearly, fifteen Blood Dragon Mango Orange and sitting in silence for 30 minutes wasn’t doing much for the overbearing burden that is your life. Now, why would a well-balanced person with their own apartment, car, and a source of income need to destress. Despite what your parents tell you every text, call, and holiday you were actually doing very good for yourself. So, why do you have the urge to burn down your apartment building and start smashing every building within a 25 mile radius?

One man.

One incredulous hot as fuck piece of shit man.

Toji Fushiguro, the enigmatic man who had become an unpredictable fixture in your life. You are currently dating a sorcerer that can’t even afford getting a Twix from a vending machine. To be honest, you wouldn’t even really call what you two have a ‘relationship’. Your so-called relationship was nothing more than a precarious balance of convenience, a twisted dance of give and take where you supplied the resources and he… well, he took. The more appropriate name for this would be a ‘situationship’. You cringe any time you or your friends bring up your relationship with him. Like a gross, oozing pimple on prom night, you just want to cover it up and pretend it doesn’t exist. Except the gross, oozing pimple is a 6’1, 190 lbs., lazy, overconfident, sex machine that kills and bums money from everyone just to bet it on a horse named ‘Lucky McCock’ because “with a name like that, he fucks the competition”.

The sound of keys jingling outside your door broke the concentrated silence, and you inadvertently flinched and felt your heart sink as Toji’s unmistakable footsteps echoed through the hallway. Without so much as a warning, he barged into your apartment, his devil-may-care grin lighting up his face. Why in the name of Kwon Ji-yong did you ever think giving him a key would be a good idea?!

“Hey there, sweetheart,” he greeted casually, tossing his dirty musty jacket that you bought for him onto the couch. “Miss me?”

You rolled your eyes, the familiar blend of annoyance and resignation settling over you like a thick, suffocating fog. “You were only gone for three weeks this time. Hardly long enough to miss you.”

Toji shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze wandering around the room before landing on the half-empty bag of potato chips on your coffee table. “Hungry,” he declared, making a beeline for the kitchen without waiting for your response.

You sighed inwardly, resigning yourself to yet another evening of Toji’s impromptu visits. As he raided your fridge with the same energy as an ungrateful college student that drops off his laundry and eats your food, you couldn’t help but wonder why you continued to tolerate his antics. Perhaps it’s his gorgeous face that even when nothing but bullshit and snarky remarks come out of it makes you want to sit on it. Or it’s his amazing daddy body that can go round after round with you, but can’t be bothered to move two feet to pick up the remote. Or maybe you have an undiscovered broke as fuck boyfriend kink that makes you dummy stupid.

“Why does it smell like a bunch of temple bastards took a shit in your living room?”

Or maybe, just maybe, you died long ago and this is your eternal hell.

*****

The weeks passed in a blur of half-hearted promises and fleeting moments of intimacy. Toji’s presence in your life remained as unpredictable as ever, his disappearances becoming a twisted routine that you had grown all too accustomed to.

‘Are we even dating?’

A thought suddenly popped into your head. You felt as if your stomach had hit the brakes hard after going over 90 on the interstate. What was really the point of this relationship? Well, it’s not like you both don’t get anything out of it. You both get amazing, mind-blowing sex and he gets a place to crash, food to eat, and money to spend on whatever dumb shit he likes.

…

You know, after laying it down like that, there’s obviously a clear winner that benefits from this in the long run.

However, just when you thought you had reached your breaking point, Toji dropped a bombshell that caught you completely off guard.

“I’m taking you out,” he announced one evening, his expression unusually earnest as he met your gaze. “A fancy date, with all that romantic shit you always bitch about.”

You quirked your eyebrow skeptically, crossing your arms over your chest. “The words ‘fancy’ and ‘romantic’ don’t fit your vocabulary. Your idea of fancy is wearing a button up shirt and your idea of romance is wearing a condom and buying flavored lube.” You sighed as he laughed obnoxiously. “What fancy place do you even know? Aren’t you, like, banned from almost every restaurant, café, dive bar, and soup kitchen within 50 miles of here?”

Toji grinned mischievously, a spark of excitement hinting in his eyes. “It’s a surprise,” he teased, his lips curling into a smirk. “But trust me, you’re gonna love it.”

You honestly doubt that. You know better than to get your hopes high when it comes to Toji’s promises. He either doesn’t deliver or doesn’t show up. Either way, you end up looking like a dumb bitch at the end of the day in your friend’s group chat. Yet, for some unknown reason, you found yourself getting excited.

*****

“Why do I have to be blindfolded for this?” you groaned as Toji guided you throughout the crowded sidewalk. The city buzzed with life around you, its neon lights casting an otherworldly glow as you navigate your way through the labyrinth of alleyways and side streets. You felt the slight breeze of people walking past you and felt the questioning gazes burn into you.

“Wouldn’t be a surprise if you could see where we were going, would it?” he whispered into your ear. “We’re almost there anyway…”

You felt anxiety and interest build in the pit of your stomach, your curiosity piqued as you drew closer to your destination. What sort of extravagant affair had Toji planned for you that you need a blindfold to go there? An underground Michelin-starred restaurant? A moonlit stroll along the riverbanks? An eyes-wide shut party?

As Toji finally came to a stop, you felt your stomach drop and heart race as he reached up to remove the blindfold from your eyes, his lips curling into a triumphant grin.

“Voila!” he exclaimed, gesturing grandly at the dimly lit building in front of you.

Your eyes widened in disbelief as you took in the scene before you. You both stood outside a familiar chain restaurant, its red gaudy mascot sign illuminated in garishly bright white letters against the night sky.

Red Lobster.

You blinked in confusion, struggling to process the sheer absurdity of what was happening.

“Red… Lobster?” you echoed incredulously, your voice laced with disbelief.

Toji shrugged nonchalantly, his grin widening into a boyish smirk. “Told ya it was fancy as shit.”

…

“WHAAAAAAAAATTT?!!!”

*****

Words could not describe the unbridled rage you were feeling right now. You could power a small village for 5 years with the amount of fury emanating from you. You sat slumped in the booth with a furious scowl stuck on your face as you stared fiercely at the lying moron currently stuffing his face with Cheddar Bay Biscuits. After gulping down three of the biscuits, he finally looks up at you.

“‘s matter with you?”

“You know damn well what’s the matter with me, Toji.” you seethed.

A few seconds of silence passed as he gulped down the rest of the biscuits. His face remained stoic as he looked you in the eyes.

“You gotta take a shit or somethin’?”

You slammed your fists against the table, sitting up straight and leaning over the table, the jarring sound of the utensils and cups on the table shook people from their conversations and turned their attention towards your table. You could care less what those slack jawed NPCs thought of you. Your attention was focused solely on your smug ass boyfriend.

“Toji,” you breathed harshly, “what the fuck am I wearing right now?”

“Huuh?”

“What the fuck do I have on right now? What kind of clothes do I have on?” You were shaking at this point.

Toji grinned at you smugly. “Whatever it is, it’s hot as fuck.”

“Of course it’s hot as fuck, Toji. And you wanna know why I’m wearing this hot as fuck outfit in this building of impending salmonella poisoning? Because you told me that we were going to a fancy and romantic place. Where people, oh I don’t know, don’t need to take a Pepto Bismol before and after dinner, where waiters speak in a posh accent but you know deep down that they only make 12 dollars an hour, where the food is served relatively fresh and not sitting in a deep-freeze for half year and warmed in a fucking microwave! But no! Here I am, looking like a 100 out of 10 sitting in a stained red booth, at a sticky table, sitting across from a man who looks like I just dragged a homeless man off the street just so I don’t look like a desperate loser coming into a fucking Red Lobster by myself!”

You ended your rant, panting and dropped back into your booth and cradled your head in your arms on the table. You knew this would happen. You just knew it! Leave it to a man with no concept of child support or how a garbage disposal works to take you anywhere relatively nice. The soft chattering and murmurs of the other patrons around you continued on, but you could feel eyes on you specifically. You groaned, not even bothering to raise your head.

“Jesus Christ… you couldn’t even pick a fucking Papadeux? Fucking Red Lobster…”

“Hey, don’t knock it till you try it,” he quipped, his mouth full of Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

“I have tried it, Toji. Everyone and their great-grandmother comes to fucking Red Lobster at least once for a birthday-anniversary-graduation-bullshit.”

“Well, it’s the thought that counts, right?”

“Toji, your “thought” doesn’t count for shit.”

You didn’t see it, but Toji flinched at your words. A pang of dejection flashed across his face, but just as you rose your head he turned his face back to stoic.

“Where’s the damn waiter?” he muttered, looking around. “AYO! Can we get some damn service?!” Toji loudly called, snapping his fingers.

Your eyes widened and you quickly grabbed his arm. “Oh my fucking… Toji!”

Before he could say anything, a nervous looking waiter walked up to your booth.

“Hello guys, my name is Tommy and I will be your waiter today. Can I get you guys started with anything?”

“Uh, yeah, lemme get a mufuckin’ uuuuhhhhhhhhh…” This went on for a full two minutes. “Lemme get the unlimited oysters.”

You quirked your eyebrow at Toji with a perplexed look as the waiter jotted down his order. “Really? The oysters?”

He lazily nodded.

“Are you sure you wanna lock that in, baby?”

He nodded again, looking disgruntled that you would question his choice of food.

“Like, 100%? Are you really, really sure that’s what you wanna get?”

Toji tilted his head at you. “You questioning me?”

You raised your eyebrows passively and opened your menu. “Alright…” you remark, “It’s your funeral…” You muttered the last part under your breath.

The waiter sensing the tension amongst you two, hurried along the order conversation. “And what would you like to drink?”

“All your drinks are boring, so nothing.” he answered in dismissal, tossing the menu at Tommy who barely managed to catch it.

“And what would you like to order?” He directed his attention towards you.

“I’ll have the grilled half lobster with lemon butter, a tomahawk steak, and a bottle of Gin, please.” you answered, handing the menu to him.

“A-A bottle…?” Tommy the waiter stuttered. “We can mix it into a drink if you preferred–”

“I said what I said.” You looked at the basket on the table. “And can we get some more cheddar biscuits please?”

Tommy nodded with a bow. “Of course. I’ll be back with your drinks and some more biscuits for the table.” And with that, he scurried off.

Toji threw you a smug grin and whistled cheekily. “Wooow, babe. I didn’t know I was dining with royalty.” he chastised and you groaned. “Don’t expect me to pay for your share.”

“Pssh. Please Toji. With what money? It’s so obvious that I’m paying for this meal.”

“Wait, really?”

“Duh, Toji! Of course I’m paying for it! It’s practically routine at this point.” You groan out, annoyed and rolling your eyes. “It’s the main thing you use me for anyway…”

The air is immediately coated in awkward tension between the two of you. It’s not like you said anything wrong. This is Toji Fushiguro you’re talking about. The man only wants three things out of life: sex, money, and to sail through life never paying for anything. You fiddled with your fingernails to fill the dead air when you heard Toji smack his lips at you.

“Can’t you go one fucking second without bitchin’ at me for something so worthless?” he muttered. “What the hell’s wrong Red Lobster? Red Lobster is the epitome of sophistication. The ambiance, the seafood… it's all about setting the mood, babe.”

“Sophistication?” You scoff and look your boyfriend dead in his eyes. “Toji… you eat at fucking Burger King.”

“What the fuck’s wrong with Burger King?!”

“Oh! Hmm! Let’s see! Lemme think! Ummm! Ummm! How about, fucking everything Toji!”

“Do NOT disrespect the King!” Toji's smile faltered slightly, a hint of defensiveness creeping into his tone.

“The King is dead, Toji! Deeeaaad! He OD’d 25 years ago just like everyone else who eats at Burger King!” you shout, no longer caring about raising your voice. “People only eat Burger King because they have to! Never because they want to! Because if that were the case, then everyone would go to McDonald’s! Their food is leagues better!”

“Their Whoppers are a culinary masterpiece.” he seethed at you.

You snort. “Oh yes! You’re so right, Toji. Mm-mm! Yummy! Because nothing turns my appetite on more than a soggy burger and a 72% chance of food poisoning! Or you could just spend the extra dollar and get a Big Mac like the rest of society! And chicken nuggets with actual chicken!”

It was now Toji’s turn to scoff. “You just don’t understand the peak gourmet culinary complexities that is Burger King.”

“I would rather lick the inside of a Taco Bell bathroom toilet than eat a single chicken fry from Burger King. At least with the Taco Bell toilet there’d be remnants of edible food! It’s bottom tier, Toji. Where else in the world do you get “buffalo nuggets” for $3?! And why would you pay for that?! 10 piece chicken nuggets for $2?! What’re you, suicidal?!”

“It’s cheap and delicious!”

“It’s rat meat and smells like something threw up in a deep fryer and you fucking know it! It’s right there next to Arby’s.”

“Oh! So, now you’re dissing Arby’s?!”

“You bet your beautiful chiseled ass I’m dissing fucking Arby’s!”

“And what’s fucking wrong with Arby’s, huh?!”

“It’s rat food, Toji! It’s all rat food!”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

“Have you ever been inside an Arby’s, Toji? Hmm? The people that eat there are either tasteless morons that think Jack in the Box is ‘too expensive’ or using the spot waiting for their Fentanyl dealer. It’s just like Burger King. You only go there because you have to, not because you want to.”

Toji leaned in, eyes dark. “You wouldn’t know good food if it came up to your doorstep with roses, wiped its feet off at the door, and fucked your throat.”

“Oh, is that right?!”

“Um! Excuse me…” a meek voice spoke up. You both whipped your heads to see your waiter trembling with a bottle of Gin and basket of cheddar biscuits in his hands. You both leaned back in your seats as he hurriedly placed drink and food on the table. “Your food will be here shortly…” Before he could dash off, you grabbed him by the sleeve.

“Hold on there, Tommy. Settle something for us, would’ja?”

“Oh, please don’t incorporate me in whatever this is–”

“Arby’s, Burger King, or McDonald’s? Which one would you eat?”

Tommy stood in silence for a few seconds before whispering a tiny scared “what?”

“The fuck you asking him for?!”

“Because unlike you, he has a job and doesn’t live off of gambling tickets and random women to buy his meals! Now Tommy, choose!”

“U-U-Ummm… well, considering I’ve gotten food poisoning from all three restaurants, I’d still choose McDonald’s any day…”

“What?!”

You smirk at Toji victoriously. “Thank you, Tommy. You just earned yourself a 80% tip.”

And with that, Tommy scurried off again.

“God! You can never just be fucking grateful for anything, huh?! You just have to whine and nag and complain about everything in that pissy little condensating tone of yours!”

“Tell me, Toji. What should I be grateful for? Hm? Sh-Should I be grateful that you put in the bare minimum for a date or that you even remember my name at all?”

“…”

“Should I be grateful that you even came back to me at all and not dead somewhere, shanked and killed in the street, like an overlooked hooker that the cops don’t give a shit about?”

Toji remained silent.

“You know what, Toji. You’re right. I should be grateful. I’ll be grateful knowing that when this dinner ends I can go back home and not have to deal with you for another 4 months. Maybe around that time you’ll find someone else to be a wallet for you.”

You reached into your bag and pulled out your phone, ending the conversation dead in the water. Again, you missed the pain in Toji’s eyes as he furrowed his eyebrows and slowly continued chewing. Not too long after, Tommy came back with your food. Staring down at the shiny, plastic-looking food before you, you grimace. The overpowering smell of the oysters churned your stomach and waned your appetite with each passing second. Pushing past your mixture of disgust and resignation, you begin to eat your food.

This dinner is the definition of ‘absolutely donkey dicks’. You couldn’t even consider the food you were eating as actual “food”. Plastic toy food from a child’s playset looks and smells more appetizing. The only thing that you can swallow without gagging is the bottle of Gin which is slowly asking for a refill. You sighed as you looked up from your plate and saw Toji slurping down oyster after oyster. You pushed the food around your plate with little enthusiasm.

Toji attempted to start a conversation multiple times, but his efforts fell flat in the suffocating silence that hung between you two.

Toji cleared his throat in an attempt to once again start a conversation causing you to look at him downcast. “So, uh, how’s the food?” he asked tentatively, his voice tinged with unfamiliar uncertainty.

You glanced up at him with a weary sigh, your disappointment written plainly across your face. “The lobster tastes like those bouncy balls you get from quarter machines drenched in garlic and butter and the steak is both ice cold and boiling lava hot.” You look back at your food. “How’s your oysters? Good?”

“Delectable. Like slurping down The God of Lust and War’s plump pearls.”

“Ugh…”

The silence stretched on between you two, the weight of your unspoken frustrations hanging heavy in the air. Toji let out a heavy sigh bringing your attention back to him.

“Look, uh… Y/N…” Toji started fidgeting. “I know this date is total shit. Worse than shit probably. Nobody likes fucking Red Lobster. Being in this place makes me want to set fire to the building trapping all these wrinkly white-haired fucks and servant dicks to burn. Agonizingly. But I would save you! And the Cheddar Bay Biscuits fuuuck that shit is amazing!”

You raised your eyebrow, but let him continue.

“You were right. I am… banned from most places. Fuck, I mean did you know that I was banned from Chili’s AND Applebee’s? Like, why the fuck would I even be in those shitholes?”

“That… probably has something to do with you setting fire to their parking lot and spray painting ‘FUCK YOUR TAXES’ on their windows respectively at multiple locations.”

“Oh yeeahh… damn. That was a great Halloween.”

“Yeah… it was interesting… watching you eat an entire 5-pound chocolate peep marshmallow and utterly lose your mind in what I can only describe as a hellish sugar rush.”

“Whatever. The point is… I… I really tried, y’know?” he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. “I said a lot of shit and promised a whole fucking thing, but in reality… this is all I can do… Like, legally or whatever…”

You stared at Toji in somewhat disbelief. You were witnessing something striking and shocking. Were you actually seeing Toji being… remorseful? The Toji Fushiguro?

“So… not to be all… stupid and pathetic… but… y’know… I’m…”

“You’re?”

“I’m… thmrrry…”

“You’re what?” You leaned in.

“Mm mpfrrf!”

“Toji, I can’t understand you. Get your hand away from your mouth.”

“I’m sorry!” he shouted. “There. I said it.”

Your eyes widen in surprise. You bit the inside of your cheek just to make sure you weren’t dreaming. “Woah, Toji…” you mutter, stunned. “I didn’t think those words were capable of forming. I always thought that if you even tried saying it you’d vomit up blood and your intestines would explode.”

“Fucking… whatever, okay! Don’t make a big deal outta it. I only said it ‘cuz I wanted to…!” He was blushing and fidgeting more. “But that’s not all.”

Toji reached into his sweatpants pocket and pulled out a small velvet black box, his expression awkward and face slightly red as he pushed it across the table to you.

"I,… uh…, got you something," he grumbled, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment and avoiding meeting your eyes. “Just— don’t make a big deal over it…”

You raised an eyebrow in confusion. Your skepticism warring at the unfamiliar genuine tone shift as you opened the box. You gasped softly. Inside the box, a beautiful arctic blue shone brighter than all the dim lights in the restaurant. You looked at Toji then back at the necklace. You were honestly speechless and your heart immediately softened into soft serve ice cream.

“Happy anniversary…” he muttered just loud enough for you to hear.

“Toji, this is…” you began, at a loss for words as you struggled to adjust to the sweet gesture that was foreign to Toji’s entire personality. “This is the sweetest and most beautiful thing you’ve ever done. Thank you, Toji.”

Toji softly frowned bashfully, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. “Good,” he stated firmly. “But, uh… just don’t wear it outside. It’s stolen.”

“Stolen?” you echoed.

“Yeah. An old buddy owed me a favor after getting rid of a few… pests for him. He said I could take anything as compensation so I took The Tears of Benzaiten. I was gonna pawn it, but then I thought of you and… shit y’know…” he trailed off, the blush growing on his face. “Then a few days later, he put a bounty on it and got all fucking weird about it. So, just… don’t wear it anywhere, got it? I like your face and I wouldn’t want a bunch of scars and bruises ruining it.”

“Toji. Are you seriously telling me that I’m holding a Japanese national treasure with a big enough bounty that I could be killed just for holding it and you are just giving it to me in a Red Lobster for our anniversary?”

Toji shrugged nonchalantly. “Y/N, you’re much more beautiful than some stupid necklace made from the tears of Goddess worth 90 billion Yen. And you know that if anyone came within 20 feet of you, I’d rip out their esophagus and crumple their pathetic human bodies into nothing.”

You sat in stunned silence trying to process all the information that was just thrown on you. You looked down at the necklace. Suddenly, you started to giggle. Then, your giggles turned to laughter. You put your head down as your laughter grew louder and louder. After a few moments and murmurs from other patrons later, you raised your head and leaned your cheek against your hand.

“Toji Fushiguro, you’re so…” You tried to find the words to describe the absurdity happening right now. “Impossible.” you remarked fondly, a smile tugging at your lips. “But I love you for it.”

Toji smirked proudly.

“But, I hate to break it to you baby… today’s not our anniversary.”

Toji's smirk immediately diminished. “What?! Yeah, it is!”

You shook your head, still smiling. “Afraid not, baby. You see… we don’t have an anniversary.”

“Yeah we do! We had our first date and everything!”

“We met at the track, went to a bar, and then had sex. Then, you disappeared for a week then you came back and we had make up sex. Other than that, you’ve been gone for about 75% of this relationship. This is technically the only date we’ve been on that didn’t end with me getting drunk and us having loud sex in the bathroom.”

“So… it’s not our anniversary?”

You shook your head again.

“FUCK!” Toji shouted, slamming his hand on the table with a loud crash and groaning into the booth.

You slightly giggled and put the necklace in your bag. You gently grabbed Toji’s hand and he flinched slightly at your sudden touch.

“If this were our anniversary, it would be the best anniversary ever.” You kissed his hand and stood up, looking down at his flushed face. “Come on.” you gestured, throwing some money with a big tip as promised on the table. “Let’s go home.”

Toji smiled and took your hand as you both left the restaurant, much to the other patrons' relief. As you both made your way back to the apartment, you had a small flicker of hope. For the future. For the relationship. For Toji.

It started out as a really shitty date, but turns out, deep down, Toji can be romantic. In his own way, of course.

When you both entered the apartment, Toji grabbed your hips and kissed you deeply. You melted into arms and moaned into the kiss. He pulled away with a smirk.

“You taste like garlic butter Gin.”

“And you taste like oysters.”

You stepped away from him and walked towards the living room.

“And where the hell are you going?” Toji asked, following close behind.

“Well, we’ve had makeup sex, angry sex, drunk sex, bathroom sex, and Scandinavian Yeti sex. But I don’t think we’ve had “anniversary” sex yet.”

Toji grinned smugly as he rushed you and threw you over his shoulder. “Fuck yeah! I’m not gonna let ya sleep tonight!” Toji roared, giving your ass a smack. You let out a gasp and laugh.

You hated this man sometimes, but you couldn’t deny the amount of love you had for him too.

This truly was the best anniversary ever.

~Omake~

“Urrreeegh…! Urg… fuck…”

“I told you not to eat those oysters, baby.” you soothed, rubbing Toji back gently.

Halfway through sexy time, Toji jumped off of you and started to feel the horrible after effects of Red Lobster oysters. You cringed as Toji continued to retch, groan, and spit all of his dinner in the toilet bowl.

“I’ll kill those bastards…! I’ll slit their throats and dance on their backs! I’ll get those– ugh! Oh god… bleerghh!”

You sigh and smile softly at his very real threats. You stepped out of the bathroom and put on some clothes.

“Where you goin’! We’re not… urgh… done yet!”

“Well, we’re gonna be here for a while, baby. I don’t know much about sorcerers, but I’m pretty sure I can recognize the symptoms of food poisoning.”

Toji groaned. “Fucking Red Lobster… making me miss out on anniversary sex…”

“I’ll be back in a few. You’re gonna need some water, Pepto Bismol, soda, crackers, and light snacks to keep down.”

“Nooo… don’t go…” he wearily waved at you to come back.

You leaned against the door frame of the bathroom, smiling gently at the sick man. “Do you want anything? I can get you some scratch off tickets. Dragon Stars Lotto. Those are your favorite, right?”

Toji smiled weakly. “You’re an angel, baby.”

You kissed the back of Toji's neck and smiled as he shuddered against your lips.

“When you get back, I’m gonna fuck the memories of anyone else outta you.”

You laughed, grabbed your bag, and left the apartment. Smiling and hopeful for what’s to come next.

—

a/n: yo. sorry i've been gone for so long. been trying to find a new job and then suddenly decided to learn blender animation for some reason. (if anyone can give me tips it would be much appreciated) so i started working on this in February for like a valentine's thing then looked up and saw that is April so... happy april fool's! or whatever... enjoy a not so serious toji fic. more to come soon.

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 6 months

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Kaiju Week in Review (March 17-23, 2024)

Mere days to go before a new Godzilla movie... didn't we just do this?

Before we welcome that latest entry, let's look back on one that just commemorated its golden anniversary. With Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla turning 50 on March 21, every member of Toho's Big Five has now hit the half-century mark. The company didn't mark the day itself with much; as has become typical, the celebration of Mechagodzilla (and presumably King Caesar) will be spread throughout the year. I wrote a bit about the magnificent machine, who I consider the best Godzilla antagonist, here. The film itself is one of Teruyoshi Nakano's masterpieces, an onslaught of animated rays and gorgeous explosions. The humans are forgettable, but they keep the pace brisk—and the alien commander Mugal is almost as devilish a villain as Mechagodzilla itself, especially in the English dub. Speaking of that dub, you can watch a video breaking down the entire voice cast here, thanks to the tireless work of the Save All Dubs! group.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #6 finally gets to the good stuff, with Lex Luthor piloting Mechagodzilla and commanding an army of Titans to raze Metropolis while the heroes counter with not one but two giant robots. It doesn't quite measure up to the Godzilla: Rulers of Earth finale, but like that double-sized issue, it required two artists (Christian Duce joined by Tom Derenick) to draw all those characters, and the results are impressive. The story hasn't grown any more complex, but I'm at least interested to see how it all wraps up.

In other Godzilla comic news, a Godziban manga by Sakuju Koizumi has started up, hosted by Telemaga, a tokusatsu-focused Kodansha site. The first installment was pretty short, so I'm guessing these'll be updated weekly. It isn't the first comic version of Godziban, as one called Godziman ran during the 1st Season, but this one's actually illustrated.

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Tokyo's Ikebukuro district made Godzilla the honorary chief of police on March 16 to take part in a parade promoting traffic safety. The stunt made international headlines and generated no small amount of angst over Cop Godzilla. I think Gamera would've been better-suited to this campaign myself.

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Here's the trailer for Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again, revealing Gabara, Gigan, and Titanosaurus's designs. Looks as funny as the first one. Maaya Uchida, who sang the ending songs in SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, will voice Chibi Minilla. It's gone weirdly neglected by English Godzilla social media accounts, but X user @MakoMattari translated it.

The Music Box Theatre in Chicago has a Godzilla program for the ages scheduled for June 7-13, in honor of his 70th birthday. There's not a weak day on the schedule, but the clear highlight is a 24-hour marathon of the entire Showa series on the 8th, which I don't think has ever been attempted before.

G-Fest has also started announcing guests: Ayako Fujitani (Asagi in the Heisei Gamera trilogy) and Rie Ota (Baragon in GMK), both first-timers. Frankly, they could carry the con themselves if they have to; not sure who I'm more excited to meet!

#kaiju week in review #godzilla vs. mechagodzilla #justice league vs. godzilla vs. kong #chibi godzilla raids again #gfest #godziban #godzilla #kaiju

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taraross-1787 · 11 months

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This Day in History: Mission over Tokyo

On this day in 1944, a United States Army Air Forces crew conducts a solitary reconnaissance mission over the skies of Tokyo. It was the first time an American crew had flown over the Japanese mainland since Jimmy Doolittle’s raid in April 1942.

The story of Captain Ralph D. Steakley and his crew is nearly lost to history, yet it was critical to the Allied effort in the Pacific.

These brave men had no idea what they were flying into.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-steakley-tokyo-rose

#tdih #otd #this day in history #history #history blog #America #world war ii #us air force #us army #sharethehistory

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manawari · 29 days

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AU in which you become an immortal and unable to feel any pain if your 'soulmate' dies. However, if they have been reborn in the next timeline, they will have no memories of the person who was destined to them in the past. You return to being a mortal once your soulmate falls in love with you again.

Jinhae — Hae-in lost her life in the battle with the monsters during the war with the Monarchs. Jin-woo was heartbroken and mad, blaming himself for not saving Hae-in unlike before. He saved the world, but not his world. Even as the Chalice of Rebirth has been used, Jin-woo remained immortal as he already was, living in the newfound world where nobody would have to die or suffer anymore. Jin-woo had a chance to treat the universe as his realm, as the human world would no longer need him, but he stayed nonetheless — he needed Hae-in the most.

Minlee — Byung-gyu died amidst the Jeju raid. Ju-hee wondered why she couldn't feel an ounce of pain after accidentally touching hot water. Her mother told her that her soulmate had bit the dust. Ju-hee somehow couldn't believe why she was crying over someone whom she never even met, but sooner, she realized that she lost the person whom she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. War had torn their fates apart from intertwining.

Heeseok — when news broke out that one of South Korea's most powerful hunters had bitten the dust, Hee-jin felt like her world crumbled into ashes. She ignored the concerned looks from the hunters when they witnessed her get injured without wincing in agony. They realized she had lost her soulmate, but Hee-jin didn't want to talk about it; she could only hold on the hope of seeing Eun-seok someday even if it meant it would take her an eternity.

Sungpark — when Il-hwan died, that was the last time Kyung-hye felt pain. Knowing about the whole thing of soulmates, she waited for years and years to cross paths with her husband, willing to wait for a hundred more as she already did when he first disappeared, all while comforting her son, who carried the empty space Hae-in had left in his soul.

Choibaek — Jong-in died protecting Yoon-ho from explosive attacks from the monsters. Yoon-ho desperately tried to save him and the healers did their best to heal the hunter, but it was too late. Yoon-ho mourned and lived with a broken heart, the most excruciating years in his life, watching days go by without his firefly next to him. The only time he would find happiness was when he found Jong-in, and Yoon-ho swore to not lose him again.

Woozhi — Zhigang was there at Jin-chul's funeral. The handsome, stoic man who caught his eye at the USA. He wondered how their life could've went if Jin-chul had not mounted on the plane by his own. A lot of what if's, but none managed to heal Zhigang's heart as he waited and made a place in Korea, growing tired of his immortality and praying for his soulmate to pull him out of his 'curse'.

Taenoru — Minoru got killed during a severe dungeon break in Tokyo. Tae-gyu didn't know why he was even affected by the news, he barely interacted with Minoru at all, so why would he care? Turns out, he did. As he began to outlive his guild members, Tae-gyu wondered how things could've been if he listened carefully into what else his heart wanted.

#have some pining everyone #feel free to have your own scenario i'm just adding flesh to this post #solo leveling #jinhae #minlee #heeseok #sungpark #choibaek #woozhi #taenoru

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ownedbybonten · 2 years

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♥ Chapter 1 || Life or Death

♥ Series Warnings: Dark Content; Non-Con; Dub-Con; Kidnapping; Slave Training; Sexual Content

♥ Chapter Warnings: Murder; Kidnapping

♥ wc: 2.3k

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3

♥ a.n: for the first time, I'm diving into dark content. This series won't be for everyone, but exploring this side of tokyo revengers is something i've always wanted to do. Being a slut for bonten made me this way.

♥ Consent Form: By interacting with this post and this blog, you are consenting to 18+ dark content. You are responsible for the content that you consume.

The smell of blood and urine would be etched into her nose for days to come. Her hands were trembling, still. The girl out of place in the luxurious bedroom. It was immaculately clean, likely not a speck of dust to be found on any surface. The kind of clean that only money could achieve.

Mio stood, painfully aware of how dirty she was. Blood and dirt smeared across her skin, clothes torn and stained. She stared at the carpeted floor, tangled, raven hair curtains around her tear-stained face. Her stomach churned, but there was hardly anything in her body to throw up.

The voices beyond the door were faint, but the same ones that had woken her from her peaceful sleep at her home, some few hours ago. In truth, she had no idea how long it had been, and likely that was the last peaceful night that she would ever experience.

Hours Ago:

Shouting.

Not unusual at her lively home.

Mio barely acknowledged the noise by shifting under the covers, snuggling down deeper to fall back asleep. She furrowed her brow as the voices continued to become more heated, and then a single gunshot. The sudden sound radiating through her whole body.

She hadn't the time to react. Not when the bedroom door was knocked off its hinges and several bodies piled into the small space. They scrambled across the room, pawing at the window, desperately trying to escape something.

Each gunshot that followed deafened her, leaving a ringing in her ears. Mio crammed herself back against the corner of the wall on the bed, hands covering her ears. Was it a raid? The police? Did they shoot first with even a civilian in the room?

Bodies dropped quickly, not a single one making it out the half open window. The bed bounced as one hit the mattress, blood splattering from the head wound. A second bullet hit his skill, the man already dead, but whoever towered in her doorway didn't care.

The light turned on, illuminating the massacre in the small room. It also gave Mio away, cowering in her pajamas against the wall. Sanzu grinned at the sight. "Oh, well what do we have here?" A little blood stained, but she was pretty. The kind of pretty that he hoped Mikey would appreciate.

Sanzu strode over, enjoying the fear in her icy blue eyes. He couldn't blame her for that reaction, not after bullets were peppered into her bedroom and dead bodies sullied her once pristine bedroom.

It was even better when she tried to slap his hand away. He liked a little fight in captives, and this was so adorable. But he was armed, and he could use the gun to control her, but where was the fun in that?

Mio wasn't sure what she was doing. This guy just killed all these others, waving his gun around as if it were a toy. And she smacked at his hand when it reached for her. "Wai-wait-"

"Boss will want to meet you, cutie." It hardly sounded like he was speaking to her. Sanzu chuckled, snatching her ankle and dragging her off the bed, right onto the pile of bodies on the floor.

She hit the floor, or part of the floor with a thud. The blood staining her carpet was warm, and the smell of urine filled her nostrils, her face in the wet crotch of one man. "Let go- Please!"

Her fingers gripped at anything they could reach, but she could give little resistance. Drug over the bodies and out her bedroom door, Mio desperately clawed at the ground. She might as well be a rag doll. This was all too real to be a nightmare.

"Where's Mikey?" Sanzu asked, catching the attention of his fellow members. He did hope that he'd get some praise for this catch. Usually drug dealers had druggie daughters, scraggly, dirty things that had blown out veins and were a sloppy mess.

But not this one.

It hurt when her fingers managed to grip the edge of the door frame, stopping her being hauled any further. Mio's thoughts were all jumbled up, but she had to do something.

"With the ringleader on the roof. Said something about a private conversation," Ran said, lounging on the couch, an expensive suit stained with splatters of blood. He held the lighter up to the end of his cigarette. The unmistakable gasp of a woman drew his violet eyes in their direction. "Who's that?"

Mio pulled with what little strength she had. Maybe... just maybe if she got free... She yelped when a stylish shoe smashed into her hands, causing her to release the frame.

"She must be his daughter or somethin'," Rindou said, following with a muted expression when Sanzu happily dragged her into the middle of the living room. He blocked any escape back to the bedroom.

Ran leaned over her, leering at her body clad only in the silk robe that was around her waist. "Must be his little princess to be wearing such expensive panties to bed." He took a drag from his cigarette, nodding to his younger brother.

"She's for Mikey," Sanzu warned, glaring at the both of them.

"Yes, yes. We hear you."

Mio hated that her voice had been stolen from her. Only raspy breaths passed her parted lips. She had never felt more insignificant, being spoken about like an object rather than a human.

Sanzu gave another warning before stalking off in search of his boss. He was restless, wanting to show Mikey what he'd gotten for him.

"Sit up for me, pretty girl," Ran said, carefully watching for any intent to run. As much as he liked a good chase, dealing with moody Sanzu was too much trouble.

Waiting for this mysterious Mikey to arrive felt like waiting for the executioner. Mio wanted to crumble in on herself, disappear into nothingness, rather than be a present for some crime boss. What could she do? It startled her when the rim of a glass hit her lips.

"It's water. Take a drink."

It soothed her sore throat, her dry mouth. She accepted a few more sips before the glass was set aside. Mio couldn't look at him, afraid of what she'd see in his eyes. The ring on his hand glistened as the light above hit it. "No!" Mio had one last shred of dignity and that was the robe around her body.

Finally, something to work with. Ran shook his head, speaking to her as if she were a child in a tantrum. "Now, now. Just calm down." If she had any idea of what they planned to do with her, having her tits out would be the least of her embarrassment.

"Shut the fuck up," Rindou said, hooking his hands under her armpits and hoisting her up to stand. A tiny thing like her was nothing to him. Pinning her arms behind her back with one hand, Rindou took a fist full of her hair and squeezed, threatening to snap her neck. "Stand still, bitch."

Ah, his younger brother could be so crude. Any girl would resist in this situation. Ran preferred to calm them down, but Rindou's method was quick and effective. She stopped moving, bottom lip quivering as if she'd start to cry again.

Ran brushed her raven hair away from her face, admiring her frightened features. He'd never hear the end of it from Sanzu if they touched her, but it wouldn't hurt to look.

Slowly, he tugged the silk string tied in such a perfect pretty bow. It easily fell open, almost giving him what he wanted. It was as if the robe was teasing him. "Well, he was right," Ran said, brushing the material off her shoulders to disrobe her. "She'll be perfect for Mikey."

Mio hated that lustful gaze, hated being exposed in such a perverse way. These men were disgusting, being so untouchable by the law that they could whatever they pleased without any consequences.

Footsteps down the hallway drew the older Haitani away from her. Ran plopped onto the couch, refraining from touching her soft skin as he desired. He lit another cigarette, waiting to hear the verdict from their leader.

Mikey decided if she left this apartment alive.

Mio had little choice but to look forward, to watch this man appraise her and decide her fate. He wasn't what she imagined. Shorter than his gang members, and his features were haunted. Gray irises devoid of any emotion. The temperature dropped as he entered, sending a chill over her.

"Kakucho reported that all the others have been dealt with. It's a clean sweep," Ran said, typing a short reply on his phone. It was stupid to run from Bonten. The scum should accept their deaths instead of prolonging them.

"Her daddy took a step too far and went-" Sanzu whistled as he curved his index finger in the air to indicate the descent off the roof, "splat on the pavement."

Mikey only half listened to his men, bored with the whole ordeal. These low-level drug runners always tried to get ahead, stepping onto Bonten territory and thinking that they'd get away with it. They were ants beneath his boot, every last one of them.

He'd seen plenty of women, seen their naked bodies and used them to get off. It was of little interest to him. Sanzu constantly thrust them in his direction, saying this one would be special.

Plain. Plain. Boring. Stupid. Irritating.

Nothing that stirred him.

It was unfortunate to be the daughter of a drug runner, and once upon a time, perhaps in a past life, he'd have felt pity for her. Pretty girls were in high demand these days, sold for a good price. Either working in the club or passing her to a select person who paid top dollar... neither mattered to him.

The skin around her eyes was red, but not as dark as the blood stuck to her skin. Petite but had decently sized breasts. Worth more yen than the last three they'd acquired, not a scar on her nor signs of drug use. The kind of girl who would be a trophy to sell.

Ice blue irises.

The color of glaciers.

This girl met his gaze, as if trying to find a part of his soul that was surely dead.

"Do you want to live?"

Even his voice was void of life. Mio couldn't believe a man so absent could be the leader of a gang. There was no weapon in his hand, and yet, she felt that he had her on the edge of death. Though her heart clenched, ready to give out completely...

"Yes."

Not a spark of reaction from the gray eyes staring into her own eyes.

Mikey turned away, moving to the door of the ruined apartment. All he gave was a single nod to his second in command before disappearing from the girl's sight.

"See, I told you that Mikey would like you. Be grateful that the leader of Bonten saw fit to spare you, cutie," Sanzu said, giddily smiling. It was thrilling to be accurate about her. Even if Mikey only enjoyed her once, it was worth it.

Mio was sure it wasn't a good thing. Perhaps she should have chosen to die, at least it would be over. But her heart wouldn't let her give up, not until every last bit of hope was ripped from her body and replaced with despair.

She covered herself with her robe when Rindou released her. The three men were looming over her the whole walk out of the building. Mio was sure that if she did scream once outside, no one would dare give any assistance, and the repercussions would be brutal.

Shuffled into a car. Driven to a new building that towered over the city. No one looked in her direction, making a point to not see her at all. It was how they kept their conscious clean. Mio couldn't blame them.

She was nobody.

The only thing to describe her now was owned.

Owned by Bonten.

Mio shivered, reliving the night's events again and again. The discussion outside the door came to a halt, and the door opened. Someone she hadn't met entered the luxurious room, carry a towel and a change of clothes.

"You have twenty minutes to take a shower. Do it quickly."

He didn't allow her to shut the bathroom. He didn't look away when she took what little clothing she had on off. No expression really showed, but he was simply there for insurance.

The warm water was no solace. Mio stood beneath it, watching the blood and dirt wash from her skin and disappear down the drain. The uncertainty of her future weighed heavily. Her tears mixed with the droplets; arms locked around her waist in a poor attempt to hold herself together.

She was aware of what her purpose would be. The only reason men like these wanted women was for their bodies. Was being a sexual slave worth living? It was a question that she couldn't answer. All her choices were cons.

All that mattered was choosing the one that did the least damage.

But what did the damage matter when all the options would steal everything from her?

The bedroom of pristine condition was traded for a tiny hole in the wall. A place hidden behind a bookshelf, only able to be unlocked by a keypad. A mattress in the corner. One tiny mini fridge with two bottles of water, and a toilet. It wasn't dirty, soiled.

It was simply empty. A place for her to be held while she waited to be called by her owners.

A place where sleep wouldn't visit.

#tokyo revengers #tokyo rev #tokyo revengers smut #read the warnings #mikey sano #ran haitani #rindou haitani #haruchiyo sanzu #kakucho hitto #takeomi akashi #kanji mochizuki #bonten #bonten smut #bonten series

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