[ i'm not sure if she realizes that's literal or not. hell logic is insane and also has introduced her to the multiverse enough to understand that other worlds are also just insane. they follow their own logic, whether there's a tidy explanation for it or not. ]

Like the reset is always on the horizon. You have to get back to the status quo.

I get that. It's not exactly the same, but... Not being able to break character. Nothing changing.

[ well, whatever the reason, he is so grateful he doesn't have to explain that further. ]

Yeah. Exactly.

Being in these stupid games is like, the only time I'm not limited by that. The shit that happens here can actually affect who I am.

But then when I go home, it just, like... wears off over time? And even though I still remember everything I just kind of go back to my old self again because nothing matters anymore.

[ he is having less dramatic development this time around because shit here actually does not matter that much either... out of one form of entertainment and into another. ]

Some loops I make everyone hate me. [ stop lapsing into present tense. ] Like, just make the worst choices possible and say horrible things to everyone. Other times everything is perfect. Everyone is a best friend or—more.

And the reset still comes. And none of it carries over.

It makes sense to lose parts of yourself to that. Over time, the tide takes things away and there's no use fighting it.

[ ... ]

So. Do you think it's worth escaping those boundaries if it has to be an annoying place like this?

Well, I wouldn't say yes regardless of how I felt because this shit sucks and I refuse to give it any credit on principle.

But. I don't know. I mean, even there we've been gradually getting worse over the years, just in small enough increments that no one complains. So I can't even really say, like, "It would have been fine if only I'd never eaten the fruit from the tree of knowledge" or whatever.

[ that's fair. ]

Like incremental changes over time? Exaggerations that become the new default, then exaggerate again from there.

... Well. Personally, I get really annoyed when people hear about my life and immediately start offering advice I didn't ask for, like they think I'm too stupid to have considered whatever they thought up in two seconds. But I'm gonna do the same thing to you. [ self awareness does not make this less annoying, alex. ]

What about the items, here? You got one, right? From killing Yoru.

[ nods. ]

Yeah, that's definitely what I'm going to use it for. I'm just... still trying to figure out the right approach and how I need to phrase it to make sure it doesn’t get undone like everything else.

Right? It's probably like a monkey's paw, "be careful what you wish for" situation. If you don't think it through, it's gonna backfire.

So what have you got so far?