written in some weird time in august or september of 2024

i'm not a good writer by any means, but i thought i'd talk a bit about the beautiful and impactful work of art that is dect. something like a loveletter. it's messy. sorry.


(gif by mipexch, any other art by mothcpu)

dreams end come true is a brief illustrated dialogue in four parts by mothcpu, inspired by and expanding on events in ultrakill, particularly the levels
2-S: all imperfect love song,
and 4-4: clair de soleil.
you could call it mere fanfiction, to me it's much more than that.

warning that i vaguely touch on my personal experience with suicidal ideation here.




♫ last blink by world's end girlfriend, featured in dect

dect was recommended to me by a friend almost a year ago, when i first played ultrakill, but i wouldn't take the time to fully appreciate it in its entirety until recently. it's a somewhat bittersweet feeling, on one hand, i wish i gave it my attention sooner, but on the other hand i dont think i could have read it at a better time. not a depressing point of any kind but a somewhat transitional and emotional period in my life, where lately i've been in the process of finding myself.

mirage's level, all imperfect love song, has carved its place in my heart. while i had already found myself in a more optimistic state of mind compared to around a year prior of "playing" the level, it heavily solidified the mindset. to see someone's previous nihilistic and pessimistic views of the world that would have resonated with me in the past be directly combatted and reasoned against in front of me.

that's to say i see myself in how mirage is portrayed and expanded on in dect heavily. someone who has once felt meaningless and that all was for naught, that there'd be no purpose in truly enduring and experiencing the perceived suffering that is living for we all would come to an end anyway, coming to the realization that the fact we are born and will die meaningless is not an infinite curse but rather a blessing, as we have to ability to create, work up to, and take control of our own purpose and spend our time relishing in it. coming to terms with this can be a long, excruciating process, as it was for me, but it is most freeing.

"I had a revelation; that yes, nothing mattered in the end, but that was exactly the point. An hour spent doing nothing is the same as an hour spent doing something, and I had the ability to choose."

acting as a guide to death of sorts, mirage tells her story of this personal journey to v2 in its final hours after being bested in battle by ironically no less than it's very mirror image, v1, in clair de soleil. looking back and reflecting on its existence, v2 faces and accepts its fate in the last peaceful moments it spends with mirage. while it still holds contempt for v1, it realizes that, even if it had won the aforementioned battle, it would eventually go on to meet it's doom one way or another regardless.

before the end of it's life, v2 wishes to see the ocean for the first time. on the beach, fixating on a tide pool, it observes the small life, shells, sand dollars, crabs, and sea anemone. the collection of life and apparent symbiosis between creatures is fascinating as these types of cooperative relationships would rarely be observed in hell, where v2 previously inhabited.

yet, in the middle of v2's cherishing of life, the fuel for it's own is running out sooner than mirage would expect.

v2's even closer approaching death is heartwrenching, although it was around the corner the entire time, it feels sudden, and renders mirage almost speechless.

it is horrible to feel utterly useless in someone's situation. it is horrible to be utterly useless in someone's situation. it is horrible to know you can't do anything to help or change what will happen or save them from it. the representation of the feeling is simple, but it is visceral and effective. there is no grandiose or sudden bang, it only fades out, painfully, and slowly.

v2 is held close in mirage's arms as it shuts down completely.