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eridan gets the died an unlovable chud award cus hje is chronically incapable of self reflection. dirk meanwhile did the psychoanalysis on himself but all he could come up with was "why am i so fixated on this masculine ideal? i guess i must be gay" and at that point closed the notepad and never returned to the topic at all

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There’s a lot wrong with the world right now but I just saw a dad in the back corner of my grocery store alone with his baby in a carriage and he was breakdancing to make her laugh

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aghhh

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HIS REACTION HELLO???

they're matching now lol

i love them hitting random ass poses, like please, i'm begging you make them sillier

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EVERYBODY CHEER

AROS AGAINST FATE: THE FALL HAS A FIRST CHAPTER

content notices: discussion of forced marriage, friendship, mention of suicide, family

Chapter One: Jue: Getting Out

Younger Emperor Jeilajue Haishionā Henor Serip Rian of Rāmia, named for hir royal grandfather and all three parents, could not do hir duty to the empire.

Raiqiongshē, the Elder Emperor and Jue's uncle and guardian, had announced the support of the goddess of conquest, and now they were at war, and war meant alliances needed to be solidified- which meant Jue could no longer put off betrothal. Jue could not do betrothal and certainly could not do marriage and children. Ze could not do it even for hir family and for the good of the empire and to have consorts more skilled at politics than ze ever could be. It made hir a bad Rian and a bad emperor and a bad Rāmian, but ze just… could not.

Ze had to get out of it one way or another. The best option, which was not a very good option, was to escape the palace and go on the run. Ze would have to avoid hir guards, and ze would have to learn to survive by hirself, and every step of it was going to be difficult and dangerous, but it was still hir best option.

Maybe Fiitsãn could help. He might be able to help hir escape somehow, and maybe could tell hir what ze would need to survive on hir own in the world as a disabled teenager. Anyway, Fiitsãn deserved at least a goodbye.

Ze looked at the clock. Fiitsãn would be back from school by now.

"I wish to go for a walk in the gardens," Jue announced.

Ngionah Ruol, the captain of hir guard, offered ē-zius arm to Jue.

Ze briefly thought about turning it down, but ze was in no way feeling well enough to focus on grace right now. "Thanks," ze said, and held on.

"You've been very quiet and stiff for a while," said Ngionah. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Just tired," lied Jue, as usual.

"Okay."

They went to the gardens without talking any more.

Jue liked the gardens. Fiitsãn did not do much of it yet, but ze did not always know which parts he had worked on, so ze liked to look at hir favourite pieces and be proud of him for whatever he had helped with. It was also nice to get some open space and fresh air.

"Are you looking for your friend?" Ngionah asked quietly.

Jue nodded. Ngionah was one of the few people who knew. Raiqiongshē would never approve of a friendship between his nephew and a lowly apprentice gardener.

Fiitsãn was Jue's best friend. Fiitsãn was Jue's only friend, really, because Ngionah was just doing a job.

"I heard the news," Fiitsãn said when they found him trimming some trees. "How are you holding up?"

Ngionah stood back a respectful distance to give them some privacy.

"I can't do it." Ze was not really in a state to watch hir words for contractions, and Fiitsãn was safe, anyway.

Fiitsãn sighed- which Jue's hearing aids did not pick up, but which was obvious from his whole body- and put the clippers down. "I know."

"I need to run away."

Fiitsãn frowned. "Are you sure that's the right choice?"

"I need to get out somehow," said Jue. Ze had so far managed not to cry, but that was not going to hold much longer. "Fiitsãn… I'm scared. I'm scared I might kill myself if I can't get out some other way. I can't get married."

"Oh…" said Fiitsãn. He looked around and then reached out. "Jue… Come here."

Jue looked around too, but there was only Ngionah in sight. Ze buried hir face in Fiitsãn's halo of pink curls.

"Can you help me?" ze mumbled.

"I can't hear you," said Fiitsãn. "Wrong side. Sorry."

Jue stepped back. "No. I am sorry. I forgot. Can… Can you help me? Please?"

"Yeah," said Fiitsãn. "Of course. What do you need me to do- distract people? Maybe you could go stay with my grandparents in the city, they'd keep it quiet and look after you for a bit-"

Jue was already shaking hir head.

"Okay. Nowhere they can trace you to, right?"

Jue nodded.

"Do you… have a plan?"

"Yes," said Jue, which was barely true.

Fiitsãn raised an eyebrow.

"I will leave the palace and I will get on an airship and I will bring some money and clothes."

"Alone?" Fiitsãn said. "You could ask Captain Ruol to come with you-"

"No. Alone." Ngionah would stop hir.

"Okay," said Fiitsãn. "When do you plan to leave?"

"As soon as I can."

Except, when Jue tried to leave hir room that night, ze was locked in.

After a lot of yanking and kicking and swearing, ze threw hirself face down on hir bed and pulled hir teddy bear, Shai, out of the bag ze had been planning to take.

Ze screamed into the pillow.

Someone had found out. Had Fiitsãn told? Had Ngionah heard them talking? Was ze just that predictable?

Ze rolled over. The pillow on hir face made hir feel even more trapped.

It was lucky, too, because it meant ze could see the door opening, which ze never would have heard. Ze rapidly shoved Shai under hir covers- Shai, like Fiitsãn, was a secret. Everyone already thought Jue was childish enough because of hir trisomy 21.

It was Alokti. Out of Raiqiongshē's three consorts, they had been married the longest, but of course it was not Raiqiongshē. Of course Raiqiongshē was too busy for Jue.

She opened her mouth to speak, but in a fit of frustration, Jue turned off hir hearing aids.

"Excuse me." Neither Alokti nor Jue were very good at signing, but Jue got the message. "Turn those back on and listen to me."

Jue considered the pros and cons of continuing to ignore her, sighed heavily, and switched them back on. Ze did not want to talk to Alokti, but ze also really did not like being a problem.

"Why were you going to run away, Jeilajue?"

"I do not want to get married," Jue said. "You all know that."

"It is not as scary as it seems," Alokti said. "I was nervous when I married your uncle, and it has turned out very well. We will not put you in any danger, Jue. Each candidate has been and will continue to be thoroughly vetted."

"I want to go to bed," said Jue. "Leave me alone. Please. I am very tired."

"Should I send Attendant Seina back in to help you back into your pyjamas?"

"No," said Jue. "Do not bother ū-rein. I can do it myself." The buttons were very hard to manipulate, but ze had changed out of them, and ze could change back in. Attendant Seina did not deserve to have to get up to deal with this.

"Okay. Goodnight." She paused. "We love you, Jue. I hope you can remember that."

"I love you too," said Jue, which made everything worse, because it was true.

Ze had given up with the buttons and pulled hir embroidered tunic back on, so when ze was shaken awake, ze was mostly dressed.

Fiitsãn put a finger to his lips and handed Jue hir hearing aids and glasses.

"I'm so sorry," he said once Jue had sorted those out, passing hir a pair of daytime pants. "I didn't think you should travel alone, so I- I told Captain Ruol. I'm sorry. I never thought ē-ziu would tell the Elder Emperor. I thought ē-ziu would just go with you to keep you safe. I'm so sorry."

"I thought you trusted me."

"I do," said Fiitsãn. "I just thought, given the current political climate… But I obviously screwed up. I'm sorry. I thought we could trust ē-ziun."

"Only as far as I keep being an emperor properly," Jue said sadly. Ze had known that, but it hurt to have it confirmed.

"Anyway, you shouldn't travel alone. I'm coming with you."

"Really?" Jue would never have dared ask that of him. Fiitsãn's family was here. Fiitsãn's whole life was here, just like Jue's.

"At least until we can get you settled in somewhere safely," said Fiitsãn. "You're my best friend. Come on, we have to hurry, before they notice I stole the key to your room and lied about seeing an intruder."

"Thank you," said Jue.

Masterpost Next

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look at my forever wip

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I did a thing :D

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Hi i just finished playing omori and I’m an emotional wreck have some fan art ^^

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OMORI and friends come together and use their ultimate attack! 🖤🩷🧡💙

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The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree in kim dokja's case, does it?

Despite how much he villainises her in his mind early in the story, he'll always be more like his mother than he ever knows.

Both victims of abuse who found solace in fiction.

Both very flawed people who've hurt those they care about all while thinking they were doing the best for them.

Throughout orv, kim dokja inadvertently makes the same mistakes his mother did. He sacrifices himself for the ones he loves the most. He doesn't tell them the truth behind his plans despite them being directly affected by them. He avoids showing them how he really feels and pushes them to resent him instead, despite all their attempts to understand him.

He leaves them without a word again and again, forcing them to desperately attempt to fill in that gap in their lives where he once stood. Just as he once needed to.

And that's something he will never escape from.

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Times are tough; Have a Bat

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