#Ray after ending

[pastelsapphy]

Girl you must have seen that coming

[gureshinlover]

Ok Saeran AE good ending dump, here are some random thoughts

The president plot was ended really underwhelmingly, but I'm glad that although Saeran chose to forgive him, the writers are aware this isn't something anyone can do and let saeyoung continue hating him. Honestly, forgiving or not forgiving him aside, I just didn't like the way they made the president go 'ah.. you're right maybe I am a lonely bad guy' LIKE NO WAY THAT ASSHOLE CARES ABOUT THAT, I couldn't take any dialogues seriously

First of all. Why the fuck is jumin han a politician all of a sudden 😭 And like, forget being a politician, he is a candidate for presidency??????? Am I reading it right?? How exactly..???

Anyway I FORGOT ABOUT YOOSUNG AT PATISSIER AWWWW It's so nice to see him find himself even if this is saeran's route! You're doing so good love <3 I was gonna say it doesn't make sense that they made him chase his patissier dream when in his own route he thinks about why he wants to become a vet and decides to go that way, but I realized, since another story is 2 years before the casual one I guess he felt more free about leaving his medical studies 😭 he was able to change his path more easily because he just started school, and also he doesn't have a lover like mc in korea unlike his route so that might also affect his choices. But I think he's happy in either ending so I'm glad <33

They did well with Yoosung but. why didn't Jaehee get the same treatment. I don't get it. They were clever enough to remember other characters' goals and worries and made them happy in this AE, except for Jaehee. I wish they made her leave her position too, since Jumin Han is now involved with politics it could be the perfect excuse for Jaehee to stop being his assistant. I'm guessing that this is also because AS is 2 years earlier, which means Jaehee hasn't suffered in her job enough to leave yet, and she probably doesn't have the money to open a coffee shop anyway (she isn't even into coffee professionally yet although she said she was interested a bit) But idk I wish they left us a clue that Jaehee will also get to find her happiness in the future 😭😭

Another thing I'm confused about is that where the hell does saeran get money from 😭😭 how are we 'lovey dovey at some place romantic'😭 Saeyoung probably has more than enough money so he might have forced Saeran to have it all lol that's the only explanation I can think of. In the alternate ending Saeran has a greenhouse (considering that he said himself to be careful of people raising herbs in the wild I find this funny but well ofc it's the dream job for saeran) but I'm not sure what we're supposed to be doing in this ending lol

Like, apparently we're hippies now?? Feel love and peace~~

Saeran AE has its problems, but I still love it anyway and I'm not sure how they would be able to make a good ending differently, so I'll just take the good stuff and leave out the bad writing lol I remember going crazy about new illusts in 2020,,, can't believe it's been 3 years already. Happy new years btw I guess? 🌱 Idk how to end this post

[rfaromance]

Rika.

Love her or hate her, no Mystic Messenger player can deny that she is central to the overarching plot of the game.

Depending on your view of her, her major role in Ray (Saeran) After Ending is either intriguing, exciting, frustrating, or infuriating.

Personally, I loved the portrayal, insight, and development in Rika during the RAE. Read below the cut for my Rika thoughts. Spoilers abound for Ray's route, RAE, Rika Behind, and even the Secret Ending. Also, uh, it's a long post. Longcat long.

(If you're interested in opinions on the RAE from a Saeran-loving POV, I'd suggest you consult @marshmallowprotection who pours her heart and soul into her analyses, especially regarding Saeran.)

If you're reading now, I'm assuming you have enough background in the game's lore where I don't need to explain the basics, so I'm going to dive right in.

At the start of Another Story, our well-intentioned but common-sense-challenged MC ends up being personally escorted to Mint Eye. And MC chooses to fixate on Ray and his mysteries and allure, ultimately trusting the not-so-honest rose boy instead of the highly mysterious V, who apparently is not an AI but also should not be anywhere near this cult.

In MC's defense, sometimes it's easier to choose the evil you know versus the evil you don't.

Rika doesn't have a problem with this, initially. She knows that she needs to throw Ray a bone. Allowing him to have a little doll like MC to dress up and pose and control and adore will appease him, and he has a plan to make MC useful for her goals, anyway. It's a win in her book, to keep Ray indebted to his Savior and also the possibility of luring the RFA members to her faster.

But a major distinction exists between Rika in Another Story (AS) and Rika in the original timeline (OS). Much like Saeran's mental state deteriorated further over the extra year and 6 months (give or take) between AS and OS, giving us Unknown, so did Rika's. In the SE, she explicitly tells Unknown that he was a failure and she wanted Saeyoung instead. She no longer valued Saeran's prior contributions to Mint Eye or her mental state--she wanted results now, and she would sacrifice anyone and anything to achieve them.

(Well, almost anyone. Turns out sacrificing V was not what she wanted, after all.)

But her goals are different in Another Story. She's still pursuing her dreams of making people happy by "saving" them from a tainted world of pain, but she's still itching for the personal happiness she has wanted all her life: love.

She wants a loving family. She has never known what it feels like to have a family that loves her, as her earliest memories are in the orphanage, and she was adopted by a vile, hateful woman who cursed her and subjected her to physical and emotional pain, verbal abuse, neglect, humiliation, warped "religious" cult ideas of sin and salvation, and the list goes on.

When she learned of two twin children who needed loving, protective parental figures... she became obsessed. She could save them. Nobody ever saved her, but she could save them.

That delusion of forming a happy family with V and the twins only became worse after Mother Choi's death. (I hesitate to call it a murder, because it was an act of imperfect self-defense, and thus I'd argue it was voluntary manslaughter under USA law. But if we're being technical, under Korean law it's murder under extenuating circumstances. Legal jargon differs across countries.) Having taken Saeran's mother away from him, Rika got the idea that she needed to be his mother now. They would both have a good family now--that's a win-win, right?

This is the Rika we still see in Another Story. That's why she gives him the name Ray, to eliminate his past and all traces of V and Saeyoung, molding him into her obedient, doting son. That's why she dresses him up in layers upon layers and forces him to study hacking, so she can control every aspect of her sweet child. That's why she swipes Ray after she catches wind of his kiss with MC in the garden. She doesn't know or care who instigated the kiss; all she needs to know is that MC poses a risk to her fantasy, her game of house.

So she tortures Ray until he can become her puppet-son again. Except she ends up with Suit Saeran, and for the time being she'll allow that because at least he isn't tripping head over heels for MC.

That backfires too, and when Saeran frees himself of that stuffy suit and allows his body to breathe, once Saeran makes his own decision to abandon those shackles, follow his heart, apologize and atone for his wrongdoing, and break out of his gilded cage with MC... Rika loses it.

She's lost everything. Mint Eye be damned, she's lost her illusion that she will reach a "happily ever after."

So when V blames himself and crawls back to her, not wanting to see her crumble alone, she locks a collar and leash onto him. Honestly, it's the worst possible ending for V. He can't shake his self-hatred and guilt complex, and he feels the need to stand by Rika even as she sends them both on a path of destruction, because he refuses to abandon her like his father abandoned his mother. He didn't even love her anymore, but he wanted to give her the peace that he never could when they were together. This was how he felt he needed to pay for hurting her, even if it meant destroying himself.

Okay, screenshot is a good place to wrap up the backstory and dive into the RAE itself.

I've seen complaints that Rika's character was inconsistent in the RAE, but candidly I think the fluctuations in her goals, emotions, and actions represent her fragile mental state in a phenomenal way. She was highly sensitive and susceptible to emotional influence, whether positive or negative. The seemingly smallest, most trivial events could send her reeling. She clearly has a lot of mental health issues and trauma that have never properly been addressed. Instead she turned to the worst possible coping mechanisms: comphet, making a cult, and brainwashing folks into being your make-believe family.

She didn't team up with Saejoong because she likes the guy. She sees him as a means to an end: getting the twins to live with her in her game of house.

The "he" that Rika refers to in this chat is Saejoong. He's a horrendous parent, but he managed to capture Saeyoung, and therefore Rika sees him as a tool. She also is adamant that the younger twin is "Ray", not Saeran, because the boy she needs for her happy ending is the submissive one with pruned wings, not the independent one who flies away on his wings of love.

If MC tries to inquire into Rika's motivations, she simply says she chooses happiness and to focus on the small joys in life. She's no longer as guarded and high-strung, because she has much less to lose. She doesn't feel the need to be perfect, to be a Savior. She's at peace with herself, instead of constantly seeking approval. Part of that cab be attributed to V's (reluctant) acceptance of Rika for who she is, instead of trying to fix her.

She's trying to be more open and honest, and with that attempt we get a Rika who is less guarded and poised, and rather a Rika whose mask is off and is trying to navigate what it means to simply "exist." She just wants her family of 4 to live "happily" together, and a lot less scheming is required. She almost has the energy of "I'm going to be the fun, cool mom. :)"

I bet she's awful at stacking chairs, though.

Now, many characters AND players have wondered, "Why in the WORLD would Saejoong team up with Rika?" He thinks she's nuts. We know that Rika is using him, and I'd venture that he's doing the same. He knows he's caught between a rock and a hard place, but he also knows that this woman is desperate to take his troublesome bastard sons and disappear with them. She can't exist in public, after all, or she'd risk her secret of being a cult leader getting exposed. It's a weird solution, but he was in no place to refuse her offer. Coerce Saeyoung into making false broadcasts to bolster Saejoong's public image, and then let Rika, V, and the twins run off into the sunset.

A special insight that you only get during the Normal Ending is that Saejoong thought he and Rika were similar, which is likely another reason he was willing to collude with her. And the Normal Ending is the reason that I felt inspired to write this post at all.

On day 3, Rika accuses Saeran of hating her. She's furious that she doesn't have Ray anymore, because Ray needed her and gave her a purpose. Saeran doesn't need her, and that sends her into a panic. But he chooses to be compassionate and to try to sympathize with her.

On day 4, we get this exchange between MC and Rika:

Rika breaks down in MC's arms. She didn't know what love was, and she didn't know how to reach it herself. Her solution was to control, to manipulate, to clutch desperately onto people who showed her even a shred of warmth... but always staying just distant enough where she could withdraw or flee if she felt threatened, or worse, sabotage the connection herself.

She didn't know what love was because she'd never experienced it. Her mother was a malicious, cruel woman. Mika sacrificed and manipulated her. Her priest assaulted her. V did his best, but he kept pushing his ideals and methods onto her instead of listening to her. She kept Saeran through control. She brainwashed and gaslit believers, smooth-talking her way into their minds and pockets. She even kept V bound to her by blinding him; we can only assume he got treatment after his trial.

MC and Saeran showed her what love is. It's about kindness for the sake of kindness, not to curry favor. It's a willingness to step out of your comfort zone to help those you care about. It's being brave when you're terrified. It's communicating in more ways than one, always listening and considering the other's thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions.

For the first time in her life, she saw love. She saw love in Saeran, who'd lured her and V away so that his lover and brother could be free. She saw love in MC, who'd always been gentle but firm with Rika, expressing genuine intrigue and concern for her. She saw people who didn't immediately demonize her for her worst mistake: the death of Mother Choi.

She's being honest with herself, too, acknowledging and understanding that her actions were wrong. And she starts bawling, because she's been repressing herself, her fears, and her needs for so long. She laments that she yearned for love like a child, but her body was too big now... and that made the void feel larger and emptier.

She finally got the answers she'd been trying to find for her entire life: What is love? And is she worthy?

So when the opportunity comes for her to set Saejoong straight, she tears into him. Now, she only does this in the normal ending. In the good ending, Saeran is the one who talks to Saejoong, says his piece, and gets his peace. Clearly that's the best possible ending for Saeran, because it allows him to put his last demon to rest. Now he can focus on healing and finding happiness on his own accord.

But in the normal ending, Rika shows that she's not just a sob story for MC and Saeran to pity. She's taking their lessons and her new convictions to heart and putting them into action.

And Saejoong truly loses his cool when he hears that the investigation team is coming. He knows he's toast, and so he tries to appeal to Rika one last time: "You know that you'll be going down, too."

To which Rika says: "Yes. It's long overdue."

Rika has a long, difficult road ahead of her, but it'll be a surprisingly peaceful one. She wants to heal. She wants to live a better life. She wants to be honest and true, and that means atoning for her crimes.

But then, she's going to devote her life to love.

The RAE Normal Ending is, in a bizarre way, the best outcome for Rika that Mysme canon gives us. (Because seriously, shipping her off to Alaska to GTFO was the laziest and most unsatisfying ending for her that I can imagine.)

[marshmallowprotection]

RFA reacting to an MC who breaks down physically after the mental toll she had to go through during Saeran's AE?

Listen, your friends are there for you through thick and thin. Jumin and Jaehee? They've already ensured you, Saeran, and Saeyoung will have someone to talk to about what you've gone through. Sure, that wasn't easy to do in the time before the After Ending began, but now, it's happening. Jumin wants his friends to have someone safe to talk to about what they've gone through. He will not minimize what you've gone through now that he's got a full grasp of Mint Eye and every bit of information that came afterward.

So, if you need therapy, a bit of medication, or more, for what you've gone through or if you needed it before all of this but couldn't afford it, best believe you're covered for life. Jaehee is in agreement, and it's time for her to take some down time and enjoy days off with you. It's time to relax and watch some television together, no more trying to be on top of things, just a normal day of gushing about Zen instead of this mess.

Yoosung and Zen have been cheering you on from the start. They've both known this hasn't been easy for you, and those two have done all they can to make sure you've been smiling. Seeing you collapse at the end would be painful, but they won't let you be alone. They've got smiles, gift baskets, and hours to talk with you about everything your heart desires. You deserve friends who listen when you need to vent, but also friends who make you laugh when you need a distraction to breathe.

Saeyoung gets it but he's got his own stuff to work through, too. He would drop everything in an instant for you and Saeran, even at the cost of his health. But, knowing him, if you need someone to yell with or cry with, he's there to be the best brother-in-law. Lay down, even if he needs to time to recover, he's guarding your bed to make sure you don't try to get out of it. If he can't, neither can you. It's time to let go and breathe. No more fighting, you've survived. Let's talk about what comes next, he'll say, when are you and Saeran getting married? Get your mind on something better.

Hey, if you're lucky, you'll even get a Vanderwood apology with a dozen flowers. He won't know what to say, but that's alright. The fact that he found something to show it matters.

Saeran would be pained to see you collapse. He would kick himself for everything that happened, and for his role in making you feel so stressed and exhausted. The two of you have a lot to talk about and that's okay, talking is the road to communication and recovery. You can cry, scream, and rest now. He can do the same. After all, there's nobody in this world who understands what you're going through at that moment better than him. It'll be okay.

Cuddle in the same hospital bed and rest, no more fighting, no more crying, and no more pain. It's just happily ever after, a life made for a couple who want to recover and live freely.

[httyddragonfox]

Ray/Saeran's regard towards MC

[Part 1] [Part 2]

Now we should look at Ray's route, this also goes into the after ending a little bit, but it's mainly repeating what we've seen before, so I won't go into it that much.

The first real difference is during the branch, Ray remembers how unpleasant the elixir was to take and realizes that he doesn't want you to endure that. Why does this happen? Ray loves you in the other route as well. In this route, you've shown more signs of wanting to stay with him despite the lack of elixir, this wasn't as present in V's route which is why he took drastic measures. Ray realizes he doesn't need to brainwash you if you're going to be with him anyway, in the V route he probably knew deep down that you wanted to leave. So Ray tells you himself that he was lying to you over the past few days and that the RFA are in fact real. You're not as upset with him in this version, probably because he's choosing to be honest with you now and no real damage was done. Of course V shows up, and Ray freaks out, thinking he's a threat to us. V changes his tune and decides to try to save Saeran in this route, mainly because we're in no immediate danger. The real turning point is that Ray decided not to drug us.

Instead of the savior supporting Ray's efforts against V, like in the last route, instead she berates him for letting this happen. Probably because in the last route he took more affirmative action against V when he showed up, and here he just froze. She gives him much more elixir than before, and he continues to berate himself, thinking he's not good enough. That's including us; the savior officially welcomed us, giving us a card to access the facilities and walk freely. She also seems to be thinking about giving us a more important position once we're done with the party. Ray actually sees us less, only really coming to see us to give us some fake elixir in case we're forced to drink it. The thing is, he thinks because he let V interact with us, he put us in danger; because he didn't do more to stop him, he's not good enough for us.

In the bad relationship ending, we're drugged, and we have trouble recognizing people (I believe is part of the brainwashing process, as it happened to V and Zen as well). Ray is just kicking himself, for being unable to protect us. In the 1st bad ending, we have constantly convinced Ray is best and can be better from working, and so he's self-sacrificial towards us, calling us his goddess. Ray wanted to be better for us, and we convinced him this was it.

Of course, in order to convince him we love him, and that he's not short-coming in any way, we kiss him. He's quite moved by this, and a little shocked: "Our lips touched." He seems very innocent, but he says we are free to do it again as much as we want, so he enjoyed it. Of course the "savior" says the best thing for him would be to put him under, so he could be more effective. Saeran then comes out, and the first thing he does after a wardrobe change is to visit us. He wants to see what we're about. You are queued in that he is different, especially when he says he won't devote himself to you. He explains that he is another side of Ray, in fact he's more of the real one, and we're never going to see Ray again. He calls us an airhead, and mocks the idea that we think we're a princess. He then pins us to the wall, and tells us he hates the way we smell (Then why are you getting up close, dummy!). He tells us that everything about us gets on his nerves, he hates our eyes especially, maybe he should blindfold us. He then blames us for trying to get rid of him by being nice to Ray. He claims we were using him as our puppet, and that we're an idiot for trying. He demands that we entertain him, show him an interesting face, such as sadness or anger. When we tell him to let us go, he laughs at us, and claims we're disastrous and from a world of fairy tales. He claims we're stupid and good for nothing. He tells us if we know our place, we'll be silent like the grave, and not even let him notice us breathing. We get on his nerves by trembling, so he threatens to bite our head off, and so he bites us on the neck. Was it blood drawing bite or a hickie? Who knows? We try to push him away, but he's just amused that he scared us. Similar with Jaehee's bad ending, he says we shouldn't freak out because he's barely begun. He decides to check the next day to see if the marks last, so it's not that deep. He tells us we have to be interesting and fun if he's going to spend time with us. This is where we start crying, and he just wants to see us get angry. He wants us to provoke him so that he could play with us. Of course he gets bored, so he lets us go. He claims to have more "fun" with us if we make trouble, like begging for help from the RFA. If we do so, we'll be cleansed, and he knows how to make it really painful. He debates actually telling the savior we're bad so he could do it, but since we're quiet he gives up on playing with us. He leaves, telling us he'll be back when he's bored. He then tells the nearby believers that nothing is to go inside our room, and that we are forbidden to leave. We have become a prisoner.

Why is he so mean to us here? The other routes he's still a danger to us, but he's not mean. The evidence is right above here, he thinks we're a threat to his survival. He's been brainwashed to believe that part of him is essential, but we've been telling him he's fine the way he is. So he's lashing out at us. In the other routes there's no threat of us changing him "for the worst," so he's not as mean. If anything, in the other routes he's more capable of changing us for the worst.

He spends the next couple of days heavily abusing us, [Examples listed here], the savior comes in and tells us, "So sad for you, enjoy being tormented." Why is she choosing to let this happen? Well most believers have to go through training anyway, this might as well be ours. She's not as interested in us in this route, because V isn't as interested in us. When V was interested in us, she thought we were similar enough that we could understand her. In her words here, she says that we need to be the weak one in order for Saeran to be strong, it's all for his sake. You question why more believers don't have this dynamic, but you see Saeran has a lot of authority at Mint Eye, he has certain privileges, also again, this is training for us.

Saeran tells us not to tell the RFA, because obviously this isn't good; deep down he knows that. He's acting this way because he believes it's right. He also spends a lot of time pretending to be Ray, either to make Ray seem more pathetic, make us seem pathetic for liking him, or to get certain "favors" from us. He comes to our room disappointed we're not putting up more of a fuss, guessing it's because we were starved. Then he takes the time after insulting us to vent towards us about the RFA situation. We can either try to reassure him, or tell him he's over reacting, either way he snaps at us for either not doing enough or for talking back. We try to put some distance between us and him and he then tackles us to the ground, pinning us there. He calls us his prey who he has now trapped. We try either appeasing him or calling out for help, because we are terrified. He tells us that the only thing we should say to him is "Yes," we can either appease him or say nothing. Appeasing him has him tell us he's doing a good thing reminding us of our place, but saying nothing makes him aggravated. When he tells us our only purpose is to entertain him, we can either appease him or defy him by calling out for Ray. Defying him makes him consider gagging us because he doesn't like our voice, but appeasing him has him say we should use a certain honorific with his name, which I think is nim which basically means master (equivalent to Japanese sama or dono). He wants you to see him as above you, and wants you to devote yourself to him. He goes on to say we need to do a better job cleaning ourselves because we still smell the same. We get interrupted, which he says is lucky for us, then backtracks and says he'll just make the next encounter worse.

The party gets suspended, so we get taken off the task. We are no longer allowed to talk to the RFA, only Saeran and Rika. Saeran has full custody of us, allowed to get rid of us should he see fit, allowed to do with us as he pleases. He has a camera installed in our room to see us at all times, taking away our privacy. Rika asks him why he doesn't just get rid of us, and he says he can still find fun things for us to do, he likes seeing us suffer. He says the RFA is moving forward without us, not even needing us. Of course we know it's a lie. We eventually get to talk to Rika and figure out that she is the mastermind behind all of this. She says we brought this suffering upon ourselves, because we refuse to be strong like they are; that includes hurting others before we ourselves get hurt. Saeran claims that once they bring over the RFA they will also learn how pathetic we are. We can point out that the RFA won't be defeated, he nonchalantly points out that they'll just be cleansed if they refuse. Rooting for RFA over Mint Eye makes him see you as a traitor, but he says that doesn't change anything. You'll still be his toy no matter what you do. He tries to taunt you over your hunger by sharing a picture of his food, if you don't enter the chat room he tries to bribe you with it (of course, knowing him it would probably be a lie). He then decides to make you uncomfortable by making you kiss him.

He comes into your room, mocking your love for Ray. He says since you didn't get up immediately to see "the face you love so much" you must not actually love him. You could either say he isn't Ray, or tell him not to mock you. He says he may not be Ray, but at least he shares his body, so that should be enough. If you snap back to him, he gives you a kudos for your love staying strong. He then gets into your personal space (why else would the CG be that close up) and says you probably want to kiss it, he's pretending to be Ray so you can go ahead. If you don't he'll just have some fun with you in the basement and then get rid of you, whatever that means. Will he torture us, r*** us, both? Doesn't seem good either way. Now you can kiss him, or you can push him away, it doesn't really matter because he starts snapping back when you do either. When Ray snaps back, he notices how thin we are and realizes that Saeran must've been hurting us. He apologizes profusely, saying he deserves to be thrown away for such actions. When we tell him that it was Saeran, not him, he explains to us that Saeran is his birth name. Ray was created from the weakest parts of himself balled up to excised and shouldn't even exist. This anger and hatred, it is a very real part of himself, but he is also scared, Saeran is also scared, with us around he wasn't... he cuts himself off, telling us to leave before Saeran comes back and hurts us again. He then runs off.

Funny enough, in V's route Rika acts like it was a good thing to keep Saeran under, but then again she was talking to Ray at the time. In this route she acts like either one of them is good in their own ways; Ray is dutiful, while Saeran is strong.

Saeran comes into the next chat-room freaking out, wondering what we did to bring Ray back. He gets so fed up with us, he decides at the end of the chat that he's going to get rid of us. We then have a talk with Rika who says that Ray only came back because Saeran had a moment of weakness with us. Was it because he liked kissing us? Was it because we took him by surprise with us pushing him away? Maybe with the push Ray realized we were in trouble? To that degree, she decides to make our death a big ceremony, and use the special elixir on us. Yay? Everyone is going to celebrate our overdose. Saeran keeps talking about how painful it will be for us, and how once we're gone he'll get a better assistant, trying to make us suffer with prospects of the future. He is frustrated his savior won't let him take part, and we tell him what she said. He denies it and says he's going to see us before our final moments, as much as he wants and no one can stop him. Of course, he's denied entry. Rika soothes him and stops him from hurting believer on guard by telling him he's the strongest believer she has. This makes him forget his rage for a moment. He contacts us later and says what his savior told him and we should take pride we belong to him. We try to warn him he's being used, but he won't listen. He seems to be debating with himself if he actually wants us gone or not.

The 2nd Bad Ending comes up because we let Saeran get away with his abuse towards us, and reassured him on his beliefs. He takes away our phone after a cruelly tricking us into thinking Ray had returned. He's actually happy that we don't like Saeran. The point of all of this is that we're miserable. We suddenly break and just don't have any hope anymore. Later he's seen to give us gifts, only to cruelly take them away from us, calling us undeserving. We're starved to a certain extent, and he keeps telling us about a new "girlfriend" he'll have, who'll be better than us in every way. Of course, there's hope for us if we can satisfy him. Of course, what we do is never enough. He then leaves us alone for a long time, implying it's not the first time he's done it.

So, what do we know of Saeran so far? He wants to believe he's strong, and much better than Ray is. He resents that part of himself, so he's not happy with you for liking it. He's trying to prove to you he's the strong one. He does this by being forceful around you, depriving you of everything so you have no choice but to rely on him and accept him as he is. Of course he's also envious of Ray, as why else would he use him to force a kiss from us. It could be a way of showing that he owns us, but there's a point I need to make later. Why do we have to be miserable in the 2nd bad ending though? In other routes it wasn't necessary that we were miserable. I believe this all has to do with Ray, which is a point I'll make later.

Eventually he gets frustrated with how things are. He makes his way to our room and forces his way in. He snaps at us saying we better show ourselves to him, if we try to calm him down, he snaps at us for caring about him and talking back; if we ask if he wanted to see us, he just says he had to make sure we were okay for our death. He is rather frustrated though, because we're his toy so why does he get to sit out with what happens to us. Our best use would be for him to finish "playing" with us and then throwing us out himself. We try to contribute, but he barks at us to be quiet and just nod to what he says. He then starts flashing back to his mother, reminded of the abuse she inflicted on him. Despite us not saying anything, he snaps at us saying he's not like her. He keeps flashing back to his mother's abuse, and even to his own savior's abuse. He then snaps and attacks us, grabbing us tightly by the arms. He claims he's going to kill us then and there, because he's the strong one, and demands we cry out in pain. If we say nothing, he continues demanding it. If we say it's painful, then he's a bit ecstatic, happy at the pain he's causing us. If we call we strong it's the same result. He says he has to cause us pain, because whenever he does he feels a little better about his own life, and if we disappear then that cold grayness in his life will persist. We can either beg him leave with us, or tell him that even if he kills us he won't be saved. Either way he snaps at us, telling us that we don't know anything, or we'll probably just leave him if he leaves with us.

So why are we so miserable in the 2nd bad ending? It's because Saeran realizes deep down his life is not great, unlike in the other routes where we didn't make him feel like he could have a life outside with us. In other routes, he's trying to convince us he's not all bad, and life in Mint Eye is good. In this route we have to be miserable because it will prove we were wrong. Ray is weak, and therefore we're weak too.

Rika is shocked over what happened. She decides that we're better left alive for the time being, and postpones our ceremony until Saeran can be found. She also tries to keep an eye on our room in case Saeran returns there, but discovers he put a lock on the camera monitor so only he can use it. She then offers us a high position if we were to turn over Saeran should we see him again. Saeran is hiding in the garden, and plans to be agressive with whomever comes for him. V then defends him, and begs him to leave Mint Eye with him and the us, as we're also worried about him (He met us earlier to give us food and update us on the RFA). Saeran thinks of maybe turning V in or killing him, but when he thinks about what would happen to us if we left, he realizes we'd be much happier. This is where he realizes that Mint Eye isn't a paradise, and how cruel he has been to us. He tells V that he should take us and leave. Saeran then spends the next chat room talking about how he's questioning everything he believes and he's now vomited out all the elixir he's drank (hyperbole, as he literally can't). He then comes to visit us as we're sleeping, and promises us he won't hurt us ever again. He explains that all the insults he threw at us were things he thought about himself: stupid, useless, an airhead. All those times he insulted our smell, our eyes, anything about us, he never meant it. He explains that he wanted to get closer to us, but at the same time he was afraid and he wanted to put distance between us. He actually admires us, because we refused to be pushed around by him, yet we were never cruel to him, to him we're actually very strong. He just didn't want to believe it. He tried to hurt us, but in the end he was the only one getting hurt. He actually admits Ray would be a better person for us, because although he's timid ('a chicken' in his words), he would never think of harming us. In a phone call, he asks us who we would leave with, and no matter what we say, he says we should pick Ray. He promises to leave and Ray will come back instead.

Rika is shocked that Saeran would admit such things, but now that he's back and that Ray is going to be back, she'll have a better time controlling him. Overall, she's decided she's not going to kill us, instead she's just going to cleanse us. It's easier to control Saeran and Ray that way. Saeran has a flashback, where he made a promise to his brother to always be himself and never change for anyone. When he wakes up, Rika starts drilling him with plans to induct the RFA, but he realizes he doesn't want to be there anymore. He confronts her by saying that Mint Eye isn't a paradise, it's a machine she runs so she has the excuse of feeling good about herself whilst treating people like how her parents treated her. True paradise is being with the one who makes him happy. She snaps at him, saying she'll cleanse him, she'll banish him, and then realizes what she's saying and then apologizes, begging him not to leave. She also realizes he's not Ray, but he's not exactly Saeran either. Saeran then leaves.

There is a bad ending where you join Mint Eye as Rika's #2, using Saeran as a puppet king. He's willing to do so as long as you're happy.

In the Bad relationship ending, your ceremony happens. You have trouble recognizing people and Saeran has trouble recognizing himself. He feels terrible that he couldn't save you and decides to put you somewhere safe, that being the apartment.

In the game proper, he actually saves you before they come to get you for your ceremony. He comes in through the window (classic Saeran), and you land in the garden. He tells you that he is both Saeran and Ray now. It took him a while to realize what he actually wanted out of life and that Mint Eye was not a great place for him, but he has you to thank for helping him come to terms with himself. After sharing a tender moment with him, where he promises to treasure you for the rest of his life, he leaves with you to the safe house. When you're safe, you tell Saeran that his brother is missing. Saeran still has some lingering resentment for him, but he realizes most of it is misplaced and he's hoping to have a relationship with him again. The RFA is informed about Saeran's situation, and they ask him to help in the effort to find his brother. Even though he doesn't want to pursue a life in hacking, he does want to save his brother, so he agrees to do it.

In the Good ending, they have Zen reveal all of the prime minister's misdeeds and that his sons are in trouble, also detailing the life they lived. Later they visit their old home to find evidence about Saeyoung, as he was held there for a few days. Saeran has a bit of an anxiety attack upon entry, so you leave with him so he can cool his head. This is where you give him back the bookmark he had as a child (symbolizing his bond with Saeyoung). He again thanks you for everything, as he never would have even considered this path (leaving Mint Eye, trying to reconnect with his brother) without you.

In the Normal Ending, the broadcast doesn't happen, so in order to protect Saeran, Jumin decides to relocate him and us onto a private island, the only condition to be to catalog the plants there. So Saeran and us end up living on that island for a whole year, Saeran talks about each season he spent with us, as well as the fact that Mint Eye and Seven's organization have disappeared. He even mentions how he made us angry on purpose one time just to see how we'd react. He's willing to spend as many seasons with us, no matter where we live, no matter where we go.

So, final thoughts... his final form considers you an angel, his form of paradise. He treasures you and is curious about you, he sees as you as the light that lit up his dark world. He sees you as an honest being, being true to yourself but also letting him realize the truths about himself.

Ray wants to devote himself to you and make you happy to be with him. Suijin Kang diagnosed him with Borderline Personality Disorder, so therefore that would mean he's heavily attached to you, idolizes you, and wants to do right by you. The problem is he sees himself as less.

Saeran is complicated. He likes you, but he doesn't want to show it. He feels threatened by your interest in him, so he decides to approach you while also keeping himself away; he chooses to do this by abusing you. He wishes to prove again and again that your views are wrong about who he should be, that way you can't threaten him anymore.

Next we get into the After ending, this gives us some more insight on how his final personality regards you. There are so many different bad ends here, I might not go through all of them.

It starts with a meeting within the RFA to discuss plans to find and save Saeyoung from the Prime Minister. Of course V comes in, and Saeran's suspicious of him, warning you not to take in his "perfume." V knocks out everyone in the group including us, but not Saeran. The hypothesis here is that he's resistant to the drug from Mint Eye which is what the gas was made of. Saeran is at a loss of what to do when we're asleep, just wanting us to be okay. When we wake up, he professes his love for us, and says that now that we're okay he can think clearly about what to do. We obviously take top priority to him.

We decide to go to the address V gave him, and it turns out to be the apartment. Saeran scouts it out, and we decide to head in the next morning. Meanwhile, Rika and V get a hold of the chat room, claiming that everything they're doing is to protect Saeran and Saeyoung. So, Saeran makes a separate chat-room for us and Saeyoung to access, realizing Seven's agency is attacking the messenger and also getting a hold of Vanderwood, asking for his help in saving Saeyoung.

Saeran admits that everything and everyone is changing around us, but we are the heart of these changes. We allow Saeran to maintain the control he has over his strong and weak selves. The angry him had a strong heart and obsession, while the gentle him showed him he had understanding and talent. We however awakened his desire for freedom. He loves us, even the parts he cannot see. He'd have lost his way if not for us. We are his faith. Like his brother, he'd sacrifice his life for us.

Later that night he talks to us while we're asleep, admitting that he's afraid going back to his old tactic of hurting others before he himself got hurt, but he has learned how good love is so he doesn't wish to fall back into hatred. When he feels himself getting lost again, he will think of our love. The fact he loves us will always remain true, even when everything else is a misunderstanding. Faith gives him power, and power brings miracles, like us.

Over the other chat-rooms, we learn about V's mom, and Rika wanting a family relationship with the twins again. We even have a discussion on starting a family of our own, Saeran admitting that all he knows is he'll really love us during that time. So we are unable to save Saeyoung, but the two brothers at least meet, Saeyoung is okay with sacrificing himself so Saeran can be free. Saeyoung is then sent to stay with Rika and V. Vanderwood then brings us to them as well, where he was actually supposed to bring Saeran to them. Saeyoung then develops a counter plan to set us both free so Saeran would not have to give up his freedom, however he's caught. Saeran ends up developing a counter plan even before coming to us. Of course once he comes to where we are, Rika has him chained up like when he was young to keep him from going anywhere. Despite his capture, he reassures us he loves us and he's willing to do anything for us. Despite everything he's going through, he'll be alright as long as we're with him. We decide to spend as much time as possible before the MC has to be sent away. Of course, Rika gets furious with him that he isn't how he used to be. How Saeran is trying to be understanding and forgiving of her, she wants him to get angry and lash out at her. Saeran admits the last time he allowed himself to be like that he hurt someone he cared about. He'll never forgive himself for what he did to us. Now he's trying his best to understand and show compassion, instead of hurting before he gets hurt, because he realized it's not the way to go. Rika apologizes for her behavior and agrees to get him ice cream.

When she returns, they decide to let him go, and V tells him the truth about what happened to his mother. Saeran meets us in private, and tells us he has an escape plan prepared for us to escape with Saeyoung, but we realize he's planning on sacrificing himself. We beg him not to leave us, but instead he just tells us that he'll love us even as he dies, and even after he dies. He'll always be watching over us. He meets with V and Rika, where Rika apologizes for what she did to his mother. Saeran admits that his mother was uncontrollable, but he still loved her, and he also admits that he was just a diversion so we could escape with Saeyoung.

Once Saeyoung is free, he works tirelessly to set about saving his brother from his father. We agree to go save Saeran, and take Jumin's driver with us. We meet up with Rika and she apologizes for her behavior towards us as well as Saeran, she only did those horrible things to other people as a means to protect herself. She was actually was jealous of our innocence, and thanks us for not giving up on her, she then begs us for forgiveness. Then we go with her and V to go save Saeran, who is being confronted by his father, all while recalling his love for us. We could save him, or not. If we don't save him we get the normal ending, if we do save him we get the Golden ending.

There's also a couple bad endings, one where you abandon everything to live free with Saeran, leaving Saeyoung to his fate. That one he says all that matters now is that he loves you. There's also one where you have him become a spokesperson for his father, that one he says he's not sure if he's happy, but he does love you. The bad relationship ending has Rika twist things so that it seems we left him to die, and that she will love and protect him from now on. She demands that he no longer speak of us, and he says his heart is no longer with him.

In the normal ending, Rika and V are the ones to save Saeran (as well as Driver Kim). Everything goes back to normal, with the exception that Rika, V and the Prime Minister are in prison. Saeran has decided to pursue a path in life that allows him grow flowers. He once again expresses his love for us and thanks us for allowing him to live a normal life with us. He expresses a desire to create a happy family with us and dedicate his life towards us. He then proposes to us, promising to make us happy everyday.

In the Golden Ending, we're the ones who end up saving Saeran. Saeran expresses his desire to be happy with us, wishing to see us one last time, once that wish is fulfilled, all that will be is pure love for us. When we find Saeran, Rika lets us go save him. We cling onto Saeran and demand he doesn't leave us. "Oh, my stupid reckless love, now I can't die," is his response. The prime minister plans to pin the blame entirely on us if Saeran dies, however we confront him saying he will not get away with what he's doing. We also tell him the only reason he can feel okay with hurting others is because he doesn't feel loved and is all alone. He must've had a really hard past. He then tells us that in order to get what one wants they have to be cruel. Saeran before total blackout embraces his father and expresses pity for him. We rush Saeran to the hostpital, and RFA escapes the hot water they were in, Saeyoung will never forgive his father even if Saeran had. Once he wakes up, he's willing to be a real brother to him. The prime minister then visits us, and thanks us for getting through to him, agreeing to leave us alone so we can live our lives. Everyone then gets their happy ending and then some, Jumin is in Politics, Jaehee is his assistant, Zen is becoming a big time stage actor, Vanderwood returned home, Rika and V are serving time, and Yoosung learning to become a Chef in france. We are with both the Choi twins who thank us for finding them, and now we can live happily together whilst being free.

So, more final thoughts... Saeran in his true form, loves us and idolizes us to an extreme level. Borderline personality disorder is coming into view here. He's placing us up on this pedestal, however unlike the disorder, he's not going to hate us at a moment's notice. He's choosing not to pursue that path.

[Conclusion]

[anas-tasiaa]

"Even if I have to sacrifice myself, he has to live"

- Saeyoung -

Hewwoooo~ another day another same ramble about choi twin~ Hah. (shrugs)

Honestly, I appreciate how Whatever Saeran wanted, Saeyoung would never turn it down. Saeyoung would stock the entire fridge with ice cream if Saeran asked for some. Saeyoung would work toward improving Saeran's life since he wants one. Saeyoung would give Saeran the life he wants because he wants it better. Anything that Saeran does, he would support. If Saeran desired it, he might even have offered his own life. Even if it would require him to leave everything behind and be with Saeran, Saeyoung would always be there for him.

1) After learning the truth about Saeran, he nearly killed V in SE.

2) He genuinely intended to exact revenge on Saeran in VAE before being dissuaded by the thought that Saeran wouldn't want it.

3) When Saeyoung learned about the Mint Eyes and the explosion of that structure, he became enraged and abducted Rika.

4) Saeyoung allegedly threatened Jumin to stop criticizing Saeran in VAE.

5) He warned Vanderwood not to touch Saeran's hair and said he would destroy everyone in SE 01 who injured his brother.

6) Saeyoung pleaded with V to refrain from ruining Saeran's happiness and offered to do anything to atone for his errors (RAY AE)

7) Willing to sacrifice himself to Saeran in exchange for being slain and used (707 BRE2 and BE3)

...and many more. (I couldn't list everything because there are too much) 😂

Link picture

[asterjennifer]

Yknow what I just realized? I dont think anyone officially told Saeyoung that you and Saeran are together in the AE- I mean he knows you're close with 'the hacker' before he gets kidnapped, but he doesn't know in what way and from the way a lot of minor characters react to you implying/saying you and Saeran are a couple it seems like you're mostly out of the public eye during the scandal.

Do you think he put one and two together or did he just overhear Zen and Yoosung complaining about how lovey dovey you two are and was like "hey hey REWIND THE CONVERSATION SINCE WHEN WAS THIS A THING" Honestly he's smart enough to figure it out himself, but the second option is kinda funny to imagine lol

🎀 That is a good point there, love^^

I think... Saeyoung can tell.

You can't forget that Saeran's his other half; regardless the timeline. These two brothers know the other is in pain by a simple look at their fingertips!

I'm sure Saeyoung's quick to put the puzzle pieces together. The way Saeran looks at you is filled to the brim with softness and adoration, which speaks walls for his older twin without exchanging any words about it~

And then there's you; he'd met you back in the chatrooms and if you go with Ray's Route then you talked about the opponent hacker quite a lot, remember? You worried for him openly and talked about getting this war to stop peacefully for his sake.

Saeyoung isn't in need to have someone tell him you're both a couple; he can tell the first second he has you both face to face at the apartment. The way you're worrying deeply about Saeran's responses and how his younger twin listens to you..

Then again, it would be hilarious if someone tells him, you're right! Lolol I mean, imagine he's too busy to realize and one of the RFA members points out the obvious and he just– he's jumping around like a rubber ball because wow!! How did he miss this!? He should've seen it sooner!

^^But we all know Saeyoung knows first. He always does when it comes to Saeran <3 🎀

[spacestation606]

A story told in 2 photos.

[petalsfall]

I am still not over the fact these are responses you can make in Saeran’s AE

[justanotherfluffreader]

GOOD ENDING LETS GOO

[spacemoth-moth]

finally trying to get good ending for ray’s after ending again. after all these years. im at the end of the third day and it breaks my heart again. im just following the walkthrough and i hope i’ll get the good ending. i won’t be able to try again any time soon if i don’t- it’s too heartbreaking T-T

[pastelsapphy]

i choked

[mysmestranscripts]

Ray After Ending: The Final End Call List

Day 1



Day 2



Day 3



Day 4



[shorthaltsjester]

watching the sdcc panel and i am just very :) about how sweet their answers to “what are some of the micro moments from the game that have stuck with you the most over the years?” are. taliesin saying what the fuck is up with that which was the first like The Party Gets To Know Each Other moments of c3. travis saying asking his wife if he could kiss her in campaign. marisha going way back to the cannonball competition in campaign one. ashley choosing the beauyasha date but also just the silly goat noise matt made. liam adding onto that to compliment matt roleplaying grass so well and then saying his favourite moment was writing a story for laura and reading it to her as caleb for jester. and then matt saying that was his answer, and that his favourite moments of the game are when they find ways to give gifts to each other whether tangible or not. and sam saying his favourite moments have less to do with the story and is more so when he can just. see his friends across the table from him. when marisha perches and when laura and ashley are (badly) drawing dicks and liam saying he loves when sam sneezes and ashley tells him to stop it and just. yeah. they Are an extremely popular online powerhouse, but i’m so happy that they’re also friends building a world together out of gifts to and love for one another.

like i Am so enamoured with the characters and the world of exandria but the moments when you can feel the love that those people have for each other reach out from behind the stained glass of their performances (to steal a metaphor from brennan lee mulligan) are so extremely special and i am endlessly grateful that they decided to share their silly little home game with the world.

[marshmallowprotection]

I just finished playing Ray's route for the first time today. And ofc I have a long of feelings, but I also feel like my experience may be different because I played Ray's AE as soon as it was released, and at the time I hadn't even played the deep route yet. But I did follow lots of blogs (like yours ♡) and I didn't avoid spoilers, so I had a general idea about his route already.

So while I played I was really hopeful for Saeran, because I knew he would eventually be able to understand his worth and find agency. I was hopeful because I knew we would be able to save Saeyoung, but at the same time I felt deeply for Saeran and the rest of the RFA, because they didn't know what I knew. And my heart ached for V, because I saw how he was doing progress in the beginning, but I knew that in the end he would take the wrong lesson and make bad choices.

So yeah, I don't regret playing the AE when it came out because I didn't want to get spoiled, but I'm left with a lot of feelings that I presume I wouldn't have felt if I hadn't played it.

Also unrelated but I keep replaying Flower Wind by Mesemoa because it reminds me of Saeran

Oh, there is no doubt that you experienced quite the difference if you hadn't played the route going into the after ending.

It's one thing to experience something second hand, and it's another thing to go through it yourself to get juicy bits of lore locked in there. It makes me wonder how your personal perspective was shaped here when you played the situation out for what it was without the Route to back it up. You can play the RAE without any prior knowledge, but it makes me wonder what you felt as you played through it. 

How did you see GE Saeran with just the information you got from me and others at the time?

That's just from a Natural Curiosity standpoint. Because, it's hard for me to imagine not having that information, but I have the benefit of having been someone who has played the game from the start and had the chance to do everything as it was happening in real time, so there wasn't grounds for spoilers so to speak. 

You might have to come back and bother me with these perspectives of yours cuz I am genuinely interested.That being said, I hope your experience playing the route for the first time was an interesting one. It can be a lot to take in and I am certain day nine through you for a loop, so I'm glad to see you survived that. 

But, that song? Lovely.

I want to live at least a second longer So I don’t have to leave you alone Trembling in the flower wind today You are the most beautiful one in the entire world You caught the flower bouquet flying through the sky, And laughed, “It’s our turn now!”

That is GE Saeran. I don't think I have to explain why that's him. That's just the way he describes his love. 

[httyddragonfox]

Saeran Personas: all their regards towards you.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

Unknown: He thinks we're cute, and wants to help us as well as have us be useful to him. He sees us as his responsibility as well as the fact since he saw us first, he gets dibs. He sees us as his ally or tool, and he would like to have us as a companion, especially if we're like him and have a dark broken side. Of course we can't come in between him and his revenge.

Ray: You can say that Ray appreciates us as someone helpful and trusting, someone who won't betray him. He obsessed of the idea of us, but as he got to know us more he became more possessive over who we really were. We were a new friend for him, someone who would help him and listen to him and care for him. He wants to be a better man for us, but he he also wants to "protect" us from what he perceives as threats. When he doesn't do enough or thinks we hate him, he hates himself too.

Unknown (V route): I believe Unknown here regards us similarly to how Saeran regards us in the Ray route, as someone to "play" with. He could vent to us all he wishes, mess around with us, even hurt or scare us if he's frustrated. I think he wants a "companion," someone to sit in the room with him, maybe help him should he require it.

Saeran (Ray Route): He likes you, but he doesn't want to show it. He feels threatened by your interest in him, so he decides to approach you while also keeping himself away; he chooses to do this by abusing you. He wishes to prove again and again that your views are wrong about who he should be, that way you can't threaten him anymore.

Saeran: his final form considers you an angel, his form of paradise. He treasures you and is curious about you, he sees as you as the light that lit up his dark world. He sees you as an honest being, being true to yourself but also letting him realize the truths about himself. Saeran in his true form, loves us and idolizes us to an extreme level. Borderline personality disorder is coming into view here. He's placing us up on this pedestal, however unlike the disorder, he's not going to hate us at a moment's notice. He's choosing not to pursue that path.