#anon I am so sorry for this novel answer to a simple question lol

[augusteofarles]

Heeello there I just wanted to pop in and say I absolutely LOVE the art of scraping through. So good. But every time you write a vague tag about whatever future trauma is coming for Marc I am. scared. Like?? Is Frank even gonna know how to support him with all the dissociation and switching that's gonna happen?? How are Steven and Jake gonna handle it like??? You keep me on my toes that's for sure lmao but my evil little writer brain is also very excited for it.

Also how could I forget the MEMES. The memes are so perfect please never stop they make my day

Anyways, have a nice day :)

anon I'm so sorry for scaring you with my vague tags 😭

when I eventually get to that part of the story I'll make sure to put warnings for potential triggers, and if it's any relief, I do promise an eventual happy/hopeful ending <3

to answer your question...Frank is gonna try his darn bestest to help?? lol honestly this was supposed to be a simple oneshot about that- Frank helping Marc out through a tough moment. But because I suffer from 'my oneshots turn into a novel' disease, here we are.

as for Jake and Steven....I mayyy or may not be working on snippets from their POV, so you will most likely get to see how they handle things internally :D My evil little writer brain is also VERY excited for the angst.

and I'm glad you enjoy the memes, but boy is it getting harder to find related ones for the chapters 😂

Have a nice day anon <333

[joeyjoeylee]

i loved law au but some of your asks you previously answered and chapter notes seemed as if you were unhappy with the way you ended it. i feel like if you wanted to write an alternate ending and post it people would eat it up and maybe you will feel more motivated to write again. i have seen that help a lot of people get back into writing. i'll keep rereading law au regardless! :)

Anon, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to respond! I’ve had this open forever b/c I loved the thought bubbles it popped up for me that got me thru many a recent boring meeting. Putting this under a cut b/c I’m not sure anyone but me and you (and probably not you anymore lol) care about the response.

It’s not exactly that I was unhappy with the way I ended it, although I can see how my dithering would give that impression! I actually had the “end point” (coming back together in the canon timeline after a long separation w/ both in substantially the same life situation – Beth on cusp of divorce, Rio on top of his various businesses, all 5 kids + same situation for Annie/Ruby, etc.) in mind from the start and was trying to build to it throughout.

Each chapter I was trying to “foreshadow” (lol forever at myself using that in reference to myself, and yes, I did just cringe) the ending. Courtney talking about older married women in law school not “cutting it” (this bitch). The 1L professor telling Beth one day she’d have to choose between family and career and Beth actually “choosing” Annie (family) over a dearly-held professional goal. Beth’s softness for babies. Beth/Rio’s divorce negotiation clients being a mirror of what Beth’s eventual situation would be when she was (finally, Jesus) ready for a divorce in the future. Beth's cutthroat high-intensity job lined up for after graduation not being doable (in her mind) with competing personal responsibilities. Beth’s dorky teacher’s pet relationship with Prof. Katz (a divorce lawyer) being how she would end up making it back to the practice of law. Beth and Dean buying the big suburban house with rooms for all the kids despite being childless. Beth’s worry over debt/money/financial insecurity (tbf I cut a lot of this and I think it weakened this point significantly) and her default fall-back to always considering Dean a safe (albeit intensely boring) harbor in the storm. Rio observing periodically how she always runs away when things get hard, how obsessed she is with image and what things are "supposed to look like" instead of what she really wants/thinks, etc. His own struggle with reconciling the “lawyer” life with what he really wants to do.

I actually thought I was being TOO obvious that it was leading up to a time skip (especially starting the whole thing in 2003!) and Beth getting pregnant – in one comment early on, foxmagpie said something like “is Beth pregnant?” and I was, “….eek.”

So I wasn’t unhappy with the substance of the ending, because that’s the only story I had. I was/am a little unhappy with the structure. I had originally wanted to write a present day canon timeline multi-chapter AU where both had met in law school years ago but had been separated since (so, basically, a takeoff of The Good Wife, lol). But I was having to flash back to the law school part too much so I decided to start first with the law school years. I was going to end it at the bar exam, with them broken up. Then the second story would pick up a decade or so later and also flip back and forth with both POVs. But I could feel myself losing my mojo as the show was ending, and the ABSOLUTE ANXIETY of leaving the whole thing unfinished was weighing on ya girl hard. So I consolidated a lot of my outline for the “second” story (in present-day) into the last chapter of my “first” ("only," lol) story, which not only resulted in it being obscenely long, but maybe too diffuse to really wrap up the original story well.

What I was really struggling with though was my dawning horror that the story I knew I was telling was NOT the story that some (most?) readers thought they were getting. As it went on, and I started to get more and more comments about people looking forward to Beth/Rio happily together practicing law, totally personally, professionally, and romantically fulfilled right after graduation, I started feeling more and more damn guilty.

Yes, I knew and know each creator/writer is telling their own story and can do that however they want without any inherent obligation to the reader/viewer, etc. etc. But, on the other hand, I’ve been on the other side of getting really invested in something and then feeling really really disappointed when the ending went where I didn’t expect. This is such a niche reference lol, but my mom still rants about Billy & Billie, a random 2015 show she was OBSESSED with, that ended in an unexpected way. She felt PERSONALLY betrayed by the ending and still vows to me regularly (to the point where I’m like, “damn, Ma, OKAY, it’s been 7 years, I got it!”) never to watch anything else from that creator again. I personally felt the same way about the last season of GOT – it just killed my interest in the series as a whole dead. And I think you can see it even with Good Girls, given how many people seem to have left the fandom after the end of Season 2.

So to have people invested and happy and thinking my story was going in Direction A, when I knew it was going in Direction B? I felt like I was, I dunno, misleading people? Making them wait so long for an update that they were just going to be like, “wtf, this is bullshit, why did I waste so much time on this?”

THAT was the real source of my angst, and the reason I kept trying to see if I could break out of the direction I was locked into, and instead – make people happy, I guess? (And, I think to some extent, I was right that there were people disappointed with my ending. I had a couple commenters that commented on each and every chapter, but not on the last one. To be clear, I DO NOT think anyone NEEDS to comment EVER and there are 50 reasons or more why those people might not have commented – up to and including liking the idea of the ending but thinking it was poorly written! But, I still couldn’t help thinking I disappointed them after they had enjoyed everything up to the last. And I was then Rio in the Bar with the Nick Spite Bourbon Sad Boi Hours about that ☹).

(Obvi I was overthinking all this MASSIVELY given the low low low stakes of my AO3 fanfic in the context of a Global Pandemic/Cultural & Political Upheaval in America, but it was the middle of quarantine and I was stuck alone on my couch 18 hours a day, so Emoji Shrug, I couldn’t help it.)

Having just word-vomited like a crazy person above, I have thought about your actual question and how I could have broken out of my pre-conceived ending!

First, I think everything would still be the same through the breakup at Xmas (1st semester of their 3rd year/Chapter 8). But then:

In the next chapter, Beth would still sleep with Dean during winter break (shudder), but NOT get pregnant obviously.

Brio would get back together at the Barristers’ Bar still.

But then I’d have to pull Gross Dean in more (shudder again).

The Boland Motors sexual harassment lawsuit would still end with a settlement with Beth head-in-the-sand not ever really focusing on what exactly was going on there and the fact that Dean was openly cheating on her with his various secretaries (I still feel strongly that she shouldn’t leave Dean just b/c she finds out he cheated on her or for Rio specifically. She needs to leave independently of all that b/c Dean sucks so much as a partner and a person, dammit!).

Flush from relief at the lawsuit being done, Dean would want to “recommit” and “refocus” on their marriage and he’d lobby Beth hard by playing on all their shared history, all the things he and his family did for her and Annie over the years, and all their “happy” years together ever since high school (I’m serious, it’s literally difficult for me to type this, so I highly doubt I’d ever have been able to write it).

For Beth's part, that full court press would guilt the hell out of her b/c she would feel beholden to Dean/the Bolands (I’d need to put more in about everything they did in the early years for her, but more particularly, Annie, because that’s what would resonate with Beth). Then I’d have to put more in about how precarious her financial situation was with student loans/debts and no prospect of a paycheck until after the bar exam. PLUS more about Annie’s problems with Gregg/Gregg’s parents and custody of Sadie, which would be an additional source of angst for Beth because she would feel like she’d always have to be in a solid enough position financially/home-wise to be there for Annie if Annie needed help.

This would all culminate in a breakup at graduation (end of Chapter 9) because while she’d still be wildly in love, in obsession, in insane lust, all of it, with Rio, she’s still pragmatic, stuff emotions down, overly cautious in her personal relationships Beth Boland. On one hand, here’s Safe Solid Dean representing all this Safe Solid "Normal" Security. On the other, a lover who’s 5 years younger, actively and happily committing felonies, and most importantly, who has never even said he loves her (obviously he did, but at that point in her life, she needed to HEAR it, which is why I had her thinking in her last chapter how Rio didn't actually feel the same way b/c he had never said it to her, unlike Dean who said it 2 weeks into dating).

They’d all see each other at graduation and Rio would realize not only was the lawsuit over and the whole “reason” Beth was only supposedly staying with Dean already done, but that she hadn’t actually been living together-but-separate-lives like she’s been heavily implying to him all along. Dean’s all acting like they are a happy couple, they just got a puppy, graduation party is being held in 2 hours at their big suburban house ready for all those kids, etc.

They’d have a huge confrontation (probably surrounded as usual by their appalled classmates) where he forced her to admit all that, plus having slept with Dean for good measure (I’m serious, I’m going to puke). He would then reject her in disgust, thinking she’s never going to be able to let that safe, suburban life go and she’s not the person he thought she was. And that would end Chapter 9.

Then the last chapter would be the whole summer leading up to the bar exam, but they’d actually be in the same prep class, forced to sit next to each other (alphabetically!) to tie back to their first year. Beth would actually be working on her Dean shit all along (moving out/filing for separation), but since she’d be too stubborn to actually SAY that at first (thinking he didn’t care) and everything would be from Rio’s POV, he wouldn’t know that. It’d just be the whole Spite Fence thing all over again, with them being too stubborn, all up in their feels, etc.

It would all end at the bar exam, with him again going outside to find her on the second day after realizing she’s all anxious about multiple choice, him again deciding not to go back in to finish the test if she wasn’t going too, etc. But this time, she’d finally realize what all his actions were SHOWING her, and in turn SHE WOULD FINALLY USE HER WORDS and TELL him everything. They’d go back in to take the exam together triumphantly and be happily together for good after that. The End!

[franeridart]

Anon said: Would you draw SukuFushi? (Sukuna x Fushiguro)

maybe? *thinking face* if I ever got an idea for it, why not. I find sukuna’s obsession with fushiguro entertaining so I don’t count fanarts for it as impossible haha

Anon said: I looked and I couldn't find if you've answered this already, so apologies if you did, but how do you draw your faces? I always struggle with face shape and yours are always super good with really expressive features! Anyway, thanks so much I love your art <3

HMMMMMMMM how do I do that indeed, the basics are honestly what you’d find on any basic tutorial about drawing a face (circle, cross in the middle of it, build the face around that - I really still can’t avoid that step and probably never will). As for the expressions, to be honest with you my way of going about them is thinking them up in emoji/kaomoji form first and then go from there. Emojis and kaomojis have to simplify expressions to the max since it’s such a simple format, right? But they’re still super expressive and convey exactly what they’re trying to say with one single glance, so using them as some kind of reference sheet has helped me a lot in figuring out what’s essential to express what I’m trying to say - still working on it though! I’m rarely satisfied with my expressions, they really do make or break a drawing don’t they............ you never stop learning, I guess!

Anon said:  Ahhhhhhh I just spent like hrs scrolling thru ur oc tag and they’re all amazing I love them so much but I keep confusing the everloving SHIT out of myself cuz I too have a child who is Leo and he’s literally so different from ur Leo lol. Anyway tho ur art is amazing and it honestly just makes me so happy so ty and hope have a good day!!

OHHHHHHHHHHHH MY LEO! It’d been forever since I’ve last drawn him, I kind of miss him............... glad you like my stuff, by the way! Especially about you liking my ocs, that means the world to me!

Anon said: hi there !!! i was wondering if i had ur permission to ur ur itafushi art in one of my edits ! i wanted to be sure before using it <3 total respect if its a no !! thankyouuuu

Sorry but I’d prefer if you didn’t do that!

Anon said:THERES A OCTOPATH TRAVELER LIGHT NOVEL AND ITS SO COOL BUT ITS ONLY IN JAPANEESE ! ;^;There's four stories with centered around pairs of characters and alfion is one of them !Idk if itll be transleted but i hope itll be cuz it sound awesome

OH I KNOW!!!!!!! I saw the art for the alfion one a while back, it looks so soft!!!! ;;;;; 8path is kinda niche as a game though, so who knows.............. let’s cross our fingers!!

Anon said:  hello, i am here to recc Skeletons by New Years Day because i think it might fit a few of your ships<3

Thanks anon now I’m emo ;;;;;

Anon said: bakubro gives the best hugs. kirishima is the only one who knows this. everyone is absolutely incredulous when the question "who gives the best hugs" goes around and kirishima answers bakugo. (bakugo thinks kirishima is the best but he benefits from kirishima bodily hugging him and he's biased)

Definitely!! He’s strong and warm after all, bet hugging him would feel the best.... the only one who shall ever know is kiri though, as I bet his hugs are only that nice when he really likes the person he’s hugging hahaha

Anon said: Hi! Just wanted to say that I absolutely love your JJK art! The colors and style are absolutely stunning.

Thank you so much!!!!!!! I feel like I’m mostly drawing for myself lately ngl hahaha so knowing you like it means a lot!!

Anon said: Hi!! This isn't a request I just really like your art! I found you from Pinterest on a kiribaku thing you drew! Your art is so cool! I wish I could draw like that!!! I'll keep looking for new art you've made :D

Aw pinterest.......................... glad you could find your way back here though!! And thank you!!

Anon said: This happened a while ago, but i wanted to say it anyway. I remember when I started watching jujutsu kaisen and I was looking for content arter finishing the first 10 episodes in less than a day and I found your first jujutsu kaisen post (it was posted that dame day) and i was like ???? One of my favorite artists got into jk at the same time than me!!! I just thought it was a neat coincedence to share! I really love your art too, you're amazing!! Happy New Year!!

It’s!!!!!!!!!!!! a pretty dang neat coincidence for me too, since it’s always nice to know at least some of my followers are still into the stuff I make hahahaha

Anon said: i think a lot abt ur art and how ive been seeing u since middle school and now im graduating highschool and we're still in the same fandoms, i hope this doesnt make u feel old but rather VERY cherished qwq

No anon this makes me feel amazing you’ve been around so long!!!!!!! I can’t believe you’re still here with my thank you so much for that!!!!!! I think I’m gonna cry a little here.......... ;;;

Anon said: Hi! I love your art so much!! 🥰 Have you read a KiriBaku fic called The Pit??

Probably not, haven’t been reading krbk fics in a while by now! I’ll add it to my for-later list, thank you so much for the rec!!

Anon said: can u believe that (sans sero) the entire bakusquad can be put into some form of punk/goth fashion? the realization was a galaxy brain moment for me. also realizing that tokoyami, kirishima, and tamaki are all varying levels of goth/emo (some more concerning than others)

Sero’s the hippie friend every punk friend group needs, he balances things out and that’s why he’s very cherished and necessary!!!!

Anon said: your bakugo drawings convinced me to finally start stretching my ears and tbh i'm extremely excited (i've had off and on thoughts of stretching my ears (again) before this so it's not as impulsive as it sounds haha)

Anon that’s so cool!!!!!!! I love gauges so much.....................glad I could give you the last push for it!!

Anon said: uhhhh, i love the style of that top left goge drawing dude!!

THANK YOU I LOVE DRAWING IN THAT STYLE THIS ASK MEANS THE UNIVERSE TO ME

Anon said: i sent the dragon!kiri and bakugo tug-of-waring over a piece of meat and honestly your response is exactly what i thought

Great minds!!!!!!! hahaha

[gisachi]

4, 16, 19,20, 21, 35, 39,41,42, 46!!! Sorry it's a lot. :(

Heey Anon hi! I know this took ages because I deliberately saved this for last even though this is one of the earliest requests I got. I actually already started with your request months ago and I attempted to incorporate all of the numbers. But I discontinued it because I had a hard time cramming all the kisses into one ficlet lol. So I’m scratching that and will approach this differently. Minus all the numbers I’ve already done, I will group the kisses into three, so I’ll make three ficlets for you! This is also to make up for the lateness. XD So this is the first one. Stay tuned for the other two!

20. Kissing in a stairwell, giving them an artificial height difference. 21. A chaste kiss given to each other because they are in mixed company.(1,777 words)

.

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He is back.

Ran has a hundred reasons to believe that this is a dream, but her senses indicate otherwise.

She looks over her shoulder and he’s there, oblivious to her watching gaze. Her eyes trace the crook of his nose, dipping down to the depression of his philtrum, to his upper and lower lip that glisten with moisture, hiding the faint lines of dryness. She hasn’t noticed until now how clear and closed his pores are or how his hair turns gingerbread brown when hit by sunrays.

He sits behind her on the couch, and she feels his chest rise and fall slowly against her back, the warmth of his meditative breath fanning across her neck and causing stray strands of hair to tickle her skin. One hand is on her waist and the other over the black and white paperback print she holds open on her knees where his eyes are transfixed.

His index finger trails along unfilled white boxes as if reading Braille, deciphering the word behind each numbered riddle, and she notices how thin but slender his fingers are and his nails trimmed short, and she blushes at the slightest brush of his hand against hers.

She takes a deep breath, taking a whiff of his scent. It’s not a scent that comes and goes as when she passes by a bakery in the early morning. It lingers for a significantly longer time, the light sandalwood and musk that is uniquely his weaving like oxygen through the air.

And when he coughs, his croak resonates on her ears, and she internalizes that this sound is not a sound coming from a phone or from those hundred voicemails she’s stored, but a sound which she can source directly from his throat, from his voice box, from the actual person that is he.

Her senses indicate that this is more than a mere semblance of normalcy.

He is present. He is right here. With her.

This Shinichi is permanent.

“Earth to Ran,” he quips beside her ear, “I said number nine across is ‘aglet’.”

“Oh, right!”

Startled from her reverie, she twirls the mechanical pencil around her fingers before filling in the four blank boxes his finger is pointing at, beside the first ‘a’ of the down word ‘Neanderthal’.

She doesn’t need to look behind her to know that Shinichi is giving a curious look, directed not on the crossword puzzle but on her.

“You seem to be lost in thought,” he inquires.

“It’s nothing. It’s just…” she pauses, taking another deep breath, “I’ve been wondering.”

“About?”

“This,” she vaguely waves the pencil between them.

Shinichi perks his head back, nose crinkling in confusion. “The crossword?”

“No, no,” she chuckles, tilting her head sideways, her nose brushing his as she meets his eyes squarely. “Us. Right here. Peace. Stability. How we reached this point.”

“Oh.”

If the words didn’t come from her, she would’ve been amused by the sudden existential declarations too. But she knows he’s as used to this as she is whenever she gets emotional, and what she feels at the moment is no different from the moments he had returned in his real form in the past but this time, he’s around for much longer.

"How you’re here beside me...and actually staying,” she adds quietly, eyes lowering to the pencil she’s holding.

With an affectionate smile, Shinichi stretches a hand to caress her cheek. His skin is soft on her skin, warm to the touch and yes, this isn’t a dream. “Well, believe it or not, I’m not leaving anymore.”

As soon as he says that, a muffled ring from his pocket disrupts their little moment.

Ran’s stomach lurches. She knows what that ring signifies.

He holds one finger in front of her face as his other hand fishes for the phone in his pocket.

“Hello? Megure-keibu?”

She’s right.

“Where am I? At the Mouri Detective Agency. Yes. Yes… Uh, now?” He peers at Ran for a few seconds. His expression, though brimming with unkempt excitement, transforms into reluctance as his eyes meet her quiet ones. “Keibu, I don’t think now is the right-”

But as much as Ran doesn’t like where the next few hours may lead, she’s more mature than she ever was and knows better than convincing a warm-blooded detective to stay when his niche calls for him.

Halting him with a hand over his that holds the receiver, she mouths, ‘Go’.

Shinichi opens his mouth and closes it again. His brows furrow and he shakes his head curtly. ‘No,’ he mouths back.

Of course, she knows what’s running in his mind for it’s the same as what’s running in hers. He’s going to leave again. Ran understands the limbo that he’s in, having to choose on the spot between the only two options that comprise his happiness.

And knowing him, she has a hunch of what he might choose.

“Kudou-kun?”

“Megure-keibu, I-I’m sorry but I-”

Ran’s grip on his hand tightens, and she speaks a little above a whisper. “Shh. Don’t worry about me, Shinichi. This is the first time in two weeks TMPD calls for you again. I know you’re waiting for this.”

Her tone is firm and compelling and genuine, as genuine as the look of understanding she’s giving him, eager to wipe away whatever doubt and guilt he might be feeling for possibly leaving her again. He might be leaving, but Ran knows he’ll return. This is different from the past where everything is uncertain. This time, this time, for sure...he’ll return.

And she leaves him quiet, so quiet she can hear the hustle of the department on the other line. With a slow and reluctant huff of breath, Shinichi regards her with a light nod, and replies to the inspector, “Got it, keibu.”

“Sorry for the trouble. I already sent Satou-keiji and Takagi-keiji to fetch you. They’ll be there in a minute,” the receiver says. Shinichi acknowledges and hangs up.

She is ready to give him a teasing look, maybe pretend that she’s mad or anything to push his buttons, but she isn’t prepared for the tight hug that comes immediately after he shoves his phone back in his pocket.

Over her shoulder, Shinichi’s remorse is palpable from the way he groans heavily.

“God, Ran. Here I go again, I’m so sorry, I-”

“Wha- It’s okay, Shinichi!” Ran laughs mirthfully. “Really.”

He raises his head from where it burrows in her neck. “No. You’re disappointed. I can feel it.”

“Listen. If I have to choose between not letting you go and then having your attention divided by the prospect case and me, or letting you go to solve the case - which I know you can do so easily - and then coming back to me afterwards with your full undivided attention on me guaranteed, you know damn well which I’ll pick, right?” she says matter-of-factly, doting his forehead with the pencil.

That isn’t a lie considering how aware she is of Shinichi’s state - those dark creases under his eyes are a sign he’s been up most nights reading mystery novels, perhaps to compensate for the lack of real life mysteries coming for him.

Now that one finally arrives, how can she let it bypass him?

Even if she isn’t a huge fan of mysteries, since Shinichi loves it, and she loves Shinichi, little by little she’s learning to be thankful when they come his way, too.

“You’re not mad, are you?” he asks sheepishly, still not letting go of his arms around her waist.

“I will be if you won’t come back,” she chides, eyes narrowing acutely. She delivers it as a joke, but he doesn’t need to ask twice to understand she doesn’t mean it as one.

Outside, they hear tires screeching to a halt, indicating the arrival of his ride. Both rise from the couch, and Ran assists Shinichi to the door before the two officers can get out of the car to fetch him.

Shinichi bids her goodbye, and she watches as the man goes down the agency stairs.

In that moment, her chest tightens.

Shinichi with his back turned and departing away from her have always left a bitter taste in her mouth. This time, he’s doing it again.

Although assured that this Shinichi is permanent, still, she always finds the need to ask.

“Shinichi…” She halts three steps before the end of the stairs, just before he pulls the car door open. “You will come back, right?”

It is a simple question pregnant with meaning if specifically asked of someone she’s had the craziest history with. Shinichi knows why, knows where she’s coming from, knows the hundred implications she implores when she asks it.

And so, pausing on his feet, he faces her resolutely and walks to her. In front of her on the stairs he leans up, hand bracing her neck before he pulls her down for a kiss.

It’s only a quick press of lips but enough to convey the answer in his heart.

Even so, in that brief interval, she becomes hyperaware of everything.

The secure hand buried in her hair. The lovely smell of his sandalwood cologne. The sight of his red cheeks before and after he meets her lips. The sweet taste that lingers even when he separates.

Her senses indicate that this is more than a mere semblance of reality. Shinichi has never pressed his lips against her before. But in a matter of seconds, he suddenly does. And she feels his message everywhere.

This, indeed, is better than what any dream can offer.

“I’ll return to you before it gets dark. I promise,” he says quietly, face a breath away from her own. With what he has done and what she has felt, she knows he means it.

By the time Ran recovers from the daze, he is already in the backseat of the police car. She notes his half lidded eyes and crimson cheeks and ears, a look that is equally shared by the two police officers in front, except that their lidded eyes are more teasing in that respect. The belated realization that they were seen leads her to blush as intensely as he does.

Satou-keiji rolls her window down to give Ran a gaily salute. “We’ll bring him home before night, Ran-san, we promise!” she parrots before zooming away, no longer catching Ran’s embarrassed wave back.

Left behind, Ran waits until the car disappears from sight, gracious smile never leaving her face. She blinks back at the horizon with his promise at the back of her mind.

“I’ll be waiting, you idiot,” she whispers in the air.

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[yume-fanfare]

hi i am that anon from like 29th Dec (last dang year) who said i read ur tsuki no hime and loved it and that u understand Aizou. i have read more of ur stuff since then and now i NEED to ask you for writing advice, on both characterization and general writing tips since I didnt mention it before. Sorry about that! i just forgot i sent an ask and i do not get notifs at all (or does anon asks not get notifs?) Also, ART STUDENT! That's why the nice art and art leaning!! I feel smart for sensing it

oh yup, tumblr doesn't send notifs for anon asks! but i'm glad you did see the answer anyway

this post is hideously long, so answer under the cut!

so, on characterization: it is mostly a matter of what would they say, rather than what you want them to say. the joke about "the characters do what they want to" instead of what the writer wants is pretty much true if you want them to be in character lol (that's why sometimes a little bit of OoC isn't too bad)

checking the source material is the most important thing: look at prior similar interactions the characters have had and how they reacted

this is kind of hard with LIPxLIP, as there aren't that many translated texts about them but with honeyworks the most canon and reliable thing to use as reference are the mvs. the mvs are drawn in a way that can pretty much be understood even if you don't have the lyrics, and sometimes it's even better if you can't read them, to properly focus on the images better

look at their expressions closely: while aizou is always explosive in his anger, yuujirou often has a more indifferent expression. so, when they fight, aizou is probably the one to blow up first while yuujirou maintains his composure better. it's kind of the classic "this was only a brief passing panel but i am going to expand on it" www

but the thing about fanfiction is that it's always a bit of a character analysis in itself. you don't start writing having already a color-coded folder of possible situations and reactions a character would have for each setting. you just throw the characters in a scenario and then think from there onwards, and eventually you'll be able to have the folder of situations and what you think their reactions would be like. (though, this links back to the prior point, if the characters have gone through a similar situation in canon, use that as guide! plus, finding little references to canon when reading is always fun)

for general writing, i'm going to mostly talk about my own experiences and process! i'm in no way a professional though

the basic is reading a lot. not just books but also fanfic. in fact, since you're writing fanfic, i Encourage you to read fanfic. even if your story ends up novel length, the way of treating the story is different from that of an actual novel. for example, because you're working under the premise that everyone knows the characters already. the general style of fics is different as well.

in fact, the style is the main reason i'm saying this slfkslfkslkf

read a lot of stuff and find a style you like. think of it as sewing together pieces from here and there to make a frankenstein amalgamation: this person's metaphors, the comparisons from here, the descriptions from there

personally, i adore the "long one-shot with a long title formatted (like this)" fics that are mostly feelings and descriptions and as little dialogue as possible, and some that occasionally play with the "show don't tell" rule, and some months ago i read a book whose descriptions amazed me because you could feel what the character was focusing on the most, rather than being general descriptions of the situation (i actually have a lot of thoughts about descriptions but that's a post for another day). but also i really like dialogue and plot-driven stories, descriptions can get boring and before trying to break rules, you have to be really good at following them

but, let's go step by step: developing an idea

for this i'm going to mostly reference the multichap i finished a while ago as an example

i started with just a few vague concepts in mind: non-idol au with aizou who does some sport and likes music but is insecure about his singing and yuujirou who does some music related thing and encourages him to sing in a way that's somehow related to the hozier song to noisemaking (sing), because it's what inspired me to write in the first place

then, from then onwards i wrote down what would happen in the first chapter of the story bullet-point-list-style, including things like the roommates part or the clubs the boys were in (at first yuujirou was in the choir club lol the change was a last second decision that idk why i took) and then bits of dialogue here and there that would be The Turning Points. those first dialogues were for the fight at the end of ch 1, the apology-date in ch 3 and then some vaguely unused ones for the "yuujirou encourages aizou" part, as those were the first key moments i thought of

because, since it's enemies to friends to lovers, an important aspect was character development

not all fics have character development bc not all of them are long enough (if you're aiming for short and sweet then there's no need). but if they do, i recommend you write down how the character was at the beginning of the story and then how they were at the end and then fill in the middle later, think of what those key turning points that made the character change were (the more little things you add, the more gradual it'll be)

samishigariya illustrates this very nicely: the song starts and finishes with the same lines, but the ending ones feel more light-hearted. the beginning has pre-arisa ken and pre-getting-along-with-yuujirou aizou, when they were the lonely people the title mentioned, and the ending, when they're not lonely anymore. the in between can be seen in depth during the other songs: ken before arisa was a playboy who didn't take love seriously, but after meeting her he realized that games were not all there was to love; and aizou used to be quite cranky and high-key a loner, but then he "meets precious things and knows of love". i will not elaborate on that because this isn't an aiyuu post but Oh You Know

for the fic, aizou would go through that same process, more or less: someone who doesn't really form meaningful connections with people but who, in the end, would end up having quite a bunch of people who care about him as his relationship with yuujirou advances too

since the relationship was the main focus, i wrote a very simple outline for how it would develop throughout 5 hypothetical chapters that was just: 1. civil w each other but mostly bad > 2. bad > 3. half friends > 4. pining > 5. date

and then with that in mind and the bullet point list, the final basic outline ended up like this:

there were scraped ideas and ideas that made it in later, but i believe having a simple outline, a bare skeleton to add things to, is important. stories need continuity, development requires a prior buildup

it's especially important in multichapter fics where you post as you write, you need to have a more or less clear idea of what's going to happen because you can't ignore scenes you've already posted

shorter stories don't need it as much, you can think as you go, but it's still helpful to know where you're going with things to avoid getting stuck

and, on getting stuck: don't be afraid of deleting things. if you can't figure out how to continue things, then delete the situation and start again. it might feel like you'd be wasting time but in the end, it is so much better than being stuck on the same scene for weeks

in fact, you don't have to write in order. jump to the next scene and you'll figure it out later. you Can write the scene you want to write and then build everything else around it

it's normal to write a scene and then realize it would make more sense later in the story, or that it would be better if you added another scene earlier, or sometimes you just find it easier to jump from one part of the story to another. rely on your outline to keep track of what you've written, what you have left to write and what's the best way to arrange your story. make your story understandable

which bring us to editing

there's a lot of much better posts on editing stories, but yeah ctrl+f is your best friend: don't repeat yourself too much. and be sure to vary sentence and paragraph length, as well as sentence structure, to give dynamism to the writing

now, i've mentioned before the show, don't tell rule, but i'm going to talk a bit more about it because it's quite important

once again there's a lot of posts that explain more in depth what it is, so i'm not going to expand too much on that, but, very basically, try to avoid things like "then some time passed and they became friends". explain it: what happened exactly? how did they become friends? if it's important, show it to us, instead of summarizing

since things like these make the story longer, it also gives room for more development and proper explanation for things that happen

for example, the fic was originally going to start with them already in the room, and the whole situation would have been explained in a single paragraph somewhere, but by actually adding the scene where they first arrive to the dorms and argue with the lady at the main desk, the story flows better and it let me actually describe their first meeting

and uuuhhh i think that's all? this took super long to write i hope i didn't forget any super basic stuff lol

i want to add that for enemies to lovers i greatly recommend this post bc it's super good but yeah i think that's basically it, if you have any more specific questions just shoot me an ask

[aokane-eldarya]

Hello :-) hope you're doing well . Just wanted to know what do you think about eldarya and mclul writing .

Hi anon :D

Thanks for you concern, I’m doing well enough (although my cat woke me at 4:30 am and did not let me go back to sleep and she pee on the dirty laundry…)

Sorry to answer you only now, I needed the time to think (and finish my opinion about Leiftan spin off). It might be a bit long lol

So, generally, for both games, I would say that, considering the conditions in which the episodes are made, the writers are doing well ; it could clearly be worse.

Chino has three games to manage and it’s just amazing that she manages to deal with so many stories at the same time and in record time. When you work in a professional way, it can become exhausting quickly, you have to think about everything, keep in mind each of your stories, the characters and background of each of your characters…

Not to mention the technical aspect and management of each team and each person who work on your projects.

My main problem with MCLU and Eldarya comes from the means that are given to the teams.

I really feel they do not have enough time to go deeper, to do more research. Normally, when you write, it is best to let your text rest, not to touch it for a while. (personally, when it comes to my novels, I do not touch for a month after finishing the first draft) 

Then you read it again with a new look, you correct, you rewrite. Then you confide it to several beta readers (I usually give them one month delay for a novel) and then you read it again, you help yourself with the advice of beta readers to eventually correct the content, then the form and the style.

For an otome, you must also think of all the graphic aspect, the appearance of the illustrations.

The creation here seems to depend on a calendar and the availability of the translators, whereas it should be the opposite. I’m not saying that they have to take all the time they want, but that the time should be calculated more accurately.

For MCLU :

- My first problem is the presence of Hyun and Rayan. Now, I understand better for Hyun who seems to me to be a bit extreme in his feelings and who is hasty in my opinion (it reminds me of one of my ex who thought I was the woman of his life when we were a couple for only a few days ), so, it’s ok. For Rayan, I really love him, I think he’s really interesting, he’s definitively my crush, but I don’t understand why some passages have been put in place even when you have a low LoM. You can not use the argument that it’s her soulmate, like Leiftan. And it’s quite paradoxical, because for certain passages, our choices are perfectly taken into account and we are not confronted with certain scenes.

- I also have a problem with Priya, who does not have the same place, it seems to me, as the other crushes. We still have trouble knowing where we go with her. We have learned some interesting things about her past, we also know that she will rather enjoy the life. Maybe with Priya it will be to convince her, to reassure her about being in a serious relationship. It’s difficult to know at the moment and the fact that she has that perfect and Mary-Sue side is not helping her for the moment.

- I really love how Nath is writing for the moment. I know from experience that when you love a character, it will be easier to write it and to write it well. That does not mean that we can not write well a character we love less, it only means that it will take a little more time and energy. Chino said Nath is her favorite and it shows in my opinion. She has a predilection for tortured characters.

- Castiel is also a character that I appreciate. During those four years, he really became a more mature adult, he kept what made his charm when he was younger, while working on his flaws. I’m still waiting a little, but for the moment, it seems to me to be well written.

- There are other characters I like the way they are written at each of their appearances, like Kim or Amber, even Yeleen and I love Chani with all my heart

- Even though I do not like her, Melody seems to have more to show than in HSL, so I’m a little intrigued.

- I do not really have an opinion about Alexy, Rosa, Morgan, Nina … I still can not understand how they are written, especially Rosa and Alexy. Unlike Castiel and Nath, I can not see how they have evolved and become who they are today. So wait and see.

- I do not really like Clemence’s writing, too caricatural for me for the moment.

- About Candy… I have mixed feelings. Sometimes I love how she thinks and reacts, sometimes I just wonder where she put her brain. I love that we can have so much access to her thoughts. I know that some people do not like it because of the AP system or because some of her thoughts could be embarrassing to players who want a more malleable character. I have to admit I’d like her to have more questions, but maybe because I’m a very introverted person myself and I’m constantly thinking, having a lot of questions in my mind.

- Regarding the plot, there may be some clichés, but I do not think that’s a problem. Clichés are good too ! I am not asking an author to give me something that is necessarily original and never seen. I first want my emotions to be jostled. Sometimes laugh, sometimes dream, sometimes cry.

- There are scripting facilities especially concerning Candy’s studies. This point is delicate, especially because it is an otome. There are people who want more, others who want less … It’s complicated. That said, I think that some things could be avoided, even when we do not want to develop too much.

That��s all that comes to me about writing MCLU right now, actually.

For Eldarya :

- I really, really love Eldarya, but my main problem is the lore. I want more. I want so much more. I really feel that this is the most damaging to the game and gives the impression to some players that the game has problems of inconsistency and misunderstanding. But again, it’s really difficult, because there are a lot of players who do not care, who do not want more lore, more explanations and just want the plot to advance, again and still, who do not want to take the time to observe the world in which Erika evolves. And the most incredible is that these same players are able to blame problems of inconsistency ! And, of course, there is this word limit problem. This is really a problem for me, because it forces writers to get to the point, to give the maximum, but with the minimum.

- The way our character is written is really correct for me, but I would just like her to have a lot more questions about the world around her. Simply because it makes sense to do it in an unknown world !

It’s a personal taste, but I love her sexual freedom, the fact that her relationship starts this way. Because it’s really, really pleasant to be able to play, in an otome, a character who has the same sexuality as you. In most of the otome games I’ve played, the character does not have that freedom, she’s either uncomfortable or completely ignorant. I can deal with this, because some people work that way in real life, but when it happens again and again, it becomes very frustrating.

But, I still have a problem with the way in which the relationship is presented.

For Leiftan, it’s completely perfect. It’s from the beginning that they get closer slowly, Leiftan is really adorable, he never rush her when he loves her from the beginning. And the beginning, it means several months, almost half a year ! And considering this, considering the link that unites them, I just find that their relationship is fantastic. This is the only one of the relationships where Leiftan really tells her “I love you” and not in a roundabout way and retracting, like Nevra for example. And we really have the choice to say “I love you” too and it’s so fucking amazing because it’s so natural! I love them, I love their relationship !

 And then there are the chiefs of the guard. The problem is that the beginning of the relationship was not as idyllic with them and that there were problems, they did not really respect her when she arrived and for a moment, and they have even betrayed one of the worst ways possible. They stole his earthly life!

So, the relationship with them sounds a little … weird.

Valkyon is pretty much ok, because for the moment, the beginning of their relationship was mostly focused on the physical aspect, not yet sentimental. So … ok.

For Nevra and Ezarel, it’s clearly more weird in my opinion. It’s rushed. They are there, animated by the passion of love and you do not understand just why, how it happened so quickly. Not even three months ago, they forced her to drink a potion to erase her from her family’s memory, and now it’s almost as if Nevra is going to ask her to marry him, to take his example.

The reason is simple, it is to try to put the three guys at about the same level as Leiftan (even if Leiftan remains favored). But it still weird.

- I am totally in love with the way Leiftan is written. I. Love. Him.

- There are other characters I like the way they are written, like Chrome, Ewelein, Camera, Keroshane…

- About Ezarel, Valkyon et Nevra… I don’t really know. I always had a little trouble with their personality. They bother me a little, but I hope their arcs will make them more interesting.

- I’m really, really intrigued by Lance.

- Miiko was written a little awkwardly for me, the aspects of her personality were not presented in a balanced way

- I do not really have an opinion about writing other characters.

- And finally, about the plot, I really love it, i’m really interesting, passionate about this, I can spend hours thinking about theories, thinking about all the details, doing research… I want a library with a list of info unlocked for each episode.

[lglorien]

I was tagged by @hithelleth a week or so ago, and I was abroad for five days, but I can finally do this. Thank you for tagging me! :D

Rules: Answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better.

For now, I’m not tagging anyone in particular - any of my followers are very welcome to do this, so scratch before, I’m tagging all my followers if they want to answer these 21 questions. :)

Nickname: Too embarassing to disclose to the public. :) My sister and I have the weirdest nicknames for each other, and only we get them. They’re all an inside joke, so yes, that’s our thing hehe. I’ve been called Nena, although I’m not a fan of this one, and I have this co-worker who calls me ‘sweetie’ sometimes; she’s like this cool aunt to everybody, super sweet.

Zodiac: Virgo, and 80% of the characteristics listed for this sign hold true for me. Oh man lol.

Height: 170.5 cm, which is 5′6. 

Last movie I saw: I think I re-watched Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallow II in its entirety a couple of weeks ago. I had a few very busy weeks (over now, thank God), so I didn’t have much time to watch movies, or TV shows. 

Last thing googled: The weather forecast, just before I started answering these questions lol. I feel like such a grandma. :)

Favorite musician: Oh, I LOVE music, and I love a lot of musicians. I divide my faves into two groups: pre-2005 and post-2005 haha. So, a few of the ‘new’ ones: Florence + The Machine, Bat for Lashes, Lewis del Mar, Twenty-One Pilots, Vast, Hozier, Years & Years (totally pop-y, but I love ‘em)  ... From my ‘oldies and forever awesome’ group comes music that’s mostly rock, alternative rock, Britpop, some metal and hip hop / rap. Bands like Queen, Oasis, The Verve, Gorillaz, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, U2, Nine Inch Nails, Nightwish, Within Temptation, The Prodigy, Nas ... And Enya, original movie scores and classical music fit neither group, but I freaking love them all! Also, I’m sure a forgot a good number of my fave musicians, but you can check my music tag for more.

Song stuck in my head: Freaking ‘Treat you Better’ by freaking Shawn Mendes, which is so not my scene, but two girls sang it at school today, and confirmed it was Shawn Mendes, and the song’s stuck in my head. I’ve caught myself humming it to myself a few times today haha.

Other blogs: @lightsofnorth For all the artsy stuff that doesn't fit this fandom-related blog. Fashion, photography, food (mostly desserts) and mythology. Go check it out. :)

Do I get asks: An occasional ask, though very rare, from an anon, but mostly messages. I do get messages, I’m just extremely bad at replying to them. It takes me ages, and I’m so sorry for it. I love you, guys, I really do, I’m just shit at replying normally.

Following: 88 blogs. That’s a lot haha. Maybe I should see if there are any inactive ones out there?

Amount of sleep: I need my 8 hours of sleep, or I don’t function properly and make plans for an afternoon nap at 7 am. 7 hours will get me through the day, but I won’t be happy about it, and 6 hours ... don’t look at me after only 6 hours of sleep, just let me push through the day and go take a proper one-hour nap.

Lucky number: I don’t believe in lucky numbers, but for some reason, I like the look and idea of the number 5. Hmm.

What I’m Wearing: A baggy long-sleeved shirt, sweats, and a thin cardigan. Very casual.

Dream Job: I happen to have it - I’m a teacher. I feel super blessed to have this job. Getting a good job is mostly a matter of luck, even though I personally worked very hard to get mine, but in the end, it was still down to sheer luck. I have three dream jobs - writer, teacher, translator of fiction. And teacher I became. :)

Dream Trip: I don’t travel often, but I have visited some of my dream destinations, like London, Vienna, Salzburg and Venice. I’d like to go to Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Versailles in France, Bavaria in Germany ... Travelling is a stressful thing for me, though, so one step at a time. I’ll get to those places when the time is right, I don’t feel rushed.

Favorite Food: Italian, all the way, especially spaghetti bolognese, and a good tiramisu for dessert.

Play Any Instruments: A little bit of the piano, and a few chords on the guitar, so I’m not sure the guitar counts. I mean, I do know enough chords to cover basic songs very poorly lol. I can play basic piano, mostly because that’s kind of a necessity when you take singing lessons. I took two years of piano in primary school, then quit until I started taking singing lessons in college, and you have to be able to accompany yourself a little bit on the piano when you practice, so I also had to improve my piano-playing abilities a bit. I’m not skilled at it, far from it, but I can play some simple pieces (using both hands, not just one). Like, for example, a poorly executed version of Victor’s piano solo at the start of The Corpse Bride. It’s all I can play now (awkwardly, let me stress that again), it’s the only thing I’ve practiced in a long time lol. The beginning is kinda smooth, and then the fun starts haha.

Languages: Slovene, English, German. I need to brush up on my German some more, but I’ve been in contact with the language for the last five years and have improved. I’m going to start reading novels in German again because I want to get to the level of German I was capable of 15 years ago. I understand Italian and Spanish, but can only speak basic Italian and even less Spanish. I read both languages fluently and I learned Italian for four years, but not practicing makes your tongue - and brain - forget how to form phrases that you recognise when hearing them. Such a shame, really. 

Random Fact: I sing in the car, but not in the shower, and I start my day with a piece of chocolate. :)

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: autumn, spring, books, (mint) chocolate, lace, blue sky, tea cups, rings, earrings, ballet flats, Oxford shoes.

[mysmess-seol-blog]

Jumin's Feelings for Rika - Korean vs. English Comparison

Hi♡

ㅎㅎ안녕하세용^^ 저도 생각했을때는 너무 다행인것같아요~^^

Before I start, I want to also thank all the encouraging messages I had received for my decision to continue this blog! I really want to be able to continue posting, and to be able to create interesting, fun, and informative posts in regards to Mystic Messenger~ Thank you all for such kind words! ^^

Okay, so back to the subject at hand. Imma be honest. This made me on edge for a fictional character since Jumin is my favorite. I just ugh, I can’t. Love me instead.

But all that aside, I will go ahead and state that if you have not played Jumin’s route yet and do not want even the tiniest spoiler (for Jumin’s deep route and Christmas DLC) to ruin your gameplay, just completely ignore this post! It shouldn’t be too bad since I am just going to analyze the comparison of the Korean version to the English version in terms of how clarified it is that Jumin may or may not have feelings for Rika. Not the actual plot itself.

Please join me under the cut for a full on analysis for this issue!

Please note that although this is an analysis, there may be opinions that may differ or be consistent with mine! While I can give some sort of Korean background, for debatable topics, I do not represent all of the Korean minds for respective topics. Also, please excuse any errors or let me know if clarifications are needed, for English is not my first language! Thank you and enjoy!

So, to start, this is an interesting question because I also thought the same thing. In the Korean version, Jumin’s actual route implies that he had feelings for Rika. It was very puzzling for me considering the only time he talked about it was the last sentence of the visual novel that you sent (bless your soul, you saved me so much time and work ;w;) and also through references that he would “visualize Elizabeth the 3rd” as Rika, hence his attachment and love for said feline.

I also went ahead and went back further to see just where I decided that there might be misunderstandings or a possible foreshadowing of Jumin’s feelings towards Rika.

Let’s start with this.

This was from the VN where RIka and Jumin are talking about why he doesn’t try to make any friends, express his feelings, etc.

그렇지 않아. It’s not like that.

넌 멋져, 리카. You’re cool, Rika. **so while literally translated to “cool” it can be taken in the context of wonderful, splendid, etc.

English translation: If I remember correctly, it was something like, “No Rika, you’re beautiful.”

This statement by Jumin does not really show much evidence (in the Korean version anyway) that he has feelings for Rika. This is something friends can say to each other, and considering that in the Korean and English version she asks Jumin if she is pretty, I feel there is some sort of misunderstanding. The English version does say beautiful, but the Korean version is much less so.

Okay, so with that out of the way, let’s move on to the mentioned VN during Day 10 that the anon kindly mentioned.

The questioning phrase at hand is,

혹시 내가 V를 만나기 전에 널 먼저 만났다면… If I met you before I met V…

우리 둘이 잘 되었을까? Do you think we would have worked out?

English translation: If I met you before I met V…do you think we would have ended up together?

Okay, while the translation is a liiiiiittle bit different, roughly, that is what Rika does mean. That is there a possibility that could get together. In the Korean version though, it is slightly vague. The way she asks in Korean is a phrase that anyone can use in terms of if their relationship, whether it be friendship, family, or a significant other of sorts in terms of whether their relationship could have ended up better.

Now, the reason why I said virtually the English translation is passable is the fact that their relationship is already fine. So the only other context she could possibly mean is a romantic one.

In the end Rika says it is a joke after seeing Jumin’s face.

I would be too, because this is a very rude gesture on her part. I am not sure how it is in other cultures, but in Korea, especially since it is about a friend that Jumin trusts very much, that is not something to say. Also the fact that V introduced Rika to him to begin with.

Jumin responds with,

그런 농담은 날 곤란하게 만들어. This kind of joke makes me feel complicated.

English translation: Jokes like that make me uncomfortable.

I am guessing his meaning of complicated would be more towards the way he thinks and acts throughout his route. And the way he sees Rika in Elizabeth the 3rd. Like in this statement,

물론이야…너와 엘리자베스 3세는 닮았으니까 더 아껴줘야지. Of course…I treasure her even more so because you and Elizabeth the 3rd are alike.

English translation: Of course…more so since you and Elizabeth the 3rd kind of look alike.

Okay, I found this weird because how does Rika look like Elizabeth the 3rd the slightest lol. In Korean, he meant that the things he feels from Elizabeth the 3rd are the same with how he feels from Rika.

The last thing I wanted to discuss today was the big big thing that Jumin says to Elizabeth.

☆☆ 너도 리카처럼…결국에는 똑같이 내가 가질수 없는 존재였던 걸지도 몰라. ☆☆ Like Rika…maybe you were just never supposed to me mine.

English translation: Rika, you…maybe you two were just never supposed to be mine.

This is where I was convinced that Jumin did have feelings for Rika. That is before the Christmas DLC, which I will talk about in a few.

I was thrown off guard with that last statement, and of course that is where the VN ends.

This issue gets brought up again when V comes over to take you back to the apartment. Jumin says,

난 엘리자베스 3세를 보면 리카를 떠올려. When I look at Elizabeth the 3rd, I see Rika.

English translation: Whenever I see Elizabeth the 3rd, I remember Rika.

As Jumin says himself, it is not that simple. The way he thought of Rika was a lot more complicated and there was more to it that just the fact that Rika and V had gifted him with Elizabeth.

리카는 살아생전 비뚤어진 내 마음을 볼 수 있었어. Rika despite how *살아생전(?) it means best translated to my whole life up til now* crooked/twisted I was, she could see the real me.

그 당시에는 몰랐지만 지금 생각해 보면 난 그녀에게 의지했어. I didn’t know then, but thinking about it now, I relied on her (Rika).

In short, he always thought fo Rika, looking at at Elizabeth. Which you guys may know already because the English version states that well enough.

The real question is though, did he have romantic feelings for Rika?

Let’s go over one more think before I personally answer that.

During the Christmas DLC, Jumin’s route concentrated more on his friendship with V. He even said in Korean that after V met Rika, he felt that his friend was taken away from him.

Conflicting much?

I would put up a screenshot but right now I am so exhausted guys, I’m sorry ㅠㅠ

Before this DLC, I thought that Jumin would explain more about his feelings for Rika that are still debatable, but it was more about his friendship with V. Which is fine but I did think this puts more confusion for me personally about how he did feel about Rika.

To conclude, I want to at least tell you guys what I got from my playthrough and I think that Jumin did have feelings for Rika, but not in the sense that it was actually romantic. A lot of the way he says his words in the Korean version were thankful that he had someone like Rika, but none of the words actually had his feelings invested in him.

He relied on her since she listened to him.

He found her to be a magnificent person.

He did say that he couldn’t have Rika, but that I found to be his misconception of what “having something” is. You can already see that he has a thing for the topic of “possession.” V and Rike were engaged and even with V, he couldn’t really “have” him too.

^I actually have no idea what I just blabbered. It made a lot more sense in my head. This is the struggles of translating >

I will probably come back to edit this later ^^

For now, I am going to nap because dioshhaghlsgahgijla

Thanks for reading!

- 류설♡