#i might try to run through the dungeon again to see the other destined partner endings. or i might watch it on yt. idk how much patience-

[crest-of-gautier]

WE FUCKING GOT IT!!!!! after three hours i have 100%'d the group date cafe!

unfortunately, i think i was the one eating dirt from making yosuke into my destined partner... (though tbh i wasn't expecting much, it's yosuke, he was being yosuke and i'm not surprised, though it does make me wonder if he exhibits the same behavior to souji).

in any case, some notes about the second item that we got from the end of the dungeon... it won't be that coherent i'm still processing da information...

i have to say i was REALLY surprised with rei's reaction to zen opening the chest... like honestly that whole dialogue exchange was so intriguing to me! honestly, too intriguing, that i feel that i'll need a few days to process, let it sit, you know the deal.

the way where the items at the end of each labryinth trigger some form of memories to zen (but seemingly none for rei, albeit... rei's "memories" seem to be more gut reactions coming back than actual tangible information)... it really interests me!

i find it very interesting that zen mentions that the items belong to rei (niko the rabbit, as well as the toy ring). i'm going to operate on the assumption that what zen said is true because... to me, if you're amnesiac and slowly getting your memories back... i don't really see any reason to lie about it? if anything i'd imagine the other way to handle it would be to withhold the revelations you got (and ofc some other way of reacting that im probably not thinking of at the moment).

with this in mind, it makes me ask a few questions...

how did rei's belongings end up in the depths of the labryinths?

what is the significance of keeping these items tucked away and protected by the guardians? does zen and/or rei regaining their memories pose some threat to the state of the world/this distortion? (we know that it's finite, that's what margaret said) (i almost think that rei getting her items back could possibly heal the distortion, but not before zen and rei have a sob story once they both get their memories back? idk man i don't have much to work with)

the way in which rei reacted in this scene really struck me... i know i said that earlier but. damn. here's my livereact from obsidian because i was so. shocked. it felt really? refreshing? to see rei emote in such a way. but also mildly terrifying because she's been like " YAY FOOD! wait did you mean this food? (｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ" for most of the game so far. like holy shit.

rei's outburst is... a lot to take in, i do think that it gives some credence to my trains of thought that, hey! zen might be part of some kind of terrifying entity/the one that's created this distortion, if rei had such a reaction here. it really makes me curious how much emotion these next two items will stir up. will rei say more emotionally charged things? what other cryptic information will zen reveal?

i do like this direction though- that it's possible that even if zen desires to protect rei, and take responsibility for her wellbeing, zen pre-memory loss might've caused rei great suffering. it's a fun flavor!

i do feel that i tend to fixate on the question of "what is zen" a lot more than "what is rei," but. i think seeing that these items supposedly belong to her... and that elizabeth mentions that you wouldn't normally find living humans here... hm. i almost want to say that she's dead and that she died before the events of the game?

i liked that when chie saw the ring- she noted that it was a toy ring and that it's something you'd find at fairs. so it made me think back to the theme-ing of this world- how it's a cultural festival. i'm still not entirely certain of the significance but maybe it's something that rei wanted to see? or maybe she died here? idk. i don't really have a way to intuit rei's cause of death if she's... well, dead, but. i'm. definitely interested in seeing if there's (future) information i can use to figure this out.

OH and one last thing- i think it'd be interesting if whenever zen and rei get their memories back, they leave the party or are forced to by god knows what. unfortunately i don't think they'd do that because zen and rei, gameplay-wise, are the low-maintenance characters, but!! i'd love to be proven wrong (but i'd still enjoy them leaving the party lololol)

in any case!!! this was a good session of pq. i definitely want to play more and see what the other labryinths have to tell because i need more information in order to speculate. i think im at least 40% done with the game :D and it'll probably take me another 35 hours at minimum to finish this game, i think?

[fymoanstax]

Deokspatch X: Haunted House

Request: Hello! Could you do Monsta X going into a haunted house (deokspatch x style?) With a staff member (Y/N) and Y/N tries to go in all tough but at the end shes hiding in the boys back and won't let go of them, and the boys are like "I want this cute smol squish to be mine" and tries to woo her. I hope this makes sense! ~Hiding

Here you go! We hope you like it! 

~Admin Wonhoe and Admin Hyungwon

Shownu/Hyunwoo (Written By: Admin Wonhoe)

Zombies. Oh man why did it have to be zombies.

When the guys picked their haunted house/escape room thing randomly you had thanked every god watching over you that the other guys didn’t choose you.

There were some really scary themes. Chainsaw murderer. Abandoned prison. Dark Night in the woods.

But Shownu chose you and he pulled Zombie Maze.

And you are,,,,,,,,,,scared of zombies

Like terrified actually

You might have watched too many ‘documentaries’ about how the undead could reanimate one day

And you watched zombie movies with your friends despite being scared

But Shownu chose you to assist and you were going because mama didn’t raise a little bitch

Halfway through you change your mind IMMEDIATELY

Because mama DID NOT raise a little bitch

She raised a BIG BITCH

You were literally cowering in fear right behind Shownu

Because his current mission was to get the key

The key was in an open room

With a zombie(actor obviously) standing inside of it

And Shownu wanted,,,,to,,,,,,,go,,,,in,,there

As a staff member you knew that they wouldn't touch you, you were there when all the paperwork and stuff was signed

But as Y/N you were freaking out

Shownu noticed and pulled you off to the side

But the cameras were still rolling because any content is good content

“Are you alright?”

You nodded your head but the look on you face didn’t quite convince him

“You don’t have to go in with me. I can do it myself. “

“Yeah okay….I mean I totally would go in but this is your mission and all you know. I know where everything is I’m not scared or anything. Good luck.”

So Shownu does try to get into the room and you just chill against this gate thing

And you watch him struggle for a few minutes then he disappears into the room

You kinda chill and try to ignore all the other staff members that are standing behind cameras or just watching this go down

And out of literally nowhere

A HAND POPS OUT OF THE CHAIN FENCE THING

AND WHEN YOU TURN YOUR HEAD

ZOMBIE

You scream so loud and run away from the chain fence thing so fast

You run straight into Shownu’s chest. His very hard very defined chest. Wow he must work out a lot how did you not notice this befo---waIT

If these zombies were popping out. And Shownu had the key...that meant

Your eyes widen in realization and you kind of pat your hand against his chest urgently, “Shownu Shownu Shownu we have to go we have to run!!”

He’s kind of confused???? Why are you literally SHAking right now

“Shownu! Run! The rest of the mission is to escape the zombies. There’s a gate that’s locked by a padlock and you have the key!”

Suddenly out of nowhere at least a dozen zombies (actors obv) start running at you from the door you entered and you’re like frozen in fear

Shownu notices AND suddeNLY you’re in HIS ARMS.

He has physically picked you up bridal style

And is SPRINTING through the maze.

Zombies are jumping out left and right but they’re not affecting him at all

He like has no fear

And you’re just clinging onto him and wow his muscles are RLLY out here you know

Okay nevermind back to you being scared out of your wits because he has put you down near the gate

But your back is kinda towards the gate and shownu is kind of using his own body to shield yours while he frantically tries to put the key in the padlock

And he’s breathing kinda heavy bc he just ran while carrying you and wow he looks like a WHOLE man

But anyway he’s successful and he get the two of you out of that whole haunted house thing and you don’t know why but your legs kind of give out under you even if you didn’t run but you attribute it to fear so you just lay on the ground

And Shownu is next to you in .0001 seconds and the two of you laugh

Shownu turns his head to you with a smile and he just

“You know I was only scared one time during that whole thing?”

“I couldn’t even tell you were scared.”

“I got scared when you screamed because I thought you were hurt or something.”

Oh my gosh are you blushiNG??? The answer is yes.

Anyway literally this whole thing was filmed and you’re so embarrassed when you’re watching it later but everyone else thinks its so cute. The other members. The other staff. EVEN FANS.

Wow. Incredible.

Wonho/Hoseok (Written By: Admin Wonhoe)

Just two friends. Sitting in a cell in an abandoned prison. Waiting for the cue to start so you can escape!

Okay so you’re sitting with wonho on this creaky, uncomfortable prison bed

And suddenly there’s a loud alarm kinda like what would happen if there was an escaped convict or something you know

(We are Pristin!) Wee woo wee woo wee

Lockdown

Lol fun times right

W R O N G

Bc deokspatch x is apparently rlly rich and the budget is sky high so they had enough money to pay actual ppl to pretend to be PRISONERS

And and and maybe they ALL ESCAPED THEIR CELLS

THEY ALL LOOK SO CONVINCING

And why did they all have weapons

This vaguely reminded you of the time wonho was in sistar’s music video and he had a pink police outfit with a police baton wowowow

Wait no don’t think about that now.

You need to assist wonho in escaping

But wonho is literally having no trouble

Like he’s weaving in and out of people and you’re struggling to catch up up bc

“Wonho, I have shorter legs than you slow down before I get-”

And suddenly you’re GONE

Like you can’t see anything and you were pulled away

You tried resisting but this person was v strong

And you coulDNT SCREAM

WHAT IS THIS THIS IS A FAMILY FRIENDLY SERIES WHY WERE YOU BEING ADULTNAPPED

When you’re finally let free and you can see again you’re in this like room place that looks like a DUNGEON (but its not) and its rlly small you can tell

You don’t even see who adultnapped you

Maybe you’re freaking out a little

A lot actually

Its also dark

And you begin feeling around the small room and you finally grab something familiar

Its a walkie talkie

You use these things all the time with other staff members

So you turn it on and talk into it

“...Hello?”

And small tv in the wall turns on and there’s static and then it clears up and the thing on screen makes you ?!?!?!?!?1?!?1/1/1

“Lets play a game.”

OH HECK NO

YOU DID NOT SIGN UP TO PLAY WITH JIGSAW

“HEllo whoever is on the other end of this WALKIE TALKIE BETTER RESPOND BEFORE I QUITE LITERALLY DIE”

“Y/N. IS THAT YOU?”

“WONHO! It’s me”

“What happened to you? Where did you go?”

“You were walking too fast for me to keep up. I was adultnapped and now jigsaw is out to MURDER ME.”

“Does this have anything to do with my mission?”

“Above you there is a bucket full of an unknown substance.”

You look up and sure enough THERE IS A BUCKET HOLY SHIT

“Your partner must make it through the prison in the dark, retrieve the key card from a prisoner in solitary confinement, and find the room you’re in in under 30 minutes or else the contents of the bucket will be dumped over you. Good luck.”

WHAT THE FUkc

“Wonho did you hear the same message as I did?”

Before Wonho responds there’s a rlly loud bang and every single light goes out and you didn’t think it could get any darker but IT IS PITCH BLACK NOW

You’re,,,,,,,,,,,,extremely scared of the dark.

But you’re not going to let wonho know that

Wait why were you even in this situation

YOU WERE JUST A STAFF MEMBER

When they told you you were going to have a very important role today you didn’t think they meant this

“Wonho no pressure or anything but 30 minutes isn’t a lot of time and I don’t want to be drenched in whatever is in that bucket. Could be ketchup. Syrup. Water. Paint. Please you know do this fast.”

Ummm a couple of many minutes pass and you’re sitting in the dark curled up in a little ball with your eyes shut.

Why hasn’t wonho responded?????

OH YEAH MAYBE BECAUSE HE’S GOING THROUGH A SEA OF PRISONERS IN THE DARK

You feel like this mission was destined for failure from the start

Every once in a while you hear Wonho breathing into the walkie talkie probably trying to get in some words before something crazy happens.

Deokspatch x is wiLD

The next time the walkie talkie makes a noise wonho gets the chance to talk but he’s breathing heavily

“I just,,,,ran up,,,,,,,,,4 flights of stairs for,,,,,,,,,,,,,you”

“I’m supposed to be helping you but they’re using me like A PROP. GET ME OUT OF HERE.”

“I’m working on it. Are you okay?”

“Besides the fact that it’s incredibly dark and I’m not fond of the dark I’m fine.”

“I’ll get you out. I promise.”

“You’re making this sound like some kind of drama just come get me before I have a break down.”

You were going to look at your watch to see how much time he had left but oh yeah YOU CANT SEE

You get up and go to the door because you’re sure someone is out there

“HOW MUCH TIME DOES HE HAVE LEFT YOU TRAITORS.”

“2 minutes.” Oh wow so casual about it not even- waiT

2 MINUTES?!?!?!?1

You kind of begin to count down in your head from the point where they tell you he has 2 minutes left

It’s a little nerve wracking

1 minute 30 seconds

…

1 minute

…

30 seconds

…

20 seconds

…

And that’s when you hear someone shuffling about outside

“Wonho is that you?”

“Um,,,,,yes but there are also many many doors and it’s still dark so keep talking to me so I can find you.”

“There are literally only 20 seconds left Wonho. Just swipe the card through every one!”

“I can’t even see the thing!”

“WONHO GET ME OUT OF HERE.”

You were restless at this point. It had been a whole 30 minutes almost that you were locked in this room in the dark and you weren’t having any of it.

But you heard some whirring and you realize the the bucket was beginning to tip over and it wasn’t a small bucket it was kinda big so it would hit you no matter where you stood.

So you start banging on the door so wonho can find the right one

And you hear the card swipe through the keypad

And it dings

And it turns green

And you celebrate because he got the door open

Except wonho notices the bucket is still tilting

But you don’t

“Y/N!”

He quite literally pushes you down under him and kinda covers you with his own body

And then there’s a splash and you do get wet but it’s not like you’re soaked or anything

But you feeldripping and that’s when you realize that Wonho has saved you from what smells and looks like milk because its white and really freaking cold

You turn your head to the rest of the staff

“YOU GUYS ARE JERKS FOR USING ME LIKE THIS”

You notice Wonho shivering so you ask him to take his wet jacket off but boy was that a mistake

It was like you were at a wet tshirt contest and he was the only contestant

Ding ding we have a winner

Anyway even though you know it won’t fit him you hand over your own jacket and he thanks you

But he still cold

So you hug him

And you’re obv much warmer than he is so he kinda embraces you back but tighter

And it’s rlly cute

And everyone awwww’s

But you’re just glaring at them

“Are you okay? I know you’re afraid of the dark so I tried to get to you as fast as possible. Sorry I took so long though.”

You MELT

HES SUCH A SWEETEHEART

“I’ll live. Thanks, Wonho”

Can you believe wonho just wants to protecc and love you forever

God what a sweetie pie muffin baby love cake precious man.

Minhyuk (Written By: Admin Hyungwon)

Minhyuk was kind of scared of doing this little haunted house thing by himself, but he calmed down a little when realizing that you would be there.

Like he was so relieved that he did not have to be alone during this.

Like yeah he had to work through the room himself, but at least he wouldn’t be scared out of his mind.

You on the other hand were terrified.

You had no idea really when actors would jump out and stuff like that. You just knew the answers to all the problems.

Plus there was spiders.

They were fake but it still freaked you out.

But were you about to show your fear in front of Monsta X’s very own Minhyuk?

No, you sure as hell weren’t.

So you tried to keep your cool, leaning against anything that could be leaned against.

Staying away from Minhyuk bc you were actually gripping your own arm really tightly and it was obvious.

You guys were at a particularly spidery place and it was freaking you out, but like he had a clue in here and you just had to power through.

He was powering through and like it kinda impressed you because how can someone be so calm during this.

Well, he was cracking jokes the entire time so that might’ve helped.

In this part though, he couldn’t find the clue.

Like of all the places that he had trouble finding a clue it had to be in the one that you’re pretty sure you had nightmares about when you were a kid.

But you were there to help him so you couldn’t really like just leave when he now needed help.

“Hey Y/N I can’t find this one thing do you think you can help—”

Before he could finish his question a (fake) spider fell from the ceiling and in front of you and you let out a huge squeak and crouched down to try and avoid it.

But like, you just...crouched...so it was just hovering above you….

Luckily for Minhyuk that’s where the clue was lol

You knew it was on a spider but like...not that it had to fall from the ceiling.

You were pretty shook and Minhyuk really saw that.

When you opened your eyes you saw Minhyuk crouching in front of you, looking worried.

“Are you...afraid of spiders?”

You just stared at him bc like no shit sherlock, but you still gotta put up your front, so you just stand up and dust off your shirt.

“I’m fine I just got sc—”

You heard the sound effects of spiders and yelped, grabbing onto Minhyuk’s arm on instinct.

He looked at you, clutching onto his arm and (he lowkey found it adorable) just kind of gave you a look.

“Yes I’m afraid of spiders!”

He laughed, but you didn’t let go of his arm.

“It’s fine I’ll protect you.”

You glared at him but let it go

“Okay let’s go. You got the clue now let’s just do the thing and leave.”

He laughed at your urgency and just kept walking.

At this point you didn’t even hide that you were scared.

You just followed Minhyuk around, clutching at the back of his shirt so that he wouldn’t leave you behind.

He’d slow down and let you catch up.

Tbh he was really acting all tough bc he had promised to protect you and god damn it he was gonna do that bc you are a smol bean.

At some point, after you had accidentally tugged his shirt too hard and he almost fell backwards, he used that as an excuse to do some hand holding.

So yes, this is Minhyuk, holding your hand, because you are scared of spiders. Can you believe it?

He holds your hand throughout the entirety of his mission and by the end of it you’re kinda embarrassed?

You go to take your hand back but then he just smiles at you and squeezes your hand.

“Hey, if you ever need anyone to hold your hand for whatever reason, I’m your guy.”

You scream. (internally)

Kihyun (Written By: Admin Hyungwon)

Honestly, you didn’t want to be chosen for this because you sure as hell knew that you would be crying.

You didn’t hide fear very well.

But of course that meant you had to go.

You just hoped it'd be for something simple like the woods.

Nope.

Killer clowns.

Kihyun had picked killer clowns.

And then had picked you to help him.

You almost died right there.

When it came to it though, you told yourself that you'd act all tough and prove to yourself you wouldn't get scared.

3 seconds in, you heard a clown laugh and you clutched onto Kihyun so quick that you scared him more than the actual clowns.

“Uhh…..Y/N are you okay?”

“I'm fine! Just keep going!”

You were not fine.

You kept trying to let go of his arm but you also kept immediately latching onto him again.

Kihyun noticed that and from his point of view you looked like a scared kitten

It was comforting bc he was also scared.

But he was trying his hardest to hide it.

“How are you not scared? There are clowns everywhere.”

Kihyun was very confused?

Were you that scared that you didn’t notice him nearly about to just start running?

“Are you kidding me, I’m terrified. I haven’t even gotten the mission yet!”

Your heart dropped when you remembered where the mission card was supposed to be given to him by one of the clowns.

He noticed your expression and got very worried.

“It’s uh…..with a clown…..”

He looked at you like that was the worst possible thing but like

If you were afraid of the clowns

And he was afraid of the clowns

Who was going to talk to the clowns????

In the 30 seconds you two just stood there staring at each other, he realized that wow.

He really didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of you.

So if he had to talk to a clown with a chainsaw, pretend to not be terrified (despite already admitting he was), and then do the mission, then so be it.

“Okay. Let's get my mission from a clown.”

You went to cheer for him but instead a clown jumped out right behind you.

So naturally you screamed and found yourself hugging Kihyun tightly.

He honestly did not know what to do with himself.

A cute girl is hugging him and all he can do is like not freak out bc

1) A CUTE GIRL IS HUGGING HIM And

2) the clown jumping out scared him too

He decided to hug you back bc you were actually shaking.

“Oh hey there's the mission.”

He took the paper from the clown, while still hugging you with his other arm.

It was cold outside but like...he was v warm????

Also, he just stayed hugging you so it made you warm and you guess part of your shaking was because you were cold bc that slightly got better.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“You know what my mission is right?”

“.....yeah.”

“How exactly do I bring back a clown mask that isn’t being used?”

“Very carefully?”

He sighed and started walking again, but his grip on you tightened.

Granted, you didn’t exactly let go of him either, but you expected that he’d like...stop hugging you.

“I can let go if it’ll speed things up”

“Nah. You seem less scared like this.”

But also he was less scared like that?

(Also again, he got to hug a cute girl lol)

You guys walked like that until he did eventually find the mask.

“Here, hold this.”

He picked up the mask and went to place it on your face but before he could a clown jumped out from behind a tree and screamed at you two.

You both gunned it.

Kihyun had let go of you and you had let go of Kihyun but hey, he got the mask.

You saw him look around as he ran and realized he slowed down a little which confused you a little

Until he actually grabbed your hand and ran faster, making sure you weren’t slipping away.

Like boy really slowed down to save you to make sure you weren’t killed by a killer clown.

Okay you were both overreacting bc the clown stopped following you guys like right as you started running.

But when you got back to the starting point you were both out of breath, and like the crew and the rest of the boys were just staring at you two.

Suddenly, you felt something be placed on your head?

It was Kihyun’s hand.

“Are you okay?”

You nod, and then a heavier thing is placed on your head.

“There. I was right. You are still pretty cute with a clown mask on.”

At least that mask hid how red your face was

And your embarrassment of being terrified of clowns of all things and then immediately clinging onto Kihyun.

Whatever, he called you cute.  

Jooheon (Written By: Admin Hyungwon)

When Jooheon chose you to accompany him, you were kind of relieved because like he seemed so sure that he was going to not be scared.

Like even when he pulled the ‘ghosts’ card, he didn’t seem phased.

In fact, he was p cocky about the whole ordeal.

But it reassured you at least that this would be an easy thing.

“Hey Y/N, you scared?”

He grinned at you, walking with you to the steps of the house.

“Nah.”

Ghosts didn’t really scare you?

So you thought maybe you’d be fine.

But really, you were actually scared of ghosts.

You just downplayed it in your memories, but watching ghost movies made you not sleep for days.

So there you two were, about to head into a house that was filled with ghosts meant to terrify you.

You knew where the mission card was, of course.

But you could only help when he was really stuck.

You didn’t expect the scaring to happen so early though.

Like you two just walked into the house and when you passed the second room, an actress walked out from the end of the hallway, towards you.

It was then you remembered that you were actually terrified of ghosts.

But apparently Mr. I-Won’t-Be-Scared over there was also terrified.

Because boy took off running the other direction.

Screaming.

Louder than you were screaming.

You ran to follow him though bc you were not bouta be left alone there.

But as you were running there came another ghost????

Like heading right towards you????

You were literally about to run into him when you felt yourself get pulled away.

You turned to look and there stood Jooheon himself, looking slightly red.

“You said you wouldn’t be scared!”

You immediately tell him.

“So did you!”

“They’re terrifying! I didn’t think they’d be!”

“That makes two of us!”

You guys just go back and forth about how you rlly didn’t think it’d be this scary until the director physically has to call you and tell you two to keep going.

“Okay at least we don’t have to pretend that we’re not scared.”

You reassure him, but really it was an excuse for you to like, not suffer silently.

“Here, hold my hand.”

Jooheon offered his hand and you looked at him weird.

“Why?”

“So if we have to run again we won’t get separated!”

“Okay yeah good idea.”

This obviously wasn’t a ploy for him to hold your hand ;)

Actually, it really wasn’t.

Boy was just trying to get you and him out there alive.

Finally, you both made it to the room where his mission card was.

But when you walked in, a ghost popped out from inside the closet and you swear you were about to just like die.

But get this.

Jooheon pushed you behind him.

Like the ghost popped out, and his immediate instinct was to make sure you were behind him.

The ghost wasn’t like...moving...it was just watching you two.

So Jooheon kept eye contact with the ghost, moving slowly, but still making sure you were right behind him.

He actually ushered you to grab onto his arm.

So you did.

It was v muscular and if you didn’t just almost die 2 seconds ago you would have admired it more.

Anyway, he walked slowly, making sure the ghost didn’t like suddenly scream, took the mission card, and then slowly walked out the room.

You felt him relax as soon as you two were out.

“Okay. Now we can get this over w— I have to hug the ghost inside that room.”

“I...forgot that was the mission.”

“Y/N. If I die from fright, just know that—”

“Oh my God, Jooheon, please just hug the ghost so we can L E A V E.”

He just laughed and made his way back into the room, with you following behind him.

Jooheon was rlly just delaying it bc like what if the ghost screamed.

He’d scream too.

And then he knew that you’d scream too and he rlly felt bad that he left you behind that one time, making you more scared than necessary.

Eventually, he gave the actor a hug.

And he didn’t scream, so that was good.

But immediately after, Jooheon grabbed your hand and just made his way out.

Ghosts kept trying to pop out but Jooheon was not having it.

He just held your hand tighter and like just didn't look at the people bc he would have screamed and he was not bout to do that while holding your hand.

He looked back at you, grinning, and it made you laugh for some reason.

When you two made it outside, both of you were laughing.

“Hey, Y/N.”

Before you could answer he just….pulled you into a huge bear hug.

“Jooheon???”

Your voice was muffled bc your face was in his shirt.

“I felt like you needed that hug more than the ghost.”

“Well in that case so do you!”

So you two just stand there.

Hugging each other.

He was a good hugger.

Hyungwon (Written By: Admin Hyungwon)

You really thought Hyungwon would be the one that’s super scared.

Like, you expected him to be running and screaming and everything.

Especially when he pulled out the chainsaw/axe murderer card.

And you knew the mission to that was to physically find the chainsaw and the axe and bring it back.

Sounds easy enough.

Except there’s actors that are chasing you.

And you hate those kinds of movies bc you know you’d die.

But, you just have to be brave now and not pee your pants.

Especially since Hyungwon is,,,,,,not scared,,,,,at all,,,,,

He’s making conversation with you, and you’re scared it’ll tip off the murderers where you’re at.

Okay, you know it’s fake but like it definitely feels like a life or death situation.

He's just, talking, trying to find the mission card.

Suddenly, you hear the rev of a chainsaw and that's when his composure shatters.

“What was that?”

“A chainsaw"

“Like….a real one?????”

“It's okay I'm p sure it's one of those safe chainsaws.”

You mean….they wouldn't use…..real chainsaws right?

When that passed, Hyungwon was,,,,,not scared again.

But you were on your toes, ready to sprint when needed.

“Hey are you okay?”

Hyungwon asks when he sees that you are very much cowering.

You say nothing bc you don't even know if you have the ability to speak.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Before he actually finished that sentence the chainsaw rev started up again, but this time it was right next to you two and there was a guy w a chainsaw.

In a glimpse, you saw hyungwon put his fists up, looking ready to fight. But you didn't stick around long enough to see if he did.

You fucking ran.

Like there was nothing that could stop you.

Except maybe like, Hyungwon grabbing your arm to slow you down.

“Hey hey he just had the mission. I got it.”

You catch your breath and look at him, seeing he had a piece of paper in his hands.

“Also how about this. You can just hold onto me. So it'll relieve your fear. And if anything scares you I'll just fight them.”

You laughed bc like he was p scrawny and the chainsaw man was maybe twice his weight.

You did take up on his offer though, and you grabbed onto his sleeve.

You honestly looked like a little kid.

Holding onto an adults sleeve so you wouldn't get lost.

But listen. You didn't know this but hyungwon was just really trying so hard to not freak out

Like you're freaking out enough for the both of you.

He just wants to make sure you're okay.

You looked worried from the second he picked you to assist him.

So he tried to tell jokes, make conversation, and try not to fight the chainsaw guy.

But you were still very scared.

He was relieved when you took his sleeve bc you looked less scared then.

Getting to the axe and chainsaw was more you being jumpy every time you heard a sound,rather than anything else.

But you guys did make it to the stuff.

“Okay I'll just grab these then we'll just leave.”

You nod and let go of his sleeve as he went to get the things.

But it seemed like that's what the actors were planning.

The moment you were alone, the two actors surrounded you, revving the chainsaw and swinging that axe.

You like plopped down on the floor.

That was your defense mechanism.

That's how you knew you'd die in a real situation like this.

But also since you were on the ground the view was scarier bc all you saw was chainsaw.

So you closed your eyes.

And then you heard screaming…..

The screaming got closer, and then you felt yourself get lifted up, and you were moving.

The screaming continued though.

You opened your eyes to see that hyungwon had lifted you up and started running away, while screaming in terror.

And he just kept running.

Eventually he stopped screaming though.

When he got back to the entrance, he put you down on your feet.

“Did you just bridal carry me out of a forest while screaming bloody murder?”

“Yeah I think I did. You're not scared now at least.”

“No, I'm not.”

Did he really do all that so you wouldn't be scared????

Yeah he did. Wow.

“Hey Hyungwon.”

Changkyun was laughing, very much enjoying what had just happened.

“You didn't do your mission.”

He looked at changkyun, and then at a nearby camera.

“Fuck.”

I.M/Changkyun (Written By: Admin Wonhoe)

Okay so you were currently standing in the middle of some woods

You knew it was a fenced off area, it was actually a dome, because you came in through a gate and you saw the edge of the dome with your own two eyes

But it must be a huge area

Because you were driven to the center in a golf cart

You were also,,,,,,,,,handcuffed to changkyun???

And it was night but you only had a measly head lamp

Changkyun was given a card and when he read it he seemed confident

“It says that we’re being hunted and that we have to find a bow and 6 arrows before we can escape”

“What’s hunting you?”

“Us. What’s hunting us.”

“I’m not part of this!”

“You’re handcuffed to me.”

“...Valid point.”

“Anyway all it says that we’re being hunted by a flesh hungry animal.”

Out of nowhere you hear a growl and Changkyun screams so loud but his voice is rlly deep so it sounds like another growl to you and you try to run but you’re HANDCUFFED TO CHANGKYUN

So instead you cling to him.

“Okay okay, I have an idea. We can find the edge of the dome and then we can climb up the dome and just dangle there for 24 hours and they’ll get the hint eventually..”

You facepalm with your free hand

“We are NOT climbing or hanging from anywhere. We have to find the bow and arrows.”

“But the flesh hungry animal is gonna get us!!!!”

“But nothing Changkyun, we are going to finish this mission and get out of here”

By now you’ve noticed that you’re clinging onto him so you let go and put some distance between the two of you

“This is MY mission.”

“Yeah well like you said  we’re (all) in this together.”

Reluctantly Changkyun follows as you begin walking around from tree to tree and bush to bush to find the things you needed to collect

“WAIT. There’s a key for the handcuffs and I know where it is!”

“Where is it?”

“It….should be,,,,,,,,,,,,hanging from a  tree.”

“THERE ARE SO MANY TREES Y/N.”

“We could go with the alternative option”

“What is that.”

“I can chop your hand off.”

“Y/N!”

The two of you are startled by a growling noise once again which you catch on is a sign to get the show on the road.

“I could let you in on a little secret.”

“What is that?”

“These aren’t real.” You hear the staff groan as you pull your hand out of the handcuff and begin running away.

Changkyun is quick though so he doesn’t lose sight of you

But what you didn’t expect to happen while you were running

Was for your headlamp to shut off.

WHILE YOU WERE RUNNING

You stop immediately and Changkyun crashes right into you causing his headlamp to fall off and break

It is now completely dark

“Good going changkyun! WAIT SOMETHING JUST TOUCHED ME”

Changkyun is now wildly punching and kicking around himself

“I hit something!”

You

He hit you

“THAT WAS ME.”

Another roar has the two of you magically running into each other's arms despite not being able to see each other.

“THAT WAS NOT ME.”

“Let’s go!”

Changkyun grabs your hand and begins running in any random direction. Was this mission even possible this area was so big

You’re literally walking around for at least twenty minutes with no luck.

There are a few scares

One time Changkyun ends up jumping in your arms and the two of you fall to the ground because you weren’t expecting it

Another time the two of you are trying so desperately to escape whatever it is chasing you that you literally sabotage and sacrifice each other

Changkyun trips you

You tell him to look somewhere while you run away

He manages to climb a tree but is too scared to jump down so you tell him you’ll catch him but he just ends up falling on top of you

“SOMETHING JUST BIT ME”

“Sorry that was me...Shownu lets me do it when I’m nervous.”

You guys were a mess

But anyway you were also having no luck

Like 40 minutes into filming the staff all laughs at something and you and changkyun are confused while trying to get twigs and leaves out of his hair after he fell while trying to lean against a tree

“What’s going on?”

“We forgot to set up the most important part of the mission. Someone found the bow and arrows back in one of the prop cars…”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME.”

You and Changkyun are like so done with this whole thing

They let you out and you’re both pouty and mad about it

Like a week later you’re watching the edited versions of all of the haunted houses and stuff like that and Changkyun’s comes up and its basically just a whole 10 minutes of you and him getting into a whole lot of shenanigans (+screaming)

You know those little sound effects and filters and effects they do on stuff like that well there are plenty of those

And you and Changkyun laugh at each other while watching it and you’re sitting rlly close to one another

And at scary parts you kinda grab his hand or scoot closer and its super cute

And Changkyun just lets you because he needs to protect you and make sure you’re safe

And yeah

[pika-ace]

Dungeon Crossing (BMD AU Fic)

A one-shot fic related to the Broadway Mystery Dungeon AU. Starring me (Jane) as the Squip and my partner Hamilton.

———

We walk down the path as we passed by a lot of trees, the cool breeze making the branches sway. I was behind Hamilton mainly because he nows where he’s going, and here I am fresh out of Earth, of course I wouldn’t know where I was going! I just got here! This whole world is so new to me……

And speaking of new, my new body……I gotta get used to that. I’m basically Eric William Morris now inspite the fact that I’m clearly the Squip, I just feel like I am. I’m so glad someone like Hamilton is there to guide me through this world, I might have to thank him later after he has his little meeting.

We continued down the road, until all of the sudden Hamilton stopped.

“Hamilton…? What’s wrong?” I asked.

He looks at me with concern, “Well…..It seems like a Mystery Dungeon has taken over a section of the path……” He said, having a bit of a worried tone.

Wait, what? Mystery Dungeon? As in……those places from the PMD games? They’re in this world?

Putting that aside, I noticed that Hamilton looks a bit worried, I was concerned on why so I ask, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Showing my compassionate side to a founding father is a wonderful feeling.

He sighs, “I just……Usually if a Mystery Dungeon is in my way, I try to go through it without getting noticed. But with you right next to me, a man who fell from the sky……” He looks at me, “I don’t want you to get hurt by…..them.”

“Them? Who’s them?”

“Shadowlings, shape shifting creatures that only have a thirst for bloodshed. If you’re not careful, your life WILL end in their hands.” He said.

My heart sunk from that description, I had no idea that a world inhabited by Broadway characters would have such a terrifying threat. Then again, he did say that he needed to hurry to make this meeting legit, so I thought of something crazy…..

“Let’s go.” I said as I walked past Hamilton.

He stops me, “Wait WHAT?! Are you insane?! I won’t let a man like you get hurt by those monsters!”

I turn around and said, “Well, what other choice do you have? Don’t you have a meeting that you need to go to?”

He nods his head, “True, but wha-“

“Exactly. So if you have any other idea how to get around this, we’re going through!” I said, confidently (in Eric’s voice none or less)

Hamilton thought for a moment and then he responds, “Alright, if you really want to do this…..then we’ll go.” He said, “But I’m gonna protect you if one of those Shadowlings comes by.”

I was a bit confused, wasn’t he concerned for my sake just a few minutes ago? Regardless, as long as we’re on track. Hamilton leads me towards a cave and as we were heading towards the entrance, I noticed that there’s a spot where a bridge used to be, now I see why he looked concerned, there was no way across it! At least I convinced him to take me through the Mystery Dungeon.

We slowly walked through the cavern, hearing the echoes of our footsteps, so far nothing bad has happened to us so far.

“Now Squip, these Shadowlings can hide in any dark corner so keep an eye on dark spots, that’s where Shadowlings hide.” He said to me.

“How would I know if one is even there?”

“If you see a large dark shadow in any corner, that’s where they are.”

I nod as I was looking around the cave. For a few minutes, I didn’t see any Shadowlings anywhere, though I did admire the scenery of the caverns. At some points, he stumbled across a few junk laying on the ground.

I picked up a blue crystal and asked Hamilton, “What is this?”

He looked over and responded, “That is a Healing Crystal! Using it heals any wounds.”

Great, now we got a little bit of fantasy in this Broadway world, “How you do that?”

He takes the Crystal out of my hands and puts it in his pocket, “Healing aura, that’s how it does it’s magic. You’ll see how it does when either one of us gets hurt.”

Well, at least I know now that there’s magical crystals in this world. That’s a starter. We continued forward through the cave and so far we didn’t encounter a single Shadowling, to the point where I think Hamilton mistook a regular cave for a Mystery Dungeon.

Suddenly, I heard Hamilton give out a small gasp and stopped dead in his tracks. He backed up, looking like he’s staring death in the face.

“H-Hamilton? What’s wrong?”

“S-S-Shadowling! There a Shadowling!” He said in a scared tone, pointing towards a dark spot on the cavern walls.

At first I didn’t see it, it was just a shadow to me. But as I looked closer, and kinda stepped closer just to see it, a shadow of some kind of dog like figure starts to appear.

“Oh shi-“

The Shadowling leaps out of the shadows and runs towards me, I tried to run away from it but that thing was faster than me as it leaped towards me and locked it’s jaws on my arm.

“GAHHH!!!” I yell out in pain.

“Squip!”

Oh god the pain! Those teeth feel like they’re trying to tear through my skin! I looked at my arm and saw that it was bleeding, my heart sunk as I saw it.

Hamilton shouts, “I’ll save you Squip!”

I have no idea how a founding father is going to save me, unless he has a gun, then again there’s a slight chance that it won’t work. I tried to kick the dark doggo away from me, but it wouldn’t let go no matter how hard I try. But then all of the sudden, a strange looking whip appears and yanks the Shadowling away from me. I held my bleeding arm as I look up, and I was shocked that it was Hamilton who did it. Somehow he created this whip made out of his words, so cool…..

He slams the Shadowling on the ground which the great impact causes the thing to poof into a puff of smoke. I slowly get up as I tried to recollect what just happened, “Ha-Hamilton…..you….you saved me!”

He races towards me and looks at my arm, “Not fully! Your arm, it’s bleeding!”

I raised an eyebrow, no shit Sherlock of course my arm is bleeding! He takes out the Crystal I found earlier and places it next to my wound. He closes his eyes and the Crystal glowed, I could feel it getting healed and it feels so weird, and the fact that the Crystal felt cold sent a shiver down my spine. But then all of the sudden….

“Gah!”

I felt a static shock on my hand, but it didn’t really make sense, I didn’t drag my feet on a carpet, and I know for certain that this cave doesn’t have anything that could simulate that.

Hamilton looked down at my hand and said, “Squip, your hand!”

I lifted my hand and saw that it was spitting out electric shocks, my brain is telling me that this should hurt, but I feel like it’s a natural thing.

“What the hell?” I muttered to myself.

“Since when you could do that?” He asked me.

“Just now!” I said, “I…..I never knew I could do this…..”

I get up from the ground and panned off some dust that was on me. Hamilton pats me on the shoulder, “Well at least I know you can defend yourself! I think?”

I nod, “Yeah, I think so too.”

We continue forward, we did encounter a few more Shadowlings but I was able to fend them off myself, alongside Hamilton of course. We made a pretty good team me and him, we have each other’s backs through this little cave journey. Eventually we reached the exit and we were so happy to see the sun again.

I sighed with relief, “Finally! We’re out!”

Hamilton smiles, “Yeah, we made it out safe and sound!”

He takes a deep breath and looks at me, “Now, shall we continue?”

I nod, “Yeah, let’s go.”

We walk away from the Mystery Dungeon and back into the path, with his destination not too far away from where we are.

[mistletien]

MMO AU Part 1

Fandom: RWBY Characters: Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos  Rating: G Pairing: Eventual pyrruby / milk and cereal ( Pyrrha/Ruby ) Words: 2209 Summary: Modern AU where Ruby and Jaune are partners in an MMO. After several long months of another person tagging along on quests, Ruby asks Jaune who this person is. Ruby is then introduced to Pyrrha, a cute girl from Greece, and is instantly smitten with the redhead. 

A/N: Title DEFINITELY subject to change. I’ve been wanting to write this for a while now, but I’m the worst and kept putting it off. Now that Pyrrha’s fucking dead might as well indulge in my ship tbh.

“Okay, so how do I pull out my weapon again?” Jaune asked the same question for the fifth time in a half hour. Annoyance and slight panic colored the teen’s voice. “I want to take a screenshot and clicking only highlights things.”

Ruby had seen the newbie when she logged on for the day, and decided to take the boy under her proverbial wing and help him get through the first few basic levels. It was slow going, as it seemed Jaune hadn’t the slightest clue how to play an MMO.

He was sweet though, more so than a lot of the players that surrounded them and that she had been forced to party with to get through a dungeon or two. And that kind, oblivious demeanor was what drew Ruby into helping him.

She didn’t want him to have a bad experience playing, not while you had to pay-to-play, and she had once had a higher level player take pity on her and helped her learn the controls of the massive online game. Sometimes all it took was a kind person in a game to make or break your enjoyment of it.

While the newbie wasn’t the quickest learner of the controls, his enthusiasm more than made up for it. After a brief introduction in the chat, the two started a party and an in-game call as Ruby tried to teach him everything she knew that would help Jaune get through the single digit levels. So far they got along swimmingly, and the teachings had his character leap up to level six in a short matter of time.

“It comes out automatically when you attack a creature, but you can change between stances with the Z key.” Ruby paused for a moment, watching the character on screen switch into a fighting stance before disengaging and going back into a neutral one. “See? Simple. You can always adjust your controls to fit you better though.”

“Thanks for helping me with all this,” Jaune thanked her again. Between a constant barrage of questions, he poured in tons of thanks for all of Ruby’s help with getting started. “I didn’t expect anyone but my friend to come help me learn how to play this game.”

She could hear a soft laugh come through the headset, and Ruby felt her face flush in embarrassment as the boy doused her in more praise. “It’s no big deal. We were all newbies at one point or another.”

Clicking onto Jaune’s character, she started a trade with him. “I’m going to give you a bit of the currency they use in-game since it takes a while to build up.”

She could hear the sputtered words of protest before the trade was cancelled. “Crescent, I can’t--”

“Ruby,” she immediately corrected. “My name is Ruby, and of course you can! I’m giving it to you. As a gift for letting me help you out.”

A sigh of quiet distress was heard, and she no doubt expected the boy to be mulling over accepting this new trade she started or not.

“If you’d like to pay me back, I can send a friend invite so when you’re a higher level you can come join a party with me on harder dungeons?”

It seemed like a fair trade to her. Jaune would level up his character, learn a bit more about the world and get a better feel for the game overall before being tossed into a mid-level dungeon alongside her. As long as there were at least two people, it should be okay. Sure, three would ensure their triumph, but Ruby would take any help she could get to defeat the dreaded Grimm that ran rampant in the game.

Ruby’s character was DPS class, but she could make a sub account as a healer and aide them in higher dungeons if needed. Besides, it would be more fun if she had someone to play with other than her older sister who rarely got on the game anymore.

“Actually, I have a high-class friend who’s supposed to be coming online soon. If you need some help, they wouldn’t mind lending a hand.” Jaune, who seemed to have perked up after the brief mention of their high leveled friend, had his character jump in place as he spoke.

Ruby smiled at the action, her own character, Crescent Rose, began jumping in place too. The satisfying sound of crunching leaves each time her character landed was incredibly satisfying to hear, and she jumped a few more times to hear it before spinning in tight, rapid circles before going stock still once again.

“Are they the one who got you into the game?” she asked, unable to resist prodding for a bit of information. She had spent the better part of an hour teaching Jaune the basics, so to know he had a friend who was a higher level than she was was a bit surprising.

A soft grunt was given in affirmation. “Yeah, we met about two years ago on a Neopets forum and stayed in touch. We play games together if we both might enjoy it, but a few months ago they started to talk about Remnant.” Ruby had to stifle a snicker at the admittance as he continued. “They’re really a rad person, and after hearing about them talk about the game so much I decided ‘hey, why not try it?’”

“It’s a good game!” Ruby began eagerly wiggling in her chair, legs outstretched and feet kicking slightly as she grinned at the screen where her and Jaune’s characters idled. She was careful in her excitement not to knock off the headset that perched on her head.

“So far I’m enjoying it.” Jaune paused for a moment to laugh softly. “I’m surprised I didn’t get into it earlier. The graphics are absolutely amazing! And I didn’t expect such a large character creation. I thought I was never going to get out of it”

“Yeah, I spent about an hour designing Crescent Rose when I first made her.” Ruby laughed nervously as she leaned back in her chair and thought back on her time in the character creator.

Untrue. She had spent about two hours alone just designing what Crescent Rose’s face would look like. She’d spent an hour alone sculpting her character’s body and creating, in her opinion, the most perfect person in the world of Remnant.

Sitting forward once more, Ruby’s character started wandering off, smiling as Jaune’s quickly used the sprint button to catch up with her as she walked over to a vendor to sell some of her items. She made it habit to trade items whenever she came to a town again. It kept her inventory light since she hoarded everything possible to keep her currency at a high level.

She liked to buy dyes and a lot of them could be pricy.

“Give me a second,” she said as she rang for her personal vendor. She had a few rare items she could sell in the marketplace and easily triple the amount she had given to Jaune. “I’ve just got to sell a few things.”

She heard a soft hum of agreement before shuffling on Jaune’s end. “Oh, my friend messaged me and is coming online soon. Is it okay if they join the party?”

“Of course!” Ruby was quick to answer.

While they weren’t really friends, it was nice of the newbie to ask if she’d like to stay in the party even after another high character was destined to join them.

“Okay, we just need to meet them at the warp point…”

“Would you like me to lead the way?” Ruby asked after listening to Jaune trail off. No doubt staring at the tiny map in the corner of the screen and trying to deduce where the warp point might actually be in the mess of everything.

“Oh man, please?” Hope was evident in Jaune’s voice, and Ruby couldn’t hold back the giggled that escaped.

“Yeah, it can take a while to learn where everything is,” she said as she started sprinting off towards the Southeast. “Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it eventually, Newbie.”

“Thanks a lot,” Jaune replied, voice veritably dripping with sarcasm. He followed along behind Ruby’s character, sometimes mumbling a quick apology to NPCs and other players alike as he bumped into them.

“So what’s this friend of yours like? How long have they been playing?” Ruby asked as she lead him down the winding staircase of the main entrance that lead to the warp platform. If she was going to be partying with them, she would like to know what they were like.

Before Jaune could answer, a high leveled paladin approached the pair, golden armor gleaming as the warp point spun and shimmered behind her. The off blue light only served to make the player seem more intimidating as they just stood there.

A large shield was strapped to the back of the paladin. Resplendent and ornate in its design, far more than she’d seen on other player characters, and it caused a surge of envy to ghost through Ruby’s body before being replaced with curiosity as she clicked on the character and inspected their equipment.

Brilliant red hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back, and even though the character’s face was hidden behind a mask, Ruby could see the hint of green eyes if she zoomed in closer. Even for a human character, the paladin was tall, standing higher than a player should as they practically loomed over Jaune and Ruby both.

For her armor, it was the highest a person could get at level 99, and Ruby felt her stomach lurch a bit as such an intimidating and powerful person stood in front of them. Sometimes higher leveled players could force a PvP battle, especially if a character was idle or away from the keyboard, and Ruby didn’t want to deal with getting her virtual butt kicked if she could help it.

“Jaune, I think we need to go before--”

:D !!!

The emoticon popped up above the player’s head as they jumped in front of Ruby and Jaune. Jaune quickly started jumping in place as well, before he and the new player began running in circles. The childish actions had startled her for a moment before Ruby picked up on what was going on.

“Jaune, this is your friend?” She was awed that such a high leveled person was here, practically babysitting them both.

Crescent Rose wasn’t a new character, Ruby had been playing her for months now, but had only managed to grind up to level 28 before the need for party members hindered her further advancement in the game.

But here was a level ninety-nine character, running in circles and jumping around like an excited child with a level six character. It was baffling, and Ruby couldn’t help but let out a small incredulous laugh as she watched as the high leveled player join their party.

Akoúo̱ popped up on the screen beneath hers and Jaune’s names. Ruby squinted at the name, mentally going over how it should be pronounced. “So, Ak--Ak….”

“You can call her Pyrrha,” Jaune supplied. “She’d be fine with you using her name, I think.”

:D Hello! It’s nice to meet you.

“Pyrrha….” Ruby tested the name out, letting it roll around in her mouth before slipping off her tongue. “Well, welcome to the party! I’ve just been helping Jaune learn the basics of the game, and as you can see he’s already leveled up a bit.”

Thank you for helping Jaune.

Ruby frowned slightly as she read the chat. Wouldn’t it be easier to just join the party call?

“Pyrrha was going to help me out today, but we didn’t get the timezones right,” Jaune laughed. His character now stood still besides Pyrrha’s and Ruby watched as she and Jaune had a small conversation. Jaune, via the chat, and Pyrrha through messages.

In a way, Ruby felt like she was intruding. She wasn’t really friends with them, and it was by sheer chance she decided to help this one newbie.

“Ruby, what do you feel like doing?” Jaune asked, pulling the teen out of her own head for the moment and back to the game. “Since I took up so much of your time, it’s only fair we do something you would like.”

I can help you out with a dungeon since you helped my friend? While he’s not terrible at games, he can take a bit to train.

“Hey!” Jaune cried out, laughter intermingling with his faux outrage at the teasing comment.

Ruby’s eyes sparkled at the chance to possibility to level up and actually get further into the game.

“Yeah, I’d love that,” she said in a large gust of breath.

:D Alright, just let me know when you’re ready?

Ruby shoved aside candy wrappers and put her empty can of soda in the trash beneath her desk as she scooted her chair closer, intent on a full night of gaming.

These weren’t her friends, but they could be, and for once Ruby could enjoy a game meant for a group of people without hating every second of the forced, randomized parties.

[cawfulopinions]

Earthbound: A First Timer’s Perspective, Over 20 Years Later

I was born too late to enjoy Earthbound when it was new. The game came out in 1995, a year after I was born, and around the time the SNES had begun to give way to the Nintendo 64. Any excitement about a potential entry in the series for the N64 passed me right on by, and, like so many other people my age, my first experience with the series was when Earthbound’s main character, Ness, appeared in the Smash Brothers series. As a teenager, in the beginnings of the emulation age, friends recommended it to me, but the game’s slow start and strange aesthetics never quite grabbed me. It wasn’t until it finally got a Virtual Console release for the New 3DS that I finally sat down and actually played it, and even then it was as a “rainy day” kind of game.

Which is how I ended up in the strange situation where most of my experience with Earthbound and the themes that went into it came from games that were most influenced by it, particularly Undertale, a game so bleeding in influence from Earthbound that I’d almost call it a spiritual successor. It’s no surprise that this is the case -- its creator, Toby Fox, has history in the Earthbound fangame community, and has specifically cited Earthbound as an influence in how he wrote Undertale. 

Playing it now, more than twenty years after its initial release, long after the franchise came to an end, I can now see everything I missed in the time since then, and everything I’ve missed since then. There’s something about the game, from its simplistic, charming presentation, to its surprisingly introspective moments, to its cartoonish enemies and its overall optimistic view of the world that spoke to me in ways I can’t put into words (though I’m sure as hell going to try).

Earthbound starts off generically enough -- the player controlled character, Ness (I hesitate to call Ness “you” in this instance, for reasons that are obvious to anyone who’s played the game), is told that he has a grand destiny requiring him and three other children to go on a journey to face a grand evil named Giygas. At the behest of a magic bee, he sets off to record the sounds of the “Your Sanctuaries” around the world so that he can gain the strength needed to fight Giygas, and unite with the other destined youths who’ll help him on this journey.

And when you start off the game, Ness is completely alone on this journey. These beginning parts of the game are easily the toughest parts of the game -- it’s Ness against the world, and with just his baseball bat and a couple of not-so-great psychic spells at his disposal, the world’s pretty willing to stomp all over Ness. I remember spending a good chunk of my first few hours running back home for free healing before trying again and again to get past the current plot obstacle.

And Ness is alone for a good chunk of the game -- your first party member, Paula, you don’t meet in proper until after you get past the game’s second town, and you have to actually rescue her from the boss of the third town before you can use her. There’s a good chance you’ll actually accidentally tackle the second Your Sanctuary before you save her, too.

Every time I got a new party member, I felt like things were starting to get a little bit smoother. And that’s not a statement to Earthbound’s detriment -- with every friend Ness met along the way, I felt the world open a little wider. Things that I struggled with before I had no problems with now.

And this went the other way too -- every time a character had to leave my party, I yearned for them to come back. There’s a part where Paula gets kidnapped again in Fourside, and suddenly I realized just how much I wanted her back when I realized how much Ness and Jeff struggled without her. At one point, Poo leaves the party to become stronger, and even though I’d barely used him at that point, I felt incomplete without him around. When he triumphantly came back at the end of Deep Darkness, everything finally felt right again.

Earthbound is a game that’s generally light on the characterization and plot, and Ness’s group is no exception to this. I think each of them has maybe five lines total in-game. But even with that, I felt attached to these kids and their journey through the game itself.

Even with how sparse it is, though, there’s something about Earthbound’s writing that really sticks with me. There’s a dryness to it that’s definitely indicative of the era it was written in, but there’s a quirkiness to a lot of it too, and more than that, there’s an earnestness to it that’s very welcome. Nothing ever feels like it was written just to take a potshot at someone (...except for the club from the above screenshot. That one might just be a potshot :V). Eagleland, the country the majority of the game takes place in, is so obviously a pastiche of what Japan thinks America is like, but it never passes into the territory of parody.

That’s without even getting into the general acceptance the game gives to some of the weirder bits of it. Like the guy who wants to talk to a mad scientist so he can get himself turned into a giant dungeon, because he loves dungeons that much. Or the monkey colony in a hole in desert, lead by a monkey Dalai Lama. Or the sesame seed you can talk to in that same desert that yearns for its partner, which is another sesame seed. These scenarios are all presented in the only way Earthbound knows how: completely straight-lacedly.

Something I found interesting early on is that even though the main characters are all children, the majority of the NPCs you interact with are adults. And none of these characters are really villainous. Antagonistic, yes, and occasionally you do have boss fights with them. But on the whole, these characters are helpful or at least earnest with their intentions. And there’s no real judgment toward the party for their friendship with people much older than them. For example, early on, it’s established that Paula is good friends with Everdred, the local crook, and it’s the party’s friendship with the Runaway Five that helps them out of several jams during the story.

Another thing is that, aside from one character very early on (who is a literal magic bee), no one dies in Earthbound. Random encounters are generally animals, monsters, or inanimate objects that have been compelled to fight you by Giygas’ evil influence, or they’re aliens and robots that follow Giygas and are here to invade earth. When you defeat them, animals become tame, plants and objects return to normal, and robots are turned to scrap metal. For a genre generally defined by its protagonists basically being D&D Murderhobos, it’s a surprisingly nonviolent take.

Even though the story is established early on, Earthbound really doesn’t spend a lot of time focusing on the ultimate goal of the journey. The game is separated into small arcs, each focusing on their own subjects and characters and plot bosses, with the common factor generally just being the influence of Giygas on whoever the head honcho is of the current problem. And the problems of those small arcs are so often small in the scale of the world-ending horror Giygas is supposed to be. The first major threat you take on is a cult that wants to paint the world blue, after all!

I think this is part of why Earthbound’s creepier moments (like Noonside and Giygas himself) stick out so hard to people -- they don’t fit with the calm, homey atmosphere of the game until this point. But I think that’s important too -- Earthbound is, ultimately, a game where the villain is the concept of evil itself. And what does evil take the form of in Earthbound? Something incomprehensible, something that doesn’t fit with the world until this point. It’s Noonside, where yes is no and the people are being manipulated by an evil idol. It’s Giygas, who has become so consumed by evil that he’s become something eldritch.

For how grand your journey is made out to be at the start, for the majority of the game, it feels very relaxed, almost homey. The plot really doesn’t ever kick into high gear -- your fight with Giygas comes nearly immediately after getting the final Your Sanctuary and going through Magicant, and Magicant itself is kind of homey and introspective -- it’s a journey through Ness’s mind, and on a whole, everything there is very chill.

(Ness’ Nightmare can go suck a dick, though.)

There’s something almost coming-of-agey about Earthbound. I say “almost”, because you don’t really learn much about Ness himself, but that’s the kind of journey you feel like you’re having. I feel like this is best evidenced with the Your Sanctuary sections, where, in each one, Ness has a vision of himself as a young child, and his family around him. It’s a story about Ness’s growth, even if we don’t concretely see what that growth is. And at the end of the game, after the threat’s all taken care of, you’re given time to go back to talk to everyone you’ve met along the way and retrace your steps back home, if you so want. 

It’s all very cozy. It’s all very friendly. I’d say it’s not the kind of RPG I’ve ever played before, but I played Undertale first. But even with that foreknowledge, the further I went into Earthbound, the more I realized that Undertale is bleeding in its Earthbound influence. Everything about how Undertale is written, how it approaches morality, its combat, the journey you take, it’s all clearly born out of Earthbound. I’d even go so far as to say that the meta-role of the player in Undertale and Earthbound is very similar, too -- because in Earthbound, you are who saves the day in the end. The characters pray to you for help, and you, the player, are stated as praying for them to win. You beat Giygas in the end.

I’m not sure how much I have to say about Earthbound that other people haven’t said already in much cleaner or plainer terms. But it absolutely touched me. I suddenly understand why it’s as beloved of a game as it is, why people have clamored for Mother 3 to get an official release for so long, why it was such an influence on other RPG developers over time. I’d say I want more games like it, but I’m not sure any other game could scratch the same itch that Earthbound did for me. But now that I’ve played it, I feel like it’s filled a yearning I didn’t even realize I had.

Maybe that’s enough for me.

[tumblunni]

Also

I was thinking about a character concept for another idea but i cant even really say which idea without spoiling the plot twist??

But the idea was that someone in some particular game is meant to be a destined legendary hero but it turns out theyre actually an artificial being made by the villain to mimic the legendary hero and help them track down members of the rebellion. Like basically a lure on a fishing rod. But somehow this android ended up developing free will and becoming a real hero!

And itd be really angsty and sad when youre going up to the last battlr or whatever and tje villain is like 'aha the broken prototype came back' and they can hijack your programming and disable you?? And you didnt even know you were a robot?? Like the abject horror of trying to pull away from this mind control and some villain grunt shoots you through the chest and there's just nothing there but circuits. And then you pass out and wake up in a junk heap full of other defective yous, and you have to escape this dungeon all alone and not even knowing if you have anything to live for anymore if you make your way out. You're fake, youre a monster, you were the bad guy all along.. How will they ever accept you? Are they already dead because you failed when they needed you most?

But then ultimately you'd have whichever charrie you chose as your love interest swoop in to save you and give a big motivational speech about how youre still YOU and nobody cares if youre not human because every moment we spent together was real. And we're gonna go home and everything might not be exactly the same but we can still find those peaceful days again!

And then like it could also be a good way to add postgame quests? Like even if you win against the villains itd still be like a 'the story continues' kind of thing cos you have to adjust to this new reality of being an android and all. A journey of self discovery and acceptance! And there could be problems like maybe with the villains defeated there's no way to repair you if you get broken? So your friends go questing to find secret villain labs and recover blueprints and stuff. And classic 'taking care of you when youre sick' romantic moment with your love interest, except in a weird new way? Like you're scared to show them the steampunk circuitry of your funky robot arm, even though you know it has to get fixed. Its like "they said they believe i'm a real person, but actually seeing the reality of it might make them realise i'm just a monster'. And then love interest is all gentle about comforting you through the operation of detatching and repairing the arm. And like cos youve been running around thinking you were human for two decades your parts are all rusted from lack of maintenance so its like HOLY SHIT my chronic joint pain is significantly more manageable now! Love interest put all of their dedication into gently fixing all the clockworks and even managed to mod in some extra horsepower! You try and hug em and almost crush their spine XD

And then i think robo-hero would actually have been programmed with fake ageing as part of their disguise, since their entire purpose was to infiltrate humans. But still they dont actually have a human life and death cycle. So maybe when their spouse is getting old they just decide to make the decision together that robo-partner will let their systems degrade along with them. Just refuse to get upgrades and maintenance and if you break you've asked to be buried alongside your lover, instead of getting fixed. You dont know if there's really any such thing as souls but if there is then maybe this is the closest you can get to going wherever they go. Or i dunno, maybe instead the human spouse decides to become a cyborg once they get old, and you just live for centuries together, continuing to be cute until the end of time. I dont really believe in that 'cybernetics make you lose your humanity' bullshit, i think that would be a happy ending. And if they ever did grow weary and want to rest, they could choose the time of their passing and face death together without needing to ever say goodbye.

BASICALLY ROBOT LOVE STORIES HAVE A LOT OF FEELS POTENTIAL