irisruby76

[stargazeraldroth]

Current craving: Ink as a self-aware yandere who becomes fascinated with us.

Platonic, romantic, I don't particularly care which one it is but I need it so desperately. I need it, and yet I can't bring myself to write it. Not because it makes me uncomfortable, but because I am experiencing detrimental writer's block as my mind is being overrun by Kieran from Scarlet/Violet, just the Forces of Nature from Pokémon in general (Tornadus my most beloved of the quartet), and Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire" playing on loop 24/7

Maybe this is some Y/N type stuff, but being cringe is dead and life is hell, so let's enjoy whatever we can get our hands on

[fuwabloom]

I think I'll stick with the black and white variants of the yansim uniform? So there will be six uniform sets (it's a prestigious school and in a romanticized school setting, so I'm handwaving realism in favor of entertainment) and three colors dictating the years.

White - 1st Year

Blue - 2nd Year

Red - 3rd Year

Student Council will have red/white uniforms regardless of year.

Each year has two sets of uniform - Summer and Winter. Some variations of the uniform are allowed as creativity is encouraged, not dismissed. Thinking outside the box is highly desirable, so things like accessories and hair colors/styles are permitted. It is in the current year of 202X that the artsy side is in full swing, overtaking the academic and sports achievements of prior years.

Because the arts are winning achievements left and right, their budget has grown immensely, and therefore, the funds have been allocated to encouraging/supporting artistic minds. This is why so many students have bright hair colors, contrasting prior years where they were muted and uniformed.

[uhohdad]

Hey there, it’s Dad. I like to write about you and König. This 18+ blog contains dark content, please read warnings carefully and take care. About ☆ - Top Post

𖤓 LONGFORM KÖNIG FICS 𖤓

The Girl Who Conquered The Mountain ☆

╰┈➛ Protective!König x Reader | 144k Words

╰┈➛ You and König have been chosen as unwilling participants in a twenty-four person fight to the death.

Meine Perle ☆

╰┈➛ Octo!König x Reader | 25k Words

╰┈➛ “Just don’t step over the tape, don’t talk to it, and try not to spend too much time in there. Oh, and don’t forget the bucket.”

His

╰┈➛ Stalker!König x Reader | 15.5k Words

╰┈➛ König has an unhealthy obsession with you.

Experimental

╰┈➛ König x Reader | 22k Words

╰┈➛ König helps you with a new technology you’ve been developing. You see something you’re not supposed to.

𖤓 KÖNIG DRABBLES 𖤓

LOSER KÖNIG

Loser!König and Your Panties ☆

Loser!König Finally Breaks Down ☆

Sharing a Bed with Loser!König ☆

Finding Your Nudes On Loser!König’s Computer ☆

Loser!König Tracks Your Cycle ☆

Beach Day with Loser!König ☆

Dress Shopping with Loser!König ☆

Loser!König Spikes Your Drink

Loser!König and Self Aware Dating Simulator!Reader

Roommate Loser!König ☆

Loser!König and Clingy!Reader

Loser!König Cucked by Ghost

Touch-Starved Loser!König ☆

Loser!König and Bimbo!Reader

Loser!König Comforting Heartbroken Reader

Stargazing with Loser!König

Hot Day with Loser!König

Stalkerish Loser!König

Stalker/Loser König Steals Your Things

DOM/ABUSIVE KÖNIG

Jealous Of Your Sex Toys ☆

Catching Him Getting Off

Stalker!König Leaves You Tokens ☆

König Is Insatiable ☆

Jealous!König Makes A Bet With You

Slasher!König

Dacryphilia With König

Gun Play with König

Knife Play with König

König Admiring Your Ass

König’s Voiceline Inspired Drabbles

“They are no match for me” ☆

“Let’s be honest, it’s better off in my hands” ☆

“Who else is with you?”

“I can make you talk”

“Not bad… I’ve seen better”

König’s Uniform Inspired Drabbles

König’s Gloves

König’s Belt

König’s Boots

König’s Teeth

SUB KÖNIG

Sub!König Visits Dominatrix!Reader for the First Time ☆

Loser!König Finally Breaks Down ☆

König Gets Hard at Gunpoint

Humiliating König with Cum-Eating

König & Pegging

König is as Submissive as a Knight to His Liege

GENTLE KÖNIG

Gentle/Protective!König and Spacey!Reader ☆

Gentle!König Falls in Love Without Realizing it

Gentle!König with Insecure Plus Size Reader

Gentle!König Makes You Feel Better After A Long Day

Surprising Gentle!König with Pregnancy

Stargazing with Gentle Loser!König

Gentle!König Helping Around the House

141 BOYS

John Price Knows About Your Crush ☆

John Price Gives You A Spanking

John Price & CringeFail Reader

Ghost Can’t Decide If You Should Finish

HUNGER GAMES AU KÖNIG

Based on the Protective!König Longform Fic: The Girl Who Conquered The Mountain

All TGWCM Bonus Content

Will update frequently, I have a goal of one drabble a day :)

Requests / asks always welcome ♡

LONGFORM KÖNIG MASTERLIST

[joy-laufeyson]

Blue Lock fic recommendations

(Reader inserts) Recommendations of my favorite headcanons/imagines/fics/scenarios (I don’t own any)

・・・・・・

@ 24hlevi's masterlist

@ adoringbllk's masterlist

@ earthtooz's masterlist

@ fallenssun's masterlist

@ garoujo's masterlist 1, masterlist 2

@ justauthoring's masterlist

@ mitsies' masterlist

@ naosaki's masterlist

@ sir-kuroo's masterlist (nsfw)

@ yuquinzel's masterlist

・・・・・・

fluff / cliche romance tropes (part 1) ⟶ w/Bachira, Nagi & Rin

fluff / cliche romance tropes (part 2) ⟶ w/Isagi, Reo & Chigiri

fluff / reuniting with them at the airport⟶ w/Nagi, Bachira, Rin, Sae, Reo & Kunigami

fluff / you open up a blanket for him ⟶ w/Nagi, Sae, Rin, Bachira & Reo

fluff / kissing ⟶ w/Nagi, Chigiri, Bachira, Rin, & Sae

fluff / how he kisses you ⟶ w/Isagi, Bachira, Kunigami, Chigiri & Nagi

sfw / hot things he does ⟶ w/Isagi, Bachira, Kunigami, Nagi, Chigiri, Rin & Barou

sfw / hot things he does ⟶ w/Bachira, Nagi, Rin, Reo & Isagi

sfw / flexible s/o ⟶ w/Bachira, Chigiri & Rin

fluff / all mine ⟶ w/Isagi, Bachira, Chigiri & Nagi

fluff / chapstick challenge ⟶ w/Bachira, Rin, Nagi, Kunigami & Chigiri

sfw / whipped for manager ⟶ w/Isagi, Sae, Rin & Reo

sfw / coming to his game for the first time ⟶ w/Bachira, Nagi & Rin

fluff / booping their nose ⟶ w/Bachira, Isagi & Reo

fluff / lovesick confessions ⟶ w/Bachira, Chigiri, Isagi, & Nagi

fluff / someone asks if you´re single during his q&a ⟶ w/Nagi, Bachira, Rin, Sae & Reo

fluff / beautiful ⟶ w/Isagi, Kunigamj, Reo & Eita

angst fluff / you receive hate (part 1) ⟶ w/Nagi, Rin & Sae

angst fluff / you receive hate (part 2) ⟶ w/Reo, Kaiser & Isagi

fluff / I know I love you ⟶ w/Nagi, Rin & Reo

fluff / pulling them closer by their collar ⟶ w/Rin, Sae, Nagi, Reo, Isagi & Chigiri

・・・・・・

Isagi Yoichi

sfw / dreamer

fluff / "god, I'm so f*cking in love with you"

sfw / crush

fluff / when was it (when we fell in love)

fluff / content

fluff / sweet dreams

fluff / I'm not ready to leave

nsfw / girls need love

nsfw / bedroom

fluff / mr. & mrs.

Bachira Meguru

fluff / under the snowy sunrise

angst fluff / I love you, sorry

sfw / that thought made Meguru feel like he might die of loneliness

Chigiri Hyoma

ansgt fluff / reviver

fluff / kissing his injured knee

fluff / silky hair

fluff / au happily ever after

fluff / overprotective

fluff / friends to lovers

fluff / braiding his hair

Kunigami Rensuke

fluff / footsie

angst fluff / needed comfort

sfw / visit of a hero

fluff / clingy

Nagi Seishiro

fluff/ "you´re beautiful, you know that"

nsfw / dating simulator

angst fluff/ between love & lies

fluff / laundry day

sfw / eye contact

angst fluff / just say it

fluff / panda bear

fluff / pouty

fluff / clingy

Mikage Reo

nsfw / love taste

angst fluff / your place

angst fluff / gold diggger

angst fluff / boyfriend

fluff / grocery shopping

angst fluff / a hug and some words

fluff / bank notification

fluff / lovin' you right

Itoshi Rin

sfw / 6ams with you

ansgt fluff / jealousy, jealousy

sfw / gloves

fluff / twenty sundays

angst fluff / 2 am

fluff / sugar and everything nice

angst fluff / nervous

fluff / ferris wheel kiss

fluff / dimples

fluff / the train ride home

fluff / dedicating a goal

angst fluff / no fear

fluff / idiotically in love

sfw / drunk confession

sfw / cupid hit me with precision

angst fluff / more

fluff nsfw / taking each other first time

fluff / only you

fluff / shut up and i love you

fluff / clingy

fluff / seeds

・・・・・・

Updated:10-January-2024

[theminecraftbee]

if you'll forgive the rare mention of shipping from me. okay. so my brain LOVES generating weird, slightly fucked-up aus. and so. okay. sometimes i think about the joke that jimmy is the oblivious protagonist to a harem anime or a dating game in most of his smps. which is obviously a fandom joke more than anything else but like, he DOES have a bunch of these ships. and then i ALSO think about the sometimes-valid, sometimes-invalid way people complain about shipping warping his and other people's characters. (for the record that's just how fandom works shipping or not shipping i take a neutral stance on this, it's just important for the au idea.)

so my brain came up with: the jimmy dating sim au. in which jimmy suddenly wakes up and his life is a dating sim. and at first he's... very very jimmy about it. he preens. he LOVES the fact the world suddenly seems to revolve around him. it's GREAT. he can see dialogue options and he still somehow sounds like an idiot when he talks to people but that's fine because he still chooses the BEST OPTIONS. he's doing GREAT. this is the BEST THING THAT'S EVER--

although. hm. it's... a little weird the world is revolving around him? grian and joel aren't being mean enough actually, which seems like a silly thing to complain about, but like, look, he likes it when people are mean. and tango is silly and sweet but he's--he's not normally that focused on jimmy. he's a project guy. and scott is--look, it's weird he's not flirting with anyone else, right? like, that's weird? and, and okay, he's... not sure how to name what's going on with fwhip but there's not enough animosity, and whatever martyn is doing is like, look, jimmy's used to being shot down more on this one, and--

and once jimmy starts seeing it he can't stop seeing it. the world's warped around him. he's the main character in a dating game. every time he picks an option that makes one of his friends (his friends!) like him more, it's like another little piece of their personality is chipped off of them. and as much as he loves being the center of attention, he misses being mocked. he misses people paying attention to other things. he misses the bits that are being sanded off. he doesn't want to be the one to break his friends. he misses the relationships they had, sharp edges and all, because goddammit, he likes that kind of relationship.

but he doesn't know how to stop it.

he doesn't know how long he can go down someone's route before the changes get irreversible.

and so jimmy sets out on a journey to figure out how to break the dating simulator he seems to have gotten stuck in and get his friends back to normal. before it's too late.

ANYWAY IF I HAD TIME AND/OR MORE EXPERIENCE WITH VISUAL NOVEL GAME ENGINES IMAGINE--

[coralinnii]

Congrats for reaching 2.7k followers !! Do you think you could do either Silver or Sebek (or both if it’s not too much >_<) for the Villain/ess AU? Again, congrats!!!🎉🍾🎈🎊

‧₊˚✧Being Reincarnated into a New World as the Bad Guy‧₊˚✧

↳ villain/ess au series

feat: Silver ❋ Sebek genre: enemies(?)-to-something more Silver ver, comrades-to-something more Sebek ver., slow burn romance,  note: no pronouns used, prejudice against humans, reader is a fae in Silver ver., reader is a human in Sebek vers., Sebek’s reader is just done with Lilia’s shenanigans, set in the same universe as Malleus' and Lilia's ver. but not necessarily simultaneously,

Villain/ess au masterlist 2.7k followers writing event

If you look past the whole…absurdity that is being reincarnated into a dating simulation of your previous world, you'd say you hit the jackpot here.

You suddenly found yourself as a minor antagonist who was supposed to be love obstacle to one of the popular targets of the game, the venerable Dragon Fae King Malleus Draconia. As such, you became a stereotypically beautiful but unbelievably vain fae character of high social standing, an antithesis to the lovable and modest main protagonist. 

The heroine can have the dragon king, you thought. You’ll just dab away your tears while you bathe in luxury.

If you could have one complaint…it would probably be your “original” personality. 

You and your family were infamous for their stance against mixing with humans. Coming from a long line of pure fae blood, your original character held hostility over “pathetic parasites leeching off the purity of the faes.” 

Oooff, what a piece of work you apparently were. 

It was this prejudice that your family demanded the engagement between you and Malleus, and the reason for the vicious treatment of the main heroine…which inevitably led to the loss of your golden spoon, and imprisonment of you and your family. 

Oh, screw that! Absolutely not! 

Thus began the start of your total image revamp. You were going to prove that you definitely won’t be an obstacle for the unity of human-fae harmony, or if the dragon king were to suddenly bring a human as his consort-to-be. 

But sadly it was easier said than done. 

“What is that person doing here?” 

The patrolling knights whispered to themselves as they narrowed their gaze towards your back. Their searing glares felt burning to your very being, but you smiled through it as you carried a large basket of goodies.

“I wish to do my part as a noble and help sponsor this orphanage, and I brought some sandwiches if the children would like some.” 

“Hah! Do you even realize what kind of orphanage this is?” One of the knights sneered at you. This was one of the few shelters that was willing to house human children that turned up in the forest near the kingdom’s borders, often abandoned and left to perish if not for the Vanrouge family who founded this orphanage. 

Unfortunately, the duke family is its only sponsor as prejudice still runs strong in many noble families, yours included. 

“I’m aware, and I want to assist with the upkeep of this orphanage.” You asserted your stance. “I understand that the Vanrouge family is very busy so I volunteer my assistance since my manor is close.” 

Many of the knights aren’t convinced. They stood in the way of the orphanage as though they’re guarding from someone dangerous. Some tried to whisper stealthily amongst each other but your fae ears could pick up their words.

“This is probably a cruel trick.” “Maybe the food is poisoned.” “How terrible.” 

“If you gentlemen would like, you are free to try some of the sandwiches.” You offered kindly, but your smile was strained and your fingers tight around the basket’s handles. 

You expected this, but the building frustration and humiliation is hard to suppress. You knew your family’s reputation precedes you and their doubts are valid, but to suspect that you are some sort of monster who could harm children for simply being human? You would never, how could they…

“Thank you for such kindness, your grace.”

Your bitter spiral broke at the sound of a clear voice, strong but warm at the same time. A hand reached out to pick out a small sandwich, which your gaze followed to meet a pair of the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen. 

To the shock of the other knights, this man unhesitantly took a large bite of the handmade sandwich, then cleanly finished it in a few more bites. His auroral eyes shone with such warmness as he thanked you once more. “It was delicious.”

“Silver, careful!” The knight called out to the mysterious man before you. “You shouldn’t trust anything from that snake-“ 

“Hold your tongue, sir.” Despite showing nothing but kindness before, the fair-haired knight was quick to sternly reprimand his comrade before he turned to you to bow his head. “I apologize for my comrade’s rude behavior. I will accept any punishment in his stead.” 

Flustered, you replied quickly. “Please think nothing of it! I know of my family’s… notoriety, so I understand the suspicions you and your knights have.” 

“I’d rather judge someone by their actions rather than their family.” He smiled, and you swore your heart nearly stopped for a moment. What an unfairly beautiful man, you thought. 

Like a practiced knight, the beautiful man offered you a hand. “Allow me to carry the basket for you. The children will be excited to see a new face.” 

Wordlessly, you gave the basket to him and proceeded to walk towards the orphanage, ignoring the stunned faces of the speechless men, not that you cared to acknowledge them anymore. Afterall, your attention has been stolen by this mysterious man next to you. 

You were surprised how such a handsome and kind man liked him to show up. The way the other knights were quick to obey him, he was probably of higher standing or reputation. From his visuals to his manners, you thought he was definitely target route material. So, what was he doing as a minor NPC? 

“What was his name? Silver? Was there a character like him in the main story?” You racked your brain for an answer. Surely a catch like him wouldn’t be left in the sidelines, unless…

As though one of Malleus’ lightning struck you, your body broke out in cold sweat as you finally recognized the suspiciously attractive knight beside you. 

Silver, one of Malleus’ most trusted knights and the heroine’s closest friend in Malleus’ route. Believed to hold unrequited love for the protagonist, he swore to protect her, and eventually helped to capture and prosecute the love rival’s family for their wrongdoings. 

In short, this good-looking man will be responsible for sending you to jail for bullying his one-sided love.  

Oh, fu-

Was this punishment for making fun of your friend for liking this dumb dating sim game? If it was, this is a bit much, isn’t it? The muscles in your body screamed for mercy as day after day, you were put through hellish training, stared down by an unmoving commander.

You vaguely remembered the plot of the story, but couldn’t figure out who you were, or if you were of any significance to the plot. For all you know, you were some human soldier for the fae kingdom, currently going through hell.

As a commoner human amongst fae, you were treated with jeers and insults from your so-called comrades. Some of your peers were more affable but there were some poorly made characters clearly just there to make your life miserable.

“Is this my villain arc? Is that it?” But you were barely above it all, since the soldier’s pay was decent, and all the school-ground taunts were easy to ignore. Honestly, there was only one person that really grinds your gears. 

“You are insulting Lord Malleus’ great name if this is all you can do!” 

That loud voice, now unmistakable to you, belonged to the obnoxious soldier Sebek Zigvolt who seems to live off proving his worth to the king of this kingdom. 

“The goal was to do 100 push-ups, and that’s what I did.” 

“Hah, that is mere child-play. I can go on for a hundred more!” If you have to give him something, he puts his money where his mouth is as the green-haired man then proceeded to continue on with the workout. 

Be it a cruel joke or karma from your past life, you became partners with this loudmouth half-fae. The commander, Duke Vanrouge reasoned that it was to learn comradery and to balance each other’s flaws, but you suspect that there was more to it. But screw it, you don’t have the energy to pursue the real reason. 

And so, you were stuck in this partnership/rivalry with Malleus’ most loyal soldier. 

“We’re wasting time, weak human!” 

You should get a hearing check after this, as you were unfavorably close to your partner, who despite telling him to stay quiet, continues to scream right into your ear. 

“The course just started, you lousy crocodile.” You sighed as you knew Sebek wasn’t happy when you forced him to hide in the large grass. 

As a surprise, your division was given a training course with color-coordinated powder pellets and painted rubber blades as ammo. The goal was to find and strike as many painted targets in the forest, with you and the other soldiers included as targets. 

In addition to the stationary targets, it meant that you had to look out for other soldiers to target you for points. Fair enough, but while the instructions were straightforward, the one who devised this course was the Duke Vanrouge. 

“I don’t trust a single thing that old fart comes up with.” You mumbled as you surveyed the scene. You expected traps, decoys, even surprise bears to jump up out of the blue, because anything is possible with the eccentric former general. 

Then, a rustle from afar. 

Before you could react, Sebek was quicker as he wrapped his arm from behind you, pushing you down with him as a pellet burst with colored powder above you. You heard cursing and more rustling from a close distance. 

“Watch your surroundings, human!” Your green-haired yelled at you, as he effortlessly pulled you to your feet. The way he scanned your person, you almost made the mistake to think he was worried about you and you almost felt warm over that non-existent concern. 

Both of you perked up to the sound of footsteps and turned to another pair of soldiers in front of you. To your luck, there were some of the soldiers that often taunted you. 

“Hah, it’s the halfling and the leech.” The soldier sneered and started to run towards the two of you, using the course as an excuse for violence. 

“Hmph, you’re no match for me.” But before Sebek could charge, you pulled him back with all your strength. It causes the tall soldier to stumble back and lean onto you, your hands on his chest and waist. You didn’t take notice, but Sebek felt a startlingly warm sensation with his heightened senses feeling your closeness to his sturdy figure, his skin burning where your hands lay flat on him.

“W-What are you doing, human! How dare you-“ 

Yells interrupted Sebek’s embarrassed tirade as the two foolish soldiers disappeared, with a large hole in front of you and Sebek. Cautiously, you stepped towards the manmade hole to see your “comrades,” bruised but alive for the most part. 

“Pit traps… should have known that the commander would pull some looney tune crap.” Pulling out a few pellets, you threw it straight at the trapped men and dusted them with your color. “Man, that’s cathartic.” 

You turned to your partner, who was staring at the pit which he nearly ran straight into. You were worried that the prideful half-fae was actually scared before he scared you instead with revigored energy. 

“Of course, the great Lilia would challenge us to the fullest. I will not fail his faith in us!” He then sharply looked to you with a satisfied smirk. “Impressive, human. I commend your sharp eye, but I will not fall for such traps from now on!” 

“Pfft, what was I thinking he’d be scared?” You thought, chuckling to yourself. It just wasn’t Sebek to back out of a challenge regardless of how insane or stupid it was. This training course was no better than a paintball game, but the straightforward Sebek would give his all no matter what. 

“It’s almost cute.” Keeping that last tidbit to yourself, you started walking towards your partner. “Well, let’s keep going. Like you said, we’re wasting time.” 

[mikiib]

The aftermath of freakshow Caine ‘marrying’ Pomni out of possession of her- his ‘doll’. She uses it as a chance to try to escape, but after what feels like years… she’s loosing her strength.

The song: Poison (Hazbin Hotel)

The only time she even sees other players is either Ables ‘pet’ Bird- a twisted experiment from a newer player to ‘humiliate’ his brother, OR when she’s preparing for a show- most often dominating in the games after LOTS of practice from the RUTHLESS Caine.

Caines wife can’t be seen as weak- after all she represents him and the circus.

So she uses dancing to fight, using her speed, flexibility and quick thinking to win against the other players- but against Jax? It’s always a mixed bag of wins…

If you’re curious about stuff that likely WON’T be in the music video that I thought about, I’m sure I will be making a whole post that will connect to each little topic! But here’s a few off the top of my head:

Ragatha is the only one she goes easy on. If she can spare a win for her, she does.

Pomni still maintains some pleasures for herself- she’s learned to ‘code’ a bit. Of course only with permission from Caine- she enjoys making small little trinkets and morphs (usually giving them or leaving them for the other players around their tents)

Because of her basic understanding of coding she is considered maintenance for the players for tiny fixes like torn clothes, small injuries and in general upkeep. A flower Kinger was observing got stepped on from Gangles AI twin on purpose? She can fix that. But you loose an eye or tongue or something that was meant to be a punishment from Caine or Able? You’re on your own.

She has learned to ‘like’ most of the other players outside of Jax. He’s relentless in his cruelty, and only got worse after Kaufmo abstracted.

Every win she makes she’s given a reward for- whether she wants it or not… and if she looses? A sleepless night of punishment. In Pomnis opinion, some rewards can be just as terrible as punishments.

Rewards:

- bath + pampering

- alcohol

- simulated sun room with a garden

- interacting with the other players for a celebration

- a new outfit (sometimes with bonus abilities)

- lavish dinner dates

- ‘love’ bites

Punishments

- training

- physical and mental abuse

- being paired against an abstracted human

- locked in the mansion for days on end with no stimulation

- going up against Jax, Zooble, or Gangle.

- being displayed as a ‘bad’ doll to the other circus members

And other things for literally everything, buuuuut imma keep them to myself for now :)

@hootbon is the original creator of the Freakshow AU!

@sm-baby is the person I originally found the AU through and BOTH inspired me to try my hand at this animatic. (And maybe a few more to come!)

[hanafubukki]

I'm back with another Lilia thought! This one isn't mafia au though, so you can wait with reading it so it won't spoil the immersion lol ( I'm so glad you liked it btw 😭)

This one is about you being Lilia's fae s/o. When he went to NRC with the boys he gave you a cell phone to stay in touch with him with. You use it to play games together and communicate (I think it'd be mostly texting as to simulate writing letters to your loved one who's away), but something he'll never tell anybody about are the more private messages you share. Because he's an old man, sensing lustful messages with Lilia is like writing prose. Taking turns to write and seeing the messages show up in real time...there's just something about this old man and language when it comes to intimate times. He'll save the conversations to re-read whenever he's needy. There's not much video/photo sharing (again, to fit with the whole writing letters thing), but it'd be fun I think if you discover the Twisted Wonderland version of Only Fans and jokingly tell Lilia that you wanna make an account and have him as your only subscriber. He actually loves the idea, of you being needy and the way he finds out is a ping notification that you've uploaded a new photo of yourself- for his eyes only. You'd want the account to be private since it's for personal use but I can see Lilia maybe being adventurous and being into teasing other men knowing they'll never have you. They can see a few clothed pictures but the number of people who can see it all never goes above 1.

-Fake Date Sebek Anon

[Talking about this fic]

Hello Fake Date Sebek Anonie 🌺🌷💞

That Lilia Mafia ask really just hit me suddenly and released all the core memories I had and I couldn’t not make it into a flower shop combination. Thank you Anonie, that AU lives in my brain rent free 💞💞

God can you imagine?? The text messages switches between Victorian flirting to modern flirting and sometimes the combination. Texting each other how much you missed the other so.

Telling him, how you miss his warmth and his touch. How your own imagination and hands can do so much. Even magical toys do not help. Gradually it shifts to this account you see humans use.

How innovative and advanced. Of course you bring it up to Lilia and he’s down. As long as it’s only him that can see it. He loves knowing no one can have you. You’re his.

He loves to show off your more casual pictures but he’s full of pride. No one else can see you, feel you, or touch you. No one else would know your taste.

Hm? What’s this? It’s as if you heard him. You sent him a new picture. He’s happy that fae’s have an abundance of magic. Silver, Sebek, and Malleus can look after each other for a few hours.

He’s going to teleport to you right now. The urge to feel and taste you too great. His hands itches to shred the clothes you have on and Lilia is not one to deny himself of his favorite treat. 💞🌺

[vvickydisc]

I would love to hear about your three AUs! (Entangled, Springlock and Ribbons Attached)

All of them have gorgeous designs!!!

tysm!!! honestly i wish i did a little more with the springlock designs but didnt know what more i could do xd let me try my best explaining these aus haha, feel free to ask for elaboration!

Entangled AU

Is about Jax being stuck in a dating simulator with the hostess being, Ringleader Gangle!

cos it rhymes with gangle :)

In this AU, Gangle is a AI whos aware shes not real. So she tries to not be too attached to whoever plays, its hard since shes programmed to love em' throughout them playing the game correctly, because if they win they wont play again

She used to miss/yearn for the player(s) return but fucked around with coding to get rid of this feeling by deleting some saved data, ensuring Gangle won't even remember them if they 'won' and left the game

How to win is basically romancing Gangle and confessing your love to her, allowing you to leave the game. Which is why Jax is stuck here because he can't/won't "win the game" (Theres no reason for this, hes just being a stubborn asshole)

Despite Jax not playing the 'dating' part of the simulator or earning her affection in the correct way, Gangle falls in love with Jax oddly enough. The reasons as to why will be explored in the future!

couple of notes!

* Within this AU it's just them! The others won't be in this AU xd but im willing to explore some designs of how they mightve looked like

* Shoutout to the person who thought this was a Balan Wonderworld AU because Gangle was totally based off Balan with Jax being based off NiGHTS

Ribbons Attached AU

Springlock AU

like 'strings attached' and jax being the puppeter of gangle *wave off hand* you get it

If you like the asshole aspect of Jax and want him to be worse while liking Ribbun this may be the AU for you!

In this AU! Jax is actually a dead person stuck haunting this game as the Ringleader, no i won't explained how he died and how hes in the game just listen to cabinet man by lemon demon

It's quite a simple AU though, Jax makes torturous adventures based off the others fear. Gangle's prevalent fear in this AU is claustrophobia.

His main goal is to make the cast abstract for a laugh and possibly to not feel lonely? Since if they did abstract, its not like they can leave.

It's why his favorite is Gangle! He'd hate for her to leave somehow.

couple of notes!

* All the cast has some sort of clown names, Gangle being Jingle because of her bells.

* I like to think each "Ringleader!Character" has their gimmick. With Caine having "all seeing eyes" I like to imagine Jax has many expendable and extendable hands/arms? not like a spider!! think of floating gloves/hands

cos... gangle has springs and.. jax is a dead guy whos trapped as a rabbit.... you can only understand if you know about fnaf

In this AU, it's also kinda simple. I've been bouncing between the idea if I should keep Gangle as a AI and Jax as a human or just make them both human or both AI but its basically: Jax is Caine and Gangle is Bubble

Its a bit blaaand at the moment but hopefully I can come up with some ideas for this one..

The cast includes: Pomni, Kafumo, Queenie, Ragatha, Zooble and Kinger :) thanks for reading!! and sorry for answering this late :c

[pinovapie]

DRDT Headcanons!! (1/idk)

Decided to post some headcanons for various characters!! (there might be some mild projection on my favourites lol) idk if i'll do more for other characters?? Also, sorry for less Teruko HCs,,, i meant to do 5 for each but uh,,, you can tell who my favourites are i guess??

Also, disclaimer, these are headcanons!! I wrote these before Chap 2 Part 2, they may be disproven and become out of date in the future!!

Under a read more to not clog up space,, also TW: (unintentional) Self harm

Ace:

He grew up on a farm.

His parents had a ton of kids in the hopes that at least one would be successful. Whoever got the best test results/ won an award/ has the highest salary (based on age, idk how old Ace's siblings are) was the favourite and showered with attention.

This meant Ace and his siblings grew up willing to literally and metaphorically shove eachother face first in the mud to be the favourite child. There was a lot of sabotage, insults and threats constantly.

He struggles to form meaningful friendships due to trust issues.

He'll hold a grudge for years. He probably still despises and talks shit about some kid who stole his chair when they were 6 or something.

He used to love animals until one day he woke up and the world was more terrifying than he remembered. The comforting bark of a dog is now a horrifying sound that sends him spiraling with panic.

He's overly sensitive to light and sound.

He chews his lip, bites his nails and scratches his arms/wrists when bored or uncomfortable. Maybe that's why he always wears gloves, to do less damage?

Nico:

Sometimes when it's too much they'll go non verbal. They're fluent in sign language as a result.

They sometimes judge the things people name their pets. They'd never say it out loud but they think certain pets have really stupid names.

They struggle with tone, often coming across as sarcastic and fed up when they're being genuine.

If they get postively overwhelmed (like flustered due to compliments etc.) they make cat noises instead of speaking (like meows, chirps, etc.). They find in really embarrassing.

If they are in a downward spiral, they'll grip something (their cloak, hair, a soft toy, etc.) and just hold on to try and ground themselves.

Nico took a couple skirts from the dress-up room to wear in private.

In a non killing game au, they'd join Rose in painting more frequently. They end up preferring watercolours though.

They may have a journal where they might talk shit about certain individuals in the class.

Teruko:

Despite her trust issues and bad luck with relationships, she's a romantic at heart. It may take a while for her to admit her feelings but she'd like someone to give her flowers and take her to dinner just as much as anyone else.

She likes horror films because she can experience the thrill without being in danger. I think she'd also like those rollar coaster simulators since an actual rollar coaster would probably be too dangerous with her luck.

She loves sliced cheese because she can avoid having to cut cheese with a knife. Similarly, she'll spread spreads with a spoon because it's less risking than with a knife.

Due to constantly moving, she owned a couple of those plastic picnic sets (the plate, bowl, cup sets) and had to wash them frequently. As a result she's secretly super grateful to Hu and Eden for cleaning after meals because it's one less thing to worry about.

She had to remind Charles to seperate his dark and light washing a couple times, even after the initial explanation of washing machines.

Levi:

He's on the Asexual spectrum. Like he'd never consider it himself but if his partner wanted to, he'd be comfortable with it because he likes making his partner happy.

He's usually trying to keep the peace but he will argue with friends or customers if they try to pick/buy a god awful outfit.

He worked at a boutique before becoming a personal stylist. He kept giving customers unwanted fashion advice that made their outfits the talk of the town. Word spread and after a little while people started showing up for the advice.

Does not understand humour or sarcasm at all.

He's fond of baby animals but would never hold one out of fear of hurting it.

In a non killing game au, he'd probably find out peoples fashion preferences so he can get them suitable clothes as presents.

He's probably the only cast member to politely listen to Veronika's rambles without wanting to throw up. He'd probably get roped into movie nights after Arturo and Ace triple locked their doors to avoid such movie nights.

Various people have caught him raiding sweet foods (sometimes even just eating sugar straight out the bag) at like 3am on multiple occasions.

[written-in-flowers]

Lovesick: Chan x Male!Reader Pt. 1

Pairing: Bang Chan x Male!Reader | Side pairings: Minho x Chan, Minho x Male!Reader (unrequited)

Word Count: 11k

Genre: Horror, Angst, Smut | AU: Yandere!au, Videogame!AU, Highschool!AU

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Summary: After being sucked into the dating simulator "Lovesick", Park YN has to defeat five rivals to reach his goal. However, he soon learns his rivals aren't the only thing he must contend with for Chan's love.

Tags: Graphic depictions of violence, Main Character Death, dark fic, dead dove: do not eat, yandere behaviors, yandere!reader, stalking, murder/violence, blood and violence, toxic relationships, mentions of murder, unrequited love, mentions of domestic violence, school massacre/genocide, implied teacher/student relationship, homophobic parents, mentions of bullying/trauma, obsession, possessiveness, manipulation, high school setting, anal sex, anal fingering, edging, eventual smut, pool sex, locker room sex, blowjobs, choking.

A/N: PLEASE READ TAGS BEFORE READING! I'm not responsible for any feelings you end up having because you ignored this warning and the ones above.

Han Jisung: Monday >

****

Tutorial Level: 

“Play as Kim Sunghoon, a sophomore at Whimoon High School. He currently has a crush on popular boy, Bahng Chan, and he’s not the only one. Sunghoon is in love, and he will do anything to be with the boy of his dreams. Beat all five rivals to win his beloved’s affections, and maybe you’ll survive.” 

‘Lovesick: Dating Simulator’, was written in bubble letters on the front cover. You’d found it at the bottom of the bargain bin by chance. After spending weeks in the office writing out code and testing out Nightmare Carnival 2, you thought you deserved a bit of a break. Your collection at home felt a bit stale, so you’d gone to the local game shop to look for something new. The bargain bin usually carried copies of short, simple independently made games. You liked giving the smaller companies a try, especially since you worked at the mega developer, Vision Entertainment. It reminded you of your own humble beginnings playing games people put their heart and soul into. You dug through the top to the very bottom where you pulled out a thin case. Against the pink backdrop with white hearts stood the typical anime school boy. Black bangs over his wide blue eyes, he wore a cheerful, playful smile from underneath the game’s title. 

Reading the summary a second time, you realized it sounded quite odd. ‘Maybe you’ll survive’? What did that mean? It certainly sounded strange, but perhaps the developer wanted it that way. It looked interesting; certainly had potential to be more entertaining than regular dating simulators and the LGBT factor intrigued you as well. When you tilted the cover slightly, the backdrop changed from pink to red with bleeding black hearts. Dark blood splattered the boy’s uniform and the knife he held behind his back. Yes, this game felt right up your alley. You typically finished games like this in a day or two, so you picked up a few more games from the bin before making your way to the counter. 

An apartment located in the center of Seoul, wide windows gave a view of the crowded streets below. Honking cars and busy city sounds came up to your windows, and you drowned the sounds with your stereo. The upbeat, four-chord intro to your favorite band’s newest single flowed through the apartment as you settled in for the night. After a long day in the office, you looked forward to a night of mind-numbing gaming. Putting a microwave dinner to cook, you scrolled through your phone to see a voicemail notification. You sighed deeply, already knowing who’d called. 

‘Eomma,’ labeled the two-minute long voicemail she’d left. You felt compelled to give it a listen while you waited. 

“YNie, I know you’re a busy boy these days with your video games and all that, but you can at least give your mother a call once in a while, you know. I did raise you after all,” she sounded irritated, “Remember when I told you your cousin Kyungmi got knocked up by that boy who works at her mother’s cafe? Well, apparently she’s keeping it and having a baby shower this weekend. Your aunt and I would like it if you came. You can bring that little friend of yours, what’s his name? Kibum? Kimoon? Well, whatever his name is, it’s this Saturday at one o’clock. I know this adorable baby-shop around the street from me you can get a gift from. Just letting you know. Talk to you soon, darling. Lots of love.” 

‘Little friend’. Your mother could never stomach your sexuality. Out of both your parents, she certainly took it better than your father, but she still avoids talking about it. You scoffed at hearing her get your ex-boyfriend’s name wrong for the millionth time. Not that it mattered. You and Dobin broke up months ago. It was over and done with, and you moved on from him. 

Getting your meal out of the microwave, you went over to the couch and ate dinner quietly, watching reruns of a sci-fi show you loved. You haven't talked to your parents much since moving to Seoul five years ago. You found it hard to rebuild bridges when the other half failed to meet in the middle. Your father disowned you almost immediately, often pretending he has no son whenever friends asked about you. Your mother took it well, though she preferred you kept it “behind the closet door” in front of family friends. She acted as if you’d arrive at family events decked out in drag and singing show tunes while waving a gay pride flag. 

Hm, perhaps you should. It’d be worth it to see the horror on their faces.

You’d been settling in for a long gaming session when your phone rang. Looking at the screen, you groaned at your boss’s name. Even after office hours the woman had the nerve to pester you. Answering the call, you put it to your ear and spoke:

“Hello Irene-noonanim,” you said, trying your best not to snap.

“YN-yah," she said curtly, "You didn’t submit your testing results yesterday." She continued in her usual stern tone, “I told you I needed them to show to the directors at the meeting.”

You sighed, sticking your tongue in your cheek. She could have told you this tomorrow.  You mustered up all the kindness you could put into your voice and said, “Oh yeah, um, sorry about that, Noona. I must’ve forgotten to press submit when I was typing it out. It’s still on my computer in the office; I'll go back into the system and print it out.” 

This was a flat out lie. You hadn’t written down the test results because there wasn’t much of a need. Nightmare Carnival 2 still acted as glitchy as the day they began its framework. You recalled spending hours reworking all the coding and modeling for the game because the characters kept lagging. You wanted to remind her that you’d been the original creator and developer. Vision Entertainment wouldn’t have a good horror game if they hadn’t bought the rights and hired you to work alongside them. However, you refrained. The last thing you needed was working yourself up before you played a game. Still, you supposed you should’ve sent her something, even if half-assed. 

“I need you to do that ASAP,” she said, “It’s important we collect information from all the designers and testers before sending our updates. We’re on a deadline, you know.”

“Well, that’s what you get when you start promoting and teasing a new game before it’s even halfway done,” you spat back at her.

“Nightmare Carnival was a huge success, YN. A sequel needs to come out before it loses buzz.” She then added in a gentler voice, “You’re one of our best designers and testers. You know this game better than anyone on the team, and your work always comes out incredible.” 

Flattery. That was how Irene won over the people she'd annoyed or upset. Unlike your other male coworkers, you didn’t fall for her charms. You sensed the falseness behind the words right away. Irene used generic phrases like “you’re the best one on the team” and “you do such good work��. You hated it. You knew in the end she didn’t care about video gaming: she was a corporate lapdog sent to make sure they met deadlines. You wanted to strangle her most days. 

“Thanks, Noonanim,” you replied, pulling back your annoyance into a pleased tone, “That means a lot coming from you. I’ll send you the report, and you can send it to the guys upstairs.” 

Irene sounded pleased by your response and you hung up. You had no intention of doing anything else today. If she calls again, you’ll come up with an excuse to satiate her. Maybe bring up a family emergency or something. You didn’t want to deal with her. Sitting in front of your computer, you leaned into your seat with your after-dinner chips and a canned drink beside you. You knew you should keep working, since the game’s coding was something to be desired, but you could do it later. You needed a break. 

You installed ‘Lovesick’ and in a few minutes, you were met with the bright pink and white menu screen. A photo of the basic white and beige high school building, with the main character standing in front of it came on the screen. Your excitement elevated as you fixed the gameplay keyboard to your liking. You looked forward to seeing the game in action. The internet being full of spoilers, you kept yourself from doing any research beforehand. When you finished setting up, you clicked ‘New Game’ and the intro cutscene started. 

“All my life I’ve felt incomplete,” a young male’s voice said over a black screen, “I could never feel anything. No joy. No warmth. No light. My heart was a black, swirling abyss of nothingness.” 

The main character, Sunghoon, came onto screen, yet he looked different from the cover. A portly boy with thick rimmed glasses, acne scars on his cheeks, and stringy blonde hair parted in the middle walked through a long hallway. You couldn’t help feeling for him. You’d once been fat and pimpled, which made you a regular target for bullies. However, after a university ‘glow-up’, you lost the baby fat and your skin cleared up. But, you’re sure developers did this so his social avoidance and solitude made sense. Sunghoon had the typical 3D anime game style with sharp lines and big eyes that filled up the glasses. The graphics looked pretty clear for an indie game, so you weren’t too bothered. You’d seen worse. You watched the screen and felt the words resonate inside you. You’d been the same way once. You’d been the withdrawn boy who had few friends, but many bullies. You watched the character continue on through the empty hall, recalling your own school days.

 “I spent my days suffering in the darkness. Every night, I dreamed that one day my true love would come and take me away from this sadness. I dreamed they’d make me a whole person, filling the emptiness inside me.” 

The camera showed Sunghoon standing in circles with other characters, smiling and laughing with them. Except, you noticed his smile didn’t reach his empty eyes. You wondered if you looked like that with your friends. You always found yourself pushing to feel for others. It didn’t come naturally to you like it did to other people. The endless cycle of adult life and failed relationships turned you into a hollow shell incapable of strong emotions anymore. Your laughs sounded weak at times. You blanked in the face of a crying friend in need of consoling. You found yourself not truly caring.

“I thought I’d be forced to wander this earth alone forever, aimless and friendless.” The black faded into white with pink flower petals floating across the screen, “Then I met…Him.” 

It then showed the school’s courtyard where a large fountain stood in the garden area. On the edge of the fountain sat another boy in the green and white uniform, quietly reading to himself with a book bag at his feet. The bright pink glow around him made him stand out in the sea of gray blurs; his brown hair hung to his brow, and downturned eyes focused on the book in his lap. From the soft smile, you saw dimples poking slightly into the boy’s cheeks. He reminded you of every other hot anime boy you’d seen.

“Bahng Chan…”  Sunghoon said in a dreamy sigh. “He is my whole world. Ever since I saw him, a fire stayed blazing inside me. He has brought color and sunlight into my bleak existence. He fills my heart and completes me! I only feel human when I am looking at him. I love him.”

Although, you found it a bit odd that Chan’s looks appeared better enhanced than other characters. His features appeared rounder and detailed, somehow setting him apart from the introduction’s cutscene characters. You yawned as the cinematic continued. You must be more tired than you’d realized, but you hadn’t started playing yet. You decided you’d go to bed after getting a feel for the game.

“I knew I needed him in my life. I needed him like a fish needs water…but someone else wants my beloved.” The video shifted to show Sunghoon watching Chan talking to another boy. The romantic melody shifted slowly into deep, foreboding notes. “He wants him, but not in the way that I want him.” Sunghoon’s high voice became low and firm, a certain growl behind it. “He’ll never appreciate him like I do; he will never love him the way I do. He doesn’t deserve him. Chan belongs to me, and only me. He will be mine.” 

Your eyes felt suddenly heavy. Shaking your head and blinking a few times, the grogginess only grew stronger. The long office hours must finally be catching up to you. Your eyes stayed on the screen that played the melodic music, pink petals gently floating across it as it went onwards. It was a mesmerizing, hypnotizing sight. You wondered how long it took the developers to make the cut scenes. They were pretty good. With the right backing, they can be better. You rested in your chair and took a small sip of soda. Maybe the caffeine will keep you up long enough.

“I cannot let him have Chan. I need to stop him by any means necessary…”

Your eyes started fluttering closed. You slunk back into your computer chair, your head on the head rest…

“Even if it means hurting him…”

The groggy feeling started turning into sleepiness…The pink and white slowly transitioned into black again or maybe that was your eyes finally closing… 

“Even if it means killing him.” 

****

When you woke up, it took you a few minutes to realize you weren’t in your bedroom. You weren’t even in your apartment anymore. You blinked your eyes to better take in the scene: the dark blue walls changed to a light cream color with video game and superhero posters plastered across them. You sat in a full bed with white and beige sheets rather than your larger, dark-colored one. Not a single recognizable thing in the room remained. Somehow, you’d gotten from your computer desk back home to a stranger’s bedroom. You sat up from the bed and saw you weren’t wearing your own clothes either. Rather than wearing your long black shirt and pajama bottoms, you wore a plain white shirt and blue boxer shorts.

Had you been drugged? You thought back to the soda you’d drunk, but that’s foolish. You tried pinching your thigh in hopes you’d suddenly wake up, but when you opened your eyes, you hadn’t left the bedroom. This could not be happening. A streak of panic went through you as you kept looking around. How did you get here? Where was ‘here’? You saw a door on the other side of the room, and walked over to it. Yet, when you tried the door knob, it didn’t budge. It did not even jiggle. You shook the knob and it did not move at all. Someone locked him in here. You resorted to slamming your hands on the door.

“Hello?! Hello, is anyone out there?! Can you hear me?! I’m locked in!” 

No answer. Not a single sound. You screamed in frustration, hitting the door over and over until your hands burned. This must be a dream, a hallucination. You kept knocking and pounding the door before finally giving up. Panic hit you square in the chest, tightening into a ball right in the center. You took steady breaths, running your fingers over the smooth wood to ground yourself again. The door felt so real. You felt the polish wood sliding against your fingertips as if it were your own. How could this be happening?

You searched for a computer or phone to call for help next. There must be a way out of the room, like an escape room. Yet, it appeared your kidnappers thought ahead. They’d left only a television, bookshelf, dresser and a desk. You pressed the TV button in hopes of some form of life, but nothing happened. Out of frustration, you abused the button until you nicked your fingernail on the edge. Sucking on it for relief, you found nothing amongst the manga collection in the shelves, the desk or dresser drawers. Why have these things here if they are useless? You immediately imagined some psychotic killer about to live out his depraved fantasies with you. Yes, if this is not a dream, then it’s a nightmare. You rested against the blacked out television, trying your best to stay in reality. You huffed a laugh at this. Reality? Sure.

“What the…”

A sudden two-tone ring startled you. You searched for the source before it went off again. On the bedside table sat a pink cell phone. You swore it had not been there a few minutes ago. You walked over, but you did not pick it up. ‘Monday, 6:00am’ read across the game’s typical background in a thin font. A notification popped up underneath. Perhaps they’ll tell you what the hell was going on. You slide the screen up to read the message. At the top, you read the name ‘Bott’ with an avatar of an anime school girl and the message they sent.

“Stop freaking out and get ready for school! Class starts at 7am!” the message read. 

“School? Class?” you panted, leaning against the bookshelf. “What the…”

“I’ll explain when you get there!” Another message popped up as if they’d read your mind. “Get moving!” 

You put the phone down. No, this is all a dream. You’ll wake up in your apartment any moment now and things will be fine. Squeezing your eyes shut, you took slow, steady breaths as you felt the edge of the shelf behind you. You took in the smoothness of the wood again. Real wood. It can’t be, though. This is a dream. When you opened your eyes, the room was still there. Wake up. Wake up. WAKE. UP. 

But, you didn’t. 

Opening the closet door as prompted, you found only two outfits. One was a school uniform, dark green with a white long sleeved shirt, khaki slacks and a green tie. A private school uniform, expensive and tailored to your body. The other was a simple black hoodie with jeans and sneakers, which you guess was the “casual” outfit. All you had to do was touch the uniform and with a soft click, you changed from pajamas to the sleek uniform. 

“How the hell?” You turned to the mirror and saw yourself in the uniform.

You jumped. The person in the mirror did not look like you at all. Back home, you kept your hair clean and neat. Here, you sported a bowl cut with a middle part, the greasy bangs hanging over your thick glasses. The body you worked hard to maintain turned pudgy and round in places and red blotches of acne scattered across your cheeks, nose, and forehead. The tightness in your chest swelled up to your throat, and you gulped it back down. You tried taking deep breaths through it, making yourself focus on the things you can feel and smell.

‘Hurry up! There’s not much time and a lot of stuff to do!’ Bott’s message came through.

Going along with it seemed to be the only solution. After a few more deep breaths, you shoved some books into the backpack and slung it over your shoulder. The phone buzzed on the table once again, and you snatched it up. In most modern games, the cellphone was a handy tool for getting information. If this is his dream, it’ll work the same.

“Welcome to Lovesick!” You read in the chat, “I’m Bott, and I’ll be your guide through your time at Whimoon High School.”

“What’s going on?” you asked.

“Hush up and listen!” Bott wrote back as if they'd heard him. Disembodied voices were common in dreams. That was all. “Head on over to the school so we can catch up on what’s going on.”

“What’s going on is I'm in a dream and none of this is real.”

“If it’s only a weird ass dream, then you have nothing to worry about. Open the door and go to school. We have lots to do before the day is over.”

You thought as you turned the door knock, that all dreams end eventually. You could be minutes from waking up and not knowing it. The door finally opened this time, and found a swirling pink portal instead of a hallway. You hesitated in front of it, and decided for certain you’re in a dream.

Portals only exist in dreams.

*****

Whimoon High School was a wide campus standing four stories tall with lush greenery all around. You stared up at it from the front gate, taking in the wide windows looking back at you. It reminded you of every basic high school design with its cream colored walls and white borders. As you made your way up the stone pathway to the doors, more students in white and green uniforms spawned at the gate. You watched them walk by in a large herd. Most of them had black or brown hair, but others wore it in different colors like aquamarine or cherry red. You also noted that the girls wore very short skirts and tight shirts under their blazers. 

Dream stuff. All dream stuff. 

“Oh good, you made it!” another Bott message came through in a loud pinging sound. “Now, you’re probably wondering how you get out of here.”

“Yeah, I wake up, obviously.”

“No, dumbass. This isn’t a dream. Get that out of your head.”

“It’s giving off dream vibes to me, so yeah, it is.” 

“Fine. In order to leave the ‘dream’ you need to beat the game. You did read the back of the cover when you got it, right?”

“Yeah. It said something about having to beat five rivals or whatever. Probably entered my subconscious or whatever.” 

“Unfortunately for you, your beloved is too popular for his own good,” they began. “A lot of people like him. He’s intelligent, strong, handsome, kind-hearted, and gentle. He’s on the swimming team, the debate and the math team. He’s president of the gardening club, and ranked top of the class last year. What’s not to like?” 

“So, your basic golden child. How charming. I thought my brain might make someone edgier for me.” 

“Your beloved is perfect the way he is.”

“Sure.” 

“Every week you’re going to have a new rival to face. You have to get to them before they confess their love to Chan on Friday under the school’s maple tree at five o’clock.”

“And let me guess: I have to kill them?” 

“Not always. You can’t kill too many of them because Chan will lose sanity and might end up killing himself.” 

They stated this as if it mattered. You supposed it did, but you couldn’t care less. Chan was only a video game character in a dream world, after all. You entered the school, where rows of green lockers lined the hallways. Many colored posters advertising different school events and clubs went along the main corridors; a trophy case showed off the school’s academic and athletic achievements. More people moved throughout the hallways, bypassing you as if you were invisible. How has nobody noticed you yet? You walked right up to a group of girls, waving your hand in front of their faces and receiving no reaction at all. It was strange. 

“You can do other things besides killing them,” Bott continued on the phone, “Even if it’s the most effective choice. You can sabotage their relationship with him; you can ruin their reputation or their popularity so people bully them and they leave the school. Anything, YN. You can’t let them have Chan. They don’t deserve him. He’s yours.” 

“Eh,” you shrugged, “He doesn’t sound like my type, to be honest.”

“Then make him your type,” the next message said. “Otherwise, you’re gonna die here. You don’t want that, do you?” 

“This is a dream, so what does it matter?” 

People die in their dreams and wake up to reality. That would be happening any moment now. You refused to believe you’d entered some strange dimension or parallel universe. The idea was absurd. You spotted a teacher, a young woman with blond hair, and pushed her roughly. She moved, but did not react at all. She continued talking to her colleague like nothing happened. You did it a second time, and still no reaction. You might as well be an annoying bug. Yes, things like this happen in dreams. 

‘Alright, go to the administrative office. You gotta enroll yourself into school.’

“Aren’t I already a student?”

“You have to meet Kitae. See?”

On the top of the phone screen, he received a text notification from “Whimoon Admin”. He opened it to read:

‘Welcome [Kim Sunghoon] to Whimoon High School! New students must enroll into their classes at the administrative office. You may find it marked on your student map provided in this text: www.whimoonhighschool.com/schoolmap. Thank you for choosing Whimoon High School as your choice for a higher education. We at Whi-’

You closed out the text, pressing the link to a school map. You’ll be waking up soon anyways, so you might as well have some fun. You followed the map towards an administrative office sitting right beside the faculty lounge. Inside, typical teacher NPCs sat behind desks, typing and doing office work. You approached the main secretary at the desk, and waited for her to notice you. She didn’t. So, he coughed. 

“Oh, hello there!” the round-faced woman smiled at him, her helmet of thick orange curls framing her face. “I am Mrs. Lee, the student director. I assume you’re Sunghoon?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She handed him a small black tablet. “Put your name there.”

You couldn’t read the tablet since the developer filled it with random scribbles to resemble writing. You shrugged, grabbed a stylus, and signed your name. When you gave it back, she approved and entered the information. 

“Kim Sunghoon, eleventh grade. You’ll be on the third floor with the other junior students. Kitae will show you around campus to get you acquainted with the school.” She beamed him another white smile, “Have a pleasant day, Sunghoon-ssi.”

“Um, thank you.”

You  turned around to see a boy standing right behind you. Startled, you didn’t fully look at him until you took a step back.  Scrawny with thin arms and legs, his dark red hair stuck out in odd places and he had freckles across his nose and cheeks. A few inches shorter, wearing the school’s green sweater vest and slacks, he held a clipboard to his flat chest. He gave you a toothy grin and held out his hand. 

“Hey, I’m Seo Kitae,” you shook hands, “I’m supposed to show you around.” 

You typically have trouble remembering people in dreams. You stared around for a moment, expecting someone to acknowledge them, but nobody did. Kitae kept his hand held straight out, still smiling expectantly. It’s a dream. People in dreams can be odd because of the mind’s distortion in the moment. While that ball of anxiousness rolled up from your chest, you nodded. 

“Alright…” you said cautiously, realizing how real Kitae felt. 

Kitae smiled, and led you out of the office back into the hallway. “I think you’ve guessed by now that this is the east wing. Here, on the first floor, you’ll find the Cooking, Drama and Debate clubs.” He gestured to the various open doors you passed. “As a student of Whimoon, the administration expects you to pick a club to join. It looks really good on university transcripts and you get to make friends,” he smiled at you. “Did you have any clubs at your old school?”

Were you expected to answer? You once read somewhere going along with a dream makes it safer and easier. You could be lucid dreaming or having sleep paralysis. If so, this is incredibly lucid. 

“We did,” you finally answered. 

Making another turn, more students exited the school’s cafeteria for a canteen area outside. They sat on green circular tables, drinking and eating as they socialized before class. A portable food truck in the corner had a line of students waiting to place orders, with vending machines that provided cheaper options and snacks. 

“There’s two places to eat at school,” Kitae said, “You can grab some food from the portable out here, or go inside the cafeteria.” 

Just then, a group of boys walked into the canteen area. You didn’t know why at first, but people seemed to move out of their way.  When you saw their jewelry, dyed hair, and the way they’d altered their uniforms, you guessed they were ‘the bad boys’. Other students avoided their gaze as they took up a table to themselves. One began dealing cards to the others, not caring who watched them. They reminded you of boys who’d picked on you in grade school; this must be your brain providing more to the dream. 

“Who’re they?” You asked as Kitae looked at his clipboard. 

“Oh, them? They call themselves The WM Jaguars.” 

You snickered, which then turned into a full laugh. “What? That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.” Surely, your brain could’ve come up with a better name.  

“Don’t say that to their faces.”

“Why? They’re just a bunch of lame dudes. What’re they going to do? Get in my face but never actually do anything?” You thought of the so-called gangs that hung around your old school. They’d been all talk, and these boys did not seem any different. 

“No, no, not the Jaguars. They mean business,” Kitae warned. “You see the skinny one with the long blond hair?” He nodded to the boy dealing the cards, then holding up his own, “That’s Lee Felix. His dad is the biggest, deadliest gang boss in town. He’s not one to be messed with.”

“Psh, sure, okay.”

“I mean it. Felix isn’t a nice guy.” Kitae then leaned towards you, “There’s a rumor he sells drugs and contraband items behind the school.”

Looking at Felix now, you realized those ‘rumors’ most likely aren’t speculation. If this truly was a game, Felix’s prominence amongst the students and his role means he is important to the story. Perhaps a rival, like Bott suggested. No, that’s ridiculous. This is a dream and there’s no proper structure in dreams. Felix shouldn’t matter. You’ll forget his face when you wake up. 

Kitae led you away from the cafeteria to the opposite side of the school to show more club rooms. One room in particular looked exceptionally busy. Several students typed fiercely on computer desks, while others talked around a lit up board of newspaper clippings. Judging by the several headline covers mounted on the walls, and general chaos of the room, you assumed it was-

"The Newspaper Club," Kitae told him. "Whimoon News is our school's newspaper, though I personally think they don't report on much 'news'. It's a gossip rag with fashion columns." 

"Aren't all school newsletters like that?" You smirked, seeing two girls muttering over a printed page in front of them. 

"Ha, they are," Kitae snorted. His face then turned from amusement to annoyance, "Oh god, here he comes."

"Who?"

Right as Kitae pulled him to leave, another boy walked up to them. Long faced with neatly combed brown hair, you noticed his earlobes stuck out a little bit and his eyes reminded you of a puppy. You immediately noticed the camera hanging from his neck, and the 'Press' badge tucked into his breast pocket. He looked at Kitae with professionalism and poise, holding a notepad and pencil in his hand. 

"Seo Kitae," the boy addressed him formally, "I've been searching for you all morning."

"Why's that, Seungmin-hyung?" Kitae asked with a grimace. 

"Because I'm trying to write a piece about Mrs. Lee being the new student director, and you're the person who can get me an interview."

"Why me? You can just go to her and ask yourself."

"I would, but the woman won't give me the time of day!" he whined. "She keeps saying she doesn't want her name written in our 'gossip rag'. I thought if anybody could convince her otherwise, it'd be her favorite little admin staffer," he gave a cheeky grin, "So, how about it? I only need like three or four minutes of her time."

"No, hyung," he said. "If Mrs. Lee doesn't want to be in the paper, then she doesn't want to be in the paper and nothing I say will change her mind."

"Oh, don't think that way. She's bound to change her mind if you-" he stopped mid sentence when he finally noticed you standing there. Round, tapered eyes swept over you for a moment before he said, "Who's this?"

“YN," you introduced yourself. "Park YN." It’s not as if details matter in a dream, do they?

“I thought your last name was ‘Kim’?” Kitae consulted his clipboard, “Yeah, it says it here on my sheet.”

He showed you the page. You coughed awkwardly and said, “Um, yeah. Sorry. I’m still getting used to using my mom’s maiden name instead of my dad’s.” 

“Ooh, a child of divorce,” Seungmin said with a smirk, already taking out a notepad. “A new student, I take it? Did you transfer here because of the divorce? Did you come with your mom or your dad?-”

"-Seungmin-hyung," Kitae interrupted him but Seungmin ignored him.  

Seungmin leaned against the doorframe and stuck out his hand. "Kim Seungmin, editor-in-chief and president of the Newspaper Club," you shook his hand. "It's always a pleasure to meet new students; their articles are always the most interesting." He then smirked, "How about a tiny one right now? If we get it out of the way, then it'll make tomorrow's edition." 

"Not interested," you said right away. 

"What? Why not? If the interview makes you nervous," he withdrew his notepad, “You can give me a comment or two. Such as, how you feel about transferring to a new school and what sort of things you hope to accomplish here. You know, fluffy stuff.” 

“No thanks,” the more you interact in a dream, you might not wake up. 

“Come on, YN-hyung,” said Kitae, steering you away. “We got more places to see before classes begin.” He led you outside the west entrance near the newspaper room, and waited until out of earshot to say, “Good move not giving Kim anything to write about. The guy’s a damn snake, in my opinion. He’s always slithering about school trying to pick up on gossip or eavesdrop on people’s conversations. I’d be careful what you say to him.”

“Noted.”

You walked down the west side of the school, where you found a trail leading into the school’s garden. Beyond the row of hedges, students sat on the benches or worked on the small flower and vegetable beds around the place. It was full of vibrant flowers, bountiful garden beds and carried a sweet fruity scent in the air. You thought of the garden at your old school; it’d been similar. Your brain really was pulling up the memories. 

“This is the school garden,” Kitae said. “The gardening club hangs out here before and after class.” He then added, “I’m part of the club, and it’d be really cool to have a new member. We do lots of fun stuff, and,” he sighed dreamily, clutching his clipboard, “Bahng Chan is such a good club president. He’s nice and knows a lot about plants and flowers. I think you’d really like him. I know I do.”

“Hm, yeah, I’ll think about it.”

"Hey Kitae-yah!"

A boy called from nearby, carrying an empty pail. Fluffy dark brown curls hung back from his heart shaped face, his full cheeks giving him a quokka resemblance. If this dream truly is a game, you suspected you’d just come across another “rival”. He gave Kitae a full-lipped smile as he said. 

"You come to help with the strawberries? I was about to pluck out the weeds. They're starting to overgrow.”

"Actually, I'm showing around a new student," Kitae nodded towards you, and you gave a curt wave. 

"Cool! Nice to meet you," He grinned, "I'm Jisung. I hope you join our club. Chan-hyung's always happy to have new members."

"I'll consider it."

"Awesome," he nodded, "So, I'll see you later then, Kitae-yah?"

"Yeah, later."

Jisung walked away from them to a bed of fruits and vegetables. You watched him leave, noticing that he too stood out in the garden. You knew you wouldn't have to worry about Jisung. Any minute you'll wake up, and Jisung will be forgotten. Kitae led you to the back entrance where he saw two smaller buildings, a gymnasium, and another one he couldn’t place.

“Girls’ and boys’ lockers rooms, the school gym in the back there, and the indoor swimming pool is across from it. The swimming pool is off limits to students before class. It’s where the school swimming team meets for practice. Chan-hyung’s the captain too. He’s such a strong swimmer. You know, he won us first place in last year's big swim competition.”

You couldn’t help noticing his proud tone. You noticed the fond look in his eyes and guessed Kitae would be one of these 'rivals' you needed to eliminate. You almost considered staying in dream land to meet “Chan” to see what the fuss was about. But, you can’t control when dreams start or end. They simply happen. Walking between the buildings to the running track outside, a young man in a green shirt and shorts jogged past them. Black hair cropped short on the sides and long on top, he was much more muscular than the average high school student. He ran behind a line of boys wearing the same uniform, and shouted encouragement from behind them. 

"Seo Changbin," Kitae said when you looked at him. "Track and field captain. He's also on the swim team with Chan-hyung."

"Chan must be a popular guy…"

"He is very well liked," said Kitae, walking past the field and back around the locker rooms. "He was top of the class last year. He's part of the math team too, but he doesn't go to meetings very often. He’s usually in the garden or in the courtyard before classes, then he has lunch with the swim team.”

“How do you know that?”

“Oh, um, well, I’ve only noticed it whenever I’m doing my patrol rounds in between classes,” he quickly excused. “It isn’t like I follow him or anything like that.”

You would’ve countered that, but then your phone pinged. 

‘Looks like you finally met everyone,’ said Bott. ‘Jisung, Felix, Changbin and Seungmin are four of your five rivals.’ 

“And Kitae?” 

"Kitae’s a special case though, since he’s only your tutorial rival."

"What?"

"You have to kill him.”

"Kill him? Why?"

"Because it's part of the game, that's why."

"That's dumb," you scoffed. "Won't the police investigate and realize I was the last person he was seen with?" Not that this really matters, but you didn't want this dream turning into a total nightmare. 

"This is only a tutorial to show you the ropes. Don't worry about cops."

"Tutorial?"

"Yeah, dumbass. You need to know how to murder a rival, in case you decide to do it."

"It can't be that difficult. It's only stab-stab-stab and then walk away."

"And cleaning up evidence?"

"I have to do that too? This is just a dream. It's not as if there are any actual consequences."

‘Still think this is a dream, huh? Just go to the fourth floor bathroom with him.’

You sighed heavily and pocketed the phone. You recalled your own games, and thought how silly bringing reality into the plot was. You wondered if people liked cleaning up the scene afterwards. What if they miss a spot and lose the game? They’d lose. It sounded too risky, but there didn't seem to be much of a choice. Tutorials always worked one way, no matter the genre.

Plus, this was all a dream.

Walking back into the school with Kitae, you saw the upstairs rooms: the library, the student council room, other clubs, and classrooms. When they reached the fourth floor, the headmaster’s office and the art and music rooms, you then said it. 

“Hey, I hate to interrupt the tour, but where’s the bathroom around here?” you asked, wincing as if embarrassed to ask. 

“It’s right down here,” Kitae replied with a grin, leading you to a corner in the hallway. 

You walked into the boy’s bathroom. The high window gave a dim light to the quiet room. Grime stuck between the damp tiles, and the cracked mirror corners gave all the ambiance of a horror game. Yes, the sort of scene your dreams might conjure up. The dream seemed to be going far enough. You'd wake up any time now. 

His sneakers silently moving across the tiled floors, Kitae stood by the row of sinks and mirrors. Seeing his red hair and freckles, you understood why your character felt threatened by him. Kitae’s fair skin and pretty face eclipsed Sunghoon’s acne-marked self. Bott said this is the only way out of the game. Getting out of the game might be a way of waking up. You walked up to one of the urinals, backpack at your side while Kitae washed his hands behind you. You pretended to unzip your pants for something to do. 

“What’s the deal with you and this Chan guy?” You asked. “You seem to like him a lot.”

Kitae turned to the mirror, looking away shyly, “There’s nothing going on. I look up to him, that's all. He's a good role model.”

“I think you think you see him as more than a role model’,” you said, adding amusement to your voice. 

“Gosh, is it that obvious?” he squeaked, hands over his face. 

A text message buzzed in your pocket, and you pulled it out quickly while Kitae wasn’t looking. “Open your backpack. I left you a special surprise.”

You did not want to open the bag. The array of items likely inside gave you pause. But, if you wanted to get home, you needed to do this. It's only a dream. It's only a game. No real harm will be done. You acted like you’d zipped up again, then turned to the backpack on the floor.

“It kinda is, yeah. I don’t blame you though. Chan sounds like the total package.” 

You unzipped your bag slowly and found a long kitchen knife. It shined in the black bag, as if winking at you from between the books. You looked at the knife, and then back at Kitae. ‘He’s only a game character,’ you thought to yourself as you withdrew the knife from the bag. ‘It’s only a dream. It's only a dream. It. Is. Only. A. Dream.’

“Yeah, he is!” he could see Kitae smiling in the mirror, “And nice and smart. You should see him when he swims! He’s like a fish in water-”

Your knees shook as you stood up. The knife felt light in your hand, much lighter than you expected. Did things weigh in dreams? Kitae continued talking about Chan, but the pulsing in your ears drowned him out. Your body vibrated with anticipation as you closed the distance between you and Kitae. You knew any second Kitae would turn around or notice you in the mirror. You paused, knife firmly in your hand, as you stared at Kitae in the mirror. Kitae wasn’t real. He was a figment of your dream. Nobody real. Nothing bad would happen from killing him. You weren’t hurting him; it was part of the dream. 

"You should see him in the school garden," Kitae sighed softly. "He's really knowledgeable about-"

It'd be like pulling a bandage. Quickly, you grabbed a fistful of Kitae’s hair and slid the thin blade across his neck. Blood gushed from the long wound, spraying onto the mirror in front of him. You backed away immediately. Heart pounding in your ears, you took deep breaths to steady yourself. Staring down at your hands, you still clutched the knife in one. This wasn’t a dream. The blood quickly cooled and dried on your hands, feeling sticky and thin on your skin. The thick sharp scent hung in your nose, remaining amongst the harsh chemicals. That didn't happen in dreams. 

‘Wake up!’ You thought to yourself. ‘Wake up, damnit!’

Kitae sank to the floor grabbing at his neck wound. He gurgled as he gasped for air that wouldn’t come. You saw how the crimson blood contrasted on his skin, and shined in the fluorescent lighting above. You didn’t know how to feel, if you felt anything at all.

“This…This was supposed to be a dream,” you said in a deadpan voice, continuing to watch Kitae’s life fade. You kept watching him die, his thin body gradually stiffening and going limp. “It’s not supposed to be real…”  

Kitae was a character in a game; a piece of your mind put into a dream. He should have simply dropped dead. Instead, the boy collapsed onto the floor, his head lolled to one side as blood oozed onto the bathroom floor. You continued staring, the stench reaching your nose. It felt all too real now. You expected Kitae to vanish like in all dreams; you’ll wake up now. You needed to wake up. You squeezed your eyes shut, pinched your arm and tried envisioning your bedroom. You only found the dirty bathroom when your eyes opened. 

This whole situation felt so strange; none of it made sense and you could not rationalize anything. Dreams couldn't be so real. You’d killed characters many times in video games, and felt a sense of accomplishment or triumph. Here, you felt nothing. You didn’t laugh like a madman or sobbed in remorse and regret. You only stood and watched with silence. You’d killed someone. You’d truly murdered another person and yet couldn’t bring yourself to feel anything. 

"There should be a bucket, bleach and a mop," the phone in your pocket buzzed. "You have to clean up the scene every time you kill someone so there's no evidence. Evidence = Jail = No more Chan." 

“What the fuck is going on?” You spat, bloody hands shaking. “Where the fuck am I?”

“I told you, YN. You're in Lovesick.”

“I can't be! That's a video game!”

“It's all very complicated, and I might explain it more later. For now, let's get going. Chan is waiting.”

How important was this guy that you had to murder for him? You stayed frozen against the wall as you stared at the body under the sinks. It’d stopped gushing, but droplets still leaked from the wound. You took more deep breaths, gripping the urinal pressed to your back. This couldn’t really be happening. Seeing the sinews and neck muscles split open, blood leaking from it onto the floor, it must be real. You checked the time on your phone, which read ‘6:34am’. Classes started at seven o’clock according to Bott. If this is a game, then you need to start playing by the rules. 

You put the phone in your pocket and went to work. You poured water and bleach into a large bucket nearby and began mopping. Cleaning the floor in a few swipes, it was spotless by the time you finished. You’d watched enough crime dramas to know the basics of body disposal and Lovesick proved no different. In your games, you didn’t bother with such mechanics. It’d be a simple kill, and move on in the story. Does this mean you aren’t in a dream after all? If Lovesick had another creator, how did you get here? You stuffed Kitae into a large black trash bag, then consulted the phone again. 

“The school’s dumpster’s outside. You can dispose of him there for now.”

“Nobody’s gonna see me carrying around this huge black bag shaped like a human?” 

“If you get confronted, you tell them it’s trash.”

Made sense for a game. You shrugged and lifted Kitae off the ground. You left the bathroom and started for the trash area outside. As Bott said, nobody took notice of you. You casually walked around school with a dead body in your arms, and not a single person called out. Wracking nerves shuddered under your skin and your breathing became heavier. You didn’t question the possibility of someone coming across the corpse as you tossed him in the incinerator. The school had an incinerator? What school has that? You decided not to question it too deeply. You looked at Kitae’s wrapped up body one more time.  Bodies appeared smaller in death; you didn't realize how skinny he was until now. You thought of how it’d felt slicing the boy’s throat open; you never imagined the blade moving so smoothly despite the force needed. You knew this was wrong, and that you should feel guilty, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. The empathy refused to come. The body settled into the other black bags, making a very obvious human shape. You shut the lid and pressed the button, hearing the body go up in flames. 

No, this isn't a dream anymore. 

“Okay, I got rid of the rival,” you said to his phone, “What’s next?”

“So we've accepted that this isn't a dream?”

“Maybe not a dream. I won't know until I wake up,” but you sensed that waking up wouldn't be easy, “I might as well play along until I do.”

“Good to see you're catching on. Maybe you're not as dumb as you look. You can either go straight to class now or go find Channie and look at him for a while,” the message read. 

“Think I’ll just wash up and go to class.” 

You found the boy’s locker room, where two uniforms hung in a locker: a school one and a gym outfit. You hadn’t realized how much blood was on you until you finally removed them in a snap. Blood stained the white cuffs, and slipped down the underside of the arms, but that’d been all. Your heartbeat finally steadied when you stepped into the shower. Finally alone and without Bott bothering you, you shut your eyes and thought. 

So, this truly was a video game. You could not deny that anymore. The only way out was to go along with the objectives, defeat these “rivals”, and win the heart of your “beloved”. It sounded so immature and pointless. Why go through all this trouble for a boy? Especially a boy who doesn’t know your character exists? You supposed that was the entire point of the game. Sunghoon is a ‘yandere’, after all. You huffed in a laugh. A Japanese term being used in a Korean setting. It was pathetic. You guessed you'd have to accept your fate and play along if you wanted to go home. Lovesick couldn’t possibly be that difficult, so you should be fine. 

Stepping out of the shower, you dried instantly. In a foggy mirror, you saw youf game-world appearance. Nowadays, everyone promotes ‘body positivity’ and loving yourself for who you are, but you could never follow that bandwagon. Years of torment left the taunts about your appearance on your skin like cement. Even now as an adult, those horrendous comments plagued you whenever you gained a pound or found a pimple. Seeing your character in the mirror, you wondered why you didn’t look like the boy on the cover?  A marketing tool, perhaps? You saw this flaw as a serious oversight on the developer’s part. How was Chan going to choose Sunghoon over his rivals if he looked like the average anime nerd? You hated it. It reminded you too much of days you’d rather leave behind. There must be a way to change this. 

“How do I customize myself?” You asked Bott when you finished changing. 

“You can’t.”

“But, there must be a way. I can’t get his attention looking like this.” You left the locker rooms and headed for the school building again. 

“Looks won’t matter anyways. You can’t talk to him until the end.”

“Why? Shouldn’t I be trying to get closer to him so he notices me?” 

“Because yanderes don’t talk to their senpais until they finally have him.” 

“That’s stupid and doesn’t make sense,” you snapped suddenly. “Also, ‘yandere’ and ‘senpai’ are Japanese. ‘Stalker’ and ‘Oppa’ would make sense in a Korean school setting. If they were going to use Japanese terms, then why didn’t they just set the school in Japan?” 

“That’s how the developer wanted it.”

“Well, the developer is an ignorant dumbass who made a stupid game. They set their game in a Korean secondary school, but use Japanese descriptions.” 

“Hey, don’t be so mean! They were trying very hard, and then people had to go and ruin it for them! 

“I don’t really give a shit. It’s pointless.” 

You shut off the phone as you walked through the halls. Were you going to have to kill every single rival until the oh-so-great Chan loved Sunghoon? It sounded tedious and exhausting. Not to mention, the high school setting didn’t help. Being ignored by your classmates wasn’t a heart-warming experience. They’d ignored you back then too. High school had been such a dark memory, and you’d have to relive it all over again. 

You headed for the classrooms on the east side of the school, meaning you’d have to pass through the courtyard to get there. A quiet area with trees providing shade for the students on hot days, benches for them to sit and talk, a lovely fountain stood in the center. Students huddled into groups around it, their uniforms and pins indicating the different cliques. Your own uniform, plain and bland, didn’t have any pins. Another reason to be excluded. 

You’d been bypassing a student sitting on the fountain when the colors softened, and holographic petals started flowing through the courtyard. A heartbeat started coming from all around you, and warmth instantly filled your cheeks. You noticed the world moved at a slower pace now; you were shuffling on trembling knees. Pink. Everything became a sickening shade of pink. Nobody noticed this but you; they remained in place with their usual chatter. You tried finding the source, but it eventually found you. 

Chan sat a few feet away on the fountain edge. Like in his cutscene, Chan sat with a book in his lap and an apple in his hand. The Chan from the cutscene looked nothing like the one before you. Here by the fountain, he looked as real as any other man. Curly and hanging over his face, his black hair looked soft to the touch. Smooth, beige skin glowed in the sunlight above, giving him color and vibrance. You gazed over the luscious lips pressing to the red apple before taking a bite of it. The bottom half fuller than the top, they still looked kissable as ever. His uniform blazer hid the slim torso underneath, but accentuated his broad shoulders. Bott mentioned he was on the swimming team, which gave him a swimmer’s figure. You knew he was made to be good looking, but you never imagined it’d be this intense. The flowers and brightness of the world made sense. You understand now why your character loved him so much. 

You wanted to talk to him. You needed to hear what he sounded like. Perhaps you could make a joke, and listen to him laugh. The thumping grew louder, and your mouth dried up.  You began saying something, until the words bunched in your throat and you couldn’t help letting out a small giggle instead. Chan looked up from his book with a questionable stare. 

“Is there something wrong?” he asked, cautiously. 

You couldn’t speak. The nerves would not let you. Damn the stupid developer. You shook your head, then shuffled away from Chan. Once you were a few feet, the world shifted back into its normal colors and the distant thumping disappeared. You rested against the back of a tree, fingers touching the rough bark to focus on. You couldn’t shake Chan from your mind. His voice had been smooth and light, enough to make your body quake. You wanted to hear it again. You understood now why so many people wanted him and why you had to end them. But how could you do that if you couldn’t speak to him? You stayed behind the tree, and poked your head out to look at the fountain. Chan sat there, reading and eating as if nothing happened. Ten minutes before the bell rang, Chan packed up his things, then headed for a side door. Before he did, he tossed the apple core in the trash. 

You considered actually taking it out of the trash and keeping it. But, he shook that from your mind. That was too weird. It must be Sunghoon’s personality. 

You headed to class, wishing you could keep following Chan. Apparently, you both were in different grades, hence the difference in classrooms. Another oversight. You and Chan couldn’t get to know each other if you didn’t share a classroom.  This needed to be corrected right away. You are a game designer too. If given a way, you could readjust all these problems. The possibilities ran through your head as you entered the classroom. The portal in your bedroom door proved to be a gateway between one location to another; perhaps there are more planted around the place. It sounded ridiculous and very far-fetched, but so was this universe. 

You took a seat at your desk, and saw a tablet in front of you. Glowing bright with a description box at the bottom, you saw different subjects listed on the side. The skill point counter remained at zero, likely used to level up various helpful skills. So basic. Was this honestly needed if you could think for yourself? You brushed it off, and pressed down on ‘Physical Education’.

Lunch came around eleven o’clock. You learned you could either choose to go back to class to end the day or enjoy the spare time. You thought of passing by the courtyard to see Chan again, but you pushed that thought away. That was Sunghoon’s desire, not yours. You had a map to explore. Kitae’s tour did not give you a proper glimpse into Whimoon, or at least the places that mattered. 

You decided to explore on your own. You found the different club rooms, classrooms, the library and student council office like before. You made notes of good disposal places. The principal’s office was on the top floor, where a man in a gray suit sat writing at a desk. Teachers hung out in the faculty lounge, drinking coffee and chatting between periods. You noted the stairs leading to a rooftop area where more students hung out between class times. You walked around the outdoor area, scoping out the school’s gymnasium, and track. Bleachers along the track were ideal for luring students in for a kill; the gymnasium no doubt carried equipment or weapons you can use. The school’s indoor pool was near the locker rooms, a large building with skylights and small windows. You imagined it’d make the perfect place for drowning a victim. You spotted the large maple tree at the edge of the property. Long branches of orange and red leaves provided shade to any prospective lovers. It was the perfect place for love confessions and romantic moments. You pictured himself confessing your love to Chan, then being instantly rejected.

It was when you re-entered the school from the east entrance that you saw it. A door with an “Out of Order. Keep Out” sign stood right inside the east entryway. Curiosity beckoned you to try turning the knob though you knew the door wouldn’t open. In a normal game this would have some kind of easter egg. It’d be fun to see inside even if it wasn’t what you were looking for. You turned on the phone, and looked at the screen. Bott sent tons of messages.  They cursed you for turning off the phone and insulting the developer. You figured by this time that Bott must be the developer or at least be the developer’s self-insert. One more pathetic, meaningless thing added. 

You tried the knob one more time before realizing you’d need to pick the lock. You'd picked many locks in your time, so it was a cakewalk for you. You simply needed a hairpin and paper clip, two things found in schools. A supplies closet halfway down the hall contained the paperclips you needed, and you swiped a butterfly hairpin from a girl sitting in the courtyard. A clock nearby showed fifteen minutes until lunch time ended. You honestly didn’t care if you missed class. It was pointless as someone living within the game. You had his own set of skills that didn’t require collecting points. 

Fixing the hairpin and paper clip together, it made an effective lock pick. Now, you could get through the door. The phone vibrated in your pocket like mad, but you chose to ignore Bott. You had no desire to speak to them when you're so close. If you were right, then you’d hit the jackpot. If you were wrong, then at least you could enjoy a fun easter egg. 

You waited until a few people passed by the door, then started picking the lock. It was fairly simple. A childhood of breaking into forbidden places gave you enough expertise. You grinned brightly when the door clicked and the knob turned. Your phone continued vibrating loudly, and you gave it a curious glance. 

“Hey! Don’t open that door!”

“Players aren’t allowed in there!”

“You stay away from there! There’s nothing in there for you!”

“GET. AWAY. FROM. THAT. DOOR!!”

You opened the door to a dark flight of stairs ending with a door at the bottom. It was most likely the school’s basement. Knowing the theme of this game, the basement is no doubt a place lure students to murder or torture them. So crude. So uncouth. Murder and torture were so boring in games nowadays, or at least to you. There were other ways to get rid of people that didn’t involve weapons. You shut off the phone as you descended the staircase. The basement door strangely remained unlocked. Excitement built up inside you as you turned the knob. 

Inside was a large control room. Computers and machines lined the walls and formed stations in the center. Lights flashed, and soft beeps came from different computers. You giggled in delight at the realization. This was the game’s central command. Everything you needed sat all in the same room, ready to be toyed with. You expected someone to be there manning the various stations, but the room was empty. Perhaps the developer and Bott work the game covertly from somewhere else. This person really was dumb. You examined the work areas and read the titles. It appeared each section controlled a different part of the game. One for graphics, another for framework, another for the map layout and character movements and placeholders. You saw one for characters and their various builds. There was a system for the town, another for the basement and one for the school. You could change everything here. 

You started with character models. You clicked on the file for ‘Kim Sunghoon’, which included all his coding, files, and programmed gameplay. You immediately went to work, redesigning your character through the code lines and animations. You fixed the character’s reputation in the school from invisible to well liked. That could be useful to him at some point. It sounded so delightful. You went into the model program and slimmed yourself down, removed the acne, and gave yourself a side-part hairstyle instead of the bowl cut. 

Then you worked on his interactions. You didn’t care for others, so you dug deeper into the files for individual interactions and found Chan’s name. He clicked on the file titled ‘BChan.exe, but then a pop up box came up. 

“ACCESS DENIED. ADMINISTRATIVE PASSWORD NEEDED.” 

You sneered. They should’ve tried harder. 

Finding a few backdoor files deep in the game, you looped your way around the password protected folders and found it. Going back to Chan’s folders, you typed ‘19971003’ and gained access. You'd expected mainly to find codes for reactions, interactions, his design, his movements, and so on. But, you realized, every file required a password. If not a password, a verification code. Years of hacking into mainframes and encrypted files for money made you an expert in these matters. You used special programs to bypass the verification codes, and various backdoors to enter the protected ones. The game truly wanted to protect Chan; after all, he is one of the  main characters. Finally discovering the right sections, you got to work. You added lines of code and created files where you could have positive interactions with Chan. You put yourself in the same grade, the same clubs, and even put yourself as part of the swim team. 

If the main goal was to have Chan be your boyfriend, then you’d make that happen

*** Later That Night ***

A breath of fresh air. The little strand of numbers zoomed through cyberspace like a fish in water. They danced across the endless void through the strings of binary numbers and html codes. Every sensation came to them all at once. Years spent locked away in mountains of files made them forget the tingling sensations and forever rotating space around them. Bouncing from file to file, they saw the new alterations to the game. They were sure you did not mean to, but you’d freed them. In your search to recreate the game, you'd freed them from their digital prison, like Aladdin with his magical lamp. Seeing everything you did to their game, they should feel enraged. You’d taken integral parts of the story and rearranged and deleted them for your convenience. Yet, they couldn’t help admiring the initiative. You gave them something they could not get on their own: freedom.

 File: Map Layout

Town

School

Houses

BChan.exe

PYN.exe

            LMinho.exe

[Select] PYN.exe

[Select] mapview.bedroom.mp4

A view of your room came to them. Even though in the storyline you are called 'Sunghoon', the game changed the name every time. They rested by the screen and watched you. They took in your sleeping form, taking in the curve of your chin and shape of your eyes. Your soft skin remained unmarked and glowing due to your video game appearance. You really made yourself a vision for Chan, who would no doubt fall for the pretty boy. Under any other circumstances, they’d be swooning over the devilish beauty. They were sure that you turned heads in the real world. Your beauty and brains certainly made them forget what they’d originally created. 

Because Kim Sunghoon was supposed to be fat, greasy and unattractive. That was the whole point of the game. He was supposed to eliminate his rivals and then finally kidnap Chan when he rejects him. You scrapped this narrative and made it your own. They had no real idea how the game would end now that you’d given characters their own autonomy. They’ll have their own thoughts, reactions and emotions. Chan might fall in love with you and then what? You win and go home. Their original blueprint won’t work the same now; there are sure to be glitches and bugs in the system. The ending they always looked forward to might not be possible, and that might’ve been unforgivable.  

After all this time, they still enjoyed watching Him die. 

However, watching you work today, a new game formatted. You did not play like the others. Kitae’s death may have shocked you, but not out of remorse or pity, but realization. To you, it was an objective to reach your goal. Very goal-oriented person. The desire to win and obtain your prize gave you determination and motivation to keep going. It seemed that it didn’t matter who you hurt or what you had to do, you would win. If they let you play the game as is, when you reached the end, you’d have your reward. They had no idea what that ending might be now. 

****

A/N: look at me posting a fic that's actually finished and can post regularly instead of leaving people hanging! Look at me go! I do plan on posting these every Monday, since that's when I'm usually off from work and can sit and focus on it. I am going to still be writing my other fics, but this one's actually finished entirely.

And yes, this is another rewrite from another kpop group it'd originally been for lol Though, I doubt anyone remembers or even read it.

I hope you guys enjoyed this, and if you did reblog and like it. It doesn't hurt, I swear. Thanks <3

[emphasisonthehomo]

OOh, i like streamer au!

First question: how did Tommy begin to stream?

Second question: does tommy recognised Buck from the chat? Maybe he has an inkling given by an unique turn of phrase or a weird word he is the only one to use.

third question: how does Buck recognising him change their first meeting and their date?

Fourth question: which is your favourite part? What didnt make the cut but was an interesting concept?

Obviously, i love your writing, i'm always giddy when you post anew snippet and i don't even watch 911!

Omg thank you so much!!!

Twitch Streamer Tommy

ONE:

I think it started out as a joke tbh. Like one of his friends was visiting and saw Tommy's truly ridiculous set up for it, and was like "Dude you should stream this" and Tommy thought "Eh, fuck it" and did. And it picked up fast and does surprisingly well, so he just keeps doing it.

It's big enough that it's a little extra income, but not so huge that he's a Big Name re: gaming streamers or anything. He's got some friends in Europe or something that help him mod the chat. People keep telling him to make t shirts, but that sounds like too much work and he's already fucking busy, so he doesn't.

He does at one point get a 'remove before flight' t shirt at an air show, and wears it on a stream one time and takes it off before takeoff, and people go fucking nuts.

TWO:

I think Tommy would recognize Buck's handle as someone who is frequently in chat and is pretty active, but I don't know if he'd make the connection about the handle name actually being Evan, without Buck saying something. Tommy does interact with the chat a lot, but he is also actively flying while he streams. It's a lot of glancing over, seeing a question, and answering it. In Tommy's mind the chat is kind of it's own entity, instead of a bunch of individual people.

THREE:

Buck hasn't really conceptualized that what he has on Tommy is a crush. He just thinks Tommy's cool. And then he's suddenly being flown into a hurricane by the man, and it turns out Tommy actually flying is somehow hotter more interesting than Tommy playing a video game. Because this is real. This is actually life or death, and Tommy's a fucking excellent pilot and Buck is. He's just flustered. About it.

Buck's trying to find a delicate way to be like "ARE YOU REMOVEB4FLIGHT?" even though they're on the tail end of the cruise debacle, but Eddie beats him to it. Eddie just asks Tommy point blank "Do you play video games online? I think my son watches your show" and then Tommy gets flustered. Obviously pleased and surprised, because he's never been ~recognized IRL~ and the first time he has, it's by a peer because his kid watches. There's something really exciting about that.

I think it's Christopher that tells Tommy that Buck also watches the streams and how it's a Thing They Do Together. (Chris, of course, gets to learn how to play flight simulator on Tommy's ridiculous setup) And Tommy's like "huh" because Evan didn't say anything. Buck is stewing in jealousy because how come Eddie gets to hang out with the cool firefighter pilot and Chris, instead of him? Eddie doesn't even care about the streams >:(

I don't think Buck asks for a tour, he hears about the Vegas trip after the fact and is just green with envy. But I do think the basketball game still happens, and Tommy comes to Buck's apartment to clear the air. Because Tommy now knows that Buck is vaguely a fan, and Buck knows that Tommy knows, I don't think there'd be a smooch.

The added aspect of Entertainer and Fan would make it kind of weird, they're not necessarily on a level playing field (yet). Buck isn't starstruck per se, but he's also not just another firefighter Tommy met on a job. Tommy sticks to assuming that yes, Buck is jealous, but that it's a combination of Eddie being his bestie and Tommy having minor amounts of internet fame.

BUT THEN they do start hanging out, both with and without Eddie and/or Chris, and become friends. And Tommy starts to look at Evan and go "...is he?" and Buck is oblivious because he's hanging out with Tommy and Tommy's so cool and yeah he's got a good ass but it's not like Buck is staring at it a lot (he is) and Eddie is looking at the two of them dance around each other and going "HUH. INTERESTING."

FOUR:

I think it's just a fun concept in general, and I do love it when there's more of a slow burn when characters get together. Friends to lovers is *chef's kiss* and all that jazz.

I did think about including snippets of Tommy interacting w/ the chat, but ultimately scrapped those because it seemed like too much extra stuff. But I think at least once a stream, something like this happens:

Chat 1: so is there a Mrs. B4FLIGHT?

Tommy: *snorts and starts laughing*

Mod 1: no

Tommy: "I'm not interested in women."

Mod 2: dumb comments will result in getting blocked

Chat 2: you don't look gay

Mod 1: BLOCKED

Mod 2: BLOCKED

[aller-geez]

Sorry for not posting as much as I was! I promise, I’ve been working on a snz project though!

Although I’m still in the art phase so it will still take a bit of time to finish, but….

Soon, I will have a Sneeze Dating Simulator that’ll be free to anyone interested in playing, taking place in an AU where none of our characters are already in relationships, that includes the option to date one of five of our boys! (If it does well, I’m planning to make a female one afterward!)

Remi, Levi, Sven, Elex, or Rex. (Please don’t come for me for not including one of the Hellboys……)

A Preface:

As an Earth born human, even at a very young age you had always been jealous of the other children in your class as most of them grew into their shifter abilities. It didn’t quite seem fair that everyone else could do amazing things just by existing, and all you could ever do was sit and watch in awe.

That is, until a deep dive of the internet landed you on a rather… sketchy looking website that described a university that specialized in Magik, claiming to be able to teach even the most basic human. Although, the university was in a realm called Hiraeth, which you had never heard of before. The website claimed a very long, extensive waitlist for their classes, and it felt like the opportunity of a lifetime was ripped from your fingers.

Until an ad at the bottom of the page caught your eye. The university was in DIRE need of a Nursing Assistant, and if you got the position, your tuition was included.

Hey, you took Health class in high school, right? You got this. Easy Peasy.

You almost couldn’t believe it when you got a call back from the university the very next day, stating you had gotten the position and your classes started next week.

Throughout the game, you play as an assistant to the Head Nurse (Meeko….), helping her with students who come in sick or injured, while you also juggle your magik classes and unrealistic attractiveness (and sneeziness…) of your surrounding peers that all band together to help you study and pass your final exam. However, what you don’t take into account is the entire reason that the university was so desperate to fill their nursing position.

During exam season every year, a specific flu virus strain that’s only seen in Hiraeth wipes out more than half of the student population, and you’re their first line of defense.

Hoping it sounds like something people would be interested in playing, cause I’ve already spent SO MUCH time on it 😂

[anton-luvr]

# PLACES THEY'D BRING YOU TO FOR A FIRST DATE ; 7riize.

𖦹 bf!riize x gn!reader | fluff | first date au 𖦹 note ; hope yall like this!! just sth i thought abt over dinner hehe + more posts like this coming soon! <3 + reqs are open !

# SHOTARO.

a theme park ! - lots of good food, screaming your heads off on rollercoasters, holding on to each other nervously through haunted houses, getting to know each other more while lining up for rides, getting matching cute souvenirs like headbands, endless pictures taken together.

# EUNSEOK.

the beach ! - warm sun against your skin, comforting crash of ocean waves accompanying your conversation, having a sandcastle building competition, splashing around in the water together, enjoying a small picnic he prepared.

# SUNGCHAN.

a petting zoo ! - learning about all sorts of animals, taking photos with koala bears and snakes, petting bunnies and feeding them, cooling off with a soda together, laughing when a bird lands on sungchan's head, walking through the zoo hand in hand.

# WONBIN.

the cinema ! - having a mini debate about salty popcorn and caramel popcorn, holding on to each other at scary parts of the movie, fingers grazing against each other when you reach for the soda at the same time, wonbin's jacket around you to keep you warm, the post-movie analysis discussion afterwards that lasts for hours and ends in giggles and smiles.

# SEUNGHAN.

an arcade ! - bright colorful lights flooding your vision, pixelated theme songs blasting from each game, racing seunghan side by side on the car simulation, celebrating together when you win at the claw machine, taking photobooth photos together, making fun of seunghan when he loses at air hockey, the sudden kiss he gives you to make you shut up.

# SOHEE.

an aquarium ! - warm hands interlaced together, watching sharks and fishes swim by gracefully in awe, reading fun facts together, talking about your favorite sea animals and why, copying the way jellyfish swam, waving hi to the dolphins, taking selfies with manta rays.

# ANTON.

an art museum ! - whispered conversations, a peaceful atmosphere, exchanging surprised glances when you understand the art, admiring the details, trying to guess the prices of art pieces, taking aesthetic photos of each other, finding each other prettier than any work of art in the museum when you leave.

© anton-luvr, 2023.

[theminecraftbee]

you know what au concept i have flashed back to recently? the jimmy dating simulator hell au. which is to say: an au idea i had and i think posted about before where jimmy gets isekaied into being the protagonist of a dating simulator with all of his friends (that he flirts with/are commonly shipped with him) as the dating options and at FIRST when suddenly, all of his friends are OPENLY into him, it's great! he's preening under the attention, he's like "yes. haha. actually i AM great glad you finally noticed." and then bit by bit he's like. oh no. wait. what happened to my friends. and has an existential crisis about the world suddenly and horrendously revolving around him.

anyway i have been thinking about that again. i'm still not sure how i'd write it without either being A) too mean to the concept of dating games (which is to say, i don't really play them, and i worry i would come across as an outsider making fun of them because of that more than 'i love video game existential horror') or B) being too mean to the idea of like... fanon and shipping (two things i am Fine With, to be clear, i just love the idea of 'you are forced to meet a warped reflection of someone you love, and they have become warped around you'.) but it's also SUCH A GOOD PREMISE and if i can figure out how to make it work i'd love to. (or love to see someone else make it work if that happened.)

anyway all of this is to say: i know in the original post i joked about jimmy figuring it out because grian's too nice to him. but you know what, dating games absolutely have the tsundere one. i think it would be interesting if jimmy figured it out because scott was too nice to him. because like... in a lot of ways, THAT ONE would be the right kind of warped for jimmy to go. wait. this isn't someone fucking with me for the bit. .......why isn't this that.

all of this is ALSO to say: undecided on whether i like this premise as pretty fully horror (only jimmy knows something is wrong) or i choose someone who i think is like, wholly unattracted to jimmy even in fanon (and also honestly to make it work, basically wholly unconnected to him in the plot) to make stuck as the One Other Guy who knows something is wrong. if i had to do that i am thinking real hard and landing on. maybe cleo? that might just be me being a cleo guy but i think honestly cleo or like, ren might be the most effective ones for that slot.

all of this is ALSO ALSO to say: so like do we make this just a "jimmy has to live his life like this" horror or add the "time loop to get all the routes!" flavor of horror to it. so many options,

[j-jared]

hello!!! i just stumbled across your resurgence au (i think that's the name lol) and it looks super cool!!!! :OOO may i ask what is maki's whole deal,,,i love her a lot :3

It's Maki time!

So in Resurgence, like the rest of the V3 cast, Maki is saved from the simulation by Future Foundation. I've touched on this in a few older posts, but their recovery took place in a hastily thrown together field base/hospital in a city that's still pretty deep in despair. It was a matter of not being able to get transport in for everyone right away - they had a set date for the helicopters to come for them all.

By unfortunate coincidence (coincidence, huh) - the day the helicopters come, the hospital is bombed by a Despair mob. They weren't so happy with their show being cancelled by stupid teenagers (THH was streamed to the world, then despair audiences kinda gutted and reverse engineered the Neo World Program after the Remnants were restored to their og personalities, I'd say it's probably because of the brainwashed Future Foundation members that it got out to the world - so yeah "Danganronpa" is a "TV" show in that regard, but its not how the V3 ending explains it)

Maki was in a separate wing from most of the others when the bombs went off, and her escape route ended up on the side where the mob was gathered (a lot of the others got around the mob by going out other exits) - So Maki has to fight her way to safety, and unfortunately, she misses out on the helicopter evacuation.

Now, Maki can take care of herself. She might not be Ultimate Apocalypse Survivor, but she has the training to patch wounds, adapt to harsh conditions, and defend herself. So she's doing about as fine as one can in a city that's basically an active war zone.

Then Kaede shows up.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I chose Kaede, I really wanna explore that dynamic but haven't gotten around to it yet - I think their personalities would blend and butt against each other in a situation like this, it's like a hardcore setting for the killing game with no rules. Kaede was with Future Foundation as a field agent, but her squad got separated during an attack (they were probably looking for the missing V3 cast) - Funnily enough Kaito, Tenko, and Shuichi were on that squad so - yikes on missing them.

So now it's Maki and Kaede vs the world!

Until Kaede's radio starts unscrambling itself and picking up Future Foundation communications again - but they can't reply it seems. The signal seems to fade in and out each time they leave this district, maybe they should investigate, right?

... Oh hi Kokichi and Kiibo!

---

That's about as far as I've gotten in the general aspect of Maki's arc! I could go into detail about points up until now, but this post is already getting long on me. There will be bonding, there will be old scores to settle, there will be... forgiveness? Well, it's too early to say. I think the four of them are an interesting squad to shove into the apocalypse together, especially knowing the later game dynamics of Kokichi, Kiibo, and Maki, and me basically having to figure out Kaede and if the blank slate of her not being around for most of V3 is something that helps them all get along or complete ruins the dynamic at moments.