#like their reunion in Yoosung's route

[natasha-in-space]

Hey ive a small request. I just thought of yoosung route with an mc who....actually knew him for a long time and had secretly crushed on him and admired him when both of them were in school. It is pretty canon that yoosung was a popular kid at his school and had many girls crushing on him. One of the girls happened to be mc who cant help but admire him from afar. Back in the day yoosung was the first guy who had been kind and sweet towards her and that stuck with her for the rest of her life. She never confessed her feelings, thinking that she might be "too weird" for him (since she was one of the "weird girls" of the class because of her shyness).

She however never found out about his grief regarding rika, she has a faint memory of him appearing sad on the day of graduation and she has no idea why...it just felt very unusual of him from her perspective. She mustered up some courage to ask him why he is sad but he pushed her away by plastering a fake smile and saying "im actually fine dont worry", she knew he was lying but that day she couldnt ask him more and force him to talk. Few days later she moves out to a different country with her family

Fast forward to current time she ends up being stuck in the apartment because she could not say no to an obviously shady man and finds the same guy she had once admired.

Because the mc here is a very socially awkward person, I am pretty sure she would end up only inviting a handful of people so its going to be the normal ending instead of good ending (which basically means that she would meet him at the hospital and not at the party)

So how do you think the reunion will be. I love your writings very much i want to see your take on this

Life can be so peculiar.

You can meet people by who's side you will end up spending the rest life with, by pure chance. Or, you can lose the one person you thought understood you more than anyone else could. It's unpredictable. And that's a thought that is both terrifying and relieving to ponder over late in the night, when there is nothing else fot you to do but just lay there and stare at the ceiling of your bedroom, deep in thought.

It was unexpected to meet Yoosung again, to say the least. It seems like such cliche story, ripped straight from some generic k-drama and not real life, doesn't it? A shy, closed off kid meeting their popular high school crush further down the line, when they are both now established adults with their own individual lives. But, then again, maybe it wasn't as strange. It's not like you went through some mind-boggling 'glow-up' in these few years, like characters in k-dramas usually do. You were still the same introverted and kind of nerdy dork you were in high school, just a bit more capable of putting up a somewhat acceptable front in public.

Yoosung, though? He was almost an entirely different person.

Well, not entirely, but he was still a far cry from the popular and academic boy you knew back in high school. Not in a bad way, per se... But, it still shocked you quite a bit once you got to know him fully. Then again, it's not like you have really known him at all until now. That doesn't mean your past crush on him was superficial by any means, but it was still rather innocent and puppy-like on your end. You wanted to get to know him better, to see sides of him you couldn't see when he was in public... but, you were far too insecure and skittish to be so bold.

Alas, life had other plans for you.

His hair was not the same neatly styled brunette you remembered. In its place, was a new bright blonde hue that fit him surprisingly well, layered in an adorably casual look that made your heart skip a beat the moment you saw his selfie in the chat, when you first joined. His choice of clothing was more free-spirited, less classy and uptight. The type that made you wonder how his shirts would look and feel on you if you were to borrow them. And his overall attitude seemed to have become a bit more carefree and lighthearted. These major changes surprised you. But, they weren't unwelcome by any means. They intrigued you. Made you want to talk to him, and learn all the ways that he has changed in these couple of years.

Thankfully, you were a bit more chatty behind the safety of your phone.

With chatting, you could take your time and make sure your wordings are correct. You didn't have to just say the first thing that came to mind and then follow through with it. You could express yourself accurately. And you would use that lucky opportunity to its full potential.

Yoosung's apparent active neglect of his studies was surprising to you. The straight-A student you knew back in high school was completely different from this older Yoosung. Maybe you should have been put off by this particular negative change of his, but it only made you grow concerned for him. The more you talked, the less... happy he appeared to you. Sure, his attitude was cheery and carefree on the surface. But, sometimes, you would read upon a phrase or two that would make you pause, your brows furrowing in concern and your heart clenching in your chest, despite it being passed around like a light joke or something.

I don't really know what my talents are.

I don't really know what I want to do.

I just play games to get rid of stress or feel less lonely.

Trying to find what you're interested in itself is a luxury.

It felt like... he just gave up on himself. On his future, and, subsequently, his own happiness. That thought was gnawing at you. It's like he didn't... believe he was capable of finding fulfillment in life, so he gave up on trying altogether. It wasn't right.

Although he may have neglected his studies, he remained the same passionate and lively person you fell for in back in high school. His drive was still there, but it was almost like it got fizzled out due to something you couldn't quite figure out yet. You did remember him seeming rather... downcast back at your graduation. No, he looked downright crushed.

You have a distinct memory of wanting to approach him and inquire about his wellbeing. Maybe you could have offered for him to come and spend some time with you. Yet, as always, you were far too big of a scaredy cat to do so.

Things had changed since then. You may be shy and timid, but you weren't going to let your fears and insecurities hold you back from doing something you knew in your heart was right. Not when life has given you a second chance like this.

And so, that's how you got here. You finally got to see him face to face after eleven days of complete and utter rollercoaster of emotions. Meeting Yoosung in the hospital ward wasn't how you planned it... but, you were just glad to see him smiling and safe.

Furthermore, his smile was meant for you. An observation that left you reeling as you walked sheepishly into his hospital ward, knowing that everyone has left to give you some alone time. It was just you and him now.

"...Hi."

He smiles wider, as if he's excited to finally hear your voice in person, no longer muffled by his speaker phone. You can see him straining a little bit to sit upright, but ultimately deciding against it. "Hi."

So much to say, yet so little time... You find yourself just staring at him for a few moments, before deciding to just go for it. Considering everything that happened during these eleven days between you two, there was no need for you to be cautious or distant. He was pretty straightforward with you about his feelings. Much more upfront than you could ever be. And, some part of you was still in disbelief that he has actually come to love you in such a short amount of time.

It was too good to be true.

You reach his bedside and sit on the chair placed neatly next to it. Without thinking much about it, you reach out and place a gentle hand on his palm, his skin soft and warm under your touch. It makes you smile almost inadvertently. "It's... so good to finally see you. Are you alright? We were all so shocked when Seven..."

"-I'm okay. You don't have to worry." Yoosung cuts you off in a soft tone, his smile turning a bit bashful, and you feel his fingers cautiously intertwining with yours, almost like he was testing the waters, wanting to see if you will pull away from his touch. Of course, you didn't. He sighs, seeming to be enjoying the comfortable silence for a brief moment, before continuing, his thumb warmly brushing the back of your hand. "I promise I'll tell you everything a bit later. There will be no secrets between us. I just... I want this moment to be about us, you know?"

Your heart flutters in your chest as you nod in response to such sweet words. You knew what he meant, though. You really did. He was brave enough to say it openly while you weren't. "What... do you want to talk about?"

You opt to give him the initiative here. To see where this would go. He hums softly, pondering for a few moments before replying, his eye always fixed on you. Not like you could blame him. Finally talking to him face to face and not having to imagine what he actually looks like, was having the same effect on you. You two might be more similar than you think.

"...I just... I can't help but think that this was fate, you know? That Rika really did bring you to me. To help me find what I have lost back when she left us. To help me move forward with my life." He licks his lips, and you give him an encouraging nod, letting him know that you are indeed listening. Rushing this was not necessary. He seemed to appreciate your gesture, with an adorably sweet smile tugging at the corners of his mouth that made your heart swell. "It's funny... I was so popular back in high school, I had so many people I called my friends, and yet, I barely have seen them since then. Yet, the one who made their way back into my life like a hurricane was... you."

You can't help but chuckle and shake your head a little bit. "I would say it was the other way around... but, I am flattered to hear that."

You sway in your seat, unsure if you should mention it or not. In the end, you make the decision to be truthful. You two are technically a couple now, after all. It's only right to be honest with him. And... a huge part of you was always longing for a chance to tell him what you were far too scared to tell all those years ago.

So, you go for it.

"...How surprised would you be, if I told you that I actually had a huge crush on you back in high school?"

You watch his eyes widen and his mouth fall open as he just stares at you for a few moments, completely taken aback by your revelation. It was both endearing and a bit embarrassing to witness. You chuckle nervously, feeling your cheeks grow warm as you look down at your hands locked together, suddenly far too shy to look him in the eye.

"You just seemed so out of my league back then... You were the popular guy - one everyone liked. And, I mean... who was I? Just an anxious mess always sitting in the back of the class. Invisible and weird. So, I... never really approached you about it." You pause, your expression growing a bit somber as you call back to the day of your graduation. An event that was meant to be a moment of triumph and joy. A celebration of the start of your future. Yet, for you two, it wasn't anything like that. "What I always regretted the most, though... was not talking to you back at our graduation. I could tell that something was wrong, but I was too much of a chicken to actually do anything about it. So, I... when I walked into that apartment, and realized it was actually you... I don't know. I just felt like life has given me a second chance. To make things right this time."

There are a few minutes of silence between you two, nothing but the muffled noises of the hospital bustling with life on the other side of the door, and your shared breathing. Despite this, it's not suffocating or uncomfortable at all. It's oddly peaceful. You know he's processing all that you just told him, and you feel strangely calm as you give him all the time he needs before he responds.

Yoosung gently tugs your hand, a silent request for you to look up at him, and you grant him that request without any reservations on your part. His rosy eye is soft as he looks at you, and his brows slightly knit together, but it is not an expression of displeasure or unhappiness. Rather, it's a look of curiosity and disbelief that makes your breath catch in your throat. You remain silent, though, just waiting for him to come up with his piece.

You told your truth. Now, it was his turn.

"All this time... All this time you were right there, by my side, and I didn't even know it. You really are my blessing, aren't you, Y/N?"

His voice shakes as he speaks, his throat bobbing as he clearly attempts to swallow his emotions. It doesn't seem to work, though, as you can see his eye glistening slightly with unshed tears. So much for not getting emotional. As you gently squeeze his hand, you feel yourself becoming quite choked up too. A small laugh escapes you: a natural response to a rather emotional exchange happening between you. "I wouldn't call it that... I was too much of an anxious mess to do anything for the majority of that time. I'm still that awkward, scared kid, to be quite honest. Just a little bit more mature now."

Yoosung shakes his head, and an adorable pout takes its place on his cheeks. He almost seems offended when he hears you talk about yourself in this manner. "You are so much more than that."

"Yeah?" You smile, finding his insistence rather cute.

"Your words, your encouragements, your trust in me - it all gave me strength to let go of my grief and move forward with my life. Before you came along, I... I was just adrift. After Rika passed, I... I honestly felt like a big part of me died with her. I no longer knew who I was, or what I was meant to do, or if there was any point to what I do, if all my efforts could be just ripped away from so cruelly. I gave up on myself. Truth is, deep down, I didn't believe I could be happy. But, you..." he squeezes your hand, laying his other palm atop of it now as well. "You came along, and you believed in me, when no one else did. You encouraged me and told me that it's never too late to seek out that happiness I thought I lost. You never judged me, never made fun of me. You just... listened. Listened and accepted me for who I was. No, you saw things no one else saw, not even me. I can finally say that I am proud of who I am, and that's because of the way your words have motivated and encouraged me. You are the most brave and amazing person I know. And I'll be damned if I don't tell you that every single day from now on."

You're at a loss for words when faced with such a heartfelt speech. It's just too much. In the best way possible. You are pretty sure you can feel a couple of tears sliding down your cheeks now, as a tiny laugh slips from your lips. You wipe your eyes with your free hand, sniffing.

"...I forgot how great you are at giving motivational speeches."

Your blunt response makes you both laugh, a new lightness filling your chest as you suddenly feel all your nerves fade from your mind. Yoosung didn't make you nervous. Not at all. You knew you were safe with him. Just like you always took his problems and struggles seriously, he would do the same for you.

"I wasn't the class president for nothing, you know."

"That you weren't."

[anas-tasiaa]

Gosh-

Thinking about Ray AE giving me a headache. As a choi twin lover, I'd give an F.

A BIG FAT F.

Honestly, if I can slap Saeran GE, I could. I WOULD DO IT 10 TIMES IF I CAN. That pretending jesus to be, ugh. He's not Saeran for me. Saeran wouldn't hug his murderous crazy little bastard dad, who make their life hell. Saeran wouldn't forgive his mother who starved him, beat him, choke him. Cheritz did Saeyoung dirty, really, really bad. We don't even get to see them hug? Now he forgave everyone? Where the hell is the Saeyoung's bookmark? It's gone now?

Even in BE, Saeyoung isn't having a full blown panic with Saeran's death? And RFA praised Saeran for his skills and admiring his so called "love" so much when he's the first one create all the crisis with the prime minister? Isn't that ridiculous??? He's like "omg I think I fucked up so I must save my brother now. 🥺". He's gone too far with that, honestly. Saeyoung is the only one cared and worried so much about him in Ray route while Saeran is (???) Damn bruh who the hell are you.

We don't get to see the twin's proper reunion when this is RAY AFTER ENDING. So Saeyoung isn't important anymore??? Yoosung is now forgetting Rika already and admire Saeran?? Like really, GOSH-

Why would RFA members gushing on Saeran and MC when they barely know them???? They put their 💯 trust on them like????? Even more they came from the organization that once attacked RFA messenger?? They won't shut up about the "fairy tale alike love" of Saeran and MC like it is come out from a romantic Romeo Juliet novel 💀 STOP- We, we don't have to emphasize on the romanticism so much. We have mission??? Tone it down a bit???? Ok I would stop now and

Bye.

[eulaties]

MYSTIC MESSENGER FIC RECS ★ JUMINV ★ #8

fics that have an asterisk (*) in front of them are my personal favorites! also, all of the fics listed are completed unless otherwise stated.

NOTE: these are fic recs for the ship jumin han/jihyun kim. 

this list was last updated on 12/29/20.

if you want general mysme fic recs click here

if you want yoosung/mc fic recs click here

if you want yooseven fic recs click here

if you want yooran fic recs click here

fall to slow motion • one-shot

SUMMARY: “the only person who has ever consistently cleared the threads in his head is v, yet he is not the one drinking with him tonight.”

TAGS: angst, spoilers for 707′s route, v is dead, longing, mc comforting jumin

*in-hyeong • one-shot

SUMMARY: “jihyun comes around to visit without any sort of schedule. he’ll visit twice within the week, before staying away for months and returning again. each time, he looks as though he’s expecting some sort of punishment for his absence, apologising profusely and excusing himself early – as though everyone present would be better without him. he seems to be stuck in the space in-between; some crevasse between understanding that those around him are just worried but afraid his mere presence is a hindrance.”

TAGS: angst, trauma, hurt no comfort, one-sided pining on jumin’s part, healing, jihyun kim character study, mental health issues, prose, read this if you want to cry

CW: unhealthy relationships (rika/v)

the mint was a weed • one-shot

TAGS: angst, spoilers for 707′s route, v is dead, flower imagery, hurt no comfort

it’s always you • one-shot

TAGS: soulmate au, slow dancing, fluff, mutual pining, drinking, drunken kissing, nothing explicit happens

to the night’s end • one-shot

TAGS: unrequited pining, that eventually get requited at the end, angst, canon-divergence, childhood flashbacks, happy ending

*susurrus • one-shot

SUMMARY: “v shows up at jumin's door at some inappropriate time of night to show up at a person's door. after jumin blinks the sleep out of his eyes, v confesses the real reason he came.”

TAGS: hurt/comfort, angst, bittersweet fluff, late night conversations, longing

redamancy • one-shot

SUMMARY: “two years after the end of jaehee's route, when v surrendered himself to mint eye, jumin finally finds him again.”

TAGS: angst, hurt/comfort, reunion, rescue, happy ending

CW: mentions of past abuse and torture, depictions of blood

it might have been • one-shot

SUMMARY: “v asks jumin to meet him for the first time in a while. the topic turns to v's eyes, and jumin tries to make sense of his feelings toward v and the way love affects people.”

TAGS: possibly unrequited love, angst, hurt/comfort, friendship

*sparsile • one-shot

SUMMARY: “chairman han's latest girlfriend insists that he bring jumin to a party. jumin finally agrees on the condition that he can invite v and rika along. being there with his friends leads to complicated feelings arising in jumin that he doesn't know how to explain.”

TAGS: unrequited love, angst, jealousy, hurt no comfort, dancing, an exploration of the concept of compulsive heterosexuality

CW: harassment, anxiety

we’re not out of the tunnel (i bet you though there’s an end) • one-shot

TAGS: angst with a happy ending, friends to lovers, confessions, first kiss

CW: alcoholic abuse, emotional abuse, mild gore (blood and injury), domestic violence

*sunglasses for the moonshine • one-shot

SUMMARY: “jumin and v have kissed more times than best friends should. or: 5 times jumin kissed v and the 1 time v kissed him.”

TAGS: 5+1, childhood flashbacks, fluff, friends to lovers, mutual pining, confessions

CW: implied domestic violence

wine and sunlight • one-shot

SUMMARY: “jumin invited v over to his house to drink wine and catch up. he realizes that his feelings toward his childhood friend are turning into something more.”

TAGS: drinking, first kiss, post-canon fix-it, fluff, gentle kissing

CW: mentions of suicide

*like the sun in the sky • one-shot

SUMMARY: “v encourages jumin to forget about his father and just follow his heart.”

TAGS: childhood flashback, fluff, first kiss, unrequited love, angst

eleven days • one-shot

SUMMARY: “v dies every eleven days and tries to break the cycle.” reset theory, but instead of 707, it’s v.

TAGS: reset theory, angst, death, sharing a bed, fluff, happy ending

sense • one-shot

SUMMARY: “v turns up at c&r to surprise jumin one evening.”

TAGS: prose, fluff, angst, post-secret ending, v survives, established relationship

block out the sun • one-shot

SUMMARY: “because, jumin,” v said with a sweet smile, looking up at the glow around the clouds that had made their way in front of the sun. “the day i go blind will be the day i die.”

TAGS: angst, open ending

CW: v has suicidal thoughts in this fic

*garden • one-shot

SUMMARY: “he has so, so many regrets, and it’s far too late for love.”

TAGS: mutual pining, drunken kisses, confessions, hurt no comfort, angst, regret, sad ending

*awake • one-shot

TAGS: so much fluff, established relationship, cuddling, kisses, they’re soulmates your honor

grateful • one-shot

TAGS: spoilers for secret ending, canon divergence, v survives, reunion, first kiss, happy ending

the wind that carries the rain • one-shot

TAGS: first kiss, kissing in the rain, confessions, hurt/comfort, healing, au where rika is dead

remind me how to forget • one-shot

TAGS: friendship, hurt/comfort, kisses, implied sex but nothing explicit happens in the fic

begonias • one-shot

TAGS: jumin finds out about v’s blindness, angst, hurt no comfort, argument

*terrible things • one-shot

TAGS: angst, one-sided pining, hurt no comfort, background rika/v

something more • one-shot

SUMMARY: “he'd always thought v was beautiful, but seeing him like this, all worry and stress gone from his expression, his chest slowly rising and falling with deep breaths, the sound filling the otherwise silent room, was almost... ethereal.”

TAGS: soft, fluff, domestic bliss, just jumin admiring his husband

sweet dreams • one-shot

TAGS: lying in bed, talking, fluff, nostalgia about childhood

the wedding is tomorrow • one-shot

TAGS: poetry, wedding, happy juminv!!

*ghosts & robots • one-shot

TAGS: mourning, grief, v is dead, angst, read this if you want to cry

sunflowers • one-shot

TAGS: blind v, fluff, established relationship, v being happy

*death’s miracle • one-shot

TAGS: angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, first kiss, canon divergence, reunions, healing, flashbacks

CW: mentions of abuse

*let me tell you a story about love • one-shot

SUMMARY: a story about the morning routines of jumin and jihyun.

TAGS: post-canon, established relationship, domestic bliss, fluff

*words can’t describe it • one-shot

SUMMARY: “v appreciated jumin on a deeper level than just trust and respect. he wasn’t sure if there was a word for it, he just felt...connected to jumin, like an invisible string tethered the two of them and granted each other access into the other’s deepest, darkest, most innermost thoughts.”

TAGS: character study, post-canon, confessions, yearning, rough kissing, porn with feelings

CW: there is some smut in this fic so be warned! (no oral sex, mostly just dry humping lmao??)

winter mornings • one-shot

TAGS: college au, fluff, established relationship, morning routines

[sae-bae-ran]

First, I want to thank all the people who commented under my previous post and reassured me that yes, Saeran’s AE is indeed a bit confusing and getting the Good Ending isn’t as easy as it is in other routes. With that being said, I want to share my thoughts on the AE itself. Some major spoilers under the cut!

Hoo boy!

I haven’t been checking Tumblr or the MM app itself for a while now, so imagine my surprise when I saw a huge update with its description being “Ray’s (or did it say Saeran’s?) after ending has been added. I was a bit worried that it might be a lot like V’s AE - extremely expensive and not actually resolving some of the players’ major concerns, but Cheritz outdid themselves with the format of this one! 300 HG for almost 4 days packed with content is like a huge Black Friday deal that’s actually legit!

It honestly felt like we got a lot more content than usual. There was a Story Mode after pretty much every chatroom. All the calls were packed with a ton of options. Outgoing calls with the the man of the hour, Saeran himself, happened a lot more often than what I’m used to with other characters in their own routes. I haven’t counted how many new CGs we got, but boy oh boy were there many of them and were they gorgeous to look at! So yeah, execution was handled perfectly.

I won’t be analyzing any of the characters, because I don’t think I’m good at it. I’ll just stick to what I felt about them as I navigated my way through the many Bad Ending traps in the AE.

Saeran’s characterization pretty much aligned with most of the HCs I’ve had about him. He is still in the early stages of dealing with trauma caused by many years of neglect and abuse, so I guess it’s natural for him to be so completely devoted to the one who helped him regain his freedom. I’m not worried about him becoming codependent on the MC, because he’s started to have dreams of his own and he did work for Jumin for a while there.

I’m a bit sad that we didn’t get some Choi twins bonding time, but I guess that leaves more room for HCs and maybe... a birthday DLC? Whooa, imagine that!! But still, a short and touching reunion CG/chat/Story Mode would’ve been nice.

I really can’t tell if I’m okay with their dad’s plotline or not. Up until the very end I didn’t feel anything about him as a character. He might have been the agency’s boss and I’d still feel the same about him. In my mind, he was just another tool to highlight Saeran’s transformation.

V and Rika... I don’t even wanna talk about them. What even was that? What happened to them?

Vanderwood was a breath of fresh air. I felt like I could chat with him for hours. We did get some breadcrumbs about his life and I wonder if we’d ever get some Vandy content. Maybe not a full-blown route, but a DLC?

It was a bit shocking to see how this AE took the main cast’s future plans from their Good Endings in a completely different direction. Jumin is now a politician with loyal Jaehee having his back. Yoosung’s dream to become a vet pretty much didn’t even exist in this timeline. I’m a bit sad that RFA basically doesn’t even exist anymore, but hey, I think we can all agree that the organization needs a fresh start and some serious revamping.

Overall, I’m quite satisfied with Saeran’s AE. And how could I not be after seeing the GE CG...

We will probably never get an ending that would be satisfying for all the characters. Even before Another Story was released, I often fantasized about such an ending - an ending where the twins are healthy and happy and working on rebuilding their relationship; an ending where Jumin learns what true love is; an ending where Jaehee gets to make her dream about owning a cafe come true... You get my point. But happiness can come in many forms. Just because Yoosung is not a vet anymore doesn’t mean he won’t be happy making sweets in Paris. In the end, I just want them all to be healthy and happy on their own terms.

So, Cheritz - a huge thank you for this wonderful Christmas present! 🌻🌻🌻

[lilacfrostdraws]

my thoughts about Saeran’s After Ending (GE & NE spoilers)

first thoughts: be still, my heart. the final frame of the good ending made me cry. i adore the twins so much, and i’m so thankful for an ending in which everyone is truly happy! i suffered a bit for this ending (i failed) but it so very was worth it to see everyone’s “promise of happiness” fulfilled.

the artwork: absolutely stunning! all of the stills are gorgeous. i endeavored to achieve as many endings as possible in order to collect all of the frames. Saeran is absolutely adorable in this artstyle. i’m also grateful for the amount of Saeran kiss CGs we received. :) also, the frame of him holding his hand to his chest below the moon as tears fall down his face is beautiful. i believe it perfectly conveys forgiveness, understanding, and acceptance.

saeran: he truly is a sweetheart—one of the kindest and most inspiring characters. i was touched when he said, “if i am to choose the very last thing to do before death, i’ll choose understanding [rather] than hatred.” how beautiful... he has suffered so much but still chooses to embrace kindness. we Saeran stans were fed with his VA’s sweet lines, texts, & multiple teeth-rotting stills with hand holding, hugs, etc... this perfect marshmallow boy deserves all of the love in the world.

on the other hand...

what in the world happened to Rika & V following the Good Ending? i know that in the Normal Ending, Rika confronted the prime minister to protect Saeran & later sought to “atone” for her crimes. but in the Good Ending, did she and V just...disappear? perhaps i just wasn’t paying attention...

the dark endings: Mystic Messenger is notorious for its dark themes, but this route and its entirety were heavy. there are so many endings full of despair, & there is even an ending in which saeran ends his own life. i was sickened while playing this segment. Cheritz does show a warning in the app store of the dark themes of the game, but the topics in this route can be mentally & emotionally draining. i warn all who seek to play this route of its themes!

V: i feel pity for the V stans. he acted selfishly to satiate his guilt with Rika’s evil by feigning a desire to protect everyone & kidnapping the twins. he was a complete 180 degree turn from his character in Another Story. in the past, his actions, though not necessarily right, stemmed from a desire to truly protect everyone. in Saeran’s AE, he returned to a toxic relationship Rika & though he did want to minimize damage, he still primarily wanted to keep the twins for Rika’s sake. i am not necessarily a V stan, but i am disappointed with the way Cheritz handled his character. i also hated when he said something to MC along the lines of, “I wish I had someone [like you who could help me solve my problems].” there’s a continual emphasis of the importance of MC’s decisions and how they save everyone/affect the story. no wonder this route was so emotionally heavy, quite a burden for us to achieve a good ending...

Rika: i am a person who naturally strives for peace and understanding, so i sympathized with Rika & criticized her to a degree. however, those choices led to a Bad Relationship Ending on the Day 4 branch at 2:16 a.m. instead, which sharply contrasted Another Story... AS encouraged the player to forgive & empathize with Rika, while AE gave Saeran’s magenta hearts in answers that were curt & distrusting of Rika. i don’t understand why Cheritz decided to do this.

nevertheless, something that did bother me is that Rika...does not pay for her crimes? i think Saeran is a deeply kind person and so full of love, which is why he forgave Rika & V despite how badly they hurt him. however, forgiveness does not erase the price Rika must pay for the suffering she caused at Mint Eye. she was an abuser & did not deserve to be “redeemed.” she brainwashed hundreds of others. she killed the twins’ mother, albeit in self-defense. there is no clear accountability for Rika that i observed in the Good Ending. she is merely forgiven. (this also alludes back to V’s Judge or Forgive AE, in which Cheritz pretty much requires the player to forgive Rika if they want the Good Ending.)

RFA: I’m happy to know that in the GE, all RFA members found roads to their own happiness. however, i do wish Cheritz would’ve shed a bit more light upon Yoosung’s reaction to Rika. V’s Judge or Forgive did a better job in covering Yoosung’s perspective, but Saeran’s AE almost skipped past it besides a few brief moments of Yoosung crying.

I enjoyed Jumin’s role in this story. unlike V’s JoF in which he falls into a deep drunken sadness, in Saeran’s AE, Jumin discovers how fickle material possessions and wealth truly are & how love prevails over all. honestly, Jumin is an MVP of this route; he sacrificed so much & still fought for justice for the twins & clarity in government intentions. go, Jumin! i’m happy for you!

also, Vanderwood was fantastic! what a cutie. i adore him. he was a bit fickle initially, which was very understandable, but i’m so glad he truly cares for saeyoung. another MVP of the AE!

the twins: the twins’ story is so bittersweet. these boys have suffered enough. i believe that my favorite part of the AE is their reunion in the end. i love that Cheritz alludes to the fact that the player, Saeran, and Saeyoung live together & travel the world. i couldn’t help but smile when they thanked me, the player, for helping them finally reach an ending in which everyone is happy. i cried when the fourth wall shattered. i love them. i did feel that the ending was a bit rushed—even Saeran said, “why are you trying to end this?” i wish Cheritz would’ve shown us a bit more scenes with Saeran and Saeyoung together, but i’m content that they’re both safe and happy. it’s all i wanted!

overall...i enjoyed it! i believe it was worth the wait. it certainly was far from perfect—i disliked Day 3’s chats in the evening, especially, and the story as a whole is emotionally heavy & may be triggering to some. i also wish V’s character would have been handled differently & Rika would be held accountable for her abusive actions. also, there is the prevalent, continual emphasis upon the weight of the player’s decisions. but finally achieving the good ending—a good ending for everyone—is a feeling like no other.

i love saeran, & i’ll always cherish MM! i truly hope this isn’t the end. there’s always the chance for a Valentine’s DLC for V & Saeran. :)

[unknowncrashingthroughthewindow]

Oh and, once I got on Yoosung's route (which wasn't as hard because I didn't need to be an asshole to anyone to get him! except V but I was gucci with that) I kept getting bad endings because I didn't want to correct him when he compared me to Rika or try to ease his suspicions when it came to V. I just agreed with everything. This blond bitch scared me so much. I got every single one of his bad ends, each worse than the other, and even though he's my favorite character ever now I (1/2)

yea yoosung’s route certainly isn’t bad, but there’s of course problems with it. like how yoosung isn’t allowed to talk about his feelings, especially those regarding v (i understand that this is because the rfa feels like the organisation is at a very fragile place and any discourse could shatter it, but its still a very invalidating and unsupportive way to treat a friend), and how mc isn’t allowed to talk about her feelings either (see: the whole bomb scenario, and how if u say ur anxious at all its a bad end option), and (from what i can remember) when v comes to yoosung being like “its all my fault and i hate myself” and yoosung being like “its all your fault and i hate you” and its the quote unquote moment of reunion between the two because there’s never a followup conversation where they acknowledge that instead of just giving yoosung the brief emotional satisfaction of “you’re right, it was all my fault,” a better way to go about it would’ve been for v to recognise that it being “his fault” meant that his insistence about no questions asked and no emotions felt was ultimately damaging for yoosung because he needed someone to truly understand what he was feeling, and the one person he REALLY thought would be able to do that was incredibly emotionally absent, and not that it was just going to inevitably be “his fault” from the beginning without anything v or yoosung could’ve done about it.

i understand that this level of emotional insight from two very emotionally exhausted characters definitely isn’t realistic to ask for, but i also think that having their bonding scene be bonding over how much they both hate v wasn’t a good way to go about it

[juminsmysticmc]

May I request how FRA+V will react when they know that Mc is the daughter of driver Kim Thank you

RFA + Jihyun with Mc as Driver Kim’s daughter

Hii~ this request was surely one of the most difficult ones because I really didn’t remember Jumin‘s Route anymore. I used the chance to re-read the Route in the bus. I hope that everything is the way you imagined it would be!

Have a nice day and please give feedback!

Jumin

On the seventh day Jaehee begs us to go to the C&R building and tell the receptionist to please take us to the penthouse, saying that ,,Assistant Kang“ asked for it. And so in the next Scenario there’s no hint that the driver is Driver Kim. Same goes for Day 9, Jihyun says that it would be better to go from the C&R building so...I will begin my story from when Jumin and Mc are a couple…! 

Flashlights over flashlights and never ending questions got to you.

But next to Jumin, you felt safe.

The only worry you had were your parents, who were kind of strict, and of course your older brother who disliked the talk about boys.

And just like you guessed, the next day your father called you, asking you if you were really the girlfriend of the CEO in line.

,,Yes D-”

,,We need to talk. Please bring him with you. I know he will come along,“ your father said, which was totally odd.

,,It’s okay. I‘m happy that they want to meet me and that they take care of their daughter,“ Jumin said and nodded kindly, taking your hand afterwards.

He was just about to call his favourite driver when the guard told him that a driver was already waiting.

,,Great, you will get to know Driver Kim…“ Jumin laughed but looked disappointed, when he got to know that Driver Kim had something more important to do today.

For a bit he felt betrayed, but for now Jumin wanted to give you all of his attention.

,,It’s a rather fancy restaurant...I didn’t know that my father knew such locals…“ you honestly confessed.

,,Oh, there‘s Driver Kim…“ Jumin mumbled.

You soon walked off and hugged the driver. 

Jumin was kind of perplexed that you would greet his driver with so much love but when he heard your question, his face became numb.

,,Dad, what are you doing here?“

A few seconds later you and your parents, as well as your brother, sat together with Jumin at a table.

The both of you holding hands to make your fears vanish.

But Jumin was very good at talking.

,,I‘m sorry, Mr. Han. My daughter is no good. She‘s clumsy and her cooking skills are as bad as a three year old’s, but she‘s very lovable. I won’t oppose this relationship, but if you think that this relationship won’t last long because of your differences, I beg you to leave her before her kind heart gets broken.“ your dad asked.

Jumin nodded.

,,Thank you for giving birth to her. I‘m sure that the both of us will handle the situation perfectly. I will do my best to keep her heart safe.

,,We however need to talk about your job, Driver Kim. Or, Mr Kim. I will surely give you more pay if you still want to work for me.“ Jumin said.

He was scared that he would lose his driver but he knew, whatever happened, he won much more than he lost.

But the driver got up and patted his hand.

,,You’re here my son. Outside you’re my supervisor and you will always be. Even with no pay.“ he nodded.

And so a kind family reunion began, washing away your’s or Jumin‘s fears.

Zen

When you first arrived at his door, the young man was very surprised and happy.

The two of you had a great time.

As if you were meant for each other, you had the same thoughts or could talk deep about an easy topic.

But suddenly, your phone began to ring.

,,Did you put an alarm?“ he asked you and looked into your phone.

The both of you still had more than 15 minutes.

,,Yes, I need to go now. The driver outside-”

,,Driver Kim? He can wait for a bit. Please stay just a few-”

,,No, I mean that I really have to go now because the driver-”

,,Didn’t you enjoy the time you had with me?“ Zen suddenly asked you, feeling bad suddenly.

As if you rejected him.

Was the date so horrible?

,,Father!“ you suddenly exclaimed.

,,Driver Kim is my father! Because it was confidential information my father couldn’t tell me. And now I just found out.“ you told him.

Immediately he got up, taking both of his crutches.

,,Let’s go out now. Take your jacket...I will give him my respects…“ Zen mumbled and suddenly got super nervous.

You found it really hilarious that he suddenly had a totally different opinion.

And so, Zen walked with you and brought you safe and sound to the car, wishing you a good evening.

,,Jumin Han, are you treating Driver Kim well?“ he afterwards asked Jumin.

No one could mistreat his future father-in-law after all...

Yoosung

The most beautiful moment was when you could finally see Yoosung.

The way he saved you was just like a hero would do and you immediately fell deeper in love with his action.

When he saw you, his face lit up.

Your kind smile, your perfect body, and your laughter.

Was he dreaming? Was his eye playing a joke on him?

,,Hello...nice to meet you, Yoosung…“ you mumbled when you met him.

And this was when a wonderful relationship began.

A bit later you wanted to finally present him to your parents.

,,What? Your father is Driver Kim??“ he asked you, shocked.

You just nodded.

,,I saw Jumin a few times when I was little. I didn’t want to tell anyone yet. Although, I think Jumin recognized me…“ you laughed.

,,Don’t be nervous!“ you laughed when you saw his face.

In the end, it was a nice reunion and the best was that the men immediately found a topic to talk about.

Jumin.

Jaehee

Of course Jaehee knew your dad.

She also knew you.

Just, when you said in the RFA group that you were Mc, she didn’t imagine that you would be that Mc.

Although, you didn’t say anything to her because you recognized her.

You always had a crush on the young woman.

And now that she finally acknowledged you, the love for her got stronger.

,,I still don’t get why you didn’t tell me,“ she laughed one day, hugging you in your shared bed.

You slowly put your head on her chest and explained to her that you were scared since she wasn’t in a good relationship at that time with Jumin.

The fact that your father was Jumin‘s driver really helped Jaehee in times where she wondered how he was.

Because even though she wouldn’t admit it, Jumin was her former boss and one of the RFA members.

She still cared about him.

Saeyoung

,,Ohh...That‘s a funny coincidence.“ he laughed when he found out about your relationship with Jumin‘s driver.

But Jumin wasn’t as amused as the red haired man was.

,,I know that right now it’s a hard time, but I knew Mc ever since she was little and you knew as well that she‘s Driver Kim‘s daughter. I don’t want to tell my driver that his daughter died while being in the RFA!“ Jumin complained, trying to bring his friend to the right side.

But instead, he ignored him.

A lot had happened since then. 

You guys were held captive but then saved.

Afterwards, Jihyun died and Rika was brought away by Zen and Yoosung, leaving Jaehee and Jumin in the dark.

But except for that, neither your dad or Saeyoung, your fiancé, had a problem.

It was even really good because your dad, being a driver, knew a lot about cars and Saeyoung loved to learn even more.

,,But, now I know why you knew the way to use a car so well…“ 

Saeyoung joked, making you hit him lightly.

Jihyun

When you met him, you were pretty shocked.

One of the reasons was that you couldn’t believe that he wasn’t an Al.

He was real.

He had a beating heart, he had a warm skin, and an angelic voice.

He was a real person who was willing to save you.

,,Oh, you grew up well!“ Jihyun said a bit later.

You looked at him.

Right now it wasn’t the time but he still told you.

When he saw your puzzled face, he began to laugh.

,,You’re the daughter of Driver Kim, right? He sometimes shower us pictures,“ Jihyun explained.

Jihyun was giving his best to make sure that you stayed safe, but knowing that you were Driver Kim‘s daughter made him even stronger.

MASTERLIST 1MASTERLIST 2MASTERLIST 3

17.11.2019// 21:54 MEST

Tagged:

@foreversunshine-love @giulia2372 @sailormoonrocks666

@widya345 @remiliadacalde @r-f-a-journalists 

[myhackerbuddy]

This is a a bit of a spoiler. This won’t explain all but it might help you understand the story between 707 and Unknown as well as a bit of Rika and V’s story.

Rika founded the RFA (Rika’s Fundraising Association) and was V’s fiancee. Behind those beauty and sweet smile lies a dark past.

Rika was adopted, and was abused (I haven’t read her behind story so I’m sorry if this is what I can tell you). Volunteering to help people is therapeutic for her depression and paranoia. Her way to cope up is to be busy in helping others.

What’s their relationship with the Choi twins?

The twins were the illegitimate child of the prime minister. Their mother used them to get money but she’s not really a nice mother to them. She would beat them to pulp, and often tie Saeran while Saeyoung does errand for her (Since Saeran’s weaker, he’s been the subject of abuse especially when Saeyoung’s away)

Because they are the fruit of accident, their father wants them dead. Their appearance may tarnish his reputation. That made Saeyoung scared for their life. So as he does errands he would go to the cathedral to attend mass. And that’s when he met V and Rika. He discovered his ability and use it for escape, however it’s not easy as he need to leave Saeran behind because it’s very dangerous.

707 or Seven, is one of the member of RFA and is responsible on security and clasified information. A very secretive guy, who hides behind his quirky and funny self.

The idea of being a secret agent was from V. Since Seven is an intelligent kid, V saw the potential and offered to help him so he can earn money. It was a hard decision but V promised that he’ll take care of Saeran while he’s away. After endless persuasion, Seven agreed and asked for his help to change his name to Luciel. Seven then swore to always serve and help V for he own him a lot.

In Seven’s route, he got to meet Unknown when he went to the apartment where MC stays. Their reunion is not something to be excited about, because it seems that his brother became avery different person now. The Unknown who continues to infiltrate his codes, and the one who lead the MC (Main Character: Player) to the RFA, is no other than his brother. Not only that, his brother seems to have a big grudge against him. His appearance and attitude change, the reason why Seven became a complete a-hole in his route. He was confuse and tried to push away MC.

This made Seven furious against V. Clearly, V didn’t fulfill his promise to take care of his brother. V didn’t exactly explain the situation, for he is also hiding Rika that time. Instead, he ask Seven not to open the drawer in the apartment. Hurt because V doesn’t trust him, Seven poured out his anger and revealed his brother on the chatroom. V swiftly dodged his questions, that made Seven more furious and swore not to trust him anymore.

Another revelation after opening the drawer because they found blueprints and planner about this cult group - Mint Eye. They found out that Rika’s been involved with the organization for a long time, and guessed that she’s also involve in the foundation. This made Yoosung, her cousin, confused for he have known her as a nice person who can’t do such thing. To find the truth, MC and Seven went to Mint Eye and got to meet Saeran. Seven tried to explain why he needed to be away, but Saeran’s badly hurt and close minded because of Rika’s endless brainwashing. He ended up fleeing and MC and Seven got stuck in the room.

Unknown is the person who lead the MC to RFA. In Casual and Deep story, you’ll see his as an effective antagonist but in his route, you can finally see the person behind his personality.

In able to play his route, you have to be in Another Story. Saeran will introduce himself as Ray. He will let you believe that you are just going to try his new game where you’ll chat AI characters and act as a party coordinator.

Before we proceed, let me tell you more about Saeran.

He is the twin brother of Seven who was abused and had split personality. I don’t know if Seven’s aware (probably not) because he acquired it when he was being abuse by their mother. I think his other self was triggered when Seven’s nowhere to be found.

After sending Seven to the private agency, V and Rika did everything to get Saeran out of the house. He was completely saved when his mother died. I guess the twins aren’t aware of the real reason behind her death, but Rika’s the one who killed her.

Saeran became better. Seven treated V as his father and Saeran seems to treat him the same. But behind V, Rika secretly meets up with Saeran and shower him lies to get him study the books that Seven used. Saeran did as she told because he wants to know Seven more and by studying the same, he feels attached and somewhat close to his twin.

Rika and V’s relationship was very toxic. How could you still love a person who hurted you, blinded you? Rika thought she could do everything to help others.. there came a point were she feels that what she’s doing wasn’t enough. That’s why she founded Mint Eye. A cult who recruit believers and the way they cleanse is through drinking elixir. A very deadly solution (mixture of peyote cactus, methanol, unspecified mushroom) which taste bitter and nonexistent. Imagine how awful it taste and Saeran’s been fed with it since he’s a kid.

They kidnapped Saeran and made him drink Elixir.. everyday. They tortured and brainwashed him to force him to wake his other personality, so that Rika can control him better.

Talking to him on the phone is like a rollercoaster ride. Ray is a soft, sweet boy and Saeran’s always irritated at you, calling you a toy and hurting you with his sharp words.

But behind that is just a lonely boy who misses his brother. Imagine how cruel it is for him to be used and fed with lies. He experiences massive headache, deprived of sleep (because he’s working nonstop. He sleep 3-4 hours only) and is very loyal to the Saviour. He devoted himself to the Savior that he forgot who to love. All he know is he wanted revenge to the one who abandoned him.

Ever wonder why he had white to grayish hair instead of red hair like Saeyoung? How about his eyes? It’s because he had Marie Antoinette Syndrome.

"Marie Antoinette syndrome occurs when people lose their hair color after receiving a great shock, undergoing a grievous loss or surviving a life-threatening situation."

Do you imagine how sad their story is? It’s very heartbreaking and cruel. To think that all of them are just a victim. One mistake and it’ll pass with another. I don’t know much about Rika’s story, but I know Mika is the one responsible to Rika’s mental state. V’s love wasn’t enough to save Rika. V hid the truth to the RFA members causing them to hate V.

To be honest V sacrificed a lot for the RFA members. Rika told him he’s a traitor because he doesn’t approve to her ideas. He failed to stop her so he ended up sacrificing. He’s alone as he keep an eye to Mint Eye, while his vision became worst.

He said he wanted to live up with his mistake, that’s why he doesnt want to fix his vision. He knew it’s his fault for not trying enough to stop her, but it’s understandable. It’s hard to handle her. He should have ask for help with his friend.

He shouldn’t suffer alone.

[hideyoshineki]

V’s After End - Where the Message Fails

So I have now gone through both the Forgive and Judge ends of V’s After Ending, and throughout my playthrough, there was something that I felt just wasn’t working. Now that I’ve completed the entirety of V’s After Ending (or shall I call it Rika’s After Ending, because that’s what it felt like), I want to talk about what makes this ending unsatisfactory.

Before I start, I just want to say that I still really appreciate Cheritz. I can see how hard they have worked on this game. They have tried hard to address certain issues and discuss messages they want to send. The way they handle these issues is very debatable and done poorly in ways, but considering this game is first and foremost made in South Korea where the issue of mental health has quite a ways to go, props to them for trying at least?

Some of the messages they were going for in this After Ending are interesting and can be valid in more minor scenarios. The thing is… I strongly believe they do not work in the context of Rika and what she has done.

Basically, this game makes you either forgive Rika and be sympathetic to her, or makes you feel bad and as if you are being cruel if you do not.

In the Forgive End, the blame for Rika’s actions is essentially not placed on her. The story puts the blame on her mental illness, as well as all the traumatising circumstances throughout her life. Through Yoosung reading up in a psychology textbook, he comes to the conclusion that what Rika did was not entirely wrong and that she didn’t do bad things on purpose, as her mental illness is what caused everything.

Because of this conclusion, Rika is not held accountable for her actions. At the end of this After Ending, Rika has learned to find happiness and goodness within herself, “becoming her own sun”, and is living her life. The only consequence of everything she has done in this game is that public perception of her is bad. The severe crimes she has committed are not dealt with, and she does not even face any legal consequences.

There is also a lot of discussion throughout the After Ending that questions whether justice is really something that is needed. Zen in particular continuously raises the point that it would be better for everyone’s own mental and emotional health, as well as their individual growth, to forgive what Rika has done, and not hold onto any negative emotions in their heart.

Now I see what Cheritz were trying to do with this After Ending. They want to send the message that holding grudges and hate within yourself hurts you. They want to point out that unless you understand the other person, you can’t really judge their actions as being wholly good or bad. Who decides good and bad, and who decides whether something is just?

Now these are some interesting questions, and I actually believe that this can be valid in certain scenarios, provided the scenario is not nearly as major as the one in this game. The entire message Cheritz tries to send in the After Ending falls apart when you look at what Rika has done.

Rika’s actions, that this game wants to forgive and not concern yourself with justice over, includes:

-          Manipulating people around her to be extremely dependant on her,

-          Physically abusing her partner, including purposefully blinding him, to make him prove his devotion to her,

-          Taking many vulnerable people into a cult,

-          Drugging and brainwashing said people,

-          Raising a child to be exploited and carry out her will for her personal gain, breaking down this child and his worldview and his trust in people he loved so that he would turn against everyone else and be obedient to only her, while also forcefully drugging this child in the process,

-          Attempted murder (stabbing V, making Saeran explode Magenta)

Not to mention that throughout the Another Story routes, she repeatedly denies any of these actions as being wrong, stating that it is needed, under her delusion that she needs to release her devil and it’s the only way these people can find Paradise. She was offered help many times, but she refused it and continued to do these awful things, justifying herself as she did so.

This game wants to treat judging Rika for all of that as if it is on the same level as judging someone for cutting you off in traffic.

But how can we possibly not view any of what she has done as bad? How can the game say that the concept of justice isn’t something that needs to be applied here? In what way does understanding her mindset diminish the seriousness of what she has done?

How can all of this be forgiven so easily, with the perpetrator getting away with it all and facing hardly any consequences?

Based on the original 5 routes and Secret Endings, I do not think this game originally set out to try to excuse Rika in this way. If it did, I think they would have made her actions much less extreme to start with. But since Rika has been getting more attention lately, and thus more fans and more demand for her happy ending has emerged, Cheritz is pushing for more sympathy for her now. Rika’s newly released backstory has added a number of new circumstances to further try to absolve Rika of blame for her future actions and elicit greater audience sympathy for her in order to do so. However, while mental illnesses and a traumatic past and life can be an explanation, they are not a justification for everything that Rika has done.

In addition to all of this, forgiveness is portrayed as something that must be done in order for everyone to get the best possible outcome. The Choi Twins’ plot with their father is dealt with and resolved and they get their long awaited happy reunion, and MC and V get married and raise a child together.

The Judge End aims to create a sense of discomfort among all the characters because Rika was not forgiven. Luckily, the end wasn’t so bad that it prevented the Choi twins from reuniting or from V and MC remaining together (although they do not get married in this end). However, characters are still portrayed as being unhappy, and regretful over what has happened with Rika (who ends up in a coma) and feeling as if they did not make the right choice nor did they get closure.  

The Judge End also really tries to hammer in the idea that the player is being too harsh. They include a dream sequence consisting of Rika being beaten down by every character, stating that everything that has happened throughout her life is deserved. The ending makes it seem that since you didn’t want to forgive Rika, then you must want her to be forever suffering, being hated by everyone in the world and only existing in complete hopelessness by being a shell that lives in her own self-isolation and darkness.  You as the player are made out to be cruel for inflicting this end upon Rika for not forgiving her.

This entire After Ending would have worked better if it tried a more balanced approach between these two ends, instead of forcing a message onto the player that should not be applied to a case as extreme as Rika’s. Instead of one end resulting in Rika getting away scot-free and the other with her being dead inside, perhaps they could have allowed for Rika to face the proper consequences of what she did without everyone being made to feel bad about it? Maybe letting the player hope for Rika to be better and find inner peace, but not actually needing to forgive her in order for that to happen?

The message that victims of serious harm will only find peace if they forgive and don’t concern themselves with the idea of justice is a harmful one. The idea that mental illness and life circumstances take the blame away from an individual’s severe actions is false.

I can only hope that Saeran’s eventual After Ending does not follow the same direction as this one.

[maldito-arbol]

An analysis of the V AE

I feel like I should make a post of my own about this topic, seeing as there’re a lot of disagreeing opinions on the matter, though the majority seems to be slanted in the negative direction.

I did not hate the V After Ending or Rika’s backstory; in fact, I really enjoyed them and felt they settled a lot of questions I had pent up. So I’m going to give a fair warning before I begin this post: if you love V and hate Rika, we have disagreeing opinions, so read at your own discretion.

First of all, V’s presence, or lack thereof. Let me explain why I was okay with this, or even a little relieved at that. I personally don’t like V at all. His character is very well built and developed, sure, and he plays a significant role in the RFA’s story, but that doesn’t mean I like him as a person. To me, he’s far too obsessive, creepy, and hypocritical for my taste.

To elaborate, his relationship with Rika never sat well with me ever since I went through the entirety of the Secret Ending. He had this tendency to put himself on a pedestal, an infallible beacon of light Rika was supposed to put all of her faith in. He may have acted in a way that could be considered selfless, but it went a step too far into the narcissistic direction, where he believed he could fix everything on his own. Rika didn’t need someone to just accept her the way she was, she needed someone to help her help herself. Because the way she was wasn’t okay. V essentially let her believe that there was nothing wrong with her darkness as long as he was there with her.

It’s not okay on any level that V pushed his love so hard onto Rika, telling her that he’d still love her even if she blinded him or destroyed him. It’s a huge red flag that she’d ask a question like that in the first place, but he ended up encouraging her rather than shutting her down. And in the end, he admits that his love wasn’t even love at all, but an obsession. That’s all well and good for him to realize it, but he just rubbed major salt in Rika’s wounds, and there are a plethora of better ways he could’ve gone about fixing his mistake.

Even the way that they got together bothers me. According to Rika’s backstory, when Rika stops showing up to modeling sessions with V, he straight up shows up at her house. The way his words are phrased indicates clearly to me that she hadn’t shared her address or personal information with him at all, but rather, he found her house by following her home god knows how many times and pseudo-stalking her daily activities wherever he could.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not in any way trying to put V down to raise Rika up. I will never excuse the horrible things she’s done nor blame V for them. This is simply my analysis on V’s character, and why I personally dislike him.

The V route destroyed my soul as I struggled to get the good ending. I hated being a jerk to Ray who was so clearly in so much pain, and I hated not being able to scream at V for all the bullshit he’d been pulling. When we found out he just straight up left for two years, I was done. I was fully prepared to completely ignore the After Ending if it meant I didn’t have to just shrug off his grievances and be all lovey dovey with the guy. But seeing as I essentially worship any and all Mystic Messenger content, I decided to give it a go. And boy I was not disappointed. V almost didn’t exist until the last episode, and I was elated I could focus on the other characters.

The other characters were so much more interesting anyways. We got to see new sides of them that we always knew existed, but never actually experienced. We saw Yoosung’s heart-wrenching confrontation with Rika, Saeyoung’s agony over losing his brother, Jumin’s oddly calm distress in the absence of his closest friends, Jaehee’s coldness towards Rika, hell, even Vanderwood’s hidden affection for Saeyoung and the value he places in the life of another human being. Everything felt so unreal, and yet it was all perfectly in character for each and every one of them.

And now, on to Rika. Rika was oddly tame for this, and it makes sense to me in the context of the AE. She’d been detained, and told time and time again just how wrong she was. There was no more room for her to believe her methods were correct, so she just...deflated. I see people all over arguing about her attitude and complaining that Cheritz is trying too hard to redeem an irredeemable character, and I can’t bring myself to agree with that. Just like I can’t bring myself to love Rika, I can’t bring myself to hate her either.

Rika is an immensely complicated character. There are parts of her that I find interesting and cool, and there are others that disgust me. Her backstory brought a lot of herself into perspective, and now her character makes more sense. The fact that she preaches on and on about having a devil inside her is perfectly plausible with how her mother and the pastor used to talk to her, and how she stood up for herself by accepting their religious talk and turning it into a weapon. If they truly believed she had a devil within her, she could manipulate them into believing she herself had power over them. And unfortunately, this carried on into her adult life where she could justify her own actions as the devil inside her acting of its own accord.

The other major factor that plays into her heinous actions at the Mint Eye is the fact that she was physically uncomfortable around people who didn’t need her help, because she believed bright people would see the darkness inside her and be repulsed by it. Her interactions with Yoosung are proof enough. She was drawn to the Choi twins because they needed help, and she was more than happy to help if it meant they’d see her as a savior rather than a devil. But as time passed, she grew to believe that Saeran would leave her the second he didn’t need her help anymore, and she knew that Saeyoung would be the one to help him do it. I believe that’s why she manipulated Saeran to believe that Saeyoung had abandoned him. Then she beat him down mentally until he became completely reliant on her, and she felt safe knowing that he couldn’t possibly leave her that way.

Understanding Rika’s actions doesn’t absolve her of blame, but it does bring me to the realization that there was a method to the madness, that this wildly absurd ideal of hers was something that was instilled into her brain from the day she was adopted, and reinforced by the people around her. So, as a person, I would never be able to stand in her presence, but as a character, I enjoy how thoroughly she has been developed and explained. It’s not bad story writing to me, nor is it some kind of excuse to justify her actions. It’s an explanation for us all to understand why she is the way she is, and how by forgiving her, we not only rectify the hatred within ourselves, but we can also change her perspective and grant her the opportunity to make things right. Which, she does. She turns herself in, though not before unleashing the prime minister’s secret and publishing a video that addresses her crimes. It’s a good ending, whether you hate her or not.

The Judge Ending begins a little harshly, and I was initially shocked at the portrayal of the characters in the MC’s dream. However, it continues peacefully, with an arguably good ending of everyone moving on and learning to cope. I have seen people say Cheritz guilt-tripped us into forgiving Rika, but after playing both endings, I can tell you that is not the case. By choosing the Judge answers, the other members do not admonish you by any means. They continue to act in character, with Yoosung whole-heartedly agreeing with you, Zen respecting your responses even though he disagrees, etc etc. And the Judge Ending is most certainly not a Bad Ending. It’s probably more of a Normal Ending, which I would argue counts as a Good Ending, just a little different. Cheritz knows there are some people who would forgive Rika in a heartbeat, and others who would rather die. The V after ending respects both sides, and I didn’t have much to complain about.

The only one thing I have to complain about, is the way the MC treats Saeran. In the V route, once you’d chosen his route, you’re basically locked into choosing answers that are harsh or uncalled for towards Saeran. And in the after ending, you can choose answers that show concern over his well-being, but you never get the chance to interact with him again. I wish at least that after Saeran’s tearful reunion with Saeyoung, he could’ve had one with the MC too. I was worried sick over whether or not he’d survived, and I would’ve given anything to just chuck V out the window and choose Saeran in the end. The poor boy needs all the love he can get.

Anyway, before this gets way too long and annoying, I’ll end it here. This post was mostly supposed to focus on V and Rika, so I hope my perspective can be understood. Thanks for reading this far, and let me know if you agree or disagree with my opinions! I enjoy having respectful debates.

tl;dr: V is a creepy narcissistic stalker and that’s why I hate him. Rika is a terrible person but a good character, so I don’t hate her and I don’t love her. V AE cockblocked MC and Saeran interactions and it sUcked.

[coolandspice]

Affirmation

Saeran Choi Week 2018 7th Day : Birthday || Reunion

Summary:  On the morning after Mint Eye’s arrest, Saeran is unexpectedly reunited with MC when he saves her from danger, again. 

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15328704

Setting:  Ray Route Bad Relationship End 2

A/N: Here’s the long overdue Part 2 to my fic, It All Comes Back - MC’s side of the story. This one is both a parallel and a sequel to the first fic. Tagging @saeranchoiweek again as this is still an entry to Saeran Week 2018.

A real-time footage of the façade of an apartment complex is currently playing on the computer screen. There’s nothing to show except for a lady tenant entering her unit. Saeran watches the feed a minute more before deciding to get back to his work on consolidating evidences against Mint Eye.

“Go talk to her.”                                                                        

Saeran sighs as he turns away from the computer to face his older twin who enters the computer room with a pack of Honey Butter chips on hand. “You know I can’t.”

“Sure you can.” Saeyoung insists. “You just don’t want to, despite stalking her for months already.”

The younger twin pouts at the insinuation. “I’m just checking on her occasionally.”

Saeyoung stops stuffing his face with this favorite chips. He slowly licks his lips and flashes a shit-eating grin on Saeran. “If ‘occasionally’ means having hacked and reprogrammed the street CCTV camera positioned across her apartment building to send real-time footages to your computer every 8AM and 6PM, then sure, you only check on her,” he makes air-quotation marks with his fingers, “occasionally.”

“I-wha-how did you know that?” Saeran sputters, a raging blush creeps up on his cheeks. His skin is almost as red as their natural hair color now.

Saeyoung laughs out loud, thoroughly amused at Saeran’s indignation. “Well, this is my house and that,” he points at Saeran’s computer, “is my old computer. You can’t keep secrets from me when you’re using my old gadgets, Bro.”

The younger twin narrows his eyes at his brother. “You’re unbelievable.”

Saeyoung laughs again then ends it with a sigh, his face turning serious. “Go back to her, Saeran. I only got to talk to her in the chatroom but I know she’s a good girl. You shouldn’t make her worry for this long.”

“She’s an angel.” Saeran whispers wistfully. “But she’s better off without me. I…” he sighs, “I did despicable things to her. I don’t deserve to see her anymore.”

“Funny, that’s also how I used to think before I got kidnapped and thought I was gonna die without seeing my twin again.” Saeyoung smiles as he looks directly at his brother. “Thank God I was rescued by the exact person I wanted to see the most.”

Saeran shakes his head. “It’s not the same. You left because you thought it’s what’s good for us back then. You entered the Agency so Father can’t trace you and you trusted V and Rika that they will take care of me.” He says. “I left her behind because I can’t take the guilt anymore. I’ve hurt her, Hyung.”

“I think you’ve more than made up to her by getting her out of Mint Eye.” says Saeyoung.

“I got her out because I brought her there in the first place.” Saeran counters.

“Why are you so stubborn about this?” Saeyoung sighs again. “From what I remember from the chats, she likes you a lot – No, she loves you.  She purposely hid the fact that she was with you, the hacker back then, to protect you.”

“That was before I hurt her.” Saeran sighs. “She must hate me now.”

“Well, you would know.” Saeyoung lifts his glasses and massages the bridge of his nose. “You hated me when you thought I abandoned you. So now you think she hates you because you left her without an explanation.”

“That’s not true!” Saeran protests but Saeyoung looks at him sternly.

The younger twin averts his eyes. “Well, yeah, I did. I let Mint Eye make me hate you for leaving me behind.”

Saeyoung takes in a deep breath, readying himself for a long talk. “Saeran, don’t be like me. I left you without telling you why. I never checked how you were. I deluded myself that you’re doing okay with Rika because of the pictures she showed me. I know I should have at least checked on you personally, even just once. I kept telling myself that secret agents can’t have ties so I’m not allowed to see you. But in fact, I was afraid that if I see you, I’ll never be able to leave you again. I was a coward, Saeran.”

“Hyung, stop.” Saeran pleads. “We’ve talked about this before. We’ve decided to move on from that. No more blaming.”

“Then stop blaming yourself as well, Saeran.” Saeyoung follows up. “I’m thankful that you have forgiven me, but you have to forgive yourself too. You were not in total control when you were in Mint Eye. You know that, right?”

Saeran raises his hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”

The look on Saeyoung’s face is skeptical but he decides to drop the subject for now. He simply nods at his brother and leaves the room, probably to get a can of Doctor Pepper.

Saeran returns to his work, pulling up multiple media websites in search of more news that may relate to Magenta and Mint Eye.

Days passed in the Choi Bunker quietly, both twins working on the Mint Eye plan as per instructed by V and Jumin. The other RFA members are doing their best to help out too, with the exception of Yoosung who still has to come into terms with the truth about Rika. It was a hard pill to swallow so it was implicitly agreed on that they will give him the time and space he needs to sort his feelings.

V keeps in touch with the twins this time, making sure that they are both safe. He does not fail to remind them that he’d already lost them at two separate occasions. He and Saeran worked hard to recover Saeyoung from their father’s clutches and get the twins to reunite. V will be damned if it they get separated again. That’s why the guy calls the twins alternately every night. V never misses, not even on the day RFA exposed Mint Eye to the media.

It was a hectic day, with the RFA on the forefront, naming politicians, businessmen and other influential people involved in Mint Eye’s activities. The invited Media personnel at the press conference had a field day, asking questions left and right. Thankfully, ZEN, RFA’s elected spokesperson, did a wonderful job of delivering RFA’s stance on the issue. Given that he’s an actor, he will also be benefitting from the exposure. This is, of course, included in Saeyoung’s calculations. As it was immediately decided that the Choi twins will not be involved in RFA’s press con due to their family situation, Saeyoung and Saeran worked hard on the preparation aspect, crunching data that would benefit RFA’s cause before and during the conference. They also prepared multiple contingencies for several scenarios as requested by Jumin and Jaehee.

As the day comes to a close, Saeran’s phone rings right on cue. It was time for V’s call. Saeran shows the caller id to Saeyoung and signals that he will be going out of the computer room for a while to answer V.

Saeran sits on the couch as he picks up the call. “Hello, V.”

“I’d like to thank you again, Saeran.” V says on the phone. “We wouldn’t get this far without you and Saeyoung. By now, all of Korea already knows about Mint Eye and the evil it brought to its believers.”

“Are you sure about this, V?” Saeran asks him. “The Savior – I mean, Rika will be arrested too.”

V doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he sighs over the mic.

“I know it’s my ego talking, but I feel it’s my responsibility to stop Rika as her ex-lover. At first, I thought I can save her but when I learned of what she’s done to you and the other believers… what she’s done to her…” V sighs again, his tone regretful, “I knew it was too late. She needs to be stopped.”

Saeran stiffens, the memory of the night in the dungeons coming back to him. It’s been months since her cleansing but he has never forgotten that moment. He knew he hurt her more than the elixir’s damage to her physical body. When she realized he had forced her to take the sleeping pill through a kiss, she looked so betrayed and disappointed. It broke his heart to see her like that. He only wished she finds happiness outside of Magenta. He still hates himself for making her cry that time.

“Saeran?” V asks when he noticed that Saeran is not replying to him. “Is everything okay?”

Saeran closes his eyes and massages the bridge of his nose. “I’m fine, just tired I think… I need to go.”

“Then I’ll hang up now so you can rest.” V says. “Thank you for your hard work, Saeran.”  

“Yeah.” Saeran says weakly as he hangs up. He closes his eyes again, trying to not be bothered by his headache. He walks slowly walks back to the computer room. He sees Saeyoung talking on the phone. His brother mouths “V” as he points at his phone. Saeran nods. He whispers “I’ll take a break for now.”

Saeyoung gives him a look, silently asking how he’s feeling. “I’m fine.” Saeran assures him as he leaves.

He walks to his room and as he enters it, he feels slightly better already.

His room doesn’t have much: a single bed, a closet and a computer table. The growing potted succulent by his bedside table is the lone décor.  Saeyoung offered to get him more things but he refused, knowing he will be more comfortable to stay and rest in a simple room.

He opens his closet and changes into a loose shirt and shorts. He then settles on his bed and dims the light. The night is still young but the dull throbbing in his head will only be gone with sleep so decides to just sleep early for the night.

Hours passed as the night turns to day. Saeran wakes up with a start, panting from the recurring dream of his last moments with MC before he brought her out of Mint Eye and left her at Rika’s apartment. The betrayed look of MC’s face torments him as he recalls his dream again.

“I’m sorry.” he says as his heart continues to drum against his chest. “I’m so sorry, MC.”

The guilt weighs heavily on his mind until he couldn’t take it anymore. He scrambles out of his bed and heads to the computer. He turns it on and opens the application for the video feed. The still video of the apartment façade helps him calm down until eventually his heart rate returns to normal. Just seeing the building where he knows MC is in comforts him.

He was about to close the video feed when he sees MC coming out of the gates. She looks decent at first glance but he could see the disheveled state she is in. Saeran could tell she isn’t going out for work as she’s only got a small bag with her instead of the usual backpack she brings with her.

Instinct tells Saeran that something is not right. He sees her in the video feed, swiping and tapping anxiously at her phone then looking left and right, as if waiting for something. Then a black taxi arrives and she gets inside.

Saeran can’t shake the feeling she is getting herself into trouble again. He’s reminded of the time she willingly got in a car blindfolded just because a voice on the phone told her to. She’s too trusting and kind for her own good. Granted, it’s one of the things he loves about her, but it’s also the one filling his heart with dread and anxiety now.

As if on autopilot, Saeran’s fingers immediately start typing away on the keyboard. The search begins with the taxi’s plate number. In less than five minutes, he has the car’s destination, the driver’s bio and the car’s ownership history all printed on a letter-sized paper.

He commits all the information to his mind as he strips out of his sleepwear and slips on a black zip-up jacket over a red tank top, pants and boots. He runs out of his room fast and heads straight to the garage. Thankfully, Saeyoung’s garage door is an automatic roll-up so he just flips the switch. It’s fully opened by the time he gets on the gray Maserati and drives out of the house. He almost wants to floor the gas and break the city speed limits just catch up on MC’s cab

Not too long after, Saeyoung calls him. Saeran slips on his Bluetooth headset and answers the call.

“Where are you going?” Saeyoung asks. “Don’t tell me you’re eating take-outs for breakfast now.”

“Police station.” Saeran answers curtly. “It’s important.”

Saeyoung is quiet on his side for a few beats. “Just be careful, okay? Take care of yourself and MC.”

“I am not gonna ask anymore how you know I’m on my way to MC.”

“We’re twins, remember? We are always connected, Saeran.”

Saeran’s lips curl into a semblance of a smile. “Yeah. I’m glad we never lost it, Hyung.”

Saeyoung sputters on the phone then there’s a loud ‘bam’ that sounded like he dropped his phone and the call ended. Saeran couldn’t help chuckling at his twin’s misfortune. He hopes the phone wasn’t cracked or damaged.

He rechecks the GPS on the Maserati as he turns his full attention on the road again. According to his search on the cab’s company files, its destination is the City Police Station investigating the Mint Eye case. He is now terribly worried for MC as the place will be full of media personnel on the lookout for the latest scoop on the scandal. The V, Jumin and Jaehee will be there for questioning regarding the evidences they presented the other day.

“Please, don’t let her get caught up in this again.” He prays in his heart.

As expected, the police station is packed with people. He parks the car far a little bit far away from the crowd, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention onto it.

After making sure that the car is secured, he runs into the police station’s parking area, looking for MC.

He looks around for that familiar figure, hoping that she is safe. His heart almost stops when he sees her by the sidewalk, talking to a man whom he recognizes as one of Mint Eye’s believers. She looks distraught, slowly stepping back from the man. When the man seizes her arm and pulls, Saeran saw red and ran towards them.

“Sir, you’re hurting me. Let me go,” she says as she pulls back her arm.

Saeran’s jaw clenched as he tries to rein the anger inside him. It’s been a while since he felt anger as extreme as this. He could almost hear the dark voice inside him coming back. He slows his breathing to calm himself. He knows there are ways other than anger to handle the situation. When he feels relatively less angry, he calls out to the man.

“Let the lady go.”

Both the man and MC freeze up. He can tell the believer recognizes him as the guy drops MC’s arm and steps backwards. “Mr. Saeran.” he says fearfully. He turns and runs away from MC.

Meanwhile, MC is rooted on her place, her back stiff on her small frame. From their distance, Saeran could already tell that MC has lost some weight since he last saw her. Her arms and waist are slimmer than what he can remember.

“You really need to be more careful, Miss. Your guard is too low.” He tells her.

When MC turns around, it was like a slow-motion video. The way her breath hitches, her hair swaying, up to how she her face lights up when she recognizes him, Saeran saw everything. She is as beautiful as he can remember, if not more.

“Saeran.” she says.

Her voice is as how he remembers it too: as sweet as ice cream.

Suddenly feeling shy, he manages a small, awkward smile at her. “Hello, MC.”

MC crosses the distance between them, almost tackling him when she hugged him. Thankfully, he catches her quick and managed to keep them both standing. MC buries her face on his chest and he’s slightly worried that she will hear how loud his heart is currently beating.

“You’re real.” MC says as she pulls away slightly to face him. She reaches up to him and touches his cheek. “Saeran.”

“How are you?” He asks her. “Did that man hurt you?”

MC shakes her head. “I’m fine now.”

He panics when a tear suddenly drops from MC’s eyes. “MC!? You’re crying?”

She retracts her hand and touches her own cheek. “I-I’m crying. Oh gosh, this is embarrassing.”

Before he knew it, Saeran is already wiping her tears with his finger as he touches her cheek. “I made you cry again.”

MC leans on his hand and closes her eyes. “I missed you a lot.” She says softly. “But you’re here now, that’s what matters.”

Saeran’s heart flutters as she opens her eyes again and looks at him with very loving eyes. His heart is instantly filled with love and affection for her, he’s sure it will burst soon.

Driven by instinct, they both lean in towards the other and finally… finally he’s kissing her again. The memory of her lips from long ago preciously archived in his heart is renewed. Her nose lightly bumping against his and her soft lips making sweet, sweet whimpers as he dives in deeper into their kiss; everything about her in his memories is renewed. Her hands wrap around his neck and pull him even closer. He wraps his arms around her in response, settling them on the curves of her hips. Her body, warm and pliant, fits perfectly against him.

He missed her so much that he that the feelings inside him is overwhelming him. He’s drowning in her presence but he doesn’t want to let go. If time would stop right then and there, he will not have any regrets. They are together again and that’s all that matters to him right now.

Eventually, Saeran breaks their kiss to allow her to breathe. He goes for other places in the meantime: her forehead, her cheeks, her nose and even her neck. When he lightly bites, sucks and licks in a particular spot on the junction between her neck and shoulder, her stifled moan blazed a stronger desire within him to claim her.

“S-Saeran.” she whimpers, hands clutched at his shoulders. “W-wait.”

Saeran stills when he hears her. Guilt crashed on him like a bucket of iced water as he is immediately reminded of that time he acted this way in Magenta.

“I’m sorry.” He feels ashamed for losing control. He kisses her quick on the lips to apologize.

“Don’t apologize. I-I liked it.” She whispers. “Just that ---“

MC’s knees folded under her, unable to take in the stimulation anymore. Thankfully, Saeran was quick to catch her. She looks up to him sheepishly, a raging blush creeping from her cheeks to her chest. “T-thank you.”

“Are you okay? What happened?” he asks her. He helps her stand straight again but she keeps wobbling as her knees refuse to support her.

“The strength left my legs.” she answers, still breathless.

Her embarrassment is so apparent that Saeran feels a little bad for thinking how cute she is at the moment. He also can’t help the little pride blooming in his chest for affecting her so much just by kissing. Still, Saeran tries to maintain a neutral face as he asks her. “Do you want to sit down?”

MC nods, holding tighter on him. “Please.”

He looks around the parking lot for a bench or some place they could use but there isn’t one in sight.

Saeran thinks fast for an alternative. As much as he likes the way MC is holding on to him at the moment, he still wants MC to be able to relax.

“There’s no bench in here.” He tells her. “But I brought a car. Do you want to rest in there?”

MC nods again, her face buried on his chest.

Judging that she’s in no shape to walk, he scoops her up in his arms and carried her to the car, bridal style. As he walks to the Maserati, he sneaks a peak at her form and finds her utterly adorable with the way she’s clinging onto him and muttering about how embarrassed she is.

He sets her down by the passenger seat then placed a kiss on her forehead. “How are you now?”

MC takes a moment to massage her knees to check. “I think they’re fine now.”

The tension he didn’t know was there left his body. “That’s great.”

He gently closed the door and circles around the car. He opens the driver’s seat and got inside. Once settled, he looks at her briefly, taking in her profile view. “Should I take you home?”

“No!” MC blurted, surprising both herself and Saeran. “I mean, “she tries again, “no, don’t take me home yet. I want to stay with you longer, Saeran.” She takes his left hand and laced her fingers with his. “I really missed you. I wanna be with you.”

Saeran’s heart flutters as MC looks at him with loving eyes again. “I missed you too, MC.” He tells her back, immediately feeling the inadequacy of the expression to describe how he felt being away from her all those months. He leans into the passenger seat and shared a quick kiss with her again.

“So where do we go?” he asks her as he pulls away from her.

“Have you eaten? How about we go for a quick breakfast?” MC suggests. “My favorite café has a great breakfast menu plus their coffee is divine.”

By the way she lights up so beautifully in the prospect of having breakfast with him, she could have asked him to bring her to the skies and he will bring her there by all means. He may not have totally forgiven himself yet for what he did to her in the past, but if being with him makes her happy, he will do it. So he returns the sunny smile she gave him and holds her hand tighter.

“Breakfast sounds great.”

[anarkiworld-blog]

I’ve made a Main Story timeline, based on the data I’ve collected in the Casual and Deep routes. I researched a lot about Korean age, and there’s a good reason why I chose to put only the twins’s and Yoosung’s age here; they’re the only ones whose ages are mentioned internationally at some point in the routes. This was quite an headache to do... my logic is under the Read More...

Jaehee Paradox: Jaehee’s Korean age doesn’t make sense. If her birthday is on 28th December then she should be younger 2 years than her korean age. You’re only one year younger than your Korean age after your birthday. The game is eleven days and doesn’t occur during the new year. Therefore, Jaehee should be 27 in Korean age, 25 in international age. In the game’s official profiles, they just subtract/add a year for everyone and leave it at that. In the official website, her international age is the same as her Korean one - while everyone else is one year “younger” than their Korean age - that’s impossible, Korean age and International age never catch up. You’re born with 1 year and always age on the new year. This means... Jaehee’s age is ambiguous, she could be 24, 25, 26...? Now you understand the reason I didn’t add the birth date of the characters whose age is only mentioned in Korean tradition. There’s a big dilemma with ages in the game. Depending on when you play the game a character could be 21 or 22. If you play in February, Yoosung is 19, if you play in April, he’s already 20, and since it’s supposed to happen in real time, Cheritz made the timeline vague on purpose so the player could feel the story is taking place on the same month and the same year they’re playing. Saeyoung’s age? I think he leaves Saeran when he was 15 years old kid because he says this on a flashback on day 8 of his route: “Saeyoung:Saeran and I aren't my father's sons. They say we can never be revealed. My father already married someone else and has a family. People think that he's a clean, good man. Saeyoung:Mom's been blackmailing him to reveal the truth and has been getting money from him for fifteen years, so she's worse...” When present Saeyoung says “seven years ago” he’s subtracting years from the year the game takes place, not from his age.

And I want to explain why I don’t think the following line is a blunder... this line happens on day 8 of his route too: “Seven: So... she saved these photos on the disc and sent it to me in secret. Seven: To congratulate my 20th birthday.“ His 20th birthday is his international one on June 11 since in Korean age you don’t have a birthday *per se*, you age in the New Year. Yes, Koreans actually use both international / korean ages and use the Korean one to fuck with us. But! If he’s 21 internationally and Rika disappeared two years ago, how is that possible? Shouldn’t he be 19?

But! if you only look at the years in the timeline, it does make sense, if Rika disappeared in 2014 and the story takes place in 2016, that’s two years ago and Saeyoung is yet to turn 22 years old in the year the game takes place. Jaehee’s korean age also doesn’t make any sense as I said previously so take Saeyoung’s Korean age with a grain of salt too. My personal theory is that the last episode of the Secret Endings is shortly before the twins 22nd Anniversary. It's likely that this was Cheritz “hidden intention” to have a reunion before their birthday. However they can’t make the timeline too obvious so the player can feel the game is taking place in real time. I’m also giving them a lot of credit here. I’m always baffled when they update the script and change some lines slightly only to make the English sound even more awkward lol The timeline of Another Story is different from Main Story Rika disappeared 2 years ago in the main story. In Yoosung’s good end... “V:My love 'Rika' unfortunately left this world two years ago, but it still holds that this organization was found with our love.“ Another Story takes place 1 year before main story, therefore... In Another Story, Rika should have disappeared 1 year ago, right? But Rika has only been gone for six months in AS instead of one year. So, AS is in another timeline, and it’s not just “set in the past”. Unless they plan on fixing the script to make both timelines consistent with each other... ? Anyway, I hope this will help a lot of players wrap their heads around the Casual/Deep Story timeline- I used lots research of my own but it’s still a work in progress. I plan to update in case I find new things. (Vanderwood is mentioned to only have been an agent for 7 years in the SEs, and only began working with Seven four years ago according to the Christmas DLC.) But... I don’t think Cheritz took their timeline as seriously as I’m taking it now. Another Story seems to take place in another pocket dimension of its own, where there’s slight differences in the timeline and differences in certain events. Sally for example, is never mentioned in AS! So really, even though I made that graph like I cracked the code... lots of things are up to the player’s interpretations. Cheritz is, without a doubt, not the most consistent when it comes to writing and it’s not hard to find several contradictions story-wise.

[anas-tasiaa]

Can we agreed that the song by "d4vd - Romantic homicide" fit the vibe of love/hate relationship between Unknown and Saeyoung?

[Verse 1]

Remind me of Saeran before he got abducted into Mint Eyes. With him waiting for days, weeks, years for Saeyoung to come back, never ever giving up hoping that his brother would come back. Dead or alive, he's still holding onto dear hope.

The [chorus part] is where we can see how "Unknown" felt towards the "betrayal" of Saeyoung. In the back of his mind, his brother abandoned him cruelly, using him as to escape from the grip of their misery. He dreamed of killing Saeyoung as revenge, filled with hatred and despise but also a glimpse of hope that Saeyoung can end his despair.

It's the same like in the [verse 2], most of the times Unknown repeat on how disappointed he was, that he was hurt. This part of the song remind me a lot of the reunion between them in Jumin's route when Saeyoung and Yoosung went to the Mint Eyes, and found Elizabeth 3rd.

Funny, how it's just in "the back of his mind" that he killed Saeyoung and that's what all he wants. But the truth is, he couldn't and he didn't want to. He didn't want to take a life of someone who once giving him a meaning of life. He didn't want to live in a world without Saeyoung in it, and he still in his process of recovery from the years of abuse and trauma.

Let's wish for the best for Saeran.

The survivor and Saeyoung as his caretaker.

[promiscuous-jalapeno]

I think you might have spoken about this before, but what did you like the most about Seven’s route?

I think I did in one of the voice recordings for a follower milestone but I don’t 100% remember lol 

I can tell you my favorite aspects of the route, since it’s a bit hard to pick an absolute favorite haha. 

1) The comedy. Whether its in real life, in movies/media or otome, I am crazy attracted to funny people. It’s a must-have personality trait for me because I joke around a lot and prank a lot. So that drew me in to his character right away. 

2) He felt real. I love all of the characters and routes and all of it is written so wonderfully, but Saeyoung was a bit different than the rest. With Yoosung coming in close second, Saeyoung felt the most like someone you could actually know in real life. I found myself often forgetting that this is a game and I’m not actually chatting with a real person because he was just so funny and reminded me of my friends. 

3) The angst. I think anyone that has been following me for a while knows I have an affinity for angst and it comes through in my writing a lot. I loved how difficult his route was. Not just the romancing aspect but the plot as well. It felt more than just a typical otome route because you’re also uncovering this huge mystery at the same time. I was so sleep deprived playing this route and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I kept going back and forth with myself, wanting to pay to keep reading the chats and see what happens but also wanting to play it as it comes and relish it. 

Since MM, I’ve played so many games and routes, but only a handful have come close to giving me the level of crazed emotions I felt during Saeyoung’s. There are so many raw moments. The route really has everything. Comedy, pining, guns, family reunions, mysteries, weird basement jail cells, cute robots. I mean, what’s not to love?! 

[scummy-writes]

(1/2) I don't know if you've been asked this before, but what are your thoughts on the story and script quality of MM? Personally I thought it was fine, a good balance between drama and comedy, until the secret endings. The secret endings felt awfully like an effort to "rail-road" the story, to the point of reducing MC's role to less than a bit character, and the resolution itself was kinda rushed. I do agree with your opinion on V that, ultimately, it was necessary for him to die in the story

(2/2) But his character suffers because of the terrible handling of ANOTHER character: Rika. It's obvious that she was meant to be a tragic, sympathetic character but falls short of the "show, don't tell" trope because the game never shows us why, only spelling it to us via the other characters that she used to be a sweet person (and even that is dubious). Compare Saeran, who comes off as crazier but garners sympathy by *actually* showing us how he used to be and why he's like that now

(3/3, got longer than expected) The complete lack of consequence was more of a pet peeve, as I find it unlikely that after the meltdown at Mint Eye hq there wasn't any police investigation or testimony sheding light over what happened. That could have been easily handled by showing Seven or Jumin intervening (they would). So yeah, sorry for barreling you with this lol, I just love discussing narrative tropes and found your thoughts on V and Rika very interesting

It’s okay! I like trying to discuss this kinda stuff! It’sfun! I think they’re called Metas?

This might be a little long! As a side note, this is just mypersonal onion about the whole thing. In no way do you have to agree, nor do Iexpect anyone to. 

In terms of storytelling and scripts, I think that for anotome phone game it does a good job. Maybe arguably great, but nothing ‘superduper amazing!!’. Don’t mistake my words though, even though it might not bethe best, doesn’t mean I don’t love it to death. I have just seen freebiegames, even with hardly any dialogue, show a more concise and followingstoryline than MM does.

Granted, I think some obvious faults come from translationerrors, or maybe forgotten notes on characters. A small example that I’ve knowngo around a bunch is Yoosung complaining that he can’t type well on histouchscreen, when in CGs and the RFA handbook we know Yoosung has a flip-phone.So, excluding those kinds of mistakes, which I believe can happen when you havemultiple people working on one game, the main storytelling is a little messy attimes. I think a lot of that has to deal with the fact that they tried to makeeach route vastly different.

For replay value, and to make each route special, they didhave to have them different. And I think a good way to see it is that all ofthe characters routes are AU’s against the True Route, which is Seven’s.Because of this, we sometimes run into the characters acting vastly differentat times, and we’re left to scrape up all these ‘facts’ and try to use those tobuild-on to these characters. At times this is difficult, because they cancounter each other. Usually its small things, but I think there’s a bit ofinformation that gets missed about Rika because of this. Like with the factthat she was adopted by Yoosung’s aunt and uncle, apparently. I think that’sonly mentioned on one route, and referenced in the VIP book where her sectionof family is literally scribbled out, but if we didn’t run into that, we wouldbe left to assume that Rika is Yoosung’s cousin by blood.

Which…Is weird because I think he may say that he’s relatedto Rika by blood during a moment where he’s angry at V.

(Don’t even get me started on how Rika isn’t even her name?Apparently??)

In a way, the storytelling is a bit creative on a wholebecause of that. They change it up so you’re not bored replaying new routes,and so you get to possibly see other sides of characters, but it does fuck someinformation up about the characters themselves at times. There’s probably moreexamples than what I gave.

Though they did manage to make each character soundrespectfully different through the dialogue alone. Not the voice actors, butthe written dialogue. I know there have been many times where I’ve seen ascreenshot of a phone call with no context on the caller, and it’s been very easyfor me to figure out who it was in just a few seconds. That takes some skill!

But to tackle the True Route after ends. Unfortunately tosome, Seven is the true route, since Saeran is the main ‘antagonist’ for awhile, next to Rika. In order to give context for Saeran existing, his motives,and to explain Rika’s absence, they made Seven the True Route. (I’m assumingso, anyway). Now, it is true they could have found a way to include each of theroutes to display the information that Seven’s does, but I think it would havebeen a huuuuge fucking mess. It’s much easier to follow and make if they have a‘True Route’. How the game is needed to be played if you want the ‘full’ story.The other routes are just AU’s that can possibly fill in some gaps ifyou know what those gaps are first.

Annd this is where Rika falls in with your ask (that took mesome time ahbfhs). If we don’t play the True Route, we’re left to assume Rikawas a sweet and helpful person who had an aching heart of suffering shewitnessed, and also suffered from what seemed to be depression since shecommitted suicide.

Now, I don’t know about any of you, but because I’m afiction whore, I called that bs out when V always dodged questions about herdeath. Am I always doubting fictional characters since I play detective gamesmainly? ….Probably, but in all honesty I figured there was more to it thanthat.

Then we get to the True Route and the mess that happens inthe After Ends- V revealing she’s not dead, she’s alive, she’s a cult leader,etc etc. We all know what happens in that mess, though with some randomprevious information, we can infer a few things about her that we weren’tdirectly told.

She was most likely very manipulative from the start. Idon’t know if this would be a learned behavior from Rika’s true family, or thereasons she would be adopted later on, but it is briefly mentioned (I think)that her adopted parents regretted taking her in.

She was possibly using V the whole time, and didn’t actuallylove him.

She used the RFA as a front to get Political Leader’s infoto officially jumpstart her ‘perfect’ world one day. (KINDA obvious but Ididn’t realize how serious it was until a bit after I had played the AfterEnds).

Buut, we never know what led to these thoughts and behaviors.We’re just left to assume that it’s either A) Her MIs, or B) A combo of thatand her real family.

There is a high chance they didn’t write a full fledgedbackstory like we get with the others, about their childhoods at least, becauseof the chance of portraying MIs very very very very verypoorly/stereotypically. It could be argued that it was handled poorly as theyhave it now, but it’s still not nearly as bad as other cases I’ve seen.Instead, like you said, we get second hand info from Yoosung and V mainly, abit from Jumin as well.

As for the dramatic throwdown that happened at the HQ, Ithink that went well. It’s true that it could be possible that Seven or Jumincould have had better timing, stopped Saeran from shooting, stopped a lot ofstuff from happening, but I always assumed that they were unable to reach V dueto all of the members blocking their path, and any general hubbub that couldhave been happening due to Jumin’s security slamming in. And, as we’ve noted,that I still think for the story V couldn’t have survived.

However, with the police investigation, I think it’smentioned they purposely avoided that because of the Choi Boys existence. Theywere never supposed to be alive, and were doomed to hide who they were fortheir life. A police investigation would have brought forth that, and for Rikato be arrested and tried, and if that also happened, Choi Boys (again) are atrisk.

I can see how it’s all “There def should have been one”, butunfortunately to some, money can stop that from happening, especially if itskept under wraps. It seems like Jumin, Seven, and the cult members familes tookcare of the others that were affected…I think that’s what happened.

And in terms of MC being kinda pushed to the side during the After End of his route, I think they had to happen in order to tell the whole story. Because the stuff that happened to Seven was never about us to begin with- We just managed to stumble in and make the Choi’s reunion actually take place, but from that point on it’s all about Seven’s past and Saeran’s past, explaining the whole plot of MM. 

I mean, granted, it might have taken years if for them to reunite again, if they ever did, without us. But at the same time, at that point, it’s still not about us or our choices. 

Does any of this make sense? It’s a lot longer than I meantit to be...;;;

[alittlefangirlish]

Dear Prime Time Player,

First of all, thank you so much for writing a story just for me! It's pretty awesome! If you haven't noticed, my generalities don't really change. I'm pretty predictable.

What I Like kid!fic (as in, the characters have kids, not the character are kids - toddler age is perfect), crushes/beginning of relationship (the concept of the feelings coming to fruition and both parties going, "WTF is going on? Why am I acting this way around him/her?" is one of my favorite fandom tropes), smut is always good, flirting.

What I Don't Like Incest, bestiality and molestation are my only three sexual squicks, fandom has desensitized me to everything else. Character bashing. Yes, I'm generally a slasher but that doesn't mean I hate the female (or in the case of a femslash ship, male) characters (or, if I do, it's for reasons unrelated to "I ship his/her love interest with his/her best (fe)male friend and s/he gets in the way of the gay sex"). On that note, I also hate when writers completely disregard canon pairings. As much as I don't want them to, they exist. If you're gonna break them up, let us know how it happened. Please. And now onto my specifics!

Requested Fandom #1: Osomatsu-san, Choromatsu/Totoko I found it interesting that Totoko chose Choromatsu to be her manager when she started her singing career. Why Choromatsu of all the brothers?

Totoko's debut episode made me ship Choromatsu and Totoko. (Oops.) But it always made me wonder why on Earth did she pick Chroromatsu out of all of the brothers. What does he have that the other brothers don't? And does this mean Choromatsu actually gets lucky with Totoko?

Requested Fandom #2: Yuri!!! On Ice, Victor/Yuuri, Mila/Sara, Phitchit/Yuuri For Victor/Yuuri: Something future set. Maybe they've adopted a couple kids and they're showing interest in skating? Or even showing interest in another sport and Victor and Yuuri don't know how to handle it. Or maybe even they decide they don't want kids, and just enjoy retired life. Maybe they do exhibition skates, or commentate skating events?

For Mila/Sara: Mickey doesn't have to worry about boys grabbing Sara's attention, because she doesn't even like them.

For Phitchit/Yuuri: First times? Exploring feelings? Phitchit is there to comfort Yuuri after his GPF disaster at the beginning?

Victor/Yuuri: Oh man, these two. I love them and how they love each other so much. I see their love just growing as they spend more time together. And I just want more of them growing older together, and enjoying life without practices and traveling and competitions.

Mila/Sara: I both love and hate how Mickey is so worried about Sara getting with a boy, that I think it would blow his mind if Sara hooked up with Mila and was all, "You were wrong all the way brother."

Phitchit/Yuuri: This would be my main YOI ship if Victor/Yuuri hadn't happened the way it did, and I do love them a lot even with Yuuri's affections being elsewhere. I feel like Phitchit would be the first one to run to Yuuri after what happened at the GPF, and how he plans to comfort Yuuri is up to you. I can also see these two being each other's "first time," maybe while training in Detroit.

Requested Fandom #3: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Hunk/Lance, Allura/Pidge, Keith/Shiro

For Hunk/Lance: Either something Garrison set, or something post S2.

For Allura/Pidge: Girls' Night Out (or In), Space Mall trip, maybe admittance of feelings?

For Keith/Shiro: For them I really just want a post-S2 reunion fic.

Hunk/Lance: I immediately latched on to these two and they became My Ship the moment I watched the show. They are the embodiment of the Friends to Lovers trope and I couldn't help but fall for them. I either wanna see something before or during the Garrison (were they friends prior to joining, or did they meet their first year of school?), or something set post-S2. If you go the post-S2 route, something that really resonated with me was something someone else pointed out once: After the events of "The Depths" (S2E02), the once touchy feely Hunk didn't touch Lance the entire rest of that season. I would really love a fic exploring that. Was it coincidence? Is Hunk scared he would hurt Lance? Does it bother Lance?

Allura/Pidge: I feel like if these two were given proper relationship development, they would become good friends. I can see them bonding over their hate/contempt of the Galra for ripping their families (and in Allura's case, her entire way of life) from her to start, then learning that they have a lot more in common. (Basically finally having that conversation Allura was trying to have in S1E05 when she was trying to get Pidge to admit she's actually a girl, only with much more success since the circumstances have changed.) I also feel that Pidge is much girlier than we've seen in canon (I mean, she wears a dress in flashbacks/the photo of her and Matt), and I think they would bond over that as well.

Keith/Shiro: This is my newest ship in this fandom, after I realized they have a similar dynamic to Hunk and Lance (the Friends to Lovers). I have a feeling their reunion (since that leak revealed that Shiro is alive and well and a battling badass with Matt) will be very emotional. Full of tears and hugs and "I thought I'd never see you again!"s and all that mushy stuff.

Requested Fandom #4: Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot & Rocket, Drax/Peter

For Groot & Rocket: The chronicles of Groot growing up again.

For Drax/Peter: Drax lost his family to Thanos. He forged a new family with the Guardians. All he's missing is love.

Sidenote: I know assignments are going out right before Vol. 2 hits theaters (in the US at least), but stories will be due long after the release. If you want to include Vol. 2 spoilers in your fic, by all means, go ahead.

Groot & Rocket: These two are my ultimate BroTP. The range of emotions Rocket went through when he first thought Groot was dead, and then when he came back to life. And what we've seen of Baby Groot in the Vol. 2 looks totally adorable. But what is Groot's awkward teen phase like? And does he have memories of the events of the first movie (if that isn't touched on in Vol. 2 already)?

Drax/Peter: I'm not gonna lie, the Vol. 2 trailers made me ship these two. I'd love to see these two grow and bond and let one thing lead to another.

Requested Fandom #5: Mystic Messenger, Jaehee/MC, 707/MC, Jumin/V

For Jaehee/MC: Love in the coffee shop

For 707/MC: Making their own space station

For Jumin/V: Either something set in the past, or an alternate future where they get to be together.

Jaehee/MC: Oh, Jaehee, Jaehee, Jaehee. I did not expect her to be my breakout favorite in this game (I really wanted Yoosung!) but I ended up playing her route first and was shipping these two almost immediately. I want Jaehee to stop friendzoning MC and give her the romantic ending she deserves with her as much as she deserves with the boys (the Christmas DLC came close, but still not there!)

707/MC: I have to admit, I hadn’t fallen for Seven at first (I was a Yoosung girl!) but the more I learned about him the more he seemed to be right up my alley, so I quickly switched gears and was under Seven’s spell. I think his little “Let’s get married in the space station!” is cute, but obviously impractical, so instead they decide to build their own little space station here on Earth.

Jumin/V: Childhood friends, how could I not? If you decide not to go pre-canon, then make it where certain canon events (you know which ones) didn't happen so these two can be together. (Also this is my one exception to the "don't vilify the canon love interest rule," because by all means vilify Rika if need be. She's a terrible person.)

Requested Fandom #6: Ben 10, Ben/Kevin, Gwen/Julie

For Ben/Kevin: Ben and Kevin drag race, winner chooses prize

For Gwen/Julie: I'd love to see them fighting some aliens without Ben or Kevin's help.

Ben/Kevin: Ben is a badass, Kevin is a badass, and well… slash goggles go on when it comes to Ben and Kevin. But! This prompt doesn’t have to be all about the slash. They are still two teenaged boys with some pretty badass cars, so this could go anywhere.

Gwen/Julie: While they have been shown to be able to hold their own in canon, they still seem to be reduced to love interests/token girls. Maybe something where the boys get themselves captured and the girls have to save them? Or even something not involving the boys at all?