#so it already isn't going to have the same sort of intrigue as the mysterious figure/enigmatic man/lingering will

[ghostabocky]

thinking about kh3/khux/khdr and wondering if there’s any iconography or characters who have the potential for the same sort of intrigue as lingering will/the mysterious figures/the kh2 secret ending

[juni-ravenhall]

how i wouldve rewritten the sso intro quests (off the top of my head in like 10 min and im not a professional writer just a hobby gamedev)

they can 100% keep the ferry cutscene it was cute

we are welcomed to the camp by justin and told that this is the moorland stables and his dad owns it, he hopes you'll enjoy your time. now lets walk over the bridge from moorland->camp to show you your cabin and meet maya.

near the cabins, maya is holding the starter horse (by the reins like when we lead) and talking to lisa (and maybe alex) when we arrive. we say hi, she tells us this is your lesson horse for now and she already got it ready, commenting on that it can be a bit difficult but nothing major, just nobody has really clicked with it yet (similar what she says in new intro).

there is a moment of a cutscene between the horse and mc, showing that we feel some kind of bond or intrigue as a soul rider, mc has a dialogue/thought like "i feel like this horse is looking at me almost like a human" or idk something.

lisa says hi and something similar as new intro - that shes there to get used to horses again after her trauma and taking it slowly.

justin says he has to go help another camper, bye. maya says, lets go to the paddock and you can try getting on the horse, we're going to have a lesson with everyone soon but there's some time until then.

maya helps us get up on the horse in the paddock, while lisa is leaning on the fence, watching.

we learn the controls how to move, the same basic of the new intro.

maya asks how we are feeling, and that it looks like we have a good handle on this horse already, like we are a good fit.

The dramatic cutscene i need: the camera cuts from us sitting on the horse to some kind of magic or fripp related thing right next to the paddock - it could be the fripp ghost, it could be something else. (something nobody else can see.) our horse spooks at the mysterious thing and we fall off!

mc goes "urgh, ow, ow!" and we're laying on the ground, holding our leg/arm/whatever. but the camera showed that lisa (with a worried face) very quickly ran over as we fell and now bends down next to us, while maya is catching the horse.

the camera shows a close up shot of some strange little light around lisas hand as she touches our hurt bodypart. mc then quickly starts relaxing from the pained face. lisa asks if we're okay, and mc is like "yeah, that hurt, but... i guess its not that bad, its not really hurting now...?"

as that scene happened, our starter horse came back towards us, and it lowers its head to sort of nuzzle us as we sit on the ground with lisa, as if to say "sorry, you okay?" (this is to help show the horse isn't scary and didnt mean to throw us off.)

mc cautiously pets the horse's head, there's a moment of animation between caution to then relaxing and accepting the horse's apparent apology.

maya is back in the shot, asks if we're okay, and we nod, lisa says "it seems they're fine". maya or lisa offers their hand to get us up.

maya says the best thing is to get right back up in the saddle, if we really aren't hurt and feel okay. lisa looks hesitant and says we dont have to get back up right now if we dont want to, because that was scary and its okay to be scared, but she agrees maya is right about not letting the fear take over too. maya might say "sorry, i didnt mean to be insensitive, i know you went through a lot lisa" and lisa is like "its alright, dont worry".

mc says we're getting back on, so we do and we have some other little practice, like the full stop.

justin comes back after that, and says we're ready to have the lesson now. now there are some bobcats around (not just random anonymous npcs nobody cares about) and some npcs that look more similar to mc aka camp participants.

here the lesson (implied to be happening with other camp participants, whether they can be shown in the paddock or only outside it) could be a small test where the player has to follow the lines at the correct gait, since this would come back with dressage later in the game (assuming it will be added properly) and the "follow the line" in some other gameplay (druid training, foal training on south hoof, etc)

after that we learn how to jump with a very small jump, and lisa on the side is like "you can do it!", after the jump there's a small cutscene of mc patting the horse and the horse looking happy (bonding moment). maybe here there could be some extra drama, show the player someone watching from the shadows, or a DC drone, ...or not if thats too much.

now maya and justin introduce that we're going to do a small simple race, here more or less same as in new intro. lisa says we inspired her with our braveness and she gets on starshine and joins the race (we can see her riding it ahead of us).

at the end of the race lisa is happy and we're all having fun. (here's another chance to add in a menacing person/drone watching from the shadows, if not before this, but again, maybe thats too much.)

justin now helps us get off the horse (still on the new island thingy, not at moorland stables) and we move over to the stalls and learn how to groom and feed our horse there. here we also learn how to buy horse feed and fill the bucket.

after this, it would be okay to introduce linda, reading as she is in the new intro. (lisa could ask what shes reading and linda says "100k knights of unistria vampire AU" and lisa says "oh, you printed out fanfics again, i shouldve guessed...")

but when linda says the "we've met before" thing, give mc an option to answer - "i also feel like we met before, but where?" or "im not sure...", small changes to this dialogue to make it better and more immersive for the player.

from here you could either jump to the dream sequence in a similar way its done now, but maybe show vaguely the other soul riders in the dream *while we havent met them yet*. i do think the dream could also be improved - show us 4 ghostly horses instead of 2 to represent the soul riders horses, and do some of the camera work differently for other parts.

the next day, we leave our cabin and maya is outside, there's a cutscene to force us to start the quest. she says "oh, you're up early" - "yeah, i had a nightmare" - "aw that sucks. sorry to ask, but since you're up, would you mind helping me out a bit?" - we start a quest to go to fort pinta to pick up stuff for the camp, and to meet alex and james there. maybe lisa or linda is up early too and offers to join.

honestly i dont have energy to write anymore bc i dont get paid but you get the idea. alex (and james) get introduced here on day 2 during this errand quest to fp (which might Go Wrong in some way for drama, bc we need drama), maybe jasper can still be introduced here just being grumpy and starting some of the lore for justin, without fully stopping us from going. something else shady could happen with GED, kembell, a slight rewrite of the old intro, allowing linda or lisa or justin or maya to talk to us about GED as it happens (maya certainly has reason to). anne could be introduced later at the end of day 2, and here we could go into the campfire and lisa's singing and shit. (or you could build it up for another day, so we feel even more bonded with the charas first!)

[chirpsythismorning]

What do you think about the possibility of El and Will not being exactly twins but half siblings? Maybe Lonnie was in the MK Ultra project for money and had an affair with Terry Ivis, so El was born. His sperm was affected, and Lonnie had another child with Joyce, who was born with repressed/hidden powers (I'm considering Jonathan was already born when Lonnie's balls were chernobyl'd). Then Lonnie took Will to the Lab a feel times for test, but they concluded he was born powerless, because he appeared to be a normal kid.

Upon coming across twelvegate, I did initially go down this rabbit hole! I made a shit-post about the possibility of Lonnie being both Will and El's dad, but more recently I've expanded on that evidence in an ask, discussing why I basically don't think that is the case anymore.

The main thing that makes me so confident about this, is that I'm certain Terry isn't El's 'mama'. Like pretty much 100% certain.

There are a few posts where I discuss this (here, here, here) so definitely check those out if you want a deep dive to better understand where I'm coming from with that claim.

To be fair, I did not subscribe to this up until recently. It was as if my brain blocked me from even merely considering the possibility that Terry isn’t El's mom because of how tragic her whole situation was. And so it felt almost insensitive to even speculate, I guess?

But as of now, after actually going back and watching her scenes for myself, as well as flashbacks featuring her that resurface in future seasons, I think that if anything Lonnie is a roadblock to the truth, in the same sense that Terry is. Because the evidence that Terry isn't El's mom is too alarming to ignore. Like, once you see it, it becomes very obvious they've always been trying to hint this to us, as subtly as possible, and they did it successfully bc it went over everyone's heads.

And so since Terry isn't El's mom, and there are certain details tying Terry to having some sort of connection to Brenner (ie Papa/Mama, Bonsai trees, Hopper's line about Terry's 'relationship' with Brenner), then it's very likely that, in the original timeline/universe or whatever we want to call it, Terry could have worked closely with the lab in some capacity, though ended up supporting Joyce’s claims over allegations about the lab and experimentation, ie. the article at the end of s1 including Joyce/Terry's testimonies. And so she was basically a confidant to them who went against the lab and was lobotomized for it and placed in a scenario that blocked out the truth very conveniently for them, while also essentially punishing her.

And when it comes to Lonnie... That is where it gets very complicated. Because I think it's likely that in the OG timeline, Lonnie was not the greatest guy. I think there was a lot of scary subtext surrounding him harming Will in s1 and it's possible that this dude has been given the role of their father in this timeline, which in the original timeline he is not. He's essentially Stranger Things' very own Biff.

This does make me very intrigued about what is going to be revealed in 'The First Shadow' play coming soon. We're said to get the backstory for not only Joyce and Hopper but also Lonnie and Bob (and Henry) apparently, so that is making for some interesting potential Back to the Future parallels from Marty’s parents’ 1955 timeline vs Willel’s parents’ 1959 timeline. Also the synopsis being young Joyce Maldonado and Jim Hopper dealing with the shadows of the past...

Arguably, it is crunch time. We're approaching the final season and this is a revelation that a lot of the audience are probably not going to be ready for, despite a lot of the hints in the details. I presume they wont have much time in s5 to rehash the mysteries of the past, beyond glossing it over, and so this was honestly a perfect way for them to go back and give context for what is to come in a really unique way that is canon, but without having to cram too much into s5 like they had to for s4.

I do think that Lonnie is very likely to return in s5. Though he referred to Hawkins at its most tame as a hell hole, so idk if he would be running back there during an apocalypse, seeing as everyone else seems to be trying to get out ASAP. It is possible though, and yet I just really don't think his arc is about this series long secret that he is both El and Will's father. If anything I think the revelation is much darker in relation to what truly happened to him and El, possibly in relation to the lab, as he could indeed have been an MKUltra volunteer like you said. It could also help to go read up on some of the cases/allegations put against MKUltra back in the day bc, though it is quite disturbing in parts, it could very well hold the answer to at least some secrets seeing as this is partially based on a real life program that did exist back in the day.

If Lonnie was their dad, I think he would have been a lot more prioritized in the overall story over the seasons, and yet they kind of introduced him in s1 with only a couple references to him in passing since then. If anything it's giving we do not want to give this character too much acknowledgement in the story.

I think a return for him would perhaps look like the storys way of revealing to us that he is not actually their father. Either via flashbacks to the og timeline or perhaps vecna visions at a point when we’re still assuming this is Will’s dad. I do think he very likely is connected to the darker secrets behind what really happened though, related to Will and El's original disappearances, leading up to them in the lab presumably.

I won't claim to understand the memory/time-loop nonsense, because I think that it could also have a lot to do with Will's powers related to time and therefore probability perhaps, which ties really well into the whole X-Men 134 reference. And yet, obviously, I feel like it's too much to try to be certain about which angle go at it, despite having a lot of the pieces to perhaps figure it out? Bc we can guess all day what Will's powers will look like, but we still don't really know for certain? And so going too far beyond that feels like too much guessing to me.

I will say that what makes me even more confident about this theory, even more than the Terry evidence, is just the heaps of evidence connecting Will and El from the very beginning, and how that also connects to Joyce and Hopper more often than not.

If you're open to looking at evidence related to the whole Joyce + Hopper = Willel twins + Jon ? gate (?), or even just how byler also fits into this, bc tbh a lot of the evidence connects, these are a few posts below that might peak your interest. And this isn’t even all of it.

This is the MAIN one so if you read any of them, read this (first and foremost)

Twelvegate Evidence going back to s1 and oh so many unanswered questions

Twelvegate Evidence going back to s1 + Willel Twins

Deer Imagery following The Hoppers/Byers Family

David Harbour cryptically changing his IG pfp to twins, multiple times before S4 dropped:

The fact that Star Wars' big plot twist was that Luke/Leia were twins... That the Duffers are twins... That Noah Schnapp is a twin... 'IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT (MIKE), THEY'RE IDENTICAL'...

El: Me? I'm twice as happy now *cut camera to estranged twin Will opening van door for him and El*

The Wright Bros

Parallels between El being confronted, with Will standing by frozen

"She missed her dad. We all do."

El and Will reuniting at Nina and the remaining timestamp is 12:00

"Mom!"

I will alway say that I am subject to be wrong. The only thing I'm very confident about now is that Terry isn't El's mom, and it just so happens that everything else sort of falls into place after that.

[jimintomystery]

Makoto headcanons

[Above: Uh, yeah, that's probably fine]

Originally I found Makoto to be an extraordinarily bland protagonist, which made him seem a bit two-dimensional. Eventually, though, I got a handle on the character, and saw at least some potential for depth...

We learn very little about Makoto in Trigger Happy Havoc, other than what he learns about himself from the experience. He thought he was just some guy, y'know, and then he turned out to be some sort of...non-giving-up...school guy. He's a blank slate compared to his classmates, even Kyoko, who is supposed to be the officially designated blank slate. His most distinguishing feature is the ability to chin up amid the horrors he's witnessed. I think that's taking an unseen toll on him.

When the Tragedy happened, Makoto reassured his friends the crisis would be over soon. It wasn't. When the Killing Game began, he promised Sayaka he would get her out of there. He didn't. By the end of the game, a third of his classmates have murdered another third, and the remaining third seriously considered letting him die to save themselves. When he came up with a plan to rehabilitate the Remnants of Despair without killing them, the Future Foundation branded him a traitor. Said plan almost backfired and nearly doomed himself and his closest friends. In the Final Killing Game, the Future Foundation largely went knives-out on him, and then a mind-control program nearly brainwashed him to kill himself. He doesn't process this stuff, he just puts it on his tab. He's running up a big bill.

I'm not saying all this is going to break Makoto, or that he's on the verge of succumbing to despair, or anything like that. The idea that this can't happen is what makes him interesting--the story won't let him falter or fail, so he just has to endure. He can't cope with his problems except in terms of helping others cope with theirs. In that sense he reminds me of Hajime Hinata, but Hajime is a surgically enhanced ubermensch, so for better or worse he's built to handle such weighty problems. Makoto is just an ordinary man, so it's kind of scary to realize he carries such an epic burden.

If I'm making Makoto sound like Jesus sweating drops of blood over his duty to the world...well, yeah. Personally, I am extremely tired of writers cramming Christ tropes into American superhero stories, so I'm loathe to look for one in Danganronpa, but it's hard for me to avoid it this time. Not that I want Makoto to be crucified and resurrected (any more than he already has been). But I'm intrigued by the idea of a Christ/martyr figure who can't get off the hook by peacing out to heaven.

Anyway, the point is that Makoto avoids his trauma by helping his friends with their problems. Which is ironic considering he spends a lot of time getting Kyoko comfortable with facing her trauma. Kyoko benefits greatly from having someone she can trust and finally open up to, so it doesn't occur to her that Makoto might need the same sort of help, or that he would hide it as well as she does. Overcoming that takes a lot of work, for both of them.

I haven't decided what sort of relationship Makoto and Kyoko had before their memories were wiped, but I tend to think it wasn't romantic. At most they might have had some basic attraction, but neither of them expected anything to come of it, so they paid it no mind. Even during the Killing Game, I don't think Makoto realizes what he's starting to feel. He's just curious about her because she's mysterious, or worried about her because she's missing, that's all. She's cute, but he'd never have a shot with her, so there's no point going there. Meanwhile Kyoko is gradually facing her feelings about him, and getting a little frustrated that he's not making a move. It's not until after they escape that everything hits Makoto all at once.

As Makoto learns more about Kyoko's family, he isn't afraid to call out the bullshit they've put her through. He's willing to believe her father might have had a reason for walking out on her, but that doesn't excuse the harm he caused. He's also not wild about her grandfather pushing her through the family traditions, and (from what I've gathered) exploiting her abandonment issues to hone her emotional discipline. If Fuhito Kirigiri ever meets Makoto, I think there will be a lot of friction there.

[gamersonthego]

GOTG Review: AI: The Somnium Files and Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir

This is the next game in my Backlog Roulette series, where each month I spin a wheel to randomly select a game on my massive backlog that I must play (though not necessarily to completion). These wheel spins occur on the monthly preview episodes I co-host with my friends on The Casual Hour podcast.

Not every game on the Backlog Roulette wheel is going to be a winner, and they’re not meant to be. Many are games I curiously picked up on a sale or remembered from an old tweet or offhand comment from a friend. 

That was the case with AI: The Somnium Files. Someone described it as a Persona adventure game, and that was good enough for me to snag it on the cheap and hold onto for a rainy day. But it only took a couple of sessions to realize that while The Somnium Files isn't really what I had in mind.

AI is a detective game at its heart. You embody Special Agent Kaname Date, an acerbic yet disaffected gumshoe with a missing eye. In its socket instead is an AI robot called Aiba who pulls double duty as a sort of Zelda Navi-like character while also giving you a host of super powers (like being able to see through objects or hacking into phone records remotely). But despite having these tools available to you, it only makes the moment to moment gameplay even more of a hunt-and-peck ordeal. 

I just couldn’t get into it, especially once my AI eye turned into a scantily-clad anime waifu for little to no reason. The writing goes into a very creepy and horny mode once this transformation occurs, and that was enough for me. Maybe if the game was more fun to play, I’d have been able to overlook it, but after already being bored and frustrated by the larger mechanics, it ended up as the final straw.

Reeeeeal classy, Date.

So instead of slogging through AI: The Somnium Files any further, I put it down in favor of a different Japanese detective game that also happened to be on the Backlog Roulette wheel. One much more stripped down and straightforward (and much less horny), Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir. 

FDC is a series of two mystery games that (as the name implies) released on Nintendo’s Famicom console. While the 1988 and 1989 originals never saw a release outside of Japan, Nintendo and developer Mages remade the games from the ground up to release worldwide on the Nintendo Switch in 2021. 

What a difference 30+ years can make.

Loading up the first game, The Missing Heir, the interesting mix of new and old hits you immediately. Gone is the pixel art of the 1988 version, replaced by hand-drawn backgrounds and anime-inspired character designs. The chiptune music tracks have all been updated to more modern instrumentation as well. But ever-present is the simple list of actions and dialogue options of the UI.

And it plays like an old adventure game too, requiring you to select some of the same dialogue options multiple times (or in specific, untold sequences) to unlock further options to progress the story. Occasionally, the game will highlight options in yellow to tell you of new options that have just opened up by some trigger, but that is not always the case, nor do these highlighted options always further the plot either. I can appreciate how a detective game should leave the player room to actually make deductions on their own, but oftentimes in The Missing Heir, I would end up cycling through every dialogue choice multiples times, just crossing my fingers I would finally hit upon the right sequence or frequency. Eventually, I would give in and pull up a spoiler-free guide to cut down on the repetition and get through the story.

Because unlike AI: The Somnium Files, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir actually has a fun story to uncover. Originally being a Famicom game, it’s no Sherlock Holmes, but there are ample rug pulls and intrigue, culminating in a twist you can probably see coming, but maybe not in quite the way you expected. Despite being a game centered around a murder (or two, or three), it’s just kind of a pleasant little experience to work your way through. It’s even got me interested in playing its prequel, The Girl Who Stands Behind.

AI: The Somnium Files may have ended up being a bummer for me (though other people seem to really enjoy it, according to numerous reviews), I’m glad it led me to a game I enjoyed much more. And even better, I was able to trim two games from my backlog this month. That's value, baby!

[a-student-out-of-time]

For me, I really, really wish DR3 had been done as a game, or at least let the anime being longer, to let things be less rushed and actually get to introduce and develop the characters they added.... I was already an adult when I got into Danganronpa in general, so I think that's why I wound up latching onto DR3 characters the most XD I latched onto the 74th trio pretty hard, but admittedly it's mostly my own HC/me just making stuff up. - muffin anon

//There was so much potential with DR3, but it tried to do too much with too little time. It had to tell the conclusion of the Hope's Peak quintet's story, conclude the tale of Komaru and Toko in Towa City, provide a prequel look into Hope's Peak before everything went to shit, and finally give a conclusion for all of this.

//All in 25 episodes.

//Credit to everyone who gave it their all, but the fact that they already didn't have enough time to provide all of that, and wasted a lot of the time they did have with the irrelevant? Yeah, this project was unfortunately doomed from the start.

//There are some genuinely good things in this show, I'm not denying that. Imposter-san was phenomenal across the board, Koichi was great, and I liked a lot of the other characters they introduced and wished we'd gotten more focus with them. The thing is, even if this was made into a game, or at least a visual novel of some sort, my hope would've been for the focus to be in the right areas.

//Honestly, I'm kinda of the opinion that there shouldn't have been a prequel-type story here in the first place. Partly because I prefer the mystery of how and why Class 77-B fell to despair, but also because its inclusion brought on so many pointless retcons that it's insane.

//If we actually excised that aspect, just focused on the Future side of things and only had occasional flashbacks and references to everyone's lives before The Tragedy, I think it would've preserved a lot of the intrigue and made Junko seem threatening.

//You're free to disagree with me on this, but Junko on her own is not an interesting character. She's obnoxious, repetitive, never shuts up and her shtick wears out very quickly. It's everything that happens because of her that's interesting.

//When she isn't going "despair despair despair", making stupid jokes or talking about her boobs, she has the capacity to be a scary villain. Someone who has the charisma and understanding to manipulate and drive thousands of people to commit terrible acts. Someone who can dismantle the human mind so thoroughly that it seems like her skills even drove herself crazy.

//Mysteries lose all their intrigue when you explain them, and DR3's explanation was "hope and order are boring, despair is unpredictable and thus interesting." Even though that doesn't make any sense, because it's predictable you'll be in despair when terrible things happen. Despair is, in fact, a pretty certain fact of life in a situation like that.

//And the anime's ways to make her threatening were to have her do horribly grotesque acts of mutilation and torture, and to just have her win without a single setback.

//And the methodology for how she got so many people to side with her was just "Oh yeah, this one loser was making an anime, she stole it and used it to brainwash everyone." That's it. A character we never met before and who I barely remember exist because he's such a non-entity is the reason for everything, and Junko just pilfered his ideas.

//DR3 managed to make Junko incredibly OP and incredibly weak and lame at the same time. How does one even do that?

[hauntedhotel]

Okay, I'm slightly speedrunning through the five stages of grief here to get some rough theories out but I've been asked if I have predictions for tma season four and here they are.

Likely theory, supported by canon evidence: Jon is gonna wake up from his coma but he's gonna be extra monster-y when he does.

Kind of likely theory, sort of supported by canon if you squint: Avatar of The Lonely Martin. The friend that originally recommended tma to me - and did so on the strength of how much she thought I would love Martin - asked me recently where I was up to with the show and when I said I was about to go into season 4 she said "oh it's a good one, lots of Martin content" but given the nature of the show I'm assuming this isn't the "Jon wakes up from his coma to find that The Eye got bored of waiting for him to start breathing again and buggered off, he declares himself madly in love with Martin and they run away together into the sunset" kind of Martin content, and since the trailer implies he's both given Jon up for dead and is doing something mysterious and spooky for Peter Lucas, Avatar of The Lonely is what I'm going with. If Martin dies this season I might genuinely nope out of the show.

Wild card theory, barely supported by canon but I'm throwing it out there: Elias isn't Elias. I mean, as far as the archives crew is concerned he is, he's the only Elias they've ever known, but I don't think he's the same Elias that Jon was researching (stoner Elias from uni) and Nikola Orsinov constantly asking "can I call you Elias?" had me especially sus. I think (extra wild card theory) that he's Jonah Magnus and he just...takes new hosts over time to stay head of his own institue.

Not even a theory but a set of incoherent thoughts: The Web, which is fear of manipulation? It intrigues me so much because it seems like it was the first entity to really get a grip on Jon when he was a kid and I've already mentioned Martin - canonically capable of a certain amount of manipulation and misdirection - talking about weaving his webs and jokingly reassuring Jon that he's not turning into a spider person. The Institute is obviously playground of The Eye (although now potentially The Lonely has a presence there too) but the Archives especially is apparently full of spiders if Martin's constant lectures to Jon are anything to go by (and it's also full of tape recorders??? That appear out of nowhere and turn on by themselves???). Web!Martin intrigues me as a concept but I already think The Lonely might have a grip on him...but he's been recording statements and he's been working in the archive a while now so...does he sort of already belong to The Eye? Does Martin's character arc culminate in three entities of horror fighting over him like he's their favourite toy?

I don't know how I feel about Jon and Martin's chances as a ship in the season but I'm guessing that Jon is going to wake up from his coma and be like, "well, at least I still have my buddy Martin to rely on" and then finds out actually Martin has a new eldritch monster boss to make tea for and have a complete breakdown, so I'm looking forward to the potential for a fun reversal of their previous roles this season!

[holden-caulfield]

Hatred, you thought.

↪︎ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

SUMMARY: enemies that get trapped in the same room and have no choice but to work together to get out, inevitably leading the two of them to realize their true feelings for each other to lovers.

WARNINGS: is it angsty? i don't think so, fluffy ending tho

WORD COUNT: 1991

A/N: i'm not really sure what this is, but i used my prompt and this came out... i don't think i ever mention draco but i wrote this with him in mind. also, i don't think they are in school, it's an au of some sort and it's very messy :) it will make sense as you read it tho!!

No way out. An empty room. Just you and him.

Oh, how ironic Fate could be, how insensitive, cruel and ironic.

No way out.

You were stuck, how it happened was still a mystery to you. Such a fool for having let yourself be trapped in there.

An empty room.

No windows, just a door, which was now sealed. The only source of lightning was enough to illuminate both of your faces, his features so sharp in the pale light emanated from the dangling lamp above you.

Just you and him.

It could have been anyone, but it had to be him, of course. He wasn't any happier than you, he despised you just as much as you did, if not more.

But there you were, alone together. Words weren't needed because facial expressions were enough to convey each other's feelings: scowls perfectly disclosed any emotion that passed through your minds. Aversion, loathing, abhorrence, hate.

Such a strong word, you never thought you'd have used it to describe someone, but he was worthy of the title. You hated him, so deeply, so violently, so passionately.

He was much more generous with the use of the word, he hated pretty much everyone who didn't agree with him. But with you. Oh, with you it was different. He made sure you knew he actually hated you. It was not playful banter, it was not temporary animosity. It was pure, unfathomable hatred.

Then why did you find yourself there with him? Fate, once more, came into play.

It has such a weird way of playing, Fate. It can conjoin long lost lovers just as easily as it can unite sworn enemies who would happily have nothing to do with each other. And it takes great pleasure in doing the latter; you couldn't help but imagine the Moirai laughing, deriding you as they spun the inexorable thread that was your own Fate. Insensitive and cruel they were as they got their merciless job done.

"What now?" he asked, but he already knew the answer. He didn't want to admit it, admit he needed your help; neither did you.

But the only alternative was waiting, waiting for the inevitable destiny that would have hit you if you hadn't got out of the room. However, that meant more time to share with him, and neither of you was hoping on it.

"We find a way out, isn't it obvious?" you couldn't refrain the sarcasm dripping from your tone. The even deeper scowl decorating his face was worth it.

"How?" it took a lot out of him to stop himself from snapping at you as he analyzed the only object in the chamber, the door.

"Aren't you the one always preaching about his above-average intellect? Put it to good use, then." you knew snarky remarks wouldn't have helped you to find a way out, but they did help improve your mood, even if only in the slightest.

"No lock. No handle. No hinges. What is your great intellect suggesting?" he threw away that last ounce of restraint he had in him and decided to play your game. A challenge, to entertain you while you endured his vile presence.

"Push it. Break it down."

"Ladies first." you took a running start and collided with the door. It didn't budge.

You tried again, this time he joined you. It didn't budge. Useless attempts.

"Great idea." you could feel the smirk in his voice but you didn't give him the satisfaction and stared at the still-closed door instead.

No way out. An empty room. Just you and him.

When suddenly an illumination: while scrutinizing the room, you looked up and, narrowing your eyes, you noticed a square-shaped line, so thin you couldn't have seen it if you hadn't been so focused.

"Give me a hand, quick!" you let of all the hostilities as an opportunity arose and grasped his shoulder, forcing him to look towards the area your finger pointed to.

He joined his hands and helped you reach what you hoped was a trap door.

"God, i thought you were lighter..."

"And i thought you were stronger but look at us." you stretched your arms to reach it but it was still too high up, "Higher!"

"I can't extend myself, you know?" he said, quite irritated.

"Oh woah, something you can't do? Bewildering..." arms still outstretched, you lifted yourself on your toes. A mistake.

You lost balance and could already taste the blood in your mouth from the inevitable contact with the floor, but it never happened.

Because he caught you. You were shocked and from the look in his eyes, he was too.

"Try not to do other stupid things because i won't be there to catch you again." you quickly lifted yourself from his hold and immediately started to study another way to reach the trap door, your only hope, but in your mind thoughts about what had just happened still roamed freely.

There was no explanation other than the fact that he could not work with an injured person; if you had hurt yourself, you would have been weaker and therefore unable to help him get out. Yes, that was the reason.

"Give me a lift again."

"You can't reach it-"

"Give me a lift. Again." your tone was sterner and he complied, but not before scoffing and rolling his eyes.

You climbed on his hands once more, but it was still too high. You lifted your foot tentatively and placed it on his shoulder.

"Woah, are you trying to kill me up there?!"

You didn't answer, instead using the new added height to reach the ledge. You pushed it open and climbed up, successfully exiting the room you had called prison just moments ago.

"Always."

He smirked disapprovingly, a smile that didn't reach his eyes, and signaled for you to help him out now, so you moved to find something, anything to help him.

It was dark, the only light brightening the new corridor that had just appeared was faint and came from the far end of it.

You crossed the entire hallway, looking for a rope or a box strong enough to support your nemesis when it dawned on you: your nemesis. Why were you even helping him? Sure he had helped you, but that was before you were free.

You had now a choice, he didn't have any. If he did, he wouldn't have been so magnanimous. He surely wouldn't.

You kept on going towards the light, strengthening with every step you took when a rope appeared in your way.

The choice was now concrete. You could help him. Or you couldn't.

"Y/l/n! Found anything?" what to do now? He wouldn't have helped you.

"Took you long enough, huh?"

"I was trying to find something, you ungrateful twat." you sneered as you threw him the rope. He grasped it and began climbing, but you had still time. Time to let the thread go and leave him there. Time to save yourself.

But you didn't, an actual reason still missing in your mind. Too much compassion, too much pity, you thought. But you weren't convinced, you couldn't lie to yourself, there was something else.

He climbed all the way up, you offered your hand to finally hoist him on the ledge. He considered it, he refused it.

"We're not friends, y/l/n."

"Believe me, i know. I was just trying to make sure i hadn't to get you up here all over again. I thought you were lighter, you know?" he glowered at you, but it was not the same as before, as always.

One way out. Just you and him.

You treaded that same corridor you had crossed seconds ago, besides him this time. It was narrow and your bodies tried so hard not to touch but it was close to impossible. Shoulders collided, legs bumped, hands grazed. But eyes refused to meet; hatred, you repeated to yourself.

The light seemed to never arrive even as you quickened your step. You were running, striving to reach that light that you so desperately clang to. But then a sudden stop.

The hand that was once ruthlessly brushing against yours, grasped you. It was rushed, it was vital, it was puzzling. But it held you close to him.

He was your enemy, you needed to distance yourself, but you couldn't find the strength in you to do so. Hatred, you repeated in your head and you pushed him away.

"Watch your step." he said, pointing to a hole in the floor, a square one. You were running in circle.

You felt stupid, to think he had forgotten your rivalry so easily, to think things had changed between you.

"Thanks." it came out of your mouth without thinking. Good manners are hard to forget, you reckoned.

A pause.

"You're welcome." could a situation of forced proximity really change the feelings between two people?

Incredibly thin is the line between love and hate.

You didn't love him. You didn't hate him either. Things were evolving, you didn't know whether it was good or bad, but they were.

"We have to find another way." you thought aloud. He agreed with a simple nod, no remarks. The awkward exchange must have had an effect on him just as much as it did on you, or so you thought.

His eyes were lighter than you had ever seen them, his face seemed tense, but it was not a grimace; that was new. He looked quite entrancing when he wasn't too busy glowering at you, his features looked endearing as they attentively surveyed the area.

Sense of guilt took over because you knew you shouldn't have been thinking about such things, but had he always been so tall and captivating? Had you never noticed that sparkle in his eyes that caused the image of crystals glinting in the sun to appear in your mind? Was he thinking the same?

Undecipherable; intriguing. You wanted to know more, was it possible? You pondered no further and returned your gaze to the corridor, unwillingly.

It was his turn to watch you now because when you turned again you caught him staring.

"What are you looking at?" you couldn't help the defensive tone with which you uttered the sentence, but it didn't bother him.

"You saved me. Why?" he was genuine, he was sincere and this had you even more confused than you already were.

"You did too, it's nothing but a temporary truce."

"Is it?" he whispered without missing a beat and suddenly the walls weren't narrow anymore, no, they were far too wide, he was far too distant. As if reading your mind, he took a step closer.

"Of course it is." were you that sure?

"Are you sure?"

"Of course i am."

"But why did you save me?" what game was he playing? Your mind was not able to form any coherent thought as the man in front of you kept on making questions to which you didn't know the answer. You didn't want to admit the answer.

"It's just a truce, we hate each other-"

"Do we?" his questions were quick, it was much simpler making them than answering them.

"Do we?" you repeated.

"You could have left me there..."

"Do we?" you insisted.

"You didn't have to do that, you could have-"

"Do we hate each other?" you were impatient to hear him say it.

He remained silent but his eyes were speaking, only his mouth didn't allow them.

"Do we hate each other or-"

He cut you off, that same mouth that had suddenly become dumb reached yours. Hatred, you repeated in your head.

You kissed him too, logic leaving your mind, hands entangling in his hair, bodies flush against each other.

Love, you admitted.

Maybe Fate wasn't as cruel as you thought.

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[sporadiclilbook]

Songbird

Yan!Childe x Singer/Dancer!Khaenri'ahn! reader

Proof-read by: @choquackette

a/n: in a way, does this count as a songfic :D? Also I'm gonna use Lost in Thoughts All Alone for this. And to be fair you're pretty much like Shigure/Azura from fates in this

TW: Kidnapping

You are the ocean's gray waves

Destined to seek life beyond the shore

Just out reach

Your voice rang out through the crowd who was listening. Your Hydro Vision glowed as you made particles of water float around you. It created an illusion that made them looked like it was sparkling. It was mesmerising. To Childe, it amazed him how you used it so beautifully for a show. Unlike his more....bloodthirsty uses of his. To think a Vision can do something so graceful and morbid at the same time.

Of course he had his Electro Delusion but this is the Vision we're talking about. He uses it as a weapon while you used it for entertainment. To be honest, he never thought he'd see something like this. It was all thanks to a mission he has to do. Tailing a guy who was in debt to the Fatui and all. Childe think he was a fool. Instead of trying to make his business better, he wastes it on shows like these. But now that he sees you, he understand why. Your exotic appearance was a sight to behold. The only known person to have the same eyes as you was that Favonius Cavalry Captain and he only showed one eye. One already can make one look intriguing but having both made you look ethereal.

Yet the water ever change

Flowing like time

The path is yours to climb

Your dance was graceful, fluid movements that did flow like water. Childe think you could've been a good sword fighter if you were able to incorporate these movements into sword fighting. But for now he'll enjoy your voice and dancing. There's just something about it he loved so much. Sure fighting is always the one he loves but there's just something about you that he's attracted to. Was it your appearance? Vocals? Movements? Or those pupils of yours? He thinks it's quite silly, he doesn't even know who you are and yet......

A burdened heart

Sinks into the ground

Here he is, eager to look for you after this whole mission thing. If there's one thing he knows, is to not judge someone's prowess by appearance. Take the traveler for example. They have a petite form and yet they were able to defeat his Foul Legacy form! Who knows what you might have in store for him? Just the thought of you actually being able to fight makes him feel giddy.

Alas, all he can do for now is listen to your song. With that said, he didn't forget his mission. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw his target. The man was also in awe of looking at you. Too in awe of noticing his presence that is. He'll get right back to him when your show's over.

A veil falls away without a sound

Not day nor night

Wrong nor right

For truth and peace, you'll fight

He wondered if his siblings would love your singing. Sleeping to a lullaby sounded like a nice idea to him. Why he even thought of that was a mystery to him. Is this what they called love at first sight? He just can't help but wished to woken up by your voice that will roll out his name softly in the morning.

Sing with me a song

Of silence and blood

The rain falls, but can't wash away the mud

Within my ancient heart dwells

Madness and pride

Can't no one hear my cry?

The song ended and the crowd threw a round applause. You bowed and left the stage immediately. Childe, who hasn't forgot his mission, quickly trailed the guy he was after outsidd. "Ah! Hello there Mr. Wei Xing! I reckon you know who I am yes?" And so from there, he scared the poor man to the death with threats and grim reminder of the debt he owed. But Childe was feeling a bit merciful today "Tell you what I'll give you some more time on one condition." Wei Xing, his target, was confused. The Fatui giving a bit of leverage? Still, he would be an idiot to refuse "And that condition is....?"

Childe chuckled at his quick response. It's natural after all. All of his intimidation must have triggered his survival instincts. "Just answer me this. Who was that singer with a Hydro Vision?" Wei Xing was baffled. That's all he wanted? "A-as far as I know, t-their name is (Y/N). They're a performer that was passing by Liyue to gain more popularity across Teyvat." Childe hummed as he hears it. 'A travelling performer huh? Looks like I'll have to act quick if I want to meet them' There was moment of silence before he asked another question "When are they leaving?" "I-in a few days"

Childe let him go and as promised gave him more time for him to pay his debt. Should he fails again to do so.....he'll be history. He only had a few days to meet and talk to you so he has to be quick. Thankfully being a Fatui Harbinger does have it perks. One of those perks being having informants that can collect informations for you. And since this is no top secret info, it was quite easy to find out where you were staying and exactly how many days before you were gone.

As he wait for you at the road that led guests from Wangshu Inn to Liyue, he thought of what you might say. Maybe you'll recognise him right away? Or perhaps you were too innocent to notice the horrors of the Fatui. As he notices your figure walking on the horizon, he prepared to greet you casually. But then he was perplexed by your outfit. It seemed less travelling performer and more of a......fighter? Interesting. He drops the idea of greeting you and opted to follow your path instead.

He followed you until you reached a domain that was near one of the ruins. You stood in front of the entrance as he awaits your next move, intentionally letting his presence seep out. "You're not doing that much of a great job to hide yourself, Fatui. Or is it intentional?" Childe walks out from the spot he was hiding in and approached you slowly while saying "Well, isn't this a surprise? I just happened to be passing b-" His actions stopped midway as your pointed a spear at him. "Not a step closer, what do you want?"

Your starred pupils were sharped and narrowed. It held an intense emotion in it. Childe held up his hands in some sort of mock surrender and laughed a bit "Hey now! There's no need to get aggressive, is there? I was just curious why someone like you is doing here. Not exactly a good place to perform isn't it?"

"That's none of your business."

"Are you gonna go inside this domain?"

"...."

"If so, can I follow?"

"No."

"Please?"

"I said no."

"I'm very good at fighting you know. It'll be a shame if someone like you gets inju--"

Your spear was closer to him now. Threatening to slice him open any minute you wanted to. It didn't faze him at all. In fact it made him thrilled. He knew there was something about you that was enchanting and perhaps this was it. An unrelenting fighting spirit. In a blink of an eye, he immediately summoned his hydro javelin and parried your spear. You backed away in surprise but kept your guard up.

"Listen I have no time for you Fatui. Leave me be. I have more important matters to attend to." Childe just gave a fox-like grin at your attempt to intimidate him. "Is that so? Like what exactly?" You rolled your eyes at him. He was getting annoying for sure. "Like I said, none of your business." It looks like you might have to halt your plans for tonight. The Abyss Order can wait. "So, what are you gonna do little star?" Without warning you immediately engulfed yourself in a torrent of water and disappears. Childe was shocked when he sees it but still grinned. If you wanted to be a challenge then so be it. If he can't bother you during your 'missions' then he'll bother you during the day.

And that is exactly what he did.

For two days straight he kept trying to talk with you whenever you were out visiting the Liyue Harbour. At first you tolerated him but now he was insufferable. You were glad you were leaving as soon as possible next day but Childe was not having any of that. In just the span of two days his little curiosity had turned into a tsunami of obsession. Your expressions and reactions not to mention the little heart warming moments he saw you cheering up some of the kids in Liyue. He wants to know even more of you.

And precisely why he is fighting you right now.

As he has deducted, your move was as graceful as your dance. Your fighting style was as unique as your eyes. Something he has never seen before. You dodged his flurry of arrows, panting while doing so. How long has he fought you? It felt like an eternity. You tried to dash to him and deliver a swift strike but him and his stupid shield won't let you. You jumped back just in time before he strike his hydro swords at you. You can't even get an elemental advantage here, you had to mostly rely on your weapon.

"Well (Y/N), it's been a fun fight really. But why don't you surrender now? You're tired aren't you? I promise things will go smoothly if you just give up."

You didn't want to. There's no way you'll give up. What does he wants with you anyway? You only stared down at him in silence, refusing to answer. "Ah, stubborn now aren't we? I guess I'll have to use a little force...." He activated his Delusion and immediately dashed towards you, giving you no time to react. The electricity made you groan in pain. You use your spear as a stabiliser from falling to the ground but you were running out of energy at this point.

Before you could fall, Childe took a hold of your body. "See? It's not that hard to give up." You wanted to mutter a remark but darkness shrouded your vision before you fainted. You woke up in an unfamiliar room. Certainly not Liyue's architecture nor your homeland's. Your first thought was to look for an escape.

The door was locked.

Windows were barred.

The wardrobe had the clothes you brought with you across Teyvat along with some new ones.

There was a chain at your leg that's long enough to get you to the bathroom.

Your Vision and weapon was missing.

You waited in silence, pondering what to do. You certainly can't escape like this. But then you heard the door open. And as expected it was him. "Did you had a good sleep? You were knocked out for a while there." You scowled at him "Drop the act, where am I?" Childe hummed before answering "You're in Snezhnaya of course! Where else would I bring you? I'm quite lucky to be able to bring you here and visit my siblings! Say would you like to visi--" "Why would I do that?"

His grin dropped and his eyes stared at you. His eyes was....hollow...empty...devoid of any humanity in them. He walked towards you and you instinctively stepped back. He had you trapped against a wall. He lifted up your chin and let out a small but terrifying smile "Well, because your fate is in my hands. There's nothing you can do now, is there? But I'll forgive your behaviour for now.....if you sing that is."

You hated it. You hated the fact he was right. So you had no choice but to stay obedient and be his 'little songbird' until you found a window of opportunity. He lets go of your chin and sat down on a chair. With a heavy heart, you opened your mouth to sing.

You are the ocean's gray waves

Destined to seek life beyond the shore

Just out of reach

Childe smiled as you sing. He's sure you'll come around and fall in love with him soon enough.

Yet the water ever change

Flowing like time

The path is yours to climb

Shame that you can't meet his family yet. They would've love you. He can't wait for that day to arrive though. He can't help but feel joy. His little songbird, all his and no one else.

You are the ocean's gray waves.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Okay, but the Pokemon au is hilarious XD- Imagine what sort of shenanigans everyone's favorite blue king would ensue if he gets transported to the past PLA style (minus the losing your memories thing with Ingo, because that's a big sad) Not just that but he meets beni, y'know, the potato mochi guy who's also apparently a ninja assassin... Just the comedy it'll bring. Beni is sus of Munakata, not just because he's an outsider, but also it's Munakata, he's just really suspicious of him, and he knows that this man is not normal. Same goes for Muna, he knows something's up with beni. Munakata knows that beni isn't just your humble potato mochi chef. And so, we cut to a bunch of hilarious scenarios featuring the old man ninja, and the blue king until the reveal that beni is kamado's right hand man. I feel like Munakata would be thrilled that he's meeting an actual ninja, and maybe he somehow ropes beni into some classic blue king tomfoolery. Beni might even become a victim of Munakata's (in)famous sneaking up on people out of nowhere then invading your personal space as if it's a normal human thing to do

Can you imagine how thrilled Munakata would be to finally meet a real ninja, he would be so much less interested in catching pokemon or meeting god or whatever he just wants to talk to the actual ninja man. Like imagine Pokemon Legends Arceus AU where Munakata gets pulled through a wormhole or whatever it is and lands in the past, naturally he's concerned about his team back in his real time period but he's also very intrigued by this world of the past. He's more than willing to join Team Galaxy and research pokemon (wait imagine this being like the similar AU ask I had a while back where Fushimi went into the past, where he's introduced to Team Galaxy's Captain Suoh. Imagine Munakata's face when he sees that 'Suoh' is a serious glasses-wearing person and not a barbarian at all, Munakata probably wonders where the gene pool went wrong). After his first successful mission he's treated to some potato mochi at the restaurant and Munakata is immediately suspicious of this potato man. Like Munakata's aware that he himself is an outsider and that others would have reason to be wary of him but there's something about this man's suspicion that feels more keen than the others he's met.

Munakata decides that he must solve the mystery of why he's so drawn to this simple chef, like imagine him deciding he will become Beni's apprentice and discover his secrets. Beni is not so pleased with that, like he doesn't trust Munakata and he feels like Munakata may be on to his secret identity. Imagine Beni using all these subtle ninja moves to make his potato mochi normally and he has to hide them from Munakata, Munakata keeps almost catching him and like trying to manipulate the situation so he can get Beni to slip up and reveal his secrets. Munakata thankfully does not allow this to completely distract him from training his pokemon of course, in fact he probably uses them as part of his secret undercover 'figure out this man's secrets' mission that he has going on (Beni is getting tired of being ambushed by Munakata's pokemon, especially since Munakata's given them all odd unfamiliar names like 'Awashima-kun' and 'Fushimi-kun'). Finally the whole thing goes down where Beni finally has to reveal his true identity as Kamado's right hand man and secret ninja, he probably suspects by now that Munakata's some kind of spy and already knew Beni was a ninja. He's surprised when Munakata expresses nothing but sheer delight at discovering Beni was a ninja all along, after all the misunderstandings are cleared up imagine Munakata shows back up at the restaurant the next day. Beni says Munakata should understand he isn't able to teach Munakata anything about making mochi and Munakata says of course not, he was hoping to become an apprentice in the ways of a ninja and he will not be taking no for an answer.

[siimjaeyun]

Chapter 1: Beast from Below

Synopsis: When five teens set their hearts on mystery solving, maybe they'll just uncover something that's a lot bigger than fake masks.

Series Masterlist

‐----------------------------------

"Another mystery solved!" Five palms met at the center before the metal bars behind them clasped shut; once more did they find themselves enclosed at the city jail. 

"Time and time again. Must I remind you kids about not interfering with city affairs." 

The man pinched his nose bridge before giving them a piercing look through the cage. They expected nothing less from Chief Kim: always bossing them around like toddlers and painting them as fools. 

"Just fantastic. Can't wait for another pep talk from my father." Heeseung fell to the ground dramatically as he looked at his four friends. This occurrence of the city jail never fazed them, and at this point, neither did the fear of being punished by his father. 

A couple minutes elapsed before Chief Kim made his way back to the five teens in the cell. With one movement, the door bolted open, allowing them to go home at once. 

"Wow. Only an hour wait. New record." Sunoo mischievously smiled and hung his shoulder over Jungwon, his shorter companion. 

"Beats that time we spent the night." Sunghoon only scoffed at the duo, no longer amazed by the words that came out of their mouths. 

"Heeseung! Y/n! Hurry up won't you!" You and heeseung strutted through the doors of the city building. You knew heeseung would be faced with utter disappointment from his father, head of the city, but you knew he could care less at this point. 

"Park y/n!" You hated the voice trailing in front of you. Your eyes slowly made their way to meet your brothers, a teen boy who's purpose in life was to delight others and be the puppet of any tiger parent. 

"Go away Jay." You shoved him in the opposite direction and tried to make your way into the van. Frankly, he was the last person you wanted to see. 

"Mom and dad asked me to pick you up. Jungwon and Sunoo as well." He eyed the youngsters goofing off in the background, and when they met his gaze, they walked off the van. 

"Catch you guys later okay?" Sunghoon and Heeseung drove off in the mini-van, leaving the four in silence. 

You said nothing and sat in the back seat of the old Honda. The smell of pine was obvious, and the stack of prep books in the back seat didn't faze you either. 

Jay dropped off Sunoo and Jungwon at their home, and later made his way back to your own. 

"It wouldn't hurt to stay out of trouble y'know." He finally broke the silence and looked at you through the car mirror. 

"I could care less about what you think. Plus, city jail visits from mysteries beat being my parent's trophy any day." 

------- 

"You should've seen our parents look. I think they don't bother with grounding us anymore." Jungwon continued to chat about the lack of punishment he and Sunoo received. 

"Mine don't mind at this point. They told me to might as well study forensics if I'm into silly mysteries." Sunghoon laughed a bit and scanned the tension of the van. 

"Better than whatever my father, the head of the city, had to say. He just laughed and insisted I be a role model." Heeseung added to the conversation as he drove the kids in the van. Being designated driver had its perks and its downs.

"I think I win considering Jay fucking perfect Park had to try to give me the 'stay out of trouble' peptalk." You crossed your arms and entertained yourself with the surrounding buildings. Trees, children running, a giant monster coming out the sewer. 

"Heeseung!!" Abruptly, a pile of fog escaped from the sewer, blinding Heeseung who tried his best to stop the van from crashing. 

"Looks like a mystery has arrived." Once Heeseung was safely able to stop the car, the rest of you left the van as well. 

Small droplets of water dancing were heard from the ground below. The five of you climbed down the ladder, stepping with caution of course. 

You trailed off with Sunghoon and let the bright light of your flashlights illuminate the cave. 

"Why are we in a cave?" Confusion struck your minds, there was supposed to be a river of sewage water. Why you had stepped foot on a cave tricked your minds. 

The teens continued to explore the cave, sharp rocks and pools of water were at your feet. As the light continued to roam the black and gray walls of the cave, a golden object shined from afar.

"Sunghoon, look." You picked up the object and your hands met with a locket. The locket opened and revealed a photograph of a young couple, probably of your same age. Before you could ponder more about the couple, a terrified shriek left Sunoo's mouth. 

"What's wrong!??" Heeseung followed Sunoo's fingers and he came face to face with petrified bodies. 

Three workers were frozen in a pile of green goop. 

----- 

"So?" Jungwon asked the officer with signs of intriguement, but he was not interested in the young one's questions. 

"Dad." You turned and saw Mr.Lee make his way to Heeseung, grasping his shoulders once he had arrived. 

"Do us a favor and go to school." He left almost immediately, and you were scared about what would happen next. 

Turns out that 'next event' meant running away with one of the green creatures. 

When you had arrived at school, Sunghoon and Heeseung plopped the green creature onto the table of Professor Kang, the science teacher. 

"You think you can help?" 

Professor Kang placed the stethoscope around his neck and began inspecting the creature. 

"Well, it's alive; I'll tell you that." He continued to pace around the table, hesitant in informing the group about the odd human in front of them. 

"Hey, sorry to bother you Professor Kang, but um...I was hoping to submit my form." A boy stood awkwardly by the door with a thin piece of paper in his hand. His black hair covered most of his forehead, and the only visible part was his shy smile. 

"Come in, you weren't interrupting anything. In the meantime, I suggest you go off with this thing." Professor Kang turned his way to address the newcomer in the room; the boy responded and followed him to his desk.  

"Quickly, quickly, I've got a class to teach!" Professor Kang left the room once attending to the stranger's needs. 

"You heard the man, lift with your legs." You giggled slightly as you saw Sunoo hesitate at touching the green slime. 

"You guys need help?" The voice behind you observed quietly, and almost gasped slightly when seeing what exactly you were trying to carry. 

"It's fine, but thanks." Heeseung threw the body over his shoulders and made his way out the door. 

"You're Jake right?" Sunghoon immediately began a conversation with the young boy, and didn't see his friends waiting by the door. 

"Wanna come?" 

The three of you wanted to kill Sunghoon for inviting a stranger to these sort of things, but it was merely too late and the unknown boy looked too nice to shoo away. 

"Sure, beats sitting through Professor Min's lecture." 

Jake trailed behind the trio as he chatted with Sunghoon. Heeseung through the van spotted the newcomer, and was slightly confused considering no one had ever tagged alonged. 

"We've got a monster to catch, hurry and get in the van!" You opened the door with force and welcomed Jake into the back. 

"This is Jake by the way, he's joining us for today." Sunoo introduced Heeseung to Jake, letting his mouth ramble on about the few details he had already learned. 

"Where to captain?" 

"RM's studio of course." The rhythm of the music played quietly in the background, and they all found comfort in having Jake around, they didn't expect themselves to be given their history. 

"So you guys travel in a van solving mysteries?" 

"Pretty much. We get thrown in the city jail occasionally." Jungwon mentioned the detail nonchalantly and expected Jake's natural surprise. 

------ 

It was late that night when the group gave back the body to Professor Kang. 

The teacher's steps were audible as he trailed back and forth between one table to the next. He became startled at the sudden noise of the janitor mopping in the hallway. He peered outward and went back to his work. 

Before long, and with an audible gasp, his body was now entrapped and enclosed in the similar green goop on the ceiling. 

------

"It's all my fault!" Heeseung banged his head on the table and looked at his friends with a sad expression. 

"Don't say that. After all, besides Jake, we all helped steal the body from the authorities." Sunoo patted his back gently and observed Jake who placed a container of green smush on the table. 

"I managed to collect a sample, maybe it'll help us." 

Jungwon and Sunoo were drawn to the fruity smell, and hunger couldn't stop them from nearing the sample of the monster. 

"Don't eat that!!!" Before they could stop him, Jungwon and Sunoo had already placed the oozing substance into their mouths. 

"This is lime sorbet.." 

"It's Ricky's Rickwracks." Confused, but curious, the other teens dipped their index finger into the mush and tasted it as well. 

"You're right...I think we just got our next clue." Sunghoon smirked at the rest of his friends and grabbed the keys from Heeseung's left pocket. 

------ 

[RICKY'S RICKWRACK] 

"Since Jake, Sunoo and Jungwon are the shortest, they get to shimmy through the air ducts and open the back door." 

"How come y/n isn't coming? We're the same height!" 

"Because I refused." You gave him a bright smile and helped the three unbolt the door. 

The trio crawled their way through the ducts and yelled loudly when they hit the ground after their sudden fall. 

"We didn't mean to crush your body on the first day Jake." 

They opened the door and let the three bodies waiting outside came in. The restaurant was dark, slightly humid, and oddly quiet. 

"Scream if you see anything." Sunghoon and Jake led you through the left corridor and the others headed right. 

There wasn't much to see, but when you had turned your back to face the door, it closed shut. Your six fists banged on the door continuously, but you figured it was useless. 

"Y/n! Sunghoon! Jake!" Heeseung's voice echoed behind the door, and he managed to pry it open. 

"My hero!" You happily hugged him and it didn't surprise him; apart from your hard exterior, you often liked skinship with others. 

"SUNGHOON HYUNG!" the four of you ran back to see Jungwon pointing at a figure, and behold, it was the monster from below. 

His bright green and sticky appearance startled you, but his roar bounced louder causing your feet to quickly flee. 

Jake had become frozen; it was his first encounter of course. You took hold of his hand and ran off with him. 

Constant twists and turns led you through one hall and the next. The six of you managed to head back to the closet that once trapped you. 

"I-i think it's g--ahh!" You fell backwards and pushed a box aside by mistake. It was no mistake however. 

It was a hole and hidden for a good reason. You jumped first and met eyes with a familiar cave. 

The carts and marked arrows in the ground were a good reminder that it was no mistake. 

"Follow the arrows." 

Sunghoon led the way and you found containers of the same green substance from the monster. It startled you at first, but why had there been this in the first place ? 

"Wouldn't this path lead to the bank?" 

"By why would he need a path?" 

"I'm assuming there's another type of dessert old Ricky likes to indulge in." 

"Take those items, let's build ourselves a trap.." 

----- 

They handled the ropes and buckets in every step. 

Sunoo and Jungwon handled leading the creature into the cave,  running in terror like always; they were the bait. 

"Now!" The trap was set off,  a toss here, a toss there, and the cage landed everywhere but on top of the monster. 

It continued to chase them, and they soon found themselves trapped inside the cage. Well, everyone but you and Jake. 

The two of you continued to run and eventually your two pairs of feet met a dead end. 

"I'll help you up." 

Jake mounted you on his back and hoisted you enough to get a hold of the floor from Ricky's Rickwracks. With enough strength, you pulled yourself up and stretched your hand towards Jake to pull him up. The two of you continued to play a game with the monster on your trail.

In the meantime, the four boys played with the bolts of the cage until it managed to come loose. They went back to you and Jake and grabbed the hose of the lime sherbet. 

At the right time, the creature was pushed towards the wall by the force of the blasting sherbet. His body was now too cocooned like his previous victims. 

"What do you think you're doing!?" Chief Kim walked into the store through the front door alongside Heeseung's father, Mayor Lee. 

"Well we caught the monster from below of course! Ricky couldn't fool me." But unknowingly, Ricky walked through the door. 

"I called the police when my alarm went off." 

"Then who?" Jungwon did the honors of pulling off the mask revealing the human within. 

"Professor Kang!" 

"That's right. When I discovered the cave while looking for samples for science class, I knew I had found my ticket out of this place! I used Ricky's sorbet to cocoon people who came too close and used the costume to scare people off. I even did it to myself to throw you people off. I would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" 

"But Mr.Kang, what about this locket?" You held the pendant to an eyes view but his answer let you know it didn't belong to him. 

"I say we celebrate at RM's Studio !" 

------ 

The soft music let you guys know of another job well done. A loud ring broke through the silence and Sunoo went ahead to answer it. 

"Welcome to RM's studio mix, what can we do for you?" 

"You're all doomed!" The seven of you, including RM, closed around the recorder. 

"You should've never taken the locket out of the cave, but now you've done it. You've found a truth that has been hidden...a true mystery behind Seoul City has begun." 

And just like that, the room went silent. 

[debatenarutooocs]

I'd be happy to explain in further detail about this Mary Sue oc.

There's nothing compelling or interesting about Nico. She's incredibly op for someone who only has a metal based quirk (Not to mention Rozupan says Nico has two quriks that basically go hand-in-hand with each other so it should actually be a single fusion quirk). Somehow having stats that are higher than the #1 hero himself. She's also as skilled and intelligent as Hawks but doesn't show or even explain how. Did Nico undergo training with the HPSC like Hawks did? Clearly not since she was born in America. So maybe she was trained by an agency similar to the HPSC? Who knows because Rozupan doesn't seem to talk about it.

Nico also already has many in universe fans despite her detatched personality. You'd think someone who's as unapproachable and blunt as Nico wouldn't have such a huge fanbase. (Just look at Aizawa for example, there's a reason why it took even Deku a while to recognize him. The guy for the most part is elusive to the public eye.) How does she have several admires despite seemingly only working as a hero in Japan for a few years as well as not being inclined to putting herself in the spotlight? She's working as a UA teacher but how did an obscure, former American pro hero end up working at a top rated academy like UA in such a short amount of time?

Nico also doesn't seem to have any flaws to speak of either, obvious or subtle. If you're making a deep and compelling character then show us why she's deep and compelling, don't just say "she's detatched and aloof because something happened to her during childhood". No, being socially inept isn't a character flaw that makes you "deep and compelling". If that's the case then every fictional and non-fictional introvert would be considered as deep and complex rather than socially awkward losers lol. I'm not making this up either, Rozupan has gone on to say that Nico's biggest flaw is that she has terrible social skills. And nothing else, really boring if you ask me. I understand keeping your audience in the dark about your character for the sake of intrigue, but Nico really has nothing aside from "She's mysterious and quiet and blunt, like Mikasa lol." She's a Mikasa knockoff but without the same complexity and strength as Mikasa.

Nico also doesn't seem to face any challenges or strong adversaries. I can't speak too much on this point because as I've mentioned, Nico has no story. But if you're going to tease a troubling backstory for your character then it makes sense to also tease what or who the character is up against. Especially if the oc in question is being inserted into a shounen series that rarely ever touches on romance. No main canon villain or oc villain to oppose Nico in any sort of way not to mention she doesn't seem to have many weaknesses or damaging quirk drawbacks.

It's a shame too since she's a very talented artist, and I was even a fan of hers myself, but waiting to finally see something interesting about Nico became pointless since It's pretty clear to me that she only created Nico to ship her with Hawks. You can't expect your audience to take your oc seriously if the reason behind creating her was just to insert a pointless character into the story for the sake of shipping her with the character(s) you simp for. Nothing about her backstory, she's never explained how Nico and Hawks met and eventually grew feelings for one another and Nico herself is just unappealing overall. Why would someone like Hawks grow any sort of intrigue, let alone romantic feelings, towards a quiet and distant character without having some sort of sensible reason behind it? That's the sort of stuff she's yet to reveal but it'll never happen because she's too busy working on AUs or whatever tf she's working on now.

And this is more of a jab towards her fans but before I officially unfollowed her, I'd constantly see on her stories of many fans who'd praise Nico for being "well-written". My guys, how is she well-written if she has no story or personality to speak of? Don't kid yourselves, you're just saying that because you simp for Nico lol.

I wouldn't have nearly as much of an issue with Rozupan solely creating Nico for shipping if Rozupan didn't constantly bait her followers with Nico's alleged "backstory" or how "deep" and "complex" Nico's character is. She baits and baits only to create another pointless AU. Possibly her worst (imo) is the one about Nico's daughter who isn't even part of Nico's canon story. Why the hell should I give a damn about a kid who's not canon to the main plot? But who cares, Nico is pretty and "sexy" and Rozupan's art is pretty so I guess that's all that really matters.

And before anyone tells me that I'm "salty" or "just a hater" or I'm "looking too deep into a fictional character" let me just remind you that the only reason why no one openly criticizes Rozupan for her lack of plot is because her oc is attractive and she's a talented artist. If it were an artist who had way less followers with decent art skills and an average looking oc, they'd be judged and clowned on for making an oc just for shipping and zero plot. It's happened before. So anyone who reads this, attack me if you want but I've given my reasons (and I've got many more) for why Nico is a Mary Sue.