#that we don't have any more of saeran se

[anas-tasiaa]

Why the hell we only have 1 CG for this

beautiful, adorable, precious, human being huh?!?!?! 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

CHERITZ HOW DARE-

We have like 948474th CGs for AS Saeran, even Suit Saeran has couple of CGs and you just abandoned this precious broken baby of Saeran SE (OS Saeran). He doesn't even have his own opening CG! 👊🏻 I WOULD FOREVER BE SALTY ABOUT THIS.

Now we know with whom Cheritz took a favor with just because the new "remake" Saeran would benefit them in term of profit. 🤷🏻‍♀️ They "sold" him well huh .....

[marshmallowprotection]

Every Saeran MCs have different impression upon meeting every version of him for the first time, depending on their personalities or what kind of person they are.

But what do you think every Saeran wants to be perceived as? What did he wants us to feel or see in him when we first met him? Feel free to include VAE too if you want!

Ray wants you to see him as a prince. The prince who carries you to your happily ever after where nothing can ever hurt you again. That's his dream. He wants to live in a paradise where he can be with you forever, and enjoy his time with you no matter what happens going forward.

He is incredibly lonely, and what he wants more than anything is to know that someone can depend on him and he can take care of that just the way he wants to. As long as he can be with you and make you as happy as can be, he knows that will be enough for him in a world that doesn't want him. 

Suit Saeran doesn't know what he wants you to see. That might be a sad thing to admit but it's the truth. It's his truth. He doesn't know what he wants to feel, much less how to make you feel something for him. It might seem obvious to say that he wants you to see him as somebody strong, somebody who can never be hurt, but that's not the truth.

He tells you to treat him like Ray over and over again because that's the only way he will ever get what he really wants, to be treated tenderly, with love that won't burn. He just can't have that because that kind of love gets you sent to the basement. 

GE Saeran hopes you see him as someone worth loving. In the past, his heart spent so much time dreaming of ways to make you want him, but now he realizes that that's not something he can force on to anyone.

He needs to accept that people will either want him or not want him, and it's okay one way or the other even if it's hard to accept. He wants to prove himself to be somebody worth your admiration and love. You can see him any way you want to see him, but he prays it's in a good light as he works to be a better man, not just for you, but for himself. 

VAE Ray wants to be... in your life even if the guilt and shame of his existence is overwhelming. Regardless of if you knew him before the accident, the baggage of that incident will stick with him for the rest of his life. Why wouldn't it? He tried to, for lack of a better word, get rid of himself after he lost everything that made life worth living.

His insecurities always made him feel like he couldn't do anything right, and to wake up after the fire and realize that he couldn't even get rid of himself right, it sends him into a place where he has no choice but to spiral wildly out of control until V finds him in the rubble. Is it okay to be together despite how much of a failure he feels he is? Of course it is, but he needs to work through some of his feelings to get there.

Unknown wants nothing but for you to be his eyes. Be his eyes and ears on the inside. You don't particularly have to care for him or anything, after all, you're just the means to an end. You are the tool that allows him to dismantle the entire organization that has seemingly taken away his opportunity to be free and enjoy the sky as much as he wants.

It's nothing against you, after all, you'll get to join paradise and be happy in eternal bliss after you do your job for the savior. He doesn't feel about you one way or the other. That is subject to change, possibly, but as it stands from an initial standpoint, that's what it is. 

SE Saeran... similar to Suit Saeran, isn't sure what he wants from you. It certainly depends on the kind of relationship you had with him before it got to this point in his life, but there is no denying that he is in a situation where he has a lack of autonomy. He doesn't get to decide where he lives, and he doesn't get to decide how he lives his life.

He has to stay with his brother no matter what he wants, and that can be rather difficult as is. How can he know what he wants when he doesn't even have the ability to want for himself? Maybe it is better to say that what he wants from you is a temporary reprieve from the heartache he experiences. Being with you makes it a little more tolerable to exist. 

[natasha-in-space]

Hey mia what kind of dynamic would yoosung and saeran have in between them on the context of yoosung good/normal ending (aka saeran had blinded yoosung in one eye).

So in the yoosung valentine dlc, seven was in his jokester mood we have known him to have, which makes me speculate that between the good/normal ending and the valentine dlc (which are quite some years apart since in the latter yoosung is in his mid-late 20s) seven had rescued saeran and rika was secretly rehabilited without her being exposed of her crimes.

Seven would not keep his jokester facade and is also likely to leave rfa if he knew saeran was not okay (something he had discovered in that very route).

So with the assumption of seven rescuing saeran shortly after yoosung route and saeran meeting the rest of the rfa including yoosung. What kind of dynamic would the two have. I see both the potential for angst and some heartwarming moments as well

Pretty much the same as in SE, but with even more added trauma and guilt between them specifically.

MM endings are rather open to interpretation, so there are a lot of ways to imagine your own individual story playing out. I personally like it about them! So, it is very much a possibility that Mint Eye does get discovered and dismantled eventually, and that the twins do reunite. If we're taking a safer route, with Saeyoung staying with the RFA, and everyone working together without any added drama, then it'll pretty much play out similarly to the second SE.

Saeran will be recovering at the hospital until a specific point, and after that, he will be staying with Saeyoung in his bunker. How that whole thing plays out, and how differently it is from the SE, is completely up to you.

That said, I do think Yoosung will handle the whole crisis a bit more maturely, as well as play a more active role. If we're taking his character development in the duration of his route into account, he is way more determined to do whatever he can to help.

He also has a strong support system by his side in this scenario, so his issues concerning Rika will be resolved more painlessly and in a much healthier manner.

But, that raises the issue of Saeyoung not going through his own development that happens in his own route. And, you know what this means. Even if he doesn't leave the RFA, he'll still become distant and cold with them. The idea of Yoosung being the one who encourages him to open up and trust his friends is something I quite like. It's sweet, in a way, considering how Saeyoung supported Yoosung from the sidelines on his own route. I personally think that these two share one of the closest friendships in the RFA, so it's neat to imagine them encouraging one another like this.

So, there's that.

And Saeran? Well, Yoosung will only have a chance to interact with him directly after a long time has passed. I don't think his recovery will be any less rough than it is in the SE. Quite the opposite, actually. Poor Saeyoung will definitely experience a very difficult and stressful period. The rest of the RFA are going to be his main source of comfort and support. Maybe Yoosung and mc meet up with him from time to time, or maybe Yoosung prepares him some healthy food to eat up while they are stuck in the bunker.

I do think Yoosung will be sympathetic, despite everything. Especially after discovering all that Saeran has gone through. He'll forgive him for what he did, and he will be determined to help out in any way he can. He may not know Saeran, but he's Saeyoung brother, and that's all he needs to know. We do know that Yoosung is someone who will do everything for those he cares about. And Saeyoung is one of his closest friends.

That said... it's one thing to settle your feelings from the safe distance, and it's completely another to meet with this person again face to face. Yoosung's experience in Magenta was undoubtedly very traumatic. Despite not displaying much of a reaction in the game, he will definitely experience occasional nightmares, at the very least. I do like to think that he works this out in therapy, as he's determined to be the best version of himself, but...

That traumatic experience is still directly linked to Saeran.

It's a bitter pill to swallow, and I think Yoosung is not going to expect the reaction he will experience the first time he sees Saeran again. He's likely to freeze and enter a state of fight or flight. It's not intentional. It's a natural response to a feeling of danger. And it's something his mind and body do on their own. It won't be loud or intense, but it is very much distressing to him. Mc will probably have to put a gentle hand on his shoulder and lead him away. It's important to remind him that there is nothing wrong with what he is feeling, and that he shouldn't be hard on himself for that.

And, Saeran? He has no desire to be around the RFA in the first place. It's not comfortable and awkward. Sure, they may say that they do not hold any grudges against him... But, they are still the very same people he vowed to destroy so many times. Of course he'd feel uneasy and uncomfortable around them. It's a constant reminder of just how meaningless his life was up until this point. A cruel callback to the way he was manipulated, and just how much of a twisted monster he really is. Saeran is always quiet and closed off, but when he's next to the RFA?

It is multiplied tenfold.

And, Yoosung? Well, Yoosung is someone who he directly harmed. In a very sadistic and deliberate way, mind you. Saeran doesn't want to be disrespectful or anything, but his gaze will instantly go to the blind eye the young man has lost because of him. And then, the flashbacks will come rushing in. If Yoosung freezes up and goes into fight or flight mode, then Saeran has a straight up panic attack.

He remembers everything. Every disgusting detail of his actions. The sticky blood coating his fingers and getting under his fingernails, the sight of the whirling body before him as he holds it down without any consideration for its owner, the raging hate and an overwhelming desire to hurt clouding his every waking thought.

It causes him to feel sick to his stomach. I am talking sick enough to throw up. And he probably does.

What happened between Saeran and Yoosung on his route shouldn't be overlooked. The event was both traumatic and violent. It will leave them both with lasting consequences. In Yoosung's case, not only mental, but physical as well. And Saeran will never wipe that metallic smell of blood out of his head. Neither is he going to forget the fact that... really, he did that on his own accord. Nobody told him to harm Yoosung in such a cruel and purposefully sadistic way. He wanted to cause him pain. He wanted to make him scream and tremble from pain.

And, the worst of it all? It's not possible for him to pretend and say he didn't like it. Because he did. At the time, all he wanted was to hurt him.

Saeran already feels like a monster in the SE. I am honestly horrified to imagine how he would feel in this scenario if he ends up shooting V as well.

It's... It's a lot.

For the rest of his life, he will have to live with this. This guilt and knowledge of just what he is really capable of. And he wants to never forget what he did. Yoosung has lost an eye because of him. The least he can do is make sure that he carries some sort of consequence of that unforgivable event with him. It's a way of self-punishment. Not healthy at all.

So... yes, there is going to be a lot of very heavy baggage from both sides here. It's not impossible for them to form a stronger bond, if that's the picture you want to see for your ending. However, it will take a considerable amount of time. I'm talking literal years here. Lots of trial and error. Lots of messy situations and emotional outbursts from both sides. And, of course, therapy.

The thought of both of them coming to a sort of closure with each other is sweet, though. Maybe years down the line, as Saeran has to do a lot of healing and self-discovery of his own. But, it's possible.

[rfaromance]

I'm sorry for my lack communication 😥 but 'other saeran personality' which I mean is including unknow and GE/SE saeran too btw thank you for your answer and analyzing!

from 'which kind of dress that other Saeran's persona might like?' post I continuely curious

Then , what about Unknow if we were his assistant? Which kind of dress he might order MC wear? Or he doesn't care about it?

Oh, sorry I didn't realize! I'm happy you liked my analysis and answer for Suit Saeran though. ^^

I'll go in order now from GE -> Unknown -> SE!

GE Saeran doesn't have a preference for what his MC wears. He still feels shame for the things that Ray and Saeran did, and he doesn't want to force his love to wear or do anything they don't want. If MC asked him what type of clothing he prefers for them to wear, he'd insist they're equally breathtaking in anything. But MC can see the way his eyes light up when they wear something light colored and a bit loose.

GE personally wears a lot of light, earthy, natural colors. We see him in a plain white button-down or a khaki sweater, and then brown or black pants. He's simple and likes comfort. @marshmallowprotection can give more analysis on this, but his loose and open-collared shirts are a symbol of his newfound freedom. Ray was practically choking in that tight cravat, and Suit in his big display of "power" and "strength" was still held on a tight chain by Savior, as shown by the chain he wears on his neck. GE can open his collar and is no longer on anyone's leash. He's free to move and smile and laugh and live and love.

So he'd be lying if he said he didn't love the way MC looks in an outfit with a low neckline where he can see their collarbones, or a shirt with poofy sleeves that billow in the wind. He likes the way the sunlight seems to reflect off them when they wear pale colors, because in his eyes... they are his angel, his true salvation.

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Unknown claims he doesn't care what his assistant wears. He claims it's a hassle and he doesn't give a damn what they do as long as they listen to him and do the tasks he gives them.

That's a lie, like most of what Unknown says.

While he may or may not have planned to scoop up an assistant in his efforts to lead an unsuspecting MC to the apartment, he definitely doesn't have a wardrobe prepared. He may very well be giving them some of his clothes at first, and if his assistant isn't built like an emo twinkle, then they're gonna have a bad time.

Ultimately he'd get them clothes that fit them and are more in line with their preferences, but he has strict guidelines. Dark colors, because he's a shadow and he can't have an assistant who sticks out like a sore thumb. Ideally something more grunge, goth, punk, or emo in aesthetic, because happy colors like pastels and neons make him sick. "You have no connection to the outside world anymore. They don't want or need you. You belong to me, and only me. You don't need anything else."

♡~♡~♡~♡~♡

SE Saeran says he doesn't care, and he means it. If his partner is his former assistant, he won't say a word about their fashion choices. He gives them a simple nod or thumbs up, every time they show him an outfit. He's already taken so much from them... He won't let himself burden them any further. He's not their boss anymore and the thought of acting as if he had authority over them makes him sick. Just because he doesn't have autonomy doesn't mean he should take someone else's.

If he meets his partner after everything at Mint Eye (which is a whole other mess because he's highly resistant to getting involved with people, considering his history), then he will probably act similarly. He may occasionally voice more support for some outfits than others, but he'll never discourage anything. Honestly he needs a strong-willed partner who encourages him to be more honest and true to himself, to have preferences and wants and wishes.

Someone around here deserves to wear clothes that spark joy. He will never wear short sleeves again.

[asterjennifer]

I see you love SE Saeran a lot. May I ask what you love about him and what makes SE Saeran special to you?

🎀 Oh dear.. That question warms my heart. Thank you for taking interest in that! It's cute of you^^

I must confess this will take a bit to get through because I love him for a lot of reasons! So I hope that's okay :3

Secret Ending spoilers ahead & Trigger warning for mentioning of alcoholism

I adore all Saeran's, of course. There's not a version or timeline of him that I disklike or like less than the others! I love him no matter what. But it's true SE Saeran is my favorite!

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As far as I remember, he wasn't my favorite after seeing him for the first time.

I remember my heart just being broken after playing the Secret Ending. I needed to find out what happened to him asap after finishing Seven's route.

Saeran's a very complex character and you might find it a bit odd when I say that, actually, Secret Ending Saeran's the easiest for me to identify and get behind. Because he's such a grounded version of a person going through literally hell most of his life.

This version of Saeran feels realistic to me, he's broken and having a hard time as years pass by, like we see at the end of SE. The fact he's having no relationship and acts stiff around the RFA, he knows for a long time by now, is showing how realistically his healing process is portrayed there. I still adore GE Saeran, but knowing that his personality and the time in between isn't matching to his healing process gives SE Saeran a lot more realism in comparison.

This version of Saeran is the only where we see his inner thoughts. We hear what Ray says to his Savior at times, but we never find out what he actually thinks to himself. Same with Suit, GE Saeran, Unknown.. It's only afterwards we get to take a look at his inner voice. And it's gut-wrenching.

The pain he's going through reached inside me, it does to this day. His imaginations, the realizations he starts to have after being ripped from Mint Eye. This Saeran wears guilt for killing V, he wears guilt for trying to kidnap MC and choking Seven. All in all, he is not the most innocent one.

But that's what makes his pain torture for me, since he's guilty in things that he never wanted to happen the way they did. His head was drugged up, forced to break apart at times and make him unstable. This Saeran is a guy with a good heart, looking for belonging and love as we come to learn when Rika betrays his trust. And because he doesn't get it from anyone in any way, he ends up commiting horrible deeds.

Yet, he's bathing in regret. He surely hates his life and himself for everything that happened to not only himself. We only see it of his own person because that's the time where he's still trying to process reality. Once time goes by, believe that Saeran will come around and turn to feel horrible about what he'd done to the people around him.

His pain is going both directions.

He's hurt for his own, worthless life, how it turned out and what he had to bear for years. And he's also in pain for the victims he made. And honestly? I can relate to that a bit too well. When it comes to guilt, no matter if I'm guilty or not.. once someone makes me feel like I am, I will be.

I will feel bad about myself, blame myself for their misery. And that puts not only myself under pain because I feel like I let the people down, but also to know others I care about might get hurt due to me... It's a thought that kills me.

This Saeran feels the same way, he is painful in both directions.

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Another reason why I just love SE Saeran so much is the mystery around his personality.

We do know a lot about Unknown, he's a dangerous man and the way he talks to the MC is very inappropriate at times. But with SE Saeran, these traits are gone. Once the drugs are all out of his system and he gets to interact with average people, it changes him.

And the fun about it, we don't know exactly to what. Is he a tsundere? Is he sensitive now? Does he found new hobbies? What does he do in the future? What are his goals, does he has dreams now? We don't know anything!

All we know's that he's still quite cold to Saeyoung in the chatroom and talking in a very small voice to the RFA. He's also shy because he doesn't look at the camera once they take a picture. Given there's no other CG with him, only this 1 picture, it leaves a lot of freedom for headcanons and interpretation.

Which I do passionately, I love doing headcanons that feel realistic for the character and interpret his personality in different angels. Sometimes I wonder if he's a soft baby now that you can treat with some ice cream, or if he's having a sadisitc, maybe even flirty side after becoming comfortable in his own skin again like we know from Unknown.

We don't know! That's leaving so much space for own imaginations. Although I would like to have at least a few more CGs with him. There's only the one of the RFA in game and the picture in the Mint Eye believer package. In which he smiles and shows the peace sign.

Another thing, he looks kinda comfortable and confident in it. So what is he now? Shy? Open? Anxious? Confused? Sure? Uncertain? We don't know.

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Another reason why I like him so much is his design!

Saeran looks a lot more like Seven in the SE, of course. But when you actually look at them, they don't look alike even if they do. At least it's that way for me.

I don't even know how to explain it. I adore Saeran's entire design and the outfit Unknown wears strings some things in me. Like Ray's outfit gives my Disney vibes to let me believe I'm in a fairytale. Suit makes me feel pretty confident, despite him wearing a simple suit, it just shines with power in the way he presents himself. And GE Saeran is soft with the white & black, no over the top.

But SE Saeran.. The sweater is fucking adorable, it's really bringing out his pale skin more. And the red hair. I don't know why it doesn't do the same when I see Seven, but seeing Saeran with red hair and these minty blue eyes.. The contrast of these two colors in his face, the overall rather dark aesthetic now being so bright is.. something to me.

I just love the red hair and blue eyes combination. Somehow when I see him beside Seven, he's a 100 times more attractive to me either way, even though they look almost identical. It's just a feeling I have^^

SE Saeran's appearance makes me feel things I let shine through in lots of fanfictions, especially the smut. His vibe is just dark, but not in the dangerous way of Unknown. He's someone I would listen to without a single hint of resistance. Regardless what he demands from me, this man can have my heart, body and soul with a simple smirk or flash of light in his eyes.

© shinnvan on Twitter & Error||404|| on DeviantArt

He looks like fire, dangerous and maybe heated because of emotions like anger that can spill over. But he's also icy colored in his eyes, grounded and cold when trying to be more open due to his past. He looks like fire and he is like ice! It reflects in his design!

I burn the world to see him smile!!!

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Another point on the list's his backstory as a whole.

Of course, the childhood doesn't change since it's Saeran's past in all routes. His mother was an alcoholic, he was abused and his brother left. Difference now, Ray/GE Saeran got saved by MC and SE Saeran didn't.

He went though this by himself.

And now tell me how strong this man must be to get through all of the horror like this without a single soul he can trust wholeheartedly? Or at least enough without fearing consequences?

How amazing you are to let the abuse go and move on, even after trying to kill yourself. You try again, you want to try again when already having been on the lowest point in life. SE Saeran was on the most depressed/anger episodes and through the nastiest shit the longest of all Saeran's. The reason why he seems detached from the RFA.

Also the reason why he's the biggest inspiration for me that there is. GE Saeran is the second biggest inspiration because of his forgiveness towards the world that treated him wrong. But SE Saeran is the one who survived his own death, basically.

He taught me that no matter how many times I crash, if I ever lose everything that I love, find myself unbearable... There's always going to be a way. Might be hard, might take a long time to become okay again. But it's possible, Secret Ending Saeran showed me that I can survive even the lowest point, a moment where I might believe I can't go onward anymore.

But thanks to him, I know now.. Everything will be okay some day, it's just okay. No matter how much I lost or what happened to me. And I'm forever grateful for his strength that I want to share and prove myself to whenever it's necessary.

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I will this mention briefly. But I'm sexual and romantically attracted to him.

Maybe not the most shocker given how much nsfw I write about him. But because I already love him so damn much for all the reasons above, I developed an obsession over him.

I think the biggest prove of that is that I'm actually Grayromantic, which is a umbrella term that falls under the Aromatic spectrum. Grayromantic is the gray area between feeling (in my case, very little) romantic attraction and feeling none at all :3

Example, I never fell in love before. I had a crush once in my almost 20 years. I don't find real life people attractive as much, I never understood obsession about stars or just human beings. All my friends got into relationships and I'm over here, never had a relationship bc I never fell in love like this.

But I do have a romantic attraction to Saeran, as weird as that might seem. He's the first "boy" that made me feel this way, so I count is as romantic attraction, although it's probably just a hardcore obsession lol.

And I'm sexually attracted to him, too. I won't deny that or put it as a forbidden topic because I'm sure there are a lot of people who feel the same way.

And with SE Saeran, I see a future better than with any other version. Maybe rough and complicated, but therefore realistic and a simple one. In all aspects! He's the only one I can plan a whole life around while including routines going into the smallest details.

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Another reason is his vague/unstable personality.

That sounds unhealthy in the first moment, which I won't defend, but that's just my inner mother instinct that I developed because of my father.

My father is an alcoholic himself, and I always had to take care of him. He's unstable. And my stepfather now left the house, and I have to keep an eye on him as well. He'd been really done and I couldn't leave him all by himself.

I'm pretty sure I have a protective mechanism because of my father forcing it on me since I was born. My therapist once mentioned you protect your parents to survive yourself in young years, that's why you take the role they're supposed to take. Without them, you can't survive as a child. And then the roles switch.

So when I see people who need help, who are broken and need someone good in their life, telling them the things they wanna hear.. I often feel obligated to be that shelter.

SE Saeran is a broken person, regardless how you look at him and how much he changed. He has hints of anger issues, he literally says in the Secret Ending that "He wants someone to tell him who can save him when having all this pain" and in all honesty to myself; That triggered my protectiveness like a freight train.

I want to be there for him in these hard times. I want to be the person he comes close to, seeing that not everyone wants him to suffer. Wants to use him. That there are people who can behave selfless and show lots of patience and above all:

Forgive him over and over again.

Throughout his recovery, he will do a lot of mistakes and things he's going to regret and feel painful for. Apart from the things he already wears with guilt. He needs a person, beside his brother as he's having history with him, who shows him that there is something in the world called commitment and forgiveness.

Someone new, without a big history of betrayal and pain. I would give my soul to be that person, no matter how much it's going to hurt me. And I'm aware that's toxic to some degree, but it's the way I feel for him.

I would sacrifice my wellbeing and love, all just to prove there's good left and he's sheltered from the bad things.

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Me & Melon have a headcanon that he's an INTJ while I'm an INFP.

If you're not familiar with MBTI, then this won't explain anything at all lol. But I can show you a picture of the relationship that I imagine between him & me based on our personality types. First, I show you the basic description of an INTJ & the INFP:

INTJ: An Architect (INTJ)'s a person with the Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging personality traits. These thoughtful tacticians love perfecting the details of life, applying creativity and rationality to everything they do. Their inner world is often a private, complex one.

INFP: A Mediator (INFP)'s someone who possesses the Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Prospecting personality traits. These rare personality types tend to be quiet, open-minded, and imaginative, and they apply a caring and creative approach to everything they do.

Basically: Our relationship based on these personalities' a very interesting combination because we're both very different and not so different at all. While Saeran sets on logic more, I can go along better with emotions.

Saeran would be the reason of voice in hectic times and keep a logical mindset, while I could help him deal with his emotions better and calm him once he's exploding due to triggers etc. The mix of a thinker and a feeler can be complex to handle. Yet once they're close, they can become a power couple that understands each other without a problem and better than any outsider ever could. It's a curse and blessing, it depends.

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So... I guess you could say I have my reasons why Secret Ending Saeran is my favorite!

Again, this was very very long and I apologize. I might even think of more reasons later on for me to add. But if I want to do this question justice, I had to write all this down detailed. SE Saeran has to be done with as much justice as I can bring.

I hope this explains why he's my favorite and shows you what he can mean to someone who kins him^^ Maybe you think differently of him now! That would be crazy! And if it's in a positive light, I'd be happy about that! 🎀

[gureishi]

hey bae!!! I was wondering what your thoughts were on saerans eye colour, are they just altered after being drugged for so long during his stay at minteye or are they contacts he uses so as to set himself and his appearance as far apart from saeyoung as possible? what about his hair? lots of people in the fandom argue its natural from stress and trauma since the tips remain a pinkish colour (in their argument) implying his hair grew out white, although the most logical option would be to say he just dyed his hair during his time in minteye (since in tomato bbyboi saeyoungs secret ending it seems his hair has grown out to its original colour??) but lots of people also just argue that he dyed his hair red again and well I DON'T KNOW

so I'm honestly so curious, what are your little ideas and thoughts on saerans changing hair and eye colour?

Hiiii bae! Yesssss this is such a good question, and I love to talk about it.

Everyone's opinions on this are interesting and good and smart, and there are some fantastic posts about it out there. As for my personal headcanons?

I think he dyes his hair, but his eyes changed because of the elixir.

The hair thing is pretty much canon, after the AE: Jaehee confirms that it's dyed in her voicemail (and I suppose you could argue that she just says this to get everyone to leave her alone, but I trust every word that beautiful girl says). But even before the AE, I always figured it was dyed: those "pink" tips look like red hair showing through a crappy bleach job to me (and I'd know: I have red hair, and I've bleached it crappily before). And I can just see Ray (poor, dear Ray) panicking and covering his head in bleach so he can (almost) stand to look at himself in the mirror.

Because if the hair were a consequence of the elixir, then it would either be stuck like that forever or slowly change back after there's no more elixir. But both SE and GE Saeran stop taking the elixir, and different things happen to their hair: SE's grows out, and GE's doesn't. And this makes sense, of course: SE Saeran doesn't have the opportunity to re-dye his hair, even if he wanted to. Nobody's letting him near bleach—and he doesn't have the energy to stand and stare at his own reflection for long enough to do it, anyway. And GE Saeran continues to dye his hair because he wants to: because it's a choice he's made for himself, and it's the way he looked when you met him, and he likes it: you think it's cute, and he loves to see himself through your eyes.

Will GE Saeran ever let his hair grow out? Maybe. Or maybe he'll dye it another color entirely! He's free; he can do anything he wants.

As far as his eyes go, I think they're a consequence of the elixir for the very same reason: if they're contacts, why do we never see any Saeran without them?

And yes: in the real world, drinking a bunch of hallucinogens isn't going to change your eye color. But Mystic Messenger world isn't the real world—and in Mystic Messenger world, of course Rika would name her cult Mint Eye because she gives her followers a drug that literally turns their eyes mint-colored.

Ray and Suit and Unknown would wear contacts, of course: anything to look less like Saeyoung. But while GE Saeran continues to dye his hair because he likes the way it looks, I don't think he'd keep wearing the contacts. He's not afraid of looking like his twin anymore; he's comfortable with the person he is.

And SE Saeran probably wouldn't wear contacts, either. He's exhausted; he's healing; he's trying; he's struggling. We only get a tiny glimpse of him—but if those blue-green eyes weren't permanent, I think we'd see him with gold eyes in that CG from the secret ends.

But I have to wonder how long the effects of the elixir last. If his eyes really have changed color because of the drug that he took, will they stay that color forever? Will SE and GE Saeran's eyes eventually fade and fade till they match Saeyoung's again?

There's no way to know, of course—and the game seems to imply that they won't. But maybe the color changes subtly over time; maybe those beautiful sea foam eyes eventually develop a subtle sheen of gold.

I like to imagine it. And I bet he wouldn't mind.

He's got nothing to hide, after all.

[dailysaeran]

🥀Reposting:🥀

I only allow reposts on Instagram, and when you repost there, visibly credit my Instagram account sketchtenou. Tagging my account in the repost is also encouraged, and no need to ask first with the exception of pieces that say "do not repost without permission".

Reposting on any other site is prohibited, including Pinterest, Facebook, WattPad etc. I haven't allowed reposts to other sites aside from IG since January 2nd 2021, so if you come across a repost of my work that was posted after that, it was posted without my permission.

You're always welcome to message me if you come across reposts of my art that don't follow these rules so I can take them down! 🌺

🌷Info about tags/other stuff:🌷

Before the AE came out, I used to only post my own work, but when it finally did, I started also reblogging others' Saeran related content. All of the posts that aren't mine have been tagged with #reblog, so if you'd rather just follow me for original content, you can block that tag.

I sometimes like to reblog stuff like fics and headcanons too, and those are tagged with #writing, which you can look up if you feel like reading something!

I also very recently started using the tag #meme to reblog random Saeran memes like textposts, fake chatrooms and such.

This is a side blog and consists of only flatcoloured sketches, while I post all my fully rendered and shaded drawings on my main blog @sensetenou. I often reblog those posts here too (and sometimes I've already posted the sketches here lmao), and those posts are tagged with #self reblog. There's also a few guides I've made for the game, but yeah, that tag also consists of technically my posts, but posts that haven't been directly posted to this blog and were posted on my main blog instead.

And now to the very basic stuff that you probably already know, so feel free to skip it. But hey, there are a few Saerans out there and I tag all drawings of them separately:

#ray is very self-explanatory - it's just Ray, the boy with a magenta coat, mostly at the start of AS.

#unknown is also rather self-explanatory - the Hot Topic looking dude from OS, you know him.

#suit saeran is the guy who shows up in the middle of Saeran's route, wearing the black suit. I usually refer to him as just Suit if I talk about him.

#ge!saeran is the one at the end of his route and also the one in his AE, wearing that white shirt. I'm lazy and usually call him just GE.

#se!saeran is the redhead Saeran, and in general that Saeran after the Secret Endings aka Seven's route. Usually he gets referred to as just SE.

There are also tags such as #young saeran, #v's ae saeran, #christmas!saeran, #phantom of the opera ray and #pastry saeran, the first few self-explanatory and the last one refers to the Valentine's title illustration from 2020. Aside from the first two these refer more to his outfit than who he is, so usually the post is also tagged with another tag, like a #christmas!saeran post is also tagged with #unknown. There are also a bunch of other tags you might have fun scrolling through that include posts of all saerans, like #maid saeran, #catboy!saeran, #vampire!saeran and more😏

Posts with #v's ae saeran are also tagged with either #vae!ray or #vae!saeran, because I headcanon those two stayed separately in that ending, and the one we see in the actual ending is just Ray, but Saeran (whether you think he's Unknown or Suit) still exists too. So, #v's ae saeran is for both of them, but #vae!ray and #vae!saeran specify who it is.

I also have a little headcanon of both Suit and Ray existing after Saeran's Good Ending alongside GE!Saeran. Here's one quick post about that HC! Posts with those versions of Suit and Ray are tagged with #post ge suit and #post ge ray.

I also like to draw fem!saerans sometimes, and all of those posts are tagged with #fem!saeran. Those posts also include another tag to specify: there are #fem!ray, #fem!suit, #fem!ge and fem!unknown, if you feel like looking for a specific one.

ALL of my original posts are also tagged with #daily saeran. That's a tag you could look up if you'd rather just scroll through all my pieces.

All the posts of them being shipped with an MC are tagged with #saeran x mc. I use #cmc if the drawing involves a custom MC, whether it's my own or someone else's. My own CMC for him is Sunset, and posts involving her are tagged with #cmc sunset. I also have another CMC called So, though he barely shows up on this blog since he's Seven's CMC, but the few posts involving him are tagged with #cmc so. I do have CMCs for nearly all the characters, but those two are probably the only ones you'll see in this blog, since they're the closest to Saeran.

Other posts that have the #cmc tag involve others' CMCs. Those are usually commissions, that are also tagged with #commission. If you're interested in commissioning me, whenever I open commissions I do so on my Instagram, so you might wanna keep an eye on that!

Oh yeah, also, Killer is a little black cat I gave SE!Saeran in 2019. Posts with #killer just involve him. GE!Saeran and Sunset also have cats: #dandelion and #sunflower.

As of now I don't have asks on this blog open, but they're open on my main blog, and you can also send questions regarding this blog there! When I post about this blog on my main I usually tag it there with #daily saeran.

Also, one last thing: My posts are always first on the queue, so I don't have a separate queue tag because it'd basically be in every single post. The queue is set to post once a day however, sometimes when I feel like it I'll post the next post from there manually.

If you're unsure about something, like about reposting permissions, feel free to send me a message about it! Though you might be able to contact me through IG faster, since I'm a little more active there.

🌱Link to the drawing that was used in the banner

[nanoko-aishino]

Helllooooo~ <3 12, 21, and 35 for the ask game, please!

Ooh Hello and thank youu hehe ^^

Tbh I haven't played MM for a while because I am one of the people cheritz decided(?) to delete acc for whatever reason plus not enought space on the phone orz but I wanna do it anyway ^^

12. Favorite chat

Hmm first thing that comes to my mind is chat in AS with Ray after kiss <3 But I like as well one of the first chats at night CS where Yoosung comes for a while and he tries to pretend he is a wolf? but eventually give up on it haha I always choose to tease him lol.

21. Favorite character interaction with each other

Except for Saeran and Saeyoung brothers moment (which is very rare) hm... Can't decide between Seven teasing Yoosung or Zen. Sometime I feel bad for Yoosung.

35. First impression for each character

Yoosung I thought he is cute and kinda similar to me. When I started playing MM he was 1 year older than me I guess. He was cute, sweet and adorably clumsy haha but back then I couldn't understand why he was failing classes all the time and thought "get a grip dude, for once. You go to the library more or less regularly. What do you do there, sleep? You could do a little bit better than F..." Now I know haha ^^; But I don't fail classes... also I'm not med student in Korean Ivy uni(?) so...

Jaehee Tbh the very first time I thought she is guy... sorry lol and Later she seemed to be very nice although reserved(?) or rather serious, until someone mentioned Zen or his musicals, and I thought "okay, so you are more normal than I thought... sort of ^^;;" An I actually treated her like big sister or good friend to almost very end. I finished her route as one of the last, because while playing I messed up something with participation, got BE , started another route and forgot about it.

Zen So he always have been the cool popular sexy flirty type... so not my taste. Since I remember I never liked such people because in the past I met at least few who were like that and they were just judging, narrow-minded, and couldn't understand that I am different from them and feel good with that (f.ex. I am introvert). For long I felt like I can't even trust too much such people. I rather avoided them if I could, no grudge, just two different worlds. I noticed Zen is okay. Still two different worlds, but I alway treated him like an older brother.

Jumin he was from the world of 'adults' so serious, boring and something I totally couldn't get. Until he tried to tell a joke sometimes, It often was awkward but I appreciated it lol I picked Jaehee over him because I was pretty sure I never could even keep up with her workload. I am allergic to cats so I have never been a cat person... First he felt distant because his seriousness, but I felt him and supported him when I noticed he doesn't want to nececerly date just anyone, he is just waiting for someone he can trust, probably doubting such person exists. I know this might be because his father's relationships and such, but back then I felt almost like "yeah, you don't nececerly need to be in a relationship or desperately crave to be in one. As a single you are not less worthy as a human". That many craves for physicality and such, which is cool, but understanding, love, apreaciation support and even platonic feeling in romantic relationship? Gosh I feel like those thing are underpreciated. And we shared the need not to just date someone but find someone who understand them. For a short moment I wanted to be such person.

Seven/Saeyoung I don't really remember, but probably I thought that for such people I am too quiet and boring so If by any chance there won't be much interaction MC with him, that's fine, but there was, he was funny, I thought about him as a good friend untill I come across breaking 4th wall thingy and got more interested, like we share a secret *sink wink* Eventually I liked him more and more and even planned to stop playing after his SE but soon after they announced something new. I am IT highschool graduate (I sucked pretty much OTL so I felt similar to Yoosung) and I still remembered thing or two and well... I choose such hs for some reason so I kinda liked his tech-savvy IT programming jokes and I was more religious than I am today so I apreaciated the christian part. I wanted to help him so badly i think. And he is kinda weirdo(in a good way), I consider myself shy weirdo, but probably less than he is.

Saeran/Ray *cracking knuckles* so... When I first met him as an Unknown my common sense tried to keep me from him as far as possible, I gave up to this but kinda I was almost like peeking throught the keyhole in the locked door lol I-it's not like i like him, he is so sus > :-( and a bit later I-I defenitely am not into bad boy kind of characteres, others might be, but I am NOT (but peeking throught keyhole of the locked doors). I was kinda interested, but never let myself actually be really interestedin him, untill the end of SE where he is back with his brother. Then I was thinking more like "preacious (angy) bean, must protect uwu". And I mostly wanted to play his route for A. curiosity because new mode(AS), B satisfaction for myself that I actually finished the game, but most importantly C. To save HIM for SAEYOUNG :)

But when I played AS for the first time, when there was only V route, I forgot everything, got few times bad relationship ending because of him. V who? Saeyoung who? Head empty only him. And then It was almost like in case of Yoosung that I saw in him part of me, plus head empty, only Ray.

Sometime I feel like it was so shallow of me, but then I think that this is a game, and maybe, just maybe I can be 'a little' shallow in that case.

Especially since for the very first time I was... obsessed? with a fictional character. I've never understood such thing.

>>MM ask game<<

[apenapaperandadoofus]

omg, yes, i was referring to saeran's route. it is my favourite buuuut i think they tried to portay did and didn't do a good job at it. not because of his symptoms, but because he was 'cured' after mc returns his affections :( i don't like rika as a character, i feel she could have been a good villain but with the whole v after ending + rika behind they kind of killed her character :( they basically took any responsibility from her and i feel they left her kind of empty as a character :/

Ohoho that’s very interesting~

I hope you don’t mind me going on a rant lmao

For the Saeran route, you’re right, the whole cured after MCs love thing was super rushed and I mean, if it were maybe with more time, I could sort of see it? But it was far too much change for just 11 days, but I get why they would do it like that (IMAGINE MM if the routes where like 30 days long I WOULD DIE PFT)

As for Rika, here’s where I go on a ramble lmao

I absolutely love her character. Mind you, I don’t LIKE what she does, it’s horrible in every way, but I love the way they did her character. ForVs after ending,I hated it though, the way they portrayed her and everything I just hated it so much. Also in the SE, where Rika just went off to Alaska or smth to chill lol

What I like about Rika, is the way we see her origins. Rika’s behind story I feel, it’s not a way to go “oh look! It was actually another person who made the cult! Rika is innocent!” I see it more as Cheritz showing us how Rika became...well evil or whatever. I like that they showed the ways V actually enabled her behavior, I mean, it is Rika’s fault about everything she did,but let’s not forget that V actually sort of? How do I say this...

Like when you have a kid and you reward them for something they did? That’s what V did with Rika. They’re both to blame about everything, Rika of course, for giving in to her dark desires and hurting people, and V for making her think it was ok, for him to enable her behavior, to even reward her in a way.

Mika also helped a lot because she fed more into Rikas dark side, she was the... last straw I think? Mika ENVIED Rika, who has admired her her whole LIFE! The person who she loved dearly, actually hates her, and envies her life, not knowing the abuse Rika has gone through, not knowing that this girl had been literally sexually abused by a Pastor, I’m sure Rika’s step mom porbably knew what was going on too, but she turned a blind eye. Mind you, I don’t see this as in a way “enabling”her behavior. I see it more as an origin story. To explain everything.

I love when villains are complex like this. We see how Rika suffered, how she became the person she is today. We see why she thought that she was doing the right thing, why she thought she was protecting people that went through what she went. Rika in her own mind is, well, the Savior. That’s why she gets called that. In her story, Rika is the heroine. The RFA are the villains, the people she has to protect, to fix, that’s how she sees it.

She can’t tell what’s right or wrong anymore. She wants to help in her own way, she thinks she’s helping when in reality she’s destroying everything. And we get to see that.

We get to see how Rika turns into the dark side, and how it was her actions, along with others that made her who she is. We get to see how she thinks of herself.

She isn’t just a dumb villain who’s doing everything for no reason. She isn’t your typical VN villain! I mean she’s complex, we get to see what she thinks, in her Behind Story, in the SE where we see snippets of V and Rika’s conversations. Hell,even in V route we get a closer look at Rika.

The SE and Vs AE did an absolutely shitty job. I hated it. Because they made her into...into the dumb villain that “changes” in the end.

I want to see Rika actually realize what she did.

She has to feel the guilt, the pain. And then the RFA unable to forgive her.

After all, who would just go like “oh you tried to literally drug us, probably kill us and make a cult but you said sorry that’s fine luv”

No no, Cheritz let me see where Rika is regretful, where we get to see her realize that all along, she was the bad one. She was hurting everyone. She would break...but it’s more relaistic. She would probably deny it at first, but then slowly realize that yes, she was wrong.

I want for years to pass before the RFA even manages to speak to her, to look at her. For Rika to take years to finally change, just like V in his AE, and apologize correctly, not because everyone is mad at her, but because she understands what she’s done.

I want Rika to change, but in a realistic way. She has to take time to mend the wounds she caused, to fix herself. If V can do it, why can’t she?

Also I want V to actually apologize to her too, to actually admit that he had a fault too. I don’t like how we always make Rika the bad one but V a Saint. Don’t get me wrong, V has good intentions, but he just screwed up. He was using Rika to feel better, to actually feel love and give someone love, a thing he’s always wanted to do

Anyway I’ll leave it at that for today lol, sorry for the super long rant, I’m just super passionate about Rika’s whole story pfttttttt

[marshmallowprotection]

Replaying Ray route and that one story mode where Rika, and this is sugar-coating it, forces the elixir down Ray's throat while telling him how worthless he is...man, that always gets to me :(

But, if this is just scratching the surface of the type of torture Ray endures, my heart shatters trying to imagine what it took to break *Unknown* into being the way he is....completely and hopelessly apathetic. Numb. Borderline insane.

We see Ray and Suit's suffering so clearly, but Unknown...? I can only imagine the things she and that cult did to him to ruin him like that.

I guess the closest we get is the SE, when he's breaking down having triggered responses forcing him to rethink his safety and doubt his own thoughts and feelings.

I love Unknown. I wish more than anything for a route with him. Not because healing with him is entirely plausible (depending on the timeline), but because I think getting more insight into what happened to him would be a god-send to those of us that try to hard to delve into his character

Unknown, Ray, Suit...you did not deserve what was done to you :(

Unknown is apathetic and detached for a reason. The torture Ray and Suit Saeran went through broke their belief in Happily Ever After, and in its place was someone named Unknown who could never be happy until his revenge could be completed. He was denied a name, a sweet dream, and his freedom. Revenge becomes the only thing that could ever mean something to him because Saeyoung stole everything... he took Unknown's happiness and stomped on it like it was worthless.

Rika made him believe every ugly lie she could think of to make him hate Saeyoung and Jihyun... and after nobody came to save him or challenge this belief, inevitably, the torture won. Love can't win if you are denied love... only agony and despair can win in an environment that was created to destroy Saeran little by little until he was nothing more than a tool as Rika's initial image of paradise changed from one where she forced everyone to stay with her so she would never have to be afraid of being abandoned—

To one where she only cared about revenge.

Unknown isn't that complex when you break him down to the bare essentials and yet, he is complex. What happens when you're forced to believe nothing matters, that you don't matter, and that any hope you had of mattering was stomped on in favor of self-gratification? Your belief in fairytales won't last forever when all you see is the end standing in front of you, and it looks like Hell.

[marshmallowprotection]

Atp I’m just gonna be the angst anon,,

how do you think all versions of Saeran + Saeyoung will react to their feelings being unreciprocated

But I’m not talking about some little crush, i mean DOWN BAD-I’d let the world burn for you kinda feelings

Pls write the most heartbreaking shit ever,,, your characterization is so accurate 🙏🙏

Ray already has a canon depiction of what that looks like and I don't think I need to go into detail on what happens on V Route.

Suit Saeran would have no choice but to accept it. He's not going to spiral because he already assumed from the start you wouldn't like him because you kind to Ray and he's not right. He never expected you to like him so even if he likes you, it's one of those things where he didn't even bother to get his hopes up because what would be the point in getting his hopes up when there's no real reason to have any hope in a cult?

He still is going to do everything he can to get you out of that place, but he never expected to be loved. That's something that only Ray could have. Why bother getting his hopes up? There's no reason to hope for anything more than what he's already been given and that is how he sees it.

GE Saeran already came two terms with the fact that you may not ever want to see him again after his apology and promise to get you out of Mint Eye. He steeled himself to do the right thing, and to do the right thing, he had to be willing to let you go.

He had to truly respect your autonomy and take it with grace if you decided to leave. So, it might hurt, it'll hurt quite a bit if we're being honest, but all he wants at the end of the day is for you to be happy and if that's not with him, that's okay. It's a part of his acceptance process and he will take the time to take care of his emotions, but you won't have to worry about that because he's not going to put that on your plate. It's something he needs to work on.

Unknown is... well. He's apathetic to the world and if we got by what he feels canonically, you're just his eyes. He's using you to help him get the revenge he wants on his brother and Jihyun. There's a reason why he doesn't have a route, and it's because to have that with him, it would take a long time, longer than the speed-run we're given with 11 days that already cut down what would realistically be months. Even if he had feelings for you, even if he wanted to chase after you...

He's not an idiot. He knows you would choose the RFA even if he told all about the lies and deceit. Doesn't mean he wouldn't try to get you to believe him, but if you don't like him, so what? It's not he expected or wanted a happily ever after. His plan has always been revenge and then... nothing. End game. He can't see past that, and you not liking him would sting, but he's been rejected so much that he lives within numb apathy as it is.

SE Saeran, similarly to Suit Saeran, would never bother to get his hopes up. He has spent so much of his life living in a world of apathy that he doesn't try to dream of anything larger than what he already has. If the only good things he can have are ice cream and the sky, that's fine. That's more than he ever thought he would have.

It might crush his heart if you became the one person he could confide in more than anything, but why would you want somebody as broken as him romantically? He will shrug it off and deal with it just because the world beat him up so much that he's come to expect that things will always work out in his favor. It's good as long as you're happy, though. You've been a good friend.

Saeyoung would be crushed if he poured his heart out only for it to be stomped on. But, what can you do? As long as you're happy, that's all he could ever ask for. He told himself from the get-go that loving you would be impossible because of his circumstance, and if that's proven to be true, he's okay with that. He prepared himself for that pain a long time ago, and even though he won't be ready to face that pain, just know that he'll be okay in the end. You don't have to love him the way he loves you for him to be happy.

Just being able to call you his friend means the world to him. Thank you for being his friend, he'll say, but he will need some time to think and process his emotions in a healthy way... and by that, I mean he'll likely take a drive as far away as he can get for a few times until he's able to cry and let out those emotions in a safe, constructive way.

[marshmallowprotection]

Kait, you've had played with that thought before of two Saerans meeting each other, didn't you?

I was wondering… Did you ever think of SE Saeran meeting VAE Saeran before?

Two scared men who survived their own deaths, cursed on their body with a permanent reminder. What do you think their interaction would look like?

"...What happened to you?"

"I should be asking you that question, you know?" his dry response came like the beat of a drum. "After all, out of the two of us here, you're the one covered in scars... You look like a fucking mess... not that I'm any better but... did the bomb go off?"

Did you set it off?

"...In a manner of speaking," Ray's quiet voice echoed against the walls of the room like the worst kind of chamber.

Saeran eyed him, his red hair obscuring most of his vision as he tried to get a better look at the frayed skin on Ray's body. It was obvious that those scars covered every inch under his clothes.

How far did it run?

That was hard to say.

He wasn't going to ask more. There was no point when he already knew the answer. It was the same way he imagined Ray was able to understand where the coarse edges of his hands had come from. It just... wasn't any of his business. He didn't have the right to know or the right to understand why he made that decision in the first place.

It wasn't his place to pry.

It didn't matter why he ended up in this place or how it came to be before he blinked at the sight of someone like Ray, the only thing that mattered was how he well understood what the person in front of him was feeling. They weren't the same and yet they were all at the same time.

Different circumstances, different choices, but a similar conclusion.

It was something Saeran understood on a near microscopic level. Regardless of what they chose to do in the heat of the moment, action led to a reaction and a consequence. In his case, it was the blood on his hands that would never wash away, and the cracked skin on his hands was a testament to how many times he tried.

The scars that were on Ray's body were from something similar.

"And... your tattoo?" Ray asked. His eyes flickering between Saeran's face and arm. "Is that something you did willingly?"

Did you choose to have that tattoo because you believed in what you were doing or because you felt like there was no other choice?

Saeran looked at his arm. No matter how much he thought about trying to get rid of it for himself, no matter how much he thought about getting it covered up with more ink, or how many times he considered clawing at his arm to fray the image, he could never bring himself to get rid of it.

It was a reminder of what he did and who he was.

As long as he never allowed himself to forget, he would never go back to being that person. Even if he didn't know what he wanted out of life, he knew he did not want to be that same miserable, angry, lost person.

"In a manner of speaking," he replied, using the same words Ray had.

They were one in the same no matter how they decided to slice it.

A part of him always hoped that maybe there was another universe out there where things worked out better for him, but seeing this broken man in front of him made him feel as though there might not have been.

Saeran's jaw felt tense as he said, "Are you content with that?"

Ray smiled, a bittersweet kind of smile that felt so familiar it could have been his damned reflection. Painful. The words were painful. "I think you and I know... we have no choice but to be."

Of course.

No matter what universe, no matter what parallel dimension, it seemed as though his life would always be a laughing stock to the universe. A silly little game that a God was playing to see how far somebody could be tortured before they cracked.

Yet, Saeran could only bring himself to ask—"Do you.. have the sky?"

"I do. I don't know where I would be if I couldn't watch the clouds all day. I hope it's the same for you," Ray whispered.

[marshmallowprotection]

Saeran and Saeyoung's birthday seems like a good as time as any to talk about my love for Unknown, since, after all, he's the one who has been watching me from the start and if it wasn't for him, I don't know where I would be.

For better or worse, I'd say better, because as tough as life has been for me since 2016, Mystic Messenger has been there by my side every step of the way. Every high and low, I've always had them to turn to when I needed someone the most, and it's because I got a Bad Ending with Unknown and I knew I needed to pursue him.

It's this character who has seen me at rock bottom and at the top of the world. Unknown was the one who made me driven to find myself. He inspired me to think about what I wanted. He helped me find the strength to write more, to stop doubting myself and to think about a world where I braved my fears and stopped being afraid to post what I thought about the game that brought me happiness. Learning more about him helped me learn more about myself in the process.

Sure, it's not been an easy ride by any means, but it wasn't easy for him, either. Unknown spent his entire life having other people make choices for him, deciding what he would do without thinking about what he wanted, and it left a mark on him that won't go away soon, if at all.

We see that reflected in SE Saeran, from the way he lashes out and cries at everyone who dares to get close to him, and from what is the last photo we see of him. He is marked by this loss of autonomy, so much so that even as he's allowed to come into his own person, he stares dead ahead, unsure of how to live in a world where he gets the right to choose what he wants. It's always been what Saeyoung, V, or Rika wanted. They did what they thought was best for him, and even though there were good intentions involved in some of these choices, it still hurt Saeran.

It hurt him a lot.

That's why I relate so much to SE Saeran and why he's my favorite next to Ray. They're both robbed of consent and yet, they respond with two polar opposite paths.

Ray faces his loss of autonomy with escapist fantasies that help him barely scrape by. He knows those fantasies aren't real, he knows it's not going to get him what he wants, but it's the only happiness he's allowed to have under Rika's oppressive hand. He wants more, but... he's afraid he may never be good enough for it.

Saeran toils away against the crashing waves even though he doesn't see a point in a tomorrow, not knowing why he wants to until he sees the blue sky and maybe, just maybe, it's worth it. Seeing the sky after everything he went through... he wouldn't say it was worth it, no, he'd say that he's just relieved that he's allowed to step outside.

When I play the Secret Endings, I see myself. I see a lot of the hurt I've been through and I see hope in places I never thought I might be able to see it. That's why Saeran Choi has stuck with me so hard. He's been a core part of my identity for years now because of that mark he left on me as a person. When he thought there was nothing left in this world for him, nothing at all, he came close to the end. But, by facing his face, by breaking down in front of his brother, the crux of his ache came to life.

What is his existence?

What is an existence, anyway?

How do you find a reason to go on after you've lived through what Saeran did?

There's not an easy answer for that, but it helped me realize that it's not going to be any easier for me, either. Life is hard, it can be cruel and unfair at times to people who don't deserve it, but there's still a reason to keep trying. There's still a reason to keep fighting. There's always a reason to work for tomorrow, even if you can't see that yet. There's always a reason and I'm grateful to Saeran because he was there to help me see that. Sometimes, a character can help you see what you won't let yourself see or won't you haven't yet realized.

It's silly to say that around people who don't get it, but to the people who do get it, I'm grateful. Enjoy what you love, guys. Don't let other people tell you that you're cringe just because you're not ashamed to admit that you love a character and that character changed your life. It's not silly, it's not dumb, and it's not a bad thing. Media has helped shape and transform so many people's lives, and it's not just what we get from the characters, either.

The sense of strong community in fandom helps you form bonds and friendships that could last forever. I've been here forever and even if I don't talk to everyone I've ever spoken to, I'm grateful to have known so many kind, compassionate, amazing people. I hope they feel that way about me when they remember our talks.

On Saeran's birthday, all I can do is sit here and be grateful for what he's done for me and how he's helped me become a better person. I may not be perfect, not by any means, but Saeran doesn't expect me to be perfect. I don't expect him to be that way, either. Being human is accepting our faults and learning how to be better every day. He's made my life happier, and I know I'll always feel that way. Not a soul can take that gratitude from me.

That being said, yes, I'll bully him for those silly boots that don't match his outfit with love. It always comes from a place of love. Undoubtedly, you can expect me to write another sappy piece of admiration and gratitude during the anniversary next month. I'm feeling grateful today, though, like nothing can ruin my day, and I felt the need to share my love for Saeran.

Happy Birthday, my love, no matter the timeline, I'm always here with my hand extended towards you.

[marshmallowprotection]

Hello! Please let me preface this with a body dysmorphia mention tw!

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I'm just feeling quite insecure lately, especially with all the fan art I've been seeing and how MC is drawn and knowing I don't look like that at all :(

Do you think any of the "versions" of Saeran or Ray would love me less because I have a small chest?

I hope this isn't too nsfw. I was hoping to keep it very shallow! I just feel as though none of them would see me as attractive or worth being loved because my body type is "too small" or whatever

...oof :/

Oh, I don't even need to write a scenario for this because the answer will always be no, they will never love you less because you have a smaller chest. Their love will not diminish in the slightest because of this fact.

They will never think less of you for anything you are insecure about. You are beautiful, Anon. They've grown up in a way that is kept them sheltered from the way society perpetuates beauty standards. They don't know all the nonsense that plagues us every day.

The only reason why we see Ray mentioned insecurities is because he fears he may not be able to live up to his idea of being a fairy tale Prince.

Because in a fantasy world, it would always end with happily ever after, and he needs to present himself as perfect not only to achieve perfection to survive in Mint Eye, but to make sure he is everything you could ever want in a person. You are already perfect as you are in his fantasy, he's the one that's not good enough. You're everything he could ever want in a person.

The same can be said for Suit Saeran. He just isn't in a place where he can communicate vulnerability. Vulnerability almost got Ray killed. He can't be vulnerable and he can't be weak.

It's the kind of thing that gets you thrown into the basement but in the end, he's honest in saying that he was always fascinated by your kindness and wanted to be closer to you because you are this beautiful person he can't imagine being close to somebody like him, especially when you decide to forgive him and give him a second chance.

GE Saeran says it a hundred times and he'll say it a hundred more. You are his love, his first and last love, so you do not need to get down on yourself with any insecurity you may feel. The answer will always be that you are beautiful in his eyes and if you need him to reassure you, he will damn well find a way to make sure you understand that until it's the only thing you know.

Unknown is troubled by the fact that you even like to stay around him, but hey, you're a little weirdo, and being with you just makes sense. He would never say anything about the way you look because he knows what it feels like to be beaten down to the point of apathy after spending years on the receiving end of all kinds of comments that would make you sick to your stomach.

He doesn't have the energy to insult you like that, not if you're in the business of doing it to yourself. He doesn't want you to do that. He's not the comforting type but he certainly won't let you talk about yourself like that.

SE Saeran isn't great at comforting people, either, but the two of you both have insecurities that you need to work on. He has his own things he imagines to be shortcomings, and they feel larger than life compared to anything else. He thinks he won't want to be with him because his hands are stained with blood, the last thing on his mind is your cup size.

He doesn't care about that sort of thing, he cares about the fact that you care about him. You're beautiful, he'll tell you that, but you don't have to change yourself or feel bad. You're not telling him to do that, are you.

[marshmallowprotection]

The dynamic between Yoosung and Saeran is so interesting to me, not necessarily in a shipping context because depending on which timeline you’re talking about that can be extremely unhealthy, but endings where Yoosung gets recruited into Mint Eye are such an interesting glimpse into his character for me. He’s so desperate for answers about Rika and already has some mistrust in the RFA, mostly V, whereas Saeran knows exactly what happened to Rika and thinks of the RFA as liars, especially V, so it’s easy for Yoosung to be manipulated into joining under the wrong circumstances. Mysmes bad endings in general are extremely interesting to me because we get to see how these characters react when they’re at their worst. Not that I want them to be unhappy, I have and will cry over these endings, but they’re interesting from an analysis and story writing standpoint. I don’t understand the point of romanticizing them when, in my opinion, there’s a much more intriguing conversation to be had about how the characters react to these terrible things happening

I'm not huge on Yooran, either. At least, when it's the confines of Yoosung's Bad Ending. I don't see much hope for SE Saeran and Yoosung, either, but that's because I think Saeran struggles with Yoosung and Jumin as a given due to their proximity to Rika and Jihyun in the past.

He knows neither supports what happened in the end, with nothing but hurt and heartache in knowing what Rika and V did, and that’s not even counting what happened with the gun, but it's hard to be around them knowing that connection. It’s hard to look at Jumin in the eyes knowing he took a life. It’s hard to look at Yoosung knowing that Yoosung will never know the truth about Rika. 

But, that's just how I read into it, and I know most people would rather imagine the secret ending being a place where everyone can bond with Saeran. But, I just don't see him wanting to bond with anyone, I see him wanting to get far away from all of them.

He wants nothing to do with them because why would he want to be around people he stalked for years, why would he want them to be around him knowing that they might only keep him around to humor his twin brother? It's a lot of messy feelings and he would rather avoid that. I digress, but most Yooran content builds ideas from the BE in Yoosung's Route and since I can't stand that, or the characterization that paints SE Saeran out to be sardonic and an asshole, I tend not to read most Yooran stuff, haha.

But, in the confines of Another Story, where we see Yoosung and GE Saeran, I do adore their bond. Yoosung himself confesses he's got a strong sense of attraction and adoration for Saeran, and I get it. Me too, Yoosung. If you're gonna have a crush on someone, he's quite a catch. I do think they have a stronger likelihood of being romantically entangled in that ending then they would in any other ending. 

But, I also think exploring a platonic relationship between them is also interesting. You're right in saying that they have a lot in common and I think a lot of people gloss over that fact sometimes. Yoosung is someone who understands where Saeran's coming from, even if the emotions are messy, because those two have been denied the truth in some way, shape, and form.

It's not hard for them to find a sense of kinship in each other. It's a sense of familiarity they find in one another. Yoosung sees a pain he knows in Saeran’s eyes, and Saeran sees someone who understands how much it hurts to be betrayed by someone you think you knew. I think no matter how you play it, romantic, platonic, or whatever else you see, there is a lot of sincere intrigue to be had in what it's like to put these two characters in a room together.

I wanna see what happens when they talk about the past.

[marshmallowprotection]

Hi hello I'm here to request a little analysis! I've wanted to do this for a long time but I was always a bit afraid to lol

I've been following you for YEARS and I'm pretty sure I've gone through the entirety of your SE Suit Saeran posts in full many times -along with having saved and read your one fic with him with your oc! I wouldn't dare call myself an expert by any means but I feel like I have a really good grasp on his character and I like to think I could comment with him well >u<

But I would really love to hear your input on the person he is today, versus the person he was while at Mint Eye. He's in two very different places in his life and that greatly affects lots of things. How is he different? How is he the same? What does he still struggle with? Is he as boisterous and aggressive? Is he more depressed and solitary? How would he respond to someone showing a strong desire to be close to him in a situation where mc met him after the cult?

Please just feel free to ramble about him!! I hope it's okay to ask for this. I don't see many Grave posts anymore and I would love to hear from you. I hope this post makes it through ! !

SE Suit Saeran is still, at his core, based on Suit Saeran.

He is a little bit different but not all that much. Those changes are largely in part because he has been doing his best to survive in the background, constantly flickering in and out of consciousness for as long as he can remember. Saeran, in this case, SE Saeran, has been at the helm for a long time, but he’s always been there… watching… sitting on the edge when things get tough… but that’s just it.

After Saeran escapes Mint Eye and is forced to live with Saeyoung, there’s no reason for someone to be strong no matter what happens next to survive… there’s nothing but apathy in the bunker. That's how Saeran is handling his recovery for a large part of the time after being out of Mint Eye. Apathy is detachment and that detachment helps a huge part of his broken heart. It's better not to get his hopes up, but at least in the bunker, he doesn't have to live with:

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.

So, where does that put Grave, whose very existence comes from the need to survive no matter what Rika threw at them? It puts him back at rock bottom where he doesn't know how to exist. He lashes out at anyone and everyone, sans the MC if they already know Saeran, but they're not wholly immune from his meltdowns. They're just not high on his shit list. He doesn't know how to live without fighting, and that is a huge part of Grave's existence.

Learning how to survive without fighting for it.

His core struggle is true to his character no matter what timeline he's in, and that's not something we can wash away. He isn't as boisterous as you might expect him to be, but he's more like a feral cat because if you push him too hard? He's going to bite. He doesn't want people to tell him what to do. He doesn't want anybody to tell him what to do, because there's so much happening in the world now that he is fully conscious once again, and he needs some semblance of control over his autonomy.

It’s the same for SE Saeran.

There is only so much control they have because of the situation, and they need as much as they can get. 

If you respect his space and allow him to decide what he's comfortable with, he's more likely to let you stick around than he would be if you did the opposite. You need to allow him to decide what he is and isn't comfortable with.

For the most part, he likes to be alone, because it's easier to be alone than to be around people who just don't understand what it's like to have your mind move a mile a minute.

Sometimes, he just wants to sit by himself and work on something and if somebody wants to do the same thing with him by sitting there and working on their own thing, that is largely preferable to sharing an activity with another person. Parallel play is a love of his. Once he warms up to you, he might offer to do an activity with you now and again, but he likes that you two can exist in the same space without always needing to be glued at the hip.

As far as getting close to an MC that wasn't in Mint Eye… hm. I know I've talked about this before at some point, but it's going to be hard to get close to him no matter when you met him. I don't think you have an advantage if you were in Mint Eye, nor do I think you have one if you meet him afterward. It's going to be difficult regardless simply due to the fact that Grave is wary of trusting anyone, even those who might be deemed safe by Saeran.

If you're willing to put in the work to respect him, he'll put in the work to understand you, it's as simple as that. Just be aware of the fact that he holds on to a lot of the more volatile memories, and that can make it hard for him to get close to other people. It's not because he wants to lash out at people, it's because he's afraid of lashing out at people again. He and Saeran carry the memory of hurting Jihyun (or in the case of my MC, hurting her in V’s stead on accident) and that memory is as heavy as a boulder.