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Fic Update | Sunshower, Chapter 4: "Rain and Rendezvous"

In a complete 180 from the emotional intensity from the last chapter, we have a lot more lax environment (until I added angst because of course I did). You can read the chapter here.

So right from the get-go we establish that Aru is struggling to comprehend her emotions after Mook was able to touch her again in the previous chapter.

It was like a switch had been flipped within her, one that awakened a suppressed turmoil that she couldn't begin to comprehend without the memories of her past life. She recognizes some of the emotions; anxiety that sours her stomach, admiration that warms her heart, an overwhelming longing that makes her ache like she needs him.

Sehui suggests to their friend group that they hang out, and Aru jumps at the opportunity to get out of the house (especially because it's supposed to rain again and she will see Mook).

Her friends (aka Gunn, Mari, Sehui, and Sua) gain the ability to see Mook as well, and he explains that they're all Reincarnation High alumni. Everyone is shocked, to say the least, especially when Mook explains the logistics of becoming a student in the first place, something he previously had not explained to Aru.

Aru ends up upset that he was so blunt with her friends about this info, as well as him keeping things from her.

She wants to quip, clearly, but holds her tongue. Although she can't stop herself from huffing, “How come you told them way more than you've ever told me? You never mentioned anything about me dying tragically.” Aru looks up in time to see him wince, but Mook doesn't respond to her question. Rather, he averts his gaze entirely. He can tell them everything about what's going on, but the second she probes him for answers, he keeps his mouth shut? “I don't understand why you're hiding stuff from me,” Aru starts, wishing she was like Mari who would insist he look her in the eye. “But I also don't think you're lying.”

Aru returns home and says her goodbyes to Mook, who doesn't say anything back.

As she approaches her apartment door, the only thing she can choke out is, “Bye, Mook.” He doesn't even say it back to her.

Overall I don't have much to say about this chapter, other than it definitely took me a while to write because I knew the dialogue would be a struggle for me. Trying to balance six characters in one scene is hard haha

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Fic Update | Sunshower, Chapter 3: "Rain and Lightning"

Mook's POV again! And not only do we get to see Gang Ho's opinion on Mook's relationship with Aru, but we get to see how this directly affects Mook in a push and pull sort of effect throughout the second half of the chapter, which you can read here.

I knew I wanted this chapter as soon as I began expanding on the idea for Sunshower. It changed POVs a few times, but overall I decided that I wanted it to be experienced from Mook's perspective. A part of me worried that I was writing it too soon, but I reminded myself that this is my fic and I can do whatever I want with it.

I do genuinely enjoy the fun aspects of Gang Ho and Mook's friendship, such as Gang Ho unintentionally being clingy towards Mook.

“Mook! Did you miss me?” Gang Ho snakes an arm over Mook's shoulder, almost knocking him over in the process.

Gang Ho's opinion is that Mook is getting himself in too deep when it comes to Aru again. We know Gang Ho, despite being the one to help Mook confess his feelings to Aru, had his qualms about their relationship towards the end of RHS.

The second part of the chapter is, as I said, a push and pull between Mook's desire to protect Aru and his desire to be with her.

Starting with push:

He's unsure if she really wants to be with him again, as he has never asked.

Mook never asked Aru what it was she wanted from a relationship. Not at Reincarnation High, not since she's been reborn. Sure, she admitted to finding him attractive and said they were friends, albeit both in roundabout, unintended ways, but she's never told him she's interested romantically.

She has her own life to be worried about, one that he's already meddled in.

She absentmindedly taps the railing, gazing down at the street below. “Sometimes it just feels like I wasn't meant to get this far.” Mook's stomach drops. Even without an explanation, he knows exactly why. Her lifespan was destined to be short until he meddled with it.

He's not only going to break his own heart again, but hers.

And here he is, dragging her along for what Gang Ho reminded him could be another heartbreak. He wouldn't just be hurting himself, but also her.

And he views his love as something unconventional.

To love isn't to own, but Mook would do damn near anything to keep her eyes on him and him only. This is what Gang Ho meant; this sick and twisted part of him is unsightly, grotesque even. And he's sure that if he stays, Aru will see past the facade of love and deem it obsession.

He's a spirit, and she's a human. He can't even touch her.

He's cursed to be a creature of the rain, once being made to hide away and now finding it a reprieve. The sun and the rain can only meet temporarily, two opposing states of being. Monster, human. Dead, living. Rain, sun.

Their time together is always cut short: gifts and flirtatious words don't mean anything if Aru can't feel his affection. He saved the love of his life, but something as simple as touch still evades him? How pathetic.

There are so many reasons for him to leave Aru and never interact with her again. However, he's always pulled back.

I just mentioned touch as being one of the things that separates them. Even Aru mentioned in the previous chapter that she wants physical affection from a partner. And, well, what better way to bring them closer together than by giving Mook a bigger reason to want to stay?

If he really loves Aru, he should be able to grab her hand right now. If not, he'll admit defeat and follow Gang Ho's advice to leave her be. And he does. He touches her. He's touching her.

He pulls her down by the small of her back; it takes little force for her to fall into his arms. Her knees knock against the concrete, the arms tucked close to her chest loosening to hug him back. “God, Aru. You have no idea how much I've wanted to hold you.”

So yeah. Chapter 3, and Mook and Aru can touch each other again. That will certainly lead to more chaos. Next chapter we get to see Aru's reaction to this in "Rain and Rendezvous"

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In another lifetime

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Fic Update | Sunshower, Chapter 2: "Rain and Bribery"

Hehe chapter 2 is here! We get to see some of Aru's POV and how she's holding up against Mook's advances. You can read chapter 2 here.

Also I added the title card I made to both chapters. Yay!

I think sassy Aru is fun to write. Some of my favorite scenes in canon are when she's deviating from being a happy-go-lucky ray of sunshine. Case and point, my favorite reaction image from episode 1:

They won't always be bickering, but it is fun to write scenes where Mook is using her words against her to make her blush:

Even when she mentioned they would be friends if he weren't lying to her face, he took it the wrong way. It quickly turned into a game to mention that they're friends, whether she likes it or not.

“You're the one who made it about looks, you know,” Mook interjects. “But I am glad to see you still find me handsome.” “That is not what I meant!”

I also made a very obscure reference to the plethora of oranges within the Kim household, as seen below:

Aru's on her way home, indulging in her mandatory after-school snack break, when Mook shows up this time. He leans over her shoulder. “An orange again?” Again? This is the first time since their first meeting he's visited her around this time of day. Or rather, since he's been visible for it. The idea of him consistently keeping an eye on her is more than a little creepy. “My mom buys them in bulk. We've got to eat them before they go bad.”

Then in the second part, there are callbacks to how Aru behaved when she was crushing on Gunn in her past life from the very first episode.

“I wonder what it feels like to date someone so handsome,” Aru wonders aloud.

A deviation from the original is that she is mortified of thinking of Mook kissing her hand for real.

Out of morbid curiosity, Aru lifts her hand to her face. It’s a simple test; she just wants to know what it would feel like if he did this for real. Shutting her eyes, imagining his smile filled with so much love that she can’t begin to comprehend, her lips touch the exact spot he couldn’t reach. A bright red flush lights up her cheeks as she bolts upright. She absolutely did not just practice kissing because of some romantic dead guy! What kind of crazy love spell did he cast on her? Imagining a kiss? She must be crazy!

For those who have made it this far, please enjoy another lighthearted chapter. Because, warning, things aren't going to stay as pointless bickering for much longer.

The other chapter Tumblr posts:

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Fic Update | Sunshower, Chapter 1: "Rain and Promise"

I can finally say that the fic I've been working on for months is being posted!

Sunshower is a multi-chapter continuation AU where Mook and Aru can interact with each other when it rains. Mook promises to make Aru fall in love with him again while also wondering how he gained the ability to interact with her in the first place. You can read chapter 1 here.

The chapter title is a nod to the OST from episode 132, as well as Mook's promise mentioned above.

Like I mentioned in the author's note, I began working on Sunshower in early February. It's now nearing the end of October and I am not going about writing this the way I originally intended. I hoped to have everything pre-written before I started posting, but I at least have the plot thought out so I likely won't abandon this like my other multi-chapter fics.

The original concept not only had a completely different name, but was intended to be a one shot, maybe two or even three chapters max. When I added the line about Mook making Aru fall in love with him again, it got expanded to be 11-12 chapters. The length has since gone down to sit at 10 chapters.

Obviously the first chapter is just the setup for everything to come. And, boy, is there a lot that's yet to happen. In lieu of giving potential spoilers, I'll simply say: There are soft and sweet but also mildly angsty moments because I can't help myself.

I'm going to cut this post here. Please enjoy reading Sunshower!

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I dunno if anyone else remembers refund high school but give love to Mook my boy.

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Fic Update | Unholy Matrimony

Warning: Please read the author's note at the beginning of this fic before reading. There is dark content abound, even if it is skimmed over.

Hello again! This time we're writing about wedding crashing. More importantly, Mook crashing Aru's wedding. You can read Unholy Matrimony here.

I thought it might be neat to write a scene where Mook crashes Aru's wedding, but I wanted it to be more than just that scene alone. What would lead him to make that decision? Considering that his main priority is for Aru to live a long and happy life, I knew it had to be something serious.

Along came the idea of Aru's fiancé being a jerk to her, and I decided to develop it from there. Aru is in a seemingly happy and content relationship and is excited to get married to who she thinks is the love of her life when she discovers his infidelity. Things go on to spiral until she makes a fleeting wish on her wedding day to be rescued.

I wanted to portray how easily verbal and written abuse can effect one's self-esteem. Even when you know some of the things being said about you aren't true, they can take over your whole thought process.

Hundreds of messages about herself, how she is annoying and ugly, no good in bed, too clingy, too energetic… Every single insult possible.

Aru picks at her food, which will inevitably become leftovers she won't eat. One of the messages he sent called her fat, so she's become rather conscious of what she's eating. She hadn't understood the reason he wrinkled his nose anytime he caught even just a peek at her belly. She's connected the dots; that part of her is unattractive, disgusting.

Another portrayal within this fic is how it's not always as easy as just leaving. Here, Aru feels like she won't be believed because the people around her view her fiancé as perfect:

She would never cheat, she would never do anything like this. But everyone else would believe the same about him.

And even when she does consider leaving, she feels it's too late to do so:

If only her legs would allow her to sneak out from the wedding hall and disappear. But she's already here, her friends have already come to congratulate her. Everything is paid for, the guests will be expecting a gorgeous ceremony.

“I…” Aru averts her gaze, taking back her hand and holding it close to her chest. She shakes her head. “I wasn't. It would've been too much trouble. Everyone likes him, so I knew that if I tried to leave on my own, no one would understand.”

Now Mook is actually responsible for showing Aru her fiance's true nature, so he feels a sense of guilt that he didn't step in sooner, especially when it led to trauma and injuries (side note, where Aru cuts her hand on the broken vase is a subtle reference to the scene below from ep 99).

I have so much else that I could say about this fic, but it would be way too personal, so we're going to cut it here. Thank you for reading!

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Fic Update | Waterfall

Wow, Gracie posted two fics in one week? What is this? And of course it's another fic inspired from a song... 😅 You can read Waterfall here.

This one is based off of Rule #13 - Waterfall by Fish in a Birdcage. Unlike my Blue Birds AU, this fic isn't based off one specific lyric, but the entire song. It's also not related to canon at all, unless maybe this is what you want to imagine Nirvana as (Mook and Aru just playing in some water lol).

Overall, it's just meant to be lighthearted and fun. I usually end up adding angst to my works, so this was a shot at something meant to be pure fluff.

Their outfits are based on these from the epilogue (minus the flower crowns, rip):

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

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Fic Update | Envisioned

I have returned with another RHS fic, this time a short one shot where Mook sees his future, specifically of the balcony scene from ep. 130. You can read Envisioned here.

I absolutely love this scene, it is so beautiful.

The setting for this one isn't set in stone, other than it taking place not too long after the Trip to Hell Arc.

Originally, I had another idea where Aru saw her future with Mook, but I ended up finishing this version first. Maybe I'll finish said Aru version eventually, maybe not.

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SaheJul's are going to be feasting with episode 64 oh my

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Marionetta fast pass readers, hello? Chapter 63's ending?????

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Name a better feeling than getting the first comment on a fic you were uncertain about and knowing that at least one person liked the tiny piece of your brain that you put on the internet

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Bellflowers mean constancy, affection and everlasting love btw

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that howl's scene but its hananene

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Hanako from Nene’s pov bro does NOT look like that lmao

My first time trying a comic ( ? ) format, so hopefully it’s got okay readability :)

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