#RFA kids

[mysgo]

🎃 trick or treat! with the rfa and gojo 🎃

Jumin:

What an intriguing cat lover. While he may seem quite prim and proper, considering he is almost a textbook ISTJ in MBTI (ignoring his cat adorations), it seems quite unlikely that Jumin has yet to celebrate Halloween.

This is exactly why Gojo is here to help break Jumin out of his reclusive shell! At first, it was cat ears, and then it was a cat tail before it ended up being an entire cat costume! 

Gojo, who dressed up as a cat, made Jumin immediately fall in love with the concept of Halloween

In fact, he decided to make his company throw a cat-themed Halloween event just for this

Cat-themed haunted house, cat-themed candy products, cats in the building (for once!) It was all thanks to Gojo’s kitty scheme that the two were finally able to Trick and Treat together

This allowed Gojo and Jumin to celebrate Jumin’s first Halloween together, as the two went trick or treating across various company buildings that Jumin is affiliated with

As Jumin still didn’t understand the rules of Halloween, after he would receive candy from the poor office workers working overtime on this spooky night, Jumin would instead pay them with a hefty stack of cash (meaning that they would have no complaints on this Halloween)

Gojo dressed up as a white cat, while Jumin was dressed up as a vampire with cat ears. This was the closest Jumin could get to a cat cosplay without ruining his company’s image, which was to his dismay

Jumin would be sure to dress up as a cat next Halloween

PS. Elizabeth was also dressed up as a vampire. She had a designer cloak on designed by the most expensive designer

Zen, 707, and Yoosung:

It was 707 and Zen who arranged to meet with Yoosung. The poor college student was heavily overwhelmed with schoolwork, which meant the best way to escape from school was to go trick-or-treating! 

Of course, Yoosung was initially opposed to this, as LOLOL had a limited-edition Halloween event going on! But 707’s bribery with the rare Honey Buddha Chips allowed Yoosung to miss out on the LOLOL event happily

Zen himself had finished a Halloween musical earlier in the day, which meant he was incredibly happy to extend his energy (and to just brag about his musical performance)

Yoosung and Zen decided to match costumes, as they both dressed up as werewolves (well in Yoosung’s case it was more like a puppy…) 

On the other hand, 707 dressed up as Elly, which was much to Zen’s dismay. This already caused him to sneeze out loud

Zen’s sneezing instantly escalated the second 707 decided to go to C&R’s Haunted House. There, the trio ran into Gojo and Jumin (which meant instant coughs! ugh….) who were both cat-adjacent

In fact, Gojo and 707 had the exact SAME cat costume, much to each other's dismay.

Gojo and 707 kept bickering, while Jumin and Zen also decided to have an argument of their own

“Of course a rich kid like you would do this… ACHOO…!” Zen would attempt to argue, but the cat-themed building (and Gojo and 707 + Jumin’s costumes) was enough to make Zen convince himself that there were real cats in the building

It was then that the five decided to explore the haunted house to see. Gojo and 707 decided to bet who would be the first to get scared

And to no one’s surprise, it was Yoosung who was the first to want to go home

Jaehee:

Jaehee, by sheer luck, had a “day off”. This was her well-deserved break before her real “trick” began

As a “treat” for herself, Jaehee miraculously managed to secure tickets to Zen’s Halloween musical. It was the best treat anyone could ever ask for

In fact, she even managed to secure a signed Halloween Zen poster, which made her fan heart overjoyed

This happy event was soon shattered as she was called in for the C&R Halloween event, one that she had strongly argued against working for

What a trick! But of course, Jaehee, as an employee of C&R International, was forced to wear cat ears to celebrate the event 

“We match, nya~!” Jaehee was greeted by 707 just after the RFA + Gojo managed to finish the Haunted House event

“Jaeheeeeeeee! That was so scary T__T” Yoosung cried out to her, which led to her sighing

But of course, this was simply another work day for her, no matter how late the shift was

Lucky for Jaehee, she would also be one of the many workers to receive a hefty bonus on this meowy Halloween

Gojo:

He got here by accident after a Halloween-themed domain expansion was activated

Since Gojo is clearly the strongest, he could definitely kill a few extra minutes in this domain

Plus, it definitely didn't hurt to have a good time with the RFA along the way, right?

Trick? or Treat? Gojo would be sure to deliver both to you!

[moth--blood]

RFA with a scenekid MC

707, yoosung kim, jumin han, zen, jaehee kang

707/SAEYOUNG CHOI:

absolutely loves your style

lets you set up a work area by his desk for your jewelry / DIY projects!

not a huge fan of stepping on loose beads but hey, there's worse things to step on

thinks it's so interesting if you make kandi with can tabs or toys, or just general jewelry with stuff you find in the house. he admires all the creativity that goes into your projects

if you make clothes/masks with beads he is always so proud of you and the results, even if they're not as expected. he voices that very loudly; you're his 606, of course he's proud of your work!

if saeyoung has a lot of agency work, and you have unfinished projects, his favorite thing is both of you working in silence on your own projects, just enjoying the others presence. you being around always helps him focus and if its the same for you, he's more than happy to sit with you while you work

LOVES your music taste, especially if it's more electro

if you make him anything, jewelry or otherwise, he will 100% tear up and wear/use/show it off forever. he adores whatever you give him, regardless of what it is.

YOOSUNG KIM:

100% steals your clothes

kind of copies some of your jackets and hoodies, putting his own patches in similar places so you match (though if you do it for him he will never take it off. he's terrified of your work getting messed up if he does, so it's definitely a hassle cleaning it)

his apartment's not all that big, so you both manage to do your own things or work together on projects in his bedroom. when it's not being used, he'll let you stack bead boxes and supplies on his PC (though they will quickly get ((gently)) discarded to the floor when he decides its LOLOL time)

more a fan of "quieter" scene music, though he can absolutely get behind some hyperpop or nightcore

if you make him anything (and i mean anything) he will cry, on the spot, and keep it forever. if it breaks, or tears, he'll put it on his desk and refuse to touch it until you can fix it (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠) poor boy feels awful even if its just string snapping from being worn too much

definitely tries his hand at Kandi making for a few months and ultimately lets it fade out like the majority of his intrests

JUMIN HAN:

not a giant fan of the music but he admires the effort you put into your projects

will beg you and beg you to make Elizabeth accessories, and after that it's

"well, she can't be alone, we should have matching bracelets - and colar, in her case - with Elizabeth. ....we should have matching ones, can we have matching ones (Y/N)?"

he will wear it everywhere and shows it to his dad all excited once you make them

"look at what my lovely (husband/wife/spouse) made us, they're very talented. Elizabeth has one too."

always adores anything you give him, no matter how small; it's still a gift, and he cherishes them

gives you a whole room in the penthouse for your work!

he sets it up while you're off with Jaehee or another RFA member, making sure to add posters from your favorite games/shows/movies/ext. he blows so much money on the set-up and is so pleased with himself when he gets your reaction

always makes an effort to resupply anything you're running low on, asked or not.

if you diy any clothes for him he will wear them out, reputation be damned

tries getting you to sell (or at least promote, c'mon y/n) your work at the RFA Parties with V's pictures

has never seen an episode of Invader Zim in his life, probably never will unless you ask, but he thinks gir is cute.

this just in jumin han is a Gir enjoyer

JAEHEE KANG:

like seven, enjoys the more electro side of your music tastes

",,,,if i can ask, can you make me something related to this play zen was in--" his biggest fan even through your work lmao

if you diy her any clothes, those are now her favorite home/sleep clothes

same with jewelry, though she'll find a way to incorporate those into her work outfits so she can subtly show them off

just like the others, admires all of your work every single time. kandi single? "that's so nice, (Y/N)! I love the colors" kandi cuff? "that's very impressive! i like the patterns :)" necklace with a toy connected? pearler? your spin on toy jewelry from a game you had as a kid? doesn't matter, she looks at all of your projects as a whole play of their own. she loves hearing the inspiration behind each peace

her favorite peaces are the ones where your spiel of inspiration is something really simple, like "haha i thought this would look funky, so i made it!" like- that little bit of thought made *this*? she's amazed.

if you make pearlers or things of that nature, and give some to her, she *will* put that on her lanyard. she will find a way.

ZEN/HYUN RYU:

god please make him something, little as it may be, he will never take it off

he has more sense than Yoo if it's clothes, though. just "be careful, (y/n), i know you know how to do it but be careful i really like that one—"

gets all flustered the first few times you give him something you made. some part of his brain cant wrap itself around the fact not only is he with such a wonderful creative person but you're using that creativity on him, he's honored

if you send him anything revolving around "rawr, i love you in dinosaur!! x3" he will seriously start saying Rawr. he wants to tell you he loves you in any way he can, wether that be in korean, english, or dinosaur, he's doing it

he'll humor all of your music, from the most whitenoise sounding hyperpop to stuff like Hollywood Undead. more a fan of nightcore/daycore though

if you make/give him any bracelets he absolutely wears them when he's acting, modeling, performing, exct if he can. he loves showing off your work :)

[natasha-in-space]

Alright, I'm gonna babble a bit on my thoughts and observations with the magnificent CG's we got for the Choi boys' birthday this year 'round! And, boy, what beautiful CG's they are. I acknowledge that some had problems with them, but I honestly couldn't be happier. Both of them made me feel giddy for two days in a row! The artist did a fantastic job, and it's a treat to still get some new content from Cheritz. Now, let's start with Saeyoung!

God, do I adore the soft, domestic feel of this one. It's peaceful, intimate, and tender in a way that sharing a special moment with the one you love is. I am a sucker for simple domestic moments of romance, so even I admittedly swooned at this one!

Since it's dark outside, we have two options. It's either a small private celebration between you two after he spent the day with his brother and RFA, or you're congratulating him as soon as the clock strikes midnight. I find both options equally sweet and fitting! Either way, you are sharing a small private moment with him, with just you two for a small while. I believe he would be deeply grateful for that.

It looks like he's gotten himself a place out in the city! Isn't that a lovely thing to see? I do think he'll keep his bunker, whether it's for potential emergencies or just for safekeeping, but I always loved the idea of Saeyoung creating a new home for himself, however that may look like. It is logical for his new apartment to have large windows that are high enough to see the night sky. It's very much Saeyoung. And it's very much Saeran, too! During the day, Saeran enjoys the warm sunlight and vast clouds, while Saeyoung enjoys looking at the stars and teaching you about space at night.

He made sure his new home had windows because his bunker didn't have any. A reminder of his new freedom to live out a peaceful life with his family without needing to look over his shoulder at every step.

We have some gifts laid out in the background! The interpretation of whether this is from you, Saeran, or RFA is up to you. I like the latter option. It does make you think what kind of gifts would everyone prepare for him! Lots of funny and/or sweet ideas to think about.

There are also lots of frames hung up on the wall and laid out on the shelves. It made me giggle. Because of course, Saeyoung would litter his home with photos of you once he gets the freedom to do so. It's even a bit excessive, but how can you complain? This man was terrified of having evidence of his own existence out in the world for years. Not to mention that he was not allowed to have any reminders of the people he loved, as he was afraid of their safety.

Of course, he will make sure to surround himself with reminders of a brighter future now that he can. Selfies with you, photos of Saeran reading a book or cooking, and outings with the RFA. All such precious moments he doesn't want to take for granted.

As many have already pointed out, the cake is from Saeran! Ain't that sweet? The first time I noticed it, I glowed with joy because I adore the idea of Saeran making something by hand for his older brother. Saeyoung was always the giver and protector in their relationship, back when they were kids... Now, they can start over with more balance. And Saeran can also take care of his brother. I can't help but think of him spending hours in the kitchen, making sure everything is perfect, and that's just... so damn heartwarming. I love these two and their love for each other. They deserve to be together without fear.

@marshmallowprotection went over the details of the cake very thoroughly in her post, so I won't go over it personally, but, oh my God, of course Saeran would put in small meaningful details into his cake. It's so much like him. From the flowers to cherries and whatever that is written in that envelope. I am certain that Saeyoung will likely shed tears upon reading it. Heck, Saeran can just scribble out a big 'Happy birthday Hyung :)' on there, and it'll make him cry just as much.

Saeyoung is unfamiliar with being taken care of or appreciated. It will take him some time to stop getting emotional over the smallest things when it comes to his family.

Speaking about the CG as a whole, I love how relaxed and tender he looks. It's nothing fancy, just a black shirt and jeans. That's what makes it so soft and domestic for me. It's just you and Saeyoung. In your home. Being together and cherishing each other. And that's better than any grand display.

We get to see more of Saeyoung's arms!!! I always love when they splice up some things that are very much true to canon. While it doesn't make any sense at all to make Yoosung or Saeran muscular jocks, it's very much in line with Saeyoung. It's easy for those arms to lift you up and hold you tight! I also actually like that he's visibly broad in here. I know it's not everyone's interpretation, but it makes him actually look, y'know, older. Even though he'll be 21 forever, it's pleasant to imagine him in his late twenties or early thirties. I know most of my guy friends got very broad in the shoulders once they hit their middle twenties lmao

I also very like MC's dress. It's super cute and comfortable. And that watch on Saeyoung's wrist? Another nice touch. I don't know why, but I always pictured him into watches lol. Mostly because he seems to have a soft spot for anything technical. It's easy to see him being fascinated by the inner workings of different watch models. He's such a nerd (affectionate)

Look at that giddy smile! He's such a cutie. Love to see him be all happy like that. Also his hair is once again super red. I'm telling you, it changes color depending on his mood. It's my biggest theory in whole MM storyline/j

AND NOW ONTO THE MAN HIMSELF, THE ONE I'VE BEEN BENDING MY KNEE FOR EVER SINCE I SAW HIM, THE ONE I IMPLODED MY DM'S OVER-

Ahem

Yes. We got an actual official Unknown/MC CG. The fandom exploded. I know I saw it, I know you saw it, we all saw it. Unknown took the fandom by storm, and he knows it. Look at that smirk. I even saw quite a few old MM artists thinking of coming back just because of him lmao

That's the power this man holds.

Alright, my incessant ramblings aside, this CG looks absolutely ethereal. And it's pretty much intentional. Goes in line with Unknown's aesthetic, too. I know we all love to lovingly call him the king of edge that he is, but from what we see of him? He'll probably put you in something similar. He is your guardian angel, after all. The one who will lead you to a true paradise you couldn't even hope to reach by yourself. He is your loving shepherd, and you are his precious lamb.

The placement of Unknown in such a graceful environment makes sense.

So, Unknown's cake has strawberries AND blueberries on it. No wonder many people instantly remembered the birthday CG from two years ago! It's a nice and interesting comeback. Once again, redirecting you to @marshmallowprotection analysis post for the in-depth on it, because she lays it out beautifully! I'll just say that it's intriguing to note that besides strawberries, blueberries appear to be another confirmed favorite of Saeran's. I know I love my blueberries.

Here's to hoping that this is a fake cake, because if I see food drowning like that, I would riot, no matter how beautiful and enticing Unknown may look 😔 You're eating that cake, mister! You are not wasting it for a pretty aesthetic!! It also begs the question who made the cake in the first place, and Kait puts out a very interesting thought that this is, in fact, a photoshoot. It's also comforting to think that MC was behind it. Just because I'm a sucker for the idea of Unknown getting spoiled for once in his lifetime. He also seemed to be rather yearning in his birthday chats that you can purchase, so it's a sweet thought for me.

MC is absolutely gorgeous here. I have zero complaints. Unknown is one lucky man, and he knows it. Her skin is perfectly complimented by that shade of pink, and she looks like a nymph or something. I also love how flowy the dress is. You can just tell how soft that fabric is to the touch, and I am on my knees both for this MC and the artist for all their hard work. Also!!! MC has an actual eye visible for once! Always a nice and rare surprise.

The dress is pretty revealing, too, and I couldn't stop giggling once I actually noticed that. What can I say? Unknown knows his tastes, and I sure respect him for that. As I said in another post, her lap is definitely not the only thing he lays his head on, and I am, frankly, jealous of him.

All that to say.... guys. MC is just a stand-in. She doesn't look like 90% of the player base. Heck, I look nothing like this MC! Please don't be discouraged just by how she appears in certain CG's! There are plenty of guys, queer folks and women who look nothing like her, who love and adore Saeran as a character. And you know what? All of you would be loved and appreciated by Saeran. Whatever weight, whatever gender, whatever skin color you are. Your own unique appearance will make you just as ethereal next to him. Because it's you.

Saeran has the same love for you as you have for him. Unknown included!

Now onto the man himself..... God.... how gorgeous he is...... I know I felt like I was falling in love with him all over again when I saw him, pfft-

Who is Unknown without his belts and chokers? Once again, Unknown knows what he likes, and I respect the hell out of it. You go king!

Need I say that they gave him freaking EARRINGS???? I know I wouldn't be freaking out about that as much, if it wasn't a fan thing for years. And now he gets the earrings we all knew he deserves in canon. Life could be a dream.

He also has a cross. Which is a rather... interesting choice. Once again, @marshmallowprotection goes over it in detail in her post. Another fun personal interpretation I had (bc I love giving a darker vibe to things) is that perhaps this image is taken after Saeyoung got captured by Mint Eye. Unknown takes and wears his brother's cross as a mockery of his brother's faith and as a declaration of his triumph. I must say, though, that's, like.... 99% not what is intended here, and just my personal fun musings.

I also find it both hot and hilarious that Unknown has his shirt open like that. He saw his brother's CG and went: 'oh hell no, I can do better'. He's so extra, and I adore him. I also don't think he's muscular here???? He's not depicted as broad or buff. I think people just misinterpret the art style a bit. He doesn't really have any prominent muscle here, and it looks significantly different to Saeyoung's CG. I think the artist just either didn't have much time to flesh it out (an issue Kait goes in detail over), or they had trouble with depicting what they wanted to depict. Or I'm just talking out of my ass here, and they really did make him jacked, but my eyes will continue to willfully choose to not see that 😔

All that to say, I definitely went feral over this guy showing so much skin, and the desire to BITE is strong with this one.

He'll be on my mind first the rest of the year. What an absolute treat.

It's so much like Unknown to be all snazzy and cordial with you. I love how they showcased his mannerisms here. It's irrelevant whether you interpret it as cunning or genuinely affectionate here. That smirk is very much Unknown, and we all know it. I wanna smooch his cheeks so bad. Kait also went over the flower analysis in her post, so I highly advice you to check it out!!

In summary, I couldn't be happier with what we got this year. This is everything I ever wanted and more. Will be definitely writing individual pieces for these, because how can I not?

[marshmallowprotection]

do you have one silly or random headcanon for every char? 😆

Jaehee's got a popular fan-account for Zen that nobody except Saeyoung knows about. This is to be expected, but, the silly part happens to be Zen's interacted with her account before because she's one of the most respectful fans and he's got no idea that it was Jaehee of all people! She's passionate and people can see that. She's got scathing essays for his defense that are annotated and dated so she can reference them later on.

Zen's got a collection of songs he uses just for his runs. It's exactly what you think it is. A cheesy work-out set of songs meant to make him feel like he's in a movie montage. Hey, it works, don't give him a silly look! It helps him feel inspired!

Yoosung has a collection of hair clips. He may not like being called cute by the other RFA members because it makes him feel like they think he's little kid, but he does enjoy feeling cute when it's a sincere compliment. He'll love it if you compliment his new hair clip! He's got so many of them... and the ones he wears at school are different than the ones he wears at home.

Jumin knows more memes than he lets on and he purposefully uses them in the chatroom to flabbergast the others. It's funny to him to see his friends stare at him in horror because they didn't realize he'd learned about that particular meme. Nobody will believe it, but that happens a lot.

Saeyoung is in the process of making trampoline shoes that can shoot you to the moon. It's impossible, but it's impressive that he found the motor to help him jump a few feet in the air. Think of the old Moon Shoes advertisement, but now imagine he's taken that idea twenty stories taller.

V's cactus collection has accessories. He gives them sunglasses and hats and charms. They've got names, too. Sometimes, he wishes he could be a better friend to others just as he's a good caretaker of his cacti. He vents to his plants a lot, too. I don't know if this is silly, but... it helps.

GE Saeran takes things at face value. If you tell him something he will assume you mean it literally until he double-checks the information. It matters to him because he wants to believe people when they try to teach him something important to them, but sometimes this means he ends up believing something that isn't true. But, he enjoys hearing these things, and marking them down on paper. Especially if it turns out they're superstitions or something special to you.

Rika loves arts and crafts. She loves scrap-booking most of all. She makes homemade cards for everyone because it feels like she's got something personal that speaks to her compassion for her friends. It is a mess of glitter, puffy paint, and stickers. Nobody has the heart to tell her that her artistic vision is a maximalist nightmare to clean up. But, she has fun.

Vanderwood is a hula-hoop champion and nobody will ever believe you if you tell them.

[midnightwerewoolf]

Aight, having played day 3 in its totality...

This man's crush is painfully obvious and he doesn't know what to do about it.

Unlike day 1 and partly 2, Seven is a lot more present during day 3.

You can see him looking for the MC's attention more frequently and wanting to be around to just have fun and joke around.

And he's so unused to being seen and having someone's genuine attention that he LATCHES onto it and starts wanting more, especially since he's used to his antics being ignored.

And unlike the other previous days, he's also a lot more open about himself but still not upfront when it comes to answering stuff about himself, instantly excusing himself with work when Yoosung asks about his stash of Honey Buddha Chips but telling Zen instead about how he got it.

He's still evading being open about himself but in his own way also uses it as a way to tease the other RFA members, and with the MC actively enabling him to do this instead of ignoring him he is able to talk about himself.

His own phone calls also reflect this.

There's a surprising difference between Seven in the chatroom and him during a phone call.

Seven is even more open when talking about himself without even realizing, with the cat phone call he talks about his dream which is a clear memory of his past as a kid, his abusive mom and his brother and him hoping to be able to escape together, even being able to tell his mom off for everything she did to them.

But he doesn't understand why he's able to tell this over the phone.

Then you have the space station call, where he's unable to understand why he keeps wanting to hear the MC's voice which is why he ends up unconsciously calling again.

This is also where he pretty much realizes he feels something for the or at the very least the moment he starts to pretend he isn't MC the second he mentions taking them to the space station, space is something he really loves and tends to reference in chatroom conversations it's a type of safe space where he can just distance himself from his problems and when he finds someone he considers safe? He wants to take them with him there and share that space (pun not intended) with them.

And this is something the other members of the RFA note as well.

[frasermints]

if you want to go more into the utah thing, pls do

okay, so i feel the need to preface all of this with

tij iginla deserved to be drafted high in the first round. i'm glad he went high in the first round. he worked hard to earn the place he was drafted. that being said, i do not think his technical ability is the only reason utah drafted him.

let's take a look at utah's owners.

the smiths are mormon, and follow most standard hypocritical mormon doctrine. they have five children and live in provo. can't find much on ashley but ryan went to business school at BYU provo because his dad worked there before he got cancer and also that's what good little mormon boys are expected to do after they go on their colonizer missions to brown countries.

link to the archived deseret interview, written by the mormon church

he often speaks to church officials about money and tech, since he owns multiple businesses in the tech space and owns four sports franchises. the above link is an interview he did with a mormon elder about allocation of church funds. from the horse's mouth, they admit to hoarding billions of dollars and wanting to convert essentially the entire african continent to mormonism for clout.

now. this is where we get into tij's selection.

if you aren't as autistic about mormon history as i am, tl;dr up until about like pshhh iirc it was like 10 or 15 years ago it was literally like not possible for black mormons to hold positions of power in the church. mormon children were taught that dark skin was a sign of being "cut off from god" (lamanites) and depending on where you lived, that if you weren't white, you wouldn't be able to reach the highest level of heaven (in mormonism there are different tiers of the afterlife - three levels of heaven [celestial, terrestrial, and telestial] and then "outer darkness" which is basically just hell. you can only reach the celestial kingdom if you're the perfect mormon and pretty much anyone goes to the telestial kingdom, even like. rapists and murderers. you go to outer darkness if you defy god to his face basically. mormons are wild. yes i am judging you) which is like beaten into you from birth to be the worst fucking thing in the world because if you don't reach the highest level of glory you're separated from your family in the afterlife, and that would suck! that's what you spent your entire life trying to do! so by default getting denied that simply because you produce more melanin is. rancid!

so. career mormons, as i call them - or mormons that come from long lineages of pre-established mormons, especially utah or texas or idaho mormons (like ryan's family, and i'm going to assume ashley's family) - they very very very often have deep racism beat into them practically since birth. they might not think so, but it's there, and it comes out at the wildest times in the wildest ways. like, i grew up in an area with a LARGE mormon minority. a group of mormons tried to lynch one of my friends as a "joke". they literally tried to fucking lynch him. one of the only black kids in the area. because they thought it was funny, and couldn't conceptualize why that was wrong or why that action - committed by that specific religion, too - carried immense weight.

moving onto the hockey part of the ask.

i stared at coyotes stats for way too long last night.

tij iginla is a left shot forward.

we all know arizona was uhh. not the greatest when they made their exit from the league. tij put up some gorgeous numbers when he finished out this year in the w, and if he does well at development camp i think he does have a very good chance at being a name on the roster. i do.

i don't think he was the smartest choice for them technically, though.

like, come the fuck on.

and like i get that they're. they still have all summer. it's whatever. but out of their thirteen forwards, nine are left shots. they are not hurting for him!!

and like. okay. you could argue like. of those, bh and bo38 are rfa at the end of this season, mc53 and ak15 and mm63 and jm22 are ufa next season, they're practically bled dry for RWs.

and they have signed defensemen since day one of the draft. unsure how td33 is going to do with his injury over the summer, but if he comes back they'll be at the numbers they need.

i still don't think he was the pick utah needed technically. i don't think he was the perfect fit. i think the owners decided for the franchise and were able to justify it well enough with his numbers to themselves and everyone else to make it work, but i really truly deep down think that part of it was "look at us we are a brand new team. we are two perfect people that wear cool youth pastor clothes to fancy pants events. we're so hip and chill, we're going to make this black kid's dreams come true by drafting him higher than his dad. we're going to make him the face of the Utah Hockey Club" and then IMMEDIATELY put him in a fucking jersey that says property of. like that is deranged.

i know from an outsider's perspective this all can seem very reach-y but when you have lived with these people and been inside their minds and been raised inside the culture it is all very very thought out. it's deliberate. everything these people do is intentional. so i really honestly can't see these people doing this for any other reason than to make themselves look good. yes, i think tij is a very talented hockey player that deserved to be drafted high in the first round. but i think he belongs somewhere else, somewhere that will treat him well and somewhere he will be safe. because i guarantee you, he is not safe on that team. not when ryan and ashley smith own it.

[takitafulily]

Misadventures of the MCs #07

Taking the Besties home pt4: MM!MC

(Slight Spoilers if you haven't played Mystic Messenger)

MM!MC: I'm not too spacious with accommodations but at least it's decent. I doubt the bed could fit all of us so half of us will need sleeping bags. Don't pick up my phone if it's buzzing, just tell me or someone might actually end up dead- No I'm not kidding- Try not to touch any stacks of paper or important looking documents or I'll be fucked-

LTD!MC: So do you just casually live in a stranger's apartment?-

MM!MC: I mean... yeah...

TWST!Yuu: Hey at least it's not going to tobble over any second or used to belong to dead people

MM!MC: ...about that-

OB!MC: At least they're just living in a stranger's apartment, they're not living WITH the strangers

WHB!MC: Yeah, at least they actually HAVE a place to live

LTD!MC: ... *sigh*

TWST!Yuu: Yo you have a stalker

MM!MC: ...how do you know that?

TWST!Yuu: When you have 4 people ready to jumpscare you daily, you gain a 6th sense for it.

MM!MC: huh, that's neat

TWST!Yuu: *stares at them*

MM!MC: oh, the stalker? Eh leave him be or he'll kidnap you for some cult.

TWST!Yuu: ...and here I thought I was desensitised-

(In the RFA chat)

707: hey MC do you have friends over at Rika's appartment?

MC: which one theres like 5 here

Yoosung: WHAT

707: WHAT

Yoosung: THERE'S MORE PEOPLE THAT KNOWS WHERE RIKA'S APPARTMENT IS???

707: THERE'S 5 PEOPLE AT RIKA'S APARTMENT???

Jumin: Wait that doesn't sound like MC

Jaehee: I agree Mx MC doesn't usually text like that

MC: oh if your talking about MM!MC theyre fighting with LTD!MC over a budget or wtev rn

707: what

MC: *picture of MM!MC yelling whilst holding up a piece of paper with numbers on it and LTD!MC point at the paper whilst holding a cup of coffee*

Zen: *gasp* a picture of MC

Jaehee: Wait so who is texting us right now?

MC: lol this is TWST!Yuu

MC: im just watching the drama lol OB!MC and WHB!MC went looking for the stalker even though MM!MC told them not to lol

MC: OH FUCK THE HAIR IS GETTING INVOLVED THIS IS GETTING GOOD ILL SEE YOU GUYS NEVER LMAO

Jumin: ...

Yoosung: ...

Jaehee: ...

Zen: ...

707: ... wtf just happened

*V entered the chat.*

V: hey guys what did I miss?

[nonmurdery]

A THOUSAND KISSES DEEP

reader x yoosung | part one

summary: reader escapes rika’s apartment before the bomb goes off in yoosung’s bad ending 1. this uses his dialogue from the game.

author’s note: why am i obsessed with bad endings? i’ll never know! the mc’s personality is derived from how they were in that route. had this in my drafts for a minute, i don't know who'll be her end game, just take this as some angst!!

ps. chatroom formatting probably looks cuter on mobile devices

trigger warnings: major character death

word count: 1,444

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

You technically met Yoosung Kim last week.

The same could be said for the entire RFA. Jumin Han, V, 707, Jaehee Kang, and Zen. You've learned that the RFA is short for Rika’s Fundraising Association. You started texting them after receiving mysterious messages from an Unknown contact to go to the apartment you'd start living in. Yet you haven't met any of them in person.

Being separated by a phone screen didn't stop you from pursuing Yoosung. He's a cute SKY University student around your age. His inexperience kindled the spark between you two. You couldn't have been expected to pass up the opportunity! Not when he was clearly desperate for a partner. As were you. Your self esteem was in the gutters and the loneliness within you had become so voluminous as of late. The RFA has helped out with that.

Chatting with the RFA throughout your day wasn't difficult. Although planning their next party had its challenges. They helped you with whatever they could. Mostly with recommending guests while you picked the theme and most everything else. The best part? You were getting paid for your services.

In short: plenty of unexpected things happened to you this week. Most of them being new beginnings for yourself and the RFA. Yoosung showing up to the apartment by himself proved itself to be the most unexpected.

Intruder found. Special security system attack mode initiated.

“Did you hear that?” Your eyes wandered the room.

The bomb. You remembered it, well, you didn't forget about it either. It terrified you and made it difficult for you to get a full night's worth of sleep. No RFA member was supposed to enter this apartment—707 was still working to deactivate it. Your throat suddenly felt tight. Instead of feeling excitement upon meeting Yoosung, terror swamped your senses instead. Every fiber in your body yelled that you run. There's still time to get out of here.

Yoosung paid no attention to your words nor the alarm. “Reader … But you’re not blond like Rika … ?”

Sensing location of intruder … adjusting target …

“You cannot be serious! I was kidding about that.” You yelled, your eyes saucer-wide.

Is this his truly greatest concern? Your hair wasn't made up of the same lion's mane of loose curls as Rika’s was. Regardless, the ticking bomb that's about to go off was of more importance, to you, it seemed.

He stared at you with his large violet eyes, a cloud of confusion passing over his face. He looked exactly like the photographs he’s shared in the messenger. Short blond hair that pointed in every direction, a lithe build, and baby-faced. Your heart thrashed against your ribcage, thumping at a terrible pace. If you didn't start moving, you'd faint. Or worse, you'd die.

“And you don’t have her eye color … Your hands and face look different too … Is it really you, Reader?”

You answered with a shaky nod. “Yes! It’s me! I’m not some doppelgänger or any other look-alike. None of that matters, we need to get out of here, Yoosung.”

This changed from what you said in the messenger earlier. You spoke about how you'd need to become like Rika in order to be someone special to him. It shocked you to know he processed all of those texts you sent. For some reason, that made you like him even more than you did before.

Orders to destroy all information for the sake of protection. Activating system destruction.

“Oh … I’m sorry. I guess I just thought that you’d look exactly like Rika. But you don’t.”

You were beside yourself with frustration. “I still own you. That means we'll do what I say, let's go.” You slipped your arm through his elbow and yanked him toward the door.

It was mostly your fault for why he’d come to such assumptions. You told him that you'd be his Rika and replace her. Still, they made you a little queasy. Physically being here with him felt different than typing letters on a screen. You felt a connection to him.

“We’re not going anywhere! I ran over here because no one in the RFA helped Rika when she took her life away.” He wrenched himself out of your tight hold.

15 seconds left … 14 seconds …

Stand here and listen to his spiel, or run now and have a chance at living? You told him that you'd take care of him. That he'd be your pet and that's what you wanted. In the face of life and death, you knew what to do. You weren’t going to die for someone who looked at you with disdain for not matching their cousin in appearance. Someone who barely knew or liked you. Two days ago, you would have done anything to be accepted by him and be in charge of his life. The truth is, you barely knew Yoosung beyond the color green, LOLOL, and Rika.

Dying wasn't worth it. Not here, your life has just started.

“Yoosung, come with me. Running here won't matter if you don't run now! We’ll talk about everything after.” He looked unphased by your words, as if they held no weight to him.

Throwing one final glance at Yoosung, you darted out of Rika’s apartment as quick as a shooting star. You could only hope that he's shortly behind. Your heartbeat thrummed in your ears while the sounds of your footsteps pounded with them. Or they might've been his footsteps, listening to what you had to say after all.

Taking the elevator would've been a foolish decision. You ran down the hallways, knowing that 707 watched them through the CCTV. That explained the notification that made your phone buzz in the back pocket of your pants. It had to wait. You made it to a large stairwell that descended to the lower floors. Did V really have to purchase an apartment on the 14th?

Sucking in a breath, you headed down the staircase. You ran down the stairs faster than you knew that you could. The seconds counted down in your mind until a loud bang issued from behind you, startling you enough to fall. You hit the ground hard. Even with your eyes squeezed closed, you saw the light of fire beyond your eyelids.

None of this would've happened if he listened to you. You held your consciousness and managed to get to the 1st floor. When you got down there, firemen were making their way up, up, up. Sirens and screams glided to your ears as you fled the building.

A cold breeze lanced into you. From your peripheral vision, you saw ambulances, more fire trucks, and police cars coming down the streets. Nighttime stretched over the sky, littering it with glittering stars and fluffy see-through clouds. When you lifted your eyes up to Rika's apartment, there were fat tendrils of smoke rising into the air from the building's roof, like a soul ascending from their body.

“Yoosung! Yoosung, you idiot!” Your scream got gobbled up by the street’s cacophony. Tears pricked your eyes and you let them slide down your face. His death is on your shoulders. That's if he died. But you couldn't see a way that he could've survived.

You held yourself, squeezing your upper arms. Interviewers raced to the scene with their cameras and microphones. Your neighbors sprinted outside with some of their belongings, their mouths gaping. That's when it hit you that you only brought one thing.

“Do you know what's going on, Reader?” A woman with watery eyes asked. You bumped into her once in the lobby and talked about the weather.

You watched the flames. “I …” You wet your dry lips. “I need to go.”

Walking to the nearest alleyway, you whipped out your phone. The app was bursting with messages, most of the RFA members are active.

READER has entered the chatroom.

Jumin Han

Did everyone see the news? I'm watching it live now.

Jaehee Kang

? Mr.Han

ZEN

What news?

Jumin Han

There was an explosion at [ADDRESS] on the fourteenth floor.

Jaehee Kang

Goodness…

Jumin Han

The occupants are currently evacuating the building.

READER

HELP! I think Yoosung got cahgt in the fire!

707 has entered the chatroom.

ZEN

Yoosung?! Oh no...

Zen

Reader are you alright?!!! Tell me you're alright.

707

…

707

..

707

.

707

On my way.

READER

On your way here?

707 has left the chatroom.

ZEN

stay where you are, Reader!

ZEN

I'm sure that he has a plan…

Jaehee Kang

I agree with Zen.

Jaehee Kang

What happened to Yoosung, Reader?

Jumin Han

I can only hope for the best.

READER has left the chatroom.

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober Day 10: Seven/MC & Robot

You can read this over on Ao3 if you’d prefer.

Rating: E for Everyone <3

Prompt: Seven/MC && Robot

WordCount: 1507

Summary: MC is keeping a secret from 707, and it's tearing him apart. But is it as earth-shattering a secret as he thinks?

Seven looked around the bunker, even going so far as to check the locked storage room. No MC.  This wasn’t the first time they’d gone somewhere, of course, but lately it had started to grate on him a little bit that she wouldn’t tell him anything.

She knew that secrets nearly tore about the entire RFA.  She knew he had abandonment issues. He was working on them.  But just disappearing was no good.  Sure, she’d leave a note telling him she was heading out to “work on something” or “take a class” but never about what, on what, for what.  Sometimes she took Saeran with her, sometimes he was moping around because she was busy.  As if one twin moping around wasn’t bad enough.

He flopped backwards onto the couch, fighting back the tears that were threatening.

“You could just ask her.” Vanderwood said, and Seven shouted in surprise.

“Where the hell did you come from?”

“I’ve been here for the last twenty minutes, watching you pace around like an angry kitten.”

“Yeah, well MC’s gone.”

“Yep. Note says she’s working on something. Why are you so out of sorts?”

“She’s been ‘working on something’ or ‘taking a class’ or ‘out with school friends’ almost every day.”

“You’re supposed to be working too, you know.  So she’s doing something with her summer break, what of it?”

Seven sighed. “I know I’m overreacting. I just. I’m nervous. What if she.. what if she’s bored with me? What if I’m just too much and she needs a break? What if she only thought she loved me because there was a bomb and things were scary and she was trapped in a bad situation and now she realizes she has so much future ahead of her that being with a nerd like me is holding her back, and --”

“Zero Seven. You’re spiraling. MC Loves You.”

Seven huffed but didn’t say anything else, and Vanderwood stood and left the room.

Great, now I’m making everyone else hate me too. Soon I’ll be all alone. Poor little Zero Seven who can’t even keep the people around him who are paid to be there.

He sighed as his eyes started leaking.  He wasn’t crying, they were doing this all on their own without his input, just like everything else in his life.

Seconds or hours later, perhaps millennia, (but what was probably like three minutes), Vanderwood appeared with a glass of PhD Pepper on ice, and a bottle.

“You should take one of these, brat.” Vanderwood said quietly, shaking the pill bottle at him gently. “You’re stuck.”

Seven knew they were right, and took the pill with the soda, not even arguing when Vanderwood set the soda aside in order to pull Seven into a hug.

“Why do you care so much now?” Seven said, once words seemed like something he could make again.

“I always cared. It was just… forbidden.  But you freed me from those rules, so now you’re stuck with my feelings, kid.”

“You’re not even that much older than me.”

“Really? Could have fooled me.”

“No one can fool you, Vandy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

The telltale beeps and clicks of the door opening woke Seven from the unexpected nap he’d been taking on the couch. At some point Vanderwood had disappeared, but a coaster had appeared under the (still cold) glass of PhD Pepper, so not all was lost.

Seven looked up to see MC walking in with her arms full of fast food fried chicken.

“Hey sweetie, I’m back from class, did you have a good nap?”

Seven shook his head, and MC set the food on the counter before coming over to crouch next to him.

“What happened?”

“You were gone.” he croaked, and wrapped his arms around her. “And you’re leaving again after dinner.”

MC hummed softly, hugging him back. “Yeah, I’m working on a project.”

“Are you going to leave me? Am I too much?”  He sniffed, trying not to cry. He’d gotten this far without crying about it, surely just another minute more…

MC pushed him out to arms length so she could look him in the eye. “Saeyoung Choi. I love you. More than my projects. More than school. More than the stars in the sky. More than life. More than PhD Pepper.”

He sniffed. “Now I know you’re exaggerating. It’s not possible to love something more than PhD Pepper.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. Our love defies the laws of physics.” She leaned her forehead against his, and he shut his eyes. He may be weird, but that was probably the strangest view you could have of another person. “Listen, Sevenny.” She said, softly. “I love you. I’m trying to surprise you with something for your birthday, but I think the secrecy of it is too much. Not worth the stress I’m causing you. Do you want to come with me tonight?”

He gasped. “Wait… really?”  He pulled back from her, confused. “You want me to�� come with?”

“I mean, I wanted to surprise you. But this surprise will be enough. I’d rather have you happy and confident every day than overjoyed on one specific day and stressed out and sad the rest.”

Seven’s chest felt tight. She really… “God, I love you MC.”

“I love you too, babe.” She chuckled, and kissed his cheek. He really did have the best girlfriend. “Come on now, I brought chicken and if it gets cold I think Jaehee would come beat me on principle.”

“Ooooh, she would.” Seven said, considering how that woman felt about proper nutrition and food safety combined. “Let’s not invoke her wrath.”

“What is this place?” Seven said, turning circles as he looked around the big, loud warehouse full of people working on various crafts.

“This is our local Maker Space.  It’s got all the tools I could possibly need, and classes so I can learn how to do things, and I can reserve space so I can work on projects like my lovely boyfriend’s birthday present without him spoiling himself by trying to help.” MC said with a pointed look. 

Seven blushed. He did like helping, was the thing. He was already itching to try and see what some of the people were doing so that he could hold a nail or put down some glue, or god forbid saw something.

“This is amazing.” He said, feeling very much like a Gisnep Princess. “But what are you working on?”

MC chuckled, and pulled him along over to a space along the wall where there were welding torches and other heavier metal-working tools set up.

“Stay right here and don’t touch anything and I’ll be right back.”

Seven was vibrating. This place was awesome.  So much better than just building his robots on the floor of his office. No wonder Vanderwood had been trying to get him to make a workshop… Now he didn’t have to. He could just come here with MC!

“Okay, close your eyes and hold out your hands, Seven.” MC said, and he did as he was told, until something solid was put in his hands.

“Can I look yet?”

“Not quiiiite…. okay, look!”

Seven opened his eyes and a small little Calico Cat sat in his hands.  She wasn’t complete, there was etching to mark out where all of her different colors would go, but her eyes lit up, and her ears twitched.  He’d never seen anything more adorable in his life, and he’d both met Elly and had a girlfriend. 

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah, like the Elly-bot you made me. but calico!” She looked chagrined. “She’s not done yet, and the personality chip is way harder to program than I thought it was, even taking a class on it.”

“I can help with that!”

“I know you can, babe, but that’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to have to do all the work to make your own present. I wanted to do it for you.”

“Oh.”  She was right.  If he’d known she was working on this he would have made her a full step-by-step IKEA-level guide on how to do all of it, but then it would have been basically him doing it with her hands, and not her making it for him, and he’d even gone and spoiled the surprise by being a complete ball of garbage, and--

“But how about this… Now that you know, there’s no way I’m going to keep you from helping… what if we made her together? We can make one for Saeran too.”

Seven bounced on his toes. He loved doing things with MC. And making a gift for Saeran? That was ideal. “He wants a shark.” He said, thinking about his twin.

“A shark robot.” MC was dubious.

“Yes.”

“We can’t make it swim though.”

“No. But we can make it hover.” His glasses flashed.

“Oh god.”

“Say yes, MC. Tell me we’ll build robots together.”

“Yes, Saeyoung. Seven. My love. Of course. The answer was always yes.”

[annbourbon]

Mysme but it's all Taylor Swift songs

MC:

Now the RFA:

Jumin

He's all about his friend, but also quite sentimental, since this song is all about memories, wine and sun. I thought it fits perfectly.

Jaehee

Poor Jaehee, but I believe it does hits close home for her♡

Yoosung

i mean~ tbh lol basically his whole route, and the whole game if we think through, is us saying that to him. But maaaybe Bad Blood would work too if this was about V 💀

Zen

V

*Only change him for her and fits perfectly 💀😭

Rika

Let's be honest lol V did her dirty so I can see her being real mad.

Saeyoung

🥺 I believe this is the best for him.

Saeran

👀 This was way too perfect. It really fits Saeran.

[fishsticksloser]

TikToks

RFA & Minor Duo

Warnings: cringy content, possible swearing, links added

A/N: I just got bored. Some of these are pretty old, I've been collecting them

Zen

He's on theatre kid TikTok, of course

He sends you videos of people singing, ones that made him get goosebumps

He sends you dancing videos as well, sometimes goofy ones

Examples:

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

Yoosung

Gaming things

Funny clips from streamers he does and doesn't watch

Sometimes game release dates.

Snapcube dub complications

Examples:

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link

Jaehee

Those videos where they make pages dedicated to one thing/color

ASMR videos (kind of go hand in hand with the above)

Coffee videos

Examples:

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

Jumin

Conspiracies he thinks are real (because he believes pretty much everything in the internet)

Cat videos

I don't know how to describe some these so here are just some examples:

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

Seven

Memes.

That's it... Just memes...

Examples (there's a lot):

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link

V

Art

Any kind

Photography, pottery, paint, whatever

Examples:

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

Saeran

Cooking videos.

Ones with soft music

Mostly pastries and desserts

Examples:

Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

[mysticqueer]

no thoughts just, the rfa creating a community outreach center

rfa is a charity organization, so it makes sense that they create a community outreach center, right?

(funded by jumin obv)

a safe place for people in need that provides completely free resources

everybody contributes a little in their own way

teens and young adults who need to build their resume can often be offered a job/internship at C&R or perhaps jaehee’s cafe

saeyoung provides free classes on coding and other computer skills so that kids can enter the world with a set of skills to get a job (just like he had to do all by himself once)

sometimes teens take the class not for the skills but for saeyoung’s chaotic energy

casually tells the most batshit-insane stories. nobody (including the rfa) know whether they’re true or not

kidnapped elly to show the kids at some point

saeran could do the same, but i could also see him upkeeping a small library in the center. i think he’d like the peace and quiet

or he maintains a community garden!

is somehow able to make even the most traumatized or quiet kids open up. he’s a good listener

yoosung helps organize a tutoring system for all ages

despite his gaming addiction, yoosung is actually super smart and really good at explaining difficult concepts

sometimes he worries about the kids a little too much, but that’s ok, most of them need that

i could see zen creating a drama club. but also i think he’d really want to head an effort to help runaway and at-risk kids

he tries really hard to foster each kids ambitions, even if they aren’t strictly realistic

i like to hc my personal mc as teaching self-defense lessons

all of them have a specific group of kids from their classes that they’re fiercely protective of

overall just them providing direct and unconditional support to those in need

they provide mental health resources and do their best to help kids in unsafe situations find sanctuary

RFA always seemed like a huge, distant, and mysterious organization. not anymore. 

they’re well-known and loved in the community

the trust that the community has in the members does more than any other resource could

[natasha-in-space]

RFA boys+ jihyun having a child who is a "daddy's kid" to the point that their wives are annoyed (like why does he love you so much)

Yoosung

Yoosung is a dad who I think is laid-back and fun. He is a parent, with whom you can share your stressful day at school and get genuine understanding and an uplifting pat on the head that will leave you feeling relieved and secure almost immediately. He's a bit clumsy, of course, as he's used to being the youngest in practically every group he has ever been in. And now that place is taken by someone else! His kid can build a genuine bond with him through mutual trust and understanding, thanks to his easy-going attitude. It's not surprising to see his child growing up to have a deep affection for their cool father. Yoosung will chuckle and pinch your cheeks if you pout and grumble about him stealing all the attention for himself. He finds it absolutely adorable to see you huff and puff, but you can't hide the smile blooming in the corners of your mouth as your child clings at his legs with happy giggles falling from their lips. The sight is too cute to be upset about. On the weekend, he will make certain to arrange a family picnic for you two. One where you all will be spending quality time together as a family.

Zen

Zen is a doting father, hands down. His family did not provide him with support, self-confidence, or even a trustful place for him to share his real struggles during his childhood. With his own family now with you, he will make sure to never make those same mistakes again. Unfortunately, that means that he has a habit of spoiling his kid a bit too much. It's nothing too bad, but it still leaves you as the one being the strict parent telling your kid that, no, eating another ice-cream is not a good idea, and that will make them sick. I'm not saying that Zen isn't capable of being strict. Despite this, he may encounter difficulties with his approach. He's anxious to not come off as too controlling or judgemental. And hey, there is nothing wrong with having a couple of hurdles. Parenthood is a journey filled with many twists and turns that you can't be ready for. With you two working as a team, though, you will get through anything. Zen's love language is words of affirmation, so he'll be praising you in the eyes of your kid quite often. It's sweet. It teaches your child to be confident in sharing their inner thoughts.

Jumin

Jumin is... he's a bit clumsy when it comes to parenthood, but in a very endearing and sweet way. Unfortunately, Jumin didn't have a very good and healthy childhood to look back on. I actually think that having a child of his own will nudge him into actually processing and acknowledging the neglect and abuse he had to go through in his childhood and early adulthood. He wants to believe that his father a good man. That their relationship is one of support and love. After all, Jumin is a family man. But, as he tries to seek out his father for advice, he realizes that... he doesn't want to raise his own child in the same way his father raised him. And that makes him pause. Jumin is a father who is deeply loving and tender. His child receives all the respect and warmth in the world from him. He supports them on every tiny interest they have, almost to a funny degree. His kid likes dinosaurs? You will receive a package filled with encyclopedias and scientific literature on the subject that he will read through with the most captivated look on his face. Does his kid like watching magical girl anime? Well, now he has sparkly pink stickers on his every office supply, and he is not ashamed to show them off. Jumin Han loves his family with all his heart, and he will express it to the world without any shame. However, if he notices that you are growing a bit jealous of the way your child is always showering him with affection, he will have a talk with them. It's almost unbelievable how well he communicates with his child. You will come home to an adorably drawn card with you three holding hands and smiling, that your child has drawn for you. And a small doodle from Jumin on the back.

Saeyoung

Saeyoung is yet another father who is devoted to his child almost to a fault. He is both excited and terrified about his future as a parent at the same time. To say that he had a difficult childhood would be like saying nothing at all. Heck, if you ask him, he'll tell you that he feels like he had no childhood. From as early as he can remember, he has always been the caretaker. The protector. He had to. To survive, it was necessary for him and his brother. So, all he has on what it means to be a good parent is based on media he has consumed. He has no other source to seek advice from. Sure, he considered V to be his father, but... he'd much rather not think about that now. He's trapped in a very paralyzing dilemma. He's a family man, and he wants to start his own happy family with you. He adores kids, and the idea of having a tiny person to spoil and take care of makes him grin so wide. But, at the same time, he feels utterly terrified at the prospect of becoming a parent. He is afraid of hurting the child, even if it wasn't his intention. Terrified of making the same mistakes his caretakers have made. Terrified of this responsibility. It's something he'll have to resolve in therapy, before you two decide on having children, be it by adoption or natural means. As an actual father, however? His child will never feel unloved. He showers them in gifts, treats, books, all kinds of things! He spends his every evening with them. He is involved in their school life and their interests. He is always there for them. So, it's not that hard to imagine your kid growing a bit too attached to their amazing dad. Saeyoung will tease you about a bit, sure. But, in a typical Saeyoung fashion, he will prepare a surprise for you and your child. One that will connect you and provide you with much-needed alone time. Maybe a game of an escape room, or maybe a video game he created just for you two. Either way, it's a fun way to remind you just how wonderful this man truly is.

Jihyun

Talking about this with Jihyun is amusing because Lucy is shown to be quite playful with him. But, who's to say he can't switch your roles at times? Jihyun's perk as a father is his supportive attitude. Much like Zen, he grew up in a family that forced him to deny his true wants and desires, and he wants to do all he can to make sure that Lucy never has to be ashamed of what her tiny heart is longing for. He'll just be a bit concerned if she starts hanging out with Uncle Saeyoung too much, to the point where she wants to build robots for a living. Jihyun is not very good at technology! He does his best to engage with her, though. You can't help but laugh as you catch them playing video games one evening, Lucy absolutely crushing your husband on every single round. From what you can tell, Uncle Saeyoung taught her well. If Lucy doesn't spend enough time with you, I don't think it'll be an ongoing issue. You and Jihyun have built a very healthy and open communication between yourselves, so the problem will get brought up almost immediately. And resolved just as quickly.

[marshmallowprotection]

You’re really good at analyzing the characters so what are some common mischaracterizations or head canons people in the fandom have about the characters that you don’t like?

Common? Well, there are a lot of things little things that I don't care for when I see them, but I know most people feel the same. Yoosung has a huge one. I hate when people make cousin jokes at his expense and I scroll and block when I see people make them at this point. It's not funny, and you don't understand Yoosung as a person. You don't understand his grief and frankly, that's insulting because that's a big part of his character arc.

People belittle him and make him feel like a kid when he's twenty-one years old and coming into his own. He's not a baby, sure, he going to learn a lot in the future because there's so much he hasn't gotten the chance to experience, but lack of experience doesn't mean that he's not capable of standing on his own. Yes, compared to the other RFA members, he hasn't done a lot, but that doesn't mean he's not super accomplished. He was a stellar student, he worked hard to get to the place he is, and the only reason he's floundering is due to the grief in his heart.

Grief plays a huge role in his story and if you want to understand him, you need to know his grief. Set aside the fact that Rika's still alive. He doesn't know that and in most routes, he never does. She was so very important to him because Yoosung was a lonely person even though he was a popular kid who didn't have trouble making friends. He was lonely and you can tell he's lonely if you look hard enough to see it in your own eyes.

Actually, if you want my headcanon about him, I think Yoosung was an oops baby. I think his sister was much older than he is and due to that fact, he was never super close to her. Sure, his family is the most normal in the entire game, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own faults. His mother loves him, she does her best to take care of him, but it seems like his father is always rather busy at his job with the government. With a sister much older than him that he can't ever seem to relate to, and a mom who is trying her best but pushes him when he makes mistakes, and a father who isn't around all that much for him, it's got to be lonely.

Why else do you think he latched onto Rika when she came to speak to him? She saw him. She saw him and related to him. She was closer to his age and knew how to talk to him. It's no wonder Rika became a very important person in his life. She saw that he was lonely and that he needed others to root for him, and that's why she convinced him to stick around and join the RFA. Rika did care for Yoosung, she really wanted him him to do well in life back then, and pulling him into the RFA was the best thing Rika did for him because it gave him a place to have others to turn to for advice.

The RFA is a found family no matter what, and even though the RFA playfully bullies Yoosung sometimes, they're some of the only people who know the facets of who Yoosung is.

Zen isn't a narcissist and even if he was one, that's not a bad thing. However, I will say it's not a good look when folks shout that word and villainize personality disorders. Please, I implore people to do more research and be more mindful about how they speak about personality disorders, not just with narcissistic personality disorder, but BPD, OCD, etc.

He is overcompensating. When he is spouting compliments toward himself, it's because he's trying to convince himself that those words have power. Words do have power, let me tell you, and if you call yourself trash all the time, you are inevitably going to believe you are trash. 

I'm not saying you have to do what he's doing to build up your confidence, but I'm going to say that what he's doing can be quite helpful for people. You'll make a lot of progress if you're not trying to beat yourself down. The world isn't going to hold back its punches, so why in the world would you beat yourself down just to help the things that want to see you crumble? I know it's easier said than done, but it's good to be in the habit of not insulting yourself.

You don't have to compliment yourself, but don't call yourself trash. 

You know another thing about him that gets to me? It’s something he shares with Jumin that doesn’t get the conversation it needs. Both of them have more in common than they realize. They're both victims of sexual harassment, and one of the reasons why I love Zen Route has to do with the fact that they get to have a healthy conversation about their insecurities and what they've both experienced.

Jumin downplays his copious trauma all the time, but speaking with Zen is a way to front those demons with someone who won't mince words for his sake but will also be understanding and considerate at the same time. Jumin thinks he isn't allowed to complain to expend on his trauma because he's a man in a place of privilege. He thinks it isn't important in the grand scheme of things. He thinks he got lucky and others deserve far more sympathy than he does because they've not had as much fortune as he has.

Zen calls him on his shit for it. That's why I love when Zen and Jumin can truly begin to understand each other underneath their banter of "Zen hates Jumin because Jumin reminds him of his older brother in the worst way imaginable" and "Jumin lets Zen poke at him because it's fun to have debates and discussions with others and Zen doesn't hold back" and "Zen gets rightfully angry about how rich people can flaunt their wealth" and "Jumin doesn't even hate Zen, he just leans into what Zen expects because it's what Zen "wants.""

Zen and Jumin have a lot in common. Sure, some people understand that, but I think some of the little details get missed. It took me a long time to understand Jumin because he peeved me at first, but once I got to see who he is as a person, I realized that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and that's a lesson we all know, but it's good to get it reinforced. You learn that in Zen's Route, and you can't shake it off when you get Jumin's Route when needs the same theory applied to it.

I just don't like it when put don't put weight on Jumin's trauma and entirely miss it when it's blatant.

Don't get me started on the bad ending. I don't like talking about his bad ending because people like to romanticize that relationship and call it canon. That's the problem for me. I also love indulging in Bad Endings myself, but I do not call them the good ending. My problem with Jumin’s BE is that there are people who claim the Bad Ending is healthy and fight to say that it’s a “better ending.”

Listen, my friend, if you want an ending with a relationship that has BDSM, you can have that. You can have that in the Good Ending. You do not have to get a Bad Ending to get it, you can write and imagine it in the Good Ending, and you can have the characters communicate consent and boundaries. You can imagine that and have it that way! I can't believe I have to say that! It is 100% okay to consume content for the Bad Ending and to create it.

But for the love of God, stop calling it a Good Ending and stop acting like it's healthy. Cheritz made a DLC for it because they knew people would pay for that. That's literally the only reason why that got made and I hate it. I hate that his trauma about his damn mother is hidden in a ending that emotionally destroys that man and you would never know anything about it unless you decided to play it. His mother is a piece of shit, by the way, but I'm sure most people know that by now.

All I want is for people to call the ending what it is and to tag it appropriately so I can avoid it. I don't want to consume anything for it and that's my choice. I'm not saying you can't enjoy it, please enjoy it if you want to enjoy it, but call it for what it is because I call all of the Bad Endings I consume Bad Endings for a reason.

I hate it when people say that Jaehee is bland. I hate it when people say that Jaehee is overbearing about Zen and then they bash her into the ground because she "gets in the way" of Zen/MC. I hate when I'm forced to see someone claim that Jaehee's route isn't romantic. Y'all do realize that Jaehee's route has the most realistic route, right? She isn't yet aware of her sexuality or her feelings toward other woman. It doesn't occur to her at first that her feelings for MC are romantic and it takes time for her to fall in love. She's not rushing this experience... she's indulging in it.

She wants to be your partner, your best friend, your closest person in the world first, and as you get closer, that's when you fall in love. She needs time to sort out her feelings, that's the kind of person she is. It takes her time to process her feelings. She's spent her entire life in a place where she's had to fight to earn her keep and look after herself. She went after a career field that would take care of her, and while it's great that she's good at being an assistant to Jumin, it's empty.

It doesn't make her happy. It gives her enough money to pay for all kinds of tickets to see Zen perform, sure, but it doesn't make her feel good about life. Jaehee's route is about someone who feels like they are trapped in a job that's killing them slowly because they don't think they can dream and try something risky because that risk might just be the thing that makes them happy and fulfilled.

I understand that people get frustrated when Zen gets to have hard conversations with Jaehee. I know that a lot of people would rather see the MC complete those visuals with Zen or do it themselves, but I think it’s important to understand why Zen is the one who talks to Jaehee about dreams and passion. Zen ran away from home to chase after his dream knowing it may not happen. It took him a while to get to the point he's at today, and not that many people are lucky when they chase after their dreams. He took a huge risk, which is very scary when you could take the easier path next to it, and to him, it was the risk worth taking.

Jaehee's afraid to take risks.

Having Zen, her idol, tell her to follow her passion, made a difference. On top of that, Saeyoung helped her, too. He could see that she was miserable and he offered to do that report for her so she wouldn't have to torture herself when she finally found something that put light in her eyes. Saeyoung, Zen, and MC are the real MVPs of that route.

While those two are doing their best, you’re doing the same work in the background. You are her confidant, the person who hears her, and the one who is there at the end of the day when all is said and done and she needs somebody to listen. 

That's how she starts to fall in love with you, and it's something she'll realize a little bit later after you two are working together to achieve a dream, and I think it's important to understand that. Your relationship builds from being friends to falling in love.

Yes, I understand there are jokes about them just being friends and this route being the platonic one, but I don't think people understand Mystic Messenger took a huge leap in 2016 by having a romanceable queer female route in the game. Progress is progress, and it's damn important to be happy when we have these milestones. I've seen so many other games come out after this leap was made and it's getting better with every new game that comes out that has male and female options. 

I know it can feel like such a minor thing after the fact, but little jumps are what make progress happen. Whether it's the wedding in Steven Universe that was fought by tooth and nail in 2018, or with Korrasami going canon in 2014, progress comes when we fight for it. Jaehee's route is one of those moments.

Pushing Cheritz for more gave us more romantic content in the game as well.

The Valentine’s DLC for Jaehee is much more blatant and even the Christmas DLC has its moment. Better yet, the birthday images over the years have become much more forthcoming in the fact that Jaehee and MC are in a relationship. You can be proud of the little things, and you can be proud of progress, because if you don't take a moment to appreciate the little things, it feels like the world is bleak and that's no way to live. 

I hate it when people misunderstand Saeyoung but that's something that's been fought over a lot over years so I don't think I need to say a lot about that. He is a multifaceted character and people limit him to being a silly guy. We all know where people go wrong with that at the end of the day and it's so much easier just to keep scrolling than it is to deal with someone who only wants to make him a joke. He isn't the butt of a joke. He's Saeyoung Choi.

However, I will say that I don't appreciate it when people don’t give him the same compassion as Saeran when it comes to his trauma. What I mean by that is I don’t see people talk about what Saeyoung suffered through because of Mother Choi—I don’t see a lot of talk about how Saeyoung was parentified and had to fight tooth and nail to take care of Saeran to the point where his identity became one in which his only reason for living was to take care of Saeran. People scratch the surface of this, but they don't get into the thick of it.

I don't see people talk about his feelings about his mother and how his parentification haunts him to this day. 

When people write (Secret Ending) Saeran to be an asshole. I have a lot of squicks about him fandom wise.

I have never enjoyed people writing him out to be cruel and vindictive but that is something people have done in the past, but fortunately enough, I haven't seen many people do it in the last year or so but it was a problem back in the day and it still irks me when I think about it. I get it, a lot of what we know about him has to be built on what we think as the player since there isn't information about him after his breakdown with his brother.

As fans, we had to build his personality ourselves and figure out his perspective. I don't think there's a right or wrong way to make some content for him, but I do hate it when people go out of their way to make him cruel. 

One of the reasons I wanted to start writing him in the first place was because every time I tried to read content for him, he would be such an asshole to Saeyoung. I get it. I know why people assume he would be that way, but he is baked in apathy and numbness. He does not have the energy to fight and made that abundantly clear in the end that he doesn’t have the strength to fight Saeyoung anymore. That's the main reason why he just stopped trying to... you know, get rid of himself.

His brother was never going to let him die. He accepted that he can't leave this world even if he wants to, so he's trying to make the best of what he has. He has the sky and he has ice cream, and that's pretty much all he has. 

He is sullen. He may not always be forthcoming or kind people, but he doesn't have the energy to be destructive anymore. It would take a lot to upset him. You would need to push every button in the book to get him to lash out. What's the point in lashing out at everyone when it doesn't solve anything? That's not to say he doesn't have moments where he can't see anything but the past and he lashes out because he's terrified, but that's different than actively choosing to be cruel to other people.

I don't think he has many people around him other than Saeyoung and MC. He doesn't know how to interact with other people and he doesn't particularly want to start at this point because he feels like it's too late. I also don't agree with the people who imply that he would be friends with the RFA. That is where I differ with a lot of people and I'm okay with that because that's just the way I imagine things to be and I don't try to force my opinion on others. 

It's nothing against the members of the RFA. I just don’t think he would want to be friends with them. Jumin and Yoosung especially. They were closest to Jihyun and Rika. It's not their fault they had that closeness with them, but because of that closeness, Saeran wouldn’t want to go near there.

Saeran killed Jihyun. We could argue up and down all day long if that was something he wanted to do when he raised that gun to defend himself thinking his brother was dead. But, he did do that even in the wrong state of mind and that's something he has to carry for the rest of his life. Jihyun was Jumin’s best friend. Saeran won't be able to look that man in the eye even if Jumin could look past it knowing the complexities of the situation.

Yoosung held Rika close after the events of the Secret Ending and shipped her off with Zen, don't get me started on how much I hate that because I write it out of anything I write with the Secret Ending. That never happens in my Secret Ending. Rika goes to jail to face the consequences of her crimes and gets some well-needed therapy for her own trauma that's been left to the wayside.

He wouldn't want to be around Zen or Jaehee, either. He stalked them for years. He put them through hell depending on the ending you're playing. He doesn't want to be around them and he doesn't want their "pity" friendship. Saeran knows they would be nice to him for Saeyoung's sake, and he doesn't want that. I get it, I love it when Saeran is friends with the RFA, but that isn't happening in the Secret Ending, I'm sorry. Your MC can be friends with them, but... I just can't say Saeran will.

It was actually a dream of mine to write a SE Saeran/Reader fic that had the characterization I wanted for years and I finally a few years ago because I said, "What the hell, people will read it if they want." If you want to see my take on SE Saeran, please, read my fic Iris, It will keep you busy for a while, it's 170k.

I've never been huge on Yooran in the context of SE Saeran/Yoosung because most of the basis is built around the Bad Ending and when I see content for them, I'm always wary of it because I know there's a subtle chance that the writer might make Saeran become an ass to everyone around him and treat Yoosung in ways I'm not going to even think about. You can write whatever you want, just tag it properly if it is an unhealthy dynamic, and back in the earlier days, there weren't a lot of warning tags so it really soured it for me given how I already felt about SE Saeran.

I do think the ship can be great when it is founded in Another Story, though. Yoosung admires Saeran and even admits to having a crush on him, and in this ending, hey, if you want to imagine Yoosung/MC/Saeran or Saeran/Yoosung post-Another Story? I would love to see it. Because, God, Yoosung treating VAE Ray and Saeran tenderly during fireworks because they're terrified of loud noises? Or, even better, I'm giddy at the thought of Yoosung and GE Saeran baking together in a French kitchen!

I have thoughts and feelings about Rika and V as well, but those don’t land most of the time for me because I have to consistently hammer home that I don’t condone what either of them did every time. Just because I try to understand their past and motivations doesn't mean I condone their bullshit. Motivation, Traumatic Backstory =/= excuses. There is no excuse for their actions and they need to face judgement for it. Hard to have a conversation about them because some people think I'm condoning or erasing their actions by trying to understand more about them as person.

So, I don't get too heavy into those two, but I will say that a lot of people don't understand Rika and V because they don't want to. I can't fault them for that, either.

I understand why most people would not want to touch them with a ten-foot pole. You are not being forced to learn more about them, why they are the way they are, or what brought them to the point in which they made their choices. If you never want to learn anything more about them, I can't blame you for that. But, if you want to talk about them in a larger capacity beyond "I hate them and I want them to go to face justice for this and that" (very valid take, by the way), it's important to understand their motivations, if nothing else. 

I think they are interesting characters and I want to understand more about them because looking at Jihyun is an uncomfortable mirror for me at times. It's helped me be a better person.

[cupcakefactory]

Mystictober DAY 13

Wordcount: 324 Words

Original list by @/dailysaeran

The two lines stared her in the face as all she could do was stare at it, pregnant, she was definitely without a doubt pregnant. How many tests had she taken over the last few days? Too many and all of them came up as positive, she didn’t know what to do with this information. It was too big of news to just walk out the bathroom and say, wasn’t it? Were they even ready for kids? Both of them worked full time - they were beyond busy with their jobs and the RFA. 

Through the panic she couldn’t help but smile, she had always dreamt of being a mother - but.. Never before did she think it would happen. She let her hand hover over her stomach letting herself bask in her secret for a little bit longer, letting the joy finally wash over her and the fear simmer down a little. She was pregnant, they were going to be parents. She stayed in that direction until Hyun's humming as he cleaned the apartment brought her back to reality.

She had to tell him, she knew she couldn’t keep this a secret although for a while she wished she could, she wished she could stay curled in the bathtub in her bubble of happiness, but it wouldn’t be fair on him. She sat up a little straighter before calling for him, waiting until the door opened and his red eyes met hers, walking over and sitting next to the tub. 

She placed the test in his hand, watching as his eyes stared at it confused, before the same emotions she had felt only days before washed over him - a few stray tears landing on the side of the tub as he laughed. Reaching over and holding her tightly as he cried and laughed.. The room was full of pure joy.

“Let's not tell anyone yet.. Lets let it be our secret”

“I couldn't agree more.”

[arizonanighthawks]

Two years into his tenure as Head Coach, three questions Walter Bowen will have to answer this season

Jasmine Downey, staff writer

Question number 1: Will the Nighthawks finally make the playoffs after a six-year drought?

I know, I know, we’re starting off strong, but it’s the question everyone wants answered. Six years ago in 2018, the Nighthawks were ousted from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche, and then-GM Howard Gagnon cleaned house, trading most of his star players across the league, trading down for picks in the draft, and firing beloved head coach Erik Demers, who then went on to win the Stanley Cup with two different teams in the years since. After the disastrous following year, a spate of injuries and awful coaching from replacement coach Alexander Stuart, the Nighthawks landed in a squarely mediocre position in the standings, and only got worse from there.

Recently, with new GM Isaiah Chambers, head coach Walter Bowen, who has not done anything to warrant firing (yet) and the peaceful transference of power to owner Arthur Lindsay, the Nighthawks have been getting slightly better, both on the ice and in the front office. They picked Anatoly Zikov 2nd overall in the 2021 draft, and while waiting for his KHL contract to end, have been slowly piecing together a team that looks vaguely like the beginnings of a playoff-caliber club.

However, now that we know Zikov is on his way over, what do we need Bowen to do this season?

First of all, the Nighthawks deserve to make the playoffs this season. Michael Houck and Lee Bartlett aren’t getting any younger. Bartlett hasn’t had the opportunity to play in many playoff games, after his late-season injury kept him out of the 2017 playoffs, and the 2018 series against LA and then Colorado were pretty short-lived, and Houck has played [checks NHL.com] zero total playoff games. Plus, Zikov is a potential generational talent and a near lock for the Hall of Fame, so why not get him some playoff games right off the bat? Some of the kids on this team — and there are a lot of kids on this team — should also get some experience playing games that actually have consequences. If Bowen wants to keep this job, the Nighthawks need the playoffs.

2. Special teams

The Nighthawks’ penalty kill last year… well, we all saw it. It had holes bigger than the ones in the ozone layer and problems you could see from space, and the only reason it wasn’t dead last was because of Simon Dahlvig. Assistant coach Chelsea Sheppard has taken over the special teams position for now, but if there aren’t any major improvements, Bowen might need to take drastic measures.

It wasn’t as though the power play was much better; at 26th in the league, it was an insufficient group. Things are looking up with the acquisition of Michael Yeung in the offseason, who was a force on the Rangers' power play, and it’s clear that the Nighthawks are hoping for some of that magic to translate to the ice in Arizona. But Bowen has a lot of work to do with the kids; Yeung alone certainly can't fix that.

3. Nic Proulx

There’s no limit to the amount of sympathy we can extend Proulx, but we also want to see the Nighthawks play well. With limp numbers for the past two years and zero chemistry with every line Bowen tried him on, he’s been something of a stick in the mud for the Nighthawks these past two years. An upcoming RFA, if he wants to stay in Arizona with the team that drafted him, he is desperately going to need a huge change in his play. 

Will it be Zikov? Will they put him on Ezra Page’s wing for the millionth time, hoping something will finally work? Will Lee Bartlett’s incessant fathering finally produce a happy, well-rounded hockey player? We’ve seen flashes, brief, brief flashes of brilliance from Proulx, bare moments of the athlete we know we can be and that we saw in his career in the Q, as captain of the Voltigeurs. We want that all the time. If Bowen can do something to bring that out, we might have on our hands the longest-tenured coach in the NHL today.