#it's been ages since i got this excited for a group and i'm 100% convinced it's because of all of you and all of your characters

[princekirijo]

Since you've been talking about Riku quite a bit lately I was just wondering - are there any of your mutuals' ocs that you think he would get along well with?

Alright I've been putting this off for like. Two months now because I've been really nervous about it (a good nervous) but fuck it I'm just gonna get this done!!!

OK so the short answer is yes. I'll be 100% honest whenever a mutual posts about their OC I am IMMEDIATELY thinking about how they'd vibe with Riku. I can't help it I think about him 24/7 and to be honest I think it's actually a fun exercise that helps build up characters to imagine how he'd get on with other people.

The longer answer is tough because I don't want to ramble on too long and also I feel. silly. enough so I'm gonna just limit it to a few of my mutuals OCs. Readmore cause this got kinda long but also let me say that you should absolutely check out all the OCs I mentioned because they're so cool and well thought out and just amazing :]

So the first one is Nico (latenitewaffles) OC Katsuro Sanada who has been spinning around in my head ever since Nico introduced him. He's such a cool guy and I get excited whenever Nico posts about him!! Katsuro is an Akishinji kid so obviously with Riku being a Yukamitsu kid, these two would have grown up together. I think they'd balance each other pretty well!! From what I know of Katsuro he's a pretty chilled low energy dude, which honestly Riku needs because that boy is like a comet. Full of energy fr fr. I feel like Riku would have also had a much better time as a kid because he would have had someone very close to his age as a friend. There would be a period of time where the two would be in Kosei together and unfortunately I feel like they wouldn't spend much time together because Riku would have shut himself off from everyone while he was dealing with Hatanaka's bullshit and at the same time Katsuro had all the stuff with Nakada going on too. They'd def make it up to each other afterwards though :] Also Riku 🤝 Katsuro -> having weird ass dreams involving moons and coffins and green skies.

The second one I'm picking I'm cheating a little and picking two of Rui's (wildcard-rumi) OCs Tobei and Aki! If you wanna read more about them I'd highly recommend Rui's fic its so so good. I know there's more OCs in their Persona group but these would be the two I know most about. I think Riku would vibe with them pretty well too!! I know Tobei dislikes being pitied for his illness and I think Riku would kinda get that. He'd have to stop himself from checking in on him every two minutes because he just really cares about his friends but I think Riku would definitely encourage him to try new things, although maybe his high energy might overwhelm Tobei a bit... As for Aki well Riku would honestly vibe with him so much, he'd probably beg Aki to get him to teach him skateboard tricks... only for him to fail spectacularly because he was way too over enthusiastic about it. Also I found it kinda funny there's a place in the fic called Riku Park which is connected to the Labyrinth (which is the Shadow world of Rui's fic) and I think Riku would constantly refer to it as his park and would probably try and convince people he bought it. Just to see the look on their faces 💀

The third one then I'm picking is Asuka Misty (misty-wisp) OC! Another OC I've been rotating in my brain since Misty dropped this fic with her. Initially I think Asuka would be weary of Riku. Cause like Asuka is a very anxious person (for good reason too girl's going through it) and Riku is well. Riku "is anyone gonna rush head first into this dangerous situation" then doesn't wait for an answer Kirijo. However, I think because Asuka is really good at reading people, she'd probably be one of the few people to pick up on the fact that Riku's ego is just a front for how insecure in himself he actually is and eventually I think they'd be good friends :] Also I'm pretty sure Asuka gets on very well with Ann and well Riku gets on extremely well with Ann so the three of them would vibe well with Ann acting as kinda the middle ground between the two.

OK I think that's like. The main ones I can think of where I know enough about the OC to talk about the potential Riku dynamic. A few honorable mentions would be (yusuke-of-valla) Alto's OC Ryuko, both her and Riku are theatre kid nerds and would probably sing + gush about Musicals together, Gabe (elijah-terry) OC Yuuha again they both love dancing so they'd vibe with that and also they have a black mask AU and thats all I can think of for now. I know there's other OCs I'm missing so I'm really sorry about that >.< But this was a really fun ask to think out thank you anon :] and I hope I did all my mutuals' OCs justice....

[bbbellamyyy]

just sitting here waiting for tomorrow so i can see all of your wanted connections before i decide on what i want to do for a third character.

[mayybirds]

Your opinions on Mia are a perfect balance of critical and constructive. Honestly the more I think about what Eveline's purpose was meant to be and the specific powers she was designed to have, it becomes more difficult to excuse Mia's actions as just simply misguided. Like, Eveline was designed to infiltrate civilian families to soften populations for military interference. That's fucked up even without looking at the ethics of Eveline's actual childhood. And the photos of Mia holding baby Eveline among the others in re8 of her next to Miranda suggest that she was pretty high up in the chain with enough awareness to at least know what she's doing and most likely to be an active part in the project. If people have no problem calling Miranda and the Connections morally corrupt, I don't see why people struggle to group Mia in with them as well since like...she was one of them? And the way she talks about Eveline is the same as in Miranda and the others' journals. But I'm not even like trying to disparage her character I think it's SUCH a cool concept to explore that and it's what drew me to your blog. Seeing how you write Mia's redemption and her internal reasons for all she's done + reckoning with the consequences (like Ethan leaving her) is so smart

Thanks! She may not be my favorite character, but I can definitely see how she could have been an incredibly well-written one with some tweaks, so that probably aggravates my frustration haha...

I definitely think Mia was at least mostly-aware of Eveline's design as a military weapon, so then for me it becomes a question of "Why would she think this is a good idea?" Obviously bioweapons bad, but trying to get in her head and see out her logic is still interesting. Since all we know about Mia's background is that she's from Texas, and we know worryingly nothing about her family (i.e., she doesn't seem concerned about how working for the Connections could endanger them; she doesn't contact them at the beginning of RE7, only Ethan; she displays no concerns about being cut off from her family when they arrive in Romania), I like to imagine her as coming from a military family. A kid who got shuffled around between bases a lot...who saw what war did to her parent(s) and to other soldiers coming home...a kid who was taught to normalize violence and military violence especially from an early age. I could see a kid like that growing into a woman who could convince herself Eveline was a good idea, if only for the soldiers who wouldn't have to die with a single bioweapon to do 100 people's job.

But yeah, Mia as a concept is a really cool, complexly motivated character. She's just poor in execution. I'm excited to take a run at a version of her that acknowledges both the love she has for Ethan and the depths of darkness she's willing to go for "the right reasons," and actually give her a real arc focused on making up for her wrongs. This may be the Ethan & Eveline show, but I think there's nothing wrong with a little 'Mia and Chris running around BSAA screaming' side-show.