#mystic messenger meta

[starry-marshmallow]

This is something that’s been bothering me since I started playing mystic messenger and well I personally haven’t seen anyone discuss it.

For reference this is mainly about the Another Story and V Route timeline but it still applies to other timelines since it’s prevalent in the entire game.

Yoosung’s behavior towards Jihyun is made even more horrid considering how he admits multiple times that he doesn’t know much about Rika and V’s relationship and even Jihyun himself.

Whenever you ask him about their relationship or Rika and Jihyun as individuals, he just states that Rika was a happy person, Rika seemed happy with V, and that he doesn’t know much about Jihyun.

Despite this he’s so adamant about blaming Jihyun and suspecting him, so adamant about Rika not having mental health problems and not being “the kind of person to take her own life”.

He didn’t even know about Rika’s family and when he spoke to them himself and learned what they’re like and their thoughts on Rika. He still pulled the “V did way worse to Rika than her parents did”.

He’s speaking on a man and woman and their relationship despite not knowing much. They clearly wanted to keep certain things private and yet Yoosung does not respect or care to understand that.

And then Yoosung gets pissed when the other members step in and call him out for this shit or exclude him from certain things (e.i going to V’s house, going to rescue V and MC from Mint Eye, going to Rika’s apartment).

Saeyoung and Jumin were close to both of them and even they knew better than to cross obvious boundaries, antagonize, and harass someone whose behavior all points to a result of grieving.

There’s a clear lack of understanding of grief, mental health, and mental illness that Yoosung shows and doesn’t seem to really care to unpack which is extremely upsetting to see when you’ve been suicidal and/or lost a loved one and are grieving. Grief lives with you forever and you have to handle it in a healthy way. Yoosung doesn’t do that either.

[thotsforvillainrights]

Has anyone seen that trend going around art Twitter where you draw 2 comfort characters as the Steven Universe meme? Anyway, here's mine:

[stummy-grumbles]

you guys werent seeing my vision so i illustrated it for you

[xelasrecords]

Seven Crying Over a Brittle Cookie Turning Into a Guilt-Trip Because You're With Jumin?

Aka what is going on in the translation department.

This day 10 bread crumbs call in Jumin's route takes place after Seven ran into Saeran in the Mint-Eye building and found out that he's been lied to his whole life. The call is famous as the proof for the theory that Seven is in love with you in every route. But in Korean, he's not crying about you at all!

Line-by-line translation:

Seven: "kuku, kukukuku..." (crying sounds) MC: "Kuku? Is that a bird?" (the sounds he makes is similar to a bird's chirp) Seven: "No... You're wrong... I knew it, you only understand the CEO-in-line's feelings. I don't need anything..." Seven: "My brittle heart like Kukudasu cookies. It's already been broken like Kukudasu..." (Kukudasu is a mispronounciation of Couque D'asse*, a cookie brand, to avoid copyright) Seven: "Ugh... Poor Kukudasu... I'll eat you... Meet your friends in my belly. Kuku. Kuku!"

The rest of the translation is accurate enough.

*Seven sent a picture of the Couque D'asse cookie in the morning chatroom after this call. Here's the real-life comparison to the illustration:

It needs to be emphasised that although Seven did say "you only understand the CEO-in-line's feelings", it holds a different meaning from "you don't care about me. You only care about Jumin" in this context. Rather than guilt-tripping you, he's lamenting the fact that you didn't understand his Kukudasu cookie reference.

This whole call is a metaphor for Seven's pain about Saeran being the Mint-Eye's hacker in the form of a brittle cookie. Not about him getting heartbroken because you like Jumin. Causing people to misunderstand Seven's feelings because of a poor translation is a great disservice to his character.

[maespri]

mystic messenger posting in 2024... we are so back

jaehee kang thought dump under the cut... nobody can stop me...

i recently decided to replay jaehee's route due to a friend (i first played this game in early 2020) and i'm actually ill over her route. i've played literally every route and i don't think any of them make me feel quite as strongly as jaehee's.

and i can't quite pinpoint why... i think part of it might actually be because of the lack of romance? like. don't get me wrong i love jaehee and i do wish romancing her was an option. but i feel like taking away that option made it so much more... potent, somehow... less like you're "fixing her" and "fixing her life" (which is. unfortunately kind of how i feel about some other routes) and more just like. opening her eyes to the life she deserves. and it's not even just you doing it this time- all of the RFA members come together to support her (except jumin but he's evil in her route wbk), and it feels like such a breath of fresh air.

lee basil pointed something out in a video essay i watched recently (incredible video btw) which went into yoosung's route. they pointed out that the characters really change depending on whose route you're playing and not necessarily always in a good way. but in jaehee's route, i think the characterization is really perfect.

like the amount of emotional intelligence and kindness each character has is so strong and just makes me So Happy, especially compared to yoosung's route. Actually, on the topic of that- i wasn't going to go into how jaehee acts in his route but now i want to because. WTF. no hate to yoosung at all- i love him and his route- but why are the characters so... Dumb...? sometimes? You're telling me when someone (can't remember who sorry but trust me) is like "yoosung is probably addicted to games and lost his passion for school because he's grieving rika," jaehee's response is something like, "no way... i had no idea..."

cheritz, look at me. she would Not fucking say that. if any of these characters have the strongest grasp on what it's like to grieve someone, it would be jaehee?

anyway. back to her route. can i talk about how much more it hits now that i'm no longer thirteen/fourteen years old playing it. like she's touching on capitalism and the loss of her happiness and passion because of it. she's touching on how grief still impacts her life. she's touching on how the support of the people around her is all she needs to keep going during these Trying Times of the Unfortunate Reign of Jumin Han and the Cat Hotel Project. she talks about her rough upbringing and how she felt like she was only worthy of other's company and support if she was working and making something of herself. and it feels really great to be able to go in there and be like, Hey. You're still worthy of a lot even if you aren't overworking yourself. You deserve better than this, and not just that, you can have better than this. like. really serves as a reminder to Myself that the same still applies to Me.

and she isn't met with criticism for beginning to develop that sentiment thanks to the support of MC- in fact, everyone around her is literally begging jaehee to FREE HERSELF! i just love the community that her route builds up and how sweet it is. i love being able to watch her sort through her feelings and break out of that mindset of "i'm not worth anything if i'm not doing something."

and the fact that she develops that mindset because of the way she was raised... losing her parents, moving in with her relatives who treated her poorly, who wanted her to get a job straight after high school. but jaehee didn't want to be a disappointment. she went through college, she worked hard, she got a stable job with a great salary. she's such a hard worker that jumin hardly considers her human- which is awful. but definitely showcases how incredible she is.

but she doesn't even blame her relatives or anyone else for the fact that her life is the way it is and that is also monumental to me? like her relatives were actively going against everything she wanted to do, but when jaehee talks about them, she's like, "i think they did the best they could, and i'm very grateful they took me in." that's amazing. she internalizes everything she feels and doesn't push blame onto anyone but herself, and while that's not always a good trait to have, i think it really does show how like. intrinsically motivated she is as a person to do the best she can, all the time.

also, don't even get me staaaarted on the fact that she cares about jumin so much even though he treats her absolutely awful. she feels bad for him for the amount of work he has in her route. she empathizes with him more than he ever does with her. if i were her i would probably go to jumin's penthouse and hit everything with a metal bat. she's stronger than me.

anyway, in all seriousness... i'm glad she gets her happy ending leaving her terrible job behind and actually getting to do something she's passionate about. i think her passion for coffee is adorable and the fact that that passion literally becomes her Life in her good ending? it's adorable.

a popular complaint i see regarding jaehee's route is that it feels more like zen getting jaehee's route LMFAO. but. i personally think that the friendship she builds up with zen over the course of her route is so beautiful. if you play from the prologue to the end he literally goes from not recognizing her in a photo seven sends to buying her a present and telling her that he's going to make it a life goal of his to continue supporting her in all of her dreams. he goes from thinking things are kind of awkward with her to buying her a present and getting lunch with her.

and i also think that's really beautiful for jaehee, getting to hang out with someone who inspires her and whom she admires so much. in fact, i'd argue that it makes even more sense for zen to be such a central part of her route because... he basically planted the seeds for inspiration and joy in jaehee? long before MC ever came around. he just didn't realize he could do so much for her until MC does come around. i think it's also great that jaehee gets that support from the guy who is basically her idol, because it makes it so that it means that much more to her.

like idk there's something poetic about jaehee saying that zen (referring to his acting and musicals etc) is the only thing that brings her happiness, and then actually finding happiness outside of zen because he encourages her to do so by supporting her. You know what i mean? is the parallel paralleling. maybe i'm just in my own echo chamber WHATEVER my point stands. i love jaehee and zen i think they're best friends.

phewww anyway. that's the whole post that's all. i love jaehee kang

[nebulous-tundra]

i have an odd question but like…what does C&R even do? what do they sell? like do the rfa members go into like a grocery store and realize it’s named “C&R groceries” ??

no this is a totally valid question! C&R is a corporate conglomerate, like Warner Bros, or Johnson & Johnson. basically it's a company that own's other companies that make/do things. (for reference: FMCG stand for Fast Moving Consumer Goods)

this is the fundamental structure, but here are some real life examples:

groceries is actually a funny thing to mention because iirc Zen tries to accuse Jumin's company of hurting local grocery stores by driving sales away from them, but imports like groceries isn't actually something C&R specializes in! (for reference: SME stands for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)

so, knowing all this, we can guess that C&R own's brands that specialize in export, and through a quick google search it looks like South Korea's top exports are electronics, machinery, and vehicles. we also know from Jumin's own mentions that they have other projects like fashion, wine, and.....cat accessories....

so, would an RFA member walk into The C&R Store? no, but would, say, and RFA member eat a snack brand that's owned by C&R? wear a coat that that's parent company is C&R? get to work in a car or bus was manufactured by a company that is also owned by C&R? probably. my understanding is C&R is as large as Hyundai or Samsung, but has specializes in more than just cars or electronics, and so has more products they can claim sales off of.

we don't actually get much information on C&R aside from what it is and what some of their products are, but this seems to be the gist of it. if Cheritz does give us any more info on C&R in The Ssum, i dearly hopes it's what the heck the C and R even stand for, Cats & Rants? lol it's clearly a play on Procter & Gamble but i wanna know!! **obligatory i did not go to college, let alone major is business, so if anyone has anything to note, please do!

[space-kitten-606]

Ahh do you think Saeyoung would ever scold mc after his good end? Does he ever get mad at mc at all?(except for when he's extremely frustrated with and just isn't himself)

Do you think he would scold me if I wasn't taking care of myself like not eating for long periods of time, being too absorbed in studies and cooping up myself in my room, brushing off any of his convincing to take care of myself (basically if I acted like how he does when he's stressed about something) Or would he just give me space. I'm saying major signs of stress

Honestly I don't think Saeyoung would ever be super hard on you, but yes, he would scold you.

Most of the time, he'd take a more humorous approach. He doesn't like to be too strict, especially considering the trauma he carries from his childhood and his time in the agency, so he will never yell or anything in that direction. It takes a lot to get him to that point, especially as a loved one. If he really ended up reacting this intensely, he'd isolate himself out of shame and selfhatred.

Depending on your personality, he'd give you some space at first, maybe trying to push you in the right direction by jokingly scolding you or asking him to join him when he's eating or relaxing.

If all of this doesn't work, he'll eventually confront you directly, but not in a harsh way. He'll tell you how he feels when he sees you like this, and that he wants you to take care of yourself. He might even remind you of how he used to act like this, and how you didn't like it, to maybe help you understand what is happening.

He'd try his best to pull you away from what you're doing. If he himself can't help you enough, he'll probably call your friends either for advice or to ask them if they can try to get through to you.

Either way, if it's going on for too long and nothing helps, he will semi forcefully remove you from what you're doing. He might speak more seriously to you during that, making sure that he's not in the mood for joking or excuses. He's also prepared to argue with you if he has too, but he will hate it very much. Still, it's very unlikely he will raise his voice at you. He might try to give you the cold shoulder if he can't get through to you at all and feels like he is going to lose control of his temper, but it will only take a few hours at most before he's coming back to you with a warm drink and a peace offering.

If you let him, he'll try his best to help you work through whatever has you so stressed and maybe set up a schedule with you that allows you to work on whatever you're doing but also includes regular breaks he will make sure you don't skip.

[xelasrecords]

V too while we're at it

Imagine if the fandom reduced Saeyoung to that time he ignore the mc and keep his distance or Saeran to when he was straight up abusing, starving and insulting the mc constantly

Feeling that it's unfair?

That's what Jumin and Yoosung fans have to deal with constantly because none of you know how to read what's in front of your eyes

Yoosung is reduced to the first two days of his route and Jumin to his bad ending and somehow it never stopped since the beginning

I wonder how an interpretation that the canon itself disproved many time can still be talked about like it's actually what happen like this

Stupid fanon

[starry-marshmallow]

Whenever I see a “this fandom doesn’t hold jihyun accountable” I scoff because you’re right, but not in the way you intended. Most just straight up blame him for literally everything and mock his trauma, no proper accountability or nuance.

[xelasrecords]

V and Jumin's Emotionally Distant Friendship

At first I wanted to laugh at Jumin roasting his friend for being pretty outside but empty inside but then what V said got me thinking

2 important statements here: 1) V believes that a friendship is a mirror that reflects oneself and 2) Jumin sees V as an empty statue, beautiful but hollow inside, something that people could only fleetingly appreciate before moving on to a more interesting thing because it has no depth. V agrees with Jumin, and even if we don't know whether Jumin believes in V's mirror analogy, it is true for them.

V and Jumin are lonely because the ones they love and claim to love them back never bother to know them deeply. They have the same insecurity, but their coping mechanism is different. V uses Rika to define himself as the man who could love grandly and withstand any trials and tribulations in the name of love. Jumin closes himself from everyone and projects his unhealthy definition of love onto his cat, building up the fantasy that it could understand him like a human would.

But once the illusion is shattered—that neither of them could give a perfect love because perfection doesn't exist—they break inside. V spirals into existential crisis while Jumin refuses to take back his cat that ran away from him. They share a common belief that their love has to be perfect. They have to be the best or they would be a failure. This is what Jumin says after he finally agreed to take back Elizabeth the 3rd due to V's persuasion:

But because V and Jumin are living in their own fantasies, how could they be there for each other? How could they look into each other's emptiness and recognise how lonely the other really is, and offer emotional support when they've never learned how to do so?

The emotional closeness doesn't exist in their friendship because they can't cross the bridge. They have a shared history and deep trust, but when there's a pressing matter in the present, they don't quite know how to strengthen each other, and what is a best friend if you can't be there for them when they need it the most?

Below is one of the examples where V thinks Jumin only ever keeps one thing from him when Jumin's biggest secret is actually his feelings for Rika that he had to hide to honour his best friend's relationship:

It's sad for everyone involved. V is blissfully ignorant and thankful that Jumin still trusts him despite his self-isolating secrets, while Jumin can't even show that he's also just as lonely. They can't lean on each other when they need to.

Sure, Jumin could get the best doctors for V due to his connections and V could persuade Jumin keep Elizabeth the 3rd because he knows him best. They were helpful on a surface level but the emotional job falls solely on the MC, which could be romantic if you look at it in a "wow there's only one person who could change them" way, but isn't it heartbreaking to have a friend so close to you yet feel so far away? Romantic love is important, but platonic friendship is just as meaningful. The trust and deep understanding of each other's nature are already there, so what they need to do is simply nurture their friendship and go to therapy.

On a more positive note, Jumin and V see their counterpart as the better person. V may believe that a friendship cannot change him since it's only a mirror, but if he sees Jumin as inherently better, doesn't that reflect his opinion on himself? They believe in themselves and feel their decisions validated because they trust each other. Jumin only decides to keep Elizabeth the 3rd because he values V's opinion highly, which in turn makes him better in accepting himself. V is always thankful for Jumin's unwavering trust, which pushes him to be a better person because he wants to be more like him.

Their selflessness is also a mirror. Who else but V and Jumin who would drop everything for the safety of the RFA? V would literally give up his life and Jumin would give up his C&R position and take the fall for the RFA.

I hope after their respective good endings, they'll learn to be vulnerable and open up. Their friendship will be more fulfilling and their trust will be strengthened because of it.

[eleiyaumei]

Mystic Messenger Hot Takes

MysMe would be a better game without the Mint Eye (meta-) plot

the routes all suffer from the 50/50 split between romance+character development and plot - both parts end up feeling rushed and contrived

the route endings are incomplete because Cheritz wants you to pay for the After Endings - in normal otome, the ending and the AE would be one part

crossdressing Seven is prettier than Rika

[kaus-quietis]

Lav's All-smiles Problem-solving Roooooundtable ch108 edition!

Welcome, welcome! To Lav's BSD ch108 discussion! Delivered to you via my funky dove Eliott, acting as my mystic messenger. These are random thoughts I had after reading this brilliant chapter, which, writing-wise, made the best possible use of Fedya's character, expanding it even more without even betraying his backstory. Maybe a backstory isn't needed after all, just look at how much FUN he is right now. I am in BLISS

Putting aside the fact that he is literally carrying the plot at this point, come sit with me, I make you a delicious Chinese black tea with rose petals and casually share my thoughts. Hello there, dearest Kat, yes, "where is Lav when you need her?", I am here, I offer you a hug, and to all my friends here who share the sentiment, I hug you too.

A. Before you say ANYTHING about "oh but? maybe Fedya is telling the half-truth? or a half-lie? what if his ability really is the evil one?", my brothers and sisters in Christ, listen to yourself. This man functions almost on a meta-level of character consciousness: he changed his facial expression and aura so convincingly, his tone, his speech, his posture, even the shade of his eyes, fooling not only Sigma, but the readers as well. We are used to characters changing the shade of their eyes when they change mental states or have certain (new) decisions in mind, we as a community are so used to this, all it took was one panel from the Conjurer doing this trick for so many of us to actually believe him and start, yet again, to spiral down the "what if he is good but his ability is evil? what if he is two entities? what if?" rollercoaster. This is so amusing to me, and in a meta-sense must be amusing to Fedya too. While speculation can bloom again based on this, I wouldn't be putting too much effort into reading into his lines here. I take it as a trick. It worked splendidly, almost like it attacked the fandom's major concerns and theories about his character and weaponized them against everyone. That's a meta-kind of tomfoolery. Trolling, if you will. I LOVE that Asagiri made him bamboozle every reader like this. His character so far goes into the best direction, it cultivates and expands his traits and skills in the best way. But let's pretend Fedya really is telling a half-truth there, which is there being an opposition between him and his ability. I talked about this in my essay (see pinned post), there really seems to be a divergence at the core of his character, but it manifests subtly, not like what we saw in ch108. Then again, not even on that can we arrive at any conclusive statements, because if we remember that, of course, "crime and punishment are close friends", it could well be that he and his ability are partners, and you bet I imagine they would BOTH indulge in peak tomfoolery like this together, if that meant one of them switching in and the other out for a sec. Remember, dear souls: aside from his "higher mission", abstract as it still is lore-wise, Fedya's keyword is "fun" or "entertainment", repeatedly. And oh he himself is even more fun now~

B. if Fedya would have wanted to mortally wound Sigma, he'd have chosen a more suitable place to stab him; it looks like a abdominal, lower quadrant, lateral stab, a deliberate choice, I would say, that technically avoids critical, most vascular organs (kidney and spleen for example) and main veins/arteries. I am no doctor, but from what I gathered, Sigma won't bleed out fast at all, and if untreated might get a deadly infection in a longer time (not counting the possibility of septic shock if we assume the knife penetrated and heavily opened an intestine). Sigma needs a medic asap (our queen Yosano when?), but will likely be conscious and quite able to move around and whatnot. Like I argued in my essay, Fedya most likely does not want to kill Sigma, or anybody for that matter, because keeping everyone alive to fulfill various roles and see how their will tosses them in all kinds of directions is more fun for him, more entertaining, but also more useful. He is a long-term strategist, like Dazai. "Our beloved monsters" ❤

C. Fedya evidently exerts some serious mental torment on Sigma, by making him stand by his choices, his will, just like he always desired. The flip side is that Fedya takes his time, or should I say gifts Sigma his time, in which he teaches him the full lesson of what Sigma wants. The responsibility that comes with acting on your own, the terror of facing the consequences when choosing on your own: right now, to Sigma, this freedom is terror. But Fedya is never a one-dimensional character. It's most probable he calculated and devised strategies for both possibilities (a. Sigma with rekindled determination touches him; b. Sigma backpedals on what he decided and does not touch him). The irony is that both scenarios are an affirmation of Sigma's will, because, while the first decision can be seen like foolish bravery, the second one can also be seen as wise self-preservation, if the circumstances so demand it. BSD is not a black-and-white series, diving head-first into danger is not its definition of bravery or heroism. BSD was always about measured decisions, ones the characters take upon themselves willingly. It may be time Sigma does that too, in his own way, and Fedya wants to see that. Why? Well, my guess is because it's fascinating to watch humans grow, and Fedya lives for the entertainment that comes with it. It is actually more interesting if we remember his line from ch42 (“People can be so simple… They truly believe they are thinking for themselves. (…) They don’t want to think they’re being led by the nose”): the pattern is, Fedya puts others under harsh circumstances, and then, under pressure, lets go of them, waiting for their free decision, the true test and expression of their hearts, so to say (which could make a superb discussion if we make a parallel between Kunikida and Sigma, since essentially what happened to Kunikida is happening now to Sigma, except Kunikida did indeed break down, but thanks to healthy support from his comrades he slowly regained his sense of self, and stronger than ever at that time, however… Sigma is alone, isn't he? but what if he needs to be in order to finally get a hold of his own self?). Anyway, how much of that expression is free, or how much is guided or manipulated, is a debate in itself, since it implies relating the freedom to the individual vs relating the freedom to the external factors and possibilites.

D. I do need to underline, just like Fedya also underlined it: Sigma already made his decision, right there when he still tried to get the gun before getting kicked in the face. Fedya moved on to the next step: testing how strong Sigma's will is when an actual chance to act appears. Sigma already accepted the physical pain, but how will he face the mental anguish? That is more Fedya's territory, a "specialist" of breaking people by simply knowing them thoroughly and choosing the right words. But now we gained new info: even in close combat, apparently, Fedya is not to be underestimated. That was a rather strong kick, anyway. But more importantly, he completely turned the tables in a situation where he would be in a total disadvantage. * chef's kiss * that was very bungou stray dogs of him.

[starry-marshmallow]

Parallels of these two about involving others and standing firm in their own goals.

[galaxytastes]

Okay, but consider... Mystic Messenger main 7, except in Genshin's universe. What visions do you think each of them would have? Or who wouldn't have one, if you believe so 🤔

Ohohohoho, thank you for asking me this! My friends and I have talked about this plenty of times and have come up with vision/weapon headcanons for all of them (including Rika and Vanderwood, of course.) If you think otherwise or want to share your headcanons, please let me know. I love talking about Genshin and Mystic Messenger 🤓

Here they are listed in the order of how I first played the routes <3

Jaehee: Geo bow! She'd be very polite and defensive in her combat style; maybe an off-field support? Her signature drink would obviously be a little latte. Maybe her passive has to do with buffing certain albino actors.

Zen: Hydro polearm. This one was tough and I had to talk to my friend about it a little bit, but I think hydro polearm would suit him best. Graceful, allowing him to use his whole body in combat. He'd be a hypercarry DPS and he'd have a tiny sneeze voice line for when you walk near kitties.

Yoosung: Anemo catalyst. I had an idea that he could have a "game controller" as a weapon, using it to control his attacks from a step back. As much as I know he would love to be a huge claymore wielding knight in shining armor, I'm just being realistic.

Jumin: Cryo sword. Jumin can be confrontational at times and maybe a bit rude, but I think he would be a very meta off-field DPS. He'd have a very princely fighting style, sort of like Albedo's auto attacks. You guys are so lucky I can't draw, you don't know how bad I want to see Genshin Jumin now... I had to pause to daydream for a minute.

Saeyoung: Electro polearm. This one I was a little biased on, because electro is my favorite element and I project onto this loser so much, BUT I genuinely think it would fit him. He could make little gadgets to help him fight or maybe a cat robot... It's hard for me to decide if he'd be more defensive or offensive, because I could definitely see both.

V: Anemo bow. V would not want to get up close and personal when it comes to a fight. As my friend perfectly worded it, "anemo would be great because of how much he blows everyone off." He is flighty, sneaky, dare I say cowardly at times (cough, most the time). He would love a bow; something he could use from far away and behind an enemies back. I think he would definitely have some sort of martyr style ability, like a loss in his HP would boost his own attack or something.

Saeran: Dendro catalyst. Similarly to how Childe switches weapons in his skill, Saeran could switch (Ray and Saeran). He could have a catalyst style flowery attack mode, where the dendro "poison" leeches from the enemy, but also he could switch to a polearm! In this mode, its more offensive and thorny. While I completely agree with this headcanon, it is not at all my own! My dear friend Breezy came up with this idea and I loved it so much, it became canon to me.

Rika: Cryo catalyst. Rika, like Saeyoung, could absolutely be both offensive and defensive in combat, but I enjoy the idea of her being a dependable support unit. Maybe with a shield of some kind? She'd have the prettiest move set, really angelic.

Vanderwood: I almost forgot Vandy oh my goodness, forgive me. Pyro claymore! I think he’d have some kind of sexy combat style using smoke and he’d work perfectly with Saeyoung, of course. Overload VanderSeven. Something off-field and “undercover”, but he’d hit really hard. Maybe a burst DPS with support capabilities! He’d have like four voice lines about Saeyoung and they’d get progressively more exhausted yet charmed… Love you Vandy

Again, these are all just my (and my good friend's) opinions and fun headcanons. If you would be interested in full summaries of their kits I have headcanoned, I would love to share in more detail :D Thank you for reading!

[xelasrecords]

"Everything you're hiding, your secrets, they're all fine. I'll trust whatever you do and follow you." I CAN'T DO THIS TODAY I'm so sad for them

Man this scene is heartwrenching to see... Honestly, I love the complexity of it. This brief exchange between them takes a completely different form once you come to know both Jumin and Jihyun at a much deeper level as you play through the game. This scene is sad the first time you see it, but once you revisit it... It's heartbreaking.

I feel for both of them here, and that's what makes it so tragic to me. These are two childhood friends who've practically spent the entirety of their lives by each other's side through thick and thin. And this is where they end up now. Jumin, utterly frustrated and betrayed at the way his closest friend treats their relationship, as if it's something to be easily thrown away instead of something that is worth fighting for. Jihyun, who has to see the painful consequences of his actions, knowing damn well that it's now too late for him to reach out and ask for help, so he has to watch his precious friend's heart break as a result of his own poor choices.

God, what I wouldn't give to see this VN fully voiced...

[xelasrecords]

Hi, I was reading your works and think you have a really good understanding of characters so I wanted to ask. Do you see any scenario in which Jumin would push MC away for her own sake? Extreme cases like if his father embezzled from the company but Jumin took the fall and had to go to prison for the maximum amount of years. Or if he lost all his wealth and couldn’t afford security anymore, but still had people after him. Would he want MC to stay with him even though he wouldn't be able to protect her/give her a "normal" life?

Your marvellous mind! This makes my brain tingle. If you see from the times he's faced with threats and his bad ends, there aren't any scenarios where he pushes his loved ones away for their protection. That's more Saeyoung. Jumin is like a dragon that hoards his precious things. The more he's threatened, the tighter his grip on his loved ones would be. His biggest fear is to lose everything he holds dear, so he builds up his security to be impenetrable.

If Jumin had to take the fall for his father's embezzlement, I think he'd set up emergency funds and security for MC and hide them away from the media before he goes to prison. He has a private island where MC can stay. These plans may even have been set up way before as a precaution. He'd try to make MC's life as comfortable as he can and hope she would wait for him to come back.

If Jumin became poor and had bad guys coming after him, it's possible that he'd go to Saeyoung for help. He's not above pleading for his lover's safety and be indebted to someone when he can't hold up a fair bargain. I'm also thinking about when he tries to give Elizabeth the Third to V because he doesn't think he's a good owner, so I'm tempted to say he could push MC away if he thought she deserved better. But even then, he can only part with his cat because he knows she'd be with someone he trusts. He is still in control.

More importantly, Elizabeth is a cat who can't choose him back on an equal stance. MC can. You know how pliant Jumin is over MC's words. If MC told him they wanted to stay with him despite everything, how long do you think it'd take before Jumin's resolve broke? Maybe they could run away and start afresh where nobody knew them. It wouldn't be surprising seeing that he takes this route in his BE2 DLC. Maybe MC could protect him instead. Maybe they could work together to protect their relationship and future.

When faced with imminent danger, Jumin snaps into ultra logical mode. So if he actually pushed MC away for their safety, it wouldn't be due to pure angst. It'd be a calculated act where he had some control over.

Also, during the RAE crisis, Jumin's confidence never falters. He still believes there's something he can do to protect the RFA and he toils away endlessly for solutions. All the while losing his job and friends and half his assets. It's this that makes me think when everything goes to hell, the only person he can trust is himself and therefore MC is the safest with him.

Jumin's selflessness isn't by giving up his lover. It's by giving everything he has to protect them even at the cost of himself.