#mystic messenger ray route spoilers

[yoosung-ah]

this you?

[killjoy-prince]

I have now completed all the routes of Ray's After Ending

[linhmiu201]

Ray's route report since I can't hold my rage back

*Ray regains consciousness and remembers what Saeran did to MC (y'know, constant verbal / mental / physical abuse, sexual harassment does it count?)*

*Ray is overwhelmed with regret*

*Ray repeatedly apologizes*

MC (me): If you're sorry how about...

*Ray runs out of the room*

MC (me): ...giving me food......?

*Ray calls to express regrets and apologies*

MC (me): *on a brink of death* Where's my food....... It reminds me of Adele's Hello: "I must have called a thousand times, to tell you I'm sorry"

Bitch says that as if I haven't played V's route yet. =.=

Me (not MC): Are you happy? Cuz I am happy lol

[nosferatufaggot]

I'm downloading Mystic Messenger..........

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Heey, raven, have you ever heard or played Mystic messenger? It's a Korean otome game, and there's this one character named Ray/unknown/Saeran, and he looks almost similar to Rollo 💀

So when they first introduced Rollo in twist, i immediately thought, "Saeran, is that you?!" Not only do both of them have white hair with dark circles under their eyes, but both are antagonist with religious backgrounds AND brother issues! Like, what a freaking coincidence!!

I used to play MysMes, but I dropped it way before Saeran’s route was released. (I think the only routes I managed to complete were Jumin Han’s and Zen’s? It got to be too much of a time sink for me.) So sorry, but I don’t really have much context for this character other than he’s a hacker and 707’s twin 💦

I’m not sure if I see the similarities with Rollo…? The hairstyle is nothing alike and even the colors are different (Saeran’s is much whiter and has a slight reddish fade). Dark undereye circles are a plus though— As far as I’m aware, his brother is also still alive…? (And while I do get religious vibes from Rollo, this was not explicitly confirmed! Meanwhile MysMes is up in here with an outright friggin’ CULT 💀)

I asked some friends who are more familiar with the character for their opinions and they didn’t think he and Rollo are that similar at all 🤔 Without going too much into spoilers, they said Saeran’s too much of a cinnamon roll (while Rollo isn’t) and that Saeran is less of an antagonist or mastermind and more of a victim of the circumstances. I’m just parroting what I was told though 🤷‍♀️ since I don’t know enough on the character to comment myself!

[annbourbon]

Relationship Chart

This time I'm bringing something much needed for all those who play inside the Cheritzverse. A relationship chart with explanations included.

Some of these are things that are included in a single line sometimes in a different game or a thing that apparently holds no connection but it does have one. It took me some time to find these and there are so many that I'm gonna create several posts explaining these with proof/screenshots included if the collages are not enough. But for now~ the basics.

Remember that this might contain spoilers from all the games: Dandelion, Nameless, Mystic Messenger & The Ssum.

So before we enter this whole mess, one of the things that has been incredibly helpful to do this~ Inheritors K-Drama. But not just that, also The Burning Sun Case, The Tragedy of the Sewol Ferry. Among other things. They all have been put in the links, they have nothing to do with this Relationship Chart however they do help to understand how sometimes the S.Korean society works. I will not quote in them in detail because I need the space to work on the relationship chart. They might get a little mention though. But if you go to those and watch them all, you're gonna find similarities. Thank you for your understanding.

C&R Group:

Han Family

* Juyoung Han. Also known as Chairman Han. CEO of C&R Group. Has been married at least 3 or 4 times. According to Jumin, most of these times have been with artists. However has had several affairs with Jumin's secretaries and even with his own secretaries.

For example: Lily Vanderwoodsen in Gossip Girl has also several marriages in her past.

Other notes: Chairman Seo plays golf with Chairman Han. I'm not entirely sure of how this connects but when I asked about Dr Cheon and other things inside The Ssum, PiuPiu said that I'm good at remembering insignificant details. So it does hold some meaning behind. As I put inside the relationship chart~ I believe Chairman Seo, Chairman Han and possibly Dr Cheon's father, hang all together when they play golf.

This goes mentioned during Mystic Messenger (Jumin's Route) and The Ssum (Henri's, June's & Harry's)

* Carolyn. Divorced from Chairman Han. Had a son: Jumin. Her second marriage was with Hyunsik. Had a son: June.

Other notes: Was a singer. Possibly the reason Heejung's father cheated on. Although that we know~ she has no daughters. It's possible that she just had an affair without getting pregnant here. Owns:

※ Carolyn's House (seen in Jumin's DLC)

* Jumin Han

Jumin Han owns:

※ Jumin's Island (Seen in June's, Henri's during The Ssum, and Ray's/Saeran's during Another Story in Mystic Messenger)

※ An entire building that bought to his father.

※ At least one yatch!?

※ An helicopter

※ A private jet

※ Cherry Farm Healing Center. Hospital?

Seems, although not fully clear if, the Cherry Farm Healing Center is not an hospital. But it does operates as part of something else. A mix of winery, center to heal people and relax old and rich people. Jumin goes there often to relax and takes Elizabeth the 3rd with him.

I can't put it here exactly in images (already out of space~) so here:

Henri's Grandfather

↓ ↓

Julia --- Henri's Dad Uncle Tony <♡> Aunt

↓

* Henri's brother

* Henri

*It's said that Henri's dad works for Chairman Han as a personal doctor. While Uncle Tony inherited everything, including the hospital. "Runs a large scale general hospital"

* Henri's Aunt has vetoed Julia on The Church Comitee, as she is the one in charge.

* I need to pay more attention to this next time I read Rika DLC but it seems Rika adoptive parents were also similar to Henri's: Her mother worked in the church comittee (?) and it's ssaid that Yoosung's uncle (Rika's adoptive father) was someone important in the hospital and the couple were really wealthy. Which means Yoosung would be in a similar position to Henri's or somewhat lower but not entirely jobless, without money or without connections.

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JC Group:

* Minha, implied to be heiress of the JC. Has a brother. Who is gonna inherit everything.

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OO Foundation:

* Art Gallery (Owned by Harry, his mom controlled it until Day 221 or 222 of The Ssum when it's said she doesn't controls it anymore and it's separating from Harry's father.)

* It's said Harry is a VVVIP. Which implies it's on a similar situation to Jumin's. But unlinke Jumin, he doesn't bother with such responsibilities. A true chaebol.

* Harry owns at least the apartment, the house he created for MC. And The Gallery. That we know of course, but it's implied much more. No wonder he remains under the mask.

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Yuhan Corporation

※ James Yuhan (heir)

※ Dr. Terry Cheon. Engaged with Harry. Owns 20% of company stocks.

※ Mother of Dr. Terry Cheon, Executive of Yuhan's Corp.

♡ M. Hospital

※ Father of Dr. Terry Cheon, Dean of the M. Hospital.

☆ Something that stuck in my head was Rachel's words in the k-drama Inheritors/The Heirs. She says that these type of arrangements, I mean~ these marriages are basically a fusion of the companies and that there are millions involved so it's not that easy to get out of these, which can explain the pressure on Harry, Terry and the rest of people.

Which reminds me of how in June's and Henri's routes, Carolyn keeps trying to make a good arrangement for Jumin. Only for him to marry MC♡ so cute!! ».«

Also explains why V's father and Chairman Han were saying that Rika was not good for V. (let's put aside the cult lolol cause they didn't know?)

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* Family of artists. From Nameless and Mystic Messenger. V's mom was a violinist. V's is a businessman who apparently first was said to be an artist (?) Remarried after his first wife passed.

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The Agency

* Vanderwood

* The Boss? ~ I doubt this is the final boss. Look at Quantico series or any other spy/intelligence series. It's definitely Seven's boss but not The Boss

* JJ ~ although it's not said here, Seven mentioned a couple of times that he (Seven) has a lot of wigs and stuff for cosplay/spy missions. If this is added to tge fact that JJ says to be a hairdresser, using some weird spray for dying June's hair, the several lies, fake file, and suspicious gadgets that interfere with PiuPiu. We can say that he is from The Agency, he is aware of aliens, and of The Ssum Project. PiuPiu doesn't like JJ.

Saeyoung Choi ~ Alias Seven. Luciel Choi. Made contact with aliens.

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The Lab

* PiuPiu ~ Funnily enough, all LI have expressed their discontent and distrust towards PiuPiu more than once.

* PiuPiu ver1 ~ during Harry's route. After PiuPiu gets sick.

* PiPi ~ suspected of going to Seven.

Edited. Thanks to @thessumbluebirdnotes for the input here:

PiPi could go to Teo and not Seven. The Cancer 199.207.07 it's Teo's Zodiac Sign and B-Day. PiPi left on D-99 (Harry's Route)

Teo's B-Day: July 07, 1992.

If you check D-99 of Teo's Route, his phone starts acting up. And there was a pink feather logo that shows up when he takes a selfie. A possible sign of his PiuPiu coming~

* Dr Cus Monsier ~ Apparently kidnapped. According to JJ during Henri's route. During a chatroom Jumin says he was creating a machine to make people forget their memories. Seven says that he was creating a time machine. Seems these two events hold some connection towards JJ and Dr Cus Monsier but so far it's all speculations.

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Church Group

The members so far are mostly unknown. However we can guess much thanks to several characters.

The only official member known:

※ Henri's Aunt. The Ssum.

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※ Rika; during her DLC (possibility)

Other possible members:

※ Rika's adoptive mom. (implied during Rika's DLC), also, holds a connection and a similar pattern to Henri's uncle. In this case by Yoosung's uncle being connected to the hospital.

☆ One thing that helped me a lot here was The Gilded Age. Though it's not Korean, it's not really different from tge way other societies behave, banning members and doing each other this kind of stuff~ otherwise it wouldn't be so depicted in different cultures, right?

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Ladies Community

The name is not said, however it's deeply implied that only the top of the top can be inside.

Possible name: Business Women Who Lead the Future?

* Julia (Henri's mom) → shunned

* Eloise's mom

* Carolyn (Jumin's mom) → shunned

It's said Minha's mom doesn't bother with these things. But apparently Juyuong Han does. So MC would be expected to step into this too. Even more after Carolyn falls down. Henri calls it a jungle.

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Mint Eye

※ Rika (Saviour)

※ Saeran/Unknown/Ray/404

※ V (Believer number: )

※ Believer Number ~ helps V

※ Believer Number C276 ~ possibly Teo? It is said that Rika was personally assisting the ceremony to make this believer part of Mint Eye. And deeply implied that it's not something that usually happens.

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Notes: This is a work in progress.

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Credits:

♡ @thessumbluebirdnotes

♡ @cherrychipheart

♡ @smol-grey-tea

♡ Original Sources: The Ssum, Mystic Messenger, Dandelion: Wishes Brought to You, Nameless: The one thing you must recall.

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Links:

♡ Harry's Character (Wiki)

♡ Cheritzverse Society through Art & Medicine

♡ The Burning Sun: (directs to YT)

*TW. Discretion advised.*

[Rotten Mango ~ Part One]

[Rotten Mango ~ Part Two]

[Rotten Mango ~ Part Three]

[BBC Documentary]

[Rotten Mango ~ Sewol Ferry]

* I didn't put it here as links cause it would take me forever to gather everything but another perfect example is how the case of P.Diddy, relates to Epstain, Woody Allen, Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew and Harvey Weinstein cases. In these circles is more possible that everything connects in one way or another.

♡ The Heirs

[rfaromance]

Rika.

Love her or hate her, no Mystic Messenger player can deny that she is central to the overarching plot of the game.

Depending on your view of her, her major role in Ray (Saeran) After Ending is either intriguing, exciting, frustrating, or infuriating.

Personally, I loved the portrayal, insight, and development in Rika during the RAE. Read below the cut for my Rika thoughts. Spoilers abound for Ray's route, RAE, Rika Behind, and even the Secret Ending. Also, uh, it's a long post. Longcat long.

(If you're interested in opinions on the RAE from a Saeran-loving POV, I'd suggest you consult @marshmallowprotection who pours her heart and soul into her analyses, especially regarding Saeran.)

If you're reading now, I'm assuming you have enough background in the game's lore where I don't need to explain the basics, so I'm going to dive right in.

At the start of Another Story, our well-intentioned but common-sense-challenged MC ends up being personally escorted to Mint Eye. And MC chooses to fixate on Ray and his mysteries and allure, ultimately trusting the not-so-honest rose boy instead of the highly mysterious V, who apparently is not an AI but also should not be anywhere near this cult.

In MC's defense, sometimes it's easier to choose the evil you know versus the evil you don't.

Rika doesn't have a problem with this, initially. She knows that she needs to throw Ray a bone. Allowing him to have a little doll like MC to dress up and pose and control and adore will appease him, and he has a plan to make MC useful for her goals, anyway. It's a win in her book, to keep Ray indebted to his Savior and also the possibility of luring the RFA members to her faster.

But a major distinction exists between Rika in Another Story (AS) and Rika in the original timeline (OS). Much like Saeran's mental state deteriorated further over the extra year and 6 months (give or take) between AS and OS, giving us Unknown, so did Rika's. In the SE, she explicitly tells Unknown that he was a failure and she wanted Saeyoung instead. She no longer valued Saeran's prior contributions to Mint Eye or her mental state--she wanted results now, and she would sacrifice anyone and anything to achieve them.

(Well, almost anyone. Turns out sacrificing V was not what she wanted, after all.)

But her goals are different in Another Story. She's still pursuing her dreams of making people happy by "saving" them from a tainted world of pain, but she's still itching for the personal happiness she has wanted all her life: love.

She wants a loving family. She has never known what it feels like to have a family that loves her, as her earliest memories are in the orphanage, and she was adopted by a vile, hateful woman who cursed her and subjected her to physical and emotional pain, verbal abuse, neglect, humiliation, warped "religious" cult ideas of sin and salvation, and the list goes on.

When she learned of two twin children who needed loving, protective parental figures... she became obsessed. She could save them. Nobody ever saved her, but she could save them.

That delusion of forming a happy family with V and the twins only became worse after Mother Choi's death. (I hesitate to call it a murder, because it was an act of imperfect self-defense, and thus I'd argue it was voluntary manslaughter under USA law. But if we're being technical, under Korean law it's murder under extenuating circumstances. Legal jargon differs across countries.) Having taken Saeran's mother away from him, Rika got the idea that she needed to be his mother now. They would both have a good family now--that's a win-win, right?

This is the Rika we still see in Another Story. That's why she gives him the name Ray, to eliminate his past and all traces of V and Saeyoung, molding him into her obedient, doting son. That's why she dresses him up in layers upon layers and forces him to study hacking, so she can control every aspect of her sweet child. That's why she swipes Ray after she catches wind of his kiss with MC in the garden. She doesn't know or care who instigated the kiss; all she needs to know is that MC poses a risk to her fantasy, her game of house.

So she tortures Ray until he can become her puppet-son again. Except she ends up with Suit Saeran, and for the time being she'll allow that because at least he isn't tripping head over heels for MC.

That backfires too, and when Saeran frees himself of that stuffy suit and allows his body to breathe, once Saeran makes his own decision to abandon those shackles, follow his heart, apologize and atone for his wrongdoing, and break out of his gilded cage with MC... Rika loses it.

She's lost everything. Mint Eye be damned, she's lost her illusion that she will reach a "happily ever after."

So when V blames himself and crawls back to her, not wanting to see her crumble alone, she locks a collar and leash onto him. Honestly, it's the worst possible ending for V. He can't shake his self-hatred and guilt complex, and he feels the need to stand by Rika even as she sends them both on a path of destruction, because he refuses to abandon her like his father abandoned his mother. He didn't even love her anymore, but he wanted to give her the peace that he never could when they were together. This was how he felt he needed to pay for hurting her, even if it meant destroying himself.

Okay, screenshot is a good place to wrap up the backstory and dive into the RAE itself.

I've seen complaints that Rika's character was inconsistent in the RAE, but candidly I think the fluctuations in her goals, emotions, and actions represent her fragile mental state in a phenomenal way. She was highly sensitive and susceptible to emotional influence, whether positive or negative. The seemingly smallest, most trivial events could send her reeling. She clearly has a lot of mental health issues and trauma that have never properly been addressed. Instead she turned to the worst possible coping mechanisms: comphet, making a cult, and brainwashing folks into being your make-believe family.

She didn't team up with Saejoong because she likes the guy. She sees him as a means to an end: getting the twins to live with her in her game of house.

The "he" that Rika refers to in this chat is Saejoong. He's a horrendous parent, but he managed to capture Saeyoung, and therefore Rika sees him as a tool. She also is adamant that the younger twin is "Ray", not Saeran, because the boy she needs for her happy ending is the submissive one with pruned wings, not the independent one who flies away on his wings of love.

If MC tries to inquire into Rika's motivations, she simply says she chooses happiness and to focus on the small joys in life. She's no longer as guarded and high-strung, because she has much less to lose. She doesn't feel the need to be perfect, to be a Savior. She's at peace with herself, instead of constantly seeking approval. Part of that cab be attributed to V's (reluctant) acceptance of Rika for who she is, instead of trying to fix her.

She's trying to be more open and honest, and with that attempt we get a Rika who is less guarded and poised, and rather a Rika whose mask is off and is trying to navigate what it means to simply "exist." She just wants her family of 4 to live "happily" together, and a lot less scheming is required. She almost has the energy of "I'm going to be the fun, cool mom. :)"

I bet she's awful at stacking chairs, though.

Now, many characters AND players have wondered, "Why in the WORLD would Saejoong team up with Rika?" He thinks she's nuts. We know that Rika is using him, and I'd venture that he's doing the same. He knows he's caught between a rock and a hard place, but he also knows that this woman is desperate to take his troublesome bastard sons and disappear with them. She can't exist in public, after all, or she'd risk her secret of being a cult leader getting exposed. It's a weird solution, but he was in no place to refuse her offer. Coerce Saeyoung into making false broadcasts to bolster Saejoong's public image, and then let Rika, V, and the twins run off into the sunset.

A special insight that you only get during the Normal Ending is that Saejoong thought he and Rika were similar, which is likely another reason he was willing to collude with her. And the Normal Ending is the reason that I felt inspired to write this post at all.

On day 3, Rika accuses Saeran of hating her. She's furious that she doesn't have Ray anymore, because Ray needed her and gave her a purpose. Saeran doesn't need her, and that sends her into a panic. But he chooses to be compassionate and to try to sympathize with her.

On day 4, we get this exchange between MC and Rika:

Rika breaks down in MC's arms. She didn't know what love was, and she didn't know how to reach it herself. Her solution was to control, to manipulate, to clutch desperately onto people who showed her even a shred of warmth... but always staying just distant enough where she could withdraw or flee if she felt threatened, or worse, sabotage the connection herself.

She didn't know what love was because she'd never experienced it. Her mother was a malicious, cruel woman. Mika sacrificed and manipulated her. Her priest assaulted her. V did his best, but he kept pushing his ideals and methods onto her instead of listening to her. She kept Saeran through control. She brainwashed and gaslit believers, smooth-talking her way into their minds and pockets. She even kept V bound to her by blinding him; we can only assume he got treatment after his trial.

MC and Saeran showed her what love is. It's about kindness for the sake of kindness, not to curry favor. It's a willingness to step out of your comfort zone to help those you care about. It's being brave when you're terrified. It's communicating in more ways than one, always listening and considering the other's thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions.

For the first time in her life, she saw love. She saw love in Saeran, who'd lured her and V away so that his lover and brother could be free. She saw love in MC, who'd always been gentle but firm with Rika, expressing genuine intrigue and concern for her. She saw people who didn't immediately demonize her for her worst mistake: the death of Mother Choi.

She's being honest with herself, too, acknowledging and understanding that her actions were wrong. And she starts bawling, because she's been repressing herself, her fears, and her needs for so long. She laments that she yearned for love like a child, but her body was too big now... and that made the void feel larger and emptier.

She finally got the answers she'd been trying to find for her entire life: What is love? And is she worthy?

So when the opportunity comes for her to set Saejoong straight, she tears into him. Now, she only does this in the normal ending. In the good ending, Saeran is the one who talks to Saejoong, says his piece, and gets his peace. Clearly that's the best possible ending for Saeran, because it allows him to put his last demon to rest. Now he can focus on healing and finding happiness on his own accord.

But in the normal ending, Rika shows that she's not just a sob story for MC and Saeran to pity. She's taking their lessons and her new convictions to heart and putting them into action.

And Saejoong truly loses his cool when he hears that the investigation team is coming. He knows he's toast, and so he tries to appeal to Rika one last time: "You know that you'll be going down, too."

To which Rika says: "Yes. It's long overdue."

Rika has a long, difficult road ahead of her, but it'll be a surprisingly peaceful one. She wants to heal. She wants to live a better life. She wants to be honest and true, and that means atoning for her crimes.

But then, she's going to devote her life to love.

The RAE Normal Ending is, in a bizarre way, the best outcome for Rika that Mysme canon gives us. (Because seriously, shipping her off to Alaska to GTFO was the laziest and most unsatisfying ending for her that I can imagine.)

[fictionfixations]

jaehee best route presentation

this is just me jokingly dunking on mysme's other routes and pointing out the weird and wacky shit that happened in comparison to jaehee's significantly more tame route (because i love her route. we stan jaehee in this household.)

meant to make a presentation cause a bunch of friends were getting together to make some dumb af presentations but im procrastinating

anyway ive never played deep story or another story mode. and the only routes ive actually played are jaehee's and yoosung's. i cant be bothered to do anyone else's (the notifs get so annoying. im the type of person who sometimes spends whole days in a row desiring me time and being all alone. so guess what when you give me a game thats basically like a messenger in which you have to actually interact by then? its like. actually socializing! which no. it hit my social limit and i just stopped trying after multiple bad endings trying to actually get to zens lol)

since im not gonna be showing off my presentation (because ah.. socialization.. and two, now im kind of scared i might trigger someone..?)

so. here.

MAJOR MYSTIC MESSENGER SPOILERS

its a gif..

[ Content warning: Swears, possibly triggering content, uh. Mention of bombs, death (faked su//cide), possible implied in//est thoughts (he doesn’t harbor those thoughts I don’t think, but it can still be the impression he gives off), ..mention of s*x maybe?, kidnapping, held captive, weird shit that’s meant to be kinky but actually comes off as really creepy, INACCURATE PORTRAYAL OF PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES, cringe, false reporting / negative media, captivity, yandere ending sob??, and ill add more if i can think of more - and torture. I wont go indepth but ill mention it. …beastiality? Just remembered headbang. I dont think its said but ppl kinda see the implications of it i think. ..ive never played his route so i have no clue | is cucking a trigger??? I dont..>>>????? / sexual implications probably  | mentions of S/A. It doesnt happen but a character falsely accuses another to ruin their reputation, toxic relationships ]

thats it lmfao

what i was going to continue with:

jumin. so. you know that bad ending where you're basically kept in his house and he puts trackers in your shoes so you can only walk as far as like the kitchen away from him and doing so alerts him and shit?? and its played off as being some kinky shit i think but like hello? (also i think. it was either him or saeran, but we fuck in the basement he has trauma in??)

(i mean theres also the thing with his cat. the 'i'll treat you like my pet' or something like that line?? i dont remember. or zen having a dream that elizabeth his cat was running away so he locked her up even worse so then when he opened the door she ran??)

707 is the most story-depth i think, the one ppl consider canon. in which. crazy shit probably happens there with the obligatory kidnapping and bomb threat. i honestly cant remember i didnt even go to his page to check . altohugh i think theres an ending where saerans is like 'give me a hug'. 707 does. then saeran kills him. which. oof…. poor guy. or its revealed who their dad is and basically bad things happen i think?

saeran/ray/unknown. inaccurate depiction of mental disorders or something like that (not meant to offend with wording, but i can never remember the names of shit). it was like.. we first get to know ray whose the nicer one. and then there's saeran whose an absolute asshole. there was something like 'if you dont listen something bad will happen' (which is apparently something his mom said to him or something like that?) very sucky situation

V. cucking??? IDFK wtf

V's CELL?

DRUGGed. from. RAY's. TORTURE. okay. okay.

(someone explain to me whats going on in that ending where we're cucking, im so confused)

ah...

so. yknow. jaehee's route is significantly more tame. and relaxing. and stress relieving imo.

the end

[lawtistic]

my ranking of mystic messenger main outfits except i know nothing about fashion and have really bad opinions

10; Ray

minor spoilers ahead also i dont know how to work tumblr apparently so the keep reading is going after the first ranking label

i have more to say under this im just currently mentally absent right now

what the fuck is that. what. did he forget what century we are in? i like the magenta on him but girl who let you leave your cell looking like an elizabethan

i prefer ray over saeran but not if hes wearing this because to ellys smelly ass litterbox and back i will burn that ruffled collar if it the last thing i ever do in my life

9; Casual & Deep Story V

why is bro built like a stripper pole??? hes just unnaturally long and its disturbing to a point that i cant not take it into consideration even if this is an outfit ranking

that haircut is not it for you man and get new sunglasses i know why you have them but pick something else theres something off

the outfit is so overwhelmingly basic and void of color and its really a spoiler for how hes blind because he could not have consciously put this together

8; Yoosung

again hes built like a stripper pole but to a much lesser degree

ive always felt uncomfortable looking at yoosung and his big beady eyes. do not get me wrong i love yoosung but i always feel like he knows my sins

those shoes are hideous, get rid of them. get a better haircut because this one does not make me feel any better about him and its so horrenously big that i know his hair is full of secrets

the shirt is fine, i guess, and i like the jacket, i also have nothing to say about the pants. i like the color palette but thats it. i would have ranked it higher if he didnt give me carpal tunnel with a single glance

7; Jumin

i have little to nothing to say about this. its a basic suit

i like the little bit of purple because thats his color and its cool

his legs are oddly skinny and long in comparison to the rest of him tho and its making it to where i want to classify him as built like a stripper pole but its just his legs so i cant

6; Jaehee

same with Jumin but she's less basic due to the accessories and the tights

i fucking live for those tights. those are great tights. people need to talk about her tights.

i have nothing else to say except justice for jaehee kang's tights i love those on her

5; Zen

he was originally switched with jaehee but then i realized hes wearing his own damn logo and i could not ignore that

only he would wear his own logo on his jacket like that and pose in the such a way to flex it the best he possibly could. i didnt even realize he had a logo but hes literally wearing it what

the rest of the outfit is bland and mid but wow hes wearing his own logo

also rat tail

4; Another Story V

he looks physically functional!! wow!!

this is such an upgrade, i love the haircut on him now he looks like a wet dog and its amazing

the outfit is kind of mid but it looks better on him and its still okay i would let him leave the house in this

3; 707

by most standpoints this outfit isnt that fantastic and hes only this high because i said so

its overall kind of basic but i like the hoodie and i love his funky glasses and for some reason cross necklaces make people hotter despite the fact im wiccan

the jeans are so... eh? but you cant really put anything better with this??? im a certified jean hater but i literally cannot think of anything else to put on him instead

also those shoes are fucking horrendous

2; Vanderwood

this is why i have bad opinions because i like leopard print. fight me.

this is such a fancy suit that i have nothing negative to say about it

you can tell hes a whore just by looking at him. i wish he had a route

1; Saeran

ah yes i have one alter in last place and the other in first. this isnt that funny i just think its ironic

"youre biased!!! you dress like this youre so biased!!!" yes i am. i am so biased. why do you think 707 is number 3?

the leather jacket is iconic as well as the black and red combo

the bracelet and??? choker thing??? what is that??? looks very nice on him and i like the tattoo (even if it means something i do not like)

"where is rika?" between my steel knuckles would you like a visit

[rjthirsty]

Oh no oh no oh no. Mystic Messenger Ray ending route spoilers. It's time to unleash this beast.

Once upon a time, I fell in love with this man. I'm still in love with this man. Every year he retains his spot as a top ten husbando. I'm even considering getting his Mint Eye tattoo, but it's so large and black that I keep putting it off.

Anyways. His words are beautiful.

He is beautiful.

And I had never cried so hard from a game before this point.

Still fucking stings, man.

[hungrytummyprompts]

So, I've talked a teeny tiny bit on here about how some of the dating sims and otome games I play have scenes and bits that appeal to my attraction to hunger and give me all the happy fuzzies, and I thought I’d tell you all about more of this. If y’all like dating sims and fictional spouses, well, here you go.

This does contain some route spoilers.

Like, I talked about the situation that happened in Ikemen Revolution before, where in Jonah’s route you are accused of high treason and he takes you into the forest to evade capture, and over the at least 24 hours you’re out there gets into two fights and I don’t think y’all get to eat before the final fight either.

Akash: Path of the Five has an event on all main routes that serves as part of the main story where the MC and whichever boy you choose to date or get closest to end up being captured and taken to a dungeon. In one path it’s specified they’re in the dungeon two days before they escape. Judging by the scenery and following scenes, it takes them an additional 2 and a half days to get back to their village. During this time, all they really eat is a couple handfuls of roasted chestnuts each on day 4, and when they get back to the village they don’t get to eat immediately so my trash brain spends the entire time just going ‘They? Must? Be? Starving? ubuihuwinhw’ My favourite for this is Rocco purely because he wears an outfit that always exposes his midsection. (though he’s my favourite in general because once you get past the fuckboy crust he’s an absolute delight)

In Seduce Me there’s an audible stomach growl from the player character, and in the same scene two of the love interests are stuffing their face. The eldest admonishes them for this, but the second brother states ‘it’s not like we’ve eaten recently either’ so hoo boy, they’re hungry. In James’ route, the incubi’s need for sexual energy is described as working the same as hunger, which gives the impression that stuffing themselves full of human food may help a little but that hunger is still there. In the sequel game, it’s mentioned the MC hasn’t eaten for a few days before her wedding, and in Damien’s route the narration mentions another stomach growl. 

In 7′sCarlet there’s an audible stomach growl near the beginning of the common route. Hino is mentioned to be a big eater.

Mystic Messenger, all the love interests mention skipping meals at times. In Ray’s route you get purposely starved and can complain about how hungry you are to the rest of the LIs. I sat through that scenario like ‘you’re doing this to hurt me? Jokes on you, I’m into this’

Huniepop has a hunger mechanic for all the girls you can bang, their energy drops every time you talk to them and if it bottoms out they won’t do anything with you until you get them something to eat, they’ll just complain they’re too hungry.

Magical Diary, I believe both Horse Hall and Wolf Hall, you can date Damien and he will do something to you that gets him expelled. Having failed to do what he was raised to do, he’s also now unable to go home, more of a cult base really, and lives in the woods near the school for a time. Could be comparable to a riches to rags situation. Nothing much is said but I like to imagine he’s starving out there. If your interest is primarily sexual, be careful here because I’m not sure how old Damien is supposed to be. He’s in his final school year so I assume he’s around 18.

Arcade Spirits 2 has an audible hunger growl in it too roughly midway through, again from the player character.

Obey Me has Beelzebub, Avatar of Gluttony, who’s pretty much always hungry.

Ikemen Vampire also has, well, a whole bunch of hungry vampires to fantasise over.

Ozmafia too, the player refuses to eat at one point to protest something, I believe the refusal to rescue a member of the gang who was fine anyway? And Caesar’s route, once again we get a man with a bare belly mentioning he hasn’t eaten and that he’s very hungry.

I haven’t played most of these in forever but I really want to revisit some of this now-

[cloudcountry]

just curious because I stumbled upon this blog!! from the ikemen series, who is your absolute favorite for each game??? I love Shakespeare so much also how do you feel about ikevil being postponed

HIII omg i love being asked about my interests hold on

for vampire its absolutely will im not sorry im on my third playthrough of his route NOBODY DOES IT LIKE HE DOES im so glad you agree theres too many people in this fandom who dont understand him :(( i will have his back through ANYTHING i will forever be on his side.

for revolution i literally cant pick between zero and edgar theyre my BABIES. i want to hold their hands. they deserve so much love. im such a red army girlie ive played ray and fenrir and dont get me wrong fenrir's route was bomb but it just doesnt compare

sengoku fav is def yoshimoto. i picked his route because i wanted someone more obscure who i wouldnt have seen spoilers for and OMG it was THE best route ive ever played from that game. most of the routes are kinda boring but yoshimoto's was. kinda reminiscent of vampire for me. PLUS it had themes that were very similar to jihyun's route from mystic messenger and that route is my favorite one EVER

keith is my favorite prince JSDJSDJ i feel like this one is self explanatory. hes just so sweet and likes plants and is so down bad for his mc PLUS his mc is so mecore. giggles.

im literally kicking and screaming on apple's doorstep right now HOW DID THEY NOT HAVE THEIR SHIT TOGETHER but towards cybird im very much like. its okay loves you did your best <3 its all apple's fault take your time <3

[killjoy-prince]

I love what they have

[mrszeoxin]

BUSTAFELLOWS

Going into this game I didn’t really know much. The trailer video for it looked really awesome, but I didn’t know much about it other than the stuff in its eshop page. I ended up buying it because it had a major sale (I want to say like 50-60% off), so it felt like a waste not to get it especially since I’ve seen it mentioned a bunch in the otome community.

One thing that was a little rough for me is there isn’t really a prologue to really get to know each of the guys which made it hard for me to decide who to pick since the choices you make in common route determines who’ll you’ll get. I wish there was more time to get to know the guys before my choices mattered. So that’s definitely one complaint I had. But let’s talk about my thoughts on the routes!

Limbo

I chose Limbo first since he’s kind of the poster child and the little part you see before picking choices was mostly with him, so he seemed like a safe bet.

I think Limbo is very attractive from his character design standpoint, so that’s a plus. And his personality was pretty solid too. I have no real complaints about him and his route, but I also didn’t feel anything crazy about him either.

I think he’s a solid character with a fun route and is probably who most people would try and play first since the game really hooks you into him early.

But I don’t feel like I have too much to say about him. Although I do like him and his sister’s dynamic, and I think he is a very caring and sweet person so that’s really nice.

Helvetica

I decided to play Helvetica’s route second, because honestly I didn’t like him very much based on the common route and Limbo’s route, so I kind of just wanted to get him out of the way and done with.

I feel very conflicted after playing Helvetica’s route. On one hand I’m not a fan of the type of love interest he is (where the game shoves in your face how good looking he is, he’s overly confident/arrogant, and where he teases/bullies MC a lot), so it was a little hard for me to really be into him. But on the other hand I think his character and story was actually really good, and more compelling than Limbo’s route (even though I prefer Limbo’s personality).

Helvetica’s route was super interesting, and had a lot of good moments. Even though I don’t prefer his character archetype I still really empathized and cared about him as a character.

My biggest complaint is this game didn’t commit to its conflict. It really annoys me when these games put high stakes, drama, and interesting plot points only to basically negate everything so there’s no real consequences. I don’t usually like to include spoilers but I’m going to have to because I need to address this so if you don’t want spoilers for this route as well as some from two other games, feel free to skip to the next route’s review.

Basically in this route Helvetica gets seriously injured, that in real life would result in some serious scarring. I wish the game committed to their story and actually left him with some scarring, it doesn’t have to be as bad as possible, but something to show there are real consequences to his actions would have been nice. One of the things I really loved about Mystic Messenger and Empherial was both committed to their injury plots. When Yoosung’s eye gets damaged they committed and kept it damaged. When MC gets scarred in Ray’s route of Empherial they commit and keep her scar. I love that because it means there are actually stakes. I hate it when a game will do something crazy like in Helvetica’s route, but then don’t fully commit to leaving consequences and evidence for their choices. It’s a really big pet peeve for me. So that also made me pretty annoyed with his route. But overall I think his route was good.

Shu

I decided to play Shu next because I was kind of interested in him, but not as much as the last two. I wasn’t really sure how to feel about Shu before playing his route, I don’t like that he’s a smoker, but he didn’t annoy me or seem like a bad guy. So I felt kind of conflicted and wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy his route or not.

After playing I actually enjoyed his route more than I expected to. I think it was pretty engaging and fun to play. I like that you can encourage him to stop smoking, honestly wish that was an option in more games. I also really enjoyed the ending of his route, it was very sweet. Much like Limbo’s route I don’t have much else to add other than it’s good and I like him. If you like the “bad boy” or “family first” type guys you’ll probably like him.

Scarecrow

The two I was most excited to play was Scarecrow and Mozu, so I really struggled to pick who to play first. But I landed on Scarecrow on a whim. But he seems pretty cute and awkward, plus he’s a hacker so I’m pretty down to play his route.

As expected I really enjoyed Scarecrow’s route! He’s so cute and awkward and that’s one of my favorite type of characters to play in these games! He’s also the youngest of the group (I think?), and I like that since I’m not a generally a fan of age gaps.

I would say he’s a very wholesome and sweet guy, very gentlemanly. His route has Enomoto vibes from CxM, so if you liked that you’ll probably like this.

The plot was good and it had a great hook, definitely had me questioning how everything would turn out. But I think Scarecrow and MC have such a cute and wholesome relationship! Just everything about this route was straight up my alley. Very cute and fun to play!

Mozu

I decided to play Mozu last because once again I was most excited for him and Scarecrow, since they both seemed the most like my type. Mozu appeals to me for two reasons, one he’s the quiet and reserved type which I enjoy, and the other is I like his personality a lot. I love that he’s a coroner, and the stuff he says, especially since I used to want to go into a similar field. So overall, very excited to play his route

As expected I really loved Mozu’s route! I just really love Mozu and his route was so good. It was the only to make me cry as well. I felt so many different emotions while playing his route, it was so engaging and interesting. It made me kick my feet happy and also crying from a wide range of feelings. I’m definitely glad I played his route last as he’s probably my favorite of these five. I loved this route! My only complaint is we got the lest of his POV which makes me sad, I also think they have the least couple-y content as well which sucks. But even with that I love him, he’s my favorite, and I enjoyed his route.

Last Two Chapters

I’ll be frank, Full Circle kind of sucked and was lackluster but I didn’t hate it. Auld Lang Syne I actually hated and despised. I need to rant so if you don’t want spoilers go to my final thoughts or click off.

But oh my gosh I hated this so freaking much. Words are not enough. In the common route and all routes I really loved Adam and was holding out hope the secret route would be an Adam route somehow. But no instead we got Auld Lang Syne. Which to be fair you could keep part of it for an Adam route and I’d be happy. Like sure MC’s brother Zora can still be an evil r*pist who SA/r*pes Luka and threatens to do the same to MC, because it’s sick but like we know Zora was a bad guy. You can even keep Adam killing him. But make Adam a route! Don’t give the guy a tumor that makes him loose his grip on reality and destroy his life! Like why did the writers hate Adam?! He did not deserve to go through all the suffering he does. It’s so insanely stupid they refused to give him a route and instead force fed us this rushed garbage. I’m livid, justice for Adam!

Overall

There is a lot I want to say about this game but I don’t know if I’ll remember it all so here we go. One thing I feel kind of conflicted about it the common route feels so long compared to individual routes, which makes some of the romance in the game feel rushed. This paired with the fact you basically have no time to get to know the love interests before your choices matter was not something I’m a fan of. I found it to be pretty frustrating. The common route also sets up a lot of things that don’t have an impact on any route and rather a forced together last minute in the “true ending”. Overall the game was really bad at adding any foreshadowing and suspense, like the fact Shu is a hit man was shocking to MC but not the player. A lot of the game kind of feels like that.

I feel really conflicted about how I feel about this game. On one hand it’s absolutely stunning, has great and dynamic art and animation, great voice acting, and an intriguing premise that really hooks you into the story. But on the other hand the romances feel a tad rushed and don’t really connect or drop hits to the “true ending”. That combined with the fact the last two true ending chapters really sucked, really left a sour taste in my mouth. I think I’m disappointed because before I played the final chapters I think I would have strongly recommended the game. But honestly it’s kind of ruined for me and I don’t think I’ll play the sequel like I had originally thought. And from what I’ve seen online it seems many people don’t like the final chapters. It kind of makes me wish I could be like the MC and go back in time to prevent myself from playing those last two chapters, because then I would have had much more positive things to say.

I don’t think the game is bad, it’s objectively really good and high quality (art wise), I just don’t understand what the writers were hoping for with those last chapters of the game, which sucks because as the true ending that’s where the sequel picks up. So sadly, I don’t think I like this game as much as I originally did and that sucks. I’m kind of worried to post this because I don’t want to be negative, but also not every game will be everyone’s cup of tea, so feel free to take my opinion with a grain of salt. But that’s all for this one! I’m planning on playing Café Enchant next so look forward to that!

[marshmallowprotection]

Hi Kait! How have you been? I don't know if you remember me, but I'm the same anon who came up with the idea of ​​Ray's Assistant in a relationship with the SE System.

Your response put a huge smile on my face and made me lost in daydreams, thousands of scenarios came to my mind and I needed to write them down—Being honest, I've considered making a fanfic about it, but secondly I haven't played Ray's Route, so I don't entirely trust my characterization of him and Suit, and firstly, well, SE Ray and Grave are pretty much your OCs and I wouldn't feel right doing it without consulting you first.

However, I didn't come here to talk about it but about the Secrets Endings-

You see, I'm relatively new to the Mystic Messenger fandom. I heard about the game when I was younger, but since I didn't have the means to play it back then, I quickly forgot about it, and it wasn't until earlier this year that I rediscovered it.

When something catches my attention, the first thing I do is get as much information about it as I can, not caring about spoilers in the case of series and video games. So, putting Mystic Messenger in the tumblr search engine I found your blog and, well... I love character analyzes—exploring their minds, find the reason (or at least try to understand) why they are the why they are and why they do what they do helps me to connect with the characters, discovering both good and bad traits of mine in their ways of being, and your analyzes of Saeran are so amazing that I ended up falling in love with him and your writing!

And I just completed the Secret Endings, which only served to position Unknown and SE Saeran in first place in my top favorite characters.

I have so many things to say, not only about him, about V and Saeyoung as well.

V is someone I have mixed feelings for—As character, he's excellent, as person, I want to slap him. I don't hate him, I can sympathize with him in certain ways and I cried because of it on more than one occasion during the first Secret Ending, I still don't like him though.

He upsets me, both with what he says and what he doesn't.

He feels responsible for Rika's actions, I get it, but how does he not realize the damage his "I'll take all the blame and consequences on my own" mentality causes? Yoosung, Jumin, Saeyoung, and Saeran—He hurts them all with his silence.

Despite everything, I have to admit that his death left me with a strange void. Look, during the ENTIRE game I accumulated this distrust and anger towards him, to which pity was added thanks to the SE.

I have thousands of questions, a lot of criticism, the desire to understand his motivations, and the little, stupid hope that maybe, just maybe, he can redeem himself-

But none of that matters because the bastard is dead.

I can't interrogate him, I can't yell and hit him, I can't give him a second chance because he's dead—Saeran killed him, and there's a little voice in my head telling me he deserved it.

He deserved it, for fostering in Rika the thought that her mental instability was 'beautiful'.

He deserved it, for not going to Jumin and telling him what was happening, even knowing that that man would move heaven and earth for his friends' well-being.

He deserved it, for not let know Saeyoung about the kidnapping of his twin.

He deserved it, for continuing to defend Rika even when she brainwashed hundreds, maybe thousands of people, locking up Saeyoung, Vanderwood, and MC, and destroy the sweet child she promised to care for.

He deserved it, so why did I shed my tears for him?

I could sit on my bed and think about it until I find an answer, but I can't waste my time like that when Saeran is here—Finally, he's here. He's alive, he's furious, he's depressed, he's confused, and I want to hug him and reassure him that everything will be okay, but I know it's not that easy.

...Is this how Saeyoung feels during all of this? Does he also feel this anger, this inexplicable sadness, this dissatisfaction, this feeling of relief?

Saeyoung needs a hug too. And I want to cuddle with him, caress his hair, kiss his forehead, let him know that he has my full support and that one day we will be happy, the three of us. But at some point my affection for him became something brotherly, and yes, I want him to love and be loved, to have his wedding on the space station, just not with me, not anymore.

I can relate to him on a personal level in this situation—I also have a sister with poor mental health, and she may not be at Saeran's level of instability, but she still has zero self-esteem and suicidal thoughts, and having someone you love in such condition is not easy.

Seeing Saeyoung begging Saeran not to leave him, that he's here for him, that they'll get through this together hit too close to home. But Saeran's refusal to listen to him, although understandable, was killing me, because just thinking about my sister reacting like that to me...

Some of the things Saeyoung said, however, made me uncomfortable.

They made me uncomfortable because they're exactly the kind of things I keep to myself knowing they might sound selfish to my sister's ears. When he talked about how time is a social construction? "Don't say things like that, it's not that easy," was what I thought, and Saeran shouted similar words.

Still, I admire his strength, because if I were in Saeyoung's place, I would have cried almost the entire time.

Now, Saeran...

Oh, Kait, you have no idea how much I love his voice. Some people say it doesn't suit the character, but for me it fits perfectly, Sujin Kang's performance is worthy of a standing ovation.

You can feel his disbelief as he sees V in that cabin, and how his reality crumbles as he cries "Savior! Savior!" when Rika refuses to give him answers. When he compared Saeyoung dragging him into the bunker with his mother locking up and Rika isolating him it was like someone had taken my heart in hand and squeezed it, he sounded so hopeless...

By the time Saeyoung stopped him from ending his life, I was sobbing silently. I cried in every episode of the second Secret Ending and always because of Saeran, even now my eyes fill with tears thinking about everything he had to go through.

I don't think I can say anything about our boy that you haven't said before, but I can assure you that my love for him is stronger than ever and that my new understanding of his mental state is going to drown me in sobs.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to reread Iris and cry about it properly.

Have a good night!

Jihyun is a complicated, multi-faceted character. He and Rika both did things that furthered the worst case scenario, and frankly, they brought out the worst in each other time and time again. I find him interesting, and frankly, he's my third favorite character because of how complex he is. Though, I hardly get to discuss it because V and Rika, both, are talked about in the sense of extremes rather than the realm of discussing how they both hold blame and fault.

Their relationship was mutually toxic and abusive. They were using each other for the wrong reasons and their relationships spiraled out of control because what they thought was love was actually idolation and obsession. V will keep his promise to never let go of someone to make up for what happened to his mother, and the only route where he is able to fully overcome that without hitting rock bottom, is in his own route.

Ray Route and Seven Route are the worst case scenario for Jihyun Kim.

Because he is immediately forced into a position where he has no choice but to decide what he wants to do with himself, and he will choose to regress into his mistakes every time instead of pulling out of them. It's one of the reasons why I like his character so much.

When you think he's going to finally help himself and make the right decision, he regresses, unfortunately, and that's human. All of these characters have moments where they regress or they struggle, and that's what helps them feel human, even if it's frustrating. We all have moments in our life like that, and we're not proud of it.

But, hey, the world isn't perfect and we can make mistakes despite our intentions.

I've loved Saeran since 2016, but let me tell you, SE Saeran means so much to me. It can be tough to play through the Secret Endings because I know exactly what he's feeling and I know where he's been. Looking at him sometimes it's like looking in a mirror, and there is comfort in knowing that he knows what it feels like to not have control over his situation, because sometimes all you want is to be understood by something you love.

Even if you can't find that in the real world, seeing it in the media means that your experience is something that can be understood and someone will get you someday, and smile at you the way you want. 

It just goes to show that we can learn a lot from the things we love. Sure, you related much more to Saeyoung in this situation, but playing this allowed you the opportunity to see more of what it must feel like to be in your sister's shoes. I think the great thing about emotionally charged games like this is that it gives us the opportunity to better understand not only ourselves but the people around us. Because I think the best way to learn and grow is to continue to seek out things that make us see ourselves in a way that may not be comfortable, but gives us a chance to face what needs to be faced. 

Iris is a labor of love so I am happy to hear that you enjoyed that story in particular. I always wanted to write an assistant timeline for Unknown outside of the confines of the one I created for my MC. That story was the one I always wanted to write and even to this day, I'm happy I wrote it. 

That little plot twist at the end is my favorite part because there are bits and pieces that give you hints about what's going to happen once you get to those last few chapters, but I made them sparingly appear in the strangest places so it would come to the reader as a surprise. 

[sevens-binarycode]

Ray x Reader Comfort

As I mentioned before I have started to play mystic messenger again again, and this time I am taking the V/Ray route and Ray is just a broken boy wanting love, my favorite *-*

Now, Seven will always have my heart but his brother needs love as well!! I have not finished the route and there will be some spoilers in this, I also am on V’s route and do not know the end to Rays route so that may show in the writing but I just wanted to self indulge for a second.

Context: Ray has left Mint Eye and is living with you but he is experiencing withdrawal from the Elixir and anxiety from leaving Rika so you try to comfort him.

Ray x Reader (gender not specified)

Comfort: Lots of cuddles, 840 words

No proof reading as usual, sorry for any mistakes!

He was quiet for the most part, his breathing deep and far apart. His hair was so soft, the roots that bright fiery red that always appeared in his baby photos. He decided to grow out his natural color after dating you, wanting to forget about Mint Eye. You massaged his head, occasionally playing with his hair and rubbing it between your fingers. Your arm had started to fall asleep from the weight of his head but you didn’t dare move. Ray has always had issues sleeping, night terrors visiting him every night and keeping him awake, but this was the first time in a long time he was able to sleep without interruption for an hour. After leaving Rika, his thoughts of worthlessness and anxiety plagued his heads, the side effects of not taking the elixir worsening his thoughts. He spent a lot of his days crying, he mentioned even darker thoughts, thoughts that would cause harm to himself. You decided to stay home with him until he was able to overcome these. He felt bad when he learned you were staying home from work and friends because of him, but telling him that as long as he would make you coffee in the morning you would forgive him. You didn’t really care for coffee, but the thoughts of being helpful filled Ray with happiness. He felt that by making you coffee in the morning and being useful in any way would keep you happy with him. And because of this, you became a regular coffee drinker.

Suddenly, Ray started to stir in his sleep. He became twitchy, his legs resembling faintly of running motions, a quiet whine coming from his throat. You made sure to pull him in tighter, restricting his movements, like a swaddle for a baby. Moving your hand to his back, you slowly rubbed it up and down, his shirt feeling slightly damp from the sweat accumulating on his body, you presumed from the nightmare he was having. Softly humming to create a soothing vibration in his head, you felt him slightly relax again, his head falling up and down on your chest, his hair ticking your chin. You were becoming tired, but you didn’t want to sleep. If you were asleep you couldn’t monitor his sleep, you couldn’t see if he was having one of those night terrors again. One side effect of the elixir for Ray, both on and off it, is pouding, agonizing headaches. This also stopped him from sleeping for hours, his body being resistant to pain meds after using them so often for so long. Something that sort of calmed them was warm showers and head massages. The water and strategic pressure helped his muscles relax. He felt terrible at first, not wanting you to service him in such ways, but after pretending to be incredibly hurt by his actions, he finally let you pamper him every night before bed. Of course, seeing him in pain hurt you. Anyone would agree, seeing your partner in pain and not being able to do anything is one of the most painful things in the world, so it wasn't really an act when he refused your help. Just as much as he wanted to be helpful to you, you wanted to be helpful to him. Hearing Ray’s soft breathing, the occasional twitch of his arms, the warmth of his body pressed on yours, you felt yourself start to slip away into your own dreamland. You willed yourself to stay awake, to stay with him a little longer. Eventually, you couldn’t stay awake anymore without moving. As your eyes started to shut, your arms relaxing, the last thing you remember was Ray’s head pressed against your chest and his arms wrapped loosely around your waist.

The sound of birds chirping, the light in your eyes, and the smell of coffee woke you up. The bed felt strangely cold, your arms empty, and your chest oddly light. You heard Ray’s light footsteps as he approached the shared bedroom. He quietly opened the door, testing to see if you were awake. When he saw your eyes open and looking out the window, sleep still written all over your face, he offered a soft “good morning” as he approached your side, coffee cup in hand. He gently placed it on the nightstand beside you, waiting for you to respond, a ‘good morning’ or a ‘command’, anything just to hear your voice. Instead, you looked at his face, his eye bags still as prominent as before, but his skin looking so soft and flawless, a slight smile and an expectant look in his eyes. You reached your arms out for him, first confused, but soon understanding the meaning, he crawled into bed with you. He laid his head on your chest, arms wrapped loosely around your waist, breathing slow and deep. This was the paradise that Ray was truly looking for, and the same for you. This was right, beautiful, and pure bliss.

This was your elixir.