#not art block nor a lack of ideas but a secret third thing

[a-hopeless-individual]

me lately

[lucky-slice]

not art block nor a lack of ideas but rather a secret third thing where if i stare at anything i make, i immediately want to throw up and smash my computer into thousand pieces. delightful

[alphacrone]

for it’s better to burn out than to fade out of sight (6/?)

rating: T pairings: Yuki & Tohru (platonic), Tohru/Kyo, Yuki/Machi, other canon pairings & friendships summary: In the end, it wasn’t sadness Yuki felt, when Tohru Honda had her memories erased. No, it was anger. And anger he could work with.

<< read previous chapter || read next chapter >>

v. my cliff face is crumbling, silently tumbling, down to the water below

***

Yuki wasn’t sure what happened. One day he was hanging out normally with Tohru, playing card games and eating lunch, and the next she was scurrying away from him in the halls. Had he done something to offend her? Was he annoying her, spending so much time with her group of friends? Did he smell ? 

Uotani and Hanajima noticed—of course they did, they’d been on high alert since the tent incident—but made no mention of it to Yuki. This, shockingly, did nothing to alleviate his worry. 

Before, they’d chat in the mornings before class, sit together to eat lunch, and then sometimes hang out after school, whether to walk home or to Tohru’s job or to a convenience store to get drinks. But now she made excuses to skip lunch, arrived to class late and left as soon as the bell rang. Yuki thought he was going to lose his mind as he obsessively thought of anything and everything he could have done to hurt her. 

This went on for a whole week before Uotani and Hanajima cornered Yuki by the lockers as he prepared to go home. 

“Have you noticed anything...off about Tohru lately?” Uotani asked, arms folded defensively across her chest. She reflexively looked over her shoulder as a few chattering girls passed. 

“Off?” Yuki asked. He dropped his shoes to the floor and pulled off one of his uwabaki . “She has been avoiding me, but I’m not sure what I did to offend her.” 

Uotani nodded. “At first I thought you just did something stupid and Tohru was being too nice to tell us about it, but now...she’s acting really shifty around us, too.” 

With a sigh, Yuki slipped on his shoes. “Have you tried talking to her about it?” 

“Yes,” Hanajima replied. “She denies anything is wrong. But she’s lying.” 

“Do you think…?” Yuki paused, unsure how to verbalize his thoughts delicately. 

Uotani, however, had no such qualms. “That she’s being mistreated by her family? Yeah.” 

“She doesn’t say much about her aunt and oldest cousin,” Hanajima said grimly, face not showing a hint of emotion. “She says very kind things about her grandpa, and sometimes her cousin, Kaoru. But the other two...I don’t trust them.” 

“Do you think they’re...hurting her?” Yuki asked, alarmed. His hands began to shake involuntarily, so he gripped tighter at his satchel.

“I don’t think so,” Uotani said with a sigh. “Not, like, physically. But Tohru’s too nice, I think they’re taking advantage of that. She’s so good at cooking and cleaning, those rat bastards probably think she owes them and makes her do all the chores, even though she’s got school and work and stuff! Kids shouldn’t have to earn a place to live, you know? Not from their families.” 

“They shouldn’t,” Yuki said softly. “But she may feel she has to.” 

Uotani huffed with dark laughter and shook her head. “You may not’ve known Tohru long, but you’re spot-on with that, Prince . Fuck!” Uotani kicked one of the lockers, hands in her hair. “Should I just kidnap her? Force her to live with me n’ Pops and refuse to let her do any chores ever ?” 

“My parents would love to have her back with us,” Hanajima said simply. “They think it’s refreshing to have such a hardworking young person in the house. Megumi and I lack motivation.” 

Yuki couldn’t say it to them, but he knew of a household that desperately missed Tohru’s presence, a place where she’d had her own room and was free to be herself. She’d insisted on doing the cooking and the cleaning, but only because Shigure had convinced her not to pay rent. She hadn’t just been good for the Sohmas in that house; Yuki truly believed they’d been good for her, too. 

“Perhaps...we should have a word with her grandfather,” Yuki suggested. “Without Tohru present.” 

Uotani’s eyes lit up. “Oh, now there’s an idea. You really are more than just a pretty face.” 

Yuki huffed and gave Uotani an unimpressed look. She laughed and slapped his shoulder, far more aggressively than he anticipated. 

“You will be a valuable asset in the future,” Hanajima agreed. “Let’s discuss this further tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, yeah, we can figure out the details later.” Uotani waved at Yuki. “See ya later!” 

“Later…” Yuki parroted, feeling a little overwhelmed. Uotani and Hanajima were never not overwhelming, but he felt he’d grown closer to them lately, so their loud personalities felt more amusing than grating. He could see what Tohru loved about them. 

Feeling lighter than he had all day, Yuki began his long walk home. Tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow...

***

Tohru was still avoiding him the next day. Uotani shot him a concerned grimace as Tohru made an excuse to not eat lunch with them that day, but Yuki wasn’t having it. As she scurried away from Hanajima, Yuki followed, rushing out of the classroom without a word. It was one thing to avoid him , but for Tohru to avoid her two closest friends? Yuki was putting an end to it. 

“Honda, please!” He called as she turned a corner. “Wait up!” 

He could hear her footsteps grow faster, so he broke into a sprint. Tohru was many things, but fast was not one of them. 

Yuki caught up to her in the stairwell, halfway up to the third floor. He grabbed her hand, nearly tripping them both in the process, but he was willing to do anything to get Tohru to stop . 

“ Please,” he panted, squeezing tightly at her hand. “Honda, please, whatever I did, I’m sorry. Please don’t avoid your friends because of me. Please .” 

“What?” Tohru’s voice was small and shaky. “I-I’m not avoiding anyone, I’m just- busy! I promise.” 

“Honda…” Yuki let go of her hand. “We’ve all noticed. Uotani and Hanajima are really worried about you. I’m worried about you. So if I did something, please just tell me and I’ll go away, I won’t ever talk to you again-”

“No!” Tohru covered her mouth. “I mean...you didn’t do anything, Sohma. I...I can’t tell you what’s wrong. But it’s not something you did, I don’t think…” 

“You don’t...think…?” Yuki narrowed his eyes. “Honda, please, tell me what’s wrong.” 

“I-I...I have photos,” Tohru whispered, curling in on herself until her hair draped in front of her face, blocking her from Yuki’s view. “Photos of...us.” 

Yuki, for the life of him, could not recall taking a selfie with Tohru, nor were Hana and Uo the type to snap candids of their friends while hanging out. The only people who ever took his picture were the girls from the fan club…

His heart skipped a beat. “Is someone harassing you?” He asked, leaning in closer. “For...for being friends with me?”

“No! No, it’s not that,” Tohru scrambled, still hiding her face from him. “M-my aunt hired a private detective to follow me, before I moved in with them, and he- he took photos of me. Of us.” 

“They what? ” Yuki’s frown deepened. “Your family doesn’t approve of...friends? Male friends? Is that it?”

“Sohma.” The seriousness of her tone made Yuki’s blood run cold. She looked up at him, eyes red and swollen, looking distraught. It was devastating. 

“Honda…” Yuki leaned back, realizing he’d encroached so far into her personal space, their noses had nearly touched. 

Tohru took a deep, shuddering breath and said, “I don’t remember it. Any of it. There are pictures of us walking home, going to the store...and Kyo is in them, too, and I don’t remember ever seeing him outside school, but there are pictures and- and I know it’s me and you and him in the pictures but how ? How could all these pictures exist? How could they exist and I don’t- I don’t remember...we weren’t even friends then, when I was living in the tent.” 

Emotions crashed like waves in Yuki’s chest, battering his ribs like ships upon rocks. He was relieved and horrified and distraught and elated all at once, heart clenching at the dark circles under Tohru’s eyes, the sickly pallor from all the nights she must have stayed awake thinking she’d gone mad. He wanted nothing more, in that moment, than to be able to take her hand and tell her nothing was wrong. But he couldn’t; Yuki refused to lie to her. 

“What if I told you…” he said slowly. “That people’s memories could be suppressed?” 

Tohru’s lips parted in a shocked oh . “Sohma, what do you mean?” 

“There are people in my family, who have studied the art of memory suppression,” he continued carefully. “It’s something they have to implement when...outsiders learn our secret.” 

“You’re not making any sense,” Tohru whispered, voice cracking with emotion. “What’s going on?” 

“Do you remember living in the tent, all those weeks? Do you remember anything from that time?” 

“Yes…” Tohru paused, teeth worrying at her bottom lip. “I remember...it was a little scary at first. There were bugs everywhere and I could hear dogs howling at night. I had to shower and wash my clothes at school, too, but I wasn’t worried because I always had Mom with me. Except when- when…” She swallowed audibly, eyes roving back and forth as she dug further into her memory. “There was...a landslide. Mom- Mom was buried and I couldn’t get her out and then...then everything was okay. Did someone…? I remember...ornaments. I saw Zodiac ornaments set out to dry...at someone’s house? But there wasn’t a cat one, of course there wasn’t, but I was still sad.” She closed her eyes, head clutched in her hands. “There was a garden.” 

“A garden?” Yuki’s throat grew tight. “What was in the garden.” 

“Leeks,” Tohru responded, and then she laughed. “I don’t know why that’s funny, I’m sorry.” 

“It is funny,” Yuki said gently. “Kyo hates them.” 

The corner of Tohru’s mouth quirked up. “Sohma...did I learn your family’s secret?” She asked in a hushed whisper. 

Yuki nodded, too relieved to speak. 

“And...my memories were erased,” she said. Yuki tried to nod again, but instead ducked his head low in shame. 

“I-I’m sorry,” he said, hot tears spilling over his cheeks. “I couldn’t stop it. I should’ve tried harder, but I could-couldn’t.” 

“It’s okay,” Tohru said, taking Yuki’s hand back in hers. “I know you wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t important.” 

Yuki shook with his tears, sobbing heavily as the relief and terror overcame him after weeks of balancing on a razor’s edge. She knew . She didn’t remember, but she knew . 

“So, we were friends, then?” Tohru asked softly. “And then I forgot, and we became friends again?” 

“Y-yeah,” Yuki rasped. “You-you said...you asked me if we could still be friends, after you forgot. Th-that’s why I asked to eat lunch with you that day. I wanted us to be friends, like we had been.” 

“Thank you,” Tohru said, and her voice sounded almost as watery as his. “Thank you.” 

And then she did the one thing Yuki hoped for and feared. She threw her arms around him in a hug. For a brief, bright moment, Yuki relished the warmth of her close to him, the sweet scent of her shampoo, the absolute love that radiated from her like light from the sun.

But then he felt the tell-tale pull of transformation, thick smoke engulfed him, and he plummeted to the ground fast and hard. 

Tohru’s gasp was the last thing he heard before everything went black. 

[nightshadedawn]

Persona 6, anyone?

{Next} {Last}

PERSONA 6 CONCEPT PART 1

You ever just get an idea that you HAVE to put into words? Well, that happened. And now I have put myself into a miserable position considering I’m not on the Atlus team. And you all have to suffer with me.

Before I get into this, check out this video because it’s where most of my ideas, the grounds for me thinking about this in the first place, started from. With that in mind, I changed a few things because I didn’t like them or thought they didn’t make the greatest sense. With that out of the way, click to read more if you’d like to see what I’ve come up with! (Very long, mind you)

I do recommend you watch the video first because there’s a lot my brain just decided that the reader should KNOW, and it’d be hard to amend what I’ve written at this point.

The Mechanics

Main Character - This time around, you’ll be able to choose between being male and female. For a new spin, you will be a third year.

Battle - Battle mechanics will remain the same as Persona 5, including negotiations, baton pass, and Shadow negotiations. 

Romance - With both male and female options for a main character, there are male and female options for love interests. Out of the 22 Major Arcana, there are 10 available love interests. 5 male, 5 female. You will be able to date everyone, no matter your gender.

Harem Romance - Unlike previous games, if you date more than one person, there is the chance of them coming together to make it a triad, allowing for group dates. However, if you choose to date all ten love interests, none of them will be happy with you. It also requires select grouping to allow for triads. Moon-Sun; Magician-Lovers; Hierophant-Tower; Star-Death; Hanged-Devil. If you manage to date both before select days and get the communication across to form the triad, there may be special scenes to include both (ex: school trip, Valentine’s, Christmas, school festival, ect)

The Velvet Room - It’s a hospital this time around. That’s really all I’ve got to say on it for now.

Setting

Characters

MC - Will be able to choose your gender. As a girl, her placeholder name is Hikari Iyashi, derived from the ‘light’ meaning for Hikari and ‘healing’ for Iyashi. As a male, the place holder name will be Hikaru Iyashi for the same reasons. Unlike previous MC’s, this MC is a third year. They moves to a small town to live with their estranged father and younger sister, two people they has not seen since before they can remember, after their mother’s tragic death due to an incurable illness. If you are male, it will be commented that you look like your mother, while if you are female, they will comment about your similarities to you father. It will be exclaimed that after the MC’s parents separated, their mother took back her maiden name and changed the MC’s to that to avoid confusion while they were growing up. Their first Persona will use wind and healing spells. This Persona is possible to be either Achelois or Persephone, and whichever one it isn’t, will likely be a Persona you can later pick up.

Melee: Mace

Ranged: Bow/crossbow

The Arcana

The Fool Arcana - Igor joins once again by incorporating the Fool Arcana. He warns MC of a mysterious illness infecting the town that will not only continue to infect it, but eventually spread to infect the rest of Japan, the world, and every other world in existence.

Upright - Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit

Reversed - Holding back, recklessness, risk-taking

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The Magician Arcana - Masaru Kazama will be available to talk to at the beginning of the game, though his social link will only be available at night. The closer you get to him, you will discover that he is college age, but was unable to attend anything after graduating high school due to lack of money and resources. He suffers from insomnia, and several meet ups will result with him falling asleep on you because he feels comfortable enough to do so. He is a romance option. 

Upright - Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action

Reversed - Manipulation, poor planning, untapped talents 

Confidant Rank

1 - 10 Unknown 

The High Priestess Arcana - Persona 3 had a dog, Persona 4 had a bear, Persona 5 had a cat. So why can’t Persona 6 have a bird? Avis will be the MC’s guide through the other world in the beginning. In the real world, she appears as an elegant green parrot with golden trimmins, while in the other world she’s a silver phoenix with green trimmings. She is confident, elegant, and wise. She is easily capable of leading the party through difficult battles or where to go next. Unlike previous counterparts, she is neither cocky nor condescending. Her link will raise as the story progresses.

Upright- Intuition, sacred knowledge, divine feminine, the subconscious mind

Reversed - Secrets, disconnected from intuition, withdrawal and silence

 Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The Empress Arcana - Either their father’s girlfriend or their stepmother doesn’t matter, but Haruka is the new woman of the house and there to stay. She’s a writer, famous for her theories on other worlds and the supernatural. But she doesn’t know how to be a mother. She can’t replace the MC’s own mother, but as they grow closer, she can grow to be a second one.

Upright - Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance

Reversed - Creative block, dependence on others

Confidant Ranks

2 - Occasionally asks for more money or items during negotiations.

5 - Allows you to ask for large amounts of money during negotiations.

8 - Makes Shadows less way of you, so it lessens security level increases, and decreases security level more overnight.

10 - Allows you to form contracts with higher-level Shadows.

The Emperor Arcana - Yuuki Kawaguchi is the MC’s estranged father; a stern, hardworking teacher at the high school, and the MC’s English teacher. He has a notoriously weak immune system and tends to forget to get rid of his teacher facade at home and outside of school. The closer you get to him, the more you’ll find out about why he and the MC’s mother split and why the MC went with their mother and their sister stayed with their father. He will also start to loosen up and be not as strict.

Upright - Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure

Reversed - Domination, excessive control, lack of discipline, inflexibility

Confidant Ranks

1 - If you ask him at night, he will make you an extremely unhealthy bento for the next day (it will be shit and not do much for health, but it works for the beginning of the game)

2 - Allows lax study time in class to do something else

4 - Later curfew, allowing you to do more than one thing at night

6 - Gets other teachers in on lax study time

8 - Will make a better, healthy bento, which will greatly up your SP and HP.

10 - Will occasionally allow you to play the ‘sick card’ for ‘personal reasons’ and giving you the ability to do more during the day.

The Hierophant Arcana - Sayaka Ito will be the MC’s first friend, and first possible romantic interest. She’s carefree and kind, and much unlike all of the others of the town the MC will first meet. It’s quickly found out that this is because she is also a transfer student and was moved into a foster home in the town. Part of a small band/music club. She admits that she suffers from Imposter Syndrome from time to time, only lately, it’s been getting worse. 

Persona: Atlanta

Skills: Ice and physical

Melee: Axe

Ranged: Dual wield pistols

Upright - Spiritual wisdom, religious beliefs, conformity, tradition,institutions

Reversed - Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Sayaka to use Baton Pass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Sayaka to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Mediation: Allows Sayaka to step in when an Shadow Negotiation fails

5 - Hypnotic: Allows Sayaka to change the course of negotiation with a song

6 - Harisen Recovery: Allows Sayaka to remove party ailments

7 - Song of Memory: Allows you to recall skills for a short period

8 - Endure: Allows Sayaka to endure fatal attacks with one hit point remaining.

9 - Protect: Allows Sayaka to take a fatal attack for MC

10 - Transforms her Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Lovers Arcana - Akemi Sonoda will not be available right away, but you first be able to meet her over summer vacation. The closer you grow, you will find out that she’s a university student from the city, back for the vacation. However, she isn’t sure she wants to return. You’ll find out that she’s bulimic, in the early stages now, and part of your link with be helping her overcome this. She is romanceable.

Upright - Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices

Reversed - Self-love, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values

Confidant Ranks

2 - Sphere of Prettiness: Shadows will be more likely to give more valuable items

4 - Charming: Allows you to have an easier time obtaining Shadows

6 - Schmoozer: Makes it easier to tell which dialogue you Confidants want to hear

8 - Beautiful Heart: Shadows will give you rare and valuable items

10 - Beguiling: Shadows will become yours before even asking.

The Chariot Arcana - Tsubasa Himura is a coach over at the dojo in town. You will be able to buy different armors and melee weapons from him. During the day, he will also give lessons on martial arts that will boost your HP and SP. The higher you go through his rank, you will begin to unravel his past and see his PTSD and how it’s affecting him, but also help him through it. He is not a romance option.

Upright - Control, willpower, success, action, determination

Reversed - Self-discipline, opposition, lack of direction

 Confidant Ranks

2 - White Belt: Raises how much HP and SP you’ll gain from training (applicable anywhere)

3 - Yellow Belt: Unlocks new weapons and armor

4 - Orange Belt: Bring a party member to train with to raise their HP and SP

5 - Green Belt: White Belt to a greater degree

6 - Blue Belt: Lowers price of weapons and armor

7 - Purple Belt: Unlock new weapons and armor

8 - Red Belt: Green Belt to a greater degrees

9 - Brown Belt: Greatly lowers the price of weapons and armor

10 - Black Belt: Red Belt to a greater degree, increases accuracy, evasion, and defense (you can now train to increase them as well)

The Strength Arcana - Shinju Kawaguchi is the MC’s little sister and was raised by their father. She will be the last to join the MC’s party. She is disabled, and cannot walk, having to move around in a wheel chair. She has a crush on Masahiko in the beginning of her social link, but slowly grows past that while learning to truly accept herself as she is. As she is the MC’s sister, she is not available as a romantic social link. 

Persona: Hephaestus

Skills: Fire, buff

Melee: Her chair

Ranged: Cannon

Upright - Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion

Reversed - Inner strength, self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Shinju to use Baton Bass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Shinju to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Bedtime Gossip: Allows Shinju to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails

4 - Lil’ Sis, All Ears: Allows you to see skills and potential items drops on the analysis screen

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Shinju to cure party ailments

7 - Kids Talk: Allows you to see Null, Repel, and Drain on a target in battle

8 - Endure: Allows Shinju to withstand a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: Allows Shinju to take a fatal attack aimed at MC

10 - Transforms her Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Hermit Arcana - Hiroki Hisakawa will be available to talk to after you hear rumors of him at the theater. After you go to the forest, you’ll find him alone in his hut. Throughout your time with him, you’ll learn of his alcohol addiction and help him overcome this while helping him with his yard. He will make you a special ranged weapon at the end of every rank and will sell his wooden models of guns.

Upright - Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance

Reversed - Isolation, loneliness, withdrawal

Confidant Ranks

1 - Opens gun sales to you

2 - Increases the amount of weapons for sale

3 - Allows you to make your own weapons

5 - Decreases money for weapons

6 - Increases the amount of ammo

8 - Increases amount of weapons

9 - Allows you to craft higher level weapons

10 - Decreases money for weapons

The Fortune Arcana - Mizuki Kazama will be available after some time is spent in the hospital. During her social link, you’ll be acting as a volunteer in the hospital and you’ll be spending time with Mizuki as she goes through chemo for her cancer and comes to terms with her deadly illness. You’ll inspire her to not give up hope by the end and try to live her life again. She is not a romantic social link. 

Upright - Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point

Reversed - Bad luck, resistance to change, breaking cycles

Confidant Ranks

1 - Allows you to swap current party with backup members during MC’s turn.

3 - Chance for a follow-up by a backup member if MC downs an enemy.

5 - Allows you to attempt to escape, even when surrounded by the enemy.

7 - Earn double money if a battle is won in one turn after a successful ambush.

8 - Decreases turn delay to zero, allowing you to instantly escape battle.

10 - Allows you to swap current party with backup members during anyone’s turn

The Justice Arcana - You’ll meet Dr. Ren Ueda shortly into the beginning of the story, as he’ll be the one to examine the MC and their family for symptoms of the virus. With the MC being the only one that’s clean, he jokingly asks if you’d like to do some volunteer work around the hospital since they’re severely understaffed. His first link will be available the first time you volunteer at the hospital. The biggest plot to his link is trying to find a cure for the virus. Throughout his social link, you will learn how he lost his right arm and how he learned to live without it and despite its loss is still a good doctor. Sadly, there’s probably some dark secret he’s trying to hide. 

Upright - Justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law

Reversed - Unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty

Confidant Ranks

1 - Will give you healing items under the pretense of you handing them out to your family

3 - Increases the selection of healing items he’ll give you

5 - Adds more healing items to the selection

7 - Adds support items to the inventory at the selection.

9 - Decreases the price for all items sold at the selection.

10 - Increase the selection of revival items at the selection.

The Hanged Man Arcana - Masahiko Oshiro is a transfer student sent to this grimy, rural town by his father after his greed and arrogance get the better of him. At first, the only one he has any sort of good opinion of will be the MC, as they are from the city too. Sayaka is too… wild for him to like even though she’s also a city kid. Masahiko will be very quickly affected by the virus spreading throughout the town and will almost succumb to it… but instead awakens his Persona and becomes the fourth to join the team. He is a second year. He’ll be the team’s navigator throughout the rest of the playthrough. Throughout his social link, you will open his eyes to the fact that all people deserve respect and that the world these people in the town live in isn’t so bad, even if it’s neither rich nor glamorous. He will be a romantic option, though will struggle to admit his feels if the MC is male.

Persona: Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld and wealth

Skills: Navigation

 Upright - Pause, surrender, letting go, new perspectives

Reversed - Delays, resistance, stalling, indecision

Confidant Ranks

1 - Chance to cast Kaja or party-healing magic during battle.

3 - Chance to instantly Hold Up enemies when starting a battle.

4 - Moral Support may now Charge or recover SP.

5 - Chance to revive search objects in the area after battle

6 - Harrison Recovery: Change to cure party ailments

8 - Chance to swap current party with backups when two or more people are KO’d.

9 - Protect: Change to guard MC from a fatal attack

10 - Transforms his Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Death Arcana - Miyako Fujimori will be the second female party member added to your team after Sayaka. She will be depressed and have almost succumbed to the virus and take her own life. She is a second year. Throughout her social link, you will help her come to terms with her depression, what caused it, and help her look into healthy ways of dealing with it with the end goal of getting better. She will be a romantic option.

Persona: Osias

Skills: Curse, ailment

Melee: Sais

Ranged: Throwing knives

Upright - Endings, change, transformation, transition

Reversed - Resistance to change, personal transformation, inner purging

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Miyako use Baton Pass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Miyako to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Heart-to-Heart: Allows Miyako to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails.

4 - Fearful Expression: A chance to go directly into an All Out Attack after a successful ambush

5 - Extends the reach to jump into an ambush

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Miyako to cure party ailments

7 - Chance to instantly win a battle after a successful ambush.

8 - Endure: The chance to survive a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: The chance to sheild MC from a fatal attack

10 - Transforms her Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Temperance Arcana - Hiroko Ikeda’s social link will be available after you work for her three times. It will quickly become evident that she’s got dementia and can’t really remember things. She’ll never remember your name, and instead call you by the name of one of her grandchildren. However, she’ll eventually admit that she’s lost so many memories of her family since they stopped visiting her while witing for her to die, and now the only person she truly remembers is you.

Upright - Balance, moderation, patience, purpose

Reversed - Imbalance, excess, self-healing, re-alignment

Confidant Ranks

1 - Allows you to grow and harvest vegetables in her garden

3 - Unknown

4 - Increase how many crops you’ll get from a single harvest

6 - Doubles the amount of land you can use to grow vegetables

8 - Decrease the amount of time it takes to cultivate vegetables

9 - Unknown

10 - Unknown

The Devil Arcana - Jun Sanada will be the next to join the party after Hoshiko. You will first meet him while he’s hitting on Hoshiko about a week after her dungeon crawl, and gets violent when she rejects him. You’ll step in the way of his hit while the others tell him off (seeing as the MC’s are generally quiet and all). You will get the chance to help him work through his anger issues and learn appropriate responses to things as you go through his link. At rank nine, you will accompany him as he apologizes to Hoshiko along with other women and people he has wronged along the way of learning to be better. At the end of this rank, he will become available as a romantic partner, though like Masahiko, will struggle with admitting his feelings if the MC is a male. His initial persona is Lyssa, and he will use electric and almighty spells. 

Upright - Shadow self, attachment, addiction, restriction, sexuality

Reversed - Releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, detachment

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Jun to use Baton Pass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Jun to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Passive Aggression: Allows Jun to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails.

4 - Unknown

5 - Unknown

6 - Harrison Recovery

7 - Unknown

8 - Endure

9 - Protect

10 - Transforms his Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Tower Arcana - Yūdai Shinoda is a third year and will be join the party immediately after Sayaka. He will be hesitant to join at first, because it’s a lot of work he just doesn’t want to do. But he will eventually agree, and become part of the party. Throughout his social link, he will try different things to lose weight in order to be a better fit for the party. However, none of them will work. He comes to admit that he just likes food. Likes eating it, likes cooking it, he just likes it. By the end, he makes the decision to becomes a chef. He will be your first male romanic option. His initial Persona will be Hidaru-gami, and he will use debuff and nuclear spells.

Upright - Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening

Reversed - Personal transformation, fear of change, averting disaster

Confidant Ranks

1 - Home Meal: Teachss MC to cook a meal that will slightly recover HP

2 - Baton Pass: Allows Yūdai to use Baton Pass

3 - Follow Up: Allows Yūdai to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

4 - Reknown Chef: Teaches MC to cook a meal that will moderately recover HP

5 - Peace Offering: Allows Yūdai to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Yūdai to cure party ailments

7 - Culinary Genius: Teaches MC to cook a meal that will fully recover HP

8 - Endure: A chance to survive a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: A chance to protect MC from a fatal attack

10 - Transforms his Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Star Arcana - Hoshiko Akiyama is a first year student and will join the party after Masahiko. She suffers from extreme social anxiety and will hardly be able to say a word to anyone outside of the MC for some time. The bright red of her hair often subjects her to bullying, and is part of the reason for her anxiety. Besides this, she is kind and this kindness is often used but never repaid, which leads her to become hateful, something you will have to help her overcome. Through her social link, you will help her obtain the confidence to stand up for herself and no longer be treated as inferior. She is a romantic option. She will be the first (perhaps only) to mention in the main storyline (outside of confidant links) that she likes both boys and girls.

Persona: Cerberus

Skills: Physic

Melee: Dagger

Ranged: Sniper Rifle

Upright - Hope, faith, purpose, renewal, spirituality

Reverse - Lack of faith, despair, self-trust, disconnection

Confidant Ranks

1 - Scanner: Allows Hoshiko to scan and print simple skill cards to duplicate them.

2 - Baton Pass: Allows Hoshiko to use Baton Pass

3 - Follow Up: Allows Hoshiko to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

4 - Breathing Exercise: Allows Hoshiko to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails

5 - Printer: Allows Hoshiko to scan and print adept skill cards to duplicate them.

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Hoshiko to cure party ailments

7 - 3D: Allows Hoshiko to scan and print master skills cards to duplicate them.

8 - Endure: A chance to survive a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: A chance to sheild MC from a a fatal attack

10 - Transforms Hoshiko’s Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Sun & Moon Arcanas - The Sun and Moon arcanas will effectively act as two different social links, and both will be datable options. However, as you will discover after reaching the sixth rank of both, they are efficiently the same person. Rather, the same body. The Sun Arcana, Natsuki Yamauchi, will be the first you meet as a classmate and member of the theater troupe you can join in town. The Moon Arcana, Yota Sonohoka, will be meetable after Natsuki’s first rank. Throughout their social links, you’ll discover that they have DID, dissociative identity disorder, that came from Natsuki’s abuse when she was small. Throughout it, the MC will help them learn to accept one another and coexist. Both are separately romanceable, and if you so chose to date them both, one or the other will come out during romantic outings with a possibility of them fighting for your attention.

Moon

Upright - Illusion, fear, anxiety, subconscious, intuition

Reversed - Release of fear, repressed emotion, inner confusion

 Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

 Sun

Upright - Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality

Reversed - Inner child, feeling down, overly optimistic

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The Judgement Arcana - Sayuri Shimizu is a young girl in elementary school who is blind. She has a seeing eye dog named Momo that leads her around. She’s only got Momo and and older sibling that takes care of her, both parents having been taken by the virus some time ago. She tries to be strong, but she can tell how much stress she’s putting her sibling under, trying to take care of and accommodate her on top of working several different jobs. Though she can’t see Avis, she can hear her, and thinks she’s just another human. 

Upright - Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution

Reversed - Self-doubt, inner critic, ignoring the call

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The World Arcana - The Plague will act as the main villain for this game and will exclusively be seen in the other world and in the MC’s nightmares. He looks like a Plague Doctor, and acts as though he’s doing something good, though treats the town like his own personal playing ground and somewhere to conduct his research. He has an immense, almost obsessed, fascination with the MC, the only one who seems perfectly immune to his virus. 

Upright - Completion, integration, accomplishment, travel

Reversed - Seeking personal closure, short-cuts, delays

 Characters without Arcana

Teachers - Mr. Hayashi (Homeroom), Ms. Kita (Social Studies), Ms. Maki (Science), Mr. Nakamura (Math)

Kyo Shimizu - Sayuri’s older sibling who works endless hours. Will be met during Sayuri’s route, and will apologize, needlessly, for Sayuri bothering the player. 

Hana-chan - A very pretty second year at the high school. Unfortunately, she’s a right bitch and one of Hoshiko’s bullies. 

Asuka Himura - An old classmate of Akemi’s who also goes to university. She seems polite enough, but made some snide, pointed, and extremely rude comments about Akemi that really put her down. “Oh my, Sonoda-chan, you’ve really lost weight! You’re not fat and stupid anymore! Well, maybe not fat.” Also a bitch.

Ryūnosuke Oshiro - The father of Masahiko. He’s hot-headed, stubborn, and it’s easy to see where Masahiko got his entitled streak. He shows up just as Masahiko starts enjoying his time in the country (and feelings are evidently being felt) and intends to fuck everything up. 

Lucius/Gilbert - He will be the Velvet Room attendant this time around. He’s anything but serious, and a total flirt. He will unabashedly flirt with the MC no matter the gender every time they enter the Velvet Room. When they first wake up in the Velvet Room, the MC will be woken by a kiss, to which he will teasingly ask if it was their first. I just haven’t decided on a name.

Tomomi Miyamoto - A fellow student who offers to walk the MC to school that first day. He is the second death because of the virus, and what sets the MC off to go battle the Shadows of the Plague. He is also a good friend of Natuski and Miyako. It’s implied in either Natsuki’s or Yato’s links that he was the only other one to know that Natsuki and Yato are one in the same.

Plot/Playthrough

The first cutscene of the game will start off with a flashforward/nightmare. It’s in the other world, at the edge of a cliff. Everything is painted in blacks and dark greens and is completely in ruin. A large, panning shot shows this all off. The view tilts up to look away from the edge of the cliff and The Plague comes to a stand still, appearing smug as all fuck (though his face is hidden behind his mask). He will mock the person across from him, asking if this was what they desired, if they were happy with their work. He certainly is. After all, they are the cause of all this. The camera will shift, and all that’s seen is the back of the MC, merely a black shadow in the darkness.

And then the MC wakes up on the bus. 

Scenery passes by as it’s shown the only two people on the bus are the MC and the bus driver, and passing farm fields. 

The bus will quickly come to a stop and the MC gets off on the bus stop. They look at their phone, a message telling them to wait there to be picked up. So they sit, and they wait. And they wait. And it’s dark before a car pulls up and the window rolls down. Yuuki pokes his head out and calls for the MC to get in.

Not a lot is discussed on the way to the house, just Yuuki explaining that he had to go to set up at the school before the semester started and din’t get finished until late, and also him reprimanding the MC for not trying to contact him when it started getting too late. 

Once at the house, you’ll meet Haruka and Shinju, both trying a little too hard to welcome you into the house. The next morning, Yuuki will take you to the school to meet the other teachers and get signed up. This is where you’ll input your chosen name.

After you’re freed from your father while he finishes things up, you’ll meet Tomomi Miyamoto, a neighbor. He is in the theater club and happy-go-lucky. After a while of talking and Tomomi showing you around the school, your father will drop the two of you off back home, and Tomomi promises to make sure you get to school alright the next day. 

He does so the next morning. Drops you off at your classroom before heading to his own. Introductions are made and blah blah blah. At lunch you’re assaulted by Sayaka Ito, a girl who sits close to you in class. She says that you’re lucky to have gotten the protagonist seat and blah blah blah. And because of certain seating arrangements, she’s totally supposed to be your best friend. She also points out that due to anime seating arrangements, Yūdai Shinoda is supposed to be your love interest, but the reasons for why that likely won’t hold up will differ from gender to gender. (If you’re a guy, it will be stated it’s because you’re both boys, but you’ll have the option to say you’re into men too)

Anyway, now that the day’s over, you’ll go home with Tomomi. Once Yuuki and Shinju come home, Haruka will talk about the news she heard that day while she was cleaning. The virus going around the town seems to have doubled overnight. It slightly worries Haruka at the quick spread, but Yuuki isn’t bothered, saying that the virus has been around for years and if nothing, it’s only making the people of the town more immune and stronger for it. Haruka relents, but still reminds Yuuki to wear his face mask when he goes out because of his weak immune system in the first place.

The next day, the whole town is abuzz with the news that an old lady died. She suddenly got very sick, symptoms of the virus harsher than ever, but no one really minds too much. After all, she was old, and it couldn’t be the sickness. No one’s died from it before. She was going to die soon anyway.

As the MC and Tomomi walk to school together, everything seems to darken, like a cloud passes over the sun blots out the light. Everyone looks like nothing more than still-frame shadows, a bright green orb floating over their chests. The MC looks over to Tomomi and sees that his is tinged in black, and vine like tendrils are reaching for the center of the orb. 

Tomomi shakes MC out of the daze and everything goes back to normal. He smiles at the MC before coughing but claiming he’s fine, he just forgot his face mask. He tells the MC they’ll need to get one too, because they’re ‘the fashion accessory of the country.’ 

Sayaka meets MC in the classroom and the day goes forward as school would… save for the fact that Yūdai has the same blackened orb as Tomomi. After school, Sayaka drags MC out to town for treats and points out several different places to hang out. The Mom-and-Pop Shop that acts as a burger joint, cafe, and icecream parlor. The antique shop. The music store. The bookshop. The dojo. 

Then Sayaka drags the MC to the forest and off the beaten path with the intent of showing them her favorite place. Unfortunately, her short cut gets them lost. Fortunately, the MC is apparently attracted by pretty things and follows a glowing blue butterfly that leads them to a magnificent waterfall (which Sayaka now proclaims that this is her favorite spot). 

The butterfly leads them down a path to under the waterfall. In the cave is ten doors of all different colors. Red, blue, purple, green, white, yellow, pink, black, gold, and silver (not necessarily in that order). There is also a large round table with eight seats around it in the middle of the cave.

The butterfly flies through one of the doors (any but the blue and black will do) and it swings open. The other side of the door will be… something very, very strange. It will act as this game’s “Palace.” 

They go in, end up confronting The Plague, who is in the middle of doing something… sinister. They barely make it out alive, only doing so through pure luck and the MC awakening their first Persona. But they have no clue what happened, and it’s confusing as fuck, and it’s kinda just agreed that they’re not going to talk to anyone about it. So they part ways and go home. 

In another scene, we see Tomomi start coughing and choking and nothing is able to help. He pulls his hands away from his mouth, and they are absolutely covered in blood. He collapses on the ground as people shout around him. But it’s too late. The next morning, the MC will receive the news that Tomomi is dead.

But first, they will dream.

They’ll be woken up by a kiss to this dream world, Igor’s assistant giggling and backing away to go stand by Igor, who sits behind a desk to the far side of the room. The MC will sit up, only to find themselves in a hospital bed and in hospital clothes and hooked up to an IV. Confusion may be expressed at this point. 

Igor goes on to explain the Velvet Room and everything and such, and how he didn't expect there to be another visitor so soon. He’s a cryptid as ever, but explains that The Plague will be a deadly force if he’s allowed to continue, and he requests the player to stop him, now that the MC has awoken their Persona. No matter if you say yes or no, the game will continue. The Velvet Room dream ends with Igor’s assistant blowing you a kiss and a wink and a key in the MC’s hand.

The next morning, everyone receives the news that Tomoni died in the hospital last night, due to the virus in town. Sayaka will drag you back to the waterfall from the day before, claiming that the thing The Plague was messing with before looked like Tomomi. She wants to go back and figure out why. 

So you do, shit happens, Sayaka awakens her own Persona so you’re not fighting alone anymore. This will also be the day you meet an injured Avis and discover a shape that looks like Yūdai. Avis will not fight, but she will help guide you in the coming fight and out of the door. 

Explanations will be made about the The Plague, you’ll investigate the doors and the cave and find that the black door has eight key holes, and is extremely locked. So in there is where Avis needs to go. Like, desperately. Doesn’t know what’s beyond it, only that that’s where The Plague makes his base, and it needs to go. So the MC and Sayaka agree to go and try to find the keys to open the door.

Shit happens, as it does, with Sayaka talking to you during class and within earshot of Yūdai (about him) and the Shadow and his corrupted core (that she can now see due to her awakened Persona). They gotta save him, she says, so what happened to Tomomi doesn’t happen to him. He overhears, ends up going after them to figure out what’s going on. 

And I’ll end this here because you don’t want the entire thing in one post, do you?

If people are interested, I’ll even make a part 2. (Edit: Guess what? I made a Part 2)

{Next} {Last}

[sextonsharpwinhalstead]

Chicago Med Review 4x1 “Be My Better Half”

We have waited for this day for three months. I can admit that I was not nearly as excited for the beginning of this season because frankly the finale was lackluster, but there was intrigue drummed up over the last few weeks as the apparent lack of Rachel Dipillo on the show’s cover art had fans confused and worried. A worry that was quickly accelerated by the absence of Dipillo at the One Chicago Day press junket. No questions were asked about her absence and it was as if we were living in a twilight zone where she had never existed. Then came the interviews given by Frolov stating that Sarah chooses to leave Chicago after the collapse of her father and the jarring news of what he may have done and who he really was.

Desperate fans like myself were in denial. Never had we seen an actor on Med exit be handled this way. Could she be leaving just to come back and rejoin the ED staff we all thought she should’ve been apart of to begin with? Alas no, the episode segues right after Sarah watches a hesitant Daniel Charles leering over her father as he screams for a crash cart, however the damage is done. Daniel finally admits he has been holding back information from Sarah and the next scene is she and Dr. Charles leading investigators to Bob’s storage unit. Then we finally see Sarah’s feelings toward Daniel and it’s expected but it calls into so many ethical questions on Daniel’s part that Sarah cannot get past. She transfers the rest of her residency to Baylor and has Noah retrieve her belongings, so she doesn’t have to face anyone else.

Because of this exit there are no big heartfelt goodbyes, hugs, or reminiscent moments between Sarah and any of the other characters who cared about her. This is a slap in the face to the first season of bonding we saw with Sarah and well…everyone. But maybe that’s the point. To have all that weight and emotional labor left on Daniel’s shoulders. He will now have to be the sole person to tell everyone why she left, and she made sure at least one person knew so he can’t even really be too vague on the reason. He must be honest which means bringing up the ethical dubiousness of his actions and calling into question his character. Is he the patient, gentle, caring, Head of Psychiatry or a controlling megalomaniac who was always teetering on the edge of full-on villainy? I don’t know and neither does Daniel, he goes back and forth between drinking, crying privately, and lashing out the staff, then shamefully apologizing. One thing is for certain is that the show hasn’t decided a hundred percent either, as he looks like a deer caught in the headlights at the very mention of his actions and of course that incredibly explosive exchange between him and an infirmed and incarcerated Bob Haywood. Only time will tell but this is not the last we’ve heard of this issue.

The second meatiest story was a surprise. In Colin Donnell’s words; Connor leaving was Med’s “worst kept secret” this season and it took the wind out of the sails of the reveal. I do find it extremely odd that he brought up a hybrid operating room when Ethan was the first person to understand and remedy the solution of patient death in ED in the mass shooting episode This Is Now. The idea should’ve been thrown around then, but they needed an excuse for him to stay. An excuse that was nearly undermined by the new COO. Heather Headley plays Gwen Garrett who is shaping up to be a clear adversary for Sharon and anyone who comes between her and the bottom line: first on the chopping block; Dr. Stohl. Maybe his termination will also cause the conversation to pivot to Sarah’s absence. However, Ava, who has been poorly burying her feelings for Connor, set to rectify the financial quandary by going to daddy war bucks himself. Listen, I did NOT see this coming. But she pulled it off after telling him she would have dinner with him; an invitation she’d declined last season. I wonder if dinner is the only exchange that was made. Knowing Med, it was, and the “betrayal” will come from Connor realizing that Ava masterminded his stay. But that would just show she cared. I hope for the drama, “I screwed your father for money, so you’d stay…because I love you?” Lawd this mess is my favorite kind, but knowing Med it’ll be the former. Regardless, the move will have consequences as we see Gwen and Sharon going head to head as the season progresses. Ava’s consquences I’m not sure.

Now the rest.

The Manstead engagement. Talk about anti-climactic. The actors showed behind the scenes clips of themselves and a shiny bauble could be seen on Torrey Devitto’s finger. She did make Will wait a week, a good reason considering how hasty the proposal came. But they can’t be too happy. Will wants a big wedding to honor his love, Catholic roots, and share it with everyone. Natalie has already been there done that and she understands that in the end the marriage truly is the part that matters. I know everyone has heard that, but I have to side with Natalie. You’ll have pictures and think about it here and there but as your memory of the day fades the challenges marriage throws your way will dwarf that one event. Instead you’ll reminisce on the feelings you had before you said I do and the jubilation of the coming years after the wedding before life and indifference changes the marriage. Will doesn’t know it because he hasn’t been married. In the end she met him halfway showing that she’s had some growth but the whole story was kind of lame, but I know it’s setting up to some drama between them in the coming episodes, so I’ll be patient.

Chexton, Sextoi, whatever your fancy has been driving me up the wall since last season. I honestly cannot tell if Ethan and April are truly broken up. Can you? Emily has been on the mend for at least 3 months and now she wants to make amends. I’m okay with that but I’m confused that April isn’t. She could’ve opted for Ethan to leave her out of the situation and still carry on with their relationship, but she drew a hard line in the sand…which is weird considering how much family and closeness and forgiveness means to her. In the end she agreed to meet with Emily at Connor’s party and she seemed receptive. I like that the writers acknowledged that it was April who was Emily’s biggest cheerleader and she indeed did let her down. Then came the bombshell. Emily is pregnant. If she had been a man I feel like Ethan would’ve physically attacked her. Since when is that the appropriate response? Also, addiction is equally if not more so challenging than parenthood. There is no upside to being addicted to drugs and alcohol and gambling. It’s just weird that he was quick to dismiss her and even think about suggesting abortion when he was even quicker to try and help her through her battles with addiction. On one hand I can understand the disappointment but she’s pregnant not using drugs. However, this revelation pulled April back in. Her catholic beliefs shut down that conversation fast. This is the same conversation that spawned the Chexton ship. The two of them arguing over pro-life/pro-choice points of view. We are full circle but depending on how this situation plays out it could get incredibly messy. What if Bernie isn’t happy and the stress pushes Emily to start using again. If the fetus is compromised do you keep going? April had that dilemma and it nearly broke her. I can see a very rich milieu for ethical conversations if they don’t Med it up and get lazy.

Last but not least our new characters.

James “Jimmy” Lanik had one line this episode and that was to introduce Daniel to the new medical students. There’s some irony and poetry there but I digress. There’s been some leaks that he will be the eyes and ears for Gwen as he was brought on by her and allegiance lies there. Gwen, who we met already is shrewd and calculating and doesn’t bat in eye at frying any fish she deems worthy of dinner.

Finally, the two new medical students Terry McNeal and Elsa Curry. Although it has yet to be revealed Terry is an ex-football player who decided to walk away from lucrative professional contract to become a doctor. He’s stumbling and has his proverbial ass handed to him by Dr. Charles, he cannot identify nor shoot off solutions in rapid succession like his classmate Elsa. However, Elsa is not interested in treating patients she has the knowledge but lacks the bedside manner. I enjoyed her character as it’s not one we’ve seen before. Sure, Sarah Reese wasn’t confident that she wanted to be in the ED, but Elsa KNOWS she does not want to work with people. Not to mention the actress did a spot-on job with the character. She feels real. Although I am curious to find out the reasoning behind Terry’s career change his bumbling is not unlike Noah or Sarah in their third years as students. In other words, been there done that.

In summation this was a strong premiere I know better than to continue to expect consistency from Med but at least this episode the writers showed the better half of their abilities.

[dong-hyucks]

Hi! Can I request prompt 23 for Choi Minho? Please? Thank you!

Choi Minho ; “I’ll wait.”

Prompts hereMasterlists

alright so i was supposed to finish this yesterday

but, if you’ve noticed on my blog a certain snek™ (ily baby anon) was exposing me

so i got sidetracked

p.s baby anon i have a new bias it’s @trashforyugyeom she posted a cover teaser on her blog and i am shookt like go check it out lee donghyuck who

also, most of the information about school is just based off of mine, i have no idea if it’s like that elsewhere

anywho, you were in high school freshman year when you first met minho

he was captain of the soccer team, straight a student, and there were even rumours circulating around that he had become a trainee at some big label

he never really talked about the rumours, but he didn’t deny them either

needless to say, he was very popular

everyone loved him, students and teachers alike

you, on the other hand, were just a regular student trying to get by

you weren’t popular, but you weren’t exactly a loner either

you had friends that you hung out with regularly, so interacting with minho was a rarity

the only time you’d utter a word to the other was in the mornings when you’d greet each other

despite having lockers beside each other, he always went to his just as you were leaving yours

you didn’t have any classes together either

so you never really talked other than that

as the school years began again, students would be given new lockers

surprisingly, you and minho had managed to get lockers close to each other’s every time they changed

you thought nothing of it, other than thinking it was just pure coincidence

you didn’t even notice the lingering looks minho would send your way as you closed your locker and walked off every morning

by the time you two were seniors, the rumours had been confirmed

minho had been a trainee under S.M since he was fifteen

you had been slightly amazed he managed to keep it a ‘secret’ for so long, but otherwise you didn’t really care

for once, you actually did have a class with minho

AP art history, to be exact

you liked art history but you detested the idea of AP classes because of their difficulty (you’d rather sit home and watch tv honestly), but having taken an AP class looked good to the college/university you wanted to get into so you just dealt with it

plus the other AP courses were full

you sat in the front, not by choice – the teacher had assigned seats

minho sat two rows behind you and to the left one desk

so you never really noticed him

that is, until you were partnered up together

one morning, your teacher came to class in a giddy mood

she was apparently really excited about something

after taking mandatory attendance, she’d clap her hands happily

“alright, class, this is my favourite part of teaching this course! 

“you and a partner are going to be given a fortnight’s time to put together props and costumes to recreate a given painting from any of the time periods that we have discussed. you will be presenting these in the auditorium downstairs for the ninth to eleventh graders taking history.”

a collective groan settled from the back of the class

you felt tempted to join in, considering how much time that would take out of your time for your other classes, but since you were in the front you held your slight vexation in

she told the first two rows to come stand up front, which you begrudgingly did, and told everyone standing to pick a paper out of a straw hat

“these will be your partners, please state who you’ve gotten once you pick.”

you were at the end of the line, so it took a while to get to you but by the time she reached you there was only one paper left

when you pulled it out, your breath caught in your throat

“choi minho”

you looked up, quickly making eye contact with the aforementioned male

after realizing you were blatantly staring, you looked away

you’ve never really thought about it before, but minho sure did mature – appearance-wise anyway

he was no longer that slightly dorky looking kid you had first met in freshman year, nor was he the same soccer captain from your sophomore year

your teacher then proceeded to get yet another hat, this time a simple black fedora, and went to the remaining students

“and in this hat will be your assigned paintings”

you watched minho, as the first one in the third row, pulled out a slip of paper

“read them aloud for your partner, will you?”

and so, minho did just that

“The Mourning of Christ by Giotto di Bondone”

you easily remembered the painting, both by name and artist

there had been numerous depictions of the lamentation, but the class had studied Giotto’s version mere weeks beforehand

time went on as your teacher managed to get to everyone

it was a short day that day, being wednesday, and passing out the slips and explaining the entire project plus answering curious questions took a whopping half hour and now there was only have of the class left 

does anyone else have short days or is it just me

so your teacher gave you all time to discuss with your partner

you awkwardly stumbled back to minho’s desk

you nearly fell over when he smiled up at you before you sat down in the empty seat in front of his desk

me too [Y/N] me too

“so,, when are you free?”

you guys made plans, which happened to be every other day (he had club activities and as did you)

your first meeting would be that very day

you guys basically spent the rest of class talking about your club activities instead of the project

oops

you learned that he started losing sleep over being a trainee, school, et cetera.

to which you scolded him (kind of) because sleep is important to function properly

says me lol i’m such a hypocrite

anyway the bell rang before you knew it

and you were off to your last class of the day

which happened to be in the same direction as minho’s

so he walked you to your class

before you could enter, he smiled over at you and waved before moving along to his next class, disappearing within the crowd of high school students

you just stood outside the door because wow that was so cute

it took your friend nudging you to go in for you to actually move

anywho, timeskip to later

minho was already waiting at your locker

which you thought was odd considering his class was a bit farther away from the lockers than yours was

and you had booked it out of your last class

weird you thought

after grabbing your things you guys headed to a small cafe (how many times have i mentioned cafes in past prompt posts istg) to plan

he ordered your drink for you despite your numerous protests

“alright!! so what do we do”

you started laughing because of how eager he sounded

the tips of his ears went red but he laughed along with you anyway

you thought getting the costumes out of the way first was easier and minho agreed

the two of you were free so you decided to go out and buy cloth for costumes

after finishing your drinks you guys went out to a secluded shop a few blocks away that sold sewing supplies and such

after buying the appropriate cloths, you guys headed to minho’s house since it was closer

you didn’t miss the teasing grin minho’s mom sent him when she saw you walk in

you guys spent a few hours putting together the simple costumes, talking and listening to music in the midst of it

you had to go home before seven so he offered to walk you home

you didn’t have a choice really because he was already slipping his shoes on before you could kindly refuse

the walk home was in silence, unlike how you had been mere minutes before

but it was a comfortable silence

not many people were about, with it getting colder and darker faster as the winter season approached

he noticed you were shivering and did the cliche move of hanging his jacket over your shoulders

when you looked over at him, he pretended as if he hadn’t done it

you just shrugged, face warmer than it was before, hugging the jacket to your cold body

it didn’t take long for you guys to reach your house

“here,” you moved to shrug off his jacket but he quickly stopped you

“keep it”

“but–”

“you can just give it back tomorrow,” and with that he sent you the same smile that had been killing you all day long before jogging back into the darkness

you stared at his back as his form slowly got smaller as he got farther and farther away before chuckling in amusement

what a dork

the next few days went like that

you did most of the work at his house since it was closer to the school

you guys progressed well, finishing making the costumes and collecting the necessary props a few days before d-day

now all that was left was to gather people to help you do it

your teacher was strict about you not having the help of peers in your AP art history class

she very strongly insisted that you have people outside of art history help you

because it should be you and your partner’s grade alone

so minho gathered some ‘friends’ outside of your school and you got together some of your friends as well

before you all met, minho brought you to the side to inform you of something

“my friends are other trainees”

“… what”

he then explained that he was put into a group with four other people (when was shinee actually put together??? idk) but he wasn’t that close with one of them yet

as in

they argued

and bickered

a lot

he basically told you to brace yourself for the tension between him and that person, who was apparently named kim kibum

alright so you guys all met at the park

one by one everyone arrived

until the eleven of you were kind of just standing around

minho was right, you could really feel the tension between him and kibum

minho had also told you that it had taken him an entire two hours to get him to agree to helping

and even then he was losing fifty bucks

so you explained the project and the painting to everyone and gave them their jobs

everyone else would be the mourning friends/family whilst you would be mary and minho would be Christ

kibum ended up snickering after seeing how much minho would have to be lacking of clothes

he got hit upside the head for that

anyway everyone agreed to to go out and buy wigs and beards for their characters because damn you and minho couldn’t pay for everything

timeskip again oops

on the day you were to present it

it had suddenly dawned on you that you would literally be leaning over minho’s face

sure, his eyes were closed and he’d be wearing a beard (not to mention his lack of clothing, as kibum said) but you were still going to be leaning over him for a number of minutes

why it had only just come across to you that it would be like that, you had no idea

needless to say, you felt flustered

over time you had grown to like minho

it wasn’t too serious, but you could definitely see yourself falling for him and his little quirks

which was why you were now shaking backstage wearing blue robes and a light brown wig that you had tied back (if you already have brown hair you’re not wearing a wig then)

minho had come up to you, asking you if you were okay

as much as you wanted to yell no you just smiled and said you were nervous about being on stage

“don’t worry, it’ll only be for a second! besides, you won’t be looking at the audience anyway, if that’s what you’re worried about

you just nodded, internally grateful that minho had the consciousness to wear a robe of somesort before you guys went up

then, you heard your teacher call you and minho up

you and your group scrambled onstage, hiding behind a stand of what was supposed to resemble a picture frame – but really just looked like a plain rectangle – and a drawn curtain

some backstage helper drew the curtains open after everyone had gotten into position

you could hear cameras going off and subtle chatter going on in the rows of chairs before you, but you tried your best to ignore them and your pounding heartbeat

holding minho in your arms whilst staring at him was enough to make you feel more nervous than any presentation could

you heard your teacher’s voice thanking your group, along with the applause of all the students and other that were littered around the auditorium

the curtains closed once again and everyone relaxed

before you could let minho go he opened his eyes

you froze, your face burning up

minho noticed this and chuckled, pulling himself into a sitting position

you were trying really hard to focus on his face and not on the fact that he was only wearing shorts

“good job”

and with that, he stood up

you willed yourself to stand, thanking everyone who had helped you before scurrying off the stage, half because of nervousness and half for the next group that was waiting for their turn to go up

you could barely untie your hair/wig before a man came up to you, a look of astonishment on his face

“are you two [Y/F/N] and choi minho?”

“yes?”

to your surprise, he began to gush over how amazing your presentation had looked and how detailed it was, from the clothes, to the props, to the painted background – everything

minho chuckled awkwardly, obviously feeling as confused as you were “sorry,,, who are you, sir?”

the man then apologized before pulling something out of his coat

he gave you a business card, one that left you gaping

‘mr. yoon jungmin ; scouter for – university’

the university wasn’t even in korea, but you could recognize it because it was just that big of a university

it was really well known for its variety of courses as well, including art history

 “i’m the university’s international scouter and your teacher and i talked about it and i’d like to offer the two of you possible scholarships” –lmao if only it was this easy but let’s pretend okay

you were in straight up awe because you got noticed by a scouter for putting together a few costumes

“you don’t have to talk now, but do consider”

then mr. yoon walked away

leaving you and minho just :o

minho obviously wasn’t going to accept, he had a huge opportunity staying in s. korea, but you on the other hand

you kind of just went quiet because you were confused

you would love to go to the university, it’d open up great job options for you, but at the same time you’ve never left home really

(if you’re not korean you were born there after your parents moved??? idk i’m tired nothing i say is making sense sorry)

minho noticed and ruffled your hair

“hey, we don’t graduate for another few months, you’ll have time to think it over”

you didn’t miss the sad tone he spoke in that he tried to hide under his smile

“you okay?” you asked

minho just nodded before excusing himself to talk to the boys (shinee)

timeskip to graduation

you and minho kept in contact after the project and became really close friends

you never really brought up the scholarship again so minho had assumed you turned down mr. yoon’s offer

but in reality you had accept a month and a half prior you just had no idea how to tell him

you had already discussed it with your parent(s)/guardian(s) but you had no clue on how you were going to break the news to minho

he had started flirting with you sometime after the project, but he never acted on anything, but you assumed he liked you to some extent

and you really did end up falling for him

because how could you not, he was funny and incredibly sweet to you

after he started flirting, he basically cemented that in stone

before you knew it, graduation had snuck up on you and you still hadn’t told him

you were kind of freaking out because ‘what if he gets mad at me?’

of course, you’d still go to the university if that happened but you’d go with a heavy heart

you tried to find him before the ceremony but you couldn’t

you only saw him standing in line to get his hs diploma

you silently cursed the world because now minho was going to find out you were going to be going halfway across the world via master of ceremonies

you dreaded the moment your name got called, along with the scholarships that had been offered to you

the mc decided to make it worse by announcing that you had already accepted one of the scholarships, the one mr. yoon had offered

you looked over the stage and noticed how gobsmacked minho looked

not to mention how hurt he looked

after shaking the principal’s hand, you stood next to the others who had gone before you, looking down the entire time

you didn’t want to look at minho just yet

too soon after, the ceremony was over and parents and friends alike were rushing over to congratulate the graduates

minho had tried to find you, but you had seemingly disappeared within the crowd

an hour later, while you sat on a secluded staircase within the school, you got a text from minho

‘where are you’

you started freaking out, but you told him anyway

you couldn’t run away from this forever

you didn’t get a response, which made you dread the seconds that passed by insufferably slowly

you heard footsteps nearing you from behind, coupled with someone’s winded breaths

you didn’t stand up and bowed your head, knowing very well who stood behind you

“you accepted the scholarship”

“…”

“and you didn’t tell me?”

you lifted your head ever so slightly and glanced at him over your shoulder

“… yeah.”

there was a moment of silence before he walked closer and sat down beside you

he sat as close as ever, a habit he had gotten after spending loads of time with you

…

“i didn’t know how to tell you”

he didn’t answer

his silence scared you, so you willed yourself to look at him

when you did, he was already staring at you

you couldn’t tell what he was thinking – something that was strange to you, you had grown to be able to read his emotions like a book over the past few months

without saying anything, he leaned forward, pressing a fleeting kiss against your lips

your eyes widened, you didn’t have time to react before he was pulling away

“i really like you, [Y/N],” he’d whisper as he bore into your eyes

now, you could see the fondness that shone in both of his irises

you wanted to shy away, but instead you kept looking at him

“minho… i’m going to move.”

“i know,” he smiled gently, a broken smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “i’ll wait for you.”

four years later, you were graduating yet again

you smiled, shaking the mc’s hand gratefully as he handed you your degree

as you stopped to smile for pictures, just as every other graduate had done, you noticed a certain someone standing in the crowd

despite his ‘disguise’, what with a cap and a medical mask, you could easily recognize him, having seen pictures of the very outfit numerous times before

upon seeing him, your smile widened

after the ceremony, your eyes searched the crowd for that certain someone

suddenly, arms wrapped around your torso, a familiar scent invading your olfactory sense

he had long since had his debut, but he was still as kind as ever, something you noted after hearing him whisper dozens of congratulations to you

you turned around, pulling minho’s mask down (and covering your faces with your hand; a precaution he had joked about in the past) and kissing him square on the lips

he didn’t hesitate to kiss back, grinning into the kiss as you stumbled back from the amount of force he had used to hug you

pulling away, you grinned at him

“hey”

he grinned back, playing with your graduation gown

“hey back, love”

i highkey want to rewrite this as a detailed imagine ngl