She/Her, Adult. TPN/YnN Sideblog because my affinity for this series became Too Much and I couldn't put my mutuals through another major interest. Raybert Truther, REN-thusiast, Anti-Andrew, Pro-Asparagus 🌿
yuucas in the big 2026???? it's more likely than you'd think.
back in 2020 when i first finished TPN Yuugo was my favorite... but this reread is giving me lucas brainworms. (ignore how his arm is on the wrong side in the first photo) (and also I COMPLETELY FORGOT HIS SCAR)( pretends its an AU where theyre all happy and goldy pond never happened)
anyways... I have evil thoughts in my head about these two. (im not sure if I should share it here because it might be OOC, but ill do it anyways)
Lucas has liked yuugo ever since they were on the farm. I think thats obvious.. but my hc for yuugo depends on how im feeling
option 1: I don't think yuugo grows out of his feelings for dina anytime between the farm and goldy pond. However, he DOES start to develop feelings for lucas sometime after the escape (hes constantly switching between Dina and Lucas) (greedy as hell)
option 2: Yuugo's feelings develop after their reunion, but theres a very fine line between genuine affection and pure desperation after 13 years of loneliness. their relationship is a STRUGGLE. Somedays yuugo gets affectionate with lucas, and the next he'll ignore him completely. He still sees lucas as a friend ofc, but having lucas in front of him alive and breathing brings back too many memories and regrets. He's scared to get close again because of how unpredictable tomorrow can be, but for the same reason, he's scared of wasting the time they have. Yuugo likes having lucas close, and at the same time, he's scared that what they have isn't right for either of them. Yuugo isn't even sure if these feelings for lucas are actually there. He feels that he's taking advantage of what lucas is willing to give to him, while yuugo can't give anything in return if he's clinging onto anything he can take.
(lucas has his own problems too but im not gonna talk about him right now)
because i'm not evil, I'd say that yuugo's feelings for lucas are very genuine. It just takes him a while to figure it out 💔💔
i unfortunately could not liveblog the entire manga in my sketchbook because i had to speedrun the last 140 chapters but here's the excessive amount of shitposts i made along the way
i was looking at the pilot design/concept for rays character and with it came a description which was translated by someone 🤔 in the appearance/features section it notes:
- “only infront of norman and emma, his emotions come out”
- “basically expressionless, but he loves norman and emma”
there is another section titled “complex” which also has one sentence which notes:
- “aware of his mentally distorted state (and so he acknowledges emma’s mental health)
i think all of this has given me a conclusion, and maybe i believe that shirai wanted the main three to be as close as possible (maybe in terms of dating) and also have slightly different personalities when it comes towards the others in the trio but i think that idea was scrapped :(((
If that isn't the realest shit about Ray lkdsfl
(2020 Exhibition Interview)
(Mystic Code Book Chapter 7 Initial Series Concepts drawn and written by Shirai, translated by @1000sunnygo)
I'm not sure what you mean by the idea being scrapped though?
The trio is still incredibly close in canon, to the point Emma highlights how everything is going to be okay in chapter 161 specifically because the three of them are together again before focusing on their larger group.
Ray considers Emma and Norman more precious to him than anything.
(Chapter 93)
And when on the precipice of no return and safe in the human world Norman wants nothing more than to be with Emma and Ray.
(Chapter 145 | Volume 18 Title Art | Chapter 181.4/Epilogue)
Each dynamic in the trio has their own rapport that's unique to them.
Norman will happily go along with Emma's whimsical antics in a heartbeat.
(Chapter 65 Bonus Comic)
And he deeply admires her convictions and how authentic she is in everything she does.
(Chapter 4 | Chapter 14 | Norman's early series concepts)
But he only shows his more prideful and ruthless side (or "little devil girl" in editor Sugita's words) in front of Ray because he believes Ray is the only one who will understand that part of himself without having it reflect on him badly.
(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1; I'd say "doesn't hide this side of himself" from Ray over "true nature" because it's not as if the way he acts around everyone else is an entirely fake persona, but rather they're both different facets of himself and he keeps this one largely hidden for a few reasons. Still obsessed with Sugita's "little devil girl" phrasing though dslkfsd)
Ray does understand, and it's part of why he likes Norman.
(Chapter 4; though even before Norman discovered the secret of the house Ray would appreciate this for how it broke up the monotony of daily life at Grace Field and be fascinated at how Norman was so particular about keeping this aspect of himself hidden)
But while he'll tease Norman about his crush on Emma in the first light novel:
(TPN Light Novel 1, A Letter from Norman - “A Gift from the 39th Girl”)
He more often banters with and teases Emma because of how animated her reactions are:
(Chapter 10 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18; even if he finds it frustrating at times and a potential detriment to their escape, there's an appreciation for how she's able to live so honestly while he can't)
i think all of this has given me a conclusion, and maybe i believe that shirai wanted the main three to be as close as possible (maybe in terms of dating)
Romance has never been the biggest focus of the series with survival occupying a lot of their time and resources, and given how young they are for the majority of it I don't think dating was ever something Shirai wanted to tackle within the confines of the main story.
The most he's done is muse about Norman's love for Emma coming true one day.
(Demizu Interview on Mandō Kobayashi from January 2018 when the anime was in production, also translated by @1000sunnygo)
And even then there was still some back and forth about it during the production of the anime.
(Minerva Confidential Report from the S1 Blu-ray; Kanbe blatantly on Noremma and no homo agenda lol)
Was this back and forth because at the time the series wasn't finished being written and Shirai wanted to keep such things close to his chest? Or was it because he's very particular about how things should play out given Norman was never meant to be Emma's Prince Charming, but her horse.
(2020 Exhibition Interview)
And he was leery about it devolving into common trappings of shounen where the main girl *has* to fall in love with the main boy because it's expected or treated as a reward for him, feeling it was a disservice to all parties involved? Who can say.
Regardless, the full score trio's relationship is the bedrock of the series, to the point that it's incorporated into the Japanese logo.
Random ass idea dump but… If REN ever somehow travel back in time because the crystal of Mujika’s necklace is broken post canon…
Ray would think they’re at the seven walls again because uh divine retribution for breaking god’s pendant (fuck you Thoma and Lannion this is YOUR fault this is why we DO NOT play with ancient artifacts) and is immediately on guard because why why why why why why are they here again? It’s not safe here why are they here- the fuck you mean it’s time travel clearly it’s the seven walls? He’s very much in denial but over time evidence piles up and he’s forced to agree (while still prepping just in case that the seven walls theory is somehow right, and what’s a pessimist to do if not doubt everything). With this in mind he will still do his best not to interfere with the events of the past because yeah he has regrets, particularly with Isabella, but what if he does interfere and the end result changes so that someone else dies? What if Norman and Emma dies because he altered reality? Hell no he won’t let that happen. Okay maybe he will intervene with young Norman getting shipped off to Lambda BUT ONLY BECAUSE EMMA PROPOSED THE IDEA (and totally not because her hope for an even better future is rubbing off him. Nope. Totally not. No, Norman you’re not going back to the torture chamber-)
Norman would hope that they’re still in the human world but just simply in a similar environment as grace field because he didn’t experience the mind-boggling nature of the seven walls and thinks that’s beyond the realm of possibility. Once he realizes that time travel is apparently not only possible but also PROBABLE (the 100% confidence level may not be possible with statistics but his trust in Emma and Ray is immeasurable and therefore far exceeds quantitative statistics) then he try to interfere indirectly with the events of the past because this is an opportunity (to play god, oh no he’s back with questionable coping mechanisms) to do things right now that he knows all the chess pieces. He has a grudge against destiny for blindsiding him with so many things (Lambda, Legravalima’s second core, the promise, Peter fucking Ratri, etc.) and will make sure he wins this time around. Please let him have this one thing please he needs this he needs to have some form of control over the situation (still freaking out over the whole time travel thing but that can be ignored because responsibilities are piling up and the more they change the past the more hyper vigilant everyone has to be)
Emma would be spitting out random theories and hit the other two with “wait what if we’re in the past? WAIT-” and be jumping with joy inside once they investigate and realize that she’s right. She’s right and she has a chance to rediscover the part of herself that she lost. She will be interfering directly with the events of the past and only teamwork (AKA Norman and Ray regulate her spontaneity in order to not change the outcome to the point where everything is as unpredictable as her) can stop her!!! Her amnesia makes it so that she feels nostalgic with every action while also technically getting a new (dangerous) adventure with a new set of unpredictable variables and consequences (them). Thankfully, she kept her survival instincts so she herself has a good chance of (once again) surviving in this world, even if changes may come their way. She will be her own knight in shining armor with how protective she is with her younger self (because that’s the her that holds their memories. Selfishly, she wishes to save this version of her, even if it costs her life) and will absolutely be reforging the promise (because what’s a second chance if not a possibility to get a happier ending)
In the end the three meet god and do a reverse IOU because uh god YOU broke the promise now return us back to our timeline (to maintain said promise) and do us a favor by bringing all the humans (of the timeline they fell into) to the human world with no reward!!! Then god throws a tantrum but ultimately agrees (thank god- wait a minute)
Yeah that’s all have fun with my ridiculous idea dump and mini introspection as to how they’d behave when put in an unexpected situation because idk if I can commit to multichapter fics.
#anyway in this au they have code names to differentiate their past and future selves #Norman is Snowy #because he’s a pale af albino /aff (courtesy of Emma who chose that name for him) #Ray is Sunny #because according to Norman he’s a “Ray of sunshine” (he’s the og arsonist ofc he’s getting the literal sun) #Emma is Windy #which is actually Wendy but Ray said “let’s stay consistent with the weather theme” so Windy it is #they’re attempting to make the “nobody dies/everyone lives” run come true #starting with… arguing whether or not it’s okay to alter Krone’s fate and keep her alive and how they’d attempt it in the first place #and how much they’re going to change the timeline in general #now will they succeed? idk bro #when I write something it’s the characters that lead me to the ending not the other way around #I’d like to think that it’s a happier ending though #these kids will bring me to my fluff era purely because I need them to be happy #please imagine how their past selves look at their future selves it’s so lovely #past Ray’s losing his mind bc how is he alive past Norman’s figuring out how ts is possible past Emma’s determined to best her (future) self
Piggybacking off the previous reblog I love scenarios of Ray acting as a memory keeper for the Grace Field kids regarding older siblings who have long passed away or even just memories of themselves when they were younger. You cannot tell me it didn’t come up at least once during their journeying across the demon world for months.
My super indulgent specific one is him being injured ~somehow~ during their trekking that results in him developing a fever. It’s serious enough where he experiences some delirium that causes him to start rambling about Susan, and it ends with him trailing off and quietly crying because he’s obviously not in the best mental state and her death is so palpably raw in this moment.
Emma, Don, and Gilda are at a loss because 1) they miss her too and 2) because they’ve never seen Ray like this; it’s like seeing a mountain crumble. Even if it could be easily ascertained how he felt based on his actions during the escape arc‚ he’s never freely talked about the subject, so there’s a mix of guilt in the air for being privy to this when he’s not all present.
But once he’s recovered, it does lead to those kinds of conversations being more common, and sharing the happier memories is healing for Ray because they’re not stagnating trapped inside him, but almost having new life breathed into them with the reactions and comments from the others.
Tangentially related to the prev reblog tags and this memory-keeper Ray post but thinking about how there are no pictures of the Grace Field kids prior to Ray getting the camera and how those early childhood years might be lost in a haze for the kids combined with if you subscribe to any artist Ray hcs:
Ray drawing sketches of the kids from when they were babies/toddlers and imbuing them with warmth because each one comes with a little collection of memories about silly little habits, mishaps, or victories they may have had. For the younger kids, the older kids would happily confirm and reminiscence about a number of those moments, potentially even adding on new ones Ray wasn't privy to. The younger kids can't exactly return the favor to them by providing details, but they can delight in the silly ones the older kids may have for each other.
Ray drawing sketches of the kids who were shipped out to let them know he never forgot about them. (Ray giving Don a sketch of Conny and capturing all the things that endeared her to Don like her sweet little-yet-wide grin. Ray drawing Susan as a combination of a confident and knowing yet serene and safe presence as a light breeze plays with her hair.)
(Chapter 22 Bonus Scene | Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 Q&A)
Thinking about how the photo Ray took of Isabella burned up with plant no.3, so the only pictures the children possibly have of her in the human world are mugshots stored in headquarters' database that might have been updated every year on her birthday.
How surreal it is to see her like that, grappling with memories of the complicated woman they knew—the good and the bad—and the young girl staring back at them who resolutely held her head up high to prove she had what it took to survive in a demon's world, knowing all the unspoken pain behind her eyes.
Yvette's portraits of her quickly become their preferred visual references.
Y’all ever remember that there’s been so many kids before them that couldn’t escape? How many birthdays must go by every single day? Hey I love this GRACE FIELD FAMILY
i just realized that there are absolutely zero pictures of yugo, lucas, conny, isabella, and all the other kids that died in gracefield/B06-32. they can only rely on memory alone and some day they will forget what their voices sound like/what they look like and now im crying
#this is why I hc Yvette to be a portrait artist once she grows up #So that even if there aren’t any photographs of a person she loves they’re at least immortalized through her art #or at least that’s my coping mechanism T-T (via @s8fingracefield)
#I'm a firm believer of Yvette drawing them perfectly and somewhat capturing their personality as her abilities develop #Isabella's soft smile. maybe a frown you couldn't see to often #her with her hair let down after tugging the babies in #Yuugo in the morning looking like he had a fight with a bloodthirsty demon but no. it was just the clock #him drinking tea and being in thoughts #eating cookies with Lucas #Lucas explaining smth. reading quietly or taking care of the scars of his lost limbs #all those little moments even Ray didn't see (via @officersnickers)
The shared artist Yvette recreating portraits from memory headcanons…🤝(I also like Ray doing this too)
#I love the idea where Yvette notices Don taking a sheet of her sketchbook sometimes to draw Little Bunny w/ pigtails whenever Don misses her #so in turn she tries her best to sketch Conny from her memory but since it’s her first serious portrait she has such a hard time drawing her #Also she doesn’t have the clearest memory of her so with every feature that doesn’t look like Conny she erases it in frustration because… #“No no no no! That’s not what Conny looks like! Her eyes are more downturned than that! Her smile is brighter than that!” #She cries in frustration because she regrets not drawing any of her siblings before they left the house and died to a demon. So many regrets #Everyone notices her change in mood and physical isolation so they try to comfort her by asking what’s wrong and being goofy to lighten mood #then they realized what she’s crying about and like a row of dominoes falling down they cry. They finally cry together for who they lost. #This happens in the bunker btw. Yuugo had half the mind to bully them while they’re crying but he also relates and understands the guilt soo #he just avoids them and stays in that one room with the word “Poachers” in it #Anyway Don is bawling his eyes out and does little critiques but in his own big bro way (teasing) #Ray was (forced to be) of big help due to his clear memory of Conny. It was hard for him to talk about her because emotional repression #but they made it work! Had a mental breakdown halfway through but everyone got to open up one way or another thanks to Yvette!!!! #from then on Yvette would make portraits of everyone she remembers knowing dead or alive #that includes Isabella Krone Yuugo and Lucas (even Norman since she thought he died) #Oh speaking of Yvette and Norman she would cry if she realizes that Norman wrote his “last words” in HER paper #does she know it or does she not? Either way I cried about that once in the middle of the night #In any case while their faces may still be immortalized through this hc their voices will inevitably be forgotten… which breaks my heart sm (via @s8fingracefield)
And memory keeper Ray headcanons magnified by the whole Grace Field group joining in…these are the things we were robbed of during the multiple timeskips… (and the doubled-edged sword that comes with this for Emma, getting to learn these memories alongside the others but not remembering the foundations on which they were formed)
While listening to the stories of the days she spent at the House, Emma gently opened her mouth.
"Hey," she looked at others and asked. "What kind of person was 'Mom'?"
The children answered, telling her almost everything she could possibly want to know. She knew what type of place the House was, and that the woman who the children called their mother was a breeder who was appointed to manage the children. Emma thought that it might be a painful subject, but she couldn't help but bring it up. Hearing stories about the House made her more curious about that person.
"Emma."
When she imagined her name being called by a gentle voice, her chest filled with warmth, but it also left an ache.
"She protected me, and in the other world, she…." Emma murmured the words and embraced herself. She knew the woman couldn't come here, and the reason why she couldn't come here. "She was an enemy…but she helped us, didn't she?"
"Yes. She was a kind and strong Mom," Norman continued with a quiet voice and remembered that time.
The demon's claws nearly impaled Emma, who was protecting a younger sibling. Both he and Ray held guns, but they couldn't make it in time.
But the huge claws were blocked from ever reaching her.
Isabella protected the children, using her body to shield them. The adults who had survived the farms are, in other words, the 'breeders' who continued to sacrifice the children. Isabella shipped out Conny and all other children knowing they would die. That past could never be changed.
But at the same time, the love she had for them was genuine.
"It'd be nice if Mom could come here with us…"
"Yeah, I wanna meet Mom."
When Nat commented, Rossi replied in a small voice.
All the children had a similar expression. They shed tears but wore smiles on their faces. Emma, who had no memories of the woman's last moments, was no different. She uttered slowly.
"Yeah, I want to meet her, as well."
Maybe Emma's dreams were like that because there were dreams about the person who protected her at the expense of own life.
Emma held her hands near her chest. Naturally, they moved to clasp the pendant she wore.
What hurt about losing the memories was not being able to remember the important people in her life that she wouldn't be able to meet anymore. She wouldn't be able to meet and laugh with them; or make new memories with them. The thought hurt her deeply.
~ Excerpt from TPN Light Novel 4, Films of Memories, translated by @1000sunnygo
does anyone know where i can buy high quality tpn merch >_<?? i have mercari but i mostly just find the books on there and im looking for acrylic stands/pins/keychains ^_^!!
Amazon, eBay, and Otaku Republic might be your best bets if you're stateside since a lot of retailers have stopped selling TPN to free up inventory space for more recent series/bigger sellers.
My eBay finds:
The Ch181 Full Score Trio Plate from the 2020 Series Exhibition
The Ch181 Full Score Tea Cup from the 2020 Series Exhibition
Shueisha's 2020 Natsucomi Promotional SNS Card
SEGA Full Score Trio Couch Set and the SEGA S2 Emma figure that I never got around to posting pictures of (also the latter is evidently at Target)
Full Score Trio Ohiruneko Cat Figures (originally cheaper on eBay but now the whole trio set is cheaper on BigBadToyStore. Think they're about to run out before they're gone for good.)
Goods Republic (offshoot of Otaku Republic if you're into doujinshi. Shipping is baked into the price which can get high but as a tradeoff you don't have to make an account, and I've never had any issues with my orders arriving so there's that peace of mind):
These Shikishi Boards
Suruga-Ya:
This GraffArt Shop Picnic Ray Acrylic Standee
If you're open to fan merch, I've found some nice stuff on Etsy:
Minerva Owl Decal
Rayemma/REN heart buttons and REN Poster
REN in color-coded death jars
S2 Ending Album Cover REN Buttons
Also upon looking found out Hot Topic still has these little guys:
