Hey Kait! I'm not sure if somebody's asked this before, but what do you think SE Saeran's process of falling in love would be? How would he perceive the feelings at first? Would he even know what it was? Would he be confused? Resist, ignore? Even be frightened of it? Do you think he'd avoid his mc like the plague because he doesn't want to burden them with him because he's 'broken goods', or, would he welcome those feelings as something new and something good? 🤔💖
I think it hugely depends on one simple fact. Did he know you when he was in Mint Eye or not? Because, his actions are going to change depending on that answer. If he didn't know you, then his emotions are likely tangled together in a way similar to what you mentioned to me.
It's more likely that you'll see him pull away from somebody who is compassionate and considerate of his needs because they don't know what he's done and who he was before they met him. He just doesn't know what it feels like to be treated with compassion without someone wanting something in return, the nature of his relationship with Mint Eye was that of take-take-take. It took everything from him and he never saw a single return.
When you don't know what it's like to not only give everything you have to give to people you care about but receive it in return, it can make relationships feel imbalanced. He wouldn't want somebody to give him their all only to realize that he may not be capable of doing that. It's going to take a long time before he's ready to get into a relationship, and even when he gets into a relationship, it may take even longer for him to learn his boundaries and how to communicate his wants and needs.
I don't think he would avoid you like the plague, but I do think it may feel that way at first when you're trying to get to know him. If you don't know what kind of person he is, you might misunderstand his body language. He is uncomfortable with people getting too close to him, so you need to respect his boundaries as you get to know him so he can feel more comfortable with you around. He has spent most of his life feeling like a caged animal, so anything you can do to help him not feel like he's trapped will make a hell of a difference in the way he thinks about you.
But, even if you do everything right, even if you respect his boundaries, even if you give him the space he needs as you become his friend first and foremost, he will undeniably face insecurities and fears along the way. He does feel like he's damaged goods! Why in the world would anybody want to be close to somebody who has to fight himself every morning to find a reason to survive?
That's how he feels about himself. He can't always promise that he's going to have a good day, and he doesn't want to ruin somebody else's day because of it. Even if you make him feel good, better than he's ever felt, how could he not be afraid of what might happen if you get too close to him?
It's not even that he would doubt your ability to defend yourself or hold your own against him, it's more so that he can't understand why you would give somebody like him a chance to begin with. If you knew his hands were tainted with blood, would you feel the same? I don't think you have to fight him to make him like you.
For him to become your friend in the first place means that he already liked your company.
You're not going to jump into a relationship with him without having been his friend for a couple of months, and even that is a process. He doesn't know how to communicate what he's feeling on the inside. Imagine the inside of his head like a box with a bunch of trinkets in it that you like to shake. There are a lot of things going on inside his head, some good, some bad, and once they get all mixed up, it's hard to explain what's going on.
The easiest thing to do would be to avoid you if he can't tell you how he's feeling.
But, since you love him, you probably are a pretty stubborn person. Sometimes, you need to be a little bit stubborn with him because just like his brother, he might try to pull away to spare you what he thinks to be damaged goods. You don't have to be the one to make him believe he's priceless, you just need to smile at him so he can learn that lesson for himself. You can't fix him, and you shouldn't be trying to fix him, but you can love him for who he is and that's when he'll realize that he doesn't have to hate himself.
If an MC did V's route but platonically, do you think (in theory) we would still able to pursue Ray romantically?
I mean..;;; I know I'm not the only one whose heart was utterly SHATTERED at the 'end' of Mint Eye, to put it lightly;; 😭😭😭😭
What would happen once we realised RAY WAS CAUGHT WITHIN IT????
Would we be able to see him again?? How would we reunite?? Would we be able to??
Would he want to be with us again if he learned that he was the one we truly loved, not V? Would he believe it? And actually;;; would he still love us like he did before, despite everything? 😭
I would burst into tears at the sight of his burns. I would want to run to him and hug him and nurse his scars from any stinging or pain that might still flare up every now and again
I'd cry so hard at it all ;; 😭
I want him to feel safe and secure and loved, because I love him, and I want him to know that I'll love him no matter what - and that I never stopped, despite, the uh. V route. IT WAS NEVER WHAT WHAT YOU THOUGHT, RAY.!!!! 😭😭😭
IT WAS ALWAYS YOU 😭😭
I mean, I do think it's possible to play it that way because it's up to you to decide how you imagine your fantasy scenario. You don't have to follow the games canon to make yourself a happy ending. You can make up anything you want once the curtain's closed, and you know, even before that, you can diverge away from it and explore new and exciting possibilities!
If you want to view V as a friend and aim to love Ray in V's timeline, there is nothing holding you back from doing so!
I think the most important thing to understand is that you are his first love, and his last love. He can't imagine falling in love with anyone ever again, because you are the one who defined what the world could be like if he believed in something stronger than the torture that was forced into him. You helped him see that there could have been more, but when everybody abandoned him, he felt like there was no chance for him to ever see those days.
Now, the way I like to play this situation out if you romance him instead, is to go with the angle of Saeyoung taking you out of Mint Eye despite your protests to save Ray.
Because, I do think if you tried to tell them that you wanted to find Ray, they wouldn't let you do it at the time. You made a promise to V that you wouldn't say anything about the fact that the hacker is Seven’s brother, too. So, you are constantly at odds with yourself to reveal the truth to save Ray, and trying to hold yourself together for the sake of everyone around you because you need to be strong for your friends.
I think even if you were able to tell Ray that you wanted to come back for him and you never wanted to leave him, he would still fear that he wasn’t good enough. He won't blame or be upset with you for it. He never is, because he always blame himself when he doesn't think he's good enough.
He thinks that there was always something more he could do to make it better, even if there was nothing he could do with the hand he’d been dealt. Even if you fought tooth and nail to get back to him, you wouldn’t make it in time. But, make no mistake, you will remain in his heart forever, and he will not be able to go a day without thinking of you and the light you inspired in him.
But, you're right to be wary of what will happen when the day of the reunion comes. It probably would have taken him that long to not only grow accustomed to the fact that he would have to see his brother again, but the fact that he would have to face you after putting you in a situation where you believed him to be dead.
He would feel so much guilt and shame overdoing that to you. He made you listen to what he assumed might be his last moments, and even if you promised to be there for him because you cared about him, it doesn't change the fact his doing so put you in a precarious situation of pain.
There's a lot you would need to talk about during that reunion, but his biggest fear would be that you would turn him away, not just because of the scars, but because he hurt you in an unimaginable way.
He would be beside himself if he thought you were dead for that long only to realize that you were safe and sound. He knows he's not entitled to have an opportunity to come back into your life, but if you throw your arms around him the minute you see him that day, he will cry like a baby, and think whatever God that is out there for giving him the opportunity to feel your arms around him once more.
(Squishes and smooshes Suit Saeran's cheeks with a big goofy smile) 😌☺
Ah, you air on the side of danger, do you? I think the funniest thing about this is that I imagined that you would be able to get away with doing this if it was during the night of his apology. Imagine getting all of the to him from the other side of the room, when he's standing by the window with such a sad look in his eyes.
He's prepared to leave as soon as possible for your comfort, but you smile at him, and cup his face in your hands to bring a smile to his cheeks.
A part of him isn't surprised to see that you don't hate him, but another part of him wishes that you did because it would have been that much easier to leave. He doesn't want to leave because he discovered that you meant so much to him in that time he spent by himself, but he knows that after everything he did to you, he has to work to be a better person, not just to treat you right, but to be at peace with himself.
How can he leave when you're looking at him like that?
When your eyes are so gentle... when he knows you really DO care for him just as you care for Ray... when he sees you smile... he knows the kindness is something he needs to earn.
You give it freely but he has to prove to himself that he's earned it. He may not need to fight for his life to show you he cares, that he knows in his heart he won't ever hurt you again on purpose, but he has to prove to himself that he's doing the right thing, and treating you the way you deserve to be treated.
It's one of the reasons why he wanted to take space from you in the beginning, so that he can learn how to be a better person on his own schedule. But, as your hands cup his cheeks and hold him tight, the only thing he can think about is how nice it is to be yours. God, how nice it is to be loved... even if you don't think you've earned it.
You know one thing I love about Saeran's AE sprite? It's that he's always facing us.
I mean, sure there are other characters who face us - actually all of them, I think have sprites that are face-on.
But Ray, Saeran, Unknown?
Nope.
They're always tilted to the side. Never quite facing us. Never direct.
And their hands are always covering their chests. I like to think they have their hands on their hearts. Just because I'm a simp.
But still. 😂
The Saerans never truly face us.
With Unknown, it could be disdain or pure arrogance, and for Suit, it could be similar.
Only Suit is more defensive, right? He always shields himself.
And Ray, well. He's timid and insecure. He doesn't want to come on too strong. He mightn't even feel like he deserves to properly face us.
But AE Saeran?
That beautiful man?
He faces us strongly, directly, and confidently.
Because he's free now. He's free and happy!
And all of those expressions his sprite does??
The blush?? The full, gorgeous smile with his lil teeth??
Look at that man.
Look at him, because he's looking right back at us.
Ever since I noticed this, I...just can't help but love him even more.
<3 <3 <3
...
...I've also got a message from Eunjoo to deliver.
She wants her cheeks pinched.
I like to say it's because they're all holding themselves back in some capacity. When you have lived a life where your autonomy has been Stripped Away from you, you're going to do anything you can to make sure that you have some semblance of control, and for them, what that often means is controlling how they hold themselves.
Keeping a hand close to their chest… well, it’s reflective of wanting to feel smaller, small enough to feel like nobody will try to grab them, and that’s a legitimate and rational fear after a lifetime of abuse and torture at the hands of Mother Choi and Mint Eye. So, it's no wonder that's how they stand, to protect themselves from everything, and to keep anything away from their heart so they don't fall to weakness.
So... they don't get manipulated again like Rika said they were by trusting Saeyoung and V.
But, you're right, GE Saeran no longer hides his chest or his heart, he wears it loudly and proudly, with a smile on his face. Sure, things aren't perfect by any means and it's going to take a long time before he can learn how to navigate how to be a free man, but he's no longer going to hold himself back because he knows he has people standing behind him who believe in him, and that helps him believe in himself.
Do you think that there would ever be a situation where
Suit Saeran would be the first one to kiss the MC since Ray wasn't able to because they were both too shy to make the first move and Suit may therefore be slightly aggressive to 'win' the kiss instead of Ray?..and in doing so very likely.. scare the life out of the MC..??
...
.
(whispers) You know who I'm asking for -
(Scurries away) 😂
Suit Saeran getting the kiss first? Hm.
Honestly, I just can't see it happening on the route. Because, from the way it plays out, the only reason he's trying to imitate anything Ray did with you is that he's trying to figure out what it feels like to have that spark of happiness without compromising his safety as the strongest member of this place.
He isn't allowed to do anything that will make him appear weak, and what is weak to the Savior?
Love. Affection. Hope.
You can't have those if you are a strong person, so, he has to make it seem like he's rejecting all of those things to survive, and he isn't even good at that, because it's not long before Rika decides to get rid of you despite his desire to keep you.
He tries to make everyone believe that you are worthless, you are nothing more than a toy, and any torture they could possibly do to you would be nothing compared to what he can do to you. I have to say this 100 times just so people don't get it mixed up, but there is no excuse for his actions and he knows that; It's why he apologizes and promises to do better later on if you decide to give him a second chance.
I can't see it happening in Ray route. I could wager a guess that it might be more possible in V Route, if you were to remain a platonic V MC and romance Ray and Suit Saeran in that timeline?
Because, the context is different in that route, and Suit Saeran doesn’t wake up pissed off at what happened to Ray in V Route. He doesn’t wake up and get angry that Ray was punished by the Savior for being gentle when the Savior WANTED him to be gentle from the fucking start.
He wakes up feeling intrigued with the player because he doesn't know that much about them and he would like to take them apart and put them back together so to speak. I think it could become a competition in that circumstance, but there's a lot of factors we would have to consider to even make that remotely possible.
What do you think GE Saeran and MC's wedding would be like? 🤔❤
The better question is, what wouldn't the wedding be like? Saeran is the kind of person that has always imagined something akin to a fairy tale.
That isn't... an overhanging memory from Ray, though, you may not want to go back in time and find out what Ray would have imagined your wedding to be because of that would be very specific to his fantasy and if you don't think you could ever stomach the fairy tale he had in mind, don't ask him.
But, in the sense of what GE Saeran has imagined... Of course, it's important to say right off the bat that it would be something the two of you do together.
It's not going to be an event where he does anything and everything he wants to do because a wedding is about making a happy event for the union of two people who love each other very much. That means it is very crucial to have input from the people who are entering the marriage!
You're going to have the best ideas, and he is going to want to hear every single one of them no matter how ridiculous it might sound. Anything and everything that you want to implement into the wedding is something that he wants to consider and figure out the logistics for.
Even if it is something as ridiculous as a bouncy house.
Seriously, if you want something like that, just tell him. He's not going to think it's weird because it's supposed to be a monumental occasion for the both of you. You need to celebrate it in whatever way makes you happy.
From big details like what you want your dress to look like, to smaller details like what food you'll be serving or what color the napkins are... Those are things the two of you will be working on for months. He is the one who's got a dream binder of information that he's been looking at for quite some time.
The process of creating and cultivating this particular wedding is going to be months in the making just because he wants to make sure that it's something that will last in your memories forever. Honestly, if you're not interested in a big wedding, he won't be upset.
Frankly, he's considered the two of you together ever since he held you for the first time in the garden. If you would rather have a courthouse ceremony where you exchange rings, that's okay, too. If you want to have a private ceremony with your loved ones, you can do that as well. If you don't want to get married at all, he's okay with that, too.
Okay, now that I've gotten that all out of the way, I can talk about the way that I envision the wedding. So, let's get out the aesthetic that I know everyone already expects. This is about to be a wedding filled to the brim with floral notes. Your bouquet will be crafted by him on the morning of your wedding because he would want to give you the fresh-cut flowers to carry.
Honestly, most of the flowers for the ceremony will be either from his garden and/or from the florist he will be partnering with for the event. There are certain flowers that might be faux just in case people have allergies or needs that need to be thought of before the visual optics can take precedent. So, let me use some photos to show you what I think it will feel like.
Like, if your MC wants a matching tuxedo look? That's perfect. If you prefer a dress, boy howdy, have I got a veil for you. Saeran lovers, I've got you covered.
I think the visuals do a better job of describing what I want to imagine this wedding to be. This is funny because I'm a verbal kind of person when it comes to descriptions, but it's hard for me to describe what exactly I imagine when it comes to this wedding. It's a display of love and passion.
It's flowers, it's springtime, and it's looking at Saeran in what feels like a wave of cherry blossoms as you realize you're about to be united in every way imaginable.
Warm, inviting, and full of love. Your wedding to Saeran is a safe place for everyone to enjoy themselves. Even if the RFA sighs and laughs when the two of you are mushy-gushy, they love to see the two of you so happy and content with life. They're party to the entire wedding, too. Mixed between the two of you are your friends, right by your sides as you spend half an entire each reading your vows.
Yes, I hate to break it to you, but Saeran and MC has vows that last for the longest time. Nobody complains about that, though. Don't worry, somehow Saeyoung's best man speech takes ever longer than that at the reception... listen, he's in tears and happy for his brother, let him have this moment. I wish I could describe this scene better, but I think the only way I could do that is if I write a fic about it one of these days.
I didn't even realise that in this Ray fanart I did I didn't give him socks
The Saeran Socks Saga continues...?? XDD
It's okay. It's seemingly an unconscious choice at this point. People just draw him that way. We'll all agree that he's wearing low-cut socks to avoid putting pressure on the scar tissue. That's how we can all get some sleep at night, my friend.
How would Saeray react if I shyly confessed to him that I really loved his Ray outfit -
Yes, it - it's me, back at it again with ogling at the historical fashion XD ;;;
Is it cringy that every time we saw Ray, I stared in quiet awe at his appearance? Probably...very much XD I keep going on and on about this, I'm seriously a broken record
But I don't just like the clothes - well I mean I do, but - it's mostly that I think it looks so good on him
Saeran is breathtakingly handsome on his own, inside and out
But that suit -
The waistcoat
The tailcoat -
It makes my cheesy little heart fly.
...
But, of course, we all know that he didn't choose to wear what he did. It was Rika, and even if he now feels neutral towards her in opinion, he must still have some...complicated memories surrounding her.
So...how do you think he'd react if I ever told him that I...actually did quite like Ray's outfit? (Minus the cravat - its symbolism shatters the prettiness it might have to look at).
How do you think he'd react? What do you think he'd say?
I mean...I know it's only clothing, but it did have a sizable amount of imagery behind it.
Which...he would absolutely remember.
...
It's not at all that I'd expect him to dress that way again - Saeran is irresistible however he looks (😂)
It's more just like
Ugh, I can't explain it 😂
If I ever did say it, i'd picture it to be a whisper I'd make without fully thinking as I watched this glorious man dress (not in a weird way;;)
...would he just look back at me? 😂😂😂
GE Saeran would be the one to admit that Ray didn't pick any of his clothes. Rika did. She decided what he would wear, and Ray wasn't a fan of it. He wanted to dress like how he felt... and if he had a choice, it's possible that he would've cloaked himself like a gothic prince in a tall tower. He was miserable and the best way to show that would've been through his clothes.
The bright colors were meant to force him into seeing this place as something that could save him... but Mint Eye wasn't going to save him. It only tore him down until he was pleading for mercy. He didn't have a lot of control in that place and it goes without saying that all of those experiences didn't do much good for him in the long run.
But if there's one thing that made that experience more tolerable, it was the fact that you were there with him and it finally felt like he had something worth living for.
If there was one thing you did back in that place, it was how you made him feel like he was finally a prince.
When you kissed him, it felt like the frog had finally transformed back into the form that he originally was. For once, those colorful clothes felt like they were useful in expressing how he imagined himself all of that time he spent in la-la-land. It did a world of wonder for Ray. That was the happiest moment of Ray's life.
That's why he doesn't look back at dressing that way as something that is abysmal or traumatizing. Those memories might be tough to navigate but it's the fact that you were involved with them near the end that allows him to feel like he can breathe and see something different in the darkness.
If you like him dressed up in that way, he certainly wouldn't mind doing it more often. As long as he gets to be the first person to see you smile when you wake up, this man will do pretty much anything you ask. Besides, it would be a lie to say he isn’t interested in being your prince to this day. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to.
So, all you have to do is say that you want to see something like that soon and he would make it happen without a shadow of a doubt. I hope you're ready for a masquerade party in the back garden. He's that kind of person and he's the one you can trust to find the devil in the details.
