mari was here !!

i usually shorten their shipname to EliRiKu but i wanna come up with a cuter shipname cus like. EliRi has cakepop (i fear i have peaked, mari is a baker and elias is a lollipop addict) and HakuRi has hymn (haku religious themeing and mari is a musician, i swear theres layers to this) so i need a cute one to fit all three of them distinctly AUGHHHHH

all of this to say,,,nothing, actually, i just think their dynamic is funny XD hear me out,,,

i feel like elias is the type of guy who plays along with the bit if he finds it amusing enough, so it ends up leaving hakus flirty ass to be the responsible one of the three wwwww

FOR EXAMPLE!!!

god i love incorrect quotes XD haku would eventually have no choice but to join in as their child of divorce or sumn sumn

and judging by how he voiced subas comic in ep15??? yeah thats gonna go exactly how you expect it to LMFAOOOOOO

i just think they have a lot of cute potential (⁠´⁠ε⁠｀⁠ ⁠) cus hakus listed like is walking, while elis listed like is chatting with people and they just go so well together ykykyk maris is picnics so like imagine the three of them going on a walk to find a nice picnic spot together ofc theyre gonna be chatting along the way too (⁠｡⁠ﾉ⁠ω⁠＼⁠｡⁠) someone please hold me their cuteness is too much to handle/JJJJJ

mari is also more gentle and caretaking than i keep making her out to be XD theyre her safe space to be a silly lil gremlin!! (((o(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)o))) everyone else sees her as this flawless princess that can do no wrong (which tbf she kinda is? cus i played a lot w the idea of a mary sue when making her character) but they know she has ✨layers✨ to her

anyways heres some more art and memes because im not above propaganda <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠> i specifically drew wedding mari with both wedding eli and wedding haku in mind uhuhu

Some Days, The Night Is Too Quiet

21:30pm , December 20XX , Elias' dorm room .

The scent of spices and savoury meat lingered in the air, long after the dishes had been washed and set on a drying rack. It wasn't like any light would seep through the clockwork curtains of the circus tent— the sky was always dark and overcast in Dionysia. But the room felt more dim at night. He told himself it was probably one of the flickering lightbulbs from the string of lights that decorated the ceiling. A far more convenient explanation than any thought that dared whisper through his mind.

Elias sat cross-legged on the armchair closest to his line of bookshelves, cobalt eyes scanning through the stack of magazines that had piled on his lap as the night progressed. It was a bit old school, sure, but it felt marginally more credible and focused than scrolling through Wikipedia articles on his phone. They'd served him well in the past. But right now…

The sugary taste of the lollipop in his mouth registered far more than the blurring words and photos that passed through his gloved fingers.

He'd been awake far longer than he'd like to admit. Probably just the cold, gnawing at his bones. It was the same excuse he used yesterday, and the day before that, so surely that only strengthened his case, right?

He caught himself staring at the picture frame on his coffee table. A beautiful, middle-aged woman stared back at him, his chest aching and eyes tightening. He forced his gaze back down to the glossy sheets of paper in his hand, before he could do something foolish, like think about the life he'd left behind.

Of old townhouses, where the neighbourhood kids chased each other under the July sun.

Of his friends, who probably thought he was doing far greater things than he actually was as a Darkwick student.

Of his younger self, who took every quaint moment for granted in favour of the American dream.

Of his mother, who he swore he'd find a better life with in Japan.

Suddenly, his room, filled with furniture he'd brought with him back from New Orleans, filled with the scent of gumbo that didn't sit quite as well as the meals he grew up with, felt foreign to him.

Four years living in a country he only knew from second-hand memories at bedtime. There really wasn't enough time to adjust to these newer surroundings. At least, not when he forced himself to sift through layers of masks and facades until others grew tired of searching for whoever they thought he really was. No— that was just a game he played. A performance from a jester whose biggest joke was convincing himself he wasn't lonely. It was much harder playing the everyman for an audience of one. Especially when the cold had a foreign, nastier bite to it here, too. It only reminded him he would be spending another Christmas on this lonely island, instead of home.

But that was a thought for another day— maybe a day where he'd actually open up about any of the failures and responsibilities that ate at him every night, only to convince himself it was another manipulation tactic on his end.

When his eyes finally readjusted to the magazine in his hands, he caught a faint crease on one of the pages where his thumb sat. A wry chuckle escaped his lips.