#mysme

tracklist: – begin again – state of grace – nothing new – clean – mary’s song (oh my my my) – eldest daughter – thank you aimee – you are in love – you belong with me – the man – it’s nice to have a friend – snow on the beach – karma – hits different – tied together with a smile – lover – crazier – ‘tis the damn season – everything has changed – this love

Even if he did believe her, how is he supposed to feel? Is he supposed to be grateful? Is he supposed to be upset?

He doesn't have the same peace in his heart that GE Saeran does. He's angry, he's tired, and he hates everyone who burned him. Feelings don't come as easily as they used to. His mother was a horrible person, point blank. He never wished her dead as a little boy; he only wanted to live a free life with his twin brother. Yet, her death didn't free him. It opened a door that led to more chains. He's not grateful. As far as he's concerned, he should've known that nobody wanted him.

Rika only wanted him to use him as a weapon, huh? Shocker. He's not worth anything unless he can be somebody's fool.

It's as if his life were organized by a merciless God who wanted to watch him sweat. But he's in way too deep to turn back now. This isn't about Rika's plan. Why do you think he acts on his own volition half the time? It's not about getting praise from Rika. Sure, he half wants to be acknowledged by someone, but you'd have to be nuts to think that any compliment from Rika makes him happy.

It's about making everyone suffer because he's never known anything but suffering. Rika doesn't manipulate Unknown the way she does Ray and Suit Saeran. She doesn't bother trying to keep him around with the same triangulation and coercive tactics. He isn't supposed to act on his own, but you don't see her sending him to the basement at every turn.

Why bother when she already knows he won't leave?

In fact, you've opened the front door for me to suggest a theory that's been weighing on me for a long time that I haven't shared before, while I'm at it.

There is a part of me that has often wondered, feared, that Rika told Unknown he was the one who killed his mother... which could explain why he says what he says in Yoosung's Route. It would make sense if you applied the knowledge that Rika projects every miserable woe in her life onto him. She's resentful of the fact that she "had" to take care of Saeran, and that she "had" to become his mother to replace his dead one.

She was remorseful later on in the RAE, but Unknown doesn't exist over there. Neither does the Rika we know in Casual and Deep Story. They're both at their worst, their lowest moment, in that timeline. The only real reason why I hesitate with this theory is that Rika doesn't want to speak of that day. It was her rock bottom. The reason she is where she is when we encounter her in ANY timeline. It's why she crumbles when V dies in the Secret Ending. If she used her trigger against him, that would be... a pointed choice.

Rika loses her patience with Unknown OFTEN. If he made her mad enough, I can't say she wouldn't use that as her trump card if need be. It's just... that's the kind of weapon she would only pull out because she wanted to do it, or because it just... slipped out. There's no other way it could come out. She is the only one who would admit it. V isn't going to tell Unknown what happened. As if Unknown would believe that.

There are only two people who could talk about what happened to Mother Choi... and Unknown is unlikely to believe the one who kept his promise to Rika rather than the one to Saeyoung. To have the real truth come to light, something's gotta give. Either she wants to ensure that Saeran goes off the deep end to benefit herself, or she reveals the truth by mistake in a fit of rage.

When Unknown screams and holds up the gun to save himself from the basement, it's an echo of the moment when she stood holding a shard of glass to defend herself. It's no wonder it breaks her the way it does... that's, like I said, the only reason why I can't say 100% that she twisted his arm to make him believe HE was the REAL KILLER.

However, it is an interesting theory to toy around with because Rika would do anything to escape her devil. She wanted to become Jihyun Kim to escape being herself, after all. It makes sense that she would try to cast aside her sins to protect herself. She is willing to use Saeran as a pawn to become God, you guys. He's disposable to the Rika we know in the original five routes.

You have to remember, as I said before, that he is in no state of mind to process information. He has been manipulated, tortured, and beaten to a pulp. He believes nothing, and he trusts no one. The only thing that he is certain of is that he was abandoned and someone needs to pay for it. He doesn't trust the Savior. He listens to her, yes, but that's because he has nowhere else to go and she didn't "abandon" him.

That's where his loyalty is... if you discount the brainwashing that made him believe her in the first place. He doesn't consider leaving because 1) Saejoong Choi wants him dead no matter what and it's better to stay by the devil you know than the one you don't, 2) Rika beat him down over the years until the idea of freedom tasted like a glass of poison so why would he bother grasping for impossible straws, and 3) he believes his suffering will end forever if he can destroy the root cause.

But his suffering won't end just because Saeyoung and V suffer in his stead. That's why Unknown hurts himself after he takes Saeyoung's life in that one bad ending. Revenge isn't going to taste sweet. It's going to taste like nothingness. It's not going to erase what happened to him. It just adds another pressure plate to his back that he won't be able to get away from.

So, what does that mean for Unknown when he learns the truth? If he learns the truth? My answer is similar to what I said about SE Saeran discovering the truth, to put it plainly. It's why I focused on him in my first answer. The only difference between Unknown and SE Saeran is a matter of energy and perspective; One has more clarity than the other because he's not being drugged on the regular.

Unknown is harder to pin down because I can't see him trying to usurp the Savior position, and I don't see him trying to attack Rika because he knows better than to do something that would ultimately lead to him being drugged. It doesn't matter how he feels, essentially. There's no way for him to react to this fact from a position of power. He has to bide his time or try to weaponize this information to help himself.

In essence, even if he wants to do something to Rika, he'll be punished before he can do anything. He might not even remember what she told him the next time he sees her because of how the abuse has impacted his memory.

I can't see it changing much for Unknown. If anything, he might decide to use that information to hurt Saeyoung. Somewhere inside of him, he might be sick to his stomach over his mother's death, but he's just too angry and lost in the mania to process the information in his hands. We saw him suggest that he might've been the murderer, you know. Who's to say he wouldn't reveal the Savior's truth to hurt them, too?

Rika would definitely punish him for it, too. I can't see it ending well, the more I think about it. Ah, and as I'm writing, it just occurred to me that Rika could've tried to place the culpability onto Jihyun. See, that would be a poignant choice as well. Unknown would have a greater reason to be aggressive toward V in that case. You promised to save him from his nightmare, and instead you kill his mother and abandon him?

Hell, if he followed that angle, I could see the RFA collapsing because V does see himself as the main culprit. I'd have to think more about that angle to decide where the plot bunny would lead.

track list: – jump then fall – come in with the rain – stay stay stay – the archer – mine – innocent – holy ground – a perfectly good heart – that’s when – you belong with me – superstar – the other side of the door –  tolerate it  – everything has changed – untouchable – message in a bottle – happiness – me! – sweeter than fiction – our song