#grackielechuga yaps

[grackielechuga]

I've been rereading RHS for the nth time, unsurprisingly. I have over 20 WIPs for this goddamn Webtoon istg.

But I finally finished one and posted it the other day, so it's time I yap about dragon of my dreams. Aka, my Mook x Aru emotional hurt/comfort one shot that takes place the night of the series epilogue.

This post is long af. Obligatory "Honey, you've got a big storm coming" warning.

So originally this fic was supposed to be somewhat inspired by Mitski's Abbey, specifically this section:

There is a light that I can see But only, it seems, when there's darkness in me There is a dream that I sometimes see That only appears in the dark of sleep

In the end, the only allusion I included to the song at all was this

"… he is the light she sees when the world seems even the tiniest bit dark."

And the whole aspect of them being able to meet in Aru's dreams, which was honestly one of my "Gracie wants her ship to sail, so she'll bend the rules to make it happen" ideas.

The original concept portrayed Mook as only appearing before Aru in his dragon form and remaining completely silent, only showing her his human form and speaking to her for the first time in the dream after he saves her.

I'm too greedy to let that happen, however, and wanted more of an established friendship between the two. So then came the concept of a role reversal hurt/comfort one shot which is described pretty well by the summary.

Aru's oldest friend is a dragon who comforts her in her dreams. After she escapes a potentially fatal traffic incident unharmed, however, Mook is the one who needs comforting.

Mook honestly has such a huge burden by choosing not to reincarnate with Aru. He has to wait (presumably) nineteen years of her life just for one chance to change hers. If I were in that position, I would have so many doubts and worries. What if I'm too late? What if it doesn't work?

And even though he is relieved due to his success, now he might start worrying that he's of no use to Aru anymore. He's served his purpose of protecting her, but at the cost of his happiness.

“'I thought I’d be okay with watching you grow up. And I am so, so glad I can. I’m proud of who you’ve become. But it’s never been enough. Even this, being able to see you here…'”

Aru, despite not knowing anything of their time at Reincarnation High, recognizes that his selflessness is his biggest downfall. He has given everything to protect her, leaving him with little for himself. And, if not for my dream shenanigans, he would be left with nothing but remaining a bystander.

"'... You should make a choice for yourself, even if it's selfish.'”

Then, after some realization on Aru's part that Mook did in fact save her that morning, Aru asks him,

“'Why did you decide you needed to rescue me in the first place?'”

And it leads into the self-indulgent scene where Mook manipulates Aru's dream into some critical moments within their relationship. In order, these are:

The hand kiss scene from ep. 129

The Red Eclipse Festival dance scene from ep. 85

A scene from the Trip to Hell arc from ep. 48

The two flying above the garden in ep. 120

Mook's confession scene from ep. 104

The hair clip scene from ep. 52 (this one is a lot more subtle than the others but still included)

The balcony scene from ep. 130

And yes, I have screenshots of all of them...

Listing them out is a little jarring since, at first glance, they might seem like they have little to no correlation with each other.

And there's even more self-indulgence when Aru, because she's Aru, still doesn't understand why. Mook gives his reasoning (because he loves her), effectively freaking Aru out enough for her to wake up before she can actually respond.

And my final quote:

"Love is something I can try and understand. And if you do love me, Mook… you can have all of me, if that's what you really want."

Again, I'm really happy with how this fic turned out! I miss RHS so much, and I'll definitely be releasing more fan content for this series in the (hopefully) near future. And maybe one day I'll end up adding a second part going further into this concept because I think it's cute.

For those who read the fic or make it to the end of this post, thank you and stay safe! :)

#fanfic #grackielechuga yaps #refund high school #mook lee #aru kim #mook x aru