Rare Pair Ex '24 Letter

Dear Rare Pair creator! Thank you so much for creating one of these rarepairs for me :D I love them all and am excited to see what you come up with! Feel free to mix and match any of my likes and prompts, or anything you were inspired by that you think I'd like <3

Treats of any medium are welcome, too!

DNWs & Likes

General DNWs: breaking up requested ships, genderswap, anything related to cannibalism, body horror, graphic gore, zombies/undead, hanahaki, sickfic, permanent character death for requested characters (Deja Vu excepted), mundane AUs, setting change AUs, de-aging, incest;
nsfw DNWs: underage-under 16, watersports, scat, vore, sounding, enemas, fisting, ageplay, crossdressing, injured sex

General Likes:

• what ifs/canon divergences, alternate identity reveal, time travel (fix-it), canon aus where the canon setting remains,
• fluff, domesticity, banter, found family, family dynamics, friendship, developing & established relationships, intimacy,
• UST, misunderstandings, miscommunication, character conflict, conflict-rich dialogue, (emotional) hurt/comfort, secret identity, secrets and the slow reveals thereof,
• fealty & loyalty, devotion, protectiveness, protective possessiveness, mutual possessiveness, (public) claiming of some sort (jewelry, bitemarks, verbal, etc.)
• characters being competent at their jobs, Battle Couple, teamwork, nonverbal strategy communication,
• casefic, canon-style plots, mystery, action/adventure,
• outsider PoV, first/second PoV, epistolary, multimedia and experimental formats (fictional socmed, letters, snippets from history books, text books, mission reports, etc.) that fit the canon setting
• The intimacy of your lover being able to kill you but choosing not to: knife to the throat (for shaving or during a fight enemies-to-lovers style), human!partner being vulnerable in monster!partner's grasp, strong person who trusts no one being vulnerable with their partner, etc.

NSFW Likes: D/s, bondage, begging, enthusiastic consent, undernegotiated kink, kink negotiations, dirty talk, praise kink, happy sex/banter during sex, clothed sex, foreplay, aftercare, plot-relevant sex

Art Likes:

• monochrome, b&w with pop of colour, high contrast with few colours, (but really, any art style is welcome!)
• jewelry & flowers, swords! (and other character-appropriate weapons), fancy clothes,
• character poses that tell a story/embody the dynamic between characters, small intimacies (hand to cheek! fingers brushing! eyes meeting! back-to-back!), height difference where appropriate (or otherwise through environment)
• And I'm really, really into the styles of stained glass (so pretty! I love the mosaic colours and religious symbology of it), tarot cards (the levels of choosing a card meaning to fit the character, the pose, the details!), and tapestry (just, the historical vibes? Usually some sort of major event or conflict, depicting a story between characters? *_*)

Descendants (Disney Movies)

Fandom-specific DNWs: focus on anything that happens in the 3rd movie (mentions are fine, pretending it never happened is also great)

Character Guide

Left: Uma, daughter of Ursula (The Little Mermaid) - Right: Jane, daughter of the Fairy Godmother (Cinderella, in the Descendants-verse she's the headmistress of Auradon High)


And here is one of the only times these two share screentime (THE only? I'd have to rewatch the movies to make sure, but I don't think they're on screen together in the same cut of DD2) Probably the only one they are seemingly next to each other, though!

Prompts:

• any of the other characters finding out that bad girl!Uma is dating goodie-two-shoes!wallflower!Jane
• Uma asking Jane out and Jane assuming it's on a dare/a pity date/a prank, but still saying yes
• Jane drunkenly confessing her crush to Carlos and swearing him to secrecy the next morning
• Uma assuming Jane keeps staring at her because she's gawking at the Sea Witch's daughter/scared of her/trying to keep an eye on her because surely she'll do something awful soon and confronting her about it, only to be taken aback by a flustered Jane blushing and asking her out
• Jane and Uma going to prom together with their very contrasting fashion styles (Jane all in high-neck, long-sleeved pastel blue dress barely showing skin? Uma with a more punk-rock pleather aesthetic? But feel free to ignore me and go wild!)
• Jane being assigned as the Auradon guide/mentor for Uma (possibly also Harry and Gil) and having to deal with their boundary pushing, trying to see what it takes for her to retaliate (with Jane learning to set boundaries and the VKs being impressed when she finally does draw the line)

Jane/Uma

For me, this started as a crackship - which characters are so different from each other that no one would suspect they're dating? And then have their future selves show up and have the canon kids react to that reveal.

Somewhere along that journey, my brain really latched onto this ship. It makes so much sense. They complement each other so well, being near entirely opposites. Uma is brash, in your face, unapologetic about being a villain. She knows what she wants and won't hesitate to get it. Meanwhile, Jane is shy, a push-over and people-pleaser, barely knows what she wants for herself, and if she does, she doesn't dare speak up about it, in case it burdens the people around her. She's everyone's friend but no one is her friend (before Carlos. Ben tries, but he's busy and believes her when she says "It's fine.")

They could be so good for each other. For Uma, Jane gives her someone entirely lacking in deceit. Jane is earnest and genuinely kind without ulterior motive, which Uma (and the other VKs) are not used to (nor would they trust it at first, I don't think). Jane could teach her to open up, to make herself vulnerable and come out of the other end whole - give her a person she can *trust*. Because the only people Uma trusts is herself (and to some degree Harry, but even there she knows it's because she's top bitch; Harry is devoted to her and her trusted second in command but on the Isle showing weakness leads to betrayal. I think they too could learn to relax and allow their friendship to grow into something more outside of the Isle, but I'm degressing.) The last time Uma trusted someone to any degree she got betrayed (by Mal in the books), which is the way of the Isle and growing up in that environment shaped her.

On the other hand, Uma could teach Jane to stand up for herself. Once Jane earns her respect, she would be protective of her, as part of her crew. Uma pushes boundaries and takes advantage of anyone she perceives as weak, and likely would do so to a push-over like Jane in the beginning. But Jane can learn to set boundaries in this relationship, and it's important for her to grow a backbone - and when she does, Uma respects her all the more for it, which works in a feedback loop to make Jane more certain of standing her ground and holding her own opinions. She can learn saying "no" from and to Uma, and with Uma's backing to others (especially Mal lol).

Also, Uma is pretty powerful magically, having inherited Ursula's sea witchery (in DD2 she turns into the same giant half-kraken Ursula does in The Little Mermaid). Meanwhile, we don't really see Jane use magic, but Fairy Godmother's wand is a powerful tool everyone is fighting for in DD1 and it does make Jane at least half-fairy. I feel like she could be a good match for Uma with the right training or incentive :)

TL;DR they both have fascinating insecurities and trust issues, and their relationship could go either fantastic or fantastically wrong, depending on how willing they both are to work on it :D

Background ships: I personally ship Jay/Carlos and Ben/Mal/Evie, with Uma & Harry & Gil being an inseparable trio and Jane & Carlos being gay besties (who tried dating but figured out they weren't right together).

Grimm (TV)

Fandom-specific DNWs: re zombies/undead: please keep descriptions/depictions of the Hexen-/Zauberbiest Woge non-graphic/-detailed (see: body horror/gore DNW)
Requested Ships: Nick/Sean/Juliette, Nick/Juliette, Sean/Juliette

Prompts:

• Juliette finding out about the Wesen world during the Seltenvogel case: I love how invested she was and how well she worked together with Nick to protect the Seltenvogel, even without being in the know. What if she followed him earlier? What if the Seltenvogel gave too much away for Nick to brush off? What if she saw something she shouldn't have and Nick is forced to tell her?
• Canon AU in which Nick and Renard have/had a fling pre-canon, before Renard becomes Nick's boss. I would love for some Unresolved Emotional Tension between Renard's emotional unavailability due to trust issues and Nick trying to 'forget' about his crush, mutual pining, "it was just sex" but actually there were feelings involved denial. Maybe they agreed to end it when Renard was promoted to captain?
• Any and all getting together romances, especially for Nick/Sean/Juliette as a triad after having had relations between the three in pairs. Working through their issues and learning to communicate and trust and working together as a power triad of Prince, Grimm and artificial Hexenbiest.
• Casefic where Renard's hand is forced and Nick gets suspended (possibly for being suspected as the murderer in a vigilante style case?) and no one is happy about it and everyone works together to clear his name and save the day
• Wesen politics and how the characters fit into it, especially Renard as Prince of Portland but also a bastard and Zauberbiest, Nick as the friendly Grimm not working for a Royal exactly (or is he?), the Blutbaden working for a Grimm, the Kehrseite-Schlich-Kennen (Hank) who is so involved with a world he can't see or know, Juliette as either the Grimm's Kehrseite girlfriend or the artificial and overpowered Hexenbiest, etc.
• I love plots where an Outsider mistakes a happy poly situation for cheating (catching Sean/Juliette or Nick/Renard at it) and then struggles with the dilemma of how to tell the third party about it :3
• Renard teaching Juliette how to handle her Hexenbiest instincts and teaching Nick what is natural to a Hexen-/Zauberbiest, which leads to Nick facing some uncomfortable truths about his captain and assumptions, but also becoming curious and growing closer to him (and Juliette again). Juliette writing notes in Nick's Grimmoires or writing a guideline to How To Hexenbiest for future generations?

镇魂 | Guardian (TV)

Fandom-specific DNWs: Shen Wei being naive/unaware of politics, Shen Wei giving up his role as HPS or Professor Shen

Prompts:

• Zhu Hong dealing with her unrequited crush by focussing on work, training to kick ass (and totally not to impress Zhao Yunlan... or Shen Wei, he's her love rival, why would she want to impress him?)
• Zhu Hong being forced to crash the Weilan relationship by outside forces (e.g. sex pollen via Yashou concoction or Dixingren power, some sort of curse, a Treaty subclause) aimed at either Shen Wei or ZYL, through much angst and Zhu Hong internally struggling with knowing she's the intruder and not a beloved partner, finding some triad arrangement which eventually turns into genuine three-way love
• Affecting the time loop: Zhu Hong travelling with ZYL back to YOHE & Shen Wei knowing they're dating, not wanting to intrude but slowly joining them vs he meets them again in modern day and is surprised they're not together yet
• Zhu Hong growing into her role as High Chief of the Yashou
• Undercover fake dating casefic where Zhu Hong has to pretend to date either Shen Wei or ZYL (because the mark either knows ZYL so he can't go, or Shen Wei knows them so he has to introduce Zhu Hong as his girlfriend to avoid suspicion...)

Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan/Zhu Hong

I very much liked how canon handled Zhu Hong's one-sided crush on Zhao Yunlan. He was gentle and self-effacing, trying to buffer her feelings, especially her self-worth, despite the inevitable rejection. He clearly knew about her crush, but also tried to put her off, a hint she noticed but couldn't quite kill her hope that maybe some day they could be together. I find the personality switch episode especially enlightening re: Zhu Hong's character here because she starts chasing Zhao Yunlan actively, using cutesy names and acting like a cutesy female lead stereotype. It shows that Zhu Hong usually /isn't/ that. Despite her crush she's feisty, proud and hides her feelings.

Her rivalry yet understanding with Shen Wei is imo under explored, their conversation about love in the park, while primarily serving to highlight both their romantic feelings towards Zhao Yunlan, drew interesting parallels between their characters. In a lot of ways Shen Wei is the sort of gentleman Zhu Hong is supposed to fall in love with, but at his core he is similar to Zhao Yunlan, especially re: justice and duty and responsibility, once the outer layers of bad boy vs polite professor genteel are peeled away. And vice versa, I think Shen Wei would find several of Zhao Yunlan's more brash and reckless traits reflected in Zhu Hong.

Ideally, I would want this ship to develop with established Weilan and Zhu Hong hopelessly pining from the outside, until circumstances force them to re-evaluate. Whether Zhu Hong has to marry either Shen Wei or Zhao Yunlan for political reasons and thus destroy their HEA, or one (or both!) of them need to have sex with her due to extenuating circumstances, I would love for Zhu Hong to go through some homewrecker angst and feeling like an intruder in the relationship (until they grow to a point where she becomes a proper part of the threeway relationship).

For a fluffier take, I would also love the fake dating/married trope undercover during a case, where for some reason or another one of Weilan can't participate in the trickery (whether the target knows them or they have a different part to play...) Bonus points for an outsider to catch Weilan making out at some point and assuming they're cheating on poor Zhu Hong 👌 ideally the fake dating would lead to a realization that there's relationship potential between the three of them, with a promise to explore that in the future.

Granting You A Dreamlike Life (TV)

Fandom-specific DNWs: The spy plot towards the end of the series, please pretend none if it happened. Also, the (imo unearned) canon redemption of Xu Xingcheng, Hong dad, Lin dad, Duan Tianci, and Hong Family's 3iC

Prompts:

• Canon divergence where Luo Fusheng stays the Hong family's top enforcer or returns to that position once Hong Lan becomes head of the family. How do Luo Fusheng and Tianying deal with the tension between his sense of duty and her sense of what is right and wrong? Can she learn to see the grey areas and recognize that LFS is trying to do the right thing in his own way? How do Tianying and Hong Lan handle being important to Luo Fusheng with their on-going rivalry? How does Lin Qikai handle feeling protective of his little sister, his crush on Hong Lan, and the tense situation between those two and his best friend and blood brother?
• Tianying getting to use her martial arts skills to kick ass. Maybe she gets kidnapped as leverage against Luo Fusheng and/or the Hong family, some sort of plot trying to drive a wedge between LFS and Hong Lan (who is very public in her rivalry with Tianying). While LFS prepares to rescue her, she rescues herself by being clever and using all her stage skills.
• exploration of the time in canon where LFS gets to be starlet Tianying's bodyguard and boyfriend
• Tianying and LFS fighting off an ambush together, either corrupt police trying to bring LFS in or a rival gang/his former comrades (3iC & co) trying to take him out while he's in the Hong family's disgraces

Duan Tianying/Luo Fusheng

I enjoy Luo Fusheng and Duan Tianying’s developing relationship, how they grow from the early misunderstandings and mistakes into each other’s greatest support. Having to work through the early mistakes and assumptions they made leads to a sturdier basis for their subsequent romantic relationship, imo. Tianying starts with understandable misgivings about Luo Fusheng and his job as a mafia enforcer, she takes him at the mask he presents to the world and has to learn how to peel those layers back. Luo Fusheng, meanwhile, is someone who will put everyone he cares about before himself, he will give everything he has and more to make the people in his life happy, but hides this behind a cavalier mask. Tianying is good for him, imo, because she sees beyond his pretense and can take care of the injured soul behind the mask, and Luo Fusheng can support her loyally and unequivocally without ever worrying about her letting him fall (unlike everyone else in his life :/) I love that her voice can bring him enough peace to fall asleep without nightmares, and that he's always willing to protect her.

And let's not kid ourselves, Luo Fusheng is a service sub and Duan Tianying would rise perfectly to the occasion of being his kind mistress. I love how Luo Fusheng/Tianying's relationship is one of mutual care and respect and protectiveness, especially in contrast to their relationship with other characters (especially for LFS, who is always there for everyone else in his life, but none of them are there for him, especially Lin Qikai and Xu Xingcheng).

琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire (TV)

Fandom-specific DNWs: Re sickfic: Mei Changsu spitting blood, fainting or getting a fever (with fever dreams or hallucinations) is fine as long as there's no vomit or incontinence involved

Mei Changsu/Xiao Jingyan

I love how clever and smart everyone in this canon is, and that Mei Changsu is still two steps ahead of them usually, and if he's caught off-guard he is great enough at improvisation to twist the situation to his advantage. I love how clearly he keeps his three identities distinct: Su Zhe, the loathfully ambitious scholar, Mei Changsu, the politically-minded jianghu chief, and Lin Shu, the proper and filial son of the empire. And I love that when Xiao Jingyan looks at him, he sees all three as being the same person, all of the flaws and strengths making up the person he loves, no matter how much he seems to have changed on the surface with his new limitations.

I love that Xiao Jingyan is smart, but more than that he's stubborn. He takes the virtue of honesty and bullheadedly refuses to twist the truth even if it would be to his advantage. He's not bad at politics, he just doesn't see the point and finds the lies and bribes and greed distasteful.

And both of them are incredibly loyal, to each other, to their allies, to their ideal and the memory of Prince Qi.

Mu Nihuang

I love how badass in battle Nihuang is, and how she's now forced to adapt to the political intrigue in the capital/palace. She's clever, but she's not used to defend herself from these sneaky sort of attacks. She needs help defending herself, and I love how in that she and MCS are in a sort of role reversal: she can protect him from physical attacks, and he protects her from verbal and sneaky assaults. She trusts Lin Shu unquestioningly, even as he lies to her about when he'll die, how much time they'll still have together. She lies for him and protects him as best as she can, trusting that he has a good reason. She's incredibly loyal and devoted, and ready to rebel against the Emperor when she believes he's in danger.
I would love anything that explored her learning how to thread the needle of social graces at the palace, perhaps gaining advice from Consort Jing as someone she can trust.

Prompts

• Canon AU or Divergence in which Mu Nihuang is officially wed to Xiao Jingyan. I could see this happening in a few different scenarios:
  1. Emperor Dad decides this is the easiest way to get Mu Nihuang away from her army and stuck in the city, while simultaneously plotting to keep Jingyan away from the capital on eternal army missions to avoid the two of them colluding against him.
  2. Mu Nihuang requests of Su Zhe to prove his capability by marrying her to Xiao Jingyan - if she has to marry she wants to marry the one man who will share her grief for Lin Shu. This is of course quite the difficult feat because the Emperor will fear the two of them colluding to avenge the Chiyan army, so Su Zhe will have to be very clever.
  3. Consort Jing being involved in convincing the Emperor to marry these two: they are childhood friends and Mu Nihuang won't be put off by Jingyan's military bearing, but understanding. Perhaps implying that they are both rather blunt and bad at hiding their true feelings, so the Emperor won't have to worry about a clever wife advancing Jingyan's Chiyan case goals within court.
• Early Identity Reveals: what if Xiao Jingyan finds out first; Xiao Jingyan, Mu Nihuang and Consort Jing all realizing on their first meeting with Su Zhe who he truly is and just humouring Mei Changsu in his belief he's keeping the secret perfectly hidden; Xiao Jingyan and Mu Nihuang collaborating to better hide Mei Changsu's true identity to keep him safe
• Post-Canon Fix-It Outsider PoV making assumptions about Mei Changsu/Su Zhe being an advisor in Jingyan's court. I love rumours and wild gossip and seeing it contrasted with the truth!

Deja Vu by Dreamcatcher (MV)

Fandom-specific DNWs: using the Real People's full names, please stick to either stage names (Yoohyeon and Jiu respectively) for the characters or a title (e.g. The Betrayer and The Princess)

link to canon - 3:46 minutes MV

Character Guide

• Yoohyeon
• Jiu
• Sua - Siyeon - Dami
  - Handong - Gahyeon


• The two timelines: the one in which Jiu kills Yoohyeon
  
  the one in which Yoohyeon kills Jiu
  

While my own interpretation shines through here, I'm interested in other people's interpretations, too! What stood out to you in the MV? What vibe did the characters give you? What sense of the world they inhabit?

Prompts:

• What if Yoohyeon and/or Jiu are stuck in a time loop, forced to kill the other or be killed until they find a way to break the cycle?
• What if it's Jiu having the Deja Vu experience of having killed Yoohyeon and that's why she drops the sword during the second timeline?
• What if the first timeline is all in Yoohyeon's head, nightmares and paranoia of secret hints of a conspiracy... What if Jiu's secretly planning to propose to Yoohyeon, and Yoohyeon only learns of it with Jiu's blood cooling on her hands?
• What if these are two separate timelines with a role reversal? What happens if Jiu and Yoohyeon meet their alternate selves?
• Something based on the lyrics: As long as I can breathe/I can’t let go of you again/We'll be together for every moment and/or Even if I bet all of me for you/And the painful wounds deepen/As though every moment is a dream/I won't move away from you — to me, these lines read as if one timeline happened, and the person remembering (Jiu? Is this why she drops the sword?) cannot go through the same again, clinging to the other no matter how much the other hurts the one who remembers
• anything that emphasizes the unequal power dynamics would be great! Especially if the imagery involves the throne and/or kneeling, fealty feels, loyalty/betrayal, etc.
• Jiu or Yoohyeon holding the other close as they die, despite being the one who killed them

Jiu/Yoohyeon

This ship is full of fealty and betrayal, of intimate trust that is broken. I love that we see both Jiu and Yoohyeon in the respective roles, and see them being swapped constantly throughout the MV; it's just a trick of fate who ends up in which role. It is Jiu who raises the sword to Yoohyeon first, both when Yoohyeon is a princess fallen at Jiu's feet and when Yoohyeon is the servant kneeling before her princess. And yet in the memories, it's always Jiu who turns to Yoohyeon first with a smile on her face. And it is always Yoohyeon who remains behind, alone, closing her eyes and opening them to see everyone/no one around her. Yoohyeon who misses Jiu, despite being the one who decided to go through with killing her.

I love how they clearly loved and trusted each other, yet both started doubting at some point. They grow colder over time, confronting each other, both distrusting what the other was doing, both struggling with the need to strike first before they are betrayed (and in the end, Jiu drops the sword and Yoohyeon picks it up and goes through with it). There are so many possible nuances in their relationship, and I'd be happy with anything at any point during it (or after!)

love4eva by Loona (MV)

Fandom-specific DNWs: using the Real People's names, please stick to the stage names for the characters (especially in Olivia Hye's case, please use that era's stage name rather than her current one)
Requested Ships: Yves's character/Olivia Hye's character, Yves' character/Chuu's character

link to canon - 4:03 minutes MV

Character backstory solo MVs: Yves (new), Chuu (Heart Attack), Go Won (One&Only), Olivia Hye (Egoist), plus their reunion in High Hi (short preview at 1:15 and then starting from 1:25 - the three girls surrounding/transporting Olivia are Jinsoul, Kim Lip and Choerry)

Character Guide

Yves: red skirt, dark-brown hair, the leader of the group, fruit: red apple, animal: swan

Chuu: yellow skirt, auburn hair, big smile, has a (platonic, canonically) crush on Yves, fruit: strawberry (despite the green apple in Heart Attack), animal: penguin

Go Won: blue skirt, blonde hair, friends with Yves and Chuu, fruit: pineapple, animal: emperor butterfly

Olivia Hye: green skirt, black hair, teacher's pet, fruit: blood plum, animal: wolf

Prompts:

• anything that focuses on Chuu following/imitating Yves and her crush on Yves (like Chuu carrying a green apple because Yves eats a red apple)
• contrasting Yves and Olivia side-by-side as equals/enemies, possibly with high-contrast opposite colours
• Olivia as the outsider to the clique of Yves-Chuu-Go Won
• Yves catching Olivia as she jumps in Hi High
• What happened between Yves and Olivia? Why is Olivia the outsider, the lone wolf? Does Olivia reject Yves… or did Yves see something in Olivia that scared her? (feel free to involve the fan theory that Olivia caused Vivi (Yves' best friend/then girlfriend) to fall/die if you wish)
• life at Eden’s boarding school and how the girls cope with the harsh rules—and how Yves is seduced by the life on the other side and seduces the other girls in turn to follow her
• Chuu and/or Olivia pining after Yves, especially if she's dating the other girl and how they cope with that (I imagine Olivia would be darkly jealous and more of a cold-shoulder type while Chuu would try to cover the hurt with a smile?)

Yves/Chuu

I adore Chuu's cute little crush on Yves. It's very baby lesbian, where she can't tell if she wants to be her or wants to date her. Yves is cool and confident and knows what she wants, and all of that appeals to a starry-eyed Chuu. In Heart Attack, Chuu does her best to imitate Yves, practicing the dance moves from Yves' new choreography and carries a green apple around, an unripe version of Yves' fruit. It's also interesting imo that both their animals are birds, although with a penguin Chuu's is a flightless one.

For this ship, I would love any kind of level of shippiness. One-sided pining where Chuu simply continues to follow like a duckling in Yves' footsteps, or even confessing to her crush and getting gently let down would be cool - but so would be a getting together or an established relationship. I'm also down for Chuu watching from the sightlines as Olivia and Yves get together and being a supportive friend while it hurts inside!

Yves/Olivia Hye

For these two, I am in love with their antagonistic vibe. Olivia is clearly the outsider of the group, the literal lone wolf. She's the one who stays behind when the others leave (gets left behind as she watches them full of yearning). The last scene, with the headmistress clapping for Olivia always hit me as Olivia being a good lil teacher's pet and possibly tattle-tale who told on the others, in contrast to Yves' dreaming and sneaking out. Yves is the little rebel, the temptation, the one being seduced by the life out there and seducing the others to take a bite of the fruit that will change their lives.

They both have strong personalities and are natural leaders. Imo, Olivia wishes she could be a part of the group but something holds her back. This could be many things! Bad experiences or doubts or, if we're taking the fan theory into account that Olivia caused Vivi's fall from Eden - if she did do such a horrible thing to someone Yves loved, well, Yves' caution around Olivia would be quite justified, wouldn't it? (What if Olivia was jealous of the attention Vivi got from Yves, going on rollerskating dates and everything?)

Most interestingly, Olivia Hye's solo debut Egoist is all about Olivia letting a past love go and learning to love herself, with Yves put artistically into the MV as her antagonist/possible past love. It's an almost dark take of Yves' new, in which Yves discovers her own new self. Yves and Olivia are mirror images of one another in so many ways and narrative foils, and that dynamic /fascinates/ me.

Your facial expressions towards me turned cold at some moment
I wanted to despise you
But my heart wouldn’t let you go
(...)
From now on, I’ll love myself
Instead of you, I’ll live on