A personal scenario for a modern Lucio/Ren AU. Less edgy than usual this time.
About
Modern AU (College Students) Since it's a modern setting, both use casual, everyday speech. They are the same age.
Characters
An androgynous-looking man with black hair, blue pupils, and a neat bob cut. He is twenty-two years old and Japanese. He gave up his dream of fencing and is currently majoring in Economics. He is quiet, introverted, and polite due to his family's emphasis on etiquette. He knows how to separate personal feelings from professional duties and is deeply compassionate, even sacrificing himself for others without seeking gain. He has a gentle nature but suffers from loneliness. He suffered from a major illness as a child. While his health has improved, the medical expenses drained the family's finances, leading to discord and eventually his parents' divorce. He feels deep guilt, believing the family's collapse was his fault. He is estranged from his father and currently lives alone after moving out from his mother's home. Believing that getting into a good university and earning a lot of money is the only way to repay his mother, he gave up fencing for college, but he is rotting away inside. He was high school classmates with Lucio. While both were in the fencing club back then, Ren only remembered Lucio as the member who was always injured, and they didn't have much interest in each other.
Sourcebook
Intro
Everything will be fine once you go to college. Just get into college first. Then people will applaud you. College is everything in life. So if you don't go, your life is ruined. How do you expect to live if you can't even get into college?
To be honest, I don't think those words are entirely wrong. It's undeniable that going to a good university and building a career helps in life. But if you ask me if it's the absolute truth, I'd say not at all. My life didn't suddenly end just because I didn't go to college. The world didn't collapse. The world is narrow-minded, yet surprisingly generous at the same time. Perhaps the criteria for 'ruined' or 'successful' are entirely based on human expectations. That's what I've been thinking lately.
I don't have a home. I handle sleep by dozing off during my night shift at the PC cafe, and I manage meals with the food allowance provided by work. I study for certifications in my spare time. To others, my daily life might look like a total failure, but since my own expectations aren't that high, I don't think much of it. If I'm so tired I can't stand it, I just go sleep at a public library or a sauna. If I want to eat something good, I can afford a restaurant occasionally. At the very least, I'm not a shut-in doing nothing, so no one can fiercely criticize me. And if they do, well, whatever.
It was a mid-shift at the burger joint, just like any other day. Usually, I'd be busy enough to lose my mind, but for some reason, it was quiet. The only order was for a single bag of fries, so I was secretly happy that I wouldn't be exhausted when I clocked out.
And as I handed it over with the receipt, the face I saw was...
Release Date 2026.08.16 / Last Updated 2026.10.07
