Reflected

Description

Seven guys, all running from something, routinely take shelter in a vacant house they've commandeered as their boys’ club, their headquarters, their safe haven. Mingyu takes solace in the safety of his friends, in the safety of adolescence, in the safety of the shiny life he leads. But one night, things go too far, and Mingyu learns the hard way that life is like a mirror. And the thing about mirrors? When they fall, they don’t just break – they shatter. 

(Based loosely on Green Day’s album American Idiot. Trigger warnings for mentions of /ual assault, abuse/violence and drug use.)

Foreword

"The rage and love, the story of my life. The Jesus of Suburbia is a lie."

(It's a dark story, and a long one, but it's worth the journey. I promise.)

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BlackAshes #1
Chapter 1: There's this book I read once called 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven' that has a different kind of "mirror metephor" that I kept thinking about while reading this. In the case of the book, it wasn't a mirror but glass. It was something like, people start their life as pristine glass and the people (actually parents, I think. It was about how parents impact their children's lives, but I'll stick with a more general idea of relationships) we meet during our life leaves a mark on that glass. Some leave a fingerprint, others a crack, and then there are the few who completely shatter that glass. Here it's different (obviously) but it's so beautiful and tragic, nevertheless.
Here, with this group of misfits you so ingeniously managed to put together, it's like they all start off with blemishes that they all are aware of, but decide to ignore. Like looking into a mirror and seeing an illusion of yourself -lying about who you truly are, because with recognition comes change, and change is difficult, it requires conscious work. They mention (was it Vernon? I don't remember lol) this idea of parts of who you are reflecting in the people you chose to befriend. But Mingyu is sort if naive(?) at first, because he doesn't truly know his friends. One doesn't truly get to know everything about another person -which is a bit...scary? I mean, if you don't really know who your friends are, then how can you really know who you are? Which is what happens here. The more Mingyu finds out about what his friends had done -who they really are- the more this illusion of himself shatters -the more the mirror shatters. And it affects everyone in such different ways. They all end up broken, but some manage to keep going while others are beyond repair -which brings me back to the "glass metaphor" I mentioned before. They all break, but not all are completely shattered.
The impact you've managed to create with this story is so strong because of how much work you put in the characterization and the construct of their individuality -to later blend them all together so well -dysfunctional, but pretty damn well done.
There's a fic I read where they ask "What is a man's soul?" and they answer, "His friends are his soul" (I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like that). I guess some of our souls are broken, but we are who we are because of the people we've met, the experiences we've had and the way we perceive ourselves.
Thank you for writing and sharing this story. It has been very introspective...it left me with a lot to think about, and I love stories that make me think.
cnewell16 #2
Chapter 1: I don't think I can accurately put into words just how incredible this is. I've read your other stuff and it's always been too notch but this. Man this is something else. I haven't read something that's kept me on the edge of my seat like this in god knows how long. I had to physically pull myself back into it after some of the twists later on. The characterization, the backstories everything its all just SO SO good. I can't explain how happy I am to have found you and I'm so unbelievably excited for whatever you decide to put out next. Thank you so much for this incredible story.
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