re:Happiness | Cell Phone Novel

Q&A + character trivia

Thank you for all who submitted their questions!! I never expected to have so many, so brace yourselves for walls of text because I tend to get carried away with stuff like this ( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑

W A R N I N G

The following contains information that are extremely relevant to the plot.

Definitely spoilers ahead!

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QUESTION & ANSWER
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Q: Who was the person in America that Leo kept mentioning in the story / Can you give more details about Leo's "that person" / who was the one who persuaded Leo to confront Ao?

A: For now, I can't reveal anything too important about 'this person'. If you read the announcement I'll be posting really soon, you'll come to understand why (๑･̑◡･̑๑) However, I can say for a fact that 'this person' holds a very, very dear spot for Leo's heart... and that 'they' were the main reason why he gathered his courage and came back to Japan to mend his relationship with Ao. If I were to sum it up... Basically, 'this person' is to Leo the way that Rie is to Ao.

Q: Will there be a ship?

A: Of course! There are canon and non-canon ones that revolve around the trio. These ships are:

Ao x Rie — This one is officially canon (yes, they're canon.) However, in this story, you can't really sense it that much, because instead of traditional love, I decided to make their romance seem as platonic as possible here, because really, I don't believe that Ao could afford to love someone in the current state that he was in. However, now that he has come to terms with his past and has Rie by his side, he's slowly starting to notice his feelings. In return, Rie also begins to see this and becomes aware that she likes him too. Basically, re:Happiness is set during their first year of college. Both of them finally realize how they feel about each other a year after the story, during their second year.

Ao x Leo — As much as I reaaally want to make this canon, Ao and Leo's relationship stop at being close childhood friends. Each one of them treats the other as a very important person, but there's nothing more and nothing less than that. Here's a fun fact though that I think you'll like: Leo is actually demisexual!

Rie x Leo — They aren't canon, though I think they'd be a really cute couple since they have the same sense of humor and are both happy-go-lucky. However, they stop at being best friends ( ¨̮ )

Leo x Ame — This was a canon ship, before Ame died. At first, Leo saw Ame as a big sister. However, as he grew up together with her and Ao, Leo began to see Ame in a different light as they neared the end of high school. Ame, on the other hand, liked him a lot too. I imagine that if she never killed herself, Leo and Ame would have really ended up together the way that Ao predicted they would. However... Ame's feelings for him wasn't enough. In the end, Ao was her number one priority.

Q: Is it possible that this [Ao's] situation might happen in real life? What can you suggest as a writer to help people who are struggling like Ao to find their own happiness?

A: Yes. I'm sure it's possible. After all, the world is a vast place filled with all kinds of people with all kinds of personal circumstances. Although I'm sure that every detail won't be exactly the same, I'm certain that there are those out there who are going through a similar kind of thing... which is really frustrating to accept once we realize the fact that we don't know who they are and can't do anything to help them (◞ ‸ ◟ㆀ)