#mostly it's just. characters can be more than one thing depending on the situation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

raven-at-the-writing-desk · 9 days

Text

thinking about book 6 battle simulations

I was thinking a lot about book 6 lately! (Not for any particular reason, I was just ruminating, haha...)

During the examination segment, Riddle, Azul, and Vil were put into one group and Jamil and Leona were put in the other group. Idia then put them into VR simulations in which (simulated) Trey, Jade, Rook, Kalim, and Ruggie approached the subjects to upset them. This is for the purposes of STYX to gauge their combative capabilities and blot accumulation. What I noticed on another read of these parts was that Idia makes sure to inform all the subjects they are about to enter a VR simulation BEFORE they dive in... and yet despite this, group 1 (Riddle, Azul, Vil) was still caught off-guard when Trey, Jade, and Rook attacked them. Meanwhile, Jamil in group 2 automatically defers to Kalim but Leona is the one who notices something is fishy about the situation. Now, now... this is interesting 👁️ Why might this be, I wonder~ (You bet I'm going to analyze the heck out of these small details!)

***Main story spoilers up to book 6!!***

First thing to consider: it's possible that perhaps the characters don't fully understand what "VR simulation" is, as most of them did take a while to come to their senses. Of the 5 subjects, Riddle is the most likely to fall into this category. He seems to be slightly confused by the concept of a "virtual space" when Idia explains the examination to them (which likely conflicts with Riddle's very traditional understanding of "tests"). Furthermore, Riddle has expressed in Endless Halloween Night that his mother did not allow him to play video games or to watch TV so he'd usually do crosswords or solve other puzzles for fun. He's not completely technologically inept (like Malleus), but Riddle does have a somewhat limited scope of how items and procedures are to be used, especially if it lies beyond its normal means. It's likely that he has not thought of VR simulation being used in the scenario in which he finds himself in now.

The other 4 subjects, however, most likely understand what VR is and shouldn't be confused by the simulation. Azul is very savvy and keeps up with trends, which can factor into his business(es). He even brings up streaming as a potential source of revenue in book 6; man has his fingers on the pulse of pop culture to know what will sell. Vil, being a celebrity and the leader of the Film Research Club, must have an understanding of various technologies used to achieve certain effects (especially as director of his own projects). Jamil constantly deals with Kalim's requests and, being in Kalim's social bubble, must get exposure to all kinds of crazy technologies. Leona, being a knowledgeable prince, surely must understand the concept of VR simulation.

Okay, so... why did they (mostly) still get "tricked" by the simulation anyway? The key words today would be "trust" and "dependence".

Thinking about it, there's one thing that separates group 1 from 2: the boys in group 1 have a tendency to rely on others for support and validation whereas the boys in group 2 are consistently shown to be more independent than their peers (even if they, too, seek validation). Let's go through them one by one!

GROUP 1

Riddle

Riddle is presented as a tyrant that rules with an iron fist, particularly in book 1 where he stars as the main antagonist. However, it's also pretty blatant that Riddle has become increasingly aggressive due in part to others enabling him. Ace specifically calls out Trey for this, saying that his failure to intervene or to quell Riddle's temper has resulted in Heartslabyul students suffering for it. Cater is also complacent, as he and/or Trey often follow Riddle's orders and remove Adeuce from the dorm multiple times in book 1. Riddle relies on these upperclassmen to listen to him and carry out his bidding, and he feels validated when they do. It's a lesson he has learned from his mother. He is the most powerful, and therefore he should be the most correct. Notice how Riddle is quick to anger when others refuse to obey him and how often he demands for them to conform. He becomes enraged when the Heartslabyul mobs rebel and chuck an egg at him. But what hurts him most of all is, perhaps, Trey turning too. Riddle was mad about the mobs acting up, yes, but he still did not overblot. Not yet, at least. No, Riddle overblots only AFTER he tries to attack Ace with the rose trees... and Trey steps in with his UM to overwrite Riddle's collar, turning it into cards. Trey's relationship with Riddle cannot be understated here. In this very moment, Trey, Riddle's childhood friend (one of his first friends), vice dorm leader, silent yes man, his most trusted confidant, has betrayed him. He is proving Riddle wrong, that the most powerful mage is not the most correct. "Are YOU going to tell me that I'm wrong too? After all I've done to protect the rule of law?! [...] I... I refuse to believe this!"

From these examples, we can clearly see that Riddle is someone who is reliant on others--not that he isn't a capable mage, but rather he is reliant on others for his own sense of self-worth. Indeed, even in his post-OB flashback, he indicates feeling proud and excited when his mother praises him for good grades or successfully performing a spell. This is reiterated many times over in book 1, in which Riddle feels satisfied and even smug when his students fall in line, and spirals into uncontrollable rage when they don't. There are a select few whom Riddle has chosen to place his faith in, and Trey is one of them. Trey, who gave him his first slice of strawberry tart and has been supporting him as his vice for over a year now (since Riddle became dorm leader in his first week as a first-year student; now is the start of Riddle's second year). That's why he feels so hurt when Trey is suddenly chastising him, telling him that he's behaving irrationally.

If we reexamine Riddle's post-OB flashback, you'll notice that Riddle says he is lonely without every outright stating the word "lonely". The phrasing makes it sound as though Riddle does not understand his own loneliness, like he doens't even know the word or want to acknowledge it as reality. He is awkward and unsure around Trey and Chenya, who invite him out to play. He follows his mother's rules because he believes that is what will bring him happiness. He wonders why, in spite of following all those rules, he still feels hollow inside. Then, once Riddle has awoken, he confesses that he always wanted to play more with Trey, and that he wants to talk with everyone after a meal. Riddle. at his core, craves companionship rather than dominating his peers. Trey was one of the few friends he ever had, and so Riddle puts a lot of stock into his support. This may be why he was quick to believe the fake Trey in the simulation, and why he looked so shocked when Trey started attacking him. Here is a boy who has already been betrayed once, experiencing that same betrayal again at the hands of his childhood friend. How scared must he be of losing his oldest friend, of Trey turning his back on him or seeing him as a monster? 😭

Azul

Due to the bullying he experienced in his childhood, Azul works very hard to maintain a new image of someone who is cool, confident, and composed. Part of that is passing himself off as someone who is large and in charge, while posing Jade and Floyd as his lackies who do whatever he tells them to. The reality of the matter is that the twins are very much... there to do their own thing, and they just kind of go along with Azul's schemes because they seem to be a lot of fun. When you stop to consider it though, Azul definitely puts a lot of trust into the Leech brothers even though they're both shady and can be flippant at times. It's the twins going around and advertising Azul's services to the student population. It's the twins who help him expand his business and acquire new items (as all three's Dorm Uniform vignettes are about the Octatrio conspiring to acquire the rights to and/or advertise their new drinks). It's the twins who are asked to run the Mostro Lounge whenever Azul is absent. Time and time again, Azul falls back on Jade and Floyd. They've been with him since middle school.

In book 4, both Azul and Floyd insist that they aren't really "childhood friends", but they do consider each other "equals". As Azul describes it, "I strongly doubt Jade or Floyd have any binding allegiance to me. This is all and elaborate game of pretend to them. [...] If I made a poor choice as leader--or even simply a boring one... They would turn on me instantly and seize the dorm leader seat for themselves." Floyd follows with, "We ain't got any plans to challenge him, either... for now, anyway. Aha ha! [...] We stick with [Azul] now 'cause it's fun. If it stops bein' fun, we drop him like a bad habit. Easy." The twins and Azul are both very aware that their relationship is a temporary and transactional one. Azul himself has even fully considered the possibility that Jade and Floyd may one day turn on him. This is all true--however, I also believe it's possible that the Octatrio are not being entirely truthful to themselves and do actually care for one another beyond the confines of their business ties or "having fun". In book 3, Jade and Floyd sense that something is wrong, and their immediate thought is to go check on Azul because of this gut feeling. Jade warns Azul of the consequences of misusing his UM. They are also the first to check on Azul after his OB and insist that he rest and find it within them to gently tease him over the situation. Even the way they address each other is "special". Jade and Azul have a tendency to be polite and use the honorific "-san" after everyone's name... except for each other and Floyd. Floyd, meanwhile, tends to give everyone a nickname... except for Jade and Azul. They drop these naming conventions within their group because that's how much they know and trust each other. Further proof of this is that when Floyd first meets Azul in the post-OB flashback of book 3, he calls Azul "Octopus-chan". Azul used to have a nickname, but no longer has one. This implies that a lack of a nickname actually indicates that Floyd is more intimate with someone than if he had nicknamed them. The same goes with Jade and Azul, who are usually so formal and polite.

I've already established that Azul acts in ways which indicate that he is close to the twins, as much as he tries to deny it and come off as tough. He drops the honorifics for them and he trusts them to do his bidding. What I find most telling, however, is when Jade and Floyd check up on him right as he's about to OB. "Jade! Floyd! Ahhh, you've finally come back to me," Azul says (if you listen to his voice, he sounds SO relieved). "Would you believe that thanks to these FOOLS, I've lost all of my contracts? Which is why I'm going to need your powers now. Come on, give them to me!" This is notable because, prior to this, he was forcibly ripping powers out of mob students. But now with the twins--Azul makes a CONSCIOUS decision to ask Jade and Floyd for them to willingly give up their powers to him. Azul is emotional and acting without tact here, but he STILL stops to ask the twins for them to surrender their magic. He cares about getting their consent specifically. When the brothers deny him and Floyd says Azul has become lame, that's when Azul snaps. His loyal henchmen are refusing his request and he's lost all his accumulated wealth. He's going to become the weak, friendless crybaby he once way all over again.

Knowing all of this, it makes sense why Azul was as startled as Riddle was when the simulated Jade attacked him. Azul claims that he anticipates this day--but he still seems to disturbed when it actually happens. It's true that perhaps this surprise comes in part from Azul having no indication that the twins were getting bored of him, so this is coming out of left field in his perspective. But... it could also be that he's hurt by the sudden shift, even if he and the twins have been telling themselves all along that they'd toss each other out without a second thought once they lose interest. This calls back to Azul's concerns right before he overblots: that his "business partners" (whom he refuses to call his friends) have lost interest in him and will now leave him alone and with nothing. He relies on the brothers not only for labor, but as his company and his confidants. When that's taken away from him... what does Azul have left that's worth anything?

Vil

Vil is another person who typically passes as very independent. He looks after himself quite well and is often the one nagging others to do the same. The thing with him is... he's still a celebrity at the end of the day, and a celebrity like him is always aware of his public image and the eyes on him. That's Vil's Achille's heel: as a celebrity, he is constantly concerned with how others perceive him. This is a lesson he learns in book 5--that he shouldn't let other people's judgment of him or a silly popularity contest determine his self-worth. Ah, but let's remember... book 6 begins like a mere DAY after book 5. Sure, Vil's character arc may be over, but that does not mean that he has suddenly completely changed. Up until yesterday, he was aggressively training to overcome his rival and to show the whole world his true beauty. Vil still, to some degree, finds value in how he looks and how others see him, as it strongly ties into his career. To this end, he sees Rook as a valuable individual.

Now, there's a lot of contention about whether or not Rook is a good influence on Vil or not, as some interpret his commentary as derogatory or unnecessarily critical. I'm not going to get into that; here, I am going to speak plainly about how Vil himself views Rook's feedback. In Vil's Labwear vignettes, he confides in Trey that he relies on Rook's keen observational skills to reflect the truth back to him. A celebrity must look at his best, and he can count on Rook to not mince his words and point out even the most minute of changes at a quick glance. (Vil himself is also extremely strict with himself, but lacks the superhuman abilities that his vice dorm leader does.) Rook has been doing this since long before he even transferred to Pomefiore, critiquing Vil's performances and such, not just his looks alone. This led into long discussions and debates between the two, which demonstrates how much Vil values Rook's perspective. Even back then, Rook was one of Vil's greatest supporters, but not exactly a totally blind "yes man". He is offering the kind of feedback that Vil seeks, not empty, sugar-coated niceties. This is why, in spite of his betrayal at the end of book 5, Vil eventually accepts it, as he trusts Rook's keen eye and judgment. What's interesting about book 6's examinations is that Vil seemingly takes charge of his group. When approached by the simulated classmates, Vil steps up and, after a moment of silence, says, "No... It's nothing. Let's go." (Vil is known as a skilled actor and can easily sniff out an act himself. Was the silence hesitation as he, Azul, and Riddle reevaluate the scene? Hard to say, but I'm assuming that STYX's state-of-the-art tech was able to perfectly simulate Rook, and thus confused Vil and co. for a while.) Rook strikes him with a spell, and that invokes a great emotional reaction from Vil, who seems to be the most aghast of the group. The fake Rook then declares that he's going to claim the dorm leader seat from Vil, which shocks him. "As you know, I appreciate beautiful things. Hence... I can hardly allow someone who's acted as ugly as you to occupy the Fairest Queen's throne!" The scene then cuts away to a battle. Now, while we don't get any extra dialogue from Vil to show his reaction, one interpretation could be that he was stunned into silence. Why is this a believable occurrence? Because the fake Rook called Vil out for "ugly" behavior. This is significant because back when Vil was overblotting, he was desperately shouting for people to "not look at him" because he's "so ugly". Here, ugliness does not mean literal ugliness or something that is visually unappealing. The "ugliness" being spoken of refers to being morally rotten, as Vil was speaking on his guilt after resorting to dirty tactics to try and take out his rival (when he had previously sworn to win on his own merits alone). The simulated Rook might be referring to this, which induces great shame in Vil, who is aware of the weight of his sins. Heck, book 6 even starts with Vil taking accountability and sincerely apologizing to the whole NRC Tribe for causing them trouble. Vil blames himself for their team losing, as it was his OB that forced them to fight and physically wore them out before their big performance. "What does it matter who forgives me?! I can't... I can't forgive myself!" He may still have lingering guilt regarding this incident, hence why he's the one predominantly reacting when the vice dorm leaders betray group 1. His mirror and huntsman, who speaks only the truth to him, now tells him of his ugliness. What else can that be, if not the truth reflected back at him?

GROUP 2

Jamil

To be clear, Jamil did not automatically go after the simulated Kalim. He automatically defers and tries to go along with his dorm leader (and only starts fighting once Leona declares the simulation for the sham it really is). Why? Surely Jamil is sharper witted than that. To this, I say... of course, it's just that Jamil's so used to being a servant that he reverts back to submissiveness as soon as he's put in a circumstance where there's a power dynamic. He’s not the one relying on Kalim—Kalim is often the one relying on him. You need proof of Jamil's servile mindset? He was intentionally talking down his own skills ever since book 4 and, according to Azul, has been purposefully maintaining painfully average grades (which, in of itself, takes a lot of effort). Admittedly though, those are conscious choices, not unconscious ones. But how about back in book 5, when Vil announces him as one of the lead vocalists and Jamil's immediate reaction is not to accept it, but to humble himself and insist that Kalim would be better suited for it (when Kalim actually isn't)? Jamil has to stop himself, back up, and accept the nomination, which he has earned for himself, rather than relinquish it to someone less deserving. Years and years of serving someone else, forced to play the part of the inferior servant, will beat that attitude into his mind, regardless of how much he resents the position.

Even now, Jamil feels like he usually has to follow someone else's lead. Leona, the upperclassman and dorm leader, provides that lead for him in the VR simulation. This leadership + independence is something they would butt heads over later in book 6, as Jamil begins to act overprotective of his current charge (Leona) as he does with Kalim. While Jamil has played the part of Kalim's attendant and childhood friend, the reality is that Jamil cannot stand those roles. He desires to stand out and to be recognized--something which is evident in book 4. Before he brainwashes the Scarabia students, he's always framing himself in a positive and helpful light to them and speaks humbly about his abilities. After he brainwashes the Scarabia students, he has them heap him with praise that he had never gotten in his childhood. In the post-OB flashback, we see Jamil's parents scolding him for outperforming Kalim, even in something as simple as a game. The headmaster of a great arcane academy overlooks him in favor of someone far less capable.

Jamil knows he can be great, but he's intentionally being told to not reach those heights. He feels stifled and trapped, and no one understands his plight that he cannot escape from. This results in Jamil distancing himself from others and coming to rely on himself and himself alone to make his wishes come true. He can't rely on his family, who are beholden to their legacy of being servants to the Asims. He can't confide in friends because none of them are quite like him, and Kalim would ignorantly brush it off. He can't tell third parties because, as Crowley as demonstrated, they dismiss him outright. Jamil, as he acts throughout book 6, is doing so in an effort to find his own strength and to be able to act on it with the freedom he seeks. To play support not because he has to, but because he, the individual, wants to. As Jamil states before overblotting, he wants to "be free" from these precarious circumstances where a wrong move could doom him and his family... but he only has so many liberties to work with. This leaves him in a strange limbo situation where he still isn't fully independent but desperately wishes to be. We see him fighting against the restraints, and to varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the context and his state of mind within that context.

Leona

From a young age, Leona seems to have worked tirelessly to obtain recognition. Like Jamil, Leona was in such a position (second-born prince) that, despite his efforts, he kept being rejected and beaten down again and again. As we see in his post-OB flashback, this is what eventually broke Leona’s spirit and made him develop a pessimistic outlook on his prospects for the future. The thing is, even though Leona does not really have hope for himself, he still manages to inspire hope in other people, from underclassmen to the students of his dorm. Book 2 is entirely about Savanaclaw looking to Leona to save their own futures, and him trying to do so for their sakes. His club mates extol how he can so quickly hone in on their best skills and advise them on how to sharpen those skills. Jack admires Leona’s plays, so much so that he wished to one day play alongside Leona. He’s even able to get beastmen of different species to get along and live peacefully under his rule when this has historically been difficult for his older brother to manage. All in all, Leona has all the makings of a leader. He stands out from the crowd, knows when to leverage his power and intelligence (playing smarter, not harder), and commands with ease.

… That being said, Leona’s presence can be so powerful at times that it’s also isolating. This was the case for his childhood, which is depicted to us as many palace servants being fearful of Leona’s devastatingly strong magic. He also uses this strong magic against his dorm mates when their intentions clash in book 2–and he comes close to killing someone in the process. He’s also just notorious in general for being grumpy or unfriendly toward others, including one instance in book 5 when he seems upset that you’ve showed up in his classroom. Leona drives people away from him, whether because of his strength or because of his prickly attitude.

At the same time, i would also describe Leona as a tactician that keeps some degree of distance from those he commands. He makes it clear he's willing to use others to achieve his own goals and does so many times over. Book 2, when he tries to take out Malleus to help his dorm leaders while also trying to prove to himself that he's capable. Book 3, when he helps Yuu and co. dissolve the contracts including one of his own he made with Azul, etc. Leona knows how to best use his own abilities, as well as those of others. That's what makes him so formidable--he can read others and judge the situation extremely well, and he knows when it is smart to fight and when to tactically retreat (such as in book 6, when he immediately surrenders to STYX agents rather than make a scene). Leona is a self-sufficient man.

There’s the question of Ruggie, of course. Leona is often depicted as lazy and relies on Ruggie to do many daily things for him, such as laundry or fetching food. This obviously throws a wrench into the claim that Leona is more "independent" than those in group 1, doesn't it? He doesn't even come close to Jamil, who actually does all of these tasks himself. Well, not exactly. I don't think "independence" here really comes down to that alone. Riddle, Azul, and Vil all relied on Trey, the twins, and/or Rook to some significant degree to inform their own senses of self. Jamil had this belief of deferring to his "betters" (the Asims) instilled in him, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter. And Leona? Leona does not significantly rely on Ruggie for his self-worth (dude was 100% going to sand him in book 2). Yes, Leona was likely looking to help his dorm members in part to prove to himself he is capable of leading a pack, but he gives up when he realizes it was a fruitless effort. He doesn't become reinvigorated to keep it up or to try again, even when his dorm members (Ruggie included) plead to him. Leona is acting selfishly, and he refuses to acknowledge their perspectives--he's set in his own ways and is driven by his own thoughts, not those of the people around him. Perhaps this is what allows him to discern truth from lies with such clarity, as it is Leona who rouses Jamil to his senses and leads the charge against the VR simulation Kalim and Ruggie.

265 notes · View notes

loveemagicpeace · 11 months

Text

💜Astro Notes💜

🩵Neptune in 1st house-many times you attract the attention of children. Because you give energy as if you are some kind of character and then they see you as some person who is not real and is more of a dream. Dreamy things often suit you. You look like a fairy. Makeup looks best on them.

🥳Sagittarius placements are soo funny. They always have the best jokes. And if you can laugh with anyone, it's them. But the funniest thing to me is that sometimes they also laugh at their own jokes.

🌙Moon in 6th house- can make you emotionally unstable and overly concerned about your health. Many times you can think the worst about situation. The moon here has a good instinct, but it can deceive you many times if you are too nervous. Your day often depends on how you feel. So your health also depends on your well-being.

🌵Mercury in 6th house- you can become obsessed with your treatment or think too much and research (when you are sick) what could be the cause and why it is so. It is good for these people to work on themselves and to do things that add as little stress to them as possible. Especially if you have a scorpion in this house.

🧸Taurus moon- they don't like to change the environment, and they don't like new people around them. They mostly like to stick with people they have known for a long time. I have the feeling that even if they see new people, they still like to stick with the old ones. It's the same with the Cancer moon - they are tied to emotion. On the connection they have with people. They do not like to change the people around them, because they feel that the new ones will never perceive them as emotionally as the old ones. It is difficult for them to let go of the emotion they feel for someone. Both moons are tied to a feeling of familiar. Both moons love someone they met in the past or childhood love can be at the forefront here many times.

🎈Aries & capricorn placements-these people are obsessed with winning in business. They will do everything just to be better than their competition, to prove to others that they are the best and that they can succeed. I won't lie these people can devote their lives to their careers.

💙Pluto in 1st house- These people will always have secrets that they will not confide in anyone. This is not about them lying, but their energy tends to keep their secrets to themselves, so as not to burden others. But the secrets you find out about them can be really, really dark. They can be dying in the hospital or have a serious illness and they won't tell anyone. These people are every strong inside.

🌞Leo placements -if they love you they will do anything for you. If they don't have you then they can be very selfish.

🍀Mercury in Virgo- analyze every situation and think a lot about how they acted. Many times when they tell a story, they go into detail. But it depends on where mercury falls in their house. If mercury is in the 3rd house then they will be very talkative and sometimes won't stop talking. If mercury is in the 12th house their thoughts will be more poetic.

💫 3rd house is house of gossip so people with a lot of planets here will be very interested in what others are doing or what is happening in the neighborhood.

🎸I think people with sagittarius placements can be very generous, passionate and devoted in love. People underestimate their love. They will give you all the love in the world. They will show you all their favorite places and everything that brings them happiness. They will want to travel and discover the world with you.

🔥Fire signs always wear colorful clothes or someting fiery. 🌊Water signs always wear something which is related to emotions (inscriptions or something that is emotional). 🪴Earth signs always wear simple and grounded clothes . Something that is appropriate for society. 🌬️Air signs always wear something cute and fun.

🪴People don’t talk about this but capricorns love nature, flowers, earth and gardening. They like something that is not related to people, work. Also cap risings many times they feel responsible for the people around them. They sound cold and can be stubborn, cruel and even rude, but inside they will always feel bad for people, even if they don't show it outwardly. If you really want to get to know them, you have to know that you have to hang out with them more than just once.

🎁5th house-the inner child-this house describes how you are as a child and how you can keep the child inside you. So thats why leos are child their whole life. They know how to keep passion alive. Planets here reflect the essence of this inner gift.

🌊The difference between a virgo and pisces rising is that virgo often worry and become anxious when something doesn't go their way or when they can present themselves to people. Many times they give more attention to others instead of themselves. Pisces don't worry so much about how they will stand out in front of others or how they look. They have a lot of illusion in them and many times this leads them to emit a different energy outwardly.

-Rebekah🩵💧

#astrology #energy #zodiac signs #planets #my notes #astrological houses #astrology observations

940 notes · View notes

kaeyats · 2 years

Text

SAGAU,, incubus/succubus reader

headcannons for an incubus/succubus creator in the world of self aware genshin impact.

reader uses they/them. requests and imagines in my ask box are appreciated, but will take a while. :D

warnings: NSFW, suggestive themes, crack to smut lol

incubus/succubus!creator who is a demon of lust from their original world and whose needs remain the same despite ending up in teyvat. they must feed on others'.. sexual energy in order to survive.

incubus/succubus!creator who feels too awful because awwe, all the characters are too god damn colorful and wholesome (no, they're not), how could they ever expose them to something so dark (they've been through darker things)?

incubus/succubus!creator who holds off from feeding because- because, their acolytes are so adorable. always following reader around. always giving them the most beautiful and magnificent gifts. always lighting up from the smallest hints of affection. reader doubts they're even capable of feeling lust.

incubus/succubus!creator who slowly falls into a pit of hunger and exhaustion the longer they try to control their needs. all their acolytes notice and go insane. especially morax who looks like he's ready to murder anyone who seems even a tad bit suspicious. had they accidentally fed you something wrong??? has someone been poisoning you all this time???

incubus/succubus!creator who has no choice but to explain their situation to their most loyal acolytes. reader is becoming absolutely delirious and weak, almost fainting more than once that day. they can't hold back anymore, they have to feed soon.

incubus/succubus!creator who is ashamed for feeling humiliated because god damn, they're literally a demon of lust. why is it so hard to just explain sex and sex demons to their acolytes, they've literally done worse.

incubus/succubus!creator who feels more embarrassed at kokomi, ayato and zhongli/morax's serious faces, as if they were deeply thinking of a solution to your predicament.

incubus/succubus!creator who almost dies when venti and childe desperately offer themselves to the reader, practically jumping into their lap. reader has to stop their other acolytes from murdering the two because they've actually grown a soft spot for the now very horny menaces.

incubus/succubus!creator who feels a pang of confidence suddenly hit when they see kazuha, thoma, ganyu and aether's blushing faces because good, reader isn't the only one who feels like they're suffocating from embarrassment. little does reader know, they're blushing because of the shameless and unholy thoughts that are running through their heads. they try to justify themselves in their thoughts, they only want to help you out, but everyone knows it's mostly so they can help themselves. *wenk wonk*

incubus/succubus!creator who gets interrogated by heizou and hu tao about the more technical side of feeding, a bit shocked to know that most people they've slept with don't come out alive and are even more determined to be used by reader and survive to see another day. things only get worse once kaeya and lisa butt in with the more scandalous questions, whispering into your ears questions about what you like, what turns you on, any preferences to take note of.

incubus/succubus!creator who ends up picking a few of their acolytes once they've finally faced the threads of death. safe to say, the character that ends up underneath them won't be walking for a few days. the moment they were dragged away into your bedroom, they hadn't come out for a few hours, maybe even days depending on how bad your hunger had become. cries and screams filled the confines of your personal manor.

incubus/succubus!creator who had to bed multiple characters because of their inhumane stamina. you made sure you were properly satisfied, in more ways than one. you were quite surprised to see that they had all survived after all those rounds, but what did you expect? vision-holders are a different breed.

incubus/succubus!creator who laughs at the sight of their pathetic acolyte, thoroughly spent with a sinful look in their eyes. hmm, maybe they can take a few more rounds.

6K notes · View notes

ae-neon · 11 months

Text

Nesta Vs ACOSF, a rambling rant

TW: mentions of sexual assault and abuse

Besides the "love" story that read like a quiet descent into domestic horror, ACOSF has one element that keeps me from being able to pick it up even just to sift through for Nesta gems: sex.

Here me out, I'm not a prude and I think we could have gotten a smutty romance but...

At her core, Nesta has always been a proud and modest person.

To be clear, with pride, I mean that her sense of self - her famous steel spine - has kept her together and unbroken even during harrowing circumstances. It's vital to her. It's so ingrained in her that - given we have no other explanation - we can assume it's what shields her mind from literal magic. However, like any trait, her pride can also be a thing that comes off as negative in the wrong situations.

With modesty, she was raised to keep a certain ideology that based her value on sex, beauty, marriage etc but it's important to understand that Nesta applied those standards inwards, at herself. (Eg In acotar, she brings up Feyre and Isaac in defence of her and Tomas, in acomaf, she is mostly upset about not hearing from Feyre or being notified that Feyre has switched courts - not about Feyre sleeping with Tamlin and then Rhys)

Now, I don't think Nesta's modesty makes her better than Feyre, in fact I was happy to get the representation of two different types of views on sex

But what I didn't consider at the time was that SJM was painting this out to be a negative trait.

In retrospect it seems obvious even though Nesta has defied her narrative destiny and become a sort of icon, at the end of the day she was still supposed to be written in a negative contrast to Feyre.

It seems funny but imagine you consumed the book the way Sarah intended, the way so many in the fandom have. The old Sarah Says rule, for my long time mutuals.

For example:

The dinner in acomaf - it's obvious Nesta is upset that she hasn't heard from Feyre only to have her come through not only as a whole Fae but bringing others and endangering their entire family.

But imagine it as a one dimensional reading and suddenly the "I fuck" dialogue is a girlboss moment of feminism giving a fuck you to the strict patriarchy of the "mortal lands" let's ignore how the Fae are actually more patriarchal and the Illyrians even more so than that

So understand that Nesta's modesty is being directly contrasted with Feyre's sexual freedom. The reader - at least from sjm's perspective - is supposed to agree with Feyre and disagree with Nesta in a sort of win/lose, yes/no, black/white dichotomy.

And because sjm is consistent and boring and a self-inset author, this dynamic doesn't change even when the protagonist does.

Only now sjm and her feminism has changed from fuck-whoever-I-want girlboss to kinky-but-only-with-my-husband tradwife

So Nesta can't be prudish and cut off because 1) it's not as conducive to the breakdown of self and buildup of a dependent and abusive relationship and 2) it's not in direct contrast with Feyre's current monogamous, traditional family values character.

So Nesta starts drinking and sleeping around and it's not because we're going to explore the unraveling of the pride and modesty at the core of the character as part of her transformation or as a result of her trauma

But because it's supposed to be a bad look, degrading, it shows she's failed, it makes her a loser

All of that is already insane. And even more so when taken with the context of her assault by Tomas and the sex centred relationship she has with Cassian

Now add to that the fact that in the book, Nesta is an object of desire for 2 villains and undergoes assault and drowning AGAIN

Sjm literally gives less than 2 fucks about SA, that much is obvious even from the way she inflicts and then disregards the experience of both Feyre and Rhysand respectively. It's a tool for her, a quirky story element

But to have Nesta experience such a similar thing - especially when the experience of being Made can be read as a sort of rape allegory on its own - and all for the sake of "romance" fantasy??

Even Nesta's reading habits are sexualised, to be clear I don't think there's anything wrong with reading smut, but the scope of her intellect and reading is narrowed down when we're suddenly made to believe most of the books she reads are smut.

This is someone who likely taught herself economics and investment within months in order to not just pay off the debt, upgrade her whole family's way of life but also rebuild the family fortune. Someone who, having stopped schooling at around 14/15, did the math needed to calculate the feasibility of the evacuation of a small country.

Someone who's verbally stated life goal was to see what a woman could make of herself in the world.

Even her love of reading is used as a stepping stone for how horny she is, instead of it being a result of her deeply ingrained need for escapism

She reads smut because the only thing she has in common with Cassian and the IC is sex. Because sjm thought one of the core elements of a friendship between 2 SA survivors and a disabled woman from a culture that mutilated her for being born a woman would be their desire to fantasise about men.

All the while the male love interest treats her like garbage.

We could have had a smutty book filled with sex where each scene could have been the growth of Nesta's trust and love of Cassian through intimacy. It could have been a sexual relationship that involved and explored kink - which explored vulnerability and the negative impact of how Nesta's pride became a source of stress and strain.

It could have been an exploration about the complicated relationship with desire and oppressors that many survivors have. But it isn't.

It's hahaha horny, so RELATABLE

Even when it comes to the abusive situation Nesta grew up in, it's just hung up like decoration on the character. Not explored, let alone healed. I don't wanna hear that sjm explained or explored Nesta's abuse when we don't even get her mother or her grandmother's names

We don't get

The complexity of being a trapped and abused woman who came from a trapped and abused woman who came from a trapped and abused woman

Or the complexity of a dysfunctional family

Or even the journey of recovery from addiction and self-harming behaviour

Now, not every aspect of Nesta or any survivors lives have to boil down to how it relates to their experiences but SJM is praised for her "recovery" and so much of this book is about sex and abuse but has no depth

It could have been a less-deep, fun experience of sex and desire and kink. But no

Nesta has sex with many faceless men because sjm is condemning her as a failure. Sex is her punishment, it makes her dirty and unworthy and cheap.

Then, through her "healing", she becomes a sex doll for the right guy. Sex is her reward, it makes her hot and useful and appealing.

Sjm writes not just like a man but like a particularly talented misogynist so it's the way sex is used that really puts me off

Edit: ultimately I think the sex and romance should have interacted with and evolved her pride, modesty and past experiences, rather than those things being demolished to turn her into a sex doll

#anti acosf #anti nessian #anti sjm #acotar rant #nesta deserves better #sjm critical #nesta archeron

463 notes · View notes

lunarsigh · 1 year

Text

hugging the sumeru boys

Characters: GN Traveler with Tighnari, Alhaitham, Cyno, and the artist formerly known as Scaramouche.

Word count: ~2.3k

When he's presented with an unhappy, touch-starved Traveler, what does he do?

People tell Tighnari a lot of things. He has that kind of face, he supposes. Sometimes, they tell him things he would really rather not know. But it's rare that someone stays silent when he's clearly trying to radiate "I am trustworthy, please talk to me" - like you are right now. You've been staring into the fire for the better part of an hour, answering with monosyllables when he's asked about dinner or night watch shifts.

If you had proper ears, they'd be drooping. Which is the thought that finally gets him to sit next to you and say, "Okay, what is it?"

You blink, as if to dispel whatever you were seeing in the fire. "Oh. Sorry. I'm just … I don't know, in a mood. Thinking about the wrong things."

Tighnari doesn't know what things you're referring to, but given his experiences with you, you probably have a lot of "wrong" things to dwell on. You don't deserve them, but it's the nature of what you do. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly." Your mouth curls upward in a half smile, which is almost sadder than your previous expression.

The offer is out before he has a chance to consider it. "Do you want a hug?" He's done this with others; with Collei mostly these days. He has never been super touchy-feely himself, but sometimes touch is what people need to ground themselves, and so it's part of his arsenal to make sure whoever comes to his part of the forest will leave intact, one way or another. It's just never been something he considered offering to you, until now. And he's considering taking it back, apologizing, when you suddenly nod and scoot closer to him.

He wraps his arms around your shoulders, and you lean in, wrapping your arms around his waist. Your head rests on his shoulder, and he leans his cheek against your hair. You have a very particular scent, he noticed it the first time he met you, something he can't quite place, something that reminds him of both the earth and the stars at the same time. It's not a scent found in his forest, but it belongs here nonetheless. Because it's your scent. And you belong here. With him.

And that is a thought Tighnari wasn't expecting to emerge. At least he didn't say it aloud. And at least you're not looking up at him to see how his cheeks heat up. But you're soft and warm in his arms, and when he looks down he can see a more content smile begin to form on your face. "Thanks," you murmur.

"Don't mention it."

He lets you sit there like that for a long time. He won't talk about it the next day, but when you catch him looking at you with a slight blush as you make your way through the forest, he simply shakes his head and moves forward, smiling.

At first, Alhaitham thought you were one of those annoying people who moped around hoping someone would notice and pay attention. But after some observation, he realized that you actually weren't paying him any mind at all, you were so caught up in whatever was making you unhappy. He's not sure what bothers him more - that you're this unhappy, or that you seem to have forgotten he exists.

(Alhaitham is smart enough to know his own strengths and weaknesses. Being self-centered can count as either, depending on the day and the situation.)

You've been moving around the room for a while now, picking up a book, reading it for a minute, then putting it back down and going to look for another. Normally, that kind of restlessness irritates him, but with you, he rather likes having the opportunity to watch you over the edge of his own book, to appreciate the grace with which you move, the lines of your body, the way your expression twitches each time you realize you cannot concentrate on this book, either.

He wants to know what makes you tick. But if you're not going to tell him, then he'll have to take matters into his own hands.

This time, when you pass him, he sets down his book and reaches out to grab you by the waist. The surprised noise you make is quite pleasing, and he makes a note of it - perhaps one day soon, he'll perform a thorough investigation of what else might get you to sound that high-pitched and breathy. But for now, best not to follow that train of thought, or else the results will be evident to you, as he drags you into his lap. "What the hell -"

"Shhh," he says, wrapping one arm around your waist to lock you into place, while picking up his book with the other. "You're moving too much, it bothers me."

He expects an indignant reply, not the immediate loss of all energy. "Sorry. I'll stop."

You try to stand up, but he holds you firm. "Yes, you will." It's a plush, oversized chair, more than big enough for two. And he'd rather see you annoyed than … whatever this is.

And, well, he finds he enjoys having you pressed against him, warm and solid. He'll have to do this more often, if you don't try to kill him for it.

You're probably considering it, judging by how stiff you are. But Althaitham decides to go all in, keeping an arm firmly locked around your waist, while opening his book and beginning to read again. He's good at multitasking. A few long moments later, you relent, slumping down and squirming to find a more comfortable sitting position. The squirming is kind of a problem, one you'd start to notice if you moved back any farther … but no, you find your position and prop your feet up on the arm of the chair, reaching for a book on the table next to you. When Alhaitham looks up at your face again, you're giving him a familiar look, one of disbelief and mock weariness, but it's mostly free of the sadness you wore a few minutes ago. That's all that matters, really.

The two of you will do this again, Alhaitham decides. This, and more. You'll just have to get used to the idea.

Normally, you and the wanderer once known as Scaramouche travel in a fairly companionable silence, which he's come to appreciate, not that he'll actually tell you that. But he relies on it enough that its absence is notable. Not that either of you are talking while you walk down this quiet stretch of road. No, it's just that your silence is heavier, your mind clearly somewhere else. Somewhere dark.

He doesn't like being reminded of that silent, dark place - he spends too much time there as it is.

"What's your problem?" It comes out more hostile than he intends, but he's still learning how to rephrase his thoughts into more palatable words.

"What?" You look over at him, blink away whatever was living behind your eyes. "Nothing. Nothing to do with you, anyway."

"Then what is it?" He can admit to his curiosity. You've encouraged it, after all. You can't blame him for exercising it now.

"Nothing!" you repeat sharply. It's been a while since he's seen you be irritable with him. You usually go out of your way to stay level, to be the grounding force for his still volatile personality. In a way, it's almost comforting; it's almost like you're treating him like a real person.

"Bullshit," he responds, almost cheerfully. "You hid it from that flying menace of yours, and she's too dumb to get it. But I know a shitty mood when I see one."

The look you give him almost reminds him of your first few meetings. That's both comforting and disturbing, in all the weirdest ways. "Why do you care?" you ask.

He shrugs. "I dunno," he says. "I just … want to know, I guess." He doesn't precisely know why. Or, at least, he's not ready to put it into words just yet, even inside his own head.

You stare at him for a long moment, before your whole posture seems to collapse in on itself. "It's stupid," you say, turning your head to look away. "It's just … something reminded me of my twin, and it's just staying with me. It happens sometimes. Nothing to be done about it."

In that moment, he knows that he'd kill your sibling, just for causing that note of despair in your voice.

He remains silent, though, and you continue after a moment, in a quiet voice. "I really just want a …" You laugh, in a way that sounds like you're mocking yourself. "A hug. How dumb is that?"

Oh no. You're not allowed to have any of that self-hatred. He's still hoarding it all for himself. It just seems wrong on you.

"Okay."

"Okay, what?" You look back at him, confused.

"You want a hug? Fine. I'm not the one you want, sure, but I'm physically capable of it."

You stop in your tracks. By the time he realizes it and stops, he has to turn around to see you again. "Are you serious?" you ask.

That note of disbelief feels a bit like a needle stabbing into him. "Well, if you don't want it, then -"

"- I do."

"What?"

"If you're serious, then yeah." You're mumbling a bit; sunset has fallen, so the shadows may be playing tricks on him, but are you blushing?

Well, at least he's not the only one. "Yeah, if you want."

He honestly can't remember the last time he hugged anyone, aside from the weird manner-laden greetings people sometimes forced upon him in the Harbingers. But after some awkward shuffling, you close the last bit of distance and wrap your arms gingerly around his waist. He carefully mimics your stance, encircling your body and gingerly pulling you closer. He can hear you sigh softly, a note of release, of just the smallest bit of relaxation. And when he feels an answering tightening inside his chest, he realizes exactly how big of a mistake he's made. How much he's going to remember about the feeling of your body this close to his. On purpose. Because you want to be here. Because you trust him.

Oh, fuck.

It's been a long week, and if he's being honest with himself, Cyno is incredibly grateful that you decided to join him for the last day or so. There's a lot of Canned Knowledge activity in the desert right now. He's not even close to having run everyone down yet, but he's got a couple more dealers than he otherwise would with your help. But, at the same time, he's worried about you.

He asked a couple of times, but you cut him off pretty firmly. Cyno knows all about the urge to keep your problems to yourself, he could teach a whole Akademiya course about bottling up your feelings, if they ever decided to add "unhealthy coping mechanisms" as an area of study. He hates being pressured to talk, himself, so he's not asking anymore. But he's still concerned.

You've been physically friendly with him before, slinging an arm around his shoulders, poking him in the arm, leaning against him occasionally when you stop to rest. He likes that. He misses it, actually. And that informs his next course of action. If it's a misstep, he'll apologize, but hopefully that won't be necessary.

As you stop to take a brief rest, Cyno comes up behind you and rests his chin on your shoulder. He can feel your body stiffen briefly in surprise, but continues. "Hey. What do scholars eat when they're hungry?"

You relax as you realize what he's doing, though he feels a strange shiver run through you. Maybe he's talking too close to your ear, that can do it. But you don't move him, or tell him to do so, so he stays where he is as he watches you close your eyes. "I don't know," you say with mock weariness. "What do they eat?"

"Akademiya nuts."

He's got a whole explanation ready to go, about how he heard about them from a traveling salesman from Fontaine, but apparently it's not necessary - after a half second of silence, you suddenly start snorting with soft laughter. It's more than he'd dared hope for. Your body relaxes, and you slump forward a bit, taking your shoulder away from him. His reaction is automatic, unthinking; he wraps his arms around your waist to keep you close. Later, he won't be able to tell himself why he did it, not without admitting things he's not yet ready to acknowledge. It's just … something he needs.

Your response seems to be just as automatic, and even more surprising to him in retrospect. Almost immediately, you turn in his arms and wrap yours around him. Your weight is resting almost entirely against him, and he holds on tight, keenly aware of the trust you're placing in him.The value of that trust cannot be measured, not for him. Whatever he's done to earn it, he thinks, he will figure it out and make sure to do it a hundred times over again.

"Thanks," you murmur, close to his ear, and he wonders if this is why you shivered before - this unexpectedly strong sensation that runs down his spine, more than pleasant, awakening something deep within him that for a brief second, he wants to pursue more than anything else in the world.

Sense returns quickly. He's almost disappointed by it. But you're still here with him, and that's more than enough. More than he ever expected, honestly. And he'll hold onto you as long as you do the same.

#genshin impact #genshin impact fanfic #genshin impact fic #tighnari x reader #alhaitham x reader #scaramouche x reader #cyno x reader #genshin x reader #genshin x traveler #tighnari #alhaitham #scaramouche #cyno

1K notes · View notes

eli0004 · 16 days

Note

Okay. So I loved loved loved your relationship HC canons. They were so well written and I loved him❤

But can I also request Levi falling in love HCs? Like I can imagine him being in love but for the love of God I can not imagine how he would fall in love with someone. Like what certain characteristics would he like? Bold? Calm? Sunshine? Introverted? And how will he be attracted to them? Would it be easy for him to accept his feelings or will he be in denial?

Like please please please.... I love the way you write Levi. So please.

-🌼

Absolutely! I love this topic actually, it’s something I’ve thought a lot about! 🖤 I hope you enjoy!

Genre: Fluff

Summary: How does Levi Ackerman fall in love, and what is his ideal type?

Warnings: None, maybe some talk of insecurity?

Levi is a December Capricorn. December Caps are known for being highly emotional, but struggling with emotional expression. They’re also usually very uptight and disciplined, and tend to take a practical approach when dealing with situations as opposed to flying by the seat of their pants. Obviously these traits are pretty accurate to Levi’s character. A Capricorn’s most ideal match are typically Taurus or Virgos. Commonly known Tausus/Virgo traits are passion, stubbornness, dependability, logic and communication.

Now, obviously you don’t have to be a Taurus or Virgo to be loved by Levi, but think with that in mind, Levi would do best with someone who is very strong willed and independent. He’s not the type of guy who wants to be with someone he has to keep his eye on. Emotional maturity and practical thinking are very important traits to him when looking for a partner, and someone who can communicate well is very attractive to him, since he has a harder time putting his feelings into words.

He likes someone who is genuine, trustworthy and dependable. Someone who has a strong sense of justice and empathy, who defends and advocates for others when they are unable to defend themselves.

I think he likes a good mix of pessimism and optimism. He’s a pessimist himself, so if you’re too optimistic it may irritate him rather than help, he prefers someone who is more of a realist. Someone who doesn’t enable his negativity, but who helps him to think rationally instead.

Like i said before, i think Levi is a deeply emotional person. If you’re only looking surface level, it wouldn’t be obvious, but when you breakdown a lot of his character traits in the show itself, it’s pretty clear that he tends to be swayed by his emotions. I think he would know immediately when he falls in love.

He’s the type of guy who’s always in his head, he thinks a lot, visiting the past, pondering the future. When he starts to catch his pondering turning into fantasizing about a life with you, doing domestic things, and being cozy together, that’s when it hits him.

But I think he’s also deeply insecure, not so much about his looks, but his personality. His ability to love again after having lost so many people. Whether or not you deserve someone better. He’s used to being misread as unapproachable or mean, so somewhere along the way, i think he might have begun to believe those things.

I think it would mean a lot to him if you just treated him like a normal person. Not humanities strongest, not mean or unapproachable, or someone to be pitied for his struggles. Just let him be Levi, and praise him for who he is in his soul.

All that said, i don’t think he would be the one to make a move 💀 because he’s so in his head, i think he’d be too worried that he’s misread the situation and that you don’t see him that way, perhaps you’re just being nice. He’s extremely oblivious to flirting.

But if you catch on first and decide to shoot your shot, he will be absolutely flabbergasted. He’s looking over his shoulder like “do you mean- are you talking to me?” Before that moment, he’s mostly convinced that he’ll be pining in silence for the rest of your lives.

Levi blushes. A lot. He’s very pale in complexion, so the smallest bit of flirting or teasing has heat spreading over his face, and it’s painfully obvious.

So when you’ve got him face to face, telling him how you feel about him, he may not be able to respond in beautiful poetic words, but his body language is enough to tell you how he feels.

He won’t make eye contact, he’s all red faced and bouncing his leg and gripping his teacup with so much force, you’d think it was going to crumble. And oh- what’s that? An ever-so- subtle, happy little grin; completely involuntary, he couldn’t stop it even if he tried. He feels boyish and vulnerable, but it’s strangely nice.

Your relationship with Levi is not a secret, but it is private. He values your time together, as it helps him to decompress. He all but melts in your embrace after a particularly hard day, and It’s crucial that you respect his desire for privacy, the level of raw emotion and vulnerability with these new experiences is something that he’s entrusted you with and that means everything to him.

And on the subject of new experiences, the more you handle him with care and allow him to process his feelings without judgment, the less he’ll worry about not being good enough, and you’ll find that he’s a very good and attentive lover.

Even still, you’ll find from time to time that reassurance is something Levi needs like he needs air to breathe, and this can come in the form of many things, like remembering little details about the things he loves, taking care of some of his responsibilities when he’s feeling overwhelmed, quiet touches when he lacks the energy to speak.

Having someone who sees him for who he is and loves all his broken pieces is what Levi finds comfort in while he’s nestled in your arms at night, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

#attack on titan #aot #aot x reader #aot headcanons #aot x y/n #levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman headcanons #levi headcanons #levi x reader #levi aot #snk levi #levi attack on titan

138 notes · View notes

almacambiondaughterofsaleos · 6 months

Text

Helluva Boss's Handling Of Stella and Stolas's Relationship Is Equivalent Of Family Guy's "Screams of Silence: Story of Brenda Q"

I think one of the most criticized elements of Helluva Boss is how the series handles Stolas and Stella's relationship. We see in the Circus that it's been abusive since they have been married and Stolas has been covering up the more unpleasant parts from his daughter. It has been praised by fans for showing male domestic violence, but in my opinion it's very hamfisted. It doesn't feel like it's domestic violence to show how accurate and disturbing it is. More like it's being used as an excuse to justify why Stolas belongs with Blitzo and how he was right to cheat on her. Their relationship reminds me of another badly execution of how to address domestic abuse is Family Guy's "Screams Of Silence: Story Of Brenda Q".

It first came out in 2011 where it was met with divisive reviews mostly because of the fact that it was going to handle domestic abuse seriously rather than as a joke. However, critics of the episode felt it was tone deaf due to how it was going along with the shift especially the episode before that "Seashell Seahorse Party" was encouraged to stay in an abusive relationship for her own family's sake and Brenda and Jeff's first depiction was portrayed as dark comedy like other situations before. There was also the fact that Jeff and Brenda's written as so over the top that you can't take it seriously and that they are very flat characters. Also we never see why Brenda stays with him or drew him to him in the first place. Or maybe even say he's threatened to kill her or even is financially dependent on him since he's a unemployed bum. In other words, they just exist to sell a message and not actually be interesting on their own.

The same thing can be said of Stella and Stolas' relationship since "Circus" there is nothing to her character except Stolas's bitchy ex wife. She never interacts with her daughter and everything we hear about them is through second hand accounts but never anything about how they both feel about each other. In other words, Stella feels like a male Jeff who is just defined by the fact that she's an abusive asshole who lives to torment Stolas and she even admits it. She's not even smart as shown in "Western Energy" she's shown to be instructed by her older brother in order to think anything through. As a result, we see less of a hated tormentor and more like a poorly executed hate sink made with tons of badly written fanfiction tropes found in yaoi fanfiction.

Most of all is the shows' hypocrisy in depictions of abuse. Both state that abuse is not funny, but then in another episode treat another character physically abusing someone as comedy. Again Family Guy's constant abuse of Meg made the episode hypocritical when you keep in mind the narrative tries to depict it as right she goes back to being a punching bag. The same thing with Helluva Boss it tries to depict Stella as despicable for abusing Stolas but allows Loona to do the same thing to her father who saved her from being aged out of the system and thrown on the streets. Again when you are trying to do comedy with serious moments don't get things muddled when it comes to the latter moments because then things can get confused.

#helluva boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critique #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism #vivziepop #anti-vivziepop #stella #stolas #glenmore quagmire #brenda quagmire #jeff #blitzo #loona #octavia #peter griffin #meg grffin #family guy

165 notes · View notes

inbarfink · 8 months

Text

I’ve heard some DHMIS fans say the TV Show/Season 2 feels more optimistic and hopeful than the Web Show/Season 1. Like that the trio is more independent and offers a bit more resistance against the teachers. So it makes them more hopeful they can break out/fight against this Horrible Situation.

And I mean, I do see where this interpretation is coming from. The three do have a lot more agency in the TV Show, a lot more control over the narrative. While in the Webshow they spend nearly the whole duration episode just sort of going along and following a Teacher’s lead. Plus they are a lot more likely to talk back to a teacher -

Try and go against the teacher -

Just annoy the shit out of a Teacher -

AND THEY’RE EVEN CAPABLE OF CAUSING THE DEATH OF A TEACHER!

Plus, the Teachers themselves are often less explicitly sinister and/or antagonistic. Especially when you consider reappearances of Web-Show Teachers consistently show them as being on more amicable terms with the trio. Like Tony mostly just chilling there -

And Colin being extremely friendly with them.

And like, yeah, all of these things are true. But still, for me, the helplessness and hopelessness of the trio situation is a lot more palatable on the TV Show. Their whole situation feels a lot more dire.

Cause the thing is, yes, the teachers are less obviously sinister and the characters talk back to them more in the TV Episodes - but they are also more likely to totally buy into their bullshit and vehemently agree with them and even argue about it with the others. (See: Red Guy in "Jobs" and "Family", Yellow Guy and Duck in "Transport)

It’s especially notable when you compare Red Guy’s behavior between the two versions of DHMIS. Since in the Web Show he was the first one to ‘break away’ from their world (or at least try). While in the web-continuity, he was pretty consistently disinterested in the Teacher’s lessons - generally only reacting to express his annoyance or befuddlement at them -

The TV Show puts a lot more emphasis on his personal foibles, and how despite his detached and apathetic attitude - he is just as likely to fall into the bullshit of some ‘Teachers’ in the right situation.

And while the TV Show also emphasizes Duck’s ability to Defy the Narrative - it also emphasizes how much this independence is based less on his intelligence -

And more on his ego.

I want to be in a family, I want to be the dad!

So with every character’s ‘resistance’ to the Teacher really depending on their personal behavior and flaws, we don’t really get moments like that thing in ‘Time’ where they all together started questioning Tony’s lesson.

And that’s also a thing that is less prevalent about the TV Continuity in general, the trio are less in harmony with each other. Obviously, it is a requirement of the format. The show has more emphasis on the puppets’ personalities and therefore gives more focus to their interpersonal conflicts. While in the Webshow they were seen more-or-less as a single Unit, with each their own personal quirks, but generally being Together and having pretty much the same goals - in the TV Show they are a lot more separate and distinctive. But that can also mean they can turn on each other and hurt each other.

The fact they have more Agency in the story also means they can cause damage and hurt like the Teachers can.

With the bigger focus on character comes a much bigger focus on the long-term effects of their ‘Format’ over their lives and thoughts. They don’t just sort-of ‘go along’ with whatever bizarre object has bursted into their house, but they have actually internalized the core concept behind all of those lessons, they internalized all sorts of ideas of how they’re supposed to act and what they’re supposed to do and what they are capable of doing. And they will reinforce it amongst themselves, no Teacher needed.

We don't have the Transport Man, it's just us three! We can't just... do stuff, just us three, can we?

While the last episode of the Web Show has both surviving members of the trio apart and separated, they've both come to the conclusion that their life is Wrong from their own perspective.

(And Duck figured it out just before he died)

The TV Show’s final episode shows how the Trio themselves (and especially Red and Duck’s sense of superiority over Yellow) is much more effective at keeping them in line then just a Teacher. The Insurance Safe was easily discouraged by Yellow’s intelligence and knowledge, but Red’s unease and Duck’s hostility is what actually made him feel bad.

And before Yellow Guy, Red Guy was the one trying to get them all free the episode before that - the Teacher was pretty helpless to stop them - but his friends were the ones constantly urging him to go back home.

And at the end of episode 6, they all doom each other, and themselves.

And while the ending to the Web Show is ambiguous, and can be read in a very negative light, there is at least some element of change and disruption in it. Red at least tried to pull the plug. And even if it is all doomed to repeat again and again, some things, no matter how small, have been shifted.

The TV Show’s ending is a lot more direct, but also a lot more directly hopeless. Yellow Guy’s attempt to break free has failed. There has been no real change or shift, or disruption - the house is back to normal, this loop has probably happened thousands of times before. They are just as trapped as they were before, and they are all willfully oblivious to it.

One interpretation for the ending of the Web Series is that it demonstrates how the trauma of the ‘Lessons’ will remain with the characters forever, or that the indoctrination they suffered still lingers or that they might be doomed to repeat these patterns in themselves or with others. If this is true, then the TV Show’s greater focus on character really helps to demonstrate how this trauma and indoctrination affects them. Even if they were to break out of it, they will bring something of it with themselves wherever they go, they might even drag each other straight back into it - because it’s all they know.

The show also puts a much bigger emphasis on this fact, that this strange situation they are trapped in is all that they know. Just watching the Webshow on its own, you can’t really tell how long this has been going on - it could just be one very weird day. And you could kinda separate the Trio’s lives and the teachers intruding on them. Before the TV Show, it was easy to imagine a version of their lives where they are not constantly hounded by Singing Living Objects, and that it wasn't that different and it wasn't that long ago. Like, it wasn’t a surefire thing or the authorial intent - but it was at least a valid interpretation of the text.

The TV Show makes it clear that yes, the house and their entire living situation is part of that terrible surreal experience. It’s not just about their occasional edutainment misadventures, it is really everything about their world that is wrong and confining and nightmarish. Their rooms and their own house, and the world outside their window is all part of this Actual Nightmare. And it really is all they know. As far as they can tell, their life has always been defined by being trapped inside a nonsense house and being hounded by living objects. I mean, in retrospect that was probably also true for the Web Show but, again, the TV Show is a lot more explicit about that.

And the ‘outside’/‘real’ world is… okay, we have no way to be sure whatever either the Red Guy World seen in the end of “Health” and the beginning of “Dreams'', or the Junkyard seen in “Transport” is actually real or just like, another layer of illusions but still… The ‘world outside’ seen on the web show looks drab and soul-crushingly boring but it’s still fairly livable. If the only real problem is that it’s dull and too grown-up, then it’s easy to assume that if Red Guy could save Yellow Guy and Duck and get them out - then it wouldn’t be that bad. They could give color to that gray world themselves.

Meanwhile… The glimpses of the ‘Real World’ in ‘Transport’ just looked like a junkyard. But considering how the puppets were wandering from daytime to nighttime without finding any way out or any other signs of life, and considering Duck’s Visual Inventory included stuff like “one skull” and “one bag of meat” - I think this is less of an ordinary junkyard and more of a post apocalyptic wasteland.

So, even if the trio could ever break free of their surreal felt world - it’s unclear whether or not they could survive outside of it. Even if their world is a nightmare, that might be better than waking up.

And while the teachers are nicer, or at least less actively malevolent, their presence and influence is constantly felt. Like, even when there isn’t a Lesson ‘actively’ going on - there’s often some googly-eyed motherfucker just… watching them.

Yeah, maybe the fact Tony doesn’t do anything but tell the Time Child they’re absent shows that he’s a nicer guy in this continuity. But… even if the teachers are generally kinder, they’re still prone to overriding their ‘Students’ wills and opinions, often disrespectful and/or manipulative, and generally care more about being smarter than their students than actually being right. Even Electracey, probably the most straight-up benevolent and competent teacher we’ve ever seen on the show -

Seems to have issues understanding the mortality of organic beings.

So there’s still a lot to be weary of the fact these guys are constantly watching our main characters. Even if they’re not quite as sinister as they were before. Besides, even if the Teachers were just the nicest folks ever - it is still rather sad and concerning that the Trio are constantly watched like that in general. Like, they basically have no privacy. Even disregarding Lesley and maybe even us the audience. Someone is always watching.

And they can’t do anything about it.

And the thing that I’m thinking about most… it’s something specifically with Colin the Computer. Like, it seems like he’s the most unambiguous and straightforward example of how much nicer Teachers are on the TV Show. Compared to the data-harvesting control freak he was on the Webshow, he has become such a sweetie! So polite and complimentary and friendly to the trio! But the thing is… it’s very easy to be nice and sweet to people who are already doing what you want.

In the Webshow, the trio were at least somewhat in conflict with Colin because they wanted different things. The trio were having a quiet board game night at home and maybe wanted to learn about the World, and Colin was determined to pull them into his computer world. As Red Guy pointed out, they already had a computer. So they didn’t really need him or his ‘lesson’ about computers. They were totally independent of him. It was easy to see Colin’s pushy and over-controlling tendencies in that situation.

But that sort of conflict is simply not present in the TV version of Colin. It’s hard to tell if TV!Colin would have acted better if the trio were not as interested in using him because he is simply never put in that situation. That’s the part that always sticks to me; unlike in the Webshow - Colin is the only computer they have. He is actually their only connection to the digital world, the internet. They can’t wait to use him because he only comes around once a year. He joins in on the trio’s insults towards Warren because they would all just like to go back to focusing on Colin.

The things that do maybe make Colin come across as genuinely kinder on the TV Show are the facts he offers to help with Yellow Guy’s situation (and doesn’t interrupt or distract them after the solution extends beyond looking it up on Colin) and gives them that ‘Glass Spherical Computer’ In the end - ensuring that they won’t be that dependent on him after all. I mean, I think you can argue about whether the ‘replacement’ computer being made of very fragile glass is such an unlucky coincidence or not… but even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he legit wanted to make them less dependent on him…

The fact that was the situation in the first place, that they could only go online one day in a year, and had to be constantly monitored by Some Guy (who was also acting as their computer)- no matter how well-intentioned he is - is still deeply fucked up!

I think that at the end of the day, me and the folks who see TVDHMIS in a more optimistic light aren’t really in disagreement. At least not about the actual contents of the web and TV shows. It’s more that we have different priorities about what’s the most disturbing elements of the trio’s Actual Nightmare. Because yes, it is true they are put in the care of less Actively Malevolent Teachers this time around. And it is true they are less actively suffering, and they have a bit more agency now.

But for me, the bigger emphasis on the constant surveillance they live under, the focus on how much this situation affects their lives and relationships and psyche, and the trio’s tendency to hurt each other and doom themselves - makes the world of the show feel more hopeless and bleak to me.

#don't hug me i'm scared #don't hug me #i'm scared #dont hug me im scared #dhmis tv show #dhmis #dhmis tv series #dhmis analysis #dhmis web series #colin the computer #dhmis colin #dhmis computer

194 notes · View notes

ratwithhands · 4 months

Text

I made these guys earlier in the christmas break, anyways carnivorous plant alien submas AU :7. (Don't mind the simple doodle style, I was in a bit of an art block when I made this)

The race is called Sapioflora, and they're basically half flesh, half plant matter. There's a couple different types in terms of species, but generally most rely on photosynthesis and absorption through roots. The difference with these two is that they are carnivorous and rely less on sunlight and soil than others, hence why they're fine having more covering clothing. Their civilization has managed to develop to the point of spreading to other planets in the same star system, and running into other alien species. As of right now I'm debating between a few different versions of this concept to write about since there's:

one where the story focuses solely on the twins as conductors and no other characters from pokemon are present

one where other characters from pokemon are present as other Sapioflores

one where other characters from pokemon are present as other alien species

one where the twins work as bounty hunters (and may or may not run into other pokemon characters)

The last one is particularly funky since it delves into Sapiofloran colonies on other planets, interspecies relations/conflict between Sapioflores and other aliens, and how the twins use their abilities to their advantage.

Oh speaking of that, it was pretty fun to mess around with how their designs work! Emmet is a much more vibrant colour, and his body is much more soft and flexible due to him constantly regrowing his body and making new vines. He wears shorter sheer clothing to take advantage of the sunlight, and has a wide open panel on his back to leave room for him to sprout new vines in the event of battle or to just help with a task. He eats an absurd amount of food in order to get enough energy to make this constant growth and replacement possible.

As for Ingo, his body is much more woody and solid, so he tends to move slower but hit harder (and take hits better). He sprouts leaves when more sunlight is available, draining them dry and discarding them once he's had his fill. He tends to wear more thick clothing to protect from harsh temperatures/prevent moisture loss, though he has gaps and slits all over in order to allow him to sprout as needed. Here's a sketch:

There was more but I can't remember what it was, anyways here's some bonus doodles. Have a good night and let me know what you think :7

^ doodle of Emmet's vines. Emmet is mostly thorny, he's also able to make modified thorns into blades. This is more prevalent in the bounty hunter version concept, but he can still do this in the others (Ingo can do this too! Depending on the situation they'll either make blades or saws)

^ Emmet will use his vines when he doesn't want to do something directly, usually to do two things at once, but he'll sometimes use it when he's tired

^ Emmer :7 fun fact his teeth are just weirder thorns, so they have the same colour as them. (I still haven't decided whether Sapioflores have eyes, but they'd probably sit under the leaves on their faces)

99 notes · View notes

mikalara-dracula · 1 year

Note

Nicknames that the boys (s+m+t+kino) would give their s/o

Nicknames the Diaboys would give their s/o—

Warning: 18+ content below; don't read if you're a minor and aren't comfortable with slight NSFW. This is a fictional work and should not be taken seriously.

Caution: Unfortunately, Tumblr has a history of admins quarreling over completing carbon copy asks due to users sending the same request(s) to multiple admins, thus, resulting in unintentional plagiarism. With this, please DO NOT send the same request to multiple blogs as it can cause unintended plagiarism discord to other blogs across Tumblr. The word “plagiarism” stems from the early 17th-century Latin word, “plagiarius,” meaning “kidnapper.” So please, do not send in the same request to multiple blogs and make admins appear to be “kidnapping” other people’s work when it isn’t their intention. If this is to occur with any of my posts, please contact me so we can work something out.

Hi there, Anon!

Thank you so much for requesting! I apologize for the wait! Hope you enjoy reading it. Feel free to request again anytime. :)

Made with: @liannelara-dracula

Shu:

Shu’s not super into nicknames, so he sticks to using his lover’s real name.

But every so often (depending on the situation), he’ll call his girl by a nickname.

Sappy girl/firecracker—He usually calls his lover this if they scold him for something or if they have a sharp tongue, to which he finds amusing.

Dirty girl—I mean, what girl does he not address as lewd? So, you can best bet he’s going to do the same with you.

Body pillow/my pillow—It’s just cuz he’s an ass and likes to use you as a body pillow in general.

Reiji:

Reiji doesn’t really give his lover nicknames, so he usually falls back on calling his s/o by their name or using more formal and elegant terms.

Dear/dearest/my dear—He’ll address you by any of these three when the moment is sweet, or he’s trying to get your attention in a sensible way.

Honey—He calls you this on rare occasions, or when he’s up for one of his famous “special” nights.

I can’t-

Laito:

Ohh, Laito’s all about nicknames and prefers to call his lover by those names rather than their real name since he’s quite playful.

Baby—I mean, we’ve all heard him call Yui this, so you can best bet he’ll call his s/o this, especially when he wants to make things frisky.

Darling—He’ll call you this if he’s feeling romantic and pretty playful.

Naughty—I think this is pretty self-explanatory lmao. Usually calls you this if he thinks you’re provoking him, or if you in fact are.

Baby girl—He uses this either casually or sexually, such as in the bedroom or when you two are getting intimate elsewhere. It could honestly be anywhere with Laito xDD.

Ma Cherie—In bed, during aftercare.

Kanato:

In a relationship with Kanato, there’s a mix of nickname and real name usage.

He mostly leans towards using nicknames he’s made for his lover because he finds them significant to their character and his relationship with them.

Princess—If there’s one thing about Kanato, it’s that he likes to make his lover feel special, and because he’s not the type to date just anyone, *cough* Laito *cough* he believes his lover is more than worthy to be called this.

Doll—It’s because you resemble one in his eyes, beautiful and flawless. He’ll usually address you with this title when he’s trying to get your attention, or if he’s flattering you for something you did for him.

Gorgeous—Need I say much here? He calls you this because you are, it’s as simple as that.

Precious—Anyone who is Kanato’s lover is beyond precious in his eyes, so it’s only natural that he addresses his girl in this way since she’s his one and only.

Lover—Oooh, this one’s heavily romantic, and this is where he stands out the most from his brothers because he’s so original when it comes to flattery. He always knows exactly what to say to make anyone swoon. ME! Fuck!

Ayato:

Because Ayato’s not super formal, sweet nicknames are just not it for him. They typically range between teasing to minorly suggestive.

Pancake—He’ll call you this whether you’re flat or not. It’s just to annoy you because he sucks like that.

Babe—He’s a jock, so he’ll definitely revert to addressing his girl in this way rather often.

Bruh/Bro—He addresses his girl this way pretty casually since it’s part of his lingo. And on some days he calls her “brah” to change things up. xDD He’ll even go to using “dude” lmao. xDD

Captain—He usually calls you this when you’re asking him to do something or to help you out and he’s reluctant to do so. So, because he feels that you’re bossing him around, he’ll call you this to tick you off. Or, if he really wants to push things, he’ll call you “Reiji.” xDD

Subaru:

Dollface—He’s definitely going to call you this because you’re pretty. Like, no questions asked.

Babe—He prefers it over “baby,” and is pretty casual about using it towards you.

Shortie—He’ll call you this only if you’re shorter than him. Guess I’m in that club lmao. It’s just to annoy you since he sucks like that.

Pipsqueak—He finds this one really amusing to use, especially if you walk away from him during an argument. So, he’ll call you this to get your attention again even though you’re beyond pissed at him. Check out @liannelara-dracula’s post about this here.

Ruki:

Ruki usually refers to his s/o by their name, and just prefers it that way.

But if their name is really long, he’ll shorten it but add an interesting twist to it.

It’s so rare if he calls his girl by a nickname, it’s usually when he’s being a teasing fuck.

Angel/Angel face—This may sound sweet and all, but he’ll call his lover this in a more teasing than sensible way. It’s just cuz he’s an ass and we all know it.

Kou:

Kou is literally the king of nicknames. So he’s got all sorts for his lucky girl.

Kitten/Kitty—Calls you this when greeting or saying goodbye to you, following up with a kiss since he’s sweet like that.

Sugar/buttercup/cutie/cutie pie—Because Kou finds you adorable, he loves addressing you with these terms.

My love bug—He usually calls you this when you’re snuggled up next to him because he’s sentimental like that. Aww :’)).

Yuma:

Because of his teasing nature, Yuma has all sorts of nicknames for his lover.

Little pig/piglet—I mean, we see him call Yui and pretty much any other girl this, so it isn’t going to leave since he finds it amusing.

Toots—This is mostly just to annoy you since you roll your eyes at him every time he calls you this, to which it only fuels him to tease you more.

Babe—He uses this pretty casually with you. It’s become second nature in all honesty. Not that that’s a bad thing tho xDD.

My girl—He definitely prefers to call you this instead of addressing you as his girlfriend. He finds it hot.

Munchkin—If you’re shorter than him, you’re not escaping this nickname. For example, he’ll call you this if you’re helping him out in the garden, such as when he asks you to grab a tool for him.

Pumpkin—He harvests them, so of course he has to apply it to his relationship with you. He calls you this mostly because he finds it cute.

Azusa:

Eve—He calls Yui this all the time, so you can imagine he’s going to do the same with his lover. I seriously swear this guy has an Edennic kink of some sort.

Sweetie—He likes to call you this just to get your attention, it’s mostly cuz he’s genuinely sweet in nature.

My flower—This is honestly so cute. He usually calls you this whenever you two share a super soft moment. :))

Oh, my heart-

Carla:

Carla’s not one to really use nicknames since he’s ancient, so he usually calls you by your name.

But every once in a while, he does decide to address you differently, and because he likes to catch you off guard.

Sweetheart—OMG! He’ll call you this when you least expect it and it’s a surprise every time. It literally makes anyone’s heart skip a beat.

Future queen/my queen—This just depends on your relationship status with him, but make no mistake that he’s set on the idea of making you his queen even if you two haven’t gotten that far in your relationship yet.

Shin:

Like Carla, he isn’t too big on nicknames, but he’ll slip them in whenever he deems it necessary.

Love—It’s mostly because he spent too much time in Britain lol. But I can’t lie and say it doesn’t suit him.

Sweetheart—It’s not very often, but it’s usually when you two are sharing a soft moment of some sort, that is, when he isn’t being a teasing mf. But then again, when is he not acting like that? Lol.

Foxy—You hate it and it’s meant to annoy/embarrass you.

Kino:

Oh my god, he has so many for his s/o, it’s ridiculous.

And each one he uses depends on his mood.

Babe—Like Ayato, Subaru, and Yuma, he’ll call you this pretty often. He prefers it over “baby.”

Toots—He finds you hot, and he’s definitely going to call you this whenever you two engage in a snarky argument. It’s mostly because he likes throwing you off and getting you to blush at his reference to you.

Hot stuff—This nickname literally annoys the shit out of you and he’s always like ‘what? I gotta say it.’

Boss/Sir—Sometimes if you tell him to do something or help you, like Ayato, he’ll call you this cuz he thinks you’re being bossy. To which you just end up calling him “ma’am” as a retort lmao. xDD

My girl—This is a big one for him. Like, he doesn’t call you his girlfriend, he calls you “his girl” because he wants everyone to know how serious you two are.

384 notes · View notes

fatuismooches · 3 months

Note

Hi, uhm, i'm someone who has been lurking around for a while.. Mostly because i'm far too awkward to ever interact directly, but i've decided to gather the courage to ask.. Or, rather share my thoughts

I just had ACL reconstruction surgery with my meniscus as well, and i am in absolute horrible discomfort/pain, i've been entertaining myself with what my favorite characters would do to support their s/o after a similar situation, yk.. For comfort,

Dottore finding different medicine to block the pain, or recording the progress made every day.. Actually he probably did the surgery himself..

Pantalone using his wealth to buy products that would ease the pain, medicine.. Moving his desk into his s/o's room just to monitor them himself.. Or something like it

Capitano helping his s/o with mobilisation, getting around or just being a pillar his s/o could depend on, all fluff.. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read that, i'd like your thoughts on it..

-unlabeled anon (for now)

Dottore would never trust anyone else to handle something so important, as both your doctor and your lover he is more than capable of taking care of you. You're thankful for this, knowing you're in skilled hands, but of course, you still can't help but be scared of undergoing surgery. Dottore, not being the best with these matters, would just hold you and reassure you that it would be over before you know it. Unfortunately, for all of his skill, he still can't exactly stop the pain afterward, but he still tries to find a solution. He is not a scholar for no reason. He would experiment with different mixtures and formulas, not resting until he managed to make something that's better than the last. Which you know of but can't exactly stop him from overworking, but with enough begging you can convince him to take a break and cuddle with you. During these breaks, he would always question you regarding your current state, which you love him for, but you would still like to have a normal conversation with him! The segments as well, they always pop in regularly to check in on you. They make sure you're comfortable and have your needs met in as many ways as they can. Zandy too, he would be more than willing to be your little helper and at your beck and call. Not wanting you to strain yourself.

Pantalone would spare no expense if it meant you could feel even the slightest bit more comfortable. Of course, he consults with only the best of the best to get the best possible recommendations. He certainly doesn't see a problem with spending his money this way, even if you feel a bit guilty he's spent this much on you again (not just the medical stuff, but also numerous gifts and services he has provided for you) but Pantalone would always shush you by kissing you. You're his lover, it's only natural that he makes sure only the best. And he will see to that. Pantalone usually likes keeping his work life away from his personal one, so as to focus all of his attention on you, but this is different. Good thing the bedroom is big enough to fit his office stuff. He also doesn't let Fatui agents come in so as to not bother or disturb you (though they are panicking over how to relay messages to the Harbinger, he gets a lot of papers slipped under the door for a while.) He keeps an eye on you more than you think, you don't really know how he multitasks like that but you're thankful regardless.

Capitano would initially be scared to hold you - you're weak right now and he's scared of accidentally hurting you. But even he can see how much you need him right now so he manages to get over his fear. He's super gentle with you, it seems uncharacteristic of a man like him but he can't help it. He wants to help you as much as someone like him can, even though he's wholly inexperienced and awkward with such things. Capitano would kind of be a large guard dog with the touch of a little puppy, he's a silent man in general so many times you find him staring at you silently as if to ask what he can do to ease your pain. Another one who's at your beck and call except he's not the best but he's learning. He's the one who has made a whole checklist and reads it off in the same voice every day, it honestly gets comedic eventually and then he's confused why you're giggling. All in all, he's not used to being so gentle, but he's always willing to do so for you.

#smooches talks #unlabeled anon #fragile reader <3 #dottore love notes <3 #pantalone love notes <3 #capitano love notes <3 #i hope you're able to find some relief soon anon... me and the harbingers are sending you all the love

55 notes · View notes

buttercupshands · 20 days

Text

Chapter 419 Analysis or "How to make allies not pawns" a helpful guide from League of Villains (part 2)

This is now a second part of Tomura character analysis.

With chapter 419 being probably our last time seeing Tomura for a while, since we need to learn what happened with Aizawa now is time to remember that not only bad things exist it Tomura's life.

Warning of spoilers to the whole manga to the point of chapter 419! All of the warnings from My Villain Academy side of manga are applicable

So like... mentions of death, killing other people, manipulation, emotional abuse and many more!

This is Part 2 - See here for Part 1 of this depressing mess

With AFO being so sure that he knows better and actually controlled every single part of Tenko's life creating a Symbol of Fear without any redeeming qualities or even hope for saving after he destroys him. There's one thing that AFO still doesn't understand about Tomura and never did - and that's his allies, or the League of Villains that he created.

Even Kurogiri, being a Nomu who's views do not stray from what AFO thought was important didn't exactly understand what did Tomura think about his allies quick to assume that he thought of them as pawns all the was back in the Training Camp arc. With Tomura making game examples to explain the situation, he still didn't think of LoV as just pawns on a desk, like AFO does.

At the time of USJ arc there weren't many people Tomura called this, which could make you wonder how much it was just AFO's plan rather than Tomura's with him never worrying about those other villains yet getting so worked up over losing Nomu not only because he was strong enough to defend him from All-Might, but treating his defeat as something that must be avenged.

And that was long before Stain even entered the picture, the first of three people who greatly affected Tomura's view of his own motives alongside AFO's manipulation of literally everything else.

Tomura was terrified of fighting All-Might seconds before this and yet as this goes on it's becoming more noticeable - Tomura doesn't care for his own fear or worries as long as he's fighting for someone else's good. Not so different from how Izuku is ready to disregard himself for the sake of others, resulting in many injuries and being so close to dying so many times.

It never was a secret that Tomura is highly dependent on others to keep himself from losing confidence, or even will to fight, getting either too anxious to continue without anyone's reassurance.

And while AFO's "help" was mostly given only with some kind of lesson as we saw in "Tomura Shigaraki: Origin", with AFO literally sitting there, saying how Tenko is weak for not killing but showing some restrain instead suffering himself, never actually helping or comforting him. Only offering what he deemed nessesary for his own plan of making Tenko kill those thugs not caring that he's feeling sick from those hands.

But in USJ it's not AFO who's there with Tomura, it's Kurogiri, who was shown to still have some care that Shirakumo had that even Aizawa and Mic couldn't argue that it's similar to how Shirakumo couldn't just leave a kitten in the rain. No matter the responsibility that it would bring with taking a little one in.

A helpless little kitten that didn't get the help it needs from anyone else. Sounds way too familiar.

This never was a direct order from AFO other than he needs to "tend and protect" for Tomura, which can mean anything from just looking out when Tomura's sick, or protect him from any tread like someone trying to kill him.

Not helping him getting over his anxiety to fight or helping him and guiding him to do better as a leader of the League calming him if it got out of control. Which is somewhat opposite to the way AFO deals with Decay and Tomura's temper - letting him destroy anything even the hands that he gave him, just offering new ones when he succeedes and never really caring for his pawns, he can always get new ones.

And surely not asking if Tomura's well the first thing while talking to Heroes.

Which then leads us back to how Tomura never viewed anyone that he chose as pawns calling them his allies, with the word '仲間' which can even be translated as friends in needed context, but usually used as comrade or ally when Tomura says it. And the same thing is usually translated as "friend" when used by Twice.

In any case Tomura never once doubted his allies since he saw them as reliable, even if his first meeting with Toga and Dabi went so wrong that Kurogiri had to stop them from killing each other.

Up to the point of Training Camp AFO describes as him teaching Tomura to be independent which was at that point too far from the truth than he thought. If Tomura begging for AFO to leave with them is any indicator he actually was even less independent after All-Might almost caught them, making him doubt his own worth as a leader. Even if AFO's defeat finally let him think and wonder about himself and his past.

AFO believed that Tomura just knowing how to recruit people would suddenly make him great at using those new "pawns" which was proven wrong by Overhaul no so long after that. Showing how Tomura believed the same thing AFO did as well, fully trusting his judgement of anything including himself, all the while parroting what AFO says without fully understanding what it means.

Only after losing both Magne and Mr. Compress arm does Tomura slowly start making progress in becoming someone more than AFO tells him to do. Even if as we see in part 1 it used Decay as the ground to make it stable since he believed it was his quirk. And yet.

Even if Tomura didn't simply instruct his allies how to choose who to recruit, he never blamed them for it. On the opposite, when Twice was hard on himself after bringing Overhaul to them Tomura just looked at them for the first time without a hand on his face, or even on himself at all, showing how he trusts them as much as he would trust himself and believes that they can do it.

Taking off hands of his family would mean not relying on the conflicting feelings that they bring into the picture, something AFO would very much dissaprove, since he was now like an equal to everyone in LoV instead of being above them. He

And with this instead of making them blindly trust his decisions and following him from fear or adoration like people had been following AFO or Overhaul, he instead was an equal to them both in failure and victory that wasn't even all that guaranteed yet.

Each one of them had their own somewhat selfish goal that just seemed like they were just using each other without any worry being each other's pawns. Or maybe that's just how AFO would see them.

Yet it doesn't explain why did Toga care for Twice's trauma response of not having his mask on, since he already did his part and all that they both needed to do was done. But LoV was never about following orders or giving them, expecting for the pawns to follow without question. It was about a leader of the group that would stand up for his allies while allowing them full freedom, except when they needed to also accept that something is needed to be done for their own sake.

Like following Overhaul for a while all for cutting off his hands leaving him with nothing. Did that sound like something reasonable to do? No! They literally lost their chance at having sushi instead of just living at some abadoned building all the while occasionally searching for money or food, stealing and killing just to survive all while Tomura was just... waiting.

Nothing was really stable at the start of what we call My Villain Academia and yet no one from the LoV left while their state was... bad at the very least. No matter how AFO was teaching Tomura he was still left mostly waiting for something to happen rather than doing something to change the situation himself.

Sure, Tomura now was a famous leader of League of Villains that suddenly needed to be stopped rather that underestimated like before. But that was in the future, now LoV was laying low on funds and slowly Tomura showing his face became the norm, with him usually never wearing hands around LoV.

And with Tomura becoming more and more comfortable around LoV, the LoV itself was becoming more like a place that had one core value that accepted anything else added without anyone wondering about the past of others, like Compress said. Just some selfish people, who still followed their own needs first.

And yet somehow Toga, who joined just because she loved Stain and disliked how life was too hard found her place in the LoV alongside Twice who just needed to be trusted and trust in return. If Tomura only followed what AFO deemed to be the best way to lead no one would actually feel like they're accepted in the LoV as much as they were.

Goal or no goal Tomura succeeded even without having the whole world at the palm of his hands by just never pressing anyone to actually follow him - if they wanted to they could've just left here and there, but since they chose to follow he did what he thought was the obvious best - let his allies do what they wanted.

Which was okay for someone like Toga or Dabi who were either already comfortable by just being allowed to be themselves or being free to plan their own things for their own goals.

But not exactly that for Spinner. Who was instead literally searching for someone to show him what to do, not so different from Tomura, who still only followed whatever 'his Sensei' deemed worthy for him to look into, like letting Kurogiri go find unknown "power" that AFO left along with contact with Doctor.

And while Spinner was not fine with still being hollow even while following Tomura pretending that it's the same thing as following Stain... all it took for him to look differently at how exactly was Tomura thinking was the last real "barrier" that there was - Tomura basically spilling his whole backstory and motivations mostly for LoV to listen to, since Doctor was just testing Tomura's will all according to AFO's plan.

And after that it didn't took too long for Spinner to now follow Tomura, even if it was still not the time to really see the 'warped horizon that was waiting for them'. And yet in times where Tomura still showed some doubt over his decisions - that one old trait of his showing up like it was always at the back of his head not so different from USJ, only thing changing that Tomura got better and better at not letting his emotions control him so easily.

Since the price of that would literally be lifes of his allies.

And neither that or using their emotions to his own benefit was ever in his plans, contrast to AFO manipulating Tomura to do just that. Letting his emotions consume him completely just for his own goal and for his own sake. But as a person who was so familiar with this Tomura still was adamant at NOT allowing something like this to happen to his friends allies.

Effectively creating a bond between all six of them, including Toya that in the end kept them together until the very final arc, with Spinner keeping what Tomura would've thought and with him waking up and calling Machia to get LoV first and foremost Spinner did understand their's leader wishes, as well as Twice's who literally died for his friends.

With all that happening in the War arc the moment AFO returned with both being in control of Tomura's body and just abadoned anything that Tomura would care for like leaving Mr. Compress and Machia behind just to punish him for not getting OFA or not even caring to show any actual respect for Tomura's wishes. Instead showing how little he actually cared for anything but his own good.

But while AFO made so many pawns that he could change like gloves at any given moment, threating them and manipulating them with his power and quirks, Tomura only had 6 allies who stayed after AFO was caught and who were willing to die just to live the life they wanted.

And AFO couldn't give them that.

Even if Decay isn't Tenko's quirk and even if he has so much guilt for killing without it being a little bit justified by it...

LoV still followed him as a person who allowed them to live as they please and so what they want, not some all-powerfull overlord but an ally and a leader who had his flaws and fallings.

#bnha #shigaraki tomura #tenko shimura #league of villains #bnha manga spoilers #bnha analysis #character analysis #character study #kurogiri #toga himiko #twice #dabi #spinner #mr compress #and All For One can go to hell I won't tag him again #with the Kurogiri part you may notice how I just want to see Kurogiri actually helping Tomura #it's either him or mr. compress now #and yeah the fact that both Twice and Himiko died remembering LoV was painful #AFO calling Tenko weak all the while he himself didn't make any lasting good empression like that on anyone #while Tenko just was like 'yeah my friends need something they'll get it'#insert that one page where he literally just got them sushi first thing after becoming a new MLA commander #how dares AFO call Tenko pitiful if he literally did his best with what he had #all the while AFO just made his life insufferable for him to be angry and hateful #and yes I didn't call them family or friends for the most part since the canon INSISTS that Tomura is saying allies #which is a really neutral way to say friends imo #I'm still thinking about a Tangled crossover with LoV like Tomura literally got his only taste of freedom with LoV by his side #bnha 419 #my villain academia #five years later and it's still the best arc of MHA #an honestly it's more of a ch 418 analysis

43 notes · View notes

briebysabs · 8 months

Text

I have to talk about Misha I’ve been holding this for so long. I am not defending him, everything he’s done is fucked up. I just want people to understand him better and idk how coherent this will be but HSVDVXHSBSJJDF

Bc if you hate him, totally justified. But I don’t want Misha to ever be simplified to the jealous crazy younger brother. Yes he is technically that but one thing about mochijun characters is that most of the time, you can always dig further into their psyche. And I feel like not enough people do that with Misha. I haven’t made an in-depth Misha discussion until now mostly bc I’m a potato. He isn’t 2-dimensional and he fits perfectly in the themes of vnc. Misha cannot be saved, he is a hopeless character, he bears Luna’s Mark while using the Book he is doomed. You can say he was doomed the second he entered the story. His brotherly love for Vanitas is twisted. He is the embodiment of tragic. Everything that led him to this point was not his fault. The only thing he chose was to follow Luna and join their clan bc he would’ve died otherwise. Luna and Vanitas are the only good things he ever had.

We all know his backstory. So of course losing both would make him snap. And on top of all this he’s being manipulated by Teacher. Who fucking knows the lies or orders Teacher has been feeding him. All this when he’s like 12....13 at most.

And let’s approach the vanoé situation. We know the depth of vanoé’s relationship and even though Misha might’ve observed from afar, he doesn’t have that context. To be fair he probably wouldn’t care but point is, he sees Noé as some random guy. And again, let’s withdraw ourselves a bit and see things from the outside. How much time has passed since chapter 1? How long has Vanitas and Noé actually known each other? We know that a couple weeks passed since the end of the Gevaudan arc. We know that a week passed after Vanoé got kicked outta Ruthven’s study. If there are any other mini time skips I’m forgetting pls lemme know. But let’s be honest, they’ve known each other for two months. If we wanna push it, three. Of course how long you know a person doesn’t solely decide how close you get to them. You can know someone for two weeks but depending wtf goes on in that time frame, they can become your ride or die. But let’s use Misha’s logic for a minute.

You’ve known Vanitas longer, both of you went through hell under Dr. Moreau. You have the same Mark, you’re gonna suffer the same fate. And from how you see it, he chose a man he met by chance a few months ago, over you. Someone who will never truly get it. He is putting his life in the hands of a stranger over yours. You finally meet again after all this time, and the brother who you believed puts you above everything, points a gun at you. Yeah, Misha fucked up. But that will hurt anybody.

Misha challenges their relationship. He questions how much it even makes sense. It’s not only “how can you chose Noé over me?” But also “How can you kill Father but not him?” Is he more important than us?? And that’s a valid question. Messed up but understandable to ask. Noé has protected Vanitas and has been pretty helpful. But Vanitas doesn’t need him to survive. Noé isn’t essential for this suicide mission he’s on either. Misha cannot understand what Noé brings to Vanitas’ life.

Misha was so dependent on Vanitas that he couldn’t fathom his brother not feeling the same. Vanitas loves Misha, no matter how strained or corrupted that bond has become. But he is not emotionally capable to stay with him. And he is allowed to feel that way. And Misha is allowed to scream and wail and be broken about it. In conclusion, Misha is an amazing addition to the narrative, I love him a lot. But I also love Vincent from ph so that explains quite a bit doesn’t it?

126 notes · View notes

warmerstranger · 11 months

Text

SAPPY AND THUMPING HEARTBEAT!

ft. (separate) Mayoi Ayase, Midori Takamine, Tsumugi Aoba.

This took me ar.4 days while studying their character, sorry if they're not still exactly on point wee ;( not beta read.

°°``summary: they like you but doesn't take things further when you suddenly become their very drive to a new point of relationship.

°°``Marked as and included with: fluff, angsty kind of, Mayoi being a silly creeper guy.., stalking implied but not extreme, self-deprecating humor... Just a few heads up, nothing too much ^^ also, I'm thinking the timeline for this is in !!/Music era

Mayoi Ayase

The one who takes things slow like baby steps while feeling that he doesn't deserve you. At the beginning, insistently asking if you maybe want to reconsider and apologizing because he have become your very wrong choice. Even though he was just pleased watching out for you from afar like the secret admirer he is... But, please don't misunderstand, he's actually has been dreaming this moment! He just can't help it that he still always have thoughts of your breakup in various worst case scenarios and he every so often compulsively expresses it. Holding onto your trust in him, he's slowly learning and working to be the best boyfriend so the chances of you leaving him is decreased.

Dating with Mayoi involves...

➻❥ Lots of understanding and reassurance coming from either both of you. He can easily pick up on your social cues, thus knowing instantly what would make you uncomfortable (even if he sometimes misunderstands thinking he's the source of it) and handle the situation well in a way your worries will be left scurrying off♪ so, please go easy on him whenever he makes any mistakes and goes on apologizing while belittling himself profusely about it.

➻❥ Acts of service. Even without you telling him, he can be unexpectedly a gentleman, shown through little gestures that would make him sound as if he's lesser than you although he means well. You wouldn't need to open a door by yourself and dirtying your hand with the unknown doorknob that have been in many people's hands so let him be the sacrifice since he's already not that 'clean' himself. Wiping your sweat off your face? Leave it to him, it's always been a dream to have a close up on your face he could die happily. The very same guy who would also lay on the road when you have to step over a puddle please stop him

➻❥ Physical touch. Depends after he learns that you've grown comfortable enough with him. Sometimes when you merely complimenting or acknowledging his efforts, he would tear up and hug you, saying you shouldn't be so kind to him since he wouldn't be able to hold himself back from spoiling you with all of his physical affection he could muster... He swears his heart could give out yet his grin is that of the most giddy man living if you're the one who would initiate it first. Surprisingly sudden yet tender in his advances.

➻❥ Vague menacing flirts; “Times like this makes me raring to put my beating heart out on your plate I wish my ribcage is a closet easily opened by you.”

“I feel so complete being with... you, I wouldn't mind having you wear my skin if I could.”

➻❥ Vulnerable, trembling kisses that barely graze your lips before slowly securing the right position with them, placing the effect of a stillness in space and time. Mayoi would muster up the best kiss he could give and still apologize if that one kiss isn't that good to you. He's not one to refuse for more kisses if you so wish, a better result he promises.

➻❥ Messy morning and evening text of 'i love you's accompanied by little cute emoticons along with specific cautionary expressing his worry 'Please always look both way when crossing the road!' or 'Please be careful of having your phone out in the public... it might get snatchedd or worse I'm sorry'

➻❥ You braiding his hair, him pampering you by styling your hair or giving you some accessories to decorate your outfit. His gifts are mostly sparkling trinkets he found from the ES vents secret rooms, stuffed animals, and little diorama of your anniversaries with him.

➻❥ Domestic indoor type of dates at home where this man is more like personal servant sometimes waking you up and making breakfast or dinner. Occasionally on some uneventful days though, there are other times you realize that he really is still your boyfriend.

~~~

A gentle greeting hangs up in the air, not reaching your ears even as he crouches down and peeks to you from the foot of your bed. He then creeps toward the side and now watches your rythmic breathing, feeling bad for what he's about to do but reminding himself that it's for the sake of you too.

“(Name)... Wakey-wakey... I'm so sorry I have to disturb you out of your beauty sleep. I know I'm only an annoying pest but please—umm, you're not.. no, no, you have to wake up. I have prepared you breakfast...” he whispers, nervously frowning.

“Yesh... just wait.” Stirring awake, you mumble before staying silent again. Giving you a few minutes as he admires your face, he soon shakes his head fervently. “Th-this can't do... (Name), you're perfectly fine with it, then, right? I'm sorry, ple-please don't mind, you can hit me all you want or banish me later though I would rather you—In a-a-anyy case! Pardon me...”

He slithers under your sheets knowing you aren't getting up any sooner, cuddling and nuzzling to you with hopes that you would be bothered enough to wake up. Yet, Mayoi wants this moment stay for as long as it could basking in your overall blissful presence.

Chuckling to him, you reply. “Gee, that just makes me want to sleep in more.”

He beams before sitting upright while holding your hands, accompanied by a bright smile rivaling the sun. “Th-that makes me flattered, hehe maybe we can—oh, no no (Name), you can do it, just one step away and getting closer to facing this day, please.” A hopeful tone lace his rushed sentence.

“Okay, what about my morning kiss as the final push?” you ask, pointing to your cheek.

Stammerring abashedly, he closes and opens his mouth. “..I, I can't simply-! No really, I mean... I was thinking of saving it fo-for later... But, it can't be helped if it's your wish...”

With eyes tightly shut, he pecks your cheek then shuffles down from the bed. “Now, with that, please get ready soon.” he offers his hand out for you to support. “I'm all yours.”

Midori Takamine

The one who would begrudgingly goes with the flow you brought about and giving his all. Despite all the complaining of 'why does it have to be him' and 'what do you even see in him', he would've felt worse if he just refuse this very chance that might be the green sign he has been seeking for him to go forward. Midori starts feeling more at ease going out with you, while keeping his doubts to himself about you choosing a better partner than him and feeling he may as well end this dating stuff. But that would be just a bad move to go through. Because, in the end... how can he even avoid you when you're filled with expectant hopes of him like that?

Dating with Midori involves...

☘๑ His intimidating mild discomfort and informal words with actions that speak more even as he sighs often. Things would be way less difficult liking you who weren't that interested in him before and settle with having mascot characters that's similar to you... He just can't get how you have this deep a trust leaving the rest of things or counting on him to do them. Also feels like he's high in cloud nine or something whenever he manages to lift your mood. It's a simple one, but the most satisfying achievements he have ever done in his entire life, besides pretty much being known as, well, the vegetable boy. His sighs sounds more relieved with a fond smile around you...

☘๑ Acts of service. More of from your side with his greengrocer business going on. Midori does still return the favor whenever he could and it's usually out of willingness if he offers. A bit different story if you're the one who ask him first because he might just label it as a pain but you can help yourself just fine which means borrowing him as he won't refuse lending you a hand.

☘๑ Quality time. Hanging out in his room while reading casually some comics together and commenting on tidbits of it or just simply enjoying your company is all what he needs. He's not that creative enough with supportive words or reaching out to provide some physical affections (though he won't push away your affection if you do the latter first), but he's there and will always be your pillar to lean on. Every break or day off where he could be alone with you while free from works is one of his favorites. He always try to not do some tasks around those moments since he would just get stressed out because of it and instead simply sharing his attention and efforts on you.

☘๑ Veggies. Free and the freshest only. He would give you some that reminds him of you or if he could imagine you as an herbivore animal...

☘๑ Rushed one-lip kiss and pecks because he's so not wanting to deal with his heart going crazy so he would rather make it quic. Things like this takes him a lot of energy and it's better than messing anything up anyway... Except when you're not satisfied, then he would try giving you what you want by picking up the rest from where you lead.

☘๑ Pictures sent by him taking a picture of some plush mascot key strap hanging from a random person's bag. Aside from that, casual texts from time to time asking 'where are you. if you can, dont make me search...' > (meaning so he could get to you faster).

☘๑ Insecurities intimate talk. He was and sometimes does still speak about his own misery and melancholic view, but lately because you've become a source of his consideration, he's more focused on your complaints and agreeing with whatever he relates to. Other times, he will keep silent since he doesn't want—more than anything—being your burden, thinking it would be too much for you on those particular heavy days to him. He can't bear it if you frankly get sick of him, even when he also feel at the same time, you would be better off saving your time and leave him for someone else more... better or not a loser like him. But if you aren't bothered and still wants to lend him an ear, he might express them, all the while hugging tight his favorite plush mascot character to try sparing most negativity away from you. He isn't against receiving some of your comfort, even if that would take some time for him to get used to.

☘๑ Besides indoor dates, there's a mascot character hunt type of date with an example of going to the arcade in some days off or as a celebration of his live success. Such as on one night...

~~~

The arcade isn't that rowdy this night where it could come as suffocating and it's just perfect for him. You both walk further into the section of claw machines for the stuffed animal and all kind of mascots behind the glass, waiting for the next seizer.

“So... Are we gonna start any soon now?” his eyes are already locked on a particular machine filled with vegetable mascots.

Earlier, you have challenged him into a competition where the winner who have caught the most will receive all catch from the loser.

“Yep, go crazy, we'll meet again here in an hour.” you reply, leaving him who answered an energetic 'okay' before he runs over to the machine not far away on the right side.

Not long after, he soon have gotten three of his targets finally in his hands after many determined tries. There's suddenly a surprised 'wahh' voice sounding near by his side which causes him to press the button at the wrong time and as the result, the claw misses. “Uuh... It was so close too dammit, so annoying, wanna die...” he mumbles, looking down in despair when that same voice revealed to be a little boy speaks out.

“You're great, big stranger brother! Can you please catch some for me?”

An hour later on your way to the meeting point, you catch a little boy carrying a round bag full of mascots running with a big smile from the way where you meet Midori. He's scratching his head awkwardly while holding three plushies in his left arm. “Well... This is all I got.” he sighs, gesturing to the plushies.

“Oh, I also got three, luckily... what happened though?”

He glances between the plushies you have and at the floor. “Got too carried away winning for that boy earlier, so the others were...” his gaze soon return to your face with a slightly agape mouth. “Wait... Three, does that mean it's a tie?”

You nod. “Yeah! Oh, no, wait, the catch you did before still counts too, you're practically the winner. So, here. These are cute but I had fun just playing.” Handing them out to him, he instead shakes his head and pushes them back.

“No, no, thanks, you don't need to though really... I would just feel bad. The final fair results is the one we have in our hands right now.” he then smiles, “I still had fun too, anyway. I think my inner child just healed, thinking that boy reminds me of the childhood. At least, all the mascots have found their place in each of a happy owner. That's why, I could trust them to you.” On the rest way back, you can tell from how he sounds eager telling you fun facts and the backstories of each plushies you have, that it was indeed a fun time for the both of you.

Tsumugi Aoba

Similar to Mayoi, Tsumugi would be unsure how to pick up the initiative and if he's befitting of a love life. That's why, as long as he can help you from time to time and indulging in the warm feelings from seeing you happy is already a lot enough than what he could ask. More so, he feels responsible, mixed with bitter guilt that you have decided to choose him of all people... But he will try not to disappoint you and does his best, though in that aspect he somehow still acts like a friend with benefits most of the time, who doesn't seem to be treating you any different than others. That's until you find his acts are more apparent in multiplied forms and earnest expressions like your treatment is the result of being placed at the top of his world.

Dating with Tsumugi involves...

❁♡‧₊˚ His inviting aura that lets you reach out to him easily for anything you might need or if you're encountering some difficulties, even when he's in the middle of doing something, it's important to hear you out no matter what it is and think about how he can help. Unless there's some urgent work needing his attention firstmost, he would apologize with a disappointed frown, offering to plan another time between the tight schedule where he can aid you completely so he would really appreciate your patience. He would make it up to you, and he does, more than what you expect even. It feels like he has such motherly vibes, because he could be bringing the drinks you want along with some refreshments too for the discussions. You don't even realize a small torn part on your jacket until Tsumugi tells you and offers to sew it, he doesn't mind because he could show off his ability.

❁♡‧₊˚ Words of affirmation flows smoothly from him the second you seem troubled or depressed until your thoughts can be tidied and held under your capability of control again that it's easy to feel reassured. Although, it would be a lot harder were you the one to give such words because he would deflect almost any with an appreciative smile and expression about him who is undeserving of them. He'd rather you share such kind things to others who may need it more or it could serve as a good reminder worth keeping to yourself.

❁♡‧₊˚ Acts of service, naturally. You have his full attention, always compassionate in assisting you. Furthermore, his assistance is accompanied by a relaxed chat with you. He can even manage the tasks you have to be processed in order, becoming less overwhelming and tying them with how you do things so you can do them without difficulty. Do use him to your heart's content~ it makes him happy if you especially depend on him, no trouble at all. If you're the one who try to help him, he wouldn't let you do so if he can, he's supposed to be the dependable one after all... Eventually he caves in and feels motivated to finish his work faster, though.

❁♡‧₊˚ Talk for long hours, like any topic, any reminiscing, will keep you chatting on and on with him because they just give you many thoughts to think about and experience in a useful way. Those topics would time to time include him mentioning the past with a cheery tone, yet concealing the heavy implications within... But, you don't need to think too deeply about it. Besides, he's okay, and still thinking about the future in a hopeful manner, too. It's just like any other day and have the similar tone to one would speak about the weather today.

❁♡‧₊˚ Occasionally, you would receive lucky charms and your lucky item for the day from him when the morning is about to start. He would also offer to do a reading on your fortune with the intentions of helping you get ready facing the day ahead. Even if you don't believe in any spiritual part of them, he would like it if you keep the charms or item for him. So his feelings for you could stay safe in your hands everywhere you go and whenever you take a look at them, you would be reminded of him♪ that's what he would like to think, at least... He's also fine of throwing them away and not giving them to you again, he can find another way that would make you more pleased.

❁♡‧₊˚ Forehead kisses, soft and not too impudent for him to do. He's saving the deep kind on the lips for a better day and event such as birthdays or celebrations when he could feel like he's worthy of them. He would let you give those kisses as many as you like, but he wouldn't return them back, unless it's the time.

❁♡‧₊˚ A bouquet of flowers on every and each date with different color and type to commemorate the particular events on that day, on that note he would explain the message they symbolize if you like :) They're good as a build-up for the atmosphere, too. Even so, please excuse him being a little bit dense in the wrong moment sometimes. He can focus too much on making you happy it's almost like everything is about you rather than as a date of you and him; going any places you want to go, treating you to the food, bringing you drinks...

❁♡‧₊˚ Library and bookstore dates are his go-to usually. Even if books were not your interest, his presence already does much to make the experience fun and rewarding. Besides that, he likes visiting few diners with their special steamed red sweet buns which are his favorite. The moment he mentioned it with such a happy satisfied smile, you realize it would be good to buy him some especially on this late night in the library.

~~~

Already covered by his own blanket, he was slowly dozing off at the second you call his name out. “EEP—sorry I'm not... Oh, (name), it's only you. Your voice sounded so soft I thought a ghost was whispering to me, you see.” he smiles sheepishly. “Is there anything you need? You should go to sleep soon... though I'm not the right person to be saying this, huh, ahaha.”

Putting a tea on the long table, you then give him a wrapped box which he accepts. “Enjoy them while it's hot, let me handle your work.”

“Is this...” he leans his head closer to the box, eyes widening in realization of a faint smell wafting from the box. “Ah, I know this smell anywhere! Thank you, (name). For the tea and the buns. But I didn't do any work, it's only a few lesson plans needing to be reviewed. I'm almost done with them. I have troubled you enough...” The still closed box is laid down on his lap.

“Yeah, right, your eyes are almost done sleeping there too. Let me handle them if they're only few left.” you take a seat from his side.

“I have a much better idea, how about we eat this buns together? I don't think I would be able to keep myself awake if I'm left alone while you're focusing on them.” He moves the box up on the table, closing the distance between you and him while he wraps the blanket around you. “There we go. Today was really exhausting, but I managed to finish all the works. Well, except that one. Fufu, what reason do you have for staying up late?”

“..nothing much, just worried about you.”

He takes a bite from one of the buns, humming delightfully. “How thoughtful of you like always. I'm glad to be the one who occupy your mind at this time, thought I can't say I like the thought of worrying you.” Finishing a piece, he then leans on your shoulder. “I can still get some sleep and, I will be revitalized enough now that you're here. Tomorrow too, with the warmth and care you provide me, I can try working harder again as usual. I don't think I could ever repay you back even with this insignificant love I have compared to the dearest you. But, I hope you can still accept my best everything of efforts for your happiness...”

#enstars headcanons #enstars x reader #ensemble stars x reader #tsumugi aoba x reader #mayoi ayase x reader #midori takamine x reader #ensemble stars headcanons #ensemble stars x you #enstars fluff #enstars x you

192 notes · View notes