It continually surprises me...
That people say Mydei is better at "hiding" how down bad he is or that he's better at pretending to be an idgafker in comparison to Phainon or (even more ridiculous) that he isn't as invested in Phainon as Phainon is in him...
Like are we playing the same game?
Are we talking about the same Mydei who:
1. Despite the city being swarmed by titankin, chose to wait at the gate of Okhema just for Phainon to return from his mission, burst into one of the most excited grins we ever see from him the second he saw Phainon, and then promptly ignored that they had a whole audience just so that he could show off specifically for Phainon?
2. The same Mydei who tells almost total strangers--in front of the biggest rumormonger in Okhema(!!!)--that he thinks it's his personal job to protect Phainon's "fragile heart"? "They're spreading rumors that we're together!" "Yeah I know, I started it."
3. The same Mydei who gives Phainon access to his private living space, lets Phainon bodily drag him out of his own bed while he is sleeping, and bathes with Phainon apparently daily, in the baths that are directly exposed to entire crowds of Okhemans?
4. The Mydei who, despite recovering from injuries, comes running to the scene of Phainon's Strife trial and then announces without pause in front of all the other heirs that he was "right to worry" for Phainon's safety? (Who Aglaea, demigod of Romance, knew she could manipulate into taking the Strife coreflame specifically using Phainon's safety as the bargaining chip?)
5. Who never turns down a single one of Phainon's stupid challenges--even in public--and, in fact, jumps on board without hesitation 99% of the time? Who invents his own challenges just as an excuse to keep competing with Phainon?
The face of a man who just thought up ten different ways to get Phainon to spend more time with him.
6. The same Mydei who, when Phainon says "Where are we going to hang out later?" (not "Can we hang out later?" but just WHERE), doesn't go "I'm not hanging out with you later" but instead says "Let's just finish this first" [and figure out our date when we're done].
The third-wheeling Trailblazer scarecrow gets me every time.
7. Who pours his heart out about the companions he lost, even though Phainon hadn't actually returned the favor and told Mydei the truth of Aedes Elysiae?
8. The same Mydei who, without a single hint of hesitance, asks Chartonus to "Look after Phainon for me"?
9. Who unironically goes around calling Phainon his "Deliverer" in public? Remember that this is an Okheman public who, up until 3.2, literally only knew Phainon as "the penniless lad who follows Aglaea around."
Apparently, for the people of Okhema, Phainon spent years being "that dirt poor antique freak whom the Crown Prince of Kremnos calls 'Savior' on main."
10. Whatever the hell this was...
Bonus: The same Mydei who yearns in a life where they never even met???
Like where is the "hiding"? Where is the idgafery? Can someone point me to it please, because I just don't see it. 😂
I would argue that Mydei's down-bad-ness is actually even more apparent to the people of Okhema than Phainon's because it makes perfect sense that a random Chrysos Heir who fancies himself a warrior would admire a whole crown prince from a warrior kingdom, but what's the crown prince's excuse for being glued to the side of this basically no-name guy who's not even Kremnoan???
Y'all gotta stop pretending Mydei is this kind of cat toward Phainon:
When he is actually this kind of cat for Phainon:
