#pheni writes

[phenixa]

Riddle, Azul, eating disorders and perfectionism

I’d like to preface this analysis by saying that it will talk in details about Eating Disorders such as anorexia, so proceeds with caution if this is a heavy topic for you. Take care of yourselves loves.

Now that this is out of the way. And while I battle with the weather, work, and my desire to sleep and not do anything, while I have a fanfic to write, do you know what I felt like i had to do ?

Do an Analysis on the Link between Riddle and Azul by analysing their eating disorders !

(Why do I subject myself to that again ?)

Anyway, while I binge eat like a good textbook case of hyperphagia and listen to the Clair Obscur : Expédition 33 ost, I will try to explain to you the obvious and canon disorders that these two perfectionists have : Eating disorders and Perfectionism.

This analysis is sponsored influenced heavily by a study of the correlation between perfectionism and eating disorders by Anna M. Bardone-Cone et al. named Perfectionism and eating disorders: Current status and future direction (2007) as well as the whole chapter on eating disorders from the DSM-5-TR.

You can find my other Analyses on the Masterlist.

So. Riddle and Azul. Two textbook definitions of Eating Disorders (EDs) in two different way. While it is canon and obvious that Azul has an ED - as shown in the game multiple times in Book 3 - the case for Riddle is a little less obvious. In my Florid Analysis, I mention that I think that, while Azul’s ED is self inflicted, Riddle’s ED is taught. But both EDs expresses themselves in similar ways.

I’ll start with the obvious one. Azul Ashengrotto.

Azul is obsessed with his appearance. In his Ceremonial Robes Hometaps, he mentions that he wants to tighten his belt to have a slimmer figure.

“Perhaps I should tighten my belt a bit more. I prefer having a well-defined figure.” Azul Ashengrotto Ceremonial Robes Home Tap 3

He is a case of, yes anorexia, but also Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). The DSM-5-TR describes it plainly yet in a long way :

“In [some] individuals, food avoidance or restriction represents a conditioned negative response associated with food intake following, or in anticipation of, an aversive experience, such as choking; a traumatic procedure, usually involving the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., esophagoscopy); or repeated vomiting. The terms functional dysphagia and globus hystericus. The determination of whether weight loss is significant (Criterion A1) is a clinical judgment; instead of losing weight, children and adolescents who have not completed growth may not maintain weight or height increases along their developmental trajectory.” DSM-5-TR, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.

To make it shorter (I already cut a long part of it), Azul shows signs of restricting himself on food intake because of a negative response to it (ie. A traumatic procedure). We all know that he is traumatised by his childhood bullying because of racism and his weight, so much so that he put all of his efforts into becoming a great mage just to take his revenge. In Book 3, he goes as far as forcing Yuu and the 1st years into stealing a photo from a national museum just to erase his past forever.

“Aaargh... I was going to expand the Mostro Lounge with a branch cafe and simultaneously erase the shame of my boyhood... It was supposed to be the perfect plan! Two birds with one stone!” Twisted Wonder, Book 3 Chapter 35, Erasing the Past

Erasing the shame of my boyhood. Azul feels shame regarding his younger years, ashame that follows him until his overblot. Sorry, even after his overblot.

Moreover, there is not only shame, but a restrictive diet that follows strict rules. In the beginning of Book Three, Azul talks about his diet. At first glance, it doesn’t seem that restrictive or strict :

“I think I'll have some squid ink pasta for lunch today. Ah, but I do need my vegetables as well.” Twisted Wonderland Book 3, chapter 7 : Observing a Foe

Until, one sentence later, he adds :

“An all-carb meal would be quite nutritionally lopsided... ...and more to the point, it would go straight to my thighs.” Twisted Wonderland Book 3, chapter 7 : Observing a Foe

Yeah. I immediatly thought of those ana (and proana) content back in 2012 on this hellish website we’re on at the moment, or the rise of the SkinnyTok back on the hellish app (Azul would be a fervent follower of the tag fight me on that).

On this point, Azul fits the anorexia criteria B and C of the DSM-5-TR for that fear of gaining weight. This reads as follow :

"B. Intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, even though at a significantly low weight. C. Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight.” DSM-5-TR, Anorexia Nevrosa, Diagnostic Criteria

I said earlier that I think Azul has anorexia, but that he doesn’t seem to purge himself by vomiting in the canon of the game (it is never mentioned), but re-reading the diagnostic criteria of the DSM, the book redirects towards the ICD-10-CM, the diagnostic reference of the World Health Organisation. And the ICD-10-CM describes anorexia as existing in two distinctive types : Restrictive and Binge eating/purging. While the common headcanon presents Azul as belonging to the second type, the game presents our Octomer as belonging to the first type. First type that is describes as follows :

“F50.01 Restricting type: During the last 3 months, the individual has not engaged in recurrent episodes of binge-eating or purging behavior (i.e., selfinduced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas). This subtype describes presentations in which weight loss is accomplished primarily through dieting, fasting, and/or excessive exercise.” ICD-10-CM, Anorexia Nevrosa, code F50.01

Azul is openly shown dieting hard, as I mentioned earlier, but not really exercising excessively (seeing how bad he is at PE, and shown in the Glorious Masquerade Event. Or I missed it completely. It’s possible.) So the link between his ARFID and Anorexia can be easily made.

So, what’s the link between Azul’s canonical eating disorder and perfectionism ?

Well, perfectionism is a common trait found in people with EDs, and more specifically, a predisposing trait. In her Article, Anna M. Bardone-Come (et. Al), The reseacher develops that, especially in the introduction :

“In their review of personality and eating disorders, Lilenfield [et. Al] (2006) concluded that the limited prospective research suggest that perfectionism may be a predisposing personality trait, preceding and increasing risk for the development of an eating disorder.” Anna M Bardone-Cone et al. on perfectionism and eating disorder, 2007

She then develops by saying that, just as said earlier, that Lilenfielf et al. did their research on a limited group, and that a lot of research done on that subject was also done on limited data.

“Despite general clinical and empirical consensus that perfectionism has a role in eating disorders, the various research findings have yet to be collectively presented in a manner that produces a clear picture [...] about perfectionism and [EDs] and what the data are indicating.” Anna M Bardone-Cone et al. on perfectionism and eating disorder, 2007

So, what in the world is perfectionism? Simple definition might be that it’s a character trait that expresses itself by the need to strive for perfection. Anna M Bardonne-Cone defines perfectionism as follows, using one of the earliest method of assessment for perfectionism, a 1980 research:

“One of the earliest perfectionism measure, the Burns Perfectionism scale (Burns 1980), focused on perfectionism as reflecting unremitting striving for unreasonably high standards and assessing one’s worth based on accomplishment.” Anna M Bardone-Cone et al. on perfectionism and eating disorder, 2007

The “unreasonably high standards” that the Burns Perfectionism Scale is clearly explained with the character of Azul. Azul has truly high standards regarding his physical appearance, even though he realises that he has nearly no physical abilities. He shows it multiple times, but it's especially telling in the Glorious Masquerade event, book 1 chapter 10. In the beginning of the chapter, Azul, as well as Idia, is seen huffing and having trouble climbing up the stairs. Jamil even jokes about it.

“So this is all it takes to reduce you to a miserable heap, Azul?” Twisted Wonderland, Glorious Masquerade, book 1 chapter 10: The Bell of Solace

The entire chapter shows Azul struggling with the “simple” task of climbing up stairs, where he and Idia are the only ones struggling to climb up said stairs while the others are perfectly fine, showing Azul's poor physical health.

But, he still strives for perfection. Where am I going with this?

Having a perfect body doesn't have to go through countless of hours spent doing any sport. And we cycle back to Azul's ARFID and anorexia. You don't have to do 10+ hours of sport in the hopes of losing weight to be considered anorexic.

So yeah, Azul corresponds to the definition of ARFID and Anorexia and is pretty much a perfectionist. Cool. But what about Riddle?

First of all, I think that Riddle corresponds to the same diagnosis as Azul, but not because of the same reasons. I said earlier that Azul's ED is self-inflicted while Riddle's ED is taught, and I stand by that.

But what do I mean by a “taught Eating Disorder”?

I'll ask you questions, too. Have you seen Riddle's mother?

Have you read Book 1?

“This year's birthday cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and lecithin-rich soy flour to improve your cerebral function.” “Now that you're eight, your caloric intake should be 600 kilocalories per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams of it. Understood?” Twisted Wonderland, Book 1 chapter 25: A sad little child

Look at me in the eyes, straight in the eyes and tell me that this helicopter parenting didn't teach him anorexia.

Riddle, just like Azul, counts his calories. We can see that multiple time across the game, but it's relevant in one of the Halloween events:

"Psh. Teapot tyrant, meet kettle. You haven't had more than a couple'a nibbles yourself, Goldfishie. Even a real goldfish eats more than that. Aren't you a growing boy?" "I'll have you know I consume my recommended caloric intake every day, without any excess or deficiency!" Twisted Wonderland, "Twisted Halloween : Terror is Trending", chapter 5-7

So while Azul eats with a caloric deficiency, Riddle counts every calorie to stay perfectly in line. Per-fec-tion-ni-sm. At its fullest.

Anna Bardone-Cone explains, in her paper, that Eds can come from multiple factors, and the perfectionism that comes from said ED also has the same factors:

“Briefly, the Frost MPS provides scores for total perfectionism, conceptually labelled Concern Over Mistakes (CM), Personal Standards (PS), Parental Criticism (PC), Parental Expectations (PE), Doubts About Actions (DA), and Organisation (O).”* Anna M Bardone-Cone et al. on perfectionism and eating disorder, 2007

Parental Criticism and Parental Expectations. Helicopter parent. Self-explanatory.

I'm not going to give you the entire quote because it's hella long and far fetched with multiple shortened terms, but Bardone-Cone says that Perfectionism has shown to be significantly higher in people with EDs than with people without EDs, even with people with a mood disorder.

And while I think that Riddle might have a mood disorder, that is a question for another day.

So it all comes down to Riddle having an eating disorder coming from his mother and her helicopter parenting. But what does it entails, truly?

As I said, It entails that Riddle counts his calories like crazy – just like Azul – but it also shows in his relationship with exercising. He excels in sports.

So, in that case, is it because he had always been good at sports or is it because he trains diligently to excel in this domain to makes his mother happy? That I don't have the right answer, since it's not openly said in the game (if it is, please correct me!). But I do headcanon that Riddle does train diligently to please his mother, just like how he excels in every other area of study to appease her.

But it's not just Riddle's fault. It's (once again) his mother's fault.

Because her wanting “the best” for her son makes her a perfectionist. A truly, hard boiled perfectionist. Bardone-Cone talks about it, too.

“Personality traits in parents of individuals with [Anorexia nervosa] to parents if healthy controls (control data obtained in a previous family study). Mothers of AN probands had higher levels of perfectionism than control mothers on the Frost MPS total score and the maladpative subscales of CM and PC but not on the EDI-Perfectionism”Anna M Bardone-Cone et al. on perfectionism and eating disorder, 2007

It all comes down to the mothers. Because apparently fathers don't care enough to have their kid develop a disorder because of them. (I'd like to see if research has been done regarding the involvement of fathers in their children's mental health.) Either way, Bardone-Cone's research sheds light onto the fact that perfectionist mothers make perfectionist kids that tend to develop an ED. Got it.

All in all, Riddle's eating disorder, mostly what I think is anorexia, is caused by his mother, so, it istaught, whereas Azul's eating disorders, ARFID and anorexia, are caused by external factors: his bullying, so it'sself-inflicted.

To finally conclude, I'd like to say that I know that Riddle's part is shorter than Azul's part, but at all came down to one cause and there isn't a lot to say about that one cause since it's not really developed in the game outside of that one chapter in book 1, while Azul's eating disorder is slightly more “documented”. But in the end, it all comes down to personal headcanon, and if you think that what I just said is bullshit, I mean it kinda is ^^”

Anyway, thank you for reading till the end, I hope you enjoyed your read!

Pheni, out.

[phenixa]

Lilia relationship headcanons

(you can find the Masterlist here)

I think that Lilia tends to be a switch in your relationship, not exclusively in a sexual way, but more in general. If you're more dominant in your way of loving, he'll take a more submissive - albeit still teasing - role and vice versa. If you're both switches, that's where the fun begins as you both have your dominant and submissive phases.

Sometimes you butt heads, both trying to out-dominate the other while sometimes all you do is cuddle because you're both in need of someone to cuddle, but no one wanted to be the big spoon, so you end up face to face cuddling.

On that same manner, Bi king. That man had a crush on Raverne and Maleanor, it hadn't changed in years that he can be attracted to all genders

He had seven hundred years to fall in love, or just to have "good time" with people, why should he have only cared about one gender ?

He likes to be held, regardless of if he's dominant or submissive with you. If you're taller than him, he'll sometimes hang on you, like a koala. If you're the same size of smaller than him he'll just hug you often.

He'll still call you "little bat" regardless of your size. That's his way of thanking you for all of the hugs.

On that vibe, he likes pet names. Sure, you're his little bat, but he will melt if you call him by any pet name

Call him Baby Bat when he's feeling soft and fuzzy. It makes him melt even more. But other pet names like "darling" also makes him melt

Somewhat big on PDA but it depends on many factors. Wouldn't be the one kissing you senseless in public but would hug you, hold your hand and just be in love with you openly. It's like he can't keep his hands to himself when you're near. He loves you and needs the world to know it too

His hands are always the right temperate, warm but not clammy, and when he's not hanging on you like a koala or hugging you, his hand is always in yours.

He isn't the type to be jealous. He trusts you and is very confident in your relationship.

However when someone really doesn't understand that you're taken, he can and will become like a fifth limb when in front of that person. You're his and he's yours, and that isn't about to change because some youngster thinks they can do better than him

You'll find under the cut a small snippet of Lilia and reader (yuu)

Lilia and you were sitting in the lounge of Diasomnia, Lilia straddling your lap, hugging you. He had spent the day being all fuzzy, and hadn't left your side, except when he had classes to attend. And you where happy to oblige in his antics. It had been a while since the bat Fae had been like that, and you had started to worry a bit. He oftentimes switched with being the one in charge with being fine with either, with being the one in need of cuddles and love, but for the past few weeks, Lilia had been withdrawn a bit, even with you. Sure he had been present as always, coming to Ramshackle or having you in his room, but there had been this faraway look in his eyes. And now, having him being all over yourself, not leaving your side and being more clingy than usual, it was slightly surprising, albeit not unwelcomed.

That was when you realised. A few months ago, Lilia had told you about his past, about how he had lost his first loves in a tragic event. And the day of their deaths was today.

That explained everything.

You placed a kiss on his temple, your hands caressing his back gently.

"You've been so strong, Baby Bat, so strong." You said softly in his ear. "you can rest now, I'll be here when you wake up."

You could feel Lilia becoming pliant under your touch, his lips letting a small satisfied sound at your ministrations.

When Lilia finally fell asleep, you gently hoisted him up and headed towards his bedroom, passing by Silver on the way. You smiled at the boy and continued to walk, as to not wake your boyfriend up.

Once in Lilia's bedroom, you laid down with Lilia still in your arms. One hand came to rest in his hair, petting him gently. You placed another kiss on his forehead before closing your eyes

"rest now, love, you deserve it."

[phenixa]

Skin to Skin

Here's a little Lilia x gn!Reader, soft and fluffy, enjoy !

Tags : gn!Reader, established relationship, fluff, non-sexual nudity

You can find my other work in the Masterlist

There was something soft and reassuring in being skin to skin with someone. Especially someone you loved.And it as especially true for you. You had always loved that contact, especially in a non sexual way. Just the moment of being with someone you loved, skins touching without the barrier of clothes ; was everything to you.

But you ever dared to ask anyone about that. First of all because your previous partners hadn’t seen the use in that contact or had always thought that you wanted something more than just cuddles, but also because you’ve been single for a while now, and asking that to your friends was considered weird. Forget that you were in a relationship with Lilia now, being rejected for so long before made you hyper aware that your need to be cuddling half naked with someone was weird.

"Are you okay, little bat ?" Lilia’s voice popped right behind you, making you jump slightly. "Sorry sorry, love." He excused himself with a small giggle. "I just saw one of the most beautiful people in the world looking lost in their thoughts, I thought I could help them. So what were you thinking of ?"

You shrugged, not wanting to talk about what you really wanted. "I’m just tired." Was all you could muster up. It wasn’t a lie per se, but the truth laid beneath.

You wanted to feel your boyfriend’s body against yours.

Lilia eyed you somewhat suspiciously. "Wanna take a nap little one ?" He asked you, as if knowing perfectly well what you needed. You simply nodded slowly, feeling the need to sleep, just a bit. It was already late afternoon, and you didn’t have any more class for the day.

Lilia guided you back to Ramshackle, a hand gently placed on your lower back, guiding yet slightly possessive. You didn’t mind it one bit, feeling protected by this simple gesture from your partner.

You had never voiced anything to Lilia, not wanting to bother him like you had bothered your previous partners before. But somehow, Lilia was already aware of what you needed. Even if it was the bare minimum.

You felt safe.

When you two reached your bedroom in Ramshackle, Lilia having gently kicked Grim out for "just a few hours, let your hench-human rest", Lilia let you sit on your bed before he stood up, starting to remove the top of his uniform.

"What are you doing ?" You asked him as he was unbuttoning his dress shirt, right after he had removed his bowtie. Lilia stopped to look at you, a small smile on his face.

"Unbuttoning my shirt." He answered matter-of-factly, as if you didn’t have your sense of sight and wasn’t able to see the expanse of creamy skin that appeared little by little. "I used to do that with Silver when he was little. Skin to skin contact is recommended to ease people’s minds. Remind people of their time with their mother apparently." The bat Fae explained further, completely removing his shirt.

You looked at him quizzically. "You... You don’t think it’s weird ?" You managed to ask, hands trembling on your sides. You really wanted to remove your own shirt, to feel his skin against yours. "You don’t think that I’d want to have sex with you just because we’re shirtless cuddling ?"

Lilia looked surprised for a second. "Why would I- Oh." He closed the distance between the two of you and sat on your lap. Instinctively your hands came to rest on his hips. The feeling of his warm skin against your hands felt incredible. "It doesn’t have to be sexual, little bat. Especially if you don’t want to. It’s just cuddling, whatever other people have said to you. Being naked or half naked isn’t inhenrently sexual." He placed a small kiss on your cheek. It was soft. Something you desperately needed to feel and hear was just being given to you like that. "If other people think like that, it’s their problem. Not everything has to be sexual after all."

Tears welled up in your eyes when hearing those words. "Really ?" 

"Really." He repeated, placing a gentle kiss on your lips.

You answered the kiss before starting to unbutton your own shirt with trembling fingers. A few moments later, you and Lilia were laying on your side, cuddling. Skin to skin.

You had never felt better before. The feeling was indescribable. You could feel every little scar on Lilia’s body with your fingers, hear his heartbeat against your ear, feel his featherlight kisses against your hairline. It was just perfect.

"Thank you, Lilia." Were the last words you could utter before Morpheus took you under his wing, bringing you to what would be the best nap you had ever had.

[phenixa]

My name is Lilia

Here's a snippet of my Latest fic, Toile Vierge, Horizons Lointains, that you can find on Ao3. You can find the masterlist here

“So this is the child you brought over last night, Ma’am?” A plump woman looked at the child peaking his little head inside the kitchen. He had smelled the scent of food and followed it across the corridors of the building. The lady was dressed – at the very least hopefully – but more or less skimpily. She wore a cropped, skinny top and a midi skirt, both pastel blue and white. The child found that she was beautiful. Less beautiful than his mother, but beautiful nonetheless. “Hello little one.” She greeted, her voice softer than a few seconds ago. “Are you hungry?” She asked immediately, showing the table where a plate of pancakes rested, still steaming slightly.

The child nodded before fully entering the kitchen. This was at that moment that the beautiful lady could see him fully. He was small, smaller than any child of his approximative age – probably six or seven. Maybe five – and purely and simply scrawny. She watched him make a beeline for the table and tentatively take one pancake with both hands after climbing on a chair. She watched him for a minute as he nibbled on the pancake. After his first bite, the child made a little sound, surprised at the taste of the pancake.

The beautiful woman approached him and took a pancake for herself before taking a bite. “They’re good, right?” The child eagerly nodded before taking another small bite, making a satisfied sound. That made the woman chuckle slightly. “You’re hungry, sweetheart.” She chuckled again, taking another bite of her pancake. “I’m Alicia. What’s your name sweetheart?” she asked after finishing her pancake.

The child raised his head to look at Alicia, stopping his nibbling on the little cake. He swallowed hard, looking for his voice. “… Lilia.” He said with a little, broken voice. He hadn’t used it since meeting the man the day before beside his sobs, and his throat hurt slightly.

The woman nodded and offered him another smile. “Well, welcome Lilia to the Red Spider Lily. The Madam took you in yesterday, right?” Lilia nodded once again. Alicia went to the pantry, coming back with a box of juice for the child. “Here, drink up. It’s orange juice, coming straight from an orchard outside of the city.”

“where are we?” Lilia croaked after taking the little box of juice and eyeing it suspiciously. He had never drank orange juice, but if that woman said it was good, maybe it was true. She seemed to be someone he could trust. But again, the man from yesterday took him from his mother and seemed kind too.

The thought of his mother made Lilia tear up, and Alicia was over him in seconds, “Hey, hey, hey sweetheart, you’re okay. Everything is okay.” She said quickly, trying to comfort the child, to no avail. She didn’t know what brought that child here, but seeing him cry so easily for a reason that she couldn’t grasp yet made her feel uneasy.

“Mama…” The child sobbed. Not knowing if his mother was alright, but knowing that she might be so worried about him made a knot twitch in his gut. Once again, the fear that had overcome him the day before came rushing in his little body, making him shake like a leaf in November wind.

“We’ll find your mother sweetheart.” Alicia promised, not really knowing what to do with the crying child in front of her. “Where do you live little angel?” She asked after awkwardly patting the child’s back.

Lilia hiccuped once, sobs wrecking his body. “The… Verdurous Moor… Black Water village.” He managed to say between sobs. Instinctively, like a baby bat looking for warmth, Lilia leaned towards Alicia, who welcomed him as best as she could, letting him lean into her, placing her hands around his shoulders.

“That’s pretty far away from here. How did a little angel like you end up in the capital?” The woman mused, and just as she was about to ask further question, the Madam entered the kitchen, her eyes immediately falling on Alicia and Lilia.

“Ah, Alicia.” The Madam greeted with a little smile before her eyes found the child nestled in Alicia’s arms, sobbing. “I see you met the child.”

“His name is Lilia, Ma’am.” Alicia introduced, noticing that Lilia was looking at the Madam. “He says he comes from a village in the Verdurous Moor.” She added almost immediately, her hand coming to pet Lilia’s hair.

The Madam nodded, almost absentminded, a hand on her chin. “The Verdurous Moor you say? That is quite far from here, but not with teleportation.” She repeated Alicia’s concern. She had quickly understood that Lilia had been abducted before being abandoned in the red-light district by his kidnappers. Moreover, bat Fae were quite rare in the capital, and not really welcomed.

That was when the realisation hit her.

The child’s kidnappers had probably tried to sell him to some man on the streets until said man realised Lilia was a bat Fae. Thus the child had probably been abandoned to his own devices by his abductors who couldn’t receive a good price for what they had hope would be good merchandise.

Truly, the world was a dark place.

“We will find a way to teleport you back to your mother, child” The Madam finally agreed with herself. “Alicia, can you go fetch Aline? She comes from the Moor, she will be able to teleport us there.” She asked, prompting Alicia to nod. The woman let go of Lilia’s shoulders, who tried to grab her sleeve – which, he couldn’t – before she left the kitchen to look for her colleague.

“I want mama.” The child sobbed again, his eyes bloodshot and his nose runny. The Madam sighed before approaching Lilia. She placed a hand on his shoulder, wanting to be comforting.

“We will find her, child. You will be reunited with your mother as soon as possible.” She promised, and Lilia nodded weakly.

Something inside him was uneasy, as if he knew something bad had happened. He hoped not but part of him knew that mother bats never left their pup alone when they were this young.

Alicia quickly came back with Aline and her, the Madam and Lilia quickly departed to the Verdurous Moor.

[phenixa]

Riddle Rosehearts Friendship headcanons

(find the Masterlist here)

He’s kind of shy with his friendships, not knowing how to deal with it properly and “as the rules state”. But there’s no rules in friendships as no friendship resembles the other.

He’s always scared his mother will come to take him away from his friends.

He’s a giver but likes to receive gifts and small affections.

He’ll never ask for one but please hug him. He’s been deprived of love his entire life. Hug that boy.

Study meetings ! You both would study together just to share the other’s presence.

In the same vein, once your friendship has evolved into the “comfy with the other’s presence” phase, you more or less spend all your time together just basking in the other’s presence. Y’know, parallel play ? yeah, that.

If you’re knowledgeable on a matter he isn’t, he’ll ask a lot of questions, even if it’s not a domain he’s really interested in (like video games).

Just like in a relationship, I think that Riddle wouldn’t be big on PDA with his friends (we see that with Trey), but he’s more in small attentions, small things that are less obvious (like with Yuuken in the manga)

Don’t expect to be saved from the rules tho. You can always lose your head :}

If you wear alternative fashion outside of school days, expect Riddle to ask you about your style, its culture. 

We see how he would’ve dressed in his dream if he hadn’t been so controlled, so I think that he wouldn’t dare but would love to try your style at least once.

In the same vein, if you wear a more “soft” style (tenshi kaiwai, ouji/lolita, cottagecore etc.) he’ll more easily try than if you’re into punk/goth/decora styles. But he would try everything at least once.

Would chastise you for it but he likes being called nicknames. If “Goldfishie” makes him shudder with anger because it’s Floyd (to be discussed tho), small nicknames between him and you as his friend would make him more comfortable in your friendship. 

(I HC that my OC calls Riddle “Baby boy” or “kitten” but not in a sexy way, more in a friendship/parental way, but that’s because of their relationship.)

If you take a more nurturing side in your friendship (aka, if you’re the Mom Friend) Riddle would unconsciously see you as a parental figure, regardless of your age. It’s not negative or infantilising, just see it as how ppl with shitty parents act towards the Mom Friend of their group. It’s unconscious on both of your sides but yeah, Riddle would lean more on you if you let him.

On the other hand, if you’re the “child” of the group, he’ll act like a big brother towards you. Once again, completely unconsciously.

Now, a small fic-y part based on one of my HCs regarding Riddle and my OC, but with reader :

The sun was high in the sky, and Riddle and you had decided to study in the rose maze surrounding Heartslabyul. Riddle was surrounded by books and manuals and notebooks, while you simply had one large grimoire and your own notebook. The Housewarden was concentrated on his studies, keeping his class-leading stance on his classmates by studying something he should only see in class the following year, while you were simply reading and taking notes on potions for your alchemy class. If the potions were the ones you should be able to study during your internship with an alchemist or a potion maker, it was between you and Crewel who gave you the book.

The two of you had been there for a few hours, and Trey had come at least twice to give you two pastries he just baked and refills of tea. You even had joked that he acted like a butler of some sorts, which made Riddle groan – how dared you disturb him ?

“Say, kitten,” you started not raising your eyes from your grimoire. Riddle only hummed in answer also not raising his eyes, “do you think this love potion smells different with everyone ? Like the smell depends on who the person loves ?”

Riddle finally raised his eyes. You had mentioned once a story you had read where there was a love potion like that, and that you found it really interesting. The redhead stood up slightly, leaning over the table and books littered on it to take a look at your grimoire. You pointed at the specific potion you mentioned, a potent love potion that was banned from most countries due to the side effects – and that, yeah, basically, forcing someone to love you is pretty bad – and Riddle took a look, reading upside down.

“It’s not mentioned anywhere so I couldn’t tell you. Why don’t you go ask Professor Crewel ?” You nodded but made no move, only smiled at your friend.

“What would your smell be, sweety ? While I do see you smelling of rose in that potion, I don’t think it will be only that…” Riddle recoiled slightly before he started to think.

“Roses, probably, with a hint of something sweet maybe ?”

“Like a strawberry tart ? Oooooh yeah, you’d smell like a strawberry and rose tart !” You squealed imagining the perfume. While you didn’t like the smell of roses, it suited Riddle and his natural scent was faintly based on roses. “We definitely need to make that perfume for you !”

Riddle recoiled again, taken aback by your sudden declaration. He then started to think. “I think you’d smell like dusk in spring.” He ended up declaring out of the blue, which made you stop. Did he just follow you in one of your rants ?

“Then when people see our friendship, they’ll think of eating a strawberry and rose tart in a spring evening.” You concluded with a soft smile, leaning in to ruffle Riddle’s hair gently.

[phenixa]

Lycoris and Diasomnia Fam

While I do think that the entirety of the Diasomnia family gets along pretty well with Lycoris, I don't think it was like that from the beginning.

Hey, I'll be talking for a bit, but if you're interested in more Lycoris related things I have written, you can find them on the Masterlist, in any case, let's deep dive into the relationship between Lycoris and the Diasomnia fam

/!\ spoilers for book 7 and 7.5 /!\

In my Relationship post I mainly talk about how Lycoris considers Malleus, Silver and Sebek to be Honorary Baby Boys (honour only owned by Riddle, who Lycoris is very parental towards), but it wasn't always like that. Like. At all.

First, let's start with Malleus. In the Relationship post, I say that Lycoris had clocked very quickly that Horntorn was Malleus Draconia. It was thanks to his soul (if you haven't checked Lycoris' introduction page, Lycoris is a psychopomp, so they can see souls and interact with them) that Lycoris understood that, but at first they were quite reserved. I mean, that man appears on their lawn (I mean, Ramshackle dorm) and acts all high and mighty, which Lycoris hates. But around book 3, when Malleus - at this point, Lycoris knows that this is him - helps inadvertently Lycoris and Grim to win Ramshackle back after the deal with Azul, Lycoris starts to open up around him by being more friendly. They quickly have little nightly playdates where Lycoris listens to Malleus ramble about Gargoyles and Grotesques while on the roof of Ramshackle (thanks to that, Lycoris had missed a few Mickey communication attempts) But yea, before Malleus becoming the honorary baby boy, he was just someone Lycoris liked to spend a little time with.

A funny scene with him is after the VDC. Just like in the game, Malleus intervenes after Vil's overblot. Lycoris feels him coming but is too tired to care. However, just like in the game, they greet Malleus with a "hey, Horntorn" that makes the entire NRC tribe scream. And when Malleus puts the scene back together, Lycoris comes to give him a pat on the back and a snarky reply about him using his magic like a saviour, which has Ace and Deuce jaws drop while everyone else is waiting for Malleus to exterminate Lycoris. It doesn't happen, Malleus letting out a chuckle and walking away. Ace and Deuce don't let that go for a good amount of time (before Book 6 and after it during the time in between book 6 and book 7)

In the case of Silver, Lycoris treats him with respect because that's how you treat people. They catch on very quickly that Lilia is Silver's adoptive father, not by looking at the interactions between the two's souls but when Silver inadvertently calls Lilia father in front of them. While Lycoris didn't find it weird (they know of Lilia's age) they find it unsettling that both father and son are in school at the same time. But that's basically when Lycoris' respect for Silver grew. Once again, you don't survive Lilia's cooking unscathed and that boy is still alive. It commands respect. But nonetheless, Lycoris relationship with Silver is probably the best between Lilia 1 3/4 children since the beginning, even if Lycoris finds it unsettling that Silver manages to fall asleep everywhere despite himself. After book seven and they learn that it's true love that would help Silver, Lycoris is torn between trying to set him up and not doing anything - Lilia already loves the boy to no end and it doesn't help his condition, what would help ? When Lilia officially adopts Silver in book 7.5, Lycoris teared up slightly, seeing all the love surrounding the father and son duo.

One time (after book 7), Lycoris was studying in the courtyard for a history exam and Silver went to sit beside them, curious to see what the other student was doing. Lycoris, after exchanging pleasantries with him, started to read the lesson they were trying to learn aloud, and Silver fell asleep on their shoulder. Not after mumbling a "I know what you and father have going on." that made Lycoris stop dead in their track before starting to read again, as if they had heard nothing. It still haunts them, because at that time, they still weren't in a relationship with Lilia and tried to forget what had happen in Lilia's dream)

Oh. Oh. Sebek and Lycoris. At first, Lycoris finds this obnoxiously loud and openly racist boy utterly despicable, and in turn, Sebek finds this cunning and seemingly always plotting Fae-like creature despicable too. It shatters his idea of what the Fae are and thus treats Lycoris like a human for most of the time before book seven. Even if Lycoris quickly clocks in that Sebek is most definitely autistic or at least neurodivergent, they become softer around him, but don't let go of his blatant racism, always butting against him verbally when Sebek starts making comments about people around them, even if Lycoris isn't particularly close to that person. For Lycoris, Sebek's possible autism isn't a reason to be a dick towards others that aren't Malleus or Lilia.

However things change during book seven. Lycoris is the third person Silver wakes up, right after Sebek. So Sebek, as well as Silver and Grim, has a full on view on Lycoris dream, who, just like Lilia's is more of a traumatic flashback than a dream (see this post for Lycoris' dream), Sebek, seeing how child Lycoris looked up to that Lady, and how they basically acted, started to become softer with the twins, even forcing himself to lower his voice in front of the two children. When finally Lycoris' dream arrive to an adult Lycoris, and where Sebek, Silver and Grim could see Lycoris in their world, walking towards their uni to start their school year, Sebek understood that Lycoris had lost quite a lot - he had seen nearly everything after all. When Lycoris finally awoke, they made the three promise to never say a word of what they saw and jumped with them to the next dream. That's basically how Lycoris and Sebek got to understand each other, first Sebek, then Lycoris during Lilia's dream, when they saw how Sebek reacted towards his grandfather and the other Fae. They also understood where Sebek was coming from.

And even if Sebek's racism still got him chastised once OB!Malleus was slain, their relationship got better, way better, and Lycoris started to train with him and Silver more regularly, this whole dream jumping thing got them to become closer.

Finally. The final one in this little family. (This might be quite long. I have a lot of things to say)

SO! Lilia and Lycoris! In the relationship post, i say this :

As mentioned earlier, Lycoris has a crush on Lilia. First it was purely attraction because, Eros that man is pretty, but it became something more, especially after Lycoris understood that Lilia is, Thank Poseidon, an adult. But Lycoris is still traumatised of their last relationship and won't act on this crush.

And their relationship is complicated. Because until book 7, neither were about to confess that they had a crush on the other. Hell no!

When they first met during Trey's dorm presentation, Lycoris thought "welp. That man is pretty." then. "fuck it's a loli." They, at first, didn't know how Fae age in this world worked, so while knowing that Lilia was quite old, they didn't know if this "quite old" was like "old but in human years he's 15" or "old but in reality he is old, even in human years" so they kept their attraction to be purely aesthetic. Then, they became closer with Lilia during one of their afternoons with the Pop Music Club. That's when they learned Lilia's real age, in a passing conversation between the two. At this point Lycoris was "yeah, it's just aesthetic attraction, definitely not a crush I don't see what you're thinking." On his side, Lilia was telling himself that it was too, just aesthetic attraction, and that he was "too old" for a crush. but I talk a bit more about this part of their relationship in this post

But fuck it we ball apparently.

Lilia got slightly worried about Lycoris when they disappeared with Rook and Epel in book 6 but kept it under wraps since he was more concentrated in planting the seeds of his departure with Malleus.

in this post, I talk about how before Malleus' overblot, Lilia and Lycoris were obliviously flirting with the other and it's definitely true at the end of Book 6, when the whole group comes back from STYX. Lilia and Lycoris openly flirt with one another, the two not even realising that they're flirting. (Riddle openly facepalmed)

But the worst of it came during Lilia's dream. Because if Lilia is hot in Lycoris' eyes, what do you think they think about the Hot Younger Version of Lilia ?

They're doomed.

So, basically, Lilia's dream.

Lilia is slightly less suspicious of Lycoris due to their pointed ears, but thinks that they're a traitor pretty quickly when he finds out that they're with the two humans and the monster. But Lycoris hold on tight and even challenges Lilia and Baur to a fight right after Silver and Sebek had Lilia's mask fall.

"If you like to think that I a traitor to your race, come. I'll wait for you."

The fight against Lilia is pretty balanced, but Lycoris ends up winning by a landslide when Lilia lowers his guard after a pretty much underhanded technique from Lycoris.

After that, he begrudgingly "trusts" the little group.

And the more time he spends with Lycoris, the more they start to flirt with him. Because this version of Lilia will pretty much not remember his dream, right? Right? (Lycoris remembers their dream, they were just too stupid to realise that Lilia would remember his too.) So Lycoris spends most of their time in Lilia's dream flirting with General Lilia in underhanded ways. When Silver and Sebek aren't looking, mostly ("they're children. We don't traumatise the children!") and sometimes, they're too far gone in their flirting persona that they end up inadvertently flirting with Baur (they always excused themself when they realised that, saying that it was a habit of theirs and that they didn't mean to. And they were truly sorry because THAT'S SEBEK'S GRANDPA!)

Then comes the moment when they meet Maleanor. While technically, again, Lycoris is higher ranked that her, no one knows that, and they stay pretty quiet during the whole conversation, forcing Sebek, Grim (mostly them) and Silver to also remain quiet. When Maleanor makes the group flee, Baur is the one leading the way, Lycoris being at the back to protect everyone just in case.

When they meet the Dawn Knight outside of the castle, Lycoris holds him at gunpoint (well, at sword's point but you got the gist) until the Knight lets them flee. But they don't miss that look on Silver's face.

Cue all of Silver's falling into darkness - saved by Sebek mostly - and the separation between Sebek who stays behind with Baur, and Silver, Lycoris and Grim who follow Lilia's steps.

When they find Lilia injured, Lycoris is the one taking the egg with them while Silver hoist his father on his back. During their escape, Lycoris tries to be as careful as possible with Eggleus as possible, and completely forget to flirt with Lilia, way too worried for him and the egg's safety.

HOWEVER. When they arrive at the capital and Lilia is thrown away like a piece of shit by the Senate, Lycoris can't take it anymore and makes their souls disappear for the time being, right after Lilia abandons his title as the Right General. They could've killed those souls, but they didn't know how much it would've affected Lilia's dream.

After that, the rest of the dreams happens the same as in game for the most part.

HOWEVER that's not where Lilia and Lycoris' relationship stops. They're still not together.

When Lilia dies, Lycoris finds themself crying. Here it goes again. They, once again, lose someone they got close to, even someone for whom they had started to develop feelings and once again. Because, yes, that's when they realise that they had a crush on Lilia all along. When Lilia is dead.

Then Lilia is brought back to life, becomes the Dragon's Horn and Book 7.5 happens. But this post is getting ridiculously long so I'll stop here.

Thank you if you read this far!

[phenixa]

Flirting

I was thinking about Lycoris' relationships, and around a conversation with a friend, I came to the conclusion that Lycoris and Lilia have been, before Malleus's overblot, flirting with the other without realising the other was flirting back. So, here's a little something that I just brewed !

Here's the main masterlist if you're interested in my other works And feel free to ask for anything, my asks are open for that reason ^^

"I always wondered why the legends about the Fae in my world were always talking about kidnappings. Turns out, if they're all as pretty as you, I wouldn't mind be kidnapped." Lycoris declared matter-of-factly, without really thinking, while tossing their uniform jacket on one of the chairs. They were currently with the Pop Music Club, Cater having asked gently - read, nearly forced - Lycoris to come singing with him and the Club. Which, Lycoris had accepted because they had nothing better to do, Grim being held back by Professor Crewel once again.

Kalim's eyes grew wide and Cater nearly dropped his phone. Lycoris spared them no thoughts, just a greeting smile, their eyes locked on the upside down Fae.

Lilia was floating upside down like he usually was, looking smugly at the newcomer. "Is this an invitation ? I always had a fondness for bold humans." He answered with a smirk on his face.

"Who said I was human ?" Lycoris chuckled, plopping on one glitter covered bean bags, eyes still locked with Lillia's own eyes. Cater was filming them, muttering under his breath about the views this interaction alone would give him. He was already thinking of what hashtag he could use for this specific video.

Lilia and Lycoris were still looking at each other when Cater decided to cut the recording. He started to manically type his description and hashtags, not forgetting to tag his three friends, Kalim appearing in the corner of the video to mutter a small "wait, are they joking or not ?"

The video became nearly viral.

And the next time Lycoris came to the Pop Music Club and Cater started a live video or their performance, nearly all of the viewers asked if the two singers were "finally together".

"Together ?" Lycoris read the comment after finishing a song. "Together with who ?"

Cater facepalmed

[phenixa]

Lycoris - Relationships pt1 - Heartslabyul to Scarabia

I like to think that Lycoris seems pretty open to anyone, but is in reality pretty closed off. No one really knows about their past or anything related to it.

Anygays, here's my HCs on Lycoris's relationships with every main character in the game !

Part 2 can be found here and the general Masterlist for Lycoris is here

Riddle : Lycoris's son. BabyboyTM They naturally take a parental role with him, caring for the Housewarden in their own way. Likes to call him by petnames, just like Floyd or Rook would. Usually it's "Little Rose", "Babyboy" (platonically and just when Riddle is really tired since they know he wouldn't have the energy to deny it) or "chaton" (Kitten in French, but it's purely platonic once again.) Riddle is the closest person Lycoris could consider as a friend.

Ace : Ace is the very first person Lycoris got somewhat close to. The first person to talk with them too outside of Grim. They usually joke with him most of the time and since Crowley put Lycoris in First Year despite their age, so Lycoris is quite close to Ace. However they got apart with him when Lycoris got closer to Riddle but they're still close.

Deuce : Just like Ace, they're close mainly because they're in the same class, but Deuce is still amazed by Lycoris's ability to adapt in this new, foreign world. Lycoris helps Deuce with classes.

Trey : They're not that close, but they're on friendly terms. Trey was the one to tell Lycoris, Ace, Deuce and Grim about Riddle's mother. If at the time Lycoris was sceptical about the whole controlling things, they still took Trey seriously. They also somewhat chastised him gently after Riddle's overblot but understood that he himself had been traumatised by Riddle's mother.

Cater : Magicam friends. Cater is the one that introduced Lycoris to magicam and the one that helped them grow on the platform. He begs them to join the Pop Music Club but Lycoris has always declined, not wanting to involve themself too much as they know they'll have to leave everyone behind at some point. Lycoris reads Cater like an open book but doesn't say much. After this isn't their problem (it is. They love the guy like a very good friend and are already too attached to some people in this devilforsaken school)

Leona : They are on... Yea no it's not love between them. First of all, Lycoris got very close with the whole Diasomnia family so it doesn't really sit well with the First Diasomnia Hater. He also doesn't like how Lycoris seems to be able to read him like an open book. It goes both way but Lycoris nonetheless respects him and understands where he comes from. After all, they also have a sibling that takes the spotlight.

Ruggie : Lycoris quite likes him and is basically a grandma with him as they keep feeding him (read : leaving food he likes and that's edible in places Ruggie often visits) Otherwise they're on friendly term even if Ruggie, just like Leona, is quite sceptical of Lycoris ability to somehow know everything.

Jack : They started to get along well in Book 2, but Jack saw a problem in how Lycoris handled Book 3 as a whole. However, after Book 6 their relationship became friendly once again, and the two had a quick heart to heart before the beginning of the events of Book 7.

Azul : The Little Shit TM. Lycoris and him are on really friendly terms and Azul considers Lycoris to be a good friend- sorry, business partner. As I said in Jack's part, Lycoris acted quite differently in Book 3 than in the game. Mainly, they didn't see anything problematic in Azul's doing, repeating "They played, they lost now they pay. It was on their contract." again and again. They ended up siding with Adeuce and Jack to defeat Azul just because Grim kept screaming in their ears that he was tired of working for Azul. And they used pretty backhanded to tamper with Azul's plan. After that, Lycoris took, just like with Riddle, a parental role with Azul. They recognise themself in him after all. Lycoris calls Azul "sweetie pie" clearly out of spite and just to annoy him.

Jade : They get along well, but, just like Leona, Jade finds it somewhat unnerving that Lycoris seems to be able to read him like an open book. Lycoris calls him "cutes" once again out of spite and just to bother him. Jade got pretty interested in Lycoris when they showed how cunning they are and he likes to watch them closely to understand how deceitful and cunning they can be. Him and Floyd are called "my sweet chaos junkies".

Floyd : Calls Lycoris Moonjelly and jokingly Coelacanth after he learned that they were older than 99% of the student body. Lycoris calls him "babs" just to retaliate with the nicknames. The two are on very good terms, Lycoris understanding Floyd's mood swings and leaves him be most of the time or is a good help when he needs to blow off some steam by fighting (physically) with someone. Lycoris is very invested in Floyd's interest in Riddle. VERY invested. Him and Jade are called "my sweet chaos junkies".

Kalim : Team Baby boy. Team Sunshine and the second member of the Pop Music club that is begging Lycoris to join the club. While Kalim and Lycoris aren't often together but Lycoris always speaks of toxic positivity in backhanded ways when they're around Kalim. They also treat him like a younger sibling. Lycoris calls him "Sunshine" most of time, and Kalim treats them as a friend, but again, who isn't treated as a friend by Kalim ?

Jamil : Oh Jamil doesn't like Lycoris. And this goes both way. It takes two manipulators to hate each other. In front of everyone else they're on good terms but Jamil is very VERY wary of Lycoris since his Unique Magic is seemingly ineffective on Lycoris (it was effective but Lycoris managed to use their psychopomp abilities to get over it in the same way as Azul did in Book 4. Ever since Snake Whisperer is ineffective on Lycoris). During Book 6, the two managed to have a "heart to heart" (read : tried to out-manipulate the other).