not to be annoying but i do think a lot of people mischaracterize falin. shes got the most drastic canon v fanon thing going on. which i guess makes sense bc 1. we dont see much of her and 2. lot of the fan stuff are anime-onlies that have seen even less
but i think like a good 90% of the time i see falin-centric art or posts im like hrm hrm hrm thats all wrong no nope no-siree
she's just a cool chick that takes life as it comes, doesn't hold grudges even against a mother that apparently was trying to beat the magic outta her, finds her older brother the coolest person in the world, and has autism about observing life (and death, she loves the ghosts she has a connection to) and nature and taking care of things (including taking care of her brother, which is why she's even in the dungeons; she saw her scrawny mess of a brother and decided she had to fix that).
and i think my favorite part that people don't talk about is... she would have done the same for marcille or laios if it were one of them that was eaten. you could see it in her eyes:
it's what shuro misunderstands about her. it's easy to see her feminine, cute, good girl pieces and forget the rest of her. but she loves things to an ends-of-the-earth extent; the kind of caring that makes you a little insane. and that's how I think she and laios end up on the same page with their weirdness. they have different interests, but they are the same level of committed to those interests.
it's easy to love her, because she probably loves you just as much, if not more.
Azul Ashengrotto
đ CLOSER LOOK đ
->DOWNLOAD FROM PINNED POST<-
this panel from the world guide of falin being surrounded by other girls while laios is all alone kills me because. that's it. that's the key difference in their journeys.
as laios states himself, he left the village in order to create a home for him and falin elsewhere. a home that won't collapse due to others' hatred and fears like their old home did, a home where they are loved and accepted unconditionally. but as he soon found out, even before earning money, or having walls surrounding him and a roof above his head- what he so earnestly desired was to meet other people who will accept him for who he is as well. instead, he kept being tormented by those around him, shunned and sneered at. his loneliness quickly became all-consuming until he truly had nothing left except for the monsters in the pages of his book, but even that became a target of mockery and destroyed. that's why ever since the day he left the village, he never felt that he truly made the right choice. so he kept running away: unable to resist and unable to accpet.
and an ocean away from him there was his sister, who never managed to fully fit in herself. but unlike him, she met a person who became a home to her and learned what a true friendship was for the first time in her life. and laios clearly realizes that too when he finally sees falin and marcille together, he can tell his sister obtained the greatest treasure there is on her own- the exact thing he never managed to find anywhere himself, thus coming back empty-handed to the sister he left the village for.
but when you read this part of the manga, laios's focus is on falin's loneliness, not his own. he talks about how it hurts thinking about all those moments she had to spend alone because he wasn't there for her, so it almost sounds like he's the one who couldn't bear her suffering and therefore decided to not let her go again. but we do get a glimpse of their first meeting after that almost-decade long separation in the manga, and then we see more of that in the world guide and daydream hour- and it becomes abundantly clear that it was falin who was trying to protect and save him from this pit of loneliness and depression he was in.
so instead of just doing his best to atone for leaving her behind in the village and making sure she is never lonely again, it might also be that laios was desperately clinging to the one person in the world he felt that accepted and loved him unconditionally. those words he used to describe his motivation to stay by falin's side are the exact words she would've used as well; she couldn't bear leaving him behind in this state. in a sense, they were each other's shackles.
but then she did. she died for him and their friends, and ironically enough, it was by leaving him alone like this that he was finally able to stand on his own and put his full trust in others. to have the courage to reveal who he is and give others the opportunity to accept him after such a long time of hiding. it was a long journey, but his hiding finally came to an end when he faced the others after shedding his monster form. and i love that the person who was falin's "home" all those years away from laios, marcille, became just as meaningful to him during their time separated from falin- the first one to find him and show him that he isn't alone anymore. just as he did for her.
so at the end of the story when falin talks about all the places she would like to go, it's not just that she wants to pursue her own dreams- but that she actually feels free to do so and go anywhere she desires. and one of the main reasons for that is that her brother finally found new people he wants to be with; his own home.
This isnât commonly known but one of the rings of hell is actually being in a fandom wherein the popular bloggers have the worst opinions known to man that everyone else parrots
n
JUST A FRIENDSHIP GIFT (g/n reader x floyd leech) â you buy floyd a friendship gift. fortunately, he likes it! unfortunately, the gift could be misinterpreted for a love confession in the coral sea... where floyd leech was born.... uh oh! â fluff! tbh can be read as platonic or romantic â 2k words, mild cursing, not proofread, reader is called 'shrimpy', open ending :)
floyd leech is your friend.Â
or at least, you think he is. he clings to you like youâre his life support, always leaning on you like youâre his personal armrest. youâve grown accustomed to the loud call of âshrimpy!â whenever he sees you, always mentally preparing yourself for when he starts dragging you away to be part of whatever new hobby heâs picked up. youâre also no stranger to his bone-crushing hugs, the ones that lift you slightly off the ground and quite literally take your breath away. Â
you thought that eventually heâd get bored of your presence and find someone else to pick on. heâs pretty open about the fact that heâd drop azul if he got boring. but itâs been a while now, and he still wonât leave you alone. in fact, youâre pretty sure heâs gotten clingier, if thatâs even possible.Â
you used to try and run, but you quickly found out that you cannot escape from floyd leech. a terrifying concept, but, well, he doesnât seem to mean harm. most of the time, that is. Â
nonetheless, floyd leech is still your friend. ignoring his occasional sadistic nature, heâs nice enough. he cheers you up whenever youâre sad, even if his methods are a little unorthodox. heâll drag you away from classes, proclaiming that he can always go through the material with you later, and make you help him practice his basketball skills or recount the time he squeezed someone so hard their eyes were almost bulging out of their skull. and heâll back you up in an argument, glaring down the person slighting you and telling them off with only a few words. Â
(but heâll make fun of you all he wants. youâll excitedly tell him something new you learned and then heâll laugh at you for not knowing basic twisted wonderland history even though you are from a completely different dimension.)Â
youâre pretty sure you and floyd leech are friends. so, it was really no surprise when you did what any good friend does, and you gave him a gift that reminded you of him.Â
it was this cheap matching set of phone charms that you picked up while buying your groceries at samâs. his charm consisted of small, glimmering beads mimicking gold and ivory pearls leading to a shiny off-white seashell that dangled at the end of the charm. your charm was similar in design, but the gold beads were replaced with baby blue ones, and the beads led up to a seastar. Â
you thought it was cute. you thought floyd might find it cute. so why... why is he just staring at it?Â
âdo you, like, not like it?â you laugh nervously, watching as floyd, for the first time ever, remains completely and utterly still. you donât get it. did you offend him in some way with the charm? do eels not like phone charms? does he not like the seashell? does he not like the color gold???Â
suddenly, he breaks out into a fit of laughter. it does nothing to ease your anxiousness, or your confusion.Â
âoh, man. youâre so funny shrimpy!â he grins, revealing his horrifyingly sharp teeth, âyou have no idea what this means, right? man, i forget how dense you are sometimes!âÂ
okay. ouch. you take time and money out of your day to give him a gift and he calls you dense.Â
âwell, whatâs wrong with it?â you ask, offended, âdid i accidentally curse out your entire bloodline in eel language or something?âÂ
ânah,â he says brightly, picking up the charm to examine it closer. the beads gleam in the sunlight, making their pearl act look much more convincing. you still donât get it. Â
âlook at it shrimpy,â he continues, âitâs shiny, pretty, and itâs part of a matching set!... still donât get it? iâll spell it out for you, âkay? listen closely... it would check all the boxes... for a love confession in the coral sea!âÂ
oh.Â
oh.Â
âso iâm asking you out,â you say dumbly.Â
âso youâre asking me out!â he affirms happily, âawhh, youâre so cute shrimpy, asking me out in such a traditional way! i accept!âÂ
âwait-â you sputter out, âwait! itâs not a love confession- why did you say yes so easily?! itâs a friendship gift! because weâre friends! itâs not part of a courting ritual!âÂ
floyd laughs in your face again. you suddenly have the urge to either punch floyd leech or take away the phone charm and burn it. but you donât. thank the sevens for your great impulse control.Â
âitâs okay, shrimpy! no need to be embarrassed!â he teases between giggles, swinging the charm in front of your face, âcâmere! iâm gonna give you the biggest squeeze of your life!âÂ
âwait-âÂ
but floyd leech does not wait. he immediately tackles you with the force of a truck. you feel your feet lift off the floor as floyd hugs you so tight you feel your bones struggle to stay intact. Â
âow! owowow!â you squeak out, writhing hopelessly in his grasp. you try to form coherent words, but all you can make out are gasps of pain.Â
just as suddenly as he grabbed you, he drops you on the ground and makes a bolt for the door.Â
âwha- where are you going?!â you yell out. he grins at you from over his shoulder, swinging the door open and prancing through.Â
âwhat does it look like? iâm gonna show off to everyone!â he yells back, turning the corner. you hear his cackling gradually getting quieter as he runs off.Â
âwait- floyd! floyd!âÂ
you scramble to your feet, wincing at the ache in your ribs. you try to rush out the door after him, but itâs too late. floyd leech is gone with the wind.Â
sevens save you. your reputation is going to take a nosedive straight into the mud.Â
youâre so done for.Â
youâve been on edge the whole day.Â
youâve gotten wind that yes, floyd did attach the charm to his phone, and yes, he did flaunt it to everyone. and while he didnât outright say it was from you, he did say it was from âshrimpyâ and everyone put two and two together pretty quickly. of course, nobody thought anything of it at first, you gave him a charm, so what? while it is unusual giving a gift to someone like floyd, itâs not really a big deal in the end.Â
that is, until floyd had apparently offhandedly said that such a charm, shiny, beautiful, part of a matching set... would totally be considered a love confession in the coral sea.Â
and then everything went to hell.Â
every few minutes some student runs up to you and starts yelling at you, telling you that youâre insane for asking floyd out. and then you must correct them, telling them you meant it as a friendship gift. of course, nobody believes you. Â
to put it simply, itâs been a rough few hours.Â
âyou!â Â
you jolt, thoughts suddenly interrupted as you see ace sprinting towards you, and you have half a mind to start sprinting yourself back where you came from.Â
he skids to a stop in front of you, hands on his knees as he breathes in and out heavily.Â
âyou asked out floyd leech?!â he yells between heaves. you wince. Â
âno, i didnât,â you insist, crossing your arms, âit was a friendship gift. a friendship gift! great sevens, how many times do i have to say it?!âÂ
âthatâs not what floyd said.âÂ
âyouâd believe floyd over me?!âÂ
âlisten,â ace takes in a huge breath of air, straightening himself, âi didnât think it was possible, i mean floyd? getting a partner before me? no way. so i asked him who it was from, and he was like, âshrimpy gave it to me!â i didnât even register it at first, like, who the hell was shrimpy? but then i realized, great sevens, itâs you.âÂ
you groan in embarrassment. youâve gone through this scenario multiple times today, but itâs even more humiliating going through it with someone youâre close with. Â
âlook, it was a friendship gift,â you try explaining, âhow was i supposed to know it meant a love confession where he was from? i didnât even know what beanfest was!âÂ
âyeah, yeah,â ace waves off, âiâm surprised i even found you. thought youâd hole yourself up in your room or something.âÂ
âyou were looking for me?âÂ
âduh! bet some other people are too. i wouldnât put it past some of the octavinelle students to try and get the scoop,â ace sighs in exasperation, âsevens, i keep telling you to leave him alone and you just donât listen, do you?âÂ
âto be fair, heâs the one thatâs been following me.âÂ
âwell, why do you encourage him to keep following you?!âÂ
you donât really have an answer to that so you clamp your mouth shut. why do you keep encouraging him?Â
âyouâre such an idiot,â ace groans, âforget it. iâm leaving. i donât want to get caught up in whatever mess youâre dealing with.âÂ
âwerenât you the one looking for me first?âÂ
too late again. ace walks away, and you still want to curl up in a hole and die. Â
no! you canât think like this! youâre mentally stronger than this, youâve gotten past multiple overblots and lived and youâre not going to let one scandal ruin you! letâs see, your next class is...Â
oh. itâs the one with floyd.Â
so much for being mentally strong.
you walk into the classroom, and immediately all eyes turn towards you. you scan the free spaces, and...Â
...great sevens. the only free one is near floyd.Â
âshrimpy!â floyd says loudly, gaining the attention of the entire room. you see a scarabia student share knowing looks with the heartslabyul student next to him. great. floyd beckons you over, and you groan internally.Â
the sevens hate you. itâs the only logical explanation. you slowly slide into the seat next to him, and he quickly takes out his phone. the charm is attached, just as you had feared. Â
âi still have the charm you got me!â he exclaims, showing you that seven-forsaken charm. it glimmers in the sunlight. you really wish it didnât.Â
âyeah,â you respond back awkwardly, not sure where to look, âuhm. just by the way...âÂ
âhm?âÂ
â...you know it wasnât meant to be a love confession, right? it really is just a friendship gift.âÂ
âhuh?â he says, âyeah. i know.âÂ
...?Â
âwait,â you sputter out, âbut youâve been telling everyone-âÂ
âyeah! that you got me something totally snazzy!â his gaze shifts to the phone charm, and he plays with the seashell at the end, sporting a goofy grin. âitâs like, totally cool! iâm gonna treasure it for life!â Â
âno- why did you tell everyone it was a love confession?!âÂ
âwha?â he looks at you, clearly shocked. you gape at him. why is he the one whoâs shocked?! you should be the one whoâs more surprised! in fact, he should be groveling for your forgiveness right now!Â
 âi never said that,â he denies, pouting, âyou makinâ up lies about me, shrimpy?âÂ
âyou-â you bury your head in your hands, groaning, âdidnât you tell them it was a love confession?âÂ
âi didnât,â he insists, âall i said that it was funny how you didnât know this charm could be considered a love confession! never said it was one. not my fault people assume, shrimpy!âÂ
you can feel everyone staring at you and floyd. you look up and make eye contact with the heartslabyul student who you saw before, and he hurriedly looks away.Â
âdammit...â you whine, âthis is all your fault!âÂ
âhuh?!â floyd cries out, âhow is it mine?!âÂ
âsilence!â professor trein interrupts loudly. he mustâve come in while you were busy dealing with floyd. the classâs attention is diverted towards the front of the board, and you have never been gladder for professor treinâs presence.Â
you open your textbook, breathing out a much-needed sigh of relief. thank the sevens that youâll have a few moments of peace!Â
...that is, until floyd waves his phone in front of your face, the charm swinging back and forth. the nerve! heâs making fun of you! you shoot a glare at him, and he meets your gaze with a smirk.Â
âleech. phone away,â professor trein demands. Â
âawhh. okay.âÂ
note: in honor of me getting my second floyd leech ssr. was gunning for his basketball card but got his dorm uniform instead... ITS OK. ITS A FLOYD CARD ALL THE SAME. (i wanted ace) also the open ending isn't because of like some master writing idea it's actually just because i didn't know how to finish it.
Due to event restrictions, Groovy related lines are locked until the event has been cleared. I will update once these are unlocked. Login line has been captured.
Summon Line:Â Top-class maisons and a premier event... This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'll make sure to fully enjoy myself here in the Fairest City.
Groooovy!!: --LOCKED--
Home:Â A fine silhouette.
Home Idle 1:Â I'm elated to have been able to get my hands on some quality porcelain plates. It was a tad pricier than I would have liked, but this investment is a must for the Mostro Lounge.
Home Idle 2:Â I can't believe how easily he connected to the staff members at the high-end brand store... Ace-san's social skills are astounding.
Home Idle 3:Â Does it not seem as though Jamil-san is well-suited to be a manager to the stars? I'm sure he would be capable of attending to even the most freewheeling client.
Home Idle - Login:Â The Fairest City is a blend of long-standing traditions and recent trends. I'm sure there will be much for me to learn here.
Home Idle - Groovy:Â --LOCKED--
Home Tap 1:Â I believe that branding is equal to building a fan base. It is vital to always be recognized by someone at all possible times.
Home Tap 2: My mother transformed a small trattoria into a famous restaurant. I remember there were often times that we would get to try her newest crafted dishes for dinner.
Home Tap 3:Â Every cosmetic that Vil-san purchased were extremely expensive. I suppose an actor of his talents would need proper self-investment of that level.
Home Tap 4:Â I do also have an interest in show business. I cannot act nor direct, but I believe I could be of good use as a producer.
Home Tap 5:Â If we are to try some sweets, let's look at that shop over yonder. Not only do they look tasty, it seems they are made with quality ingredients.
Home Tap - Groovy:Â --LOCKED--
Requested by Anonymous.
okay but if you ever see a male creative who had a string of great work and then everything else he did was dogshit, go to the "personal life" part of his wikipedia and look at his relationships. you'll either find a major tragedy he didn't recover from (completely understandable) or, more likely, there was a woman in his life doing uncredited shit editing his stuff or contributing generally and she's not there anymore.
I told a friend about this phenomenon in literature and he called me weeks later like, I remembered what you said about women doing uncredited work when tim burton came up. he made a string of bangers then everything else just was nowhere near as good. the timeline matches perfectly to when he was with this german visual artist (lena gieseke). he's done some good work in collaboration, but if things were dug into I suspect we would find she did a lot more than people realise.
so yeah whenever you look around like wow women didn't work in history, or, women aren't auteurs, or, there just aren't as many great female writers - societal reasons for that aside, half the time they absolutely did.
Malleus, Vil, Floyd, Jamil and Rook, please! Are waiting outside the building for (their crush) MC so they can walk together. They hear a BOOM and "AHHHHHHHHH" and suddenly they catch MC, who was sent flying out the 2nd story window by a misdirected spell blast. In thanks for catching her, she gives them a sincere and sweet kiss on the cheek? Thank you!!!!!!
Floyd Leech:Â
You are incredibly thankful you caught Floyd on a good day, as splatting on the ground would be preferable to landing on an already irritated eel. He tilted his head as he stared at the window you flew out of, asking with a pout why you were having fun without him. Once his questioning is over (he wanted to recreate the experiment gone wrong with his VERY lucky lab partner next period), he asked what his prize was for catching you. You ignore the devious pointed grin to give him a kiss on his cheek, a real mistake as he squeezed you extra tight until he felt he was properly compensated in kisses.
Jamil Viper:Â
Jamil thinks, at first, that he shouldâve let you fall on your ass but his âdonât let the rich idiot dieâ training kicked in automatically. He stared at you with a raised eyebrow, his disappointed mother look getting you to confess immediately to what had gone wrong. When you thank him heâs suddenly flustered, telling you not to bring him into your shenanigans unnecessarily as a real âthanksâ. When you offered up a kiss on the cheek Jamil found himself thrown off balance again, doing his best to glare and cursing himself for only ever finding trouble.
Malleus Draconia:Â
Malleus caught you with total ease, looking at you in his arms with an amused smirk on his face. He asked if you were alright, giving you a once over before carefully setting you back on the ground (you donât think youâve ever been that high up). Before youâre down though you find yourself wrapped around his neck, your lips pressed hastily against his cheek. Your boldness had always amused him and this was no different, Malleus asking if he could get another if he continued to hold you.
Rook Hunt:Â
Rook thought he mightâve smelled trouble in the air then, lo-and-behold â a beautiful specimen was offered from the heavens above, falling directly into his strong arms within the blink of an eye. He is painfully curious on how you managed to get in a situation like that, having to compliment your ability to stay stunning even while wildly flying through the air in a panic. He insisted you invite him next time, even the sweet kiss on the cheek you give not enough as he refused to put you down until you agreed to bring him on your next adventure.
Vil Schoenheit:Â
You canât help but note that, despite his slim, sleek physique, Vil is actually quite strong. He doesnât have any trouble holding you in his arms, sighing and asking what caused such a scene. He takes it in stride but you can see he wants to give a thorough lecture (and perhaps a much less elegant ass-kicking) to the person who almost caused you harm. Now, if you were the culprit behind your own almost demise youâd be on the receiving side of his withering glare, no kisses able to save you from the scolding he delivered.