easties wheel!!! fav. nero and shino have a lot in common, not necessarily in the way that nero originally thought (east etude nero projecting himself onto shino/brad onto heath and shino being like "heath wouldnt do that" you will always be famous), but in many other ways - both being from rough backgrounds, both being a lot less lawful than heath or faust, both being less-than-enthusiastic students, both being willing to lie or drop their morals when needed or if they think it'll help their lord/boss... as of ms2, i think they're able to have a level of honesty with each other that's really neat (and... nero being like "damn shino's really cool. i almost became his underling"). and i like that shino's positive opinion of nero is so straightfoward and based on nero's direct actions toward shino (+others), so nero's inherent like "i'm a bad person" is less effective because like, he HAS been kind to shino, he HAS given shino warm food and listened to him and many other things. shino also brings out nero's tsukkomi type comments/retorts which is fun. also i loved the uhhh nero's bday voice lines from i think 2022 where shino told nero to bend down and then ruffled his hair that was sooo cute. and i like when shino claims cooking is easy and nero gets offended. beefing with a child (no). i like all the different dynamics within east so much it's fun to talk about them!!

WHOA yes let me see!! i don't actually... read that much mhyk fic (tho there isn't a ton of eng mhyk fic to begin with) but here is an assortment:

• aorta (lenofau)
• some cc fics: faust & oz, bradnero, pararoid ozfi, faust + mithra 1, faust + mithra 2
• brnr by loverette
• brnr+michirike mission together
• modern au, riquet religious ocd
• lenofau immediately post-execution
• attachments (modern au (nerofau+) told thru email)
• every one of faye's fics, but especially crescere (easties visit faust's house) and riptide (pirate april fools au nerofau)
• nerofau wrestling+
• emil's nero and oz pancakes fic
• (nsfw) all of lyric's fics, but some favs: post-campeggio brnr, ip fanfic, and brnr relationship study

oooh okay let's see. going down just a list of the cast
google definition is "An unrealistic distrust of others or a feeling of being persecuted." i'm going to think slightly more generally for this, to also mention intense anxiety or obsession

oz: low paranoia (northie worldview); medium anxiety - in the sense that he's low anxiety in general (if he wants something to happen, he'll just make it happen. if he genuinely doesn't want something to happen, he won't do it.), but very high anxiety about arthur's wellbeing, so it balances out to medium
arthur: changing my initial answer after doing heath's section i think she has a lot of anxiety about her relationship to oz and a constant awareness of her position as royalty. i don't think it verges on paranoia, or at least if it does i can't think of an instance of it. she does have that central jealousy tho
cain: a constant buzz of anxiety/obsession that he isn't fully aware of - about losing his station, about letting harm come to arthur or others he cares about, about not being the most important person to the people he wants to be the most important to. his bizarre injury adds fuel to the fire here
riquet: paranoia may not be the right word, but high anxiety & obsession over doing the Right Thing and guiding people correctly. there are moments where i think it bleeds into paranoia (e.g. anni2)

snow: oough i'm not a twins scholar. but i think so? anxiety about losing white again, maybe paranoia about having to maintain the twins' legacy and power as the living twin. the twins take their role as powerful benefactors of the north seriously, as evidenced by what they're willing to do to maintain it/remove any threats, which i think could verge on paranoia
white: he's already dead, so idk. he has that persistent worry that he's not the same white due to being created by snow, but idk if that's a paranoia
mithra: seems too blunted/distanced from emotion to feel much paranoia, but there are moments where she gets paranoid - particularly around the flores siblings doing dangerous things as if they're personally trying to get rid of mithra's magic
owen: like, yes, and no. yes, in the sense that surviving in the north includes a certain amount of being on guard and assuming others have ill intentions, and he carries that worldview into situations where it's not accurate. but no in the sense that owen doesn't seem to harbor false beliefs about others
bradley: similar to owen where northern worldview includes some suspicion of others, but otherwise no

faust: absolutely. it's like in his basic character profile. i do think it's decreased a little since moving into the manor and finding security in his role as the eastern teacher and among his comrades, but i think starting from alec's betrayal up until roughly current point in canon, he harbors deep suspicion and mistrust toward everyone, especially humans. in the way that northies have some mistrust of others baked in, i think easties do as well, but faust's stems from a personal thing
shino: in the way that easties do, he is suspicious/mistrustful of others. in shino's case, it's also because of his upbringing, where he was treated poorly and without care. however, i don't think it bothers him very often; it's just part of how he sees the world
heath: absolutely. same eastie feeling where it's part eastern worldview and part personal experience. in heath's case, there's also her noble upbringing and having to be so aware of how her actions could reflect on her parents. so a LOT of anxiety. i think a lot of the paranoia type things surface around shino, worrying shino isn't loyal to her or that shino doesn't value her the way she wants. she tries to keep these parts controlled, but then they burst out subconsciously. it makes her bizarre injury more interesting, because it manifests a stronger ability to protect herself against things she sees as threats
nero: similar eastie thing of mistrust of others from being eastern and personal experience, AND northie thing of mistrust of others. in nero's case i imagine he spent a century checking over his shoulder in a panic, worried brad and his gang would be after him, and/or that someone in the city of rain would find out he's a wizard and expose him. and he's an anxious person in general, so i think it can verge into being unreasonable/irrational at times

shy: no paranoia or anxiety. some obsessiveness/possessiveness toward murr, but i think he's normal. like some mistrust of humans but in a normal way
murr: current murr, no. past murr, maybe - to the tune of mad genius, or to the tune of "some guy destroyed all my work so now i'm going to divide and hide my new labs and devise tons of traps and seals and disguises so no one can find them again"
chloe: some mistrust of others from his upbringing, and definitely a mistrust toward humans... and some obsessiveness around rustica, and like, being a nice person? i think if pushed/under high stress he could become more paranoid; it helps that he's around rustica and the other westies who keep him safe and encourage him more positively
rustica: no. he's literally just chilling

figaro: yyyyyyes? in the northie way, and in particular due to her history of repeated perceived abandonments. i think she's on constant alert for being abandoned again, which causes her to hold people at a distance or cut ties from her side quickly. and i think, with the aspect of paranoia that's a feeling of being persecuted, figaro struggles to see when she's hurt others because her own feelings are overwhelming and front of mind. tho idk if that counts toward paranoia or just, like, #figaro. oh also specific anxiety around raising mitile due to the prophecy
rutile: no. altho ms2 revealed he has some anxiety under the surface
leno: no paranoia, but a lot of anxiety and obsession around faust
mitile: yes - informed by past experience, but to an unrealistic degree. he has some anxiety/obsession around being "good" and not being like those bad northies, and around being powerful and useful, and around being connected to tiletta

(shoves the 2 fics i've written on the topic towards you) as a bit, but also because i think they articulate some of the things that interest me about brfa: shared keeping of scars (not wanting to forget the meaning of them/the experiences they represent and tie them to), the potential for brad trusting faust with his injuries (as opposed to nero, who will tend to brad's injuries but isn't a healer, and as opposed to figaro, who Is a healer but who brad Won't let touch his injuries), the common past of leading people and having natural charisma and leadership qualities that allow them to slip into leadership roles during any old mission, the common experience of being betrayed by their closest person... those are fun on a meta level. within the text, they both bring qualities to groups they're in that i really enjoy (brad as an instigator and agitator, ... faust as a stick in the mud LOL) and i like how they play off each other, with sort of the surfaces of their personalities clashing (brad thinking faust is boring and gloomy, faust thinking brad is irresponsible and not liking his stealing/morals) but the deeper parts working together in harmony (both being leaders who value working together with others, both valuing the growth of the kids and naturally sliding into supporting roles to help their kids shine when prudent). brfa brings a difference from their usual partners too... faust and nero where nero also has brad's bandit instincts but hides it behind jokes and cover-ups, whereas brad is proud and vocal about it, which allows faust to know exactly what he's working with; faust and leno where leno is rooted in the past in a similar way to brad but so much so that faust struggles with it, while brad incorporates flexibility to the situation (as seen in his r/s with nero); brad with nero, who'll change his principles to suit who he's talking to and the situation (at least verbally), vs faust who is rooted in strong values and beliefs, which i think brad would have fun picking apart (...idk if faust would enjoy this). i think they would be a cool power couple who have good banter. i enjoy a ship that's >:D and :/. probably have to push thru a while of relationship building fraught with misunderstandings because faust is eastern and brad is pushy and sometimes doesn't read people as well as he thinks. if they can trust each other a little, i think they'd be so epic. is this even coherent

i'll be real a lot of my pararoid thoughts are around nerofau and lenofau. (also i'm super due for a pararoid reread...) i Love nero being an assistroid because of how it meshes with the preexisting issues he has with sense of self and autonomy in canon, and i think it would be really fun to explore what it means for brad to be human and work alongside him and serve as his owner (...that happens in pararoid, right...). possession type stuff in relationship dynamics isn't my thing personally, but i could see someone who's more interested in that exploring that aspect. there are fics i like with pararoid brnr, and i've been meaning to draw pararoid nero at some point...

anon i want you to know you've deeply delighted me with this question. disclaimer that i'm not a tea expert + am not super aware of cultural tea uses/ceremonies! but i did work at a tea shop for a while + have enjoyed tea for many years.
faust: has a tea for everything. starts the day with hot green tea (matcha if he didn't sleep well, for a little extra caffeine). ends the day with an herbal tea suited to whatever the day involved; uses his herb knowledge (medicinal + curse-related herbs) for tea-making, and will make mental notes throughout the day like, "i felt a little congested today, i'd better add x herb to tonight's tea". takes his tea plain, no milk or sugar or anything; will still drink tea even if it's oversteeped or he forgot it and it got cold (though he's not immune to making faces about it).
faust and brad both love lapsang souchong; it smells like a bonfire, which calms faust and reminds him of his mana area, and it reminds brad of his bandit days, roasting meat over a fire and laughing and drinking with his men. this fits extra well considering apparently they have the same favorite alcohol
brad: doesn't really strike me as a tea type, but he's from the north, so i imagine hot beverages are favored... i think he'd opt for plain black tea in the mornings to help wake up, or black tea with fruity flavors
nero: similar to brad, black tea in the mornings, but i think he'd add a little milk and experiment with additions like cinnamon, citrus, etc... in afternoon/evening maybe he'll enjoy a more savory (?) tea like barley tea or genmaicha, except he brews it as he's cooking dinner and then forgets about it and it goes cold. tho i guess he can reheat it with magic. oh and he'll make hot tea with milk for the kids when they can't sleep
leno: he lived in the mountains of southern country and worked alongside figaro, so i imagine he developed a working knowledge of herbs native to the southern mountains. including whether sheep and dogs can eat them lol. he feels like more of a black coffee in the mornings guy to me, so i think he would enjoy a black tea or matcha in the mornings for the caffeine. he drinks it hot when he's in the mountains where it's colder, but he drinks it cold in the manor in central after going for his morning run

I LOVE THIS KIND OF QUESTION it evokes someone's nostalgia for tumblr posts like "what would the avengers order at starbucks". unsure if it's my personal nostalgia. maybe it is. i think it probably depends on the sort of au, as i imagine in a modern au as an autistic4autistic relationship they have Specific Favorite Restaurants that they frequent. that can probably happen in canon too. but they also are the couple that's like "where do you want to get food?" "i don't really mind, where do you want to get food?" "i asked you first, i don't mind either" "..." "......" "............." stalemate. i think faust buckles first because she always does, and here buckling first means she chooses a restaurant and leno is happy with it because they are. i don't imagine either of them are particularly picky about cuisine (sensory issues aside) and they're both pretty polite even so. but i also imagine they're both accustomed to cooking for themselves, so they might just fix dinners in... or go to nero for food... faust may not like to go out too much in central. but leno traveled a lot and probably (in fact, canonically) knows cool little spots in different countries, so maybe during missions she steals faust away for the evening for a date at some little diner in the south or something... tries to impress faust with her culinary knowledge and faust is just glad leno is being direct about what she wants to eat for once.

(mhyk 2.9 spoilers) HI i think i already said a lot of my thoughts when i was livetweeting but here are my 24 hours later thoughts
- so delighted to see innen having a proper conversation... cain grabbing owen's shoe and owen sitting on his suitcase are really good... cain offering them a path past the usual loop of their conversations and owen taking it... it made me happy to see owen like, opening up to the possibilities of what Could happen... the innenshitei growth... delightful
- really happy also to see owen taking interest in kizu and empathizing with him some... and theorizing about his memories...
- i also enjoy the personification of the spirits and the way owen describes their reactions to different wizards... i love that kind of worldbuilding shit and i think it's so cool that the northies specifically are so attuned to the spirits... i'd love more info like that when they travel to different areas. i should reread faust's location sub eps again i know they talk about spirits there
- i love arthur she's very good
- i said this to you already but i'm so so thrilled that somehow a miracle happened and we get to see oz interacting with kizuowe. like. oh my god
- i enjoyed that oz acknowledged owen as like a Formidable Opponent i feel like owen would have been happy to hear that
- wish we could have gotten shy specifically interacting with kizuowe. that's just for me tho
- also said this on twitter but if cain getting like 2 chapters of pov including extensive talk with his title pair that hints at changes in their relationship dynamic then i am fucking D*ing to see the other conductor pov chapters, if that happens, i dearly hope it happens.