inter eris relationships + love

for general relationships check thoughts on others
platonic + romantic love and also general relationship stuff

found family plus extra

arcael, lucis, and sfina all respect syriense a lot
syriense, although TRYING not to get close to people, feels partially responsible for the wellbeing of all of ERiS due to his job as the sole healer in their entire branch

syriense + albrose

syriense loves albrose the most out of everything in his life - he doesn't resent her for taking up his entire life at all, but rather feels extremely indebted to her

• but is it really love? maybe more of a sense of responsibility more than true love... (it is love he just has caregiver burnout)
  they both feel a deep sense of obligation to each other, to an unhealthy point where they sacrifice themselves for each other
• syriense feels REALLY guilty towards albrose and has dedicated his life to making it good again at the cost of himself (which he doesn't care about because from his pov everything is his fault)
• albrose sees that syriense is extremely burnt out and tired and depressed but still taking care of her and ALSO feels guilty - doesn't know why syriense is so sad all the time but assumes its because of the pressure taking care of her puts on his life - overexerts herself to try to make their situation better by only "going down the best routes"
  albrose developed her sense of distance from other people/business-like strategic relationships from syriense
  also his raising her (and subsequently her guilt) is why she wants desparately to be needed, useful, helpful, etc.

syriense + sfina:

class differences
tired guy with a lot of responsibilities + someone who is extremely eager to please -->syriense pleasantly surprised by sfina's helpfulness and oftentimes feels undeserving of her (despite outward snippiness)
sfina tries VERY hard to be liked by syriense - if i befriend the most prickly, grumpy guy here, then surely i'm someone who everyone will like!

• will offer to take on a lot of his work and responsibilities, syriense feels guilty for pawning them off but grateful to sfina for taking them

though sfina really REALLY wants his close friendship, she snaps at syriense one time because she takes his pushing other people away + emotional stonewall thing super personally

• however, he doesn't immediately reject her because he also understands the negative emotions she has towards others (alongside his own self-criticism) and doesn't immediately move to dump her as a friend or anything
  • shifts her ideas of friendship
  • also makes him realize that he does care about the people around him..! he likes being close to people, and pushing them away is actually hurting them more than anything he would hypothetically do
• like i'm sorry no I'M sorry etcetc
• clash between valid crashout at syriense's "pushing-everyone-away" behaviour driven by sfina's sensitivity towards how people treat her and syriense being mega self-deprecating
  • would probably only be resolved if root matter (syriense's parents and his guilt) is addressed to clarify that it's not on sfina but also not syriense's fault (well it IS his fault but only in this specific scenario not like the rest of everything)

syriense wishes sfina was a bit more grateful for her stable upbringing, sfina would help syriense if she could (he only lets her help albrose with things because he just keeps on punishing himself!!)

syriense + arcael

syriense is never let down by arcael, arcael works hard to please syriense because he's like another figure in his life that he needs to "make proud"
but syriense actually finds value in the things that arcael doesn't, due to syriense also aiming for a "traditional life pipeline" and falling through, he recognizes arcael's struggles and appreciates him nonetheless - makes arcael not feel like he's worthless if he doesn't follow certain things anymore

• syriense had to have a unconventional life but hes the kind of person that really values structure - even if he didnt have parents or a house, he was like yeah i need to get an education and go to school and get a degree and get a job and thats how im going to get out of this mess and provide for my sister
• but also since syriense has more experience seeing people's lives like on the streets that didn't follow this structure he's become more flexible

syriense and arcael both also share the trait of being emotionally disconnected from others; whereas sfina and arcael both throw up an image for others to perceive them better, syriense and arcael both avoid getting extremely close to people (for different reasons, though.)

• means they don't get very close for a while - they do get closer though!! through midnight work sessions and introspective talks :]
• syriense warms up to arcael because he's reliable and will give up some of his responsibilities that he usually would've taken on alone
  • arcaels very happy that syriense trusts him :DDD yahooey!
• no really distinct point where they become suddenly close (like sfina and arcael) - just over time because they talk a lot

syriense + lucis

syriense is often exasperated with lucis because lucis is so dramatic and over the top like theyre opposites in personality
lucis (and all of eris) is fairly reliable when given a task though which syriense appreciates
lucis admires syriense and albrose's strong bond - wishes he had his siblings and were close to them like that

actually has parallels..?
both are easily disappointed by others

• lucis has high high standards of work for people around him
• syriense is used to people not doing what they say they'll do, leading to him just choosing to take responsibility of things
  though lucis can't see any super defining traits of syriense abilitywise, he can recognize that syriense chooses to do most work independently (responsibility) and is like ahhh me also we're so twin!!!!!! i Like You.

both have antagonistic view of themselves

• lucis is for love of the game, mostly - a way of escapism, really
• syriense genuinely thinks it, though
  lucis recognizes that this is like a really weird frame of mind so when syriense says it he's like no.. not in THAT way... you gotta be a villain in a baddie diva way!! not a sad wretch way
  

syriense's emotional coldness actually thaws with lucis first because lucis just freaking does whatever and syriense is like >:/. stop that. stop that STOP THATTT

• treats lucis similarly to a younger sibling as well - feels responsible for him also, similarly to albrose
  • like found sibling dynamic
• syriense pushes people away because vulnerability is difficult + self-torment + busy - lucis breaks through because he just keeps GOING AT IT

one time, lucis finds syriense in a moment of mad vulnerability (insane crashout era) and consoles him
lucis talks about his feelings hella - syriense does NOT

shared theme of family

albrose + lucis

also family theme; they're the two people in ERiS that would genuinely lay their lives down for the other without a single moment of hesitation (lucis loyalty thing + albrose valuing those close to her)
when albrose has to do difficult things (sometimes things that may harm her) because she BELIEVES it may be better for eris, lucis is the only one that goes like yeah. i understand completely

• both very fixated on protecting eris
  albrose and lucis spar tgt and lucis pushes albrose a lot (reflecting his training minus the evil and ominous abuse) - she doesn't mind it though bc its in the name of growing strong and skillful to protect her loved ones

image theme as well - the two people that most predominantly don't care if they're seen as "socially acceptable", but still have other images they want to give off
also sense of superiority over others, disconnect from others due to difficult upbringing
lucis - looking down on others for not being on his skill level/trying as hard as him
albrose - looking down on others for not helping others, also those less fortunate than her subconsciously as those are the people she "saves"

also the non-paperwork people; they stay at home tgt while rest of eris meets at hq every so often - sometimes they train, but more often they go out to the zoo or something

• lucis SUCKS at interacting with kids/children and albrose sucks at interacting in general but it's not THAT awkward because they both
• sometimes they hit a mythical conversation though where they brainlink
  • they have REALLY weird in-jokes that genuinely nobody else understands

lucis + sfina

partners in crime and bffs forever
lucis fixates on his sniping to such a degree that sfina is like.. flabbergasted like he needs to lock tf out
lucis and sfina both want to be really good at a specific thing - it's just that lucis is maintaining the status and sfina hasn't even reached it yet (sfina resents lucis for this, a little, while lucis kind of looks down on her for it in a subconscious sorta way)
they both need to stop fixating on their skills
sfina (and the rest of ERiS) teaches lucis that he's more than just a weapon, he's their friend and trusted ally - through this, sfina also realizes that she's more than just her skills as well

sfina likes messing w lucis (and vice versa) because lucis is VERY VERY honest with his feelings so sfina feels like she just goof off with him and have fun - she can be honest and true to herself with him + tell him when she's feeling iffy about something he's done bc he values direct and open communication a lot like he does NOT mince words
shared theme of being first, loyalty

• probably the first person that sfina opened up to, as she was p intimidated (internally) by arcael and syriense when first meeting
  • well she was ALSO intimidated by lucis but due to his weirdo behaviour felt more free to joke around with him initially

arcael + sfina

both very very focused on image - different ways, though: arcael of perfection, sfina as social/likeable
they were both pretty cagey with each other when they first met, and threw up their images HARD
(honestly, sfina kind of resented arcael at first for being more perfect and cool etcetc. she really wanted to be the ideal person that arcael was always fronting as)

sfina finds out about his writing thing and arcaels like.. man..gulp... and is all awkward about it and sweatin bullets
sfinas like lol why do you hide this and arcael in a moment of vulnerability talks about like.. i guess it wouldnt be conducive to my Public Image and external pressure + expectations yadda yadda being a writer is like a dogwater profession and i wouldve probably been disowned or something
sfinas like ,, huh,,, i guess i do that too kind of <:^ and explains her end of it and thens like how silly of us that we do this! and they have a good jolly time spilling their personal thoughts
i mean they CONTINUE to do it but now they both have smn that knows about it, at least
sfinas like woah you can be awkward???? you have Anxiety Feelings????? You ??!! woah me too we have so much in common

they have a deep introspection talk about bein hella fake all the time and sfinas like oh shoot thats crazy youre lowk me fr and arcaels like yeah i guess hahahaha and then theyre basically attached at the hip after

now sfina's the only one that knows about arcael's writing thing and encourages it, and sfina openly talks about her feelings about other people with arcael because he gives really good advice

they try a lot of new things tgt - often on days or nights where they're free, they'll go to some community pottery class or try out a cafe or just do something new together

arcael + lucis

knew each other for multiple months before formation of ERiS
does arcael truly love lucis?

• trope of x fell first, y fell harder (arcael fell first, lucis fell harder)
• however, trope didn't play out like that - arcael wasn't truly romantically attracted to lucis initially, only drawn to his drive + spirit and wanted to be close to him/find out more about him/absorb it through osmosis....???? lol
  • also to fulfill Life Plan Point number 3 get a romantic partner and who else better suited for the role than freako chuuni turtleneck twink boy!?!?
    • arcael liking/dating lucis was kind of a mild rebellion against his Life Plan (despite being within the confines of it) because lucis is someone who's not. traditionally smiled upon on in society so its a little bit of a way for arcael to go like i have free will! i think!
• lucis rejected arcael at first bc he never had a romantic relationship and was unsure if he was feeling romantic attraction
  • figured out later down the line that yes he does actually want to date arcael maybe i think
    • like life partner i also?? kiss????? hm.....
  • they started dating, nothing much changed but due to deeper level of intimacy that comes w romantic relationship, had transparency problems
• arcael ended up genuinely falling for lucis so really it was lucis fell first, arcael fell harder lmfao
• lucis like arcael because he highly values people he can trust - people who are loyal to him as he is loyal to them
  • plays up the henchman/villain dynamic with arcael

at first, arcael would do pretty romantic gestures, but then lucis's very genuine acts of love lowk flabbergasted him

lucis's drive and wild ambition are an extreme contrast to arcael's future thoughts - arcael is both blown away by the,, concept of him and jealous of him
arcael both resents and admires lucis because he oversimplies his character into the antithesis of himself, basically - less socially accepted but free to be ambitious and follow dreams
he likes watching lucis be so free-willed but also kind of hates it because its a reminder of how he cant live freely bc of the expectations/image hes curated for himself
its hate and idolization and resentment and also a very very small sense of protection bc again he sees lucis as proof that he can live out his dreams (though hes also mad that lucis is doing so)
freaking weirdo.

arcael represents a normal "ideal" that lucis cannot ever reach because he thinks his life has just gone. so awry
"i used to think i was bad before i met you. now i think i'm worse."

arcael teaches lucis that he's more than just what happened in the past, lucis inspires arcael to dream big and chase his passions

• arcael tells lucis about his writing thing eventually with sfina's support - lucis thinks its nice and is like glad you could tell me that because i like knowing more about you :} an i always got your back!!

"being partness means happily covering each others's weaknesses. just like with studying, it's normal not to know things at first. whether it's housework or travelling, you can always ask, and i'll teach you. it if's something neither of us knows, we'll get through it together. besides, it's the first time for both of us, long-term dating and living together, right?"
"no need to stress! let's support each other and do our best!" (from one room ta)

I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'Cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you

Look at you go
I just adore you
I wish that I knew
What makes you think I'm so special
(from Love Like You)

arcael + albrose

both very fixated on planning future - choosing the right option
arcael: choosing the right life for himself - he thinks he chose wrong and regrets it, kind of
albrose: currently really hyperfocused on making sure eris (esp. syriense) lives the best lives they can using her vessel ability

arcael sees albrose's planning things during missions or wtv and is like damn tf i did this, kind of, when i was younger

• encourages her to loosen up a bit
  but also they plan for different things - while arcael planned big long-term, albrose plans very short-term
  albrose doesn't have a clear grasp on what her future should look like, and arcael sees himself in her and helps her navigate future a bit
  arcael projects heavy on her when talking about this

arc: so, what do you see yourself doing in the future..? school's ending soon.
alb: iunno
arc: fair enough - do you have anything in mind at all?
alb: ,, no
arc: Ah

albrose is like a way for arcael to deal with his problems by seeing it in others - arcael also gives valuable insight for albrose, makes her feel more grounded and less ,, all up in the air

shared theme: regret (or the prevention of it!)

albrose + sfina

sfina's an only child, so she often wondered what it'd be like to have a younger sibling
realized through albrose!!
totally spoils albrose

social situations: albrose does NOT know how to navigate social situations and sfinas like ohhh man okay im going to help you not be bullied forever (like me! hahahaha ahhaa)

• albrose is genuinely That Weird Kid and sfina sees a bit of herself in her
  • im realizing just now that everyone is projecting onto albrose thats crazy they should do something about that
  • anyways sfina becomes a bit more okay with being eccentric and more Herself rather than catering to other people and albrose learns how to interact with people normally... and also empathize!

class: albrose kind of has a pretty negative view on like All Rich People and sfina came from a family of rich people so initially albrose is like.. hm.....

• albrose views HALCYON as a way to duke out justice to the well off etcetc though so since sfina is also in HALCYON albrose doesn't hate her also
• sfina treats albrose a lot and initially albrose is like I Don't Need This Stuff but also being a kid shes a bit oh.. this is really nice actually..
  • becomes slightly more.. selfish due to sfina (but not in a super negative way just in a Normal way where she cares for herself also)

both very focused on not letting others down/disappointing others/serving others at their expense
sfina wants to be liked, albrose wants to be relied on - will both do a lot of acts of service

• both scared of being pushed away, but sfina also has evil and ominous resentment whereas albrose does not