A Quiet Feeling

We talkin' canon?

This man entered Erik's life first in a DREAM! A dream that came to him on his birthday.

He didn't think too TOO much of it because he's had dreams where he wasn't quite himself before, so this didn't feel too crazy.

But eventually, having seen this man in his dream, when he gains access to Level 5 spells, he uses this mental image to Scry on Goro for the first time. From that point forward, Erik sets aside a bit of his better judgement and continues to Scry on Goro pretty regularly--

THOUGH eventually, it comes to some good and the Scry leads to the party picking Goro up from a situation that would have proven to be life threatening!

From that point forward, Erik and Goro slowly get to know one another better as Goro remains attached to the party.

One BIG note being that he has been cursed with magic that wipes his memory after every business week (every 5 days). Having woken up suddenly in the middle of nowhere naught but seven years ago with no recollection of who or where he was, Erik empathized deeply with Goro and since has been dedicated to finding a way to fix this ailment, and even moreso when he finds out their circumstances may be linked.

Then commences a very bumpy rollercoaster that is Erik trying to keep up with the storm of a person that Goro is~

Now, let's talk DYNAMICS. Both in Canon and in AU.

You're probably thinking Erik? Himbo! Goro? HIMBO! Himbo on himbo action. Sort of?

But Goro is not as airheaded as he might seem, it's just that he's just sort of overwhelmed all the time, having to learn a lot of things from basically 0 so often. He's actually quite attentive and quite insightful, just really impulsive and reckless!

Erik, on the other hand, not the sharpest, but he's got a lot to offer in terms of intuition and being scrappy! His instincts are pretty en pointe but he's going to say some stupid sounding stuff.

Think of them more like this:

A man (Erik) who has lived his whole life with no direction or personal ambition and another person (Goro) who gives him the motivation to be more curious about his (Erik's) past, present and future.

There are times when Erik, who has always felt lost in his own shoes, feels like he can be helpful and teach someone who is genuinely interested in learning from him and that is really fulfilling to Erik. Someone he can dote on a little bit and welcomes it and that's really satisfying.

When Goro smiles and looks like he's having fun and comfortable, Erik's heart and stomach melts and he feels at ease. Erik obviously cares very dearly for his team mates at the moment, they've really helped him with a lot of his stuff, but there's something about Goro that hits different, you know?

In Modern AU, it's a bit different because I picture their relationship a bit different since there's no magic curse that wipes Goro's memory every 5 days. I've employed the estranged childhood friend returns trope on their relationship.

Erik is an older university student that lives just off campus in a two room apartment that he used to share with a classmate before he moved in with his older sister. Needing a roommate to keep afloat on rent, Erik puts out for applications and impulsively accepts the first one he saw that suited his needs and suddenly his new roommate is moving in?

Erik, a bit confused and overwhelmed by the unknowns of his decision, opens the door to his apartment to find a handsome person who claims to be his new roommate. I wrote about this to friends before:

Erik helping Jude move his stuff out and get over to Wyn's apartment since they agree to live together for a portion of the school year while Wyn readjusts to being back in school (I kind of headcanon that she took some time off but comes back when things get back on track with her). The conversation is really chill, like, J: "Hey man, I'm sorry I asked to move out so suddenly, I know things are really busy on your side--" E: "It's all good, Jude! Don't worry about me one bit. If it makes you feel any better, someone's already applied! I think I'm going to just let them move in--" J: "You should-- really interview people you're thinking about living with--" E: "It'll be just fine! I'm trusting my gut on this one, and my gut says it's a good applicant!" J: ….

Fast forward to Goro driving all his stuff over to the dorm / apartment really early in the morning, waiting at the front of the building after Erik tells him that he'd be down to help him move his stuff in bright and early. No sign of the Erik.

Goro was given a key to the building and apartment preemptively and fiddles with his keys at the unit door, pushes the door open and it opens about halfway before it hits something. Cue Erik dead asleep, sitting on the floor after having just taken his shoes off the night prior, after what was probably a full day of both classes and errands around the entire campus.

Goro: 😐😬😰"Hey… Man, are you alright?" Pulls at his shoulder and tries to gently shake him awake.

Erik, stirs pretty quickly and kind of wakes abruptly; he gets up half squinting and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes; "O-Oh crap, I'm so sorry-- You're the new guy, right? I'm so sorry- I said I'd help you move in--" Finally opens his eyes and their stupidly saturated, complementary coloured eyes meet. Goro and Erik in unison, like -- "Have we met before?"

My brain is so filled with them--- So so sorry to anyone who has to see this HAHAHA~