#crush behavior

Kalim Al-Asim: Kalim’s another one who catches crushes relatively quickly. A side effect of being that interested and invested in people is it doesn’t really take a lot for him to start feeling like it’s quickly drifting beyond platonic. Not to underrate your relationship; you really do become quite special to him, rapidly shifting into someone he can’t really imagine his life without.

Kalim isn’t exactly shy (or subtle) with his feelings. He’s as openly affectionate with you as you’re comfortable with him being, free with the hugs, the compliments, you name it. You’re asked over to Scarabia dorm so often that he offers to set aside a guest room so you can stay the night in comfort. Any object that you express interest in has a way of turning up on your doorstep, along with a small pile of other gifts just because he saw it and thought of you. It’d be embarrassing if it weren’t just how Kalim is: he has a way of making this kind of generosity easy to accept. After a few months of this he finally works up the nerve to ask you out properly, and while he may get a little red in the face and struggle to hold still, there’s a surprising matureness behind his voice that you’re not used to.

Going out with Kalim is one of the easiest experiences one can undergo at NRC. However, in the event that things become anything more serious… there are other factors at play here, as much as he might sometimes like to ignore them. Kalim’s a prince, the eldest son of the Asim family and the heir to the throne. For as cheery and unbothered as he acts, he can’t be oblivious to the sheer number of people who want him dead, or to the way it has a tendency to hurt the people closest to him. Jamil is one thing, Jamil has been with him his whole life. You have a choice, though, and if he ever stops to think about it the idea that you might be caught in crossfire makes him want to cry.

The side effect of all of this is that, for as upfront and cheerfully as he’ll express his affection for and admiration of you, Kalim is surprisingly reticent to take it any further. It’s like some kind of acrobatics performance watching him praise you and coo over you and somehow flip completely over the L word. You ask Jamil if this is his way of saying he wants to keep things casual and all the man will do is roll his eyes and mutter something nondescript.

It may require some more direct confrontation, and more than a few tears on Kalim’s part, if you want to get that actual confession. Please understand, it’s not that he doesn’t want to let you in. Just that he’s so terrified of what could happen to you if he does.

Jamil Viper: Look how was he supposed to know he had a crush on you?? He’s busy!!

Jamil doesn’t come off as the oblivious type, and he’s not really. Spending your life as Kalim’s bodyguard/advisor involves developing a high degree of social awareness. The issue, though, is that that awareness is almost entirely keyed around Kalim, not himself. He’s so sensitive to the changes around him that he barely bothers to keep track of what’s going on for himself. 

That’s not to say there’s no sign of it. Jamil expresses his regard for someone by keeping an eye on them. Almost entirely on accident he commits your schedule to memory, helping you keep on top of your tasks while managing to work in some breaks for yourself. Your favorite foods have a way of turning up in his meal rotation (“think nothing of it, if you’re going to be over so often you should at least be able to enjoy your dinner”). He remembers the things that you tell him about, asks you about them; for once not out of courtesy, but because….well. He just likes hearing you talk about these things, he supposes. 

The highest sign of trust, though, is his time. Jamil treasures his alone time at night, and does his best to make sure he won’t have anything on his plate after 10 that will require him to speak to other people. Even Kalim knows there’s an upper limit to how much he can bother him after a certain time. So when he slips in sheepishly around midnight to ask if he has anything for headaches, and he sees the two of you studying on his bed with him looking as relaxed as he’s ever seen him…well what was he supposed to assume?

That’s the story of how Kalim refers to Jamil publicly as your boyfriend long before Jamil had the slightest idea he was on that track. He’s furious, of course, not the least of which because once it’s stated like that he feels mortified that he hadn’t even realized it. If he had….ok, well, he probably would have put some concerted effort into repressing it. Not like that’s an option now.

Kalim’s not going to leave him alone about this, for however much he might like to avoid it forever. In the end, though…Jamil wants to be selfish. At least this once, he wants something just for him. The confession is private. He asks you to take a walk with him, and though his behavior is more stiff and formal than the day you first met, it’s still so Jamil you can’t help but smile.

He doesn’t make life easy for himself. But then again, when are good things ever easy?

Pomefiore 🍎✨💖☠️

Vil Schoenheit: See you don’t understand, typically this goes the other way???

It’s not that Vil’s a complete stranger to romantic feelings. The ice queen facade may serve him well, but it can’t account for the sum total of his feelings throughout his whole life. He knows what it is to be drawn to someone, to want them in your life. But the uncertainty of whether or not you want him back is a new experience and not one he’s particularly enjoying.

You have to want him back, right? You’re not a fool, and he knows very well you’re not immune to his good looks. In terms of status you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone to rival him (other than he who WILL NOT be named). He’s clever, talented with magic, an effective leader, and a brilliant actor. In sum, the total package. How could you not want him? No…you definitely want him, right? Maybe you’ve got a better handle on your devotion than most of his dedicated followers but he knows deep down you must be enamored. Unless…there’s someone else? How could there be someone else when you have one of the premiere beauties of the world standing right by your side, tolerating you?

How dare you love someone else?!

Vil is desperate for control in every area of his life, and the fact that your feelings are something he can’t regimen into submission is more terrifying than he’d like to admit. Despite his distaste for looking needy he finds himself throwing everything he has at you. He’s insistently possessive with the time you give him, seeking you out if you’re even a minute late with that unsettlingly gorgeous sulk on his face. You find him slowly starting to take over certain portions of your life if you don’t give him a definitive no, your diet, your sleep schedule, your homework, everything (like he doesn’t have enough on his plate..). More than that, it’s like he grows more beautiful by the second. Vil always looks dazzling but now he’s hard to look at directly with how much he glows. And…he’s flirting. Honest to god flirting, in a sharp little needling way that’s halfway offensive and still somehow leaves you a flustered mess at the end. How the hell is he doing that-

The pattern is self destructive. Vil may dominate with his beauty, but in a genuine romantic context he subconsciously seeks someone who’s able to look beneath that. Compliments on his appearance and responses to his flirtation may soothe his ego but run the risk of sorting you into his small army of simps, with no chance at anything deeper because what kind of loser dates their fans?

If you want an end to the nonsense, it’s going to end up being on you to confront him directly. Vil may have no trouble expressing himself, but reflecting on something like this requires a level of vulnerability that makes him feel like a scared child. Put him on the spot, demand to know how he sees you, and don’t move until it’s expressed as something other than a taunt. It won’t be painless. Cornered, he’s going to try to hurt your feelings, try to direct the attention to the spots that are easier for him to manage the narrative.

But he’s in pain. And you can tell. And you’re going to help him whether he likes it or not.

In the end, it’s why he fell for you, and why he always will.

Rook Hunt: The polar opposite of his dearest housewarden, Rook is neither particularly ashamed of his own feelings or ashamed of expressing them.

Rook has always been enamored with beauty and power, in all its forms. Whether it’s the claws of a predator sinking into their prey, or the breeze over grasslands, or the simple warmth of a certain someone’s smile. Whether or not it’s something other people understand, he believes these things deserve praise and adoration, and he is more than delighted to be the one providing it.

Rook courting isn’t a particularly subtle affair. The first rule of any hunt is to understand your target’s habits. After a few days, weeks, maybe even months of dedicated observation, he compiles a small internal bank of information about you. Your likes, your habits, your aspirations. Once that information gathering is complete, the iron will be ripe for striking. 

The specifics will be perfectly, almost eerily curtailed to you. Presents if you have something you like to collect, all acquired with tireless effort. Music lover? He’ll serenade, and happily. Secretly hungry for compliments? You find yourself somehow included in the next Pomefiore shopping trip, during which Rook is more than generous with his help and praise.

He’s upfront with his intentions, frankly a little too strong with them. He finds you tres fascinant, de toute beaute,  a whole host of other things, and he’d be honored to be allowed the privilege of courting you. Even if you’re less than sure, he’s more than willing to wait until you’re sure he has everything to offer which he knows that you deserve.

Don’t mistake him, Rook doesn’t feel entitled to your feelings in the slightest. If you should reject him, it’s enough to behold something so beautiful and charming at a distance. He won’t ever pressure you or cross your boundaries. But hunting teaches patience before anything else. He’s happy to watch you shine from a distance, until such a time that you flee from him entirely, or turn of your own will to embrace him. Either way, what bliss, eh?

Epel Felmier: Epel is the first guy in the “squarely average” camp for how long it takes him to notice he has a crush on someone. Circumstances usually tend to conspire against him in terms of developing them. Epel is one of those people who needs to know someone really well before things move past platonic. Once things have set in, though, it’s usually pretty obvious, especially to him. His face gets all pink whenever you’re too close to him and he smiles like an idiot for hours if you praise him, especially if it’s for something other than his looks.

The thing with Epel is that, while no one would ever describe him as a pessimist, he’s a little bit self-defeatist. His first response to a new situation, especially since arriving at NRC is “I can’t”. It’s not so much that he thinks poorly of himself, just that he usually assumes that there’s somebody much better suited to the role, and that he risks ruining it if he steps into that role. 

It;s much the same here. Out of pure habit, he tells himself not to bother. Someone like you, someone as kind and hardworking and tough, is sure to have people who want them, and it’d just be embarrassing for both of you if he took a shot. He’s not Vil, or Rook, he’s not someone who can make this effortless or suave, and he’s not Jack, someone who can impress you with feats of strength and show you how he’d protect you. Worst case scenario is you’d think he was adorable for trying and he can’t imagine anything more mortifying.

Still, he doesn't pull away. Just because he’s not planning on taking it one step further doesn’t mean he has to avoid you entirely, right? It’d be rude and unkind. In many ways, he’s his usual self, just…a little warmer and a little more guarded all at once. The accent slips out more and he doesn’t try as hard to self-correct. He’s always been helpful when you asked, but now he asks you every day if there’s something he can do for you. Epel, consciously or not, wants to prove to you that he’s a provider, not just a pretty doll to look at. He wants to take care of you, and maybe, on occasion, have you take care of him right back.

Fortunately for you, Rook isn’t one to leave his adorable underclassmen suffering (whether they asked him for help or not). He’ll ambush you as many times as it takes with candlelit dinners and gondola rides for two until Epel finally gets too flustered to properly watch his words. He’s almost pouting when it finally spills out, frustrated and embarrassed and ready to be turned away.