#ovulation hypothosising

Actually, great question! Well, for me it's a pretty interesting question at least.

And while I have y'all waiting for the next thing, I could get slightly into it…

Without doing too much research, I'm going strictly on how Daemos could differ from humans (besides the stated ones) and how that could help answer the question.

Demons (broadly) are usually described as having heightened ESP and supernatural-adjacent abilities like sensing spirits and stuff like that.

That, paired with my own HC’s that Daemos (as a whole) are more animalistic than humans, kind of plays into the idea that their sensory experiences as a whole are more sensitive.

Taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing are significantly heightened compared to a human counterpart. After all, in their dog-eat-dog world, how can you survive if you can't point out the difference between a tree branch snapping because of someone hunting you and a clumsy animal?

That being said, it isn't as innate as most others would imagine. I believe it's a skill of sorts that you have to train and maintain. Like any other survival skill or muscle.

But also like any other skill, some people are more naturally inclined to it.

In short, it's a biological function in Daemos that can be enhanced with training/discipline. How potent it is initially can be affected by other factors, such as magical prowess or simply one's disposition to senses.

…

All of that to say…I have a ranking on how "in tune" each of the main guys is with that kind of stuff.

Pierce and Leif are two sides of the same coin. While Pierce's abilities were honed in knights' training, Leif is far more self-taught and/or instinctual.

In Pierce case, it's much more of a general alert system that senses when things are "out of the ordinary." Think of a guard dog as opposed to a medical alert dog. They don't know what exactly is off, but they know that something is. (I'm sure in the royal forces there are designated people for that, but since Pierce was just a "knight," it isn't specified—Also, that's a whole different topic of conversation—)

I'd like to imagine, though, that without the training, he's essentially "blind in that aspect." For fun, for the sillies. Because I need to nerf that gentle giant. But mostly to explain the raw instinct vs. the built-up skill of it all.

Anyway, in terms of the hormones and ovulation stuff, it's the same. He can absolutely notice it and is pretty observant to the smallest changes, but because of his generalized training and lack of personal experience, he wouldn't be able to identify the exact cause of your "ailment."

And he wouldn't be subtle either. He'd point-blank say, "You smell weird. Are you dying?" And leave you utterly confused.

Okay, well, yes, he’d be blunt…but also really genuine with it. In his own little way.

For Leif, it's raw talent morphed into a predatory skill. As he was left to fend for himself in his younger years, I'd imagine there had to be some baseline of skill to keep him alive while he trained it up.

In contrast to Pierce, Leif is more thorough with his process, especially if he has to identify something during a mission. He can't really afford the "act now, think later" mentality when it comes to hits for money, so instead of jumping into action, he has to specifically identify what he's sensing and then work off of that.

And I know, he's generally very trigger-happy and "kill-happy"…but I'd like to believe that being as you are and being as you work are two separate things.

But back to the important part, coupled with his myriad of "implied" experience, I would imagine that not only could he sense the changes, but he would also know exactly what they are (or a daemos equivalent)

And that would make him insufferable.

Like that one guy from JJBA.

"If my nose is correct, one of you beauties is on your period." headass.

That’s to say, he’d be so overtly obvious with something that hasn’t even come yet, you’re questioning his sanity. He probably thinks he’s being smooth and flattering…but it’s creepy as fuck.

What kind of pussy does that kind of game get you on Daemos? Cause I want NO part in it.

Now, where my rankings take a turn is this next pick—

Noi. It's Noi.

Why? Because I think it's funny.

Well, there's actual thinking behind that decision. Since he's seen to be pretty skiddish and easily scared, I imagine his senses are pretty heightened. Though it's more raw instinct than trained and honed like the other two. Considering that (with what we've seen), he wouldn't know what to do with those abilities. Well, other than freak out…

But that's kind of disingenuous. I'm imagining him like a medical alert dog…without the proper training. He can do the job, do it well, but if you ask him what he did or how he did it, he wouldn't be able to tell you…and probably freak out when he tried to recreate it.

Because I think a big part of his relationship with the senses is that he purposefully ignores them because they're so "strong" (or considerably strong for the average Daemos), I can imagine for a guy like Noi, it's a bit overstimulating to be constantly bombarded with strong noises and smells and sounds and whatever. So instead of training it, he just suffers through it? And only reaps the benefits when it comes to his (alleged) healing magic.

He HAS to be good at something, guys. Why would they keep him otherwise? Pity? Daemos don't do pity.

As for how this applies to the ovulation conversation…well…muahahaha… He probably is acutely aware of any changes, even before you do, and he has to sit with it because it's probably unlike anything he's ever experienced. He'd either avoid you like the plague or think you're dying, no in between.

Imagine having a sobbing Noi at your feet, pre-mourning you because he can’t heal you (because nothing is wrong with you).

#needdat

WHO SAID THAT—

Rhys is the second to last on my list. For many reasons, but the lamest and main one being his canonical bad eyesight.

Hear me out, okay!

I get the trope of "one sense being dulled makes the rest heighten," but I don't buy it. Mostly because before he figured it out, Rhys was working with the idea that he wasn't basically legally blind. He just assumed that the world was blurry and that that was "normal." So it wouldn't make sense for him to immediately be like "oh! Well, now everything else has to be better to compensate!"

Essentially, because one of his senses is muffled, the rest kind of lowers to match it? That's probably not how it works, but who cares?

Along with it, his whole scholar thing doesn't do him any favors. Like I've mentioned, the whole sense system is essentially a muscle of sorts. And when you don't use a muscle, it weakens, if not atrophies. In his field of studies and magic, there's no real use for more survival-based instincts, so that also makes it "dull".

Now, you might be saying "Hunnithan! He's still Asch's guard! He has to be keen!" Sure, he's keen in the strategic sense, but I know good and well that man is a follower and not a vanguard (leave that to the two crazies at the top of this list).

So what? I've basically nerfed him, and he sucks?

…No, actually.

I think…it'd be more realistic to say that his specific instincts are designated to things he cares about. Especially the subjects that he's infatuated with at the moment. So, for instance, for magic capabilities, he'd be able to sense someone's possession of magic, their ability to conjure it, etc.

…Which unsuccessfully then links us back to the question. If then, his current obsession is humans and the human body…would he have a high chance of sensing when things change? Yes absolutely. That's not even a question.

What he does with that, however, is probably more lame. He’d study it, of course! Like a real scholar.

Curiosity has rung him, and he won’t stop bothering you for answers until you tell him to stop.

And last but very least (I hate you, Asch) is…well, Asch.

At first, I was just gonna say this because I thought it was funny and I like to make him suffer…but there are real reasons, trust me.

As a royal, I'm going with the idea that he's not used to having to "fend" for himself. Considering his status, he is most likely always surrounded by some kind of guard. Which would make his own need for the survival skills kind of unnecessary.

It really is another use it or lose it case like Rhys…

But unlike Rhys, Asch was already "blessed" with a lack of inherent instinct.

If I had to place him, he'd be below the average Daemos.

And Asch being Asch…that fact would probably drive him insane. Considering he's literal royalty, he thinks that that kind of thing is something he's entitled to…and not something he should have to work towards.

Unlike, let's say, fighting, building up your senses is not a fun and stimulating activity. It requires hours and hours of boring, repetitive exercises that don't have any visual progress. For someone like Asch, that would be actual hell.

So instead of actually trying and improving like he's supposed to…he just doesn't.

Which feels wrong because he seems like the type to never want to be bad at anything ever…but because he probably sees it as useless…he doesn't feel as bad about it.

That leaves him settling for less than average abilities. Granted, that's less than average for Daemos, not less than average for humans—so that's still pretty good all things considered.

Rounding that back to the question at hand, the way he senses things of that manor would be there…but they would be so mellow and faint that it would drive him up the wall.

He wouldn't want to figure it out, and he'd rather ignore it than admit that something like that is stumping him.

…Until he can’t, and he breaks, and he starts threatening you because you seem to be the cause of this “disturbance.” Which you start fighting back against, and now you’re both butting heads and not backing down.

ANYWAYS—I know that this has been in my inbox for a while, and I feel bad because I haven't done anything (because I'm a CHUD and finishing finals or whatever), but I hope my too-in-depth analysis of this thing is silly and fun! Not so spicy but :P

ALSO!! speaking of inbox---I DO SEE ALL OF YOUR COMPLEMENTS AND I APPRECIATE THEM!!! I wanted to take a pause between replying to them and posting content content bc I feel like I'm just glazing myself with all of your amazing comments!

I do wanna reply to each one eventually (even if it isn't really good Tumblr etiquette -I'm just assuming; I'm not sure-) BECAUSE I so appreciate it. Plus...for the ones requesting a certain guy, I was gonna do like I did last time and link it...which is...uh...embarrassingly not done. I"M SORRYYYYY.

also also idk if the gradients look silly >~< I just wanted to try something new!

...

...I just realized this completely slipped over the implied sexy context of it all.