What is the general public perception about each individual family member (and just as a single family unit as well)?
The whole family is definitely seen as out of ordinary, strange even. I mean, it's to be expected. Gods and demigods are rare to begin with, and now there's a whole family of them living in the town. I wouldn't go as far as to say they're an attraction, but they're definitely brought up to newcomers as a heads up, since it can be a lot to take in. Some members of it are disliked by a number of bugs, while others have contributed in ways that make them valued by the community.
Vyrm, as the former king, had to prove and redeem himself in the eyes of those who recognized him or were made aware of his past. And to the majority of them, he did. His contributions are not to be ignored, his shop offers the bugs items that are hard to find anywhere else, especially with his mastery of the mechanisms he creates and repairs. Moreover, he gathered enough knowledge in architecture to contribute to the renovations and construction of buildings around the town, including some homes for the bugs. As a member of the community, he is very valued. As an individual, he's not known personally by many bugs due to his rather reserved nature. He's polite and wants to be helpful where he can, but his anxiety and self esteem issues make it so he struggles to make meaningful connections. The average bug of Dirtmouth would probably describe him as that polite, slightly awkward shop owner who builds curiosities. And he likes that, much better than being seen as the ruler and dealing with the pressure of protecting everyone.
Grimm has a less positive reputation in the town, even if generally he's respected. He's well-mannered and charismatic, his contributions to the town in the artistic sphere make him a very notable member of the community, but his overprotectiveness of his family makes it so he can appear quite intimidating to strangers. Many bugs find him interesting and enjoy seeing him perform. Some are definitely enamored by his looks and charisma, saddened by the fact he already found his love, wishing they were in Vyrm's place. And some are afraid of him, maybe even dislike him, as they're scared that a single wrong move could end poorly with him around. He's respected, but where Vyrm's respect was earned through his work and compassion, Grimm to many is respected more as a potential threat, someone you don't want to mess with. It doesn't help that he has the tendency to mess with bugs for his own amusement. For example, there are times he gets confused for a female bug, and instead of correcting them, he likes to play along for a while because he finds it entertaining. Sometimes he makes jokes and comments that he knows will be read as slightly ominous, just to see the reaction. It can be said that, through these habits, he keeps others at a distance, and it definitely affects his reputation. Which he doesn't seem to mind.
Hornet is someone many don't really know well enough to figure out what they think about her. She's not very social, though she can come across as rude due to her tone and facial expressions, so she definitely hasn't made the best first impression to a lot of bugs, especially those who first met her shortly after the end of the infection. Some still remember her lashing out at her father or being really dismissive and annoyed towards bugs she felt were prying into her life by just asking if she's okay, and that's an impression that unfortunately lasted for a while, even to this day with some. But she has made the effort to be better, she's still not the most social but she tries to sound more polite. Joining the Hunter's Guild did a lot of good for her reputation, since she's now contributing to the town - hunting, gathering, helping bugs with their wishes and so on. Some bugs also felt their opinion of her softening as they saw her interact with Rost or her little siblings, it was a clear sign that she has a lot of gentleness in her heart that sometimes gets lost under that easily annoyed, rude layer that she's trying hard to control. She's still unsure how she feels about bugs noticing something part of her considers a weakness.
Aika, having lived in Dirtmouth for a few years now, is still mostly a stranger to most of its residents. She keeps to herself, she maintains a low profile, simply because life has taught her to do so. The more she showed of herself to strangers the less safe she felt, and she's only now breaking out of that barrier. Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to make many friends because of it, the Vyrm family and particularly Hornet and Lace are her closest and only friends she fully trusts (aside from some side stuff with friends' OCs, which is soft canon and mostly a what-if for a scenario where she did find a close friend outside of that circle). She's still distrustful of strangers, unfortunately, and so to most Dirtmouth bugs she's kind of just there. Not exactly suspicious since she has a rather friendly looking face compared to Grimm or Hornet, but she doesn't speak a lot and usually just stays on the side and observes with crossed arms, so she's not particularly welcoming either. Similarly to Hornet, the guild helped her gain some positive reputation, but I would say the bugs are generally a lot less familiar with her than they are with Hornet (Hornet also has the advantage of having a rather well known family, Aika is an outsider in comparison), and her tendency to not talk much unless she's around bugs she knows doesn't help. Normally she wouldn't care, but now that she's actually living the promise she made to her mother, she would like to try to become a proper member of the community.
Lace isn't well liked, to put it bluntly. She's not hated, but due to her unpleasantness and impulsive behavior she's seen as rude and childish by a number of bugs she's interacted with over the past year of living here. Due to her self esteem issues, she has the tendency to perceive others' words as insults, and that makes her react accordingly. Safe to say, it doesn't go well. Moreover, she often blurts things out without thinking, which often includes her honest, not very pleasant opinions of others. She wants to be better, she promised it to herself and to Hornet and Aika, but she's clearly still struggling. Decades of loneliness, feeling unloved, feeling the pressure to live up to her mother's expectations, all the while being seen by the average bug as a bad sign the moment she walked into a room really did a number on how she perceives herself and her relationships with strangers, and it's going to take her a long time to unlearn that. But she's definitely trying, she picked up the job of a courier bug, and through that she's able to contribute to the town while also gaining a different perspective. As she delivers the packages and letters, she gets a lot of time to herself between interactions with bugs, which gives her time to think and mentally prepare, and it had some positive effects already. Over the past few months, she met some bugs who were kind to her, and due to the simple nature of their interaction, Lace didn't feel provoked when talking to them and they were able to have a normal conversation, which showed to her that it doesn't always have to end up in awkward, unpleasant encounters. She's trying, it can't be denied, but she still has a long way to go and it frustrates her sometimes.
Holly isn't exactly the most popular bug in town, but the perception bugs have of it is very much positive for the most part. They're calm, gentle and avoid conflict, which are qualities that make them pleasant to socialize with. The language barrier is an issue sometimes, not everyone in the town is familiar with sign language, and writing words down or explaining things through body language doesn't always communicate the ideas properly, but I don't think it negatively affects Holly's public perception. Some bugs find it scary due to the void nature, even if it puts effort into looking friendlier, which saddens it as it doesn't want to seem intimidating. Others recognize them as the vessel from the City of Tears fountain, and they're unsure how to behave around it, which can make things awkward. But overall, the bugs of Dirtmouth like them, they're definitely one of the most liked bugs from the family. And it enjoys that a lot, much more than being a symbol of the failure to stop the infection, that's for sure.
Phantom in some ways is similar to Lace, but they're a lot less impulsive and rude. Their issue is that, like their sister, they're used to being seen as the enemy, so they often assume mean intent where there isn't any. They can also be very cynical, and they have the tendency to laugh out loud in a very off-putting way if they believe they're being mocked. They're not exactly liked by the bugs for that reason. However, they're much more well-mannered than Lace, and while the years spent in isolation resulted in a lot of difficulty in communicating, they make up for it with their manners and charisma. They also have a bit of a reputation of a flirt, once they started feeling more confident in their aromantic identity, they realized they really do enjoy pursuing bugs intimately in a "no strings attached" way. It's not rare for them to compliment others directly, with a slightly flirty tone, and that can have various results. Some bugs like it, some even take their propositions (I imagine they have a few casual relationships of this nature), but others find it inappropriate and dislike it. Phantom's big struggle is being able to tell when it is a good idea to approach bugs with such intent. In a way, they fit alongside Lace very well. Both siblings struggle to fit into this new environment, and they encounter many obstacles on the way, often made worse by their personalities. Which is definitely understandable considering their upbringing, or lack thereof. They often mourn the days they could've spent getting better at this back in the Citadel, but like Lace, they want to try to make the best of the second chance they were given.
Zote can boast about his imagined perception of reality all he wants, but deep down he's aware that most bugs in the town either don't take him seriously, find him annoying or just plainly don't like him. For a while that was the intention, he felt betrayed too many times in the past so he decided he would not let himself get close to anyone again, and that it would be easier to achieve if he actively pushed them away. But after meeting Holly and becoming part of the Vyrm family unit, things have shifted. What was once the ideal situation started to weigh on him. He didn't realize until then that deep down he still wanted to be loved, and the fact that he might have irreversibly ruined his reputation haunts him. But he's trying to make amends now. He bites his tongue whenever he's about to say something rude, which doesn't always work but it's something. He tried to find a proper job, and was unfortunately unsuccessful, as he has a lot of trouble learning new things and not messing things up, which the bugs did not have the patience for. He only managed to get a job thanks to Grimm, and he's working as his assistant. Through that, he was at least able to meet some bugs within the Troupe and built his reputation there. He's not exactly loved, some bugs there don't vibe with him, but he made some acquaintances who not only tolerate him, but even invite him to hang out sometimes. He has a long journey ahead of him before he can make the rest of the town like him, unfortunately.
Lewk is currently young enough to mostly be known as the pup from the Vyrm house, but he's already making a name for himself. He started out very shy and awkward due to coddling from his parents, but once he got a bit more confident it didn't take him a long time to make friends at school. He also likes to accompany the other family members whenever they go out to shop at the market or handle other business, and he always gets positive reactions from the other bugs due to his very sweet, compassionate personality. He loves to ask questions and even though he's very young, there are times he displays so much emotional maturity it's a bit unsettling. The rather creepy eyes he got from his Troupe Master dad do not help that ominous energy that follows him around. But his personality outshines that quirk, and as he grows up, I imagine he would become a very important member of the community by choice, he'd spend a lot of time wanting to make everyone's lives better, for which he would be adored. But I imagine it would have the unfortunate side effect of some bugs relying on him too much and expecting him to fix things around the town since that's "his job", or similar unpleasant dynamics. It would weigh on him a lot, I imagine.
Asta would definitely be seen as a bit of a troublemaker. Even now she's the pup who loves to bite and cause mischief, and it would only continue as she gets older. Once she's old enough to go to school, I imagine that tendency to get in trouble would be on full display. Granted, she would find friends quickly, I think she'd be a very quick-witted and loyal friend. But she'd have a lot of that protectiveness Grimm also deals with, and hers would revolve around Milo. With how much she'd get into fights to protect him from bullies, she'd definitely be a bit of a nightmare to the teachers. She'd get less impulsive when she's older, but I think that reputation would still follow her. To many it would mostly present in the stories they'd tell about her childhood, but I think some would be a little afraid of getting on her bad side, especially since physically she'd be a powerhouse. But I think she would be liked. In many ways she'd be seen as the better of the two twins, which would eventually affect both of them negatively. From Asta's perspective, it'd create expectations that she worries she wouldn't be able to live up to, and it'd put some thorns in her relationship with Milo as well, which would frustrate her more than anything.
Speaking of, Milo would almost be like a ghost to the average Dirtmouth resident. As a baby, he's known as the one who's weak and prone to getting sick, the pup who's constantly clinging to his parents and siblings for safety. This means that he's not particularly sociable, and it'd get more obvious as time goes on. Once he's older, he would be the victim of bullying, both for his rather unpleasant personality but also his droopy eyelid, which even now gives him a perpetually annoyed expression. He would have the reputation of someone very easily irritable, and someone who hides behind his sister and his parents for protection. In adulthood, he would be seen outside very rarely, since he'd be more occupied with his father's workshop. He wouldn't be a fan of the outdoors or socializing, and so most bugs would probably forget at times that Asta has a twin brother. Which would only make things worse for him, because whenever he would actually go out, bugs would stare at him like he's a stranger, or worse, with pity. He would, after all, be seen as the weak one in the bunch, which means that bugs would treat him like he's a porcelain vase that needs to be handled with care of else it might shatter into dust. Not exactly the most reassuring for him.
