#he doesn't have creepy dolls or his mom's dress though!

[tetsunabouquet]

I just saw that you also write about Diabolik Lovers??? Could I request headcanons about what it would be like to date Shuu, Kanato and Subaru? And also about what type of girl they're into? ::0

A/N: A request for my personal top 3 Sakamaki brothers? Of course, you've got great taste.

Shu -Considering he's the brother who's most prone to having pets, I feel like being an animal lovers is a trait he finds desirable in a partner as he would love to have a pet with you someday. -If you already have pets, they are a surefire tacic to wurm into this boy's heart. Sending him your endless collection of adorable snaps of your pets and you, etc, he eats it up. -Because he's incredibly lazy, he wouldn't like extremely tasking dates like a cute hiking trip. Shu's more of the type who'd get hold of your favorite movie or turn on Netflix with you in bed and getting Reiji to make your favorite snacks. -He also likes a girl who's a little playful but not completely hyper. Someone who energizes him a little more and makes him smile, but not one who pushes him too far. -The two of you exchange a lot of teasing comments and casually flirt with one another all the time. "Has someone ever told you that you look sexy when you snore, Shu?" Kanato -I feel like he's into maternal girls. Aside from his creepy thing for his mom, with his childlike tendencies and the dynamic with his brothers, you'd certainly need mother-of-several-young-children levels of patience to deal with the drama. -Kanato loves giving hugs when he's sleepy. He'll attach himself to you like you are his diabolical teddybear. -Surprisingly, he allows you to pick any sort of dating activities though if he doesn't likes it, he'll make you suggest something else. Kanato can be a little indecisive with this, you know? -Kanato also really likes girls that are a fellow 'kidult' like him and share his love for toys and sweets. I can totally see the two of you discussing doll lines, doing face-ups together and dressing up like your favorite dolls together. -The two of you will also go to every annual doll collector events and all the vintage markets. Kanato never expected to have a girl with whom he could go on shopping dates like these and he's excited for them every time. "I hate how we already spent our budget. That fish plushy looked SO cute!"

Subaru -Well, he'd like his girl to be at least be more sane then his mom. Not saying you need to be 100% mentally healthy 24/7, but having a stable sense of reality it necessary. -Bonus points if you actually know a bit about psychology and the consequences of being a KOPP (Dutch acronym meaning Kinderen van Ouders met Psychiatrische Problemen - the English translation is Children of Parents with Psychiatric Problems. So far, I've never encountered an English version of the acronym) -His choice of dates is surprisingly romantic but they're generally low-key. Like cute picnics, far away from everyone where he can just enjoy the serenity and simplicity of the way you make him feel. -He also really wants a girl who supports him, outside of his traumas and family too. Like a girl who encourages his talent for poetry and helps him come out of his shell and be confident in expressing himself outside of violent tantrums. -He loves writing about you, he really does. He actually, after a a sweet friendship, dared to confess with a love poem he sent through a xt message because he knew he'd snatch back the letter and chicken out if he actually wrote it down on real paper. "If only I weren't so craven, I'd tell you all there is resting in my soul, That your voice sounds like heaven And your smile makes me whole"

[taperwolf]

Huh, realized something sad about My Dress Up Darling — specifically from the third episode of the anime — that I hadn't seen anybody else talking about. (So probably either I'm grasping at straws or everybody thought this went without saying, but there you go.) Details follow:

Basically, the conclusion is that the events outlined in Gojou's dream/flashback that opens the first episode formed such an outsized impact on his psyche because he was still recovering from his parents' untimely demise.

This conclusion comes from many things, but primarily comes from the episode 3 scene — corresponding to chapter 7 of the manga — where Gojou is talking about why he doesn't use the word "beautiful" lightly. He talks about, and we see, briefly, when he was first introduced to Hina dolls; it's part of the same sequence we see part of at the start of the first episode, and in more detail in episode eight when he's reflecting on his grandfather's happiness then when talking to Juju. But something about this time strikes me as important.

"I'm an only child," he says, "so the first time I saw a Hina doll was at my Grandpa's place."

Now, later, other family members, like his cousin Miori and her mother, are mentioned as working in the family business (ch. 74), but it's obvious that Gojou's father didn't. We don't know why, nor do we ever really hear why Gojou hadn't been to his grandfather's before that time. And we don't know exactly how old he is, though it was young enough that he hadn't really had potential friends before the trauma he went through with Non-chan.

The conclusion I can't help but come to is that that scene — where the solemn little boy is led into the Hina doll shop and imprints so strongly on their beauty — happens when he's arriving at his grandpa's place, because that's where he'll be living now. It's very, very soon after his parents' deaths. Grandpa just wanted to connect with his grandson, show him what he does, and was surprised and gratified when Gojou really fell for the dolls, and found a real passion.

And it's that very vulnerable little boy, hurt and lonely and trying to reach out and share the beauty he's found, who's harshly rejected, because a boy liking girls' dolls is "creepy".

(I'm still uncertain whether Gojou's father and grandpa had a falling out, or if the dad just wanted to do something else and lived far away; this reading feels more like an estrangement, because you'd think he'd have been to visit his grandpa earlier if there wasn't something preventing it. Miori's mom is mentioned as the doll factory's hairstyling expert, but her dad's role, if any, isn't mentioned; I'm guessing that Miori's mom was Gojou's dad's older sister from her family resemblance to Grandpa, and that her dad does something else, but I don't have any solid evidence.)

[britishchick09]

cherik and rewrite erik comforting their christines :)