#they're so terribly toxic for each other in this one im crying

[ligayangluntian]

getting story ideas from lessons you learn in class is actually so fun <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>✨

unless you're me and you're learning about stalking so instead of internalizing it, you're just sitting there thinking: "omg eratomania is so toxic seawatt x emf coded" "moral ascendency? god!evbo is that you?"

[gildeddlily]

absolutely losing my mind because of these two!!!

so.

are these two actually toxic, or are they just kids who don't know how to communicate? easy, they're just kids! (this was fast)

reading the manga will not make you understand that (or im just stupid), and this is why I'm thanking the author on.my.knees for the spin-off!

so.

after watching the anime I fled to ao3, of course. read some works about Rin and Isagi, managed to not spoil myself anything.

then i read the U20 arc. after reading every ryusae I could find (writing one myself rn, doing god's work) I finished to read the manga cause, yk, I wanted to know what would happen with my babies and then boom! Reo and Nagi!!!

I didn't particularly care about them at first: Nagi was strong ofc, but kind of boring? he's not my favourite archetype, and while I loved Reo I hated their fight and wanted nothing to do with them. key word(s), at first.

then, then! I randomly read some fics about them cause they'd started to grow on me, and boom, tons of fics about their breakup/makeup. stunning works, ofc, but I started to see so many "Reo's fault" "Nagi's fault" "toxic relationship" that I kind of started to get uncomfortable (sometimes people throw around the word toxic when it's nothing like that), so what's to do? read the spin off ofc.

that I did, and now not only I love them both with all of my heart, but I'm Reo's number one fan (and kinnie)!

and I developed a deep hatred for those "toxic x" theories and takes. SO. let me blabber and rant.

they love each other so much!!

this is Nagi.

he thinks "damn, soccer/football is a pain, I hate sweating and running, but I don't hate Reo" even though most of the time he spends with Reo is spent playing soccer/football (I won't choose one english is so confusing- in italian it's literally called kick).

he doesn't feel forced to be Reo's friend, he likes it.

because Reo loves him, it's as simple as that.

he wants to be Nagi's friend "despite" Nagi's personality: this is something he currently says through the spin-off, which made me cry- Reo truly is the first person who ever accepted Nagi as someone who is lazy and unmotivated, who complains a lot, who doesn't put any effort in what he does, who doesn't offer much.

Or at least he thinks that he doesn't have anything special to offer, until Reo arrives.

he still has those terribly self-deprecating thoughts, but now he has something to offer, his talent.

(and after a period of happiness, their honeymoon phase one could call it, he starts to doubt the sincerity of Reo's care. from thinking "i'm not his slave, i'm his partner" he starts to doubt Reo's honesty: "maybe he only wanted to be my friend because of my talent, a talent he knows how to use"- since he still thinks that he's got nothing to offer! but we will talk about this later.)

this is Reo!

he thinks "I wanted to be the one who could make you love soccer/football, the one able to light up something in you" but he also thinks "seeing you like that, even if it wasn't me who'd done that, made me happy".

he's so jealous he's almost funny, and isn't that the most teenager thing ever?

who wouldn't be jealous after working so hard to be special to someone, just for someone else to take the place you're working so hard for?

it's terrible, but still, it doesn't stop Reo from being happy that Nagi found something exciting.

something that made Nagi as happy as the combo Nagi-soccer/football made Reo happy.

the thing is, Nagi thinks he's Reo's friend because of his talent, which maybe it's true. maybe, hadn't Nagi been a genius, they wouldn't have become friends, but his talent was the sparkle that made him become Reo's treasure.

Reo is someone who has everything, who gets everything he wants, or as he says everything except what he really wants.

for that, he has to work.

so, what he wants is to play soccer/football, and to play it with Nagi.

(in order to be Nagi's friend, he needs to work hard, because he needs to be honest and gain Nagi's trust- this is how friendship works: even when it seems flawless and easy, there's so much work behind it, and knowing it is important. most of the times we only realise it once we lost that bond- for example, Nagi. Reo already knew it, and this is why he tried so hard to not leave Nagi's side)

at one point, the two things became linked to one another, and his dream turns into "winning with Nagi, my partner". Because Nagi is talented, is special, and Reo saw his talent, and how Nagi was unable to do the same. He wants to show Nagi that soccer/football is fun, that his talent isn't a pain, that he is special, because Nagi doesn't know it, and for Reo a star that doesn't see his its own light? is just preposterous.

He cares for Nagi and loves everything about him, even all the "bad" things, and he doesn't think that Nagi has to change, and this is what, for me, makes their break-up way more serious and relatable for a lot of people.

it triggers a "I'll change to be better" "for me you never had to change" "I need to change for myself" dynamic.

2. changing and longing is way more fun when you're doing it together!!!

so they split up.

Nagi doesn't do it because he likes Isagi more, or because his style of play is more interesting, he does it because Isagi was stronger than Nagi and Reo: entering Blue Lock, Nagi had trust in Reo's ability to use his talent to win, he didn't even think about failing, and while Barou came close to making him feel like he could loose, Nagi overpowered him at the end- but then Isagi beats Nagi, and Reo with him.

Nagi understands that Reo's dream can't become reality if they aren't the strongest, and if being together doesn't work, maybe they should split up, part ways, become stronger and then join forces again, and win everything. win the world cup.

while his friendship with Isagi is sweet and I love them, for Nagi Isagi is like a cyclette.

he'll use the cyclette to get get fit and make his bf swoon over his legs, he won't stay with the cyclette once he doesn't need the training anymore. and even if he will, it will always be just the cyclette he uses to get fit "for" his bf.

(metaphor isn't metaphoring)

Reo doesn't know that.

he knows he's strong, but he knows that Isagi and Nagi are on a whole other level and he feels threatened. he fears that Nagi will choose Isagi instead of him, and he tries desperately to not loose Nagi.

Nagi is his dream. Slowly, day after day, Nagi became part of his dream, and now he's losing not only his best friend but the dream that made him free.

Reo says it himself- he knows that Nagi did the smartest thing by leaving, but he's young and scared and sees it as Nagi leaving him.

He feels abandoned, and he thinks that Nagi is abandoning his dream to go with the bigger fish, the apex predator, in order to become the best striker, by forgetting the promises they made at the start of Blue Lock, to stay together til the end.

Neither of them forgets the other.

Nagi leaves, and all he thinks about it "I need Reo to see this" "I can't wait to let him see how much I've improved", and he misses Reo, just as much as Reo misses him.

the only difference?

Reo is oblivious about Nagi's real feelings and thought process, and his thinking of Nagi turns into spiraling into depression and self-hatred.

so Nagi changes.

he starts to see the beauty in soccer/football, he finally sees what Reo had tried to make him see for months, and he's thrilled. he's having fun. he's grateful that Reo convinced him to not discard Blue Lock immediately. he's different.

different why? because Isagi beat him? because Blue Lock happened?

he changed not when Isagi beat them, but the moment he became Reo's friend, and found a reason to do something.

because Reo was the first person to ever tell him that his laziness, boredom, his oh so troublesome antics were alright, that he was what he was, and he was enough not only for Reo, but for the whole world.

Reo accepted him even when he was set on being static, made him want to change, and now that he's changing he feels worthy of being loved so much.

"you saw something in me back then, you forced to me work hard, and now thanks to you I ('m on my way to) realised my own worth, now I found something exciting"

he changes.

Reo sees him after what, a few days, and he's already improved so much.

and he thinks that he was Nagi's cage, his personal dead weight, that Nagi may have been his treasure but he wasn't Nagi's. that Nagi doesn't need him anymore. if Nagi doesn't need him, what will be of his dream?

(we could start a long-ass post ab mental health and recovering but I won't for my own sanity)

what's his worth then, since he got into Blue Lock just to stay with Nagi till the end- especially when he can't even be number two, with Isagi there- and Nagi won't be with him anymore?

he needs to change too.

3. destroying yourself in order to change (no fun)

Reo says that he isn't brave enough to destroy himself like the others do.

Isagi, Barou, Nagi, Chigiri, they all destroy themselves in order to become stronger and change, evolve, but Reo can't. he's scared, he's confused, the whole arc is just him looking like that. then what does he do?

he lets Nagi destroy him. "If I can't do it, Nagi will" don't you understand you're doing exactly what you say you're unable to do? the fact that you're not the one pulling the trigger doesn't mean that you're not killing yourself

he pushes Nagi until he snaps and tells Reo to fuck off, that he's a pain, that he's weak and someone Nagi doesn't want anything to do with, because that's what Reo thinks.

He thinks Nagi doesn't want to be with him anymore, he's feeling guilty for what he thought (later later), he's insecure- and instead of being reasonable, he founds a way to confirm his "irrational" fears.

"I'm not being insecure since Nagi confirmed it"

he sabotages himself. that's the nail in the coffin.

instead of destroying himself with football/soccer, by learning from a lost match, he destroys himself with life, by putting on the line his relationship with the person he (not exaggerating) loves most in the world.

he's unable to distinguish life from soccer/football (and this will be the aspect that makes him so different from most of the other characters), because since meeting Nagi they've become one thing. soccer/football is his life, Nagi is his life, because they're his only chance at being happy.

(Nagi is able to distinguish between the court and Reo: this way, Reo is just as special as Isagi is, since Isagi may have made him see the fun in soccer/football, but Reo made him get angry. Nagi who thinks that his strong quality is the fact he never gets angry, that he's a pacifist. Isagi is his soccer/football revolution, Reo is his life revolution.

Reo can't. they all insult each other on the field, but they're all friends afterwards. not Reo. not yet)

now he's lost Nagi, and his dream, and he has to pick himself up from the ground.

this is how Reo changes.

4. miscommunication is a beast

As I said before, Nagi starts to think that Reo only cared about him because of his talent. he's angry at Reo. he doesn't understand why Reo said those things, why he was so stupid, why he didn't understand Nagi.

he says "I'm not his toy" and he isn't, but really, try to get into his shoes.

he thinks his partner, his best friend, doesn't believe in them as a duo anymore, doesn't want to believe in them like he used to now that Nagi has changed, now that he's more "independent" from Reo.

"what, now that I know how to fight alone, he doesn't want me anymore?" that would be anyone's first thought.

and he doubts Reo's trust in their dream.

when did Reo start to have so little faith in them, in Nagi? when did he give up on them? he thinks that, after spending weeks trying to improve just to make Reo's dream true.

and he's angry, but he still hopes to play with Reo again.

he still want to, because him and Reo are partners and Nagi still believes in their dream. because he remembers Reo's passion, and he believes in him.

+) 5. being relatable as fuck

(what kid with absent/abusive parents never thought back on their action and went anxiously all "Am I just like them?")

Reo begs Nagi to stop being so strong, stop improving so quickly, stop running towards a place Reo can't reach yet, and isn't this a human thing to do? He desperately wants to be with Nagi, and thinks that he'd rather stop him from improving rather than lose him. He thinks "Please, give up on your dream, your ego"- and isn't that familiar?

he just thought the same thing his father, a man he hates and despises and who doesn't believe in Reo, told him. and he said that to Nagi. Nagi who gave him a ticket to the top by being at his side, who let him see hope.

he panics. am I just like him? Am I cruel enough to wish for someone to give up on their dreams, just to get something out of their failure?

he's different from his father, because he's seventeen, he's scared to lose his best friend, and we can be irrational in situations like this one. does he know it? no, the same way he doesn't understand that Nagi didn't left because of him.

so yes, he's in the worst head-space ever.

isn't he relatable? this is what that made reo my favourite character in a second, probably. he's so human and he makes so many mistakes and he's so stupid sometimes, but I can see myself in him very clearly.

and now.

in what way is their relationship not balanced? their love and care not mutual? in what way one used or manipulated the other?

I think they're flawed, and they made mistakes, and they hurt each other, but I also think that we throw in the word "toxic" the moment a relationship isn't perfect.

they're friends and they're teens, they will make mistakes and they will hurt each other, and their friendship (and they were roommates) won't be perfect- this doesn't make it less genuine or beautiful.

don't get me started on what happens in the manga (really don't do it) (all of this was just nagi's spin off!!!)

[wandascosmic]

so im bored and thought this would be fun, so im gonna give a little fic idea or blurb for sour songs 🫶 (these got rather long)

traitor - kinda boring but wanda and reader date then they break up and one of them goes off and dates someone else really soon after and it just like hurts

drivers license - THIS ONE'S GONNA HURT YAYYYY okay so wanda and reader broke up and they're both in the depths of a really bad break up and to wanda y/n seems find but she's lowkey dying on the inside and wanda keeps remembering all of her and y/n's special moments and just like cries in her car and stuff and omg by the end of the fic y/n shows up on wanda's door crying and in the rain and wanda consoles her even though it hurts so bad and they slowly fall for each other again but it's super angsty wow i should write this right now

1 step forward, 3 steps back - okay so reader's gonna be in a toxic relationship for this one since in all the other fics it's wanda and vision and it's just a really terrible and manipulative relationship reader's in and it's the classic best friends to lovers where every time reader gets in a fight with their partner she goes to wanda's house and wanda always consoles her perfectly and obviously wanda secretly has feelings for reader and it's all the cheesy classic stuff i love

deja vu - ok so in this one i imagine wanda as a famous actress and y/n as a pop star (btw this is heavily inspired by an au i read 2 years ago that was so good) and they end up on a show together, but y/n is like brand new so wanda shows her the ropes and everything but they do have a turbulent relationship in the beginning and wanda falls HARD but then like y/n ends up in a relationship which makes wanda sad then wanda also ends up in a relationship (to get over y/n but like who are we kidding) and they just slowly drift apart and have a messy friendship break up, and y/n sees wanda on her new gf's social media and sees all the stuff they did together as friends who were toeing the line between friends and lovers and gets angry then writes deja vu and it's messy!!

i wrote enough for you and so american already but i loved writing those fics so much and how they turned out that i wanted to do more olivia inspired stuff <3

i was meant to do more but im tired so here we are 😊 tbh this gave me quite a bit of buzz

[prettyboykatsuki]

I don't know how anyone can be unkind, like, I'm gonna eat concrete and find myself at the center of the earth, that's about where my emotional thermometer is.

I think you conveyed the emotions really well during the fight. Tbh I was actually frustrated with Draken cause he wouldn't let them go lmao like!! Bro, I'm running my makeup here, my face is sore and puffy, freE ME, I'm gonna chew you off at wrist. Well okay reader was more hurt than feral unlike me but I was very In the emotions.

And then, yanno when they're at the part where they're making up and acting playful, drakens got his big hands squishing reader's cheeks and they were closing their eyes, i was spiritually banging my fists against the dirt and screaming to the worms, it was. So much. Like I could tell that they have such chemistry, they love and care about each other.

I know it didn't Get Into It but like when Draken finally spoke about Emma, it got to me. Like it wasn't just Emma of course it was everything and it just. Made a lot of sense, like Draken having terrible relationships with women to punish himself is a thing I could see him doing and it's so good. He wouldn't hurt a girl, he can't fight against them like he had everything else, so he let's himself be hurt instead. It's so interesting and tragic.

Anyway uhh I had more to say but like this is long enough so tldr; the short of it is, I really Loved your Draken fic!!!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH i've been trying to formulate a response to this all night bc i just KEEP reading it.. like it made me so happy to hear your thoughts and its so NICE im really just feeling so out of it. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING IT IT HONESTLY MEANS THE WORLD TO ME

IM REALLY GLAD TO HEAR ABT THE FIGHT!! i was writing it and i was like.. draken is so stubborn DKFJSLK like i know he wouldn't let you leave bc even if u were just friends he would never wanna make you cry.. KJJLDKLFS feral is a good response too reader was just so tired of everything

AAAAUHGHH the cheek squishing and face holding trope is in every single one of my fics.... BC IT'S SO CUTE.. AND SO ENDEARING.. AND DRAKENS HANDS SO BIG.. SO STRONG... im gonna be sick LMAO

IM SOOO GLAD THE CONFLICT. MADE SENSE!! i love draken a lot but i think he's also someone who's very vulnerable to taking a beating bc he feels like? that's what's right for him. i dont know how to explain but i think another part of why i think he'd get into such toxic relationships is also because he misses mikey so much? because he misses feeling responsible for someone.. he's so complex like everyone in the series AUGH im gonna eat him.

THANK U SO MUCH FOR READING!! I LOVE YOU FOR TIHIS GENUINELY MADE MY DAY

[wise-the-will]

okay I'm going to rant about byler in your inbox if you don't mind, honestly Mike and Will's relationship is so wholesome it hurts. every bad patch of their friendship just bring them closer and make them better people. I know there's antis and such like "Mike is growing out of Will's childish behavior", but Mike isn't, he really isn't. their love is honestly inspirational, like they're the reason I believe in love even if they're not canon. Mike is literally a definition of I hate pretty much everyone but you. if you touch him I will eliminate you. and both of them are really soft supportive boyfriends. Mike trusts Will so much it's scary, will was literally possessed and Mike still had his trust in him. and will, I feel like will be the person to allow Mike to hurt him mentally but not leave him. and that much trust could be toxic on both sides(depending on who your with and im not trying to romantize this at all!!! Will is definitely trying to work on letting people walk all over him) but with them it's like they're literally soulmates. and yes I'm all talking about in this world that the duffer Brothers have created not Finn and Noah in the slightest. but just imagine will supporting Mike every step through him becoming an author. and Mike doing the same supporting will every step to become an artist. unlike mileven they actually make each other better people, and don't tear each other down. Mike only acts On emotion when he's with Will because he actually loves will. and will is so honest to Mike, more honest to mike than his own mother. its precious, truly.

okay theories and scenario type things:

1) they would be the couple that everyone in the neighborhood hates because they're supposed to be homophobic but there is definitely some if not most neighbors that do not like them because they are gay but think they're amazing and so so kind.

2) they get along with each other's families so well it's amazing, Mike and Joyce just *screech* Joyce takes care of Mike like son( in law). and like I said will and HollYY.

3) they would most definitely end up getting a demonic cat and call and exorcist because they have seen way too many horror movies (thanks will) and have lived through too many, to know how bad this is going to get.

4) will get so incredibly messy when he paints like, his artwork is wonderful and not messy at all it's like a piece of well, artwork. so sometimes he hugs Mike after he finishes painting and Mike has to take a shower because of how much paint got on him.

5) if Mike does become an author and I really think he will, I imagine him not telling will until will reads his book that he made one of those little pages like thank you sections, and just talked about how much he loved will.

6) will has to have a therapist, because of PTSD, overall mental health things, and his father. but Mike needs one too. and will has tried so hard to make mike go see the same therapist so he can get help with his stuff.

thats all i could think of but if i think of anything i will send it over your way if you don't mind. also i have a post somewhere on my blog about adult byler headcannons so if you wanna see more of some i have :)

First off I’m so sorry I responded to this like 2 days late but here we go

Like you said they really do care for each other a lot and I feel like they would both go to the ends of this EARTH just to save each other because you know that’s just what loves about and they’re deeply in love and it’s so soft and fluffy and adorable and they make me cry sometimes

They balance each other really well especially since Mike is like such a touchy person and Will is just right for that but they balance each other’s personalities as well, and not just emotionally because Will has had problems with not wanting to be treated around like he’s fragile glass and yeah he had a terrible father that called him slur and then a couple years later he somehow went into another dimension being chased by some monster and fighting for his life because that’s scary as hell and then a year later gets possessed by this demonic shadow monster and he’s scared shitless but he for sure isn’t fragile, he’s tough and I can’t wait to see that in season 4 and mike definitely doesn’t treat him like that because he knows what he’s been through

1) there would for sure be those homophobes because it’s the 80’s and I totally agree that some would think they’re sweet and kind

2) they do get along with each other’s families especially Joyce and Mike, because Joyce just knows and does trust Mike the most out of all Wills friends because she literally let mike inside in season 2 because her son was being possessed and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t let any of the other friends do that especially since the shed scene

3) Thank you for noticing my dumb chaotic cat head canon it was honestly just to be funny but honestly this would probably happen and I’m super glad that you put this in here

4) TOP TIER MESSY, he’s painting and all of a sudden he gets mike all painted up because hugs him or kisses him and then mikes just complaining like “stop you’re getting me all messy” and “great now I have to take a shower” but internally he loves it and he loves Will and he’s happy with Will and it’s just cute and fluffy

5) Will would be so supportive but then he reads mikes little thingy and he says something along the lines of “you should really become a writer you really talented with this stuff” and Mike just says “I already plan on becoming a writer just wanted your opinion” or something like that

6) Will for sure would beg mike to go to his therapist with him because that therapist has like really helped but because Mike is so damn STUBBORN he keeps saying no for god knows what reason, maybe because he feels like her ok compared to Will but he’s definitely not and Will knows this and I feel like they would definitely get in a fight about this and Will would let a tear fall and yell something along the lines of “you need this just as much as I do so don’t FUCKING pretend that you don’t need this as much as I do” and they’re both crying and mike finally agrees and says he’s sorry and they kiss and cuddles so close it looks like so impossible to be that close but they’re comforted and they tell each other they love each other so many times

You’re definitely free to send more and sorry I didn’t get to this sooner and I’ll definitely check out some of your byler thingys