ayto | TL;CR Meme;

Yeehaw, friends.

They didn't get to talk so much towards the end, but I am a little curious.

Cyrus initially found Jeritza to be a somewhat standoffish fellow, which just translated to asking more questions on his end, because he is nothing if not inquisitive! And Jeritza was as straightforward as they came, as well as surprisingly cooperative at supplying answers, which made their conversations easy to navigate with curiosity as fuel. For Cyrus, who comes from a scholastic background where people (including and especially himself) can drone on about anything, Jeritza's frankness, from which he felt no malice, was a refreshing quality.

Most of his questions were aimed to understand Jeritza better. Others, like the one about the swimsuit on their group date, were meant to elicit a reaction for his own amusement. And Jeritza, bless his soul, always answered so honestly that it was endearing.

The date was where he saw the softer, thoughtful side of Jeritza that felt affection for Milla and reached out for her after the dramatic shout about a shark—and where the trademark directness lent to some degree of gullibility, because Cyrus realized not long after that Milla had lied in a panic. (Jeritza was certainly no fool, being a warrior of a post-war empire, but matters of the heart are separate from those of the battlefield.) So much about Jeritza struck Cyrus as genuine that he sincerely hoped Jeritza would find a match worthy of his back, and traveling with a companion who issued challenges for duels willy-nilly meant he didn't bat an eyelash at the times Jeritza demanded physical bouts of his potential matches.

The bloodthirst at the truth booth did raise an eyebrow, though. But Jeritza never actually hurt anyone in their time on the show, and Rufus took everything in stride, so it wasn't a huge cause for alarm.

The man was just very aware of what he wanted, and that was admirable in its own way. The timing of pursuing Milla at the matchup ceremony was surely something, but it really did feel appropriate to Jeritza that he just went for it. All's fair in love, as they say!

cywus uwu

Meeting Marcille on the show is the only reason Cyrus now understands sapiosexuality. This is because 1) a church girl once told him that intelligence, and not just looks, could be attractive; 2) she was the first (of a mere two) contestant to make his heart pound throughout the entire game; and 3) he doesn't have a single horny bone in his body, so the concept of the show contextualized some of his attraction to her after over a decade of being surrounded by nerds. Going in, he approached the notion of a perfect match platonically with the understanding that others had romance in mind—and an interest in potentially exploring that as well, except that did nothing to improve his blindness to anyone's interest in him—and thought Marcille was everything he wanted from one insofar that hers was the only name he ever threw out in consideration early on.

That's not to say that he was only drawn to her for her scholastic achievements. Marcille certainly stood out for how bright and dedicated to her studies she was with the willingness to share what she'd learned, far removed from the scholars who would bite their thumbs at others out of a useless sense of intellectual superiority. (It was endearing, how she even gave her staff a name.) Cyrus felt an immediate connection as a fellow researcher—and he was very excited to experience and try replicating her spells under her guidance—but what made Marcille continue to stand out as the weeks progressed were her exuberance, her generosity, and her passion. How highly she celebrated a dear friend's achievement, full of sincerity and devoid of jealousy, and the ease with which she encouraged those who were struggling with a given task highlighted the best parts of her for him.

At the same time, he thought that she was sure to have wonderful accomplishments of her own as well, and so meant to elevate her by asking after them on multiple occasions. He wanted to learn more about her, too.

She was perhaps excessively given to her feelings, but she wouldn't have been herself without, and the outbursts made her moods—not necessarily her true thoughts—easier to read. Her affection and the lengths to which she would go for Falin underlined just how strongly Marcille could feel about someone. It added perspective to Cyrus' growing understanding of her longevity being a source of long-standing and inevitable grief for her, and he spent quite a bit of time on trying to understand, because that wasn't really something to which he could relate. In any case, knowing her expressiveness grew his worry when she suddenly appeared so withdrawn after his truth booth encounter with Douki-chan; though he was blind to any feelings Marcille might have harbored, his especial fondness for her saw his going out of his way to approach her on the matter when he'd initially planned to be an observer in the discussion.

As for her wish, Cyrus was thrilled on Marcille's behalf when Diamond was confirmed to be her match. But he had seen what loss could do to sufferers, and their tragic anecdotes came rushing back once Marcille told him about what she'd done. There is no such thing as good or evil magic; however, he knows too little about the ancient spells in question to have passed informed judgment on her actions off the bat. Instead, he sought to understand Marcille's feelings on the matter first, that he might better grasp this foreign magic and help her sort through her inner conflict at once before arriving at a conclusion.

The question Cyrus referred to on the one CR chart entry was going to be an offer of his wish for Falin's safety, because he believes the future of an individual is more important than recovering a bunch of lost books, which was his original intention. As of now, he's holding onto it in order to see what Marcille decides for herself. There are other places he can utilize the wish (Kasque . . . oh, Kasque) if she doesn't end up needing or wanting it, but the desire to help her and her friends has been his sentiment since week one.

Edited 2022-04-07 09:53 (UTC)

places my paws on cyrus

DIA!! Sweet, needy Dia.

Cyrus' initial interactions with Diamond were led by his utter fascination with their nature as a precious stone in possession of awareness. His scholarly senses tingled! And they were just so willing to exchange questions and answers in an activity of mutual learning that he couldn't have asked for a better scenario, to say nothing of their appreciation for learning as a whole. Meeting Diamond was something of an introduction to the different species (and not just races) represented in the show for Cyrus, whose intrigue evolved over time as he grew to know them better and beyond their surface glamor.

In particular, he noticed (read: overheard) that they desired total adoration from their match, and from there inferred some related traits, because he enjoys the guessing games so. Dispensing sincere praise was a natural habit of his to start, so the only time he really acted on these inferences was when he emphasized that he found their mind to be the brightest part of them as a way of clarifying that he saw them as more than a mere stone. He meant everything he ever said to them. And he did notice the flickering shadow of something darker, obscured, and raw as the weeks went by, but such was the duality of individual. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing wrong with wanting the wish foremost when it had been a part of the advert (and he enjoyed receiving confirmation that he'd guessed right, because he sure loves the guessing games so), though he did wonder as to whether that wish involved their insecurities. Diamond's treatment of Ash and Trevor also gave them a perceptive edge that Cyrus respected.

As Cyrus became more acquainted with Diamond as an individual, the perspective of what they were and all that it entailed fell slowly into place. He realized that what made Diamond pop from the crowd on their first day was a constant for them with almost everyone. They always seemed to have something about that on their mind, so he thought their mindfulness in tandem with their ability to see people for who they were would be a good match for Marcille, whose dedication to her loved ones would surely provide them with the adoration they craved.

All attempts at making him think romantically flew way over his head, though.

POINTS AT EYES, POINTS AT YOU

Doukus truly lucked out due to a combination of their personality traits and the show, whose premise pushed Cyrus to entertain thoughts that weren't strictly platonic in nature. It helped that Douki-chan told him about looking for a reliable match on their first meeting, which meant the wish probably wasn't a priority for her—not that he considered himself particularly reliable, and that ended up blindsiding him when she picked him for the first matchup ceremony. But he was tickled by the vote, because he did like her quite a bit! . . . Just not romantically. But that was okay: He didn't like anyone that way. If anything, it was a good thing in that her choice made him think those aforementioned thoughts.

He also thought she was reliable, and was thrilled that she felt the same way about education. She seemed a touch shy from the way she'd turned away after a sincere compliment, but that fed into his desire to know her better after she called on him at the ceremony and promptly lost it to the detriment of his face. Boy, he could hear Odette's howling laughter in the distance . . . He was so startled that he sought to understand what he'd done to rattle Douki-chan so. He respected her and was there to learn just why his interactions with the fairer sex seemed to always implode like this, so out of appreciation for her honesty he promised something he'd never thought he would do in his entire life: watch his mouth*.

*"What about Yvon—" This isn't about him.

It was torturous. Every time he opened and closed his mouth, it felt as though he were asphyxiating. He just wanted to say what he was thinking. Conversely, Douki-chan seemed to open up and be more at ease with each effort he made, and that was satisfying to watch . . . Truly, love(?) hurts.

She put up with his terrible sense of coordination during the three-legged race and Cyrus was no fool. Douki-chan was a champ. This was where he really started leaning into the idea that she was someone with whom he could share new experiences, because she was so patient and encouraging despite the utter embarrassments he was making out of them both. The kissing, as rather good as it felt, was absolutely alien to him; he dwelled on what that meant in relation to his feelings toward Douki-chan, later concluding that he enjoyed kissing her and not necessarily the act itself, as his fondness for her made it pleasurable.

Then the truth booth came. Cyrus, who thought himself free to make his choices independent of the algorithm, wasn't especially nervous about the result, though his perfect match was always going to have his deeper consideration due simply to a desire to see what the algorithm saw. He ended up not having to think too hard with Douki-chan. Things seemed to fall into place once they received their confirmation with confetti raining down around them. She was dependable, hardworking, and kind. She taught him things and learned with him on others. No matter how aggravating he could be, she was patient with his failings and explained them in ways others hadn't. She was a comfortable, inspiring presence. The only question was, why hadn't he considered her sooner?

He really thought that she had hauled most of their weight up to that point. She'd been the one to pursue him first while he'd remained none the wiser to their spark. Part of the reason he approached her for the challenge, aside from strategy, was out of curiosity to grasp what precisely was happening between them. Knowing that she'd come onto the show for love, he shifted some gears and tried to think about their matchup from a suitable angle to that wish. This wasn't totally out of left field for Cyrus, who'd joined the show with some interest in exploring the possibility of romance if that was where it led him—and lead him there, it did. Having said that, he knew for certain that he was fond of and well and truly liked her, but couldn't say that he was in love, because she was a person and not some book he loved to obsess over. However, he thought that he could grow to understand the depth of a feeling such as love for another person if he were to remain at her side, and his affection for her grew as the time between them did.

Then he hecked up and they still managed to hit the bed, because Douki-chan was wonderful like that. Cyrus said that he felt contented, and this was the honest truth. It was an undeniably pleasurable experience—one that was only half as good as it had been because it had been with her, in his mind. And she blossomed before him all the while, and it all felt so at home. Cyrus and Douki-chan can both be very passionate, but for Cyrus this was a budding relationship rooted in growth and coziness. He wants her to thrive and be happy, while just being with her is joyful for him.

tl;dr he adores her.

come at me jea.....

Here I come, Koys.

A lot that Cyrus learned about Milla and the other contestants (e.g., Kasque and Jeritza) was based on her interactions with them while his own moments with her were, for the most part, more of the same old in a way he didn't mind. That is, she was curt but not necessarily genuine in that her words oft didn't match her expressions (read: she was sarcastic) and he thought that was very amusing. Really. He thought she was so fun to watch, particularly when she screamed about the shark that never was, from which he walked away with the impression that Milla was not all too adept at expressing herself in less outrageous ways. Because she was dishonest like that, it was an enjoyable sport to guess her thoughts and see what she would do next.

All that aside, he thought she was a considerate person still, especially after her truth booth visit and how fondly she spoke of Douki-chan at the final matchup discussion. It was unfortunate, what happened with Johnny, but she treated him well, considering, and Cyrus was happy for the connection she bridged with Jeritza. Everyone had come onto the show their own reasons, and he hoped she saw to hers and then some. He genuinely had a good time and a part of that was because he could watch individuals with struggles like Milla thrive, to say nothing of his interest in learning more about them and their worlds.

howdy

Cyrus' thoughts on Yoosung were similar to those on Ash, though there was a significant departure where the question of readiness was concerned. He saw much potential that was tethered by the chains of loss and emotional immaturity; on the flipside, the vivacious youthfulness was refreshing and added charm to Yoosung's character. (He didn't think twice about the plush on the morning of the thunderstorm: A man can like what he wants [including pain, oh, yes].) Because the passion had already been planted by Rika, Cyrus believed that Yoosung could shine with the right polish, whether that was the truth or another person entirely.

(He also believed that Ash was a good match for Yoosung, and that Yoosung was probably more ready for the relationship than Ash was by endgame. But, in the end, it was still perhaps too early for both of them.)

Yoosung didn't have the best control over his emotions. Still, Cyrus genuinely considered his presentation during the matchup discussion one of the best in terms of honesty and actually baring himself. It served its purpose of showcasing a very loving heart that had been gnawed away by unresolved anger. Cyrus, whose own quest had involving pursuing the truth, supported Yoosung's wish to learn it, but said little with regards to the latter's grief and rage, simply because he couldn't relate. However, a traveling companion had found some measure of peace after addressing the source of her own anger, so he sincerely hoped that Yoosung would find closure after making his wish. He also wanted to put faith in the bright future that Yoosung could realize as an animal doctor after growing into some more responsibility, because Cyrus is nothing if not optimistic about people's capacity to ever improve.

maybe after this thread

waves

Cyrus considers himself a broad-minded thinker, so he practiced tolerance and sought to understand Ash's views when they first challenged his on their meeting. To that end, he made his disagreement plain without trying to change Ash's opinions, because everyone was entitled to theirs and he much preferred to gain insight into his fellow contestants than fight with them on the first day—hence the joke that a good book helped him sleep at night as much as a good deed.

Having said that, Ash wasn't thorny as some of Cyrus' previous company, so a bit of cynicism didn't bother him in the slightest! It was actually not that hard to engage with Ash, who, in his mind, was a pretty simple lad. Ash struck him as someone who was straightforward and generally meant what he said with the capacity to forget (or try to forget) the past very quickly (see: drama with Diamond).

Their group date refined and solidified Cyrus' impressions that Ash was everything he had thought him to be: open and caring to those who touched his heart while equally distrustful of the world and its corruption—and therefore something of an unreliable narrator from time to time, presumably out of a heightened sense of self-preservation. His thoughts during the shocking display at the final matchup discussion leaned into this conclusion with the reinforcement that Ash's selflessness toward Mar was mirrored by selfishness to the point of nearsightedness, which had formed over a nest of childhood scars . . . and that was truly a shame, because Cyrus believes Ash can bring more than the light of the healing arts to the world if he could work through his trauma instead of running away from it insofar that the mere idea of changing terrifies him.

TL;CR Meme;

Cyrus Albright

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