#97
“[Villain].” The supervillain beckons them closer from around the door. “I think you might like this one.”
He’s in their little captive room; being a criminal organisation has made them improvise their spaces. A hero is tied to the rickety chair in the middle of the room, ignoring them both with their head bent. A rare sight, and a nice one at that. A sight that suggests a hint of winning.
“Wait,” the supervillain says softly.
They wait. Nothing happens. “[Supervillain], what—”
A sound breaks through their question. A sniffle. The villain ducks slightly to look at the hero’s face, catching the glistening trail of long-since shed tears on their cheeks. Catching heroes is rare enough, but having them cry about it? Gold.
The supervillain flashes them a quick grin. “Wait ‘til you hear their cover story.”
The villain steps forward and flops down in the seat in front of the hero. The hero keeps their head ducked, holding back shuddering breaths, and the villain simply waits for acknowledgement.
Waiting is in vain, it seems. The hero refuses to look up, even when they clear their throat expectantly.
“I thought heroes were meant to be made of steel,” they comment eventually.
The hero finally looks at them, and the villain only feels slightly bad about the miserable quiver of their mouth and the leaking of their eyes. “I’m not a hero,” they say shakily.
The villain raises their eyebrows. Denial’s a new one. “He must have told you that!” the hero continues, their gaze set on the supervillain at the door, and on the last word they break down into tears.
The villain glances back at the supervillain and he throws them another elated smirk. The slightly bad feeling they felt suddenly splits into painful worry.
They turn back to the hero and open their mouth to say something, but it occurs to them they don’t know who the hero is. They’ve never seen them before.
The worry becomes gnawing.
“You’re not a hero,” the villain reiterates slowly, and the hero’s head snaps up faster than the villain thought they could move.
“Yes!” they cry. Hours of tears scratch at their throat. “Thank god, yes. I’m– I’m not a hero. The agency they– they took me off the street, I’m not a hero or anything or– I’m not anything to do with them I swear please the agency is just–”
“Stop,” the villain snaps, and the hero's words cut off abruptly. “The agency took you off the street?”
The hero nods as they gulp down another sob. “I don’t know why. They threw me out in a hero costume and told me to distract the villains, I don’t– I don’t know anything—”
“Hey,” the villain says smoothly. They scoot their chair closer to the hero’s. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re all here because we hate the agency, right?” They glance back to the supervillain, who’s looking rather unimpressed by this turn of events. “You’re on our side now.”
The sob escapes the hero’s throat this time. Or whoever they are. “I just want to go home,” they manage through the tears.
The villain fishes a tissue from their pocket, tipping the hero’s head back to carefully wipe some of the tears from their face. “I know,” they say softly, “but the agency might be out searching for you right now. We’ll look after you until you can go home, okay?”
The hero hiccups their next breath. “T–Thank you.”
“I’ll get you back on your feet,” the villain says with a sigh. They glance back at the supervillain scowling from the door. “And [Supervillain] will go find whatever the hell the agency’s trying to distract us from.”
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Iruma-kun, the Six Fingers and Humanity
I have been mulling over this idea for days as I devoured the Iruma-kun anime then manga and am still struggling to articulate it. The best I can boil down to is the whole goal of the Six Fingers and the return to origins is, unbeknownst to them, a desire to become more human.
I can understand, in a way, their frustration. Demons used to be merciless killers, where the strong surpassed the weak and magic, aggression and power won the day. Now we see they have idol concerts and theme parks and silly games to help demons safely purge their “wickedness” which is, in reality just another part of their nature. The majority of modern day demons deny a large part of themselves. The whole idea of a wicked cycle is endlessly fascinating to me, like this species has compartmentalized themselves so much that their pent up darker impulses periodically spring out and require them to be handled gently or hidden away. I can see how this practice is insulting and incredibly restrictive of what a demon is.
Now, right from the start, Iruma has stood out in the demon world for a few reasons. First and most obviously, he lacks any practical or cultural knowledge of demonic society. We see Iruma ignorantly stride past social norms and boundaries he didn’t even know existed. If it weren’t for his upbeat, people pleasing attitude he’d be written off as a delinquent but instead he helps foster an environment of change in a bunch of slackers and misguided students. And change is a radical concept in a society that hasn’t replaced the demon king in centuries since the old one disappeared. The effect of Iruma’s very presence, his enthusiasm and attitude and cooperative abilities can be seen so strongly on the Misfit class that its no wonder he’s become such a stand out student.
So I had heard of Irumean when I first started the series and had high expectations of him being a full on bastard. And he simply wasn’t. He was arrogant, reckless, rude at the worst but even those around him commented that his innate, unnatural kindness was still there. I argue because Irumean was never a true wicked cycle. It was Ali-san’s attempt to induce a demonic ritual onto him. But humans aren’t like demons, Iruma is a good, kind, patient boy due to his trauma and strength of character. At any point he could lash out in the most horrific fashion and leave everyone stunned because he is not bound such such strict rules of personality and conduct. His humanity is as much a strength as it is a weakness.
So according to recent chapters, Iruma has traces of Delkira’s energy. My first thought was that it was emanating from Ali-san, which is a distinct possibility but why was the ring attracted to Iruma in the first place? My next theory is that Delkira had some connection to humans as well. Either he’s a hafling or a demonized human or spent a significant amount of time in the human world. Either way, this human perspective is what made him so powerful, such an irreplaceable leader that his throne has remained empty for so long. One could even argue that the energy that the Six Fingers identify as ‘Delkira’ is actually just ‘human’ since the King’s energy is familiar while a human’s is not.
My whole round about point I’m doing a very poor job of explaining essentially boils down to, demons want to return to their origins to have more control over their baser instincts. Instincts and free will that humans, such as Iruma, possess naturally. But while Iruma has the capability for great evil, unrestrained by a set cycle, he also has such an overflowing well of love in him. Delkira, what little we’ve seen of him comes across as brash, fickle and cruel. You may note those are human traits as well. But Iruma also leads with kindness, dedication and teamwork. He will make a marvelous King because the humanity he brings to the table will help all of demonkind.
I do believe as the manga progresses we will see Iruma’s humanity become a game changer in the battle against the Six Fingers. How he sees the world (both human and demon), how he interacts and inspires others, how he fights. Reaching a point where not only does Iruma stand up for himself but he is forced to cause harm (and by consequence addressing his people pleasing trauma) and behave in a manner not seen by demons outside of their wicked cycle. When he does, years down the road, become King, I believe he will address the concerns of factions like the Six Fingers. Demons are not meant to be fully contained but cannot be allowed to run rampant. With his feet in both worlds, I believe he will be able to balance both opposing views and ‘heal’ the underworld as the prophecy states. Not just from the instability of the Six Fingers but from this bizarre evolutionary cycle demons have fallen into over the centuries.
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i do think the jealousy in school reunion is really interesting i think thats a really fun part of the doctor companion dynamic to explore, what makes me roll my eyes is the we're both in love with him "the missus and the ex" thing
but like the jealousy thing on its own? just the flipside of the making people feel special thing that we explored a bit with 12. the doctor does single people out, does make them feel special, their attention is like a fucking spotlight who would be immune to that warmth
but the other side of that then is like, was it their attention that made me special? was it their companionship that made me special? thinking of donna going travelling "it's all bus trips and guidebooks and dont drink the water and two weeks later youre back home" like sure thats comparing what the trips are like but like, that also describes sort of like, who you get to be on those trips right? a tourist vs a hero
thinking of yaz in combat magicks being like "yaz liked wearing her uniform because it marked her out as someone who belonged anywhere. ready to help, and with the right to intervene. the doctor just breezed in and made the whole universe her business, like she was born to it, and yaz longed for that confidence." thats sort of what being the doctor's plus one gives you, right? access to everywhere, without consequences, except maybe your own death but the doctor makes you feel invincible too so you dont worry about that
so sure there would be jealousy but i think making it into an ex-girlfriend kinda jealousy flattens it? "in amongst 7 billion theres someone like you" and then you get to save planets. you become a part of the doctor's hero complex. you get to see beautiful amazing things but you also get to prove yourself a hero every day. thinking of rose "the doctor showed me a better way of living your life. you dont just give up. you have the guts to do whats right when everyone else just runs away" you get to feel powerful. you get a lot of agency where in your daily life you probably dont have a lot. thats what the doctor gives to those handful of the seven billion. so what if they take it away?
thinking of clara asking "why me?" and sarah jane "did i do something wrong?" why did i get this opportunity. and why was it taken away. was it anything i did? and if it wasnt, then doesnt that undermine all that agency you made me feel like i had? can i do this on my own too? and of course lots of companions prove they can, they dont need the doctor to be who they are but idk. i think it would still be kinda insecure-making when youre still with the doctor. when youre still in the middle of it like rose in school reunion. when you dont know yet what After will look like
and this is something the fam doesnt have to deal with i think. because they came to the doctor. they werent picked, they werent offered, they asked. they dont have to wonder 'why did you pick me'. which im kinda relieved about especially thinking about yaz? imagine having to wonder 'was i a friend of convenience' on top of everything else. oof.
and another thing is that of course for the doctor the rejection hurts just as much. when a companion says no thank you, your way of life doesnt seem that fun to me (anymore)
anyway so uh tldr i guess the jealousy thing is interesting but making it a romantic jealousy is not whats interesting about it
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