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[naoke666]

I see, I see how it is

so, last year magitools weren't able to win the top prize.

This year they are unlikely to win the top prize either (Iruma ranking up TWICE would make 0 sense).

So how about

How about Iruma and Kirio having a climactic encounter at the end of the 2nd year, which finally makes kirio switch sides (if only so that he could monopolize Iruma's despair and not have anyone else have it).

How about Kirio having to redo his 3rd year now that he is back to Babyls. And Iruma just so happens. He just so happens to start his 3rd year too. And even though it's strange to think about this, but they are not really senpai and kouhai anymore, they are equal years now.

And how about it's almost time for the new batra party.

And Iruma confesses that in the end he wasn't able to win the top prize. Not 1st year, not 2nd year. But he still wants to fulfill the promise they have made. To win the top prize, together. So this year they absolutely MUST do it.

What if Iruma manages to motivate Kirio to do it by telling him to imagine the despair on people's faces once they realise that all the effort they have put in, all of that was nothing in front of whatever magitools have cooked up this year.

What if, after years of their greed and desires clashing

They finally, finally combine them together

Would that be romantic, or would that be romantic. Am I insane, or am I insane.

[naoke666]

Spoilers for Mairuma Deviculum arc cause I gotta get this off my chest, like...

There's something about the fact that despite Kirio's obsession with Iruma, he's never the one making the first move. He's never the one approaching.

First meeting: ring drags Iruma into Kirio

Battler festival: Iruma has to struggle to find his way to Kirio, who didn't entirely anticipate his coming

Walter Park: Iruma (unknowingly) goes to where Kirio is; Kirio sees him but doesn't approach him

Post-music festival: Kirio's one real attempt to go to see Iruma himself fails. Even then, he really just went to a place where he hoped Iruma would come to him.

Deviculum arc: they see each other, and Kirio walks away. It is only because Iruma chases him that they interact, even though Kirio desperately wanted to see Iruma. It's only after this that he traps Iruma--and is he even aiming to trap him, or just to keep Asmodeus out?

And of course, when he talks about Iruma losing his allies, he doesn't talk about that leaving Iruma vulnerable to him. He wants to drive Iruma to come to him willingly.

There's something there, but what? A reflection of Kirio's underlying desire to be wanted? A metaphor for despair as seductive, something that draws you in and traps you? Idk, I just love their fucked up dynamic and I want it to end with Kirio finally crawling back to Iruma.

[naoke666]

happy sorta b-day kirio!!

13/13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[naoke666]

hes a yandere girl to me

[naoke666]

[naoke666]

Much like Kirio is obsessed with despairing faces, I'm obsessed with Kirio's "Iruma has destabilized his worldview and it's only a matter of time before it crumbles under the realization that there is love and hope in the world" faces.

[naoke666]

all the girlies together :)

[naoke666]

I AM SO NORMAL RN. I AM SO SANE. NEW META FOR IRUMA&KIRIO AND MY SILLY LITTLE POST GETS MENTIONED TOO?? I AM SO HONOURED HSHDJBSKDKS

This was such a good read, and as someone who is getting real tired of the repetitive "why can't Iruma just give up on him" takes, I really appreciate this post.

I have a couple more thoughts to add as well but I need a bit of time to write a proper response

Iruma & Kirio as foils, or: Why does Iruma still want Kirio?

TLDR: they want to own each other, mind your business

This won the poll of which meta to write up first, so let’s get into it. I’ve seen plenty of fan complaints about Iruma being “too forgiving” towards Kirio or blinded by love, and I think that misses the actual point of Iruma’s experience here, which is grounded in the way he and Kirio are not only foils, but fundamentally opposing forces. 

(Disclaimer that I’m not saying “Kirio did nothing wrong” “uwu poor little meow meow” etc. I’m fundamentally not interested in whether a character “deserves” redemption, I don’t believe in punitive justice, justice is not even a major theme in Mairuma, and I think if any sort of justice is being brought into the interpretation, Kirio is most compelling when considered through a lens of transformative justice and societal-level questions.) 

General Parallels & Kirio’s Side

We see them start from similar places: most highlighted is the way they are both basically disabled in terms of their magical ability, and rely on assistive devices provided by a “guardian figure” (loosely interpreted for Baal). What is highlighted less, but I think can be inferred from narrative framing, is the ways in which their ambitions are mirrored, based on their trauma/fears. We see in the Harvest Festival that Iruma’s trauma centers on his loneliness–that people will leave him, particularly if he can’t live up to the role he’s been given (more on that when I write up how psychological dehumanization plays into the story, but the narrative is quite explicit on Iruma’s trauma & abuse/neglect). 

Extrapolating, we can see how loneliness is also at the root of Kirio’s choices. He’s been shunned by everyone, especially his own family, for his weakness. His mental break comes when the one person who would “smile at him” looks at him in despair. He explicitly approaches Baal “to look for those who are the same as me”--interesting that he seems to be reinterpreting his isolation as due to his “twisted nature” rather than his weakness now.   

So, both Iruma and Kirio are given a place to belong from a “guardian figure”. During this time, Iruma begins to unlearn some of the unhealthy ways he coped with loneliness (doing anything for anyone for any ounce of positive attention), while Kirio is encouraged to deepen his (seeking others’ despair, pulling them down to his level; more on this and Baal’s manipulation in another essay). 

Moving on, we can see how Iruma is antithetical to Kirio’s ambitions. Iruma is evidence that people can resist despair. He needs to make Iruma despair–it's not just "I want to see people despair and he won't give it to me"--for Kirio, despair is the organization of his life, explicitly stated as his “reason for living”. Kirio approaches Baal for community, says "I am broken," and Baal tells him that he is not a mistake, he is not alone, that the way he is is natural. Iruma calls all that into question. If despair is a choice people can avoid, then his identity collapses. It's not everyone's true nature--it's just him, he is alone, and he is a mistake. He could have chosen to resist despair, but he was either too weak or too twisted (either way, too broken) to manage it. The fandom gets distracted by the eroticism of cannibalism, but it is Iruma’s despair that is Kirio’s real goal. Whether Kirio realizes it or not, he needs Iruma to despair to justify his very existence.

Iruma’s Side and Existential Conflict

It may seem like Iruma cares so much about Kirio because of his issues prioritizing others over himself, but I believe his desire for Kirio is when he is at his most self-assured, and most selfish. After all, Iruma's ambitions are also impossible without Kirio returning to his side. 

Iruma wants to belong in the netherworld, wants to remain by his friends’ sides, and ultimately wants to create a kind netherworld where people are encouraged to grow–basically, to protect and spread the love and opportunity that he was given. Meeting Kirio is his first real glimpse at these ambitions (@naoke666 has a great tongue-in-cheek analysis of this), and also the first time he must confront the true opposition to this ambition. 

Here, I believe Kirio comes to represent the ultimate reality of demons for Iruma. He was warned about demons eating him from the beginning, but Kirio is his first actual exposure to the potential evils of the world that would make it uninhabitable for him. 

Kirio wants a cruel world. Sure, he's not the only one, but the others are adults who have chosen this path again and again. It's not just what Kirio does or wants, but the idea that he represents demon nature. So it’s not that Iruma wants Kirio back because he doesn’t see how fucked up Kirio is–Iruma needs Kirio back specifically because of that. If Kirio really is what he says he is–fundamentally and naturally sadistic–if demons really will always naturally be like him, then Iruma existing in the demon world he wants is impossible. Sure, he could become strong enough to fight them off, but that wouldn't be a kind world. Iruma could kill Kirio, but that would only prove that Iruma must kill to survive. If Kirio is right, then even if Iruma defeats him in terms of power, Iruma still won't have the world he wants. If Iruma gives up on Kirio, he will admit that there are times he will have to give up, and he declared in their first conflict that he wouldn’t give anything up.

For both of them, it's not enough to defeat each other--each one needs to prove the other wrong to survive on the path they've chosen. They are locked in a tug-of-war, trying to pull each other to their side because that is the only way their "side" can continue to coherently exist. If they don't pull the other to their side, then the new world they want to create can't come to be. While Kirio needs to pull Iruma down to him, to feel the same despair he does, Iruma needs to pull Kirio up with him to be able to create the kind netherworld he wants. 

I think it’s very narratively interesting to acknowledge that they are both epistemic/existential threats to each other. Obviously, Iruma’s is the happy outcome, but their desires for each other are still paralleled. In Kirio’s mind, Iruma “winning” would destroy him just as much as he plans to destroy Iruma–after all, Kirio believes that he can’t be anything other than what he is now, and if that were true, there would be no place for him in Iruma’s world.

Ultimately, though, I don't think this is a story that believes a child can just be fundamentally evil, and despite what we’re told about demon nature, what we’re consistently shown is that demons and humans aren’t very different–we all want to be loved, want to be acknowledged, want to strive. And even if you don’t buy any of this, Mairuma is a story about Iruma getting what he wants, and he wants Kirio. After all, Iruma declares that he loves demons, loves the demon world–Kirio, as the first person he truly recognizes as a demon, has to be there as well. (@mx-88 just posted a good Kirio redemption analysis you should check out as well.)

Anyway, that’s one Mairu-meta essay down. Hope to hear your thoughts/additions/polite contradictions!

[naoke666]

The liveliest homeroom at Babyls.

[naoke666]

Kiriwo ending up being a creep was a surprise! He seemed so sweet 😔 but this outcome isn’t too bad either 🤷

Also I’m trying to find my style again 😭 it’s been a bit inconsistent lately tbh

[naoke666]

I Got Knocked Out While Escaping From Prison And When I Woke Up I Was Stuck In My Secret Pickle Jar!?

[naoke666]

Wow, 100 noted this quickly

this took way too much time

[naoke666]

explaining how i see kirio's and iruma's relationship, part 2

[naoke666]

this took way too much time

[naoke666]

I love clowns so as soon as I saw this on Pinterest I had to draw him

[naoke666]

he fantasises about this regularly

[naoke666]

I can't stop thinking about this post