#if you cant tell already by the 3000 word dissertation

[daistea]

𝙼𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚜

gn!reader

word count: 3,000 :o !

Mild Spoilers! Sfw-ish

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

What Do The Canaries Think?

Before you can date Mithrun, you must first defeat his five evil exes. (The Canaries.)

Depending on your background, Pattadol may either be suspicious of you or happy that you’re with the Captain. If you have her trust, she’s generally quite supportive. She cares for Mithrun like how a fresh out of highschool over-achieving kid that just got a job at the local dumpy gas station cares for their chain-smoking 40 year old manager that handles all the rude customers. That is, not quite a big brother, but not quite simply a coworker. Pattadol is one of the first to recognize Mithrun’s feelings for you. She generally stays out of his business, though, and is your savior when it comes to dealing with the other Canaries. Defeat her with the power of kindness and sensibility. Or not. She’ll respect Mithrun’s decision no matter what. 

Cithis does not like you, not unless you do something to earn her respect. It’s not personal, she just sees you as a nuisance, a fly buzzing around the Captain's head; except he’s decided to keep the fly as a pet for some reason. She’s the first to notice Mithrun’s feelings and it honestly surprises her. On occasion, she’ll whisper horrible little things about you to Mithrun in an attempt to irritate him— things like “Oh look, they’re smiling so sweetly at someone else. Doesn’t that drive you mad?” Mithrun doesn’t react, simply casting her a glance. “No, it doesn’t,” he says. Cithis gives him a look and his good eye flickers away in thought. “A bit,” he corrects himself. She doesn’t push him too far, though. She will try to establish her dominance over you. Defeat her with the power of stubbornness and determination. 

Fleki doesn’t care. She will make fun of both you and Mithrun and ask a lot of invasive, embarrassing personal questions just for funsies. Mithrun doesn’t mind the questions at all, but if they make you uncomfortable then he’ll tell her to stop. She thinks it's funny to interrupt your alone time and be a third wheel. However, if anyone criticizes you or your relationship, she’s one of the first to defend you. Defeat her with the power of a sense of humor and maybe drugs or an interesting toy to distract her. 

Lycion does not like you. It is personal. He’s simply protective and jealous. It’ll take him a while to warm up to the idea of you and the Captain being together, no matter what you do. Just give him time. He won’t go so far as to try and break you up, but you’ll notice him sometimes watching you coolly, his face calm but his eyes analytical, observing your every move. Beneath that stare, you feel like a rabbit being stalked by a wolf. Once he warms up to you, he joins Fleki in asking invasive questions. You almost wish he still disliked you… Defeat him with the power of patience and a thick skin. 

Otta doesn’t care either. If you’re part of a short-lived race, she’ll have slight affection for you and be the most understanding about your relationship with Mithrun— if you die years before Mithrun, Otta is the one who supports and pities him, rather than just being confused as to why he falls apart afterwards like the others are. If you’re long-lived, she doesn’t care about your relationship as much, it isn’t nearly as interesting to her then. Otta does not need to be defeated.

 You’ve defeated the Canaries! What awaits you now?

Mithrun has been in relationships before, but not in the last forty-ish years. Not since The Incident. Before The Incident he was quite charming, a little careless, and kind of a bad boyfriend. He had so many red flags. He hid them well, though, and nobody really got close enough for him to feel comfortable dropping his facade, so the red flags generally stayed hidden. Toxic bf Mithrun was real. 

He’s been in relationships. He’s slept with people. He thinks he knows what to do and for the first time in forever, he considers doing those things again. With you. The feeling may be a bit dim and uncomfortable for him, something that must be cultivated, but post-ending Mithrun isn’t about to ignore it. 

Pre-ending Mithrun is a bit more stubborn, though. Most think he doesn’t feel anything, but he does. He feels empathy for dungeon lords, he can be surprised, he can be irritated, he can be desperate when it comes to his goals. Most emotions are dimmed, though, and it would take him a while to recognize what’s happening when he starts falling in love. And when he does recognize it, it kind of irritates him. It’s a distraction. It’s useless to him. But he doesn’t really do anything about it, if you want to cozy up to him then go ahead, just don’t get your hopes up. He will react physically, though, such as tensing when you touch him, grabbing you to pull you out of the way of danger, sometimes his stomach churns when you smile… He has no desire to question those things. 

Can you romance pre-ending Mithrun? Yes and no. Don’t expect much. Are your feelings requited? Yes and no. Don’t expect much. Can you get physical? Sometimes. Don’t expect much. 

Post-ending Mithrun is more willing to explore these feelings. The demon is dead, he’s… trying to live. He honestly planned to simply waste away once the demon was defeated— and that wouldn’t have even been satisfying, either, because killing the demon wasn’t his true desire. Now, he’s working on his view of himself and his existence. His desires aren’t going to just magically reappear in him, it will take a lot of work and patience. When a desire for you starts to grow, he closely examines it, curious. What is it about you that attracts him? It starts out in a cavalier manner, this new desire is simply there and he’s not going to do much about it. Then it starts to fester. Mithrun starts noticing more things about you, little stuff that he never would’ve bothered to see before. He starts taking note of how he physically reacts to your touch and presence. He may not have the desire to do things like eat or sleep, but he still experiences the physical repercussions of those things— collapsing from exhaustion, a growling stomach. It’s the same with your touch. A skip of his heart, heat in his stomach, his gaze lingering on you whenever you’re near.

The desire grows and becomes undeniable. That’s when Mithrun starts to get a bit more emotional, a bit more desperate, a bit possessive. When he develops a desire for something, he digs his claws in and refuses to let go. 

It gets to the point where he just inserts himself into your life. He does it subtly and casually, without any passion or performance or drama. He’s just… there one day. How did his clothes get in your drawer? Don’t worry about it.

Mithrun thinks he knows what to do in a relationship since he was in a few before the dungeon. Except, he was a selfish, emotionally-closed off boyfriend. Fortunately, he doesn’t really have the desire to take the steps he used to take in relationships. He knows he should probably take you on dates, flirt with you, do the whole confession thing… 

He does not do those things. 

Not normally, at least. Mithrun simply figures that if you wanted a typical relationship, you wouldn’t be interested in a person like him. So he’s going to just do what he wants. 

What does he want, though? He doesn’t really want much of anything but you and maybe a few other little desires he’s cultivated. But in order to have you, he has to do things. What things? It suddenly hits him that no matter how much experience he had with relationships before the dungeon, things are different now and he’s basically starting over in that area. 

Mithrun decides to just simply do what feels right. 

His method of flirtation? Staring at you. Subtly touching you. Grabbing your wrist or waist and suddenly teleporting you both somewhere more private even though he knows you hate it when he teleports you without warning. 

Dates with Mithrun? Doing errands together. Him inviting you to his house and listening to you talk. 

A confession? No. You can ask Mithrun what you are, if you want, and he’ll say, “We’re in a relationship. Did you not notice?” He doesn’t even flinch. How long have you been dating? Neither of you really know. 

If you never ask what you two are, he’s never going to say anything unless the situation calls for it. You might find out randomly one day when he’s talking to a merchant and says, “I’ll buy this for my partner.”

"Who's your partner?" You ask.

Mithrun simply looks at you. He's thinking something but you can't quite tell what yet. Finally, he raises a brow, "You. Obviously."

Obviously.

Imagine that you have no clue you’ve been dating for years and one day he just slips a ring on your finger and tells you that the wedding is next weekend. 

Mithrun doesn’t have as many red flags as he used to, but there’s still a few. He can be a bit unsupportive sometimes. He can be apathetic. And possessive. 

His possessiveness is subtle and only really kicks in once he’s deeply in love. You’re only in Melini temporarily and have to return home? Oops your boat was destroyed, there’s chairs stuck in walls and planks hanging from the ceiling. You got another boat? Oops that one’s been mysteriously destroyed too. Another boat? Oops—

“Are you destroying my boats?” You ask. Mithrun doesn’t even glance up from his book when he answers, “Yep.” 

“Stop doing that.”

He finally looks up, his face blank as he meets your eyes. “No.”

He’ll stop if you insist but he’s going to be grumpy about it.

Mithrun trusts you, his possessiveness doesn’t come from a place of insecurity. He’s just finally found a desire, another reason to keep living, and he’s not going to let go of that. 

Yet, he's never really outwardly jealous. He doesn't make a scene. He doesn't start fights. But the person flirting with you feels this presence... like eyes on the back of their neck... like danger lurking from the shadows... They turn around and Mithrun is just standing there with his arms crossed.

He likes to teleport people away from you. Pattadol has asked him to stop because it's scaring the people of Melini. He just does it more subtly then.

Generally, a relationship with Mithrun is understated. Your connection runs deep but is unspoken. He says I Love You through soft touches, through the way he opens the door for you, by the way he stares, how he lingers, how he starts taking better care of himself so as to not worry you, how he gives you his cloak when you’re cold, how he gets a bit unhinged if you're hurt in the dungeon. Little things.

Domestic Headcanons

Mithrun actually has bad depth perception due to being blind in one eye. He’s learned how to deal with it, but on occasion you’ll playfully toss something at him and he’ll miss catching it by a longshot. You apologize profusely, but he doesn’t really mind. It is what it is. 

His sense of direction is worse. But he carries himself with such confidence and authority that people often ask him for directions. You’re usually leading the way when you go out.

Mithrun post-canon actually cooks a bit more than one would realize. His food isn’t good at first, but Senshi teaches him a bit and he gets better! Cooking together with you, or cooking for you, is one of his preferred activities. 

He’s very clean and tends to keep his house spotless. This also surprises people since they assume he would have no desire to clean. They’re right, he doesn’t have that desire, but he’s been trained to keep his surroundings clean. It’s just a habit, something he does robotically, automatically. 

FUN FACT: HIS EARS TWITCH. What’s left of them is still quite soft and he will, on occasion, let you touch them. They tend to twitch when he’s annoyed, droop when he’s sad, and perk up when he’s interested or curious, like all elf ears. If you blow on them, they’ll flicker like a cat’s, but he’ll usually pull away and give you a Look if you do that. 

Mithrun sleeps like a burrito. You don’t share blankets in bed, you need your own. Even in hot weather, he’s still wrapped up. 

He also tends to wake up late in the morning. 

He likes it when you play with his hair. If you don’t brush it for him, it won't get done and will start to tangle. On hot days, it’s good to pull his hair back into a little stubby ponytail to keep it off his neck.

Mithrun is a cuddler, surprisingly. He doesn’t like anyone else touching him, but he chooses to touch you. He likes wrapping his arms around your waist from behind, tangling your fingers together, and pulling you into his lap or sitting on yours.

If you’re smaller and lighter than him, he will not hesitate to manhandle you in certain situations. He’ll throw you over his shoulder, pick you up and set you down elsewhere, and carry you if you ask. You’re in front of the kitchen drawer he needs into? You’re getting lifted up without warning and set down outside the perimeters of the kitchen. He’s quite strong for an elf! 

If you’re the bigger one, feel free to manhandle him! He’s used to it. 

He teleports around the house. And his steps are light. It’s not his intention to scare you, though, that’s just what he does. 

The Canaries are in your house often. Fleki likes to sleep on your couch. Lycion likes to eat your food. Mithrun kicks them out eventually.  

He doesn’t really care about introducing you to his family, but once his brother finds out that he’s in a relationship, he wants to meet you! He has many stories to tell you about Mithrun's childhood.

There’s a chance that Mithrun has never met his biological father. He actually doesn’t care about that and has no desire to meet him. I headcanon that he doesn’t have a good relationship with his mother or her husband. While he’s generally let go of the resentment over being sent to the Canaries, he still doesn’t really want to interact with them. 

Modern Au Headcanons

He uses three in one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. He used to have a hair care routine before the Trauma, but now it's more efficient to use the three in one. 

He isn’t allowed to drive. He’s your passenger princess. 

Mithrun would play bass. This information was given to me through a prophetic dream, soooo...

He was probably raised playing something fancy like harp, violin, or piano. But he never kept up with it. 

Mithrun can ballroom dance! Does he enjoy it? Not at all. But he can and will if you ask. 

He prefers cats. 

Mithrun drinks seven Red Bulls a day. Fleki sometimes pours Nyquil into his can and Mithrun proceeds to see The Hat Man. 

On occasion, he’ll smoke a cigarette. But he doesn’t like how it makes his clothes smell, so it’s rare. 

Hoodies, baggy jackets, jeans, and slip on dad-shoes are all that’s in his closet. 

You’re invited to his apartment… You walk in, and the living room is empty save for one folding chair with a television in front of it. Still, it’s spotless, clean, and smells of Windex. 

His fridge is empty aside from energy drinks— they do not give him energy— and bowls of ramen he never finished eating. 

Once he starts recovering from the Trauma, his fridge looks better and he cooks more often. 

Mithrun’s preferred video game of choice is Fallout New Vegas. Don’t ask me why, I just know. 

He also likes Legend of Zelda! His consoles and devices are old and he’s never caught up on new releases. 

His phone screen is insanely cracked but he never gets around to fixing it. 

He doesn’t answer phone calls. Even from his brother or the Canaries. He just doesn’t feel like it. Text him if you want his attention. 

Zero social media presence. However, if he wants to stalk someone— you— he has Cithis use one of her many burner/catfish accounts so she can do it and tell him the tea. 

He goes to the gym at two in the morning because he can’t sleep. 

No therapist, no antidepressants, just raw dogging life. 

He is weirdly good at Jeopardy. 

The Canaries meet every Saturday at a dingy bar near his apartment! Mithrun’s tolerance is low, though, so he doesn’t drink much. (Before the Trauma, he would regularly get white girl wasted.)

If he does drink too much, he just falls asleep. 

They also have monthly game nights! Mithrun is an absolute menace at Catan. The rest of the table is screaming, making deals, arguing with each other, but Mithrun sits there quietly, strategizing… The Canaries don’t actually care who wins, they just want Mithrun to lose. 

The Canaries will sometimes drag him to concerts, parties, or music festivals. He brings ear plugs and his Kindle. (You’re on stage, singing your hit song. The crowd is going wild, girls are screaming your name, begging for your attention. But then you see him… He’s not paying attention, he’s not looking for your approval. He’s just reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in the middle of the crowd, his hair in a messy bun, his converse black. This guy is different… This guy is deep… You invite him backstage afterward. He insults your music, thinking it's for preps. His friends forced him to come and he'd rather be in his room, listening to mcr and reading books. Your infatuation with this quirky senior citizen only grows.)

My Relationship Playlist for Mithrun

Never Love an Anchor - The Crane Wives

Runner - Tennis

Metaphor - The Crane Wives

Feel Better - Penelope Scott 

Absence - Rio Romeo

Pearl Diver - Mitski

The Perfect Pair - beabadoobee

The Only Exception - Paramore

From Eden - Hozier

High and Dry - Radiohead

We’ll Never Have Sex - Leith Ross

How I’d Kill - Cowboy Malfoy

Curses - The Crane Wives

✧˖°

[studywith-laura]

An Honest Review of University: From a Third Year Student

I’ve recently completed three years of study at the University of Nottingham and I can confidently say that the University experience is one like no other I’ve ever had. Between balancing the chaos of new-found friendships and the demanding workload of studying at a Russel group University, I’ve certainly been on quite the learning curve. There’s some things that you just cant be prepared for before you begin your university journey, but I hope to highlight some of the realities of University living that they don’t tell you when you pick up your brochure on the Open Day.

Now some of these reviews of my University experience will be specific to the University of Nottingham, so hopefully these can be helpful to any of you thinking specifically of studying at this University. Others will be more general so will hopefully be helpful to a whole range of people who are starting their University journey!

Campus Life:

Having the opportunity to live on campus, especially one as beautiful as that of UoN, made my first year of Uni even more special. I lived in Lenton and Wortley hall during my first year of University and I couldn’t have had a more positive experience. Living in halls gives you the perfect opportunity to meet lots of people as soon as you arrive at your accommodation, and I was lucky that this was where the majority of my close friendships at University began. Being surrounded by so many new people can be overwhelming, but for me this was nothing but a positive experience and I found friends I know I’ll have for life. It’s amazing how quickly friendships can form and blossom when you start eating every meal together, as we did in catered halls. Now this wouldn’t be a fair review if I didn’t tell you about the realities of mass catering, which often means that Friday night dinner is the leftovers from Thursday night rebranded as ‘Chef’s Special’. So be prepared for spending more money than you budgeted for on food from the takeaway when you just can’t take another night of soggy vegetables and Muller Corners.

Despite a less than luxury experience with being cooked for during my first year of University, this gave me the opportunity to adapt to living alone in a new city without being thrown completely in the deep end with having to learn to cook at the same time, something I didn’t have to worry about until I moved into a shared house in second year. One other downside of living in catered halls however is how expensive it can be – I lived in an en-suite room, and being catered for, this made living costs for first year very expensive. This isn’t something I regret however – it made settling into University much easier for me and meant that I didn’t have to worry about sharing my private space with people I wasn’t yet comfortable with. I could choose these people for myself and decide who I wanted to share with in second year!

Living directly on campus also makes attending lectures and seminars much easier (yes, I did actually attend my lectures in first year, despite my Instagram suggesting otherwise). Living so close to your lecture theatres just makes life so much more convenient, and means you can risk sleeping in a bit later if you had one too many drinks at the pub the night before.

Social Life

I’ve been lucky in that I quickly found a group of people who I really got on well with upon moving to University, so I soon had people who I was hanging out with regularly. I’ve also found that my social circle has expanded throughout my time at University, so don’t worry if you don’t find your ‘people’ straight away, there’s plenty of people who you just haven’t met yet who you’re bound to click with! It’s easy to make friends at University, whether that’s through shared accommodation, your course or a society, there’s always plenty of people who are eager to make new friends. Living in a city also makes for a great social life, as there’s countless bars and brunch cafes which make for easy bonding with your new-found friends.

Although the experience of living with your friends is an exciting one and something you’re unlikely to experience anywhere else, it can at times be draining, as it becomes hard to say no to another free club night (it did for me, anyway). So, make sure that while you’re putting yourself out there and trying new things, that you’re also taking time for yourself and protecting your own mental health. The pub can wait!

Studying

I’m someone who has always naturally enjoyed learning and studying so University was the perfect next step for me after A levels. I study Biology which has no doubt been demanding and often very stressful. Studying at university level is no joke, and the workload can soon get on top of you if you let it. It’s important that while you have fun and make the most of your time, you actually remember the reason you came there in the first place – to get a degree! I think the reason why students garner such a reputation for being heavy drinkers and partiers is that it’s a good way to blow off steam after submitting a 3000 word essay which consumed all of your life for the past month!

I can truly say I have enjoyed my course, for the most part anyway. There’s bound to be modules which you just don’t like, but you have to suck it up and push through for the sake of the ones you do enjoy. I think it’s really important that you choose a course you truly enjoy, otherwise you’re just going to become miserable, as no one wants to write a 7000-word dissertation on a topic they’re not interested in.

Studying at University has been different to any other level of study I’ve ever taken, and it requires the special skill of being able to absorb and understand a vast amount of content in a shorter time space than ever before. This is challenging, but you easily adapt – you have to! The constant testing and coursework deadlines are rigorous, but they give you the opportunity to learn and become specialised in your field to a greater standard.

House Sharing

The best part of University for me was getting to share a house with my new friends, as we attempted to navigate the adult world together. While there will inevitably be arguments over who isn’t cleaning the kitchen enough or whose turn it is to hoover the stairs, the experience comes with the joy of spending everyday with people who you know you get along well with. Late night deep chats and movie nights in the living room become the new norm, and having your friends by your side make completing your Uni work much more enjoyable than if you were stuck in your room by yourself. I shared the same house with my friends during both second and third year, which brought us incredibly close, and allowed us to form unbreakable bonds. I look back on these days as the best days of University, as you have complete freedom and finally start to feel like a proper adult, while still getting to have fun with your friends. I must stress that finding the right people to live with is essential, as you’ll be spending everyday with these people, so make sure you make the right choice! And remember that living with other people means there will be a whole mix of opinions on how things should work and everyone will be dealing with something different, so you have to learn to adapt to the changing needs of other people, while respecting your own boundaries.

 My university experience is not yet complete, as I start my final year in September to complete my Masters. However, I hope that my experiences from the past 3 years can be helpful to those who are thinking of starting University or have already started their journey and are looking for some advice!