fun yet extremely vague question like i feel like my fic kind of says it all. especially cause i think everyone is selling us a persona that the company designed which is integral to the fic. so my read is they're semi-successfully selling us that persona (some more than others)

but i'm supposed to try typing tonight to see if it hurts my arms so here we go...

kei - you read mother of pearl
fuma - you read mother of pearl (except now i think he's not as self-assured/confident as i thought... his self-image is bad)
nicholas - you read mother of pearl (i could talk about him more but he's such a fun free thinker and also kind of silly and foolish but very strong and pure of heart)
euijoo - moe probably secretly not that moe but his persona is moe and he sells it well
jo - young famous guy disease
yuma - extremely young famous guy disease
harua - gay guy with his walls wayyyyy up
taki - extremely young famous guy disease x2
maki - from a loving home

hey thank you for this!!!! great question.

so when it comes to characterization i watch a lot of content and talk with my friends who might know better than me. when i started this fic i didn't know taki super well but my friend ao3 concepts did. at first i assumed (like so many people) that taki was kind of stupid and foolish. but concepts was like no... he's actually really emotionally mature and a people pleaser who acts stupid as a way to diffuse tension and brighten the mood and he takes that Really Seriously. if you watch their content i think it's pretty obvious that he is putting on a character to create funny moments for other people to play off of. he knows the group is mostly introverts and that he can make anything into a joke. he puts up with a level of bullying that i don't think he would if he didn't think it was necessary for the group dynamic and how their content is produced.

i actually think if i didn't characterize taki like that, the fic wouldn't exist. it would be too simple if it was just predatory kei and stupid little taki. i think taki is aware, to a degree, that his relationship with kei is strange and tenuous. he also wanted it the whole time, even with the awareness he has that it's not quite right for either of them. it's way more fun to write because it sort of sets them both up as both victims and also enablers. taki is too young to know better right now, but he's not stupid. he can tell something is off, especially as the fic progresses.

i agree taki is a very go with the flow kind of guy which is what makes the latest mop chapters so difficult--he has to actually stand up and start to take some control in their relationship because kei has painted himself into this corner where he can't admit that he shouldn't have fucked taki and also has shown way too much of himself to taki and can never take it back. taki, without thinking too deeply about it, is starting to realize this and reacting accordingly by trying to be supportive of kei while also probing him for the truth of why things have gotten so strained between them. it's out of character for him to take control like that but kei has left him with no other option but to kind of employ the tactics taki has learned FROM kei. that's why for example we get taki sending kei nudes in the last chapter. there's a theme in their relationship where one of them will sort of coerce the other into a sexual situation to distract from something more difficult. i think taki views these distractions as an essential part of Who He Is To Kei--he's the stuffed animal kei can squeeze at night, the hand on his waist steadying him, the warm body kei can rely on. he's proud of that and when things go wrong, he relies on that as a way to bring kei comfort and remind him why they keep coming back to each other. he has agency in this relationship too, after all, and he keeps choosing kei.

i LOVE questions like this so please come back with more any time. thanks!