What really struck me about Trey's character especially in his and Riddle's dreams was that...really, he's just a teenager. He's a guy who barely even knows Riddle, and yet was saddled with this expectation that HE should be in charge of babysitting him. Everyone came up to him and basically said, "You know this guy, YOU deal with it." And yeah, he's been trying! But he only spent time with Riddle for a few MONTHS before Mrs. Rosehearts swooped in to chew out his ENTIRE FAMILY, after which he never saw him again. Riddle is not actually his responsibility! I don't blame Trey at ALL for just wanting to keep his head down and not deal with it. His whole thing is that he's a "normal guy" who's actually way smarter and cooler than even he himself realizes. And it's nice to see him push past that "normal guy" instinct to protect his underclassmen in the most recent story.

And listen, I may or may not be biased by the fact that cunning mature glasses guys are 100% my type...BUT!!! I think even regardless of that, his character is both complex and fun. I remember he really shines in Beanfest, Camp Vargas, and the original Halloween events. I love the fact that he has a surreal friendship with Rook. I am holding him like a potato, okay, I just think he's neat!

I sent this to my Trey lover friend and said “your man is a controversial topic in the fandom”

Trey mentioned.. but at what cost

Trey’s passivity is interesting because I feel like it makes him one of the most realistic people in the cast. He shoulders responsibilities because he feels compelled to not necessarily because he wants to (ie. how he was elected vice housewarden by others) but he doesn’t try to overextend his influence either. He wants to reach out to Riddle, guide him to be better, but he fears overstepping the boundary their childhood set up between them. He’s reliable, but he isn’t proactive.

I think the closest comparison he has is Silver, who is also known to be a fairly passive guy (funny how they’re sadly thought of as the most boring characters I love them), but even Silver has times where he’s proactive, especially in Book 7 and with Sebek. Silver’s passivity is different from Trey’s though, because his stems from the fact that he thinks anything that is wrong is a failure on his part. He’ll go miles to better himself but doesn’t see much wrong with others (unless it’s Sebek but that’s because their bond is special).

Trey and Silver… my lovely straight laced “boring characters”. Their passivity is so interesting but god is it sometimes infuriating 😂

I am genuienly so glad to see Cater get the love he deserves. He's such a fascinating character to me because he just has so much depth that the game hasn't explored yet. I hope we get to learn about his past a little more once he decides to break down some of his walls or a "hometown" event, where, yes, he doesn't have one, but one where we see the current city his family was able to settle into (as he mentions in Riddle's dream) and run into said family while learining more about their dynamics.
-very sincerely, somebody who might like Cater a little too much

[11:05] I know this feeling. I love Trey but he isn't ready for that responsibility. He doesn't or shouldn't have to be with Riddle needing to grow up and face consequences, but since he WANTS to he honestly SHOULD be trying to be what Riddle needs.

I'll say this now and I hope it makes sense: what Silver did and does for Sebek, like basically grabbing him by his collar and SCOLDING him in Leona's dream in front of all the people Sebek is actively hurting, is what Trey ISN'T doing. Silver is and has been doing what Trey wants to do and isn't. He is telling, not showing. A lot of Trey's stuff is hidden by words and moving slow, but then they don't show or even hint to us it was Trey—unless it's a vignette.

[6:15] Cater is a "reluctant" character, you could even call him "a distant" character. All the relationships he's formed until a certain point are all one's out of necessity and are never truly friendship, until something closes that gap. Cater tries using Vil for likes (where he showers him in compliments), Cater tries using Malleus (which Malleus saw through), and Cater tries using Trey (because of the ease he can pull with Riddle.

But Trey turned their relationship around and understood something about Cater, in which they both grow close afterwards. Showing Cater can make real bonds and can settle down, which leads into my [real] point about Book 1...

Cater's reluctance is also shown in Book 1 full force, with his passive nature and general fawning tactics after Riddle becomes mad. When Riddle isn't compromising Cater is in his element and generally sneaky, getting along and warning clueless other's. Now, Cater IS known to fawn and bend when he wants something, but there is something about Book 1 that also made me not think too much on him until Book 7—

Cater didn't show his natural courage he possesses. In Book 1 he's too busy being a hurdle we need to convince "we can help" with Riddle. Book 2 was not the best time for Cater/Trey as the Heartslybul members shafted by the pacing of Savanaclaw in general, so it's doesn't help his courageous moments are almost none except in the manga (and probably the light novel). Book 7 had him aware something is wrong and he's reluctant to leave, but he's not scared like Ace is—he has courage, but he's RELUCTANT to move things along again (like he's reluctant to make bonds because of moving so much).

Time waits for no one, and Cater has courage enough to face it.

Your little Trey rant was so on point, I, a Trey kinnie, felt called out and kinda emberassed even 😭

11:27 I think is fair to think this, but Trey wasn't the only one involved in that situation. The adults didn't help either, how was he supposed to carry that big of a responsability? He doesn't know what to do, he wants to help, but can't seem to do the right thing. In my opinion, is not disappointing is a bit realistic, sometimes you don't know how to help someone in real life. There's times when you do try and it ends backfiring, leaving you alone. I think everyone is a bit selfish in this game, so I don't think it counts.

I LOVE HIS HAT AND SMIRK. His smirk is one of my fav things about him. 😢

Also, I might be SUPER bias, cuz he's my #1 fav since I found about this game years ago. I adore him, I've so much merch of him and I want to buy more. 😅

For me, the absolute most favourite is definitely Jamil. He's the reason I got pulled into TWST in the first place - I saw a picture of him on a "Genie in a Bottle" song video, got curious, looked him up and the rest is history. I'm actually the opposite of you in a way - the more messed up and complex something is, the more I tend to want to pick it apart! He's just so delightfully complicated, there is SO MUCH there to explore! Also, EN reaaally doesn't give you the sense of how fucked up his family situation truly is, it softens it up too much, which is why IMO his crashout is by the far the most justified.

Riddle is my second-favourite, because he is similarly fucked up with his whole abusive mum and anger issues deal. He's complicated, he's cute, and I personally am invested in seeing him break free of his mother. Also, the whole Queen aesthetic is point, no OB design has ever toppled Riddle's for me.

Kalim... Kalim I think is far too mischaracterised and simplified by the fandom as "uwu sunshine baby" when there is A  LOT more than that to him. From his toxic positivity, to his clueless entitlement, to his unaddressed kidnapping/poisoning trauma... he's also kind of a bad friend to Jamil, in the sense that he exploits and depends on him without realising that's what he's doing. All of this to say, I like Kalim because is, in fact, fucked up and I think more people should realise that.

For everyone else, I don't have nearly as much to say. (You can really tell who the favourites are from my word count.)  The braincell trio are all sort of "meh", Ace and Grim verging on insanely irritating in the beginning. Leona, I find fascinating and want to peer into his messed up little head, Ruggie I like because he's very relatable, Jack, Epel and Vil I'm sort of indifferent to. Rook is a little annoying because of how creepy his stalking thing is and I also find him way too one-note with the beauty thing for my taste.

I like Octatrio's aesthetic and dynamic with each other a lot. Idia is also relatable and  juuust fucked up enough in the head to be interesting. Ortho has a lot of potential with the whole technically soulless robot thing, which I don't think the writers do nearly enough with and I also the contrast between his cuteness and how trigger-happy he is. Malleus is also a meh, Sebek is irritating with the constant human-labelling, the character development wasn't enough to redeem him in my eyes. Silver is cute, but also a meh, he's a little too "standard white knight" for me. Good in the boring way and not the fucked up way like Kalim. Lilia, deserves better and I find his journey from "traumatised general" to "batdad" quite interesting.

Crowley gets the honour of being the only character I genuinely hate, because at least in the cases of Mama Rosehearts and the Senate they fulfil their narrative purpose of being terrible. Crowley doesn't HAVE a narrative purpose, other than being infuriating and facilitating the plot by being incompetent and unfit for his job.

9:39 having cuteness aggression towards deuce is so real

Okay first off I love the Cater appreciation! He's so overlooked by the fandom and it's always been super frustrating given just how much depth his character has and is just so fun in general with the way he interacts with the other boys. Soooo happy he finally got a spotlight in book 7 and the flowers he deserves 💐

And speaking of misundersrood characters...Leona, aka probably the biggest fumble in the game.

Here to defend my man since he's been my absolute favorite since day one and I will be dying on that hill. So where do I even start?

I completely understand why you hated him at the beginning and why he's still only mid tier. Book 2's writing was an absolute disaster and still to this day it feels like the writers just hate Leona for no reason and never give him a proper chance to shine and grow.

He's such a complex character and I can appreciate that they at least finally did him justice in book 7 (his chapter was amazing and very introspective) but the moment his chapter ended he was banished to the background and it's like he wasn't even there for the rest of the story. All of the other overblotters had an active part helping out in the others dreams, while Leona barely said a word the entire time and the only thing that made his presence worth being there was the reveal of his mom still being alive, which was a big surprise given most of the fandom just assumed she was dead. Goes to show just how little of his background we actually know.

I'm still super salty over not being told anything about his family in his own hometown event (at least we got Neji) or his own overblot flashback for that matter, which was also shorter compared to everybody else's too for no damn reason.

My only explanation is that the writers probably really struggle to write for Leona specifically and that's why we only ever get him being mean and lazy in the story because it's the easiest thing to do. Now I'm not saying he isn't mean or lazy at times, but that's just the tip of the iceberg of his character.

At times I relate to him so much it hurts. Being labeled the black sheep of the family simply because you don't just bow your head and accept the role you have been given and every opinion you have being shut down since you apparently just don't know better and should stay in your lane.

Working your ass off your whole life only to be told you'll never get what you want because some people are just born with that privilege and no amount of work is going to get you there. That's just life and it sucks hard because Leona can't even escape it.

He is born a royal and will always be a royal, with all of the burdens of being a public figure but none of the benefits. (Yes he is wealthy by default but many other charcaters are aslo very well off, Kalim being the worst offender and Leona is not nearly as excessive with his assets as Kalim is).

Leona can't stand playing the role of a perfect prince when he damn well knows both his people and his family disapprove of him. To him it feels as thought to be accepted he would have to just stop being himself and let go of everything he stands for (boy does that hit close to home).

It's why he loves being at NRC, he can just exist and not have someone over his shoulder constantly telling him how he's lacking and just not enough. Cheka was the final nail in the coffin and while I don't think Leona actually hates his nephew, he does hate the way everybody treats him. From his literal birth everybody adores Cheka by default, because he's the next heir. He didn't have to earn it, he was just born with it. And that understandably drove Leona up a wall and he wanted nothing to do with the poor kid and thus ran away to NRC so he doesn't have to deal with the constant fawning over Cheka.

And the real kicker is that Leona cares SO much about what people have to say about him and how he's precieved in general, so to hide it he overcorrects and pretends that he doesn't care at all about anything or anybody (again painfully relatable).

But actions speak louder than words, he might say he doesn't care but when push comes to shove Leona has always been there to support his underclasmen. His entire dymanic with Ruggie shows how he treats others.

Leona has never looked down on or taken advantage of Ruggie (excluding the overblot, which let's be real all of the overblotters were out for blood and acting unhinged), in fact Leona very much respects Ruggie for all of the hard work he does and their relationship has always been transactional, Ruggie wants money and Leona wants shit done. They know what they want and they go for it, yes they are technically using each other but it has always been on their own terms and as equals. That's why Ruggie respects Leona so much, he isnt just another stuck up, privileged ass, who looks down on others for being poor or for being a hyena that grew up in slum. Leona gives equal opportunity to all, because that's how he wished he was treated.

Also I very much appreciate his intelligence and how he is always very calm during crisis situations, especially compared to Malleus who angers very easily and it can be dissasterous because of his very nature.

I know Malleus can't help it but it has always rubbed me the wrong way how he can just go on a rampage that can very easily kill people but there are never any consequences for his actions except maybe a stern warning from Lilia. As much as he tries to be better, Malleus does low key still look down on humans and finds them funny/interesting and he always assumes they are in the wrong and weird when he does something socially unacceptable (like when he teleported all of the housewardens and Crowley, without their consent, into Diasomnia because Malleus failed to attend all of the housewarden meetings, which was very much his own fault. Everybody was rightfully pissed, Leona especially).

It's shit like that which angers Leona and makes it on sight whenever he sees Malleus. It's not just because Malleus reminds him of his brother and is gonna be a kind ect, its because Malleus does act like he is above others and just does whatever he wants, very much abusing his privilege and because he's so powerful nobody can really tell him not to. This is by no means hate on my part towards Malleus, we know why he is they way he is and he has good intentions, but "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" and that can pretty much sum up Malleus's overblot.

So yeah, there's soooo much more I can keep ranting about but I'm gonna wrap it up here.

Leona is unfortunately super mischaracterized in general, which is in part due to the inconsistent writting and also the depth of his character. He's very guarded and you very much have to read between the lines and not take him at face value to figure out what's his deal. I understand why people would dislike him because of that but I adore him for those very reasons. I love characters that are complex and take crazy people like me to obsess over in order to understand 😂 Being the most handsome character in the game (in my humble opinion) also helps lmao. In the end we all got our faves and I'll always love my grumpy lion and will proudly stay in the delulu trenches with him 🫡

DEUCE SPADE SUPREMACY 🗣♠️🗣♠️🗣♠️

Why is Trey so controversial in this fandom 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I feel the EXACT SAME about rook, he has gone from "eh" to absolute "just a lil guy" status practically overnight and also cater diamond mentioned????

"Azul is my favourite Leech Twin."

NGL He definitely IS with Georgina.. XD

Aweeee I love love love all the positive words for deucey!!! I can’t help but sympathise like he’s come so far for what he’s made of himself and it really shows!!! I am being honest when I say it comes with a bucket of bias but he is definitely up there on the tier and deserving of his rank!! I thought it was very cool when you said that you just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket because one of my deuce plushies has his own blanket I keep him wrapped in but also yess I do want to keep him wrapped in a blanket and feed him egg sandwiches because he deserves it!!!! (Also I love the duality of the fawning over deuce to just “Trey is a disappointment.”) 😽😽😽

This was the Trey and Cater comment I tried to post yesterday unsuccessfully. I will post it parts to see what posts and what doesn’t, then edit this comment after I see what does with what posts. (I hope that made sense.)

I’ll try to rephrase whatever part or parts does not post to see if I can, but forgo that part or those parts entirely.

This is a more generalized airing of my thoughts that I have had for a while and grew with the release of Heartslabyul dreams, as well as 2025 in JP, which I will not mention too much about.

I was honestly disappointed with Cater and Trey’s dreams myself. More with Cater, but Trey is in there, too. I am not disappointed with them as characters—I absolutely adore those two—I am disappointed with their /writing/, or honestly, lack thereof. They just exist and stagnate, in my honest opinion. I was truly, truly looking forward to their dreams for SOMETHING. More exploration, more growth, or at the very least, the beginning of either of those two things, just for it to fall flat. Due to their lack of involvement overall with how unsteadily they get included in events, their dreams were honestly the best bet for ANYTHING significant to happen…but we are left with that. Though, I will admit, there were some nice moments for Cater and Trey as characters in Riddle’s dream.

Cater’s dream really just reinforced what we knew about him already: his hidden side, as evident by the fact we were dealing with a clone of him for most of his dream rather than the real him. We don’t know what the real Cater was up to the whole time, what he could be feeling, etc. and it is likely we’ll never know, and I WANT to know.

So many students in the main cast deserve justice and more love and attention in terms of the writing that they just can’t seem to get, and it is one of my biggest frustrations. I don’t know if it is because the main cast of students is too large and this is a “bite off more than I can chew” type of situation, or a bias thing, or what, but everyone should get the time and attention they need. Time and attention that certain characters are just not getting. I thought it would be different, better even, in JP during 2025, but the same tone of disappointment from last year is just carrying over again.

Some parting thoughts for Trey related of my comment, which I’ll add this to my edited longer one once I see it posts, I really loved that one exchange between Trey and Riddle towards the end of Riddle’s dream. It would be the one where Trey says we have a lot to talk about or discuss, or something along those lines, with Riddle saying that they’ll need a lot of tea, then. At least we know that Trey is likely (and hopefully) going to talk to Riddle once and for all, and is going to say the things he should have said. On the other side of the coin, though, this is an exchange I wish we could see.

Interesting that I was able to post every part no problem today. Weird YouTube.

If I have any other thoughts to share outside of Trey and Cater, or maybe even share my own list, I’ll try to if or when I can! Maybe I’ll rename some of the list names depending on what I am going for for the characters, which I hope is not besides the point, haha!

Note: these are my opinions and thoughts, and mine alone.

Leave it to me to forget another part of Trey I typed up. I think I did post it as a separate comment, but deleted it before copying and pasted in my other comment. 😅

Here is what I missed: For Trey, I just feel like he is out of his wheelhouse and at a loss on what to do [with Riddle]. He himself is still a kid and really shouldn’t have to worry about “grown up” problems, nor try to fix situations brought on by a grown up, especially if said grown up didn’t help Trey’s mental state any, and problem solving capabilities. There is probably also “parentified child” stuff going on with him, too. I guess “parentified” is not a word, but you know what I mean.

Note: When I say that Trey shouldn’t have to about or fix “grown up problems caused by a grown up,” I am not saying he shouldn’t at all. It is an unfortunate truth that this burden had to fall to another teen, but it makes sense that Trey would be the one to do so given his history with Riddle and knowing firsthand what happened.

It wouldn’t really be all that surprising if Trey’s own trauma held him back and is part of the reason why he didn’t speak up to Riddle/found it hard to. Trey’s own trauma tends to get dismissed with what happened when he and Riddle were kids. Especially if you take into consideration that not even the game acknowledged it much until Riddle’s dream, basically five years after Book 1 even happened.
~~~
At some point, I left a comment under one of YuuRei’s videos sharing some personal thoughts on Ruggie:

“Ruggie, for me personally, is a character that I am caught between a rock and a hard place with how I feel about him.

The first thing, I’ll give credit where credit is due. He is a rather talented, capable, and hard-working individual.

The second thing is, I can definitely sympathize with the financial situation that Ruggie grew up in and not really knowing where his next meal, and his grandmothers, will be coming from. My siblings and I went through a similar situation because money was very tight for my parents and affording meals, let alone paying the bills, was tough for them.

However, the reason I have a hard time liking Ruggie and/or considering him a favorite despite having ways I can relate to him, is mainly because of his dishonesty and underhandedness. He also borders on greedy sometimes.

To some extent, I can understand it more with him than Azul, but I guess I find it hard to look past for me personally. The two of them—Azul and Ruggie—are cut from the same cloth in certain ways. It is interesting for Azul as well, because I don’t really like him, too, despite having some ways I can sympathize with him, much like with Ruggie.”
~~~
I think I find it complicated to like him because there is just something about that hits too close to home. Not the financial situation aspect, but I guess some of his mannerisms and having had someone in my life kind of like that.

I am not denying that having not a lot money does suck, and it is tragic that his mom passed away sometime after giving birth to him, and then his father either abandoned him, or passed away for all we know. But I guess I viewed his life being more content in comparison to the characters that do have one or both parents in their lives still and/or have more money, because Ruggie’s grandmother did the best she could to raise and care for he grandson with love and support, and it shows. Which is more than can be said for Riddle, and the other characters who don’t have good home lives.

~~~
Now for Jamil and Kalim. Personally, I LOVE Jamil, he is one of my favorites, Kalim, not so much. But those personal feelings aside, I think my main disappointment with them stemming from their dreams would be one moment specifically: the fist fight. I STRONGLY dislike that scene so much, and wish it was never included. I am not alone with that, thankfully, and fans online have articulated personally why I dislike that scene’s inclusion greatly. I know it may seem silly putting them in disappointment category just for that one moment, but that is the one moment that apparently stuck out the most. I think I do have to look at their dreams, though. I got the gist of what their dreams were about, but not the nuances that came with them. Truthfully, I faced a bit of a burn out with Book 7 as updates were releasing in Japan. It affected my motivation to look at translations in their entirety like I once did and I resorted to summaries instead. So I think I’ll leave this as tentative for now.

Deuce is so precious and deserves all the love, LOL. Ace is starting to grow on me, too. Sebek is sort of. I acknowledge the growth we are seeing with Sebek again, though. Truthfully, my feelings for Diasomnia as whole is quite complicated.

I'd love to see an Octavinelle video from you