Saw a post about Stratt and Grace getting married so he couldn’t testify against her in court and I believe the interaction goes something like as follows:
“Grace, I need your signature.”
Grace looked up from his work in his closet of an office. Stratt closed the door behind her.
“An autograph? I’m flattered.”
She pushed the work off his already disheveled desk and set a single paper on top. It kind of looked like his degree, it kind of looked like-
“A marriage license? Well, now I’m really flattered.”
“For legal reasons. Just sign.” Stratt muttered.
“Are you serious?”
Of course she was serious. She only was serious. But she seemed…uncomfortable? The feeling looked strange on her. Eyes dart between the paper and him. Arms crossed over her chest as if hugging herself. It was definitely a new look. They were in new territory.
“I’m not the marrying type.” said Grace. “And I think I forgot to propose.”
Stratt breathed in deeply. Steeling herself.
“Grace,” Her hands were fidgeting with the cuff of her sleeve. “What I’m doing here is illegal. I’ve broken alot of rules to give the crew a chance to save us. But once the mission begins…the world order will need to go back to how it was.”
Grace listened intently trying to make eye contact with her glassy gaze. He hadn’t thought to much about the legality of it all. After all, that was her job.
“I will be put on trial. I will be found guilty. I will serve the rest of my life behind bars. That is my cost.” Stratt continued, “You, the team, will all be fine. But-”
She pushed the license closer to Grace.
“Spouses don’t testify in court.”
Finally she looked at him. She wasn’t telling him to sign. If that was the case she probably would’ve just forged his signature. Hell, she probably has a whole team just for that purpose. She was asking him.
His choice. Just between the two of them.
“We don’t have to sleep together, right?”
Her eyes went big. “God Grace! No! Just sign the damn paper!” she huffed.
He smiled. And put his name under hers.
Husband and wife.
Well, more like “Most powerful person in the world” and “Some guy she kept around.” But still. Till death do they part.
I just learned about this recently from a Viking reenactor! Indigo dye isn't blue until it oxidizes, so when you dye with indigo your cloth or thread doesn't come out of the water blue, it comes out and then reacts with the oxygen in the air and seems to spontaneously turn blue in front of your eyes. It's a really cool process to witness.
I made another Richelieu cutwork piece, with embroidery floss on leftover cotton. I love how this technique is between embroidery and lace, and how the little asymmetries and inconsistencies of the hand stitches make it feel more interesting and delicate.
Maybe I should frame this one, but I love how tactile it is a freestanding object, even if I don’t know what to do with it. The texture is so nice.
Given how Princess Shura is clearly being manipulated, I think this is setting up a heartfelt interaction between Shura and Iruma. They are both definitely child-like, but whereas Shura is unaccustomed in recognizing the traits of manipulation, Iruma absolutely recognizes it from experience with his parents and other humans.
He grew up a massive victim to manipulation, and now its time to show Shura what he has learned against it.
Following the post I made yesterday about Sullivan, I really wanna do a deep dive going into my last statement I made in that ramble:
Samael Sullivan has not changed.
From chapter 1 all the way up until 451, we’ve seen plenty of characters grow and change as the story went on. Even more subtle changes like with Kalego and Opera. But throughout that whole time, there’s one character who hasn’t grown or changed.
Samael Sullivan.
Now, that probably does sound ridiculous, doesn’t it? I mean, Sullivan used to be Derkila’s retainer! A serious nagger! But look at the keywords there. “Used to”. His time as Derkila’s retainer is long in the past, much like the 10 ft tall twunk himself.
Currently, we are dealing with present day Sullivan. The Three Greats member voted most likely to become the Demon King. The headmaster of Babyls. Iruma’s adoptive grandfather who spoils him to bits and loves to dote on and be affectionately overbearing (in a good way).
But… if you’ll notice… that statement applies to Sullivan during his entire runtime.
Of course you can make generalized statements about other characters: Sabnock is the tough, strong headed rival to Iruma, Jazz is the big brotherly thief, etc. But each of their characters still have some nuance and growth to them, especially Jazz two arcs ago with Rock.
But Sullivan, from the start of the series, up until now, has stayed the same. Spoils Iruma, dotes on him, makes him the priority in his life.
Iruma is Sullivan’s priority.
Whenever he’s actively threatening or attacking an enemy, it’s because of Iruma. Nothing else.
Sullivan is imprisoned and gets a note to come back? Drop everything and forget the investigation! Iruma needs him!
Atori attacks Babyls and almost kidnaps Iruma? Sullivan’s there to nearly kill him.
But… Sullivan doesn’t do any real heavy lifting. He sends the teachers and Opera to do the rest, such as dispatching Ocho when he invaded Babyls. Especially Kalego, a fact that makes the latter absolutely loathe Sullivan.
As I said before, it’s Kalego who lays out the seeds and tells us exactly what Sullivan’s flaws are. He is reckless, impulsive, airheaded, and is extremely partial to Iruma, a fact that, in itself, causes some problems.
Recall how Sullivan was very ready to help Iruma cheat on the exams were it not for Opera? And how Sullivan let Shiida stay as a teacher thanks to Iruma’s request? He bends over backwards for Iruma. Not to mention how often Sullivan caused Iruma problems (see S1 and the interview after Walter Park in S2).
This, too, is another factor in how I think Sullivan doomed himself. The Trickster Plan, despite its description, is inherently flawed, because it’s heavily partial towards the grandkids of the Three Greats, despite the misfits being chosen by the tutors and 2 other Crowns having children of their own. After all, the announcement of the Trickster Plan was made after the spotlights illuminated specifically the Greats and their grandchildren. Not the Azazels or Asmodeous’ (Henri gets a pass tho), just them.
But back on Kalego’s statements, at no point since then does Sullivan actively become less reckless, less impulsive, or more clear headed.
After Baal’s statement in the recent chapter, it even has me relook at the Scala arc, and Henri’s usage of Derkila’s crest in that scene. Even if it was Henri that wanted to use it, given that Iruma’s Scala took place there, who’s to say Sullivan wasn’t ready to get Lady Levi and Belial on board to agree to the stamp to protect his grandson?
In short, Sullivan’s growth is slim to none, and that’s caused him to mess up so badly and be exploited and cornered by Baal.
Or perhaps this is in part due to the fact that Sullivan is constantly away doing other things, such as his duties as one of the Three Greats. So we end up having less of him, especially in later chapters.
Edit: Forgot to add this. But Sullivan knows what his flaws are and he hasn’t changed despite that. He accepts himself, and that’s what screws him up because he accepts a flawed version.
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