eslaf for the ask game !!!
Oh my gosh thank you sO MUCH FOR THIS!!!!
[A] and [B] are friends with benefits, and the benefits are hating on [C] together.
Who/what is [C]? a person? object? idea? something else?
C is VFD; C is morality, and decorum, and being well-read; but more than anything else, C is Beatrice.
Have they been (either together or individually) wronged by [C] personally?
Beatrice has wronged Esmé in a thousand tiny ways, in thinly veiled insults during childhood, in always being the first to get anything she wanted, in being effortlessly adored by everyone she’s ever met. The Sugar Bowl was the last straw, of course, but it was by no means the first. Olaf was always close with Beatrice, and That Night At The Opera was the first and only time she has ever truly wronged him (in his eyes, at least).
Do they hate [C] for the same reason, or different?
In many ways they hate her for the same reason; betrayal. They both trusted her, cared for her, loved her, even—and she chose her own goals over her relationships with them both. But, when it comes down to it, it’s not quite the same, not really. Esmé hates Beatrice because Beatrice is everything Esmé has ever wanted; she wants to be her, and she wants her, even if she’d no longer admit it, even to herself. But Olaf hates Beatrice purely for the betrayal, because he trusted her more than anyone, and because she never even had the decency to explain to him why she did it.
If different, do they know of each other's reason? Do they understand each other's reason? Do they sympathize with each other's reason?
They each know of the other’s reasons, of course. They’re fully aware of why the other hates her, and talk about it often. Esmé understands Olaf’s hatred, but not why it doesn’t extend further; he hates Beatrice because of what she did, but doesn’t seem to connect that with who she is. Olaf understands Esmé’s hatred, to an extent. But he thinks it’s shallow, vapid, undeserving of a vendetta such as he holds. Esmé sympathises with Olaf, but thinks he’s still too naïve, too entrenched in VFD to see the big picture. Olaf sympathises with Esmé’s hatred in the same patronising way one might sympathise with a child who has dropped their ice-cream cone. He knows it makes her his ally, but refuses to even entertain the idea that it could even touch on how deep and true his loathing gets.
Is one of them only hating [C] completely for the other's sake?
They both truly hate her for their own reasons, but Esmé has absorbed some of Olaf’s hatred; allowed That Night At The Opera to deepen her loathing, sharpen it into something usable—much in the same way she has actively sharpened Olaf’s own hatred, and directed it at an individual instead of the organisation itself.
Do either of them think their own hatred is more justified?
Yes. Olaf’s parents were murdered, assassinated by the woman he considered a sister. She took everything from him, and he is the only one with a justified claim on revenge. Esmé’s hatred has been brewing since childhood, death by a thousand cuts, a constant pain that builds and builds, rotting deep in her core until it consumed her entirely. Neither will ever truly see the other’s side.
Are they actively plotting revenge / taking actions against [C] or just complaining to each other and doing nothing?
It started with complaints. Then plots that never went anywhere, drunken plans that were only ever hypothetical. Then the Baudelaire fire happened, and neither of them set it. Someone else’s machinations began a plot that they both suspected was the other finally having had enough. And once it started, neither of them really knew how to stop. They were in too deep to back out now.
Do they share other common ground aside from hating [C]?
They hate VFD, too, once again each in their own way. Olaf was betrayed by it, the organisation that raised him only to turn their backs when he needed them the most. Esmé was never truly accepted into it, joined late and was never quite right. They hate the ideals their former friends stand for. Their hatred is a bond forged in flames, and it burns them too whenever they get too close. But before that, back when they were young and naïve and idealistic, back before schisms and sugar bowls and poison darts, they bonded over other things. They were never big fans of classic poems, though they found some contemporary poets to be enlightening. They both loved the theatre. They both loved to dance, and sing, and stayed at a party until dawn. Neither of them ever really thinks about those times much; not anymore. Hatred is easier to hold onto.
Do they genuinely like each other or just tolerate each other?
They used to be drawn together, an irresistible pull. They still feel it, even now. But they’re too similar. Esmé is everything that Olaf was taught to hate in himself. Loud, impulsive, destructive tendencies that were crushed down for years before he met her. Esmé hates that he feels himself superior. He can resist those urges, he doesn’t need to give in the way she does. They are not two sides of the same coin, no—they are simply the same, and it draws them together and breaks them apart, over and over again. They love and hate in equal measure, and of course they apply that to their feelings for each other, as well as the rest of the world.
If [C] dies / gets destroyed / disappears tomorrow, will they be happy?
They always said yes. Before it happened, they said they wanted her gone. When the Baudelaire fire happened, they said that they were thrilled, only chagrined because neither of them were the ones to light it. When it came out that there might be a survivor, they both said that they were furious. Neither of them acknowledged the flare of hope in their chests, that she might have lived. They hated her with everything they had, but they never truly wanted her gone. Even if they’d killed her themselves, the aching loneliness would never have left them. There just wouldn’t have been the ‘justice’ of revenge to hide behind any longer. All that’s left is the cold, dark truth that they missed her. And they both wished she’d come back to them.
What happens to them, after [C] died / gets destroyed / disappears tomorrow?
They went on their quest for revenge; the Baudelaire children getting caught in the crossfires, over and over, of a vendetta that they could never understand. Olaf would never have stopped until he was dead. There was no other ending to the story. Esmé would have plotted and maimed and clawed everything she could, always needing more, more, more; never truly satisfied, never finding true recompense for everything Beatrice put her through. If Beatrice had apologised, really truly apologised, Esmé would have laughed in her face. Olaf would have broken down, fallen to his knees, and finally let himself feel the pain of what she’d done, hidden away ever since that night beneath a burning veil of roiling fury. Later, Esmé would have regretted laughing. She would never forget the apology. She would want Beatrice begging for her forgiveness, just to refuse her. But, if she were to be truly honest with herself (which of course she never would be), Esmé wanted everything to go back to the way it was. She wanted to be Beatrice’s equal. Neither of them ever truly wanted her gone.
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