For the metaphysical detriminism verse (Don't know if i wrote that right, probably didn't) I have a vague memory that you said Dee's parents are Solane and Corbin. If that's true, how does that work? Is Dee adopted or is magic involved. Also who cursed Dee and why?
Devin is adopted! and he doesnt know who cursed him or why, which is, angst warning, the reason he’s adopted
Basically Dee’s birth parents figured they could just circumvent the curse by giving up the first, cursed child, which depending on the exact words might have had varying levels of success
for some curses, it might cure the cursed child because they are no longer that parents oldest, and pass it on to their next kid
for some curses adopting a child will give them a curse they didnt have before, because they are now The First Child
But Devin got the short end of the stick, and the wording of his left him with it even after the parents who triggered the curse gave him up. Devin has -0 desire to meet them in any way
Corbin and Sloane hoped their parental love would cure him off it when they adopted him, but it didnt, and none of them are entirely sure why, because they adore him and Devin has no doubt they do
Corbin’s slightly pessimistic theory was (for a long time) that they had adopted a kid primarily because they wanted one and not pure altruism, which the curse might have viewed as a “selfish” motivation for love
Sloane’s theory, upon meeting Remus, is that the reason Remus broke the curse when they couldnt is specifically because Remus never viewed it as something that ought to be broken, but as just another endearing part of Devin rather than something unfortunate.
Devin’s “theory” was and is “the curse is designed to fuck me over specifically and parental love would have been too easy because my dads are the shit”