i love that isafrin can be the most straightforwardly romancey, wholesome pairing on a surface level and then you go one (1) level deeper and run into siffrinās seething guilt and convoluted feelings around touch and intimacy and the extent to which they want or donāt want those things in a specifically romantic way or if he was trying to seek connection and love in any way he could once he knew that Isabeau wanted those things from him in that context, and the combined power trip/self disgust at āmanipulatingā Isabeauās desires without his knowledge to make themself feel wanted and in control. and then you keep going and thereās also Isabeauās own warped self image (still, in spite of all his changes, fearing that heās someone that would be shameful to know), his āemotionally stable pillarā role and self-taught therapy talk masking his deep fears of real confrontation (struggling loop after loop to confess, not wanting Odile to confront Siffrin about their weird behavior in the sus quest bathroom talk) and how Siffrinās fear of vulnerability and Isabeauās fear of Pushing Too Hard allow both of their issues to fester unspoken long after itās clear that the problems exist.
all this to say. duality of isafrin. makes my heart full and warm and happy to see the sweet, fluffy, silly love and connection between them (mutually romantic or otherwise). and then also. the delicious, delicious complications. gnawing on them like a dog with a beloved bone
