I'm literally always going insane about my OCs btw. Like for the past few days while waiting for the enrollment site to be up again (which is FUCKED UP btw why the hell is the enrollment site down) I've just been thinking about Hlin Wilhelm and like how she changes over the course of the story.
Like when she first meets Michelle on the set of The Daughter of Evil she's very Heather Chandler. Very oujo-sama. She's a bully and a mean girl and she's the only one who treats Michelle like a person. Because she has the (dubious) privilege of being Ma's personal project. Because she's only 18 and she's the most beautiful and talented actor in Levianta. She sees Michelle for what she truly is: a bad actor. A nepotism hire.
And some part of Michelle loves it. She loves that Hlin doesn't worship the ground she walks on. She loves that Hlin is selfish and mean and arrogant. It just makes her so much more fun to be with. She loves that Hlin doesn't treat her like a breakable doll.
And that's the thing. Hlin recognizes that Michelle actually likes being around her, and no one has really liked being around her before. So she latches onto Michelle, because that's the first real friend that she's ever made, and her first real connection (aside from Ma). And Michelle likes that she's captured the heart of someone as prickly as Hlin.
And I think I've mentioned this before: Michelle begins as a means for Hlin to take back control of her life, and slowly becomes just another person controlling her life. However I think think I've ever mentioned the other side of it, that Hlin was the first "real" person that Michelle met, and slowly becomes more of a status symbol than anything else.
By the end of their story, everyone knows that President Marlon has Chief Justice Wilhelm wrapped around her finger, that she's just a puppet to carry out the president's agenda. She's just another pawn.
It's another form of greed, I think. Michelle sucked the life out of her.
Unfortunately the Evillious analysis has been put on hold, not because of school, but because I have been granted a vision of Michelle (in my au) going through the horrors (teenage girlhood when your family is falling apart and no one loves you except as an ideal and self destructive behavior is the only thing that makes you feel like a person)
See the thing is Behemo and Seth do actually know about like healthy coping strategies and all the other shit that helps a person stay (relatively) stable after a terrible experience (on account of living in a modern world and also proximity to Levia Barisol). But they lack any of the awareness necessary to actually apply those to themselves. And that's what really fucked Nemesis over because kids learn from observation
Like yeah Behemo is always telling Nemesis that her looks don't define her worth, but then she complains about gaining weight and has minor breakdowns whenever her hair or makeup aren't just right. And like obv that's because her upbringing led to perfectionist tendencies, and the fact that she's trans turned those perfectionist tendencies into anxiety over not being perfectly feminine. But like because of that Nemesis also ended up kinda neurotic over her presentation. Being a woman in politics, it became a neurosis about presenting as strong, capable, perfectly put-together, not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle in sight. Where Behemo stressed about looking feminine and cute, Nemesis stressed about looking powerful and unapproachable
Seth read a parenting book once out of morbid curiosity so he's always been telling Nemesis that her feelings matter/she can always come to him with her problems/there's no shame in asking for help etc etc and then he proceeds to do None Of That. If they're facing problems (e.g. this one time Saint Clarith's was having a bunch of layoffs and Seth knew damn well he was not a model employee) he really will just not tell anyone about it. And sure it would be weird to vent to your 6 year old daughter about your job but like instead he ended up not cleaning the house for weeks because he was taking on extra work to improve his image in the eyes of the administration. And he ended up keeping his job and the extra work he did led to him making more friends at work, but it also taught Nemesis that the right way to respond to problems is to focus entirely on fixing them while completely neglecting anything else
Behemo catholic-ed so hard that Nemesis developed catholic guilt despite Catholicism not existing, and the fact that, while Ancient Levin was very much inspired by Catholicism, Modern Levin is more affected by the Tasan culture that Leviantan refugees adopted after the catastrophe. The culture and beliefs are almost entirely different, but Behemo was raised already repenting for the sin of being born, and by god Nemesis will end up the same way. It seems the only way to avoid that sin is to become a god yourself
It's an absolute clownfest (from an outsider's perspective) whenever Seth gets mad at Behemo because bro will say Nothing. He'll start provoking Behemo more, and Behemo being Behemo, she will get stressed when she notices that someone's acting differently around her, and she'll start acting passive-aggressive. And it will build up for weeks because neither of the involved parties realize that the thing about communication being important in relationships also applies to them. Nemesis knows cognitively that communication is important but she has no real framework for healthy communication because the two most present adults in her life only had like 2 or 3 conflicts that they handled maturely
Headcanon/mini-fics(??) dump! (Mainly for the Twiright-Asayev side of the plot, but Michelle gets a spotlight too)
Nemesis loves that gigantic fucking cat she found on the street. She's the same size as her and meows like she's been smoking a pack a day. When she was small she used to wear her like a feather boa. She's super chill with becoming a feather boa to a small child who thinks she can carry a gigantic cat on her shoulders like witches do.
When Nemesis was young, she kept her hair short, since it was just easier to keep tidy. She started wearing it longer because the hair accessories on Behemo's vanity were calling to her.
Nemesis looks so much like Kayo that it almost gave Behemo a heart attack the first time she saw her.
Behemo got Kiril to fix up some First Period books. She gave Nemesis a copy of Matilda for one of her birthdays, along with several other books.
Seth is Very neurotic about Nemesis's health. He knows there's very little reason to be -- after all, the demon contract will keep her safe no matter what! But sometimes, when he gets a bit lax about her, a little voice in his head tells him that he's turning out just like his mother, or that Nemesis will turn out just like Adam. He sometimes worries if she might even end up like Cain and Abel, dead because of health complications as a result of inbreeding, and isn't that just the stupidest thing? It's almost been a millennium, and he's only just beginning to feel guilty for what he allowed to happen with Adam and Eve. Besides, Nemesis has the contract to keep her safe, so he should just stop worrying.
Nemesis inherits catholic guilt from having both Seth and Behemo be the most major adult figures in her life in her formative years
Seth drove drunk a bit in their early-ish days of living in Aceid
Seth is a bit of a "replacement goldfish" situationship for Behemo, replacing Ma. This is because Ma was supposed to replace Levia, but Behemo made the decision to cut her off after learning about the Gallerian situation.
Behemo once brought up the fact that staying in a more rural area of Elphegort would've been easier than moving from town to town for a few years, taking different jobs before eventually making it to Aceid. However, Seth is a city boy through and through. His ass was Not Thriving in small towns close to the forest.
Nemesis taught herself piano during her two year gap between graduating high school and entering college.
The two year gap is because Seth didn't particularly want his twelve-year-old daughter to start going to college. It would've been easier for her to make friends if she was a little closer in age to her peers. This is why she ended up in the same year as Michelle.
Despite Seth and Behemo's efforts, Nemesis didn't make many friends, either in Aceid or in Alicegrad. Part of it was, of course, that her reputation intimidated a lot of people -- not everyone was particularly receptive to the fact that the top student in the country was a pre-teen girl. However, some of it was her personality. There was something uncanny about her personality, coming directly from her father, who hadn't had to act human in almost a thousand years. Nemesis often felt that she was feigning humanity, playing without a rulebook that everyone else had memorized.
As soon as Nemesis was able to interact with Behemo (initially through letters and gifts from her "rich aunt in Levianta", and later via out of the country trips during school holidays and research congresses), her "Aunt Lena" became her favorite adult. She actually told her things, things about Souls and Reincarnation that her father seemed dead set on ignoring.
Nemesis had always felt like she was going insane, her 'self' slowly getting worn away by that voice shouting for things she had no reference point for. Aunt Lena never told her to ignore it, she just explained that it was a quirk of the human soul: an echo of a past life that didn't fully leave, but ultimately not something that would destroy "Nemesis". Safe to listen to and safe to ignore, but nothing that takes precedence over being Nemesis.
When her Aunt Lena became her stepmother, Nemesis was overjoyed. Her father told her, in a voice that sounded like even he didn't buy his own words, that it was just to ensure she gets the best education possible (taking advantage of nepotism), but Nemesis got the feeling that he, too, had become attached to Lena Asayeva's increasing presence in their lives.
Okay dragonmask slop over
Seth begrudgingly likes it when Michelle spends the night in their home on Levin University's campus, which is really more of a college town. The area itself is the world's biggest Magic Circle, designed to keep one specific abomination of an Irregular away. Each moment Michelle spends in the area is another moment away from Ma
Behemo, meanwhile, doesn't like Michelle at all. She knows better than most how subtle Ma could be in her manipulations, and she knows better than anyone Ma's desperation to prove herself "real". She's always had a soft spot for "lost causes" (like Michelle), but since Ma became a threat, Michelle would need to be treated the same way. Thanks to Michelle, Nemesis and Seth were just one degree of separation from Ma, and Behemo Barisol was never really much of a risk-taker, no matter how she appeared.
The cat likes Michelle because she always brings meat for her. She asks some of her family's staff to grill some of whatever meat they have available, and she even has a list of cat-safe ingredients. It annoys Behemo just a little, since she has very moderate success with the cat, but Michelle brings some flavorless meat every few days and suddenly she's the cat's second favorite??????
The cat's favorite is Nemesis because ngl Nemesis is also cat-coded. Her second-favorite is Behemo because she's doting without being overbearing. Michelle and Seth inhabit a similar tier where they're both easy targets for food, but treat her too much like a human baby without autonomy.
The cat doesn't have a name, but if you say anything in a specific tone that sounds like Seth when he's about to give her food, she will respond.
In Aceid, Seth and Nemesis lived in an apartment on the lower end of the Aceid price range for apartments. Nemesis had the sole bedroom to herself, since Seth didn't really need to sleep. Seth initially used the main area as a workspace, but it eventually got too messy, so he only used it for the first few weeks after his quarterly flashes of inspiration to clean everything. Most of the time, he worked on the dining table.
In Alicegrad, they lived in Behemo's apartment, which was much too large for just one person, and was really mainly bought as a status symbol. Seth still doesn't get his own room (he sleeps with Behemo) but now he has an external force reminding him to keep his workspace tidy.
Okay maybe I lied. The dragonmask agenda is neverending.
I couldn't mention it in When the spring snaps, but part of the reason Seth was "playing up the lovers act" was because he was experiencing manwhore allegations in the workplace. God forbid an attractive person be friendly..
Anyway, Seth needed to set a precedent that this is how he acts with a romantic partner, so please stop interpreting his friendliness as romantic
Lena Asayeva actually met Mira Marlon at a charity event for Levin University alumni. Behemo was already teaching at Levin University when Mira and co. were attending, but they never crossed paths since Behemo's field was pretty deep sciencey stuff, and Mira and co. were doing law. Anyway, she ended up joining Mira's rich wife club/book club/shitty marriage support group, and accidentally became the push that Mira needed to finally get a divorce.
Michelle, who had always felt guilty for being the reason that her parents got trapped in an unhappy marriage during their "prime years", really resented Behemo for the divorce btw. Her feelings about her parents were complicated at best -- she loved her parents and loved being with them, but having to pretend that their relationship was stable was just so tiring. Part of her was happy to finally stop having to pretend, but she missed having all her parental figures under the same roof. She loved her mother and wanted the best for her, but Mira moving back with her family made the Marlon residence feel so empty. She loved her father and wished him happiness with Bruno, but neither of them could really understand her, not in the way her mother did.
Michelle spent a lot of time at the Twiright-Asayev residence during the divorce. She avoided Ma as well during that time, since Ma just felt too involved with the divorce. If Adam had been a normal Demon, Michelle would have been exorcised within two days. However, since Adam is a corrupted human soul, and what's more, half God-kin (see: my Moonlit-Solntse family headcanon), he's kinda a special case. Behemo couldn't take his soul into her body (like what Elluka did with Eve in the gift novel) because of the gender rule, and Seth couldn't take his soul because Ma did some sneaky shit and bonded his soul to multiple other Demons than just Seth (it pissed Behemo off to no end, but she could almost respect how thoroughly they were outsmarted)
On Michelle's 18th birthday (taking place during the divorce,,,,,,yikes) the four of them had a nice, normal dinner at a fancy restaurant (within the Magic Circle). That night, the two girls snuck out to a bar, followed by Seth, for secret adult supervision. He only decided to show his presence when they were about to get back "home" (he couldn't resist a bit of trolling)
A few days after Mira moved back with her family, Michelle returned to staying with her father. She never ended up staying with them for extended periods of time again. They missed their first and only window to safely exorcise Michelle.
Michelle loves cosmic horror -- the more surreal and artsy, the better
Nemesis loves musicals (contracted theater kid disease from Behemo). She has a vinyl record of the Matilda musical, and it's one of her most prized possessions.
Feel free to ask more about my AU btw. I love to talk but I'm swamped with schoolwork rn so I might stop posting fandom stuff until like early-mid December. I'll still be liveblogging myself crashing out over schoolwork though in case anyone's interested
I just want to say that i'm absolutely adore the Nemesis Twiright AU that u made. I read all of post abt this AU and fell in love with it, also sorry for such a sudden like spams.
I love that u putting a lot of effort into this AU, the details, the characters, the worldbuilding ect. Especially i'm obsessed that this AU tackles abt the politic stuffs in the Grarth arc, which is the things i love the most.
I'm thrilled when Michelle have a bigger role in this, please don't mad when i say this but i think that in canon she felt like a plot device rather than an actual character which is quite a potential waste imo. But in this, she took the role of the Greed sinner and Nemesis's politic rival, she felt like an actual character and that's fantastic.
In conclusion, i love ur AU and i hope it will have more contents abt it in the future. Wish u well and ur pillow will cold at both sides.
P/S: Apologize if i made any grammar mistake
Uhm. Haha this got a bit long
Bwshahsahs dw I've had more like spams (I think the most was like 80-ish?? And I got so scared I thought my post caused discourse or smth) and also!!! I'm so glad you like my AU!!!! I'm actually so insane about this I love magic systems and fictional politics and making OCs and worldbuilding so I see this as an absolute win
And Michelle!! Michelle, god, where to even begin about Michelle..
Don't be afraid to speak your truth. Michelle in canon absolutely felt like set dressing for Gallerian's descent. He's an amazing character, don't get me wrong, and I loved his relationship with MotC
But like. It definitely feels like Michelle existed just for Gallerian to grieve, and then to follow what he says after she died. The whole "Eve is taking over Michelle's mind" thing felt so cheap. Like it was a way to preserve Michelle"s image as a tragic young girl who could do no wrong. There is something so objectifying in mothy's, Gallerian's, and let's face it, the fandom's treatment of Michelle. God forbid a depressed teenage girl have a few character flaws!! God forbid a female character have a personality beyond "cute" and "dead" and "loved by her father" and "depressed"!!
But like. I'm not going to get too deep into That because I kinda have college so I don't really have the time to do an analysis of Michelle's characterization while properly citing anything
I will say though. The day I realized the similarities she has with Light Fucking Yagami of all people was probably a highlight of the past 2 years djnsdbdk I felt so smart
Like!! The dreadful realization that Nemesis probably wouldn't end up joining a gang!! Therefore there's no reason for Michelle and Mira to die!! And because of her proximity to Ma, there's no way that Michelle will just be irrelevant!! Which means that I'll need to figure out how she'll be relevant, and create an entire personality beyond "I'm from a rich family, I love my family, and I'm depressed but no one knows" like!! God!! What a pain!!
And then the realization that I could take inspiration from Light Yagami because!! Light was also a privileged, mentally ill teenager who put up such a good facade that only one person ever saw his true self (L)
Sprinkle in some period-typical sexism, even more pressure to live up to her parents' legacies (Gallerian and Mira were both very accomplished people), and a few Hamilton songs showing up on my playlist and well. That's the base of my characterization of Michelle in the early days of her contract. Everything after that was "how can I make this situation even worse?"
Anyway haha thanks for the opportunity to talk about Michelle. The Twirights are the main focus of this AU, but Michelle is probably the character I'm most proud of. I built this girl from three traits, and then I made her go through The Horrors and become an even worse person. Girl you are so Perfect Daughter With Zero Flaws. The fandom defangs you so much I simply must see you become an embodiment of Greed💛
Um, could you please talk about Dragonmask? If not then more of Michelle?
LMAOO you could've just sent me an ask you didn't need to include the screenshot where I threatened to shoot my teacher's baby
Anyway omg dragonmask,,,,,,, they're like that one couple that just seems made for each other. They're a power duo among Leviantan researchers. They bicker like an old married couple. They're both very vain stylish. By all accounts, they should be a perfect couple!
Which makes it so much sillier that, to them, they're just fake dating mutual pining. The goddamn idiots
They accidentally caught feelings and never realized they were reciprocated until it was too late.
So. On Seth's end. During OSS and even up until Outlaw& Lychgate, Seth's motivation was to find a "friend" -- someone who could "tell what he is thinking". All the Ghoul Children we've seen were people whose primary theme was "family". Based on this, I feel that Seth is someone who seeks stability/safety, specifically from a person or people who can "understand" him.
Now, what does it mean to "understand" Seth?
Based on how he talks about Lich, I think to "understand" Seth means "to have Malice"
This implies Seth views his HERS as something inherently alienating. "Understanding" and "knowing what he is thinking" is not just about having a similar personality, but about having Malice, because Malice is the personality. HERs are the only people who can understand HERs.
Seth therefore is a person who, due to feelings of alienation brought about by HERS, seeks someone who has lived a similar experience with HERS
Now, on to Behemo. I feel her main theme, specifically in the story I've created, is duty/expectation. The secondary theme is identity because quite frankly girlie does NOT have the time to be thinking about her identity when she has The Plot to be dealing with
So then, what does Behemo want?
Personally, I think she wants to keep living the way she had been, before The Plot happened
Behemo (avatar) has a duty to maintain humanity's state of Not Self-Destructing. Meanwhile, Behemo (human) wants to be a normal researcher at Levin University.
Behemo wants to be Lena Asayeva, a researcher at Levin University, mentoring some of this generation's brightest minds in medicine. It also so happens that Lena Asayeva is a timeless sorceress, one who takes on her own apprentices (much like Elluka Clockworker did)
Based on her actions in the Envy Arc, I think Behemo wants to be someone who can take care of her loved ones. Would I say she has a savior complex and that she is particularly drawn to lost causes? Well yes, I have said that multiple times.
However, as with the Envy Arc, no matter how much Behemo wants to be someone who can help/care for/protect her loved ones, her top priority is, ultimately, The Plot.
Lena Asayeva, wife to Seth Twiright and stepmother to Nemesis, mentor to several of Levianta's future doctors and scientists, and trusted adult to several of Levin University's queer students, is a role that she loves to play. And yet, when The Plot starts up, Lena Asayeva is ultimately a role that she will need to be rid of.
IN MY INTERPRETATION, this is a manifestation of her grief for the First Period. Behemo (avatar) is still grieving what Behemo (original) lost. Therefore, Behemo (avatar) feels she must be responsible for the safety of everything she cares for, UNLESS it directly contradicts her duty to The Plot
Anyway haha I'm 100% overanalyzing this shit. Back to my AU
So here's Seth, someone who seeks a person who understands his experience of alienation, specifically as a result of HERS. This is a manifestation of his need for companionship, and specifically, stability.
Here's Behemo, someone who wants to provide safety, but is ready to step out of that role at a moment's notice. She wants companionship, but doesn't value her own desires as much as she values her duty as a God.
Seth knows that Behemo understands his feelings of alienation (on account of the trans thing), but also that it's a very different type of alienation. Seth understands that Behemo wants to provide safety, but it's nowhere near stable. Still, he's enough of a selfish bastard to be a part of her life, while still keeping her at arm's length and not letting himself get attached (or so he thinks)
Behemo knows that Seth wants an understanding that she is not equipped to give. Behemo understands that Seth cannot provide the companionship that she is seeking. However, she's enough of a selfish bastard that she allows Seth to settle for her half-hearted attempts at companionship, never allowing herself to get fully invested in the friendship-romance that they ended up in (or so she thinks)
late as hell reply on account of i’m still burnt out from the whole. Finishing Grade Twelve thing.,,,,,
anyway!
doomed pairing because neither of them could get their heads out of their asses long enough to even realize that the other is an actual romantic option. doomed because they would never be the most important person to the other. doomed because they are similar in theory but their experiences shaped them such that their similarities manifest in different ways, specifically ways that would inherently drive the other one away (Behemo who is unable to let anyone in VS Seth who is unable to let anyone go) (Behemo who can't see past the role she has been assigned VS Seth who is always seeking to become something more) (Behemo who stagnates VS Seth who burns)
doomed, doomed, doomed, etc., etc. enough about doomed romance (lying). the rest of this post will be for my Nemesis Twiright AU (please excuse the barely-organized fic-esque thing that comes before the Headcanon Dump)
so!
there wasn’t, exactly, a single moment that led to them getting together -- in fact, they never even talked about their relationship status (until the very end)
it started with Behemo mailing gifts to Elphegort for Nemesis’s various birthdays. the first time she did that, Nemesis was 5 years old, and she (personally) gave her a book
(Seth wasn’t at home during the visit, and Behemo took it as an opportunity to place a magic mirror in his home. it wasn’t one of the Vessels of Pride, but it functioned similarly, allowing one-way transmission of images and audio)
Seth immediately found the mirror, and confronted Behemo at the train station, where after an argument, Behemo’s head exploded
(it was sort of like a firing squad, but in the shape of a sphere instead of a circle. millions of tiny golden bullets were simultaneously shot through Behemo's head)
(anyway, it turned out that the reason Behemo went to such lengths to spy on them was because she didn’t 100% trust Seth with a child (on account of the Adam Solntse Situation). meanwhile, Seth didn’t 100% trust Behemo with the reincarnation of Levia)
anyway, after that, Behemo mainly just. mailed her gifts for Nemesis. she and Seth became penpals, sort of
even across two different countries, even before email existed, they found a way to be assholes to each other </3
the next big step in their relationship was ‘seeing each other irl’
fortunately, research conferences exist, and one of them happened to be hosted by the University of Aceid!
so Seth is there, because when your only credentials are “teaches high school math” and “i have a college-level education Trust Me,“ and you don’t exactly have the money or time to get your doctorate, your only hope for making it Big in academia is by making connections and hoping one of them is morally bankrupt enough to help you get into the community
enter, Behemo Barisol Lena Asayeva, a professor at Levin University who happened to be in Aceid for a few days
so she helps Seth sweet talk her colleagues, thus granting him the foothold he needs
this turns into trips abroad, coincidentally meeting up, always with a prepared reason to be in that area
this turns into Christmases Aleftides in Aceid, because lots of people travel to Aceid during the holiday season
this turns into visits to Levianta, getting to know Behemo’s various colleagues, making friends in Levianta
this turns into Behemo sitting with Seth, watching Nemesis give her valedictorian speech upon graduating high school. she was just twelve years old
this turns into the Twirights moving to Levianta, staying in Levin University's campus, where Behemo had since placed a spell keeping Ma out
this turns into Seth teaching at Levin University as well
this turns into something almost like a married couple dynamic, which turns into them actually getting legally married (supposedly for the benefits)
anyway. Random Headcanons Go
Behemo is a chronic late sleeper. Homegirl is going to bed at 2 AM just to get up at 6 AM. Then she takes an afternoon nap (foolish move) so she doesn’t get tired until 12 AM. She even takes a coffee (or several) in the afternoon
Seth, meanwhile, doesn’t need sleep because he’s not an organic lifeform. So he just stays up and does his work. Then it’s a few hours to rest and clean up, and then he’s up and cooking breakfast for the family (neither Behemo nor Nemesis are morning people)
Speaking of Nemesis, Behemo just loves to spoil her! She earns a fair amount from being a professor at Levin University, but a good portion of her money comes from various investments (I’m tired of ignoring it, but Behemo is old money, after all. Of course she knows how to stay rich) (it’s also helpful that she knows the general shape of history). Anyway, Nemesis has a decent collection of First Period books (fixed up by Kiril) and novelty playing cards. She also gets all her clothes tailored (as long as she asks Behemo before asking Seth)
As for Seth, while he doesn’t give Nemesis as many gifts, he also ‘babies’ her less. Having viewed Levia as more of an equal, Seth is a lot more willing to let Nemesis do things like ‘learn magic’ and ‘skip grade levels,’ both of which are touchy subjects for Behemo, since she has a whole Thing about Nemesis turning out like Levia (wherein she simultaneously misses Levia and wishes she was “present” again, but resents her for being created “perfect”)
By virtue of “you don’t even need to sleep, you don’t even produce dust, you don’t even need to eat,” Seth is in charge of maybe 60% of the household chores. Behemo threatens to start charging him rent if he doesn’t do it
Of course, this isn’t to say that Seth is the only one pulling any weight in this relationship! Behemo takes him to fancy restaurants, helps him advance his career (hashtag nepotism), and buys him whatever he asks for (this is because she has issues with letting people in, and her parents’ love language was Money, so when put in a familial setting, she automatically returns to what she knows)
Both of them being deeply unwell and allergic to proper communication, there’s a lot of yearning and various things-left-unsaid, even after they “officially” get together
I imagine both of them would assume that their own feelings are unrequited, and thus use their “official” relationship to “pretend” that they’re living the Domestic Life
In fact, they don’t even have the “what are we?” talk until just before Seth (+ Levia and Amostia) board the ship to Marlon (for the sake of distancing themselves from Ma), which happens after Nemesis’s assassination in 1010
These bitches really are allergic to not making assumptions about the motives of others and assuming the worst, huh
Like even if you aren’t the most important to each other, that doesn’t negate that there were feelings there, that you were important to each other. Wasn’t it enough that they were there for you? Wouldn’t it be enough that you were there for them?
