A continuation of my last post about a reader who struggles to make any headway/participate in a conversation, and characters who find ways to include them!
Characters: Diavolo, Barbatos, Luke, Simeon, Solomon
Diavolo takes quite some time to realise what was going on - he can be a little bit dense at the best of times, but once he's caught on, he's genuinely really distraught on your behalf and will do everything he can to right this wrong. He'll pull you aside and apologise like it's his own fault, and do his very best to make sure you're included, through whatever means possible. Usually, this means him announcing that it seems like you have something you'd like to add to the conversation whenever you so much as take a slightly bigger than normal breath in or tilt your head a certain way. He acts so proud of himself about it too, puffing his chest out and tipping his chin up as he just beams at you while you talk. He doubly so makes sure to take in every word you say, even if it's about something he has no knowledge of.
Barbatos knows. Even before anything happens, he just knows, and he's already steering the conversation in a certain way to circumvent it from ever happening in the first place. He's skilled with finding tricky little ways to manipulate others, so this isn't a difficult undertaking for him. He almost does it subconsciously, engineering the chatter subtly to turn towards topics of interest to you, or making sure there are lulls in the conversation so you'll get an opportunity to speak up. He'd never acknowledge it or admit that it's something he does, but he does. He's rather fond of you, and he doesn't like to see those he likes get down on themselves for little things such as not being able to participate fluently in a conversation.
Luke considers you a good friend, and thus is always pretty tuned in to what you're saying and doing at any given moment. It's something he notices, but doesn't really know what to do in response - he gets talked over a lot, and he kind of sees it as expected or normal for this group, but there's a moment where he finally clicks to how much it upsets you and he's immediately ten times as upset on your behalf. He may not stand up for himself, but he'll absolutely stand up for his loved ones without a second thought, and give whoever speaks over or disregards you a stern telling-off. It's a little sweet, watching him with one hand on his hip, the other waggling a scolding finger at someone much taller than him as he chides them for not waiting their turn.
Simeon isn't entirely sure what to make of it at first - he notices how you miss a beat, how your face falls and you trail off as you're spoken over, and he kind of sits on that for a little while, deliberating over what to do. Eventually, he'll find an appropriate opportunity to pull you aside and ask if you're okay, if there's anything he can possibly do to help with the situation. He's conscientious and sweet, and has a few suggestions for you if you're not sure how to proceed forward. He'll follow your lead, doing whatever you've asked of him whenever these incidents occur. If you're not sure, or you ask him to remain silent, you'll notice he does seem to pay extra attention to you during conversations to at least try and make sure you feel noticed and heard - he dislikes the idea of you feeling bad and him not being able to do anything about it.
Solomon doesn't really notice for quite some time - he can be socially inept at the best of times, and this is certainly one of them. It takes him a while to connect the dots and realise why you come out of some interactions seeming more downtrodden than when you entered. He sometimes gets interrupted, but his usual solution is to simply keep talking until the other person shuts up, which you don't seem to be inclined to do. He spends a while deliberating on what he can do, how he can help - of course, his first thoughts turn to magic, what spells and charms he could easily cast to make you feel better when someone talks over you, but he eventually concludes that perhaps that may not be the best solution. He instead finds ways to create awkward silences in the conversation shortly after you've tried to talk and just looks at you expectantly, with a smug little grin on his face like he's done something praiseworthy. Whether it is or not is up to you.
