#twt thread archive

[envcrk]

The paladins (Kouign, Madeleine) and Clotted both bring fun into Financier's life and self-imposed strict routine. While I think both are equally important and meaningful to her, Clotted feels more intimate because he's in the same position as her (strict workaholic). Analysis below

I'm so glad she has Kouign and Madeleine as buddies so they can help her have fun. She is so restrictive about herself and what she can "enjoy". Of course, she does enjoy being a paladin and finds a lot of joy in her strict duties. But she is also curious and likes treats

She would never allow herself to act upon that though and always acts as a role model even when nobody is watching. She is disciplined and takes pride in that (cake order on the left). Kouign and Madeleine like to treat themselves for their hardwork (Kouign's order on the right)

Financier would not agree with that line of thinking for herself because to her, it's her duty and she doesn't need a "reward". This is why she criticizes how Madeleine indulges in the fame and popularity. To her, the only reward is serving the Light and the Republic.

This makes sense considering her upbringing and her finding a lot of happiness and identity in being a paladin. She is an exceptional role model and is happy to be one. But sometimes you need a littleeee fun and that's where Kouign and Madeleine come in as buddies to her

They are fun people and know how to enjoy themselves. They're happy to loop her in and include her. They're quite on the opposite scale of her strictness though and they're fellow paladins so she can't help but criticize them at times. Nonetheless, them dragging her around is beneficial to her enjoyment.

Clotted, however, is not as high energy as the other two and is also very strict about his job. Unlike Financier, he does know how to enjoy himself. Idk why fanon has latched onto the idea that he doesn't know how to have fun and relax when he has multiple instances of self care.

Clotted is a very high ranking official so Financier inherently takes his lead. This is different from her typical role model approach for herself and to everyone else.

When he offers her a picnic or food or any invitation, it's less about being dragged around but rather doing something safely together. In Financier's eyes, Clotted is also very serious about his position and the Republic and rarely does things for himself so him inviting her creates a familiar environment. If he, a fellow workaholic, is enjoying himself then she feels more open to do so. She lets herself enjoy the scenery with Clotted (bare minimum of what she "allows" herself to do) and declines on the picnic until Clotted says they should do it. But when she accepts she has fun. She likes having fun.

It's just a matter of having people around her either giving her a little push or creating an environment where she sees people similar to her doing the same thing and following their lead. That's why she's so open to Clotted because she knows this is rare for him too.

She knows Kouign and Madeleine are fun and whimsical. Clotted is not. And neither is she. So when he does it, she finds herself "allowing" it to happen to her too. That's why I find her relationship to Clotted very different to the paladins, romantic or not.

She does not have to be a role model around him and he knows what's it's like to maintain an image at all times. He is the most watched person in the Republic. So if he's okay with doing it, she is too. They can put their images aside for a few minutes and have fun together.

Clotted is a very "safe" figure to her. She knows he is similar to her. She knows he knows the feeling of the weight and overwhelming love they have for the Republic. He understands her and in turn she loosens up a little around him. It's very sweet to me. Clottcier blast

(The wedding picture is just for fun illustration but it literally sums up this whole point. She's a little overwhelmed by all the excitement of the other two, but she still loves them (thus they were invited). However, she faces Clotted bc he's a source of calmness for her).

[envcrk]

I've read two fics where Financier is, or entertains the idea of being temporarily replaced as Clotted's bodyguard. It's funny to think that Clotted has accidentally associated himself with a bodyguard at all times bc he wanted Financier to stay with him (even though protection isn't an issue).

(more ramblings + links to the fics that inspired these thoughts below)

Maybe a Custard Guard followed him around prior to the events of Odyssey. However, the way he reacted to Financier's initial assignment to him was so negative I believe he didn't have anyone following him. Which makes sense considering he has 4 guns attached to him on top of his self worth issues plus his Custard image (i.e. not looking "weak").

He seemed to be fine on his own but because he wanted Financier to stay with him even after her assignment he dug himself in a hole. Now everyone assigns him temporary protection and he can't explain that he wants Financier specifically and doesn't actually need protection. That sounds bad and is also embarrassing.

In one fic Financier joked about Madeleine taking her place and honestly I want to see it I want to see this interaction. Clotted hearing he's being assigned one of his bum Custard Guards and mentally lets out a sigh. And then Vanilla Sugar speaking up and saying he was under Divine protection before so it should be another high-ranking paladin so they give him Madeleine and he lets out another sigh

Inspired by (fic 1) (fic 2)

[envcrk]

How old is Clotted Cream Cookie?

Collecting evidence from canon and the history of being a roman Consul to determine his potential age range and what it means to be the "youngest Consul" of the Creme Republic ⬇️

Starting at the start of 18 years old, Clotted would need to be trained in military. In the Roman Republic, 10 years of military service was required before you could run:

Of course the Creme Republic and the Roman Republic do not have to be 1:1 on requirements but this provides us a general range to start with. During some set amount of military years, Clotted would need to become a a high-ranking member of the military since Consuls are meant to have the highest military command in times of war and act as commanders-in-chief in general.

Using the range of 7-10 years (just to add another minimum to form a range for the Creme Republic), this puts Clotted Cream at around 25-28 years old once he reaches a commander level. This level of leadership and high-ranking is referenced by his design where both him and his father have a diagonal belt/sash. The Custard Guards do not have this as they are lower ranking:

Between the starting ages of 25-28 years old, he begins his politician years to eventually be elected as Consul. Espresso notes this phase of Clotted's life and states that the last time he saw him he was just a novice politician and it was surprising to see him rise as Consul so quickly.

It's unclear just how quickly he was able to prove himself capable of the highest position in the Republic but Elder Custard states that were (and still are) doubts about him and how young he is. It may have taken him 2+ years as a placeholder.

Let's say 3 years just to throw a number out there. That puts him around 28-31 years old. Consuls during the Roman Republic were aged 42 y/o minimum before it was changed to 32 y/o in the empire. 32 years seems like a reasonable number to guess his age around.

Which also makes sense on how people react to his age if that's close to the minimum. He's still very young at 32 if that's the literal minimum age AND he's very young relative to others in office (who are literally called "The Elders").

The key points of determining how old he is are 1) the years needed for military work 2) the years needed for military leadership and 3) the years needed as a politician to campaign and eventually be elected as Consul in present day. He is likely early 30s with these in mind

Side note (but I cannot find the evidence at this time to back it up so take this with a grain of salt): Clotted's KR VA was instructed to do a voice for a man in his 30s. If I can find the post again, I will link it. But this is very consistent with the estimation above so I'm not surprised if it was in fact the case

[envcrk]

Republic discussions are so funny because there will be so many posts basically asking why the racist Elders are still on the council of Racism City. Even the Elder that did get kicked out wasn't even for the fact she was poisoning the Lower City it was bc of embezzlement

Not a single person spoke up about the fact she was feeding the Lower City literal mud for food. except for Captain Caviar, as always. Baumkuchen spoke up about how it was making people sick but as soon as Caviar said the Upper City feasts while the Lower City eats mud suddenly Baumkuchen got defensive even though HE brought it up. It shows they are all ok with their racist system because it means they get to live comfortably at the top. Why would they kick out people like Sable and Custard for being overtly racist. They're all racist.

The only people who was willing to acknowledge Canele was hurting the Lower City was Caviar and Oyster. I don't want to hear a single word about "the good ones" like Clotted, Baumkuchen, etc. bc they're always silent on these matters. There are no excuses when it comes to being in a position of leadership and harming (whether actively or as a bystander) the citizens you're suppose to serve. Caviar has called out all their behavior multiple times, Wildberry and Crunchy called out Clotted for his indifference, like it's written right there.

Even in the post-war story shows this. Yes, there are steps forward but it frames just how long of a way they have to go. Like they were just going to celebrate the Upper City only as default and nobody batted an eye? Even though they all protected their home?

The average npc Republic citizen is racist. Off-screen dialogue of characters you don't even see say such derogatory things about the Lower City for just existing. Racism is not a dealbreaker for them when it comes to their Council.

Also Clotted discussions are genuinely impossible and I won't go into it in detail but it's so hard to discuss that is both someone willing to make a change but also someone who is heavily biased/complicit. He grew up in the Republic of course he's biased it just comes with it. If Baumkuchen spends time healing citizens of the Lower City yet gets defensive/feels personally attacked when people call out racist behavior why is it so farfetched to claim Clotted can do good but also plays a part in their racist system. It's inherent to his role as Consul

Every single time something affects the Lower City specifically he never acknowledges it. Not out loud. Not in his head. Nowhere. And that's not unique to him but it still deserves criticism especially since he is in a position of leadership.

That doesn't mean he can't do better. That doesn't mean I don't have hope he will work to do better. But to have that hope you have to acknowledge that Creme Republicans have set up and contributed to an oppressive system in the first place. And people get so scared to say it

[envcrk]

Clotted's Personality and Oyster

I refuse to believe Oyster wasn’t a part of Clotted’s childhood solely because of his smugness. Where else could he have gotten it. The relentlessness when it comes to the pursuit of his goals is from his father (without the comical evilness, of course) but why does he...why does he look like this -> 😏

(analysis and headcanon below)

So much of how much he presents himself can be traced back to Custard. Nobody ever talks about this but Custard is actually really good at the whole fake nice/polite thing. Clotted does the exact same thing but with a higher tolerance/never blows up the way his father does.

The scene with Light Cream is a great example of this because he is answering based on appealing to her emotions.

The way he acknowledges her love as a mother and Clotted’s success is very purposeful. But he never lets her request through. He’s “polite” but incredibly firm about his point. He does not let her push back on this.

This is very much standard politician behavior honestly but yes, Clotted did inherit this and gets this exact skill from his father. The House Custard reputation does not exclude Clotted, as seen by Canele Cookie's (Mysterious Shadow 2) statement about him. He's known to be ruthless:

But for such a vicious and uptight house and under the constant gaze of his father he somehow developed this smug, almost silly part of his personality that is not seen from any outside factor. With Custard's strict rule over his House, Clotted's connections are limited to Custard's circle. Which makes me think that it has to be an Elder, specifically Elder Oyster.

Both Custard and Oyster have the whole speech style down for their positions of power but Oyster has a bit more..."fluff" when she speaks:

Custard doesn’t talk with fluff when he’s trying to be “nice”. He’s “polite” and keeps it very professional. Clotted will occasionally throw the word “friends” into the mix when greeting people and laugh and feel very “normal and approachable”, which is very similar to the extra bits of words Oyster uses here ("He he" and "I am sure it will be quite a refreshing experience...!)

Oyster is also much more open to Clotted compared to Custard and the feeling is mutual as Clotted trusts Oyster the most out of the Elders, as stated during the Soul Jam investigating. It's also strange for Oyster to be as friendly as she is to the son of someone she despises. Her mannerisms compared to Clotted and how she treats him makes me believe she was a trusted adult figure in Clotted's early life

[envcrk]

SS Cargot - Day 5

These are my thoughts for Day 5's investigation! This one has been super difficult so I won't be surprised if it turns out to be someone else.

However, until answers are revealed, my vote is for Escargot and below is my analysis of the evidence and interrogations:

First: Roguefort is being framed and its not them. This is implied with the Signature Card clue and the "convenience" of Roguefort being suspiciously disguised as Escargot at the scene of the crime. They also state someone knows they're aboard the ship to be able to frame them.

They have a motive of why they're on the ship and states they have no reason to take Almond out. Almond was not interfering with their own investigation.

Roguefort is not just being framed by the card, but also the monocle clue. Dr. Bones states they saw the monocle fly across and Escargot at the scene of the crime, which they assume was Roguefort in disguise after. However, Roguefort admits its their monocle but does not say it flew across the room. Instead, they think it may have fallen off while examining Almond

Note Roguefort's choice of words. They're not actually sure how it fell (or is lying, but I do not believe it was them based on the theme of this case). I don't just think the Cards were planted to frame them, but also the monocle, which is why Dr. Bones saw it fly across.

The "fake cards" all emphasize they smell of cheese. The monocle also emphasizes this. What if they're both fake, and planted by the person who knows Rougefort is on the ship?

Although Steak calls out Rougefort by name and blames them at the scene of the crime, I don't think Steak framed them. I also don't believe Steak could've been where Almond was because he caught Chili Pepper as she ran as soon as she heard people fighting.

As soon as she heard a cookie fall to the ground, she was about to run, but never even got to because Steak caught her before she even could. This implies Steak was very close to Chili Pepper and couldn't have been fighting Almond at the time.

So Chili Pepper, Dr. Bones, Steak, and Roguefort are all accounted for during the scene of the crime. This leaves Escargot, who also has a fishy interrogation.

The only people who got the "fake cards" were Escargot and Almond. But why would Escargot be led to the cargo hold as a target? And why wasn't she taken out earlier when she admits she came down there earlier?

If Escargot was never the real target, why give her one in the first place? Why lead the most powerful person on the ship (her ship) down to where a crime was going to be committed? This makes me believe she gave herself a card to clear suspicion and paint herself as a "victim"

Even with the feather, she dodges the question despite the fact we all saw Roguefort disguised as her. It's not until you push her and then she acknowledges that it could've been Rogueforts. But why won't she say it's hers? Why is she so defensive when Roguefort is right there?

So my vote is for her. From her interrogation trying so hard to not suspect her (even when Roguefort is so easy to blame here), to her unknown whereabouts when everyone else is known, and her knowledge of the ship since someone knew Roguefort was onboard, I believe it's her.

And one more thing about Dr. Bones and the monocle: They say they saw Escargot when Almond was knocked out. We all assume it's Roguefort because they were examining him and we saw them at the scene. But what if it was the real Escargot before she ran off?

[envcrk]

Financier vs. Clotted's 50ft tall emotional walls (an analysis through a shipping lens):

Before I start I do really want to emphasize that I wrote this with the ship in mind. There is general character analysis but the overall purpose and intent of this post relates back to the application of their characters in a relationship context. This means there will be inherent bias and my own interpretation of their interactions. This is in no way implying any canon ships; I'm writing cookie essays for fun.

Throughout Odyssey the story establishes that Financier is a work-oriented, serious cookie. She rarely speaks out of turn and when she does (i.e. the scene where Clotted suggests that an Elder may have tried to steal the Soul Jam and Financier is shocked by the accusation), she feels guilty about it. A majority of her dialogue is her responding to orders and even when she's spoken to in a heartfelt, personal manner (i.e her conversations with Pure Vanilla and Millie-Feuille) she still talks with heavy formality and limited words.

A simple thank you and nothing more. No deeper feelings on her end to show other than her gratitude. It doesn't matter if someone like Millie-Feuille, who watched her grow up and most likely spent a lot of time with her, is offering her comfort and even offering to be a familial figure Financier never had growing up, Financier still very much keeps her own personal opinions and feelings to herself.

Her attempting to comfort Clotted the Lyceum was not an automatic reaction. She's a caring cookie, yes, but she has always been careful with her words, especially around people with high authority. She would have to think very carefully before commenting on Clotted's feelings. This is more obvious in the Light Cream's Letter scene where she's seen to be pausing/hesitating before speaking her mind.

Her hesitation to speak her mind is not something exclusive to Clotted. Again, she's incredibly professional regardless of who she's talking to. It's just who she is as a person/character.

However, Clotted has always been the exception when it comes to breaking that professionalism. When there is an opportunity to comfort him (which is rare because he's very skilled in keeping his composure but it happens), she will always choose to do so. It's an active choice she makes.

She was willing to talk about his relationship to Light Cream as well, which seems to be a sensitive topic to him? The Republic seems to gossip about House Scone/Light Cream and Clotted's reaction to the letter/Financier's speech to him seems to imply that he's been avoiding talking about his mother. So Financier, who holds her personal opinions very close to her, willingly talking to him about his family issues is HUGE. She gains nothing out of this other than comforting him. She chooses to show her care and concern for him. He's her exception.

Unfortunately, Clotted has very high emotional walls (which is understandable considering his backstory) and doesn't know how to react to her attempts at comfort. He unintentionally ranted about his frustration about his father using the Custard soldiers to seize the Soul Jams and when Financier tried to comfort him, that's when he realized what he said and immediately says it's not a problem at all. He almost seems offended.

However, Clotted doesn't seem to realize that he shares his thoughts to Financier quite often, especially in later chapters, which then leads to her commenting on his feelings. I'm not going to list every single one of his rants to her but the Lyceum scene where he flat out admits that his co-ownership of the Pearl Legion will essentially overthrow his father's power of House Custard and make Clotted the head of the House is such a huge statement to make in front of her.

His openness with Financier is incredibly strange for his character considering his whole thing is about never letting anyone know his true thoughts/intentions. The Clotted & Milky Way interaction may suggest and reiterate that him being open about himself is very strange. While I'm not 100% sure what the interaction implies, it sounds to me like the only way he would be honest about himself if he's unconsciously doing it. The way I interpret it is that even the idea of him being honest to someone is laughable. It's a joke to him.

So, to me at least, it makes sense that he doesn't exactly realize that he talks to Financier more. He's unconsciously sharing his thoughts with her and only realizes it when Financier comments on his thoughts/feelings. The realization makes him close himself off because he's not supposed to do that. That explains why he cuts her off in the Lyceum when she says she's sorry for him and all he's dealing with.

The Light Cream letter scene also has him completely silent during Financier's speech to him (again, because he doesn't share his feelings willingly) but even before her speech, Clotted doesn't realize that he starts talking to Financier about his thoughts about the Pearl Candies, even thought it was Financier who both approached him and asked to speak with him.

He starts rambling about the Pearl Candies until Financier cuts in and then he remembers that she wanted to speak with him.

The Light Cream's Letter scene is so sweet but it also cracks me up because it is the most explicit example of Clotted just seeing Financier, not registering anything that's going on, and just starts rambling to her. Like, he just instantly forgot that it was Financier that wanted to talk to him, not the other way around. He is so oblivious to how much he shares his thoughts to Financier.

Even though Clotted will always close himself off when Financier tries to comfort him, his intentional rambling seems to indicate at least some sort of trust towards her. Enough trust to let his guard down and share his inner thoughts with her, even if he doesn't want to admit it or acknowledge it. Which is fair, it will take him a lot of time to become comfortable with doing something he avoided his whole life.

But regardless, she's his exception to one of his core character traits. The same way he's Financier's exception to one of her core character traits. Clotted is careful about his words and hides his secrets and intentions, unless it's Financier, who he'll talk to endlessly and openly. Financier is careful about her position and holds back her personal opinions, unless it's Clotted, who she'll always choose to speak her mind to if it means bringing him comfort. Clotted's is unintentional while Financier's is very intentional. Both displaying pure trust for the other.

[envcrk]

I see. I'm Seeing