@unholy-fall-maiden continued from here!
Neo didn't seem hostile, but hurt could be read in her eyes. In part, however, there was acknowledging that the mute herself did -admittedly- help with giving Cinder a reason to get rid of her.
The death threat and blackmail with the Relic and Salem...it was definitely not a kid's game, nor a joke.
And the illusionist was aware of it.
She didn't even forget about the things Cinder told her about her brother...the family she had before the Grimm attacked them, but she took a step closer to the Maiden and looked up without hesitation.
'That's what you think? That it's not my business?' Angry text floating in front of her, but the clenched teeth didn't take long to soften on Neo's expression.
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@galaxofmuses | X
Akira was quite happy that Yusuke came with him, although he thought he would spend his time with the stray cats alone. His company was more than welcome, after all. Even though he lived with Morgana, he couldn’t resist petting a beautiful ginger cat by kneeling down to its height.
“Yeah, they’re cute, aren’t they? Cuter than Morgana, too.” He joked with a good chuckle escaping him. “C’mon, you can pet or feed them if you want. Most of them are pretty friendly to strangers. I hope you haven’t been overworking yourself, though. Have you eaten anything today?”
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@shirotantei | X
“That’s... uh, that’s alright. My room’s an even bigger mess! Don’t worry about it.” That probably was not the best thing to say to a detective who works so hard compared to himself, but that’s all he could think about it when he stepped inside. The reason for his visit was simple curiosity, and he was surprised when she agreed so easily.
“Anyway, I can help you clean or... with the case? Working alone must be rough, even though you’re used to it, right?” He gave her a small, sympathetic smile. It reminded him of all the solo shifts he had to take at Junes this week. He was beyond worn out.
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I wonder if the Winged Lion ate Marcille's hair (desires) in part to keep her dependent on him & more easily controlled.
I had already noticed that he has a tendency to frame her power in ways that keep her reliant on him. It's a some classic manipulation bullshit - he appears helpful, but he is constantly pushing her towards isolation.
See, for example: offering at first to give her a full view of the dungeon to help her find Laios and the others, knowing its painful for her -
And then offering using monsters to search instead, which keeps her less aware of what's actually happening
(This post by @mmikmmik has some GREAT insights into this particular moment as well, and is a large part of what has me thinking about the ways the Winged Lion manipulates Marcille in general.)
Or there's also the way that he pushes HER to be the one to attack the Canaries, making her more explicitly their enemy and more directly responsible for their injuries...
Even though moments later he's perfectly happy to deal with Mithrun himself, without Marcille's guidance (he even hides the act from her).
All of these things keep her isolated, all of these things keep him in control.
But if the Winged Lion wants as much control over Marcille as possible, and wants her only to act through him and his powers, you know what else he probably wants to suppress? Her magic.
And what helps her keep in touch with her magic?
Her hair.
Think about it. Thistle was such a thorn in the Lion's side in part because he was able to seal the Lion in those books and act independently. The last thing the Winged Lion wants is another mage getting out from under his thumb.
Plus, we already know the Lion can be tactical with how he consumes desires. We know because we just saw him eat Thistle’s desire to resist, only a few chapters before turning his charms on Marcille.
So, if he wants to make use of Marcille, wants to keep her under his control, and doesn’t want to show his hand - he can use a similar technique.
Something as small as eating her desire to take care of her hair wouldn’t be noticed right away, but it would keep her disconnected from herself. It would be another small step in undermining her ability to act - to keep her friends safe, to achieve her goals, to fix things - without him. To make her feel like the only way out was to obey.
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the vessel discovers one of life's simple joys: small plush toy.
a little doodle of a scene from ch 18 of @queruloustea's that makes two of us, then - please please read this fic, it's so lovely. i want to do something nicer and more involved for it but i am still adjusting to drawing Bugs and Bugs Interacting so it will have to wait until i'm more confident :')
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