Mercedes and Melchior really be weaving between the apprentice and Lucio going “Are we a joke to you?”
The wee babies kept him company in his wing, dragged the apprentice in to help him, were beside themselves with joy for him when his form was shifted and he finally got out of that dusty ass wing, even in other routes they helped the apprentice find clues like the portrait button to get into the private dining room. Those sweet babies did everything to help their master. Don’t tell me they ain’t their own kind of magic.
CC (CK here) you are an absolute gem. Yes you are brainwashed and your devotion is very intense and kinda scary. Even so, your green eyes are a light in these dark and trying times.
I feel like CC did as much as they could while still remaining faithful to their beliefs. They were warm and kind and sought to provide as much of a semblance of comfort and normalcy as possible given the circumstances. They also didn’t force anything on MC opting to offer/ask and offer alternatives rather than be pushy. It was like even though she didn’t have choices in coming to the castle or being locked up or having magical blood they at least gave her some choice and control in this little thing and call me #readingwayyyyyytoooooomuchintothis but to me that felt so important.
Just...really trying to attentive to MCs needs and recognising that those go beyond simply fulfilling the survival tasks like eating drinking and sleeping etc. I feel like CC just wanted to serve and thought that with enough loyalty and time that MC would willing accept her place among their ranks and find genuine friendship and a place within the world, a home.
A home and also a purpose which the cult has probably offered to all of those within their ranks. From vampires that don’t belong with any given coven to humans and others who are just adrift and want a goal, a focus and hope.
Like yeah their goals and methods are kinda icky don’t get me wrong but the whole world is kinda icky...
I just, I don’t know. I know I’m late to the series so I’m feeling all these feels on my own in isolation/purgatory but I just really wanted good things for CC and even just for the cult to maybe actually idk work with the MC.
I know that doesn’t happen and my beloved fave side character in this route doesn’t get a happy ending or any of the good things that I wished for them and their kind soul but I just gotta pour one out for CC for being there with decadently drawn bathtubs, pints of ice cream, and open ears and an open heart to listen to MC during her heartbreak...you were the best kidnapper and cultist I ever had and you deserved better.
I just want to kiss whoever wrote Antonio’s seasons. I’m enthralled. This was so raw and bare and stripped of the characters usual sarcasm/snark/coping mechanisms. From an MC who has been through so much before the start of the story and during she’s gone from rending herself to the soul to care for those around her to not just accepting being cared for but expressing that desire. I’m really excited to see what else this stirs up and how MC, Antonio and the gang deal with it but for now I’m going to bask in the glow of the MC finally getting a minuscule fucking break to be a little bit selfish, to enjoy feeling powerful and protected after going through so many spells of hopelessness and loneliness. She is everything. I love her.
Okay controversial opinion but I would give an insane amount of hearts for a Dracula short story where Antonio does just let you go in exchange for Eva. I mean it wouldn’t be far fetched, he said himself he almost did...please my thirst way outweighs my sense of self preservation. Come on @lovestruckvoltage give the people what they want. Even if admittedly, people is currently just me.
I just love them so much. Their dynamic. Their growth. How it’s not the whole “special gal melts cold hearted broody boy and makes him have feels for her and her alone” but the more rewarding “special gal melts ice walls put up around absolute heart of gold and makes him feel safe enough the share all the feels that were there all along”.
Idk if that makes sense to anyone other than me and I am #rambling but I just thinks it’s worth noting how deeply Duke already cares for the Syndicate before he really opens up to MC. You see it in other routes like the absolute heartbreak that is him reaching out to her and Renzei even after the utter devastation of their betrayal. He loves deeply and widely but he’s been so broken and hurt by his past that he doesn’t want to let more people close than he can protect and I just aaaahhh. He is soft and pure and deserves love and good things and protection.