Lukas in a monastery? Lord, the chances of Mathias being STOKED because he always knows where to find Lukas (in claustrum), knowing hes not supposed to leave there, and can thus make demands of his time — ANYTIME 🫢 Does Lukas also have to take vows of chastity? Surely Mathias doesnt think that this applies to interactions with him. Would go well with your implication that Lukas being made to wear more feminine clothing has implications for his social status. And Mathias would of course come to Lukas crying for forgiveness and absolution (in a religious sense) for most heinous sins that were totally avoidable, had he some inkling of self-control. Also misusing the confession box to flirt with Lukas.
I find the concept of religion in their universe to be so interesting, and a lot of my approach for it is inspired by PrettyishPersuasion’s “Coronation” work from their Top Ten collection. I will leave the excerpt that inspires DenNor’s relationship with religion in this story here:
「 Norway let out a harsh laugh, “Odin...the Papists...Lutheranism....we've lived to see enough gods come and go. This one we have now will just have to forgive me.”
Well, Denmark thought, there's no arguing with that. 」 — Coronation, PrettyishPersuasion
So, they are not incredibly devout, and nor are they well behaved about it either!
Lukas will absolutely leave whenever he wants and he doesn’t take anyones shit. Though, of course, Mathias can often find him at the fortress. I think whenever Lukas does decide to leave for whatever reason, may it be a mundane task or chore or for politics, and Mathias doesn’t find him there, it is a very crucial device to amplify his supposed autonomy (which I’m quickly realizing is a very common theme in this story).
I do enjoy the picture you paint with Mathias coming to Lukas for forgiveness. I 100% see this happening, and it’s something I’m exciting to touch on.
That being said, they all have roles for play in the Union, so they do, at least, try to put some effort for appearances sake. And I absolutely will be using religious-figurehead Lukas for my erotic ideas lol
Most importantly, and perhaps most devastatingly of all, this story is about the tragedy of three brothers with an irreparable relationship that will last centuries. So I’m not too nitpicky about the details of religion just yet
