ronin is the monster, and you'll do well to remember that.
taking down ai slop of ronin means encountering horrific characterisations of my boy and it frustrated me enough to write this:
the point of ronin beaufort is he IS the monster. he is your thoughts whispering sick things in your head. kill, kill, kill this town, ther.
purity is a saccharine lie that will meet ruin. (ethereality estridge is a false idol to be broken down.)
he does not give a shit. he does not feel sorry for himself. when he says he revels in his devilry he means it. he's not some tragic, pathetic pathos, you all see me as a monster but estridge you dont look at me like that. you see me as a better man than i am.
can i repeat. he does not feel sorry for himself. there is no world where hes comforted by ther / mc / whatever character telling him he isn't monstrous and where ronin. fucking. beaufort thinks "oh yay [they] think im a good man and dont think im a monster". that specific dialog in killer chat! "i think the devils a better man than he says he is" drops so many favor points im not joking.
im sorry that is just a fundamental and gross misunderstanding of his character. he is ROT. ROT IS HIS SOLACE. ROT IS WHO HE IS. and i mean this in the most beautiful way. i mean this in that the grotesque has given him breath, has let him live. rot is everything he wants because the perfect, everything-hes-nots have ruined everything he holds dear. he cant accept anything but monstrousness, the devils fall from grace into autonomy and self-determination, so blatant and blazing in it.
so when a man is born out of a body of his rot why won't he revel in it?
"you're the nicest boy angelwood has to offer" ther tells him and ronin points to the fucking bloodsplatter and is like "yeah even with this?" and ther is like "especially." ronin fucking laughs because ther's perfect rot, he's absolute rot. he is happy in his monstrosity because his monstrosity is what. allows him to be.
he is the shoulder devil. im gonna drag you to the depths. youre gonna give into your worst impulses. im gonna make you into your wretched apotheosis and you'll thank me for it.
and ther estridge is no saint. ther styled his horns. when ronin asks them if they want it back:
"no of course not. i like them on you".
they love him for his devilry. of course they do. (because the perfect girl-not-a-girl needs the devil to make them fall.)
ronin is toxic and monstrous and that is the point. that is what makes him who he is. lets not sanitise my son please it makes me sad when i see it. and it makes me even sadder when i see people making him white and cis. just stop.