what

I do think, separated from lore, cursing them as a means of trying to get them to acknowledge their flaws is a good idea! I’m unfortunately kinda biased on my headcanoned reasonings for the curse due to the fact I’m one of those guys that developed their own Kitsune lore with a Summer Clan leader/Natsu….

I personally like to think that the curse was a very pointed move from one of their gods in response to their poor/lacking behavior during the Kitsune Wars specifically. For Haru in particular, I lean VERY hard into that “formality” line. I kind of took it at face value and decided that Haru was only superficially in the wars because of his close relation to another clan, but his people barely participated while he ended up turning a blind eye to the imminent destruction of the Summer Clan. In all fairness, he was doing that to make sure that the people in his clan wouldn’t also have to suffer the wrath of enraged Winter Clan soldiers, so it’s a bit morally gray (<- all of the reasonings I came up with are)

I don’t wanna make this post too long by covering the other guys (but I save a bunch of that kinda stuff in the savetag #kitsune lore, if you wanna kill some time reading)

But really the big overarching idea for the curse I tend to reference is that being forced into one form removes freedom and control from the leaders. With all the power and free will they held, it only led to the reckless harm of others and they all seemed to have issues with acknowledging this for themselves and self reflecting. It’s the most obvious in Haru and Fuyu, and it’s why I think Aki got un-cursed first because he was the most self aware of the things he needed to work on, even if he didn’t admit it right away. (Also I kinda see Aki’s share of the curse as being more of a slap on a wrist rather than having as deep implications of the other two, considering his incredibly young age at the time)

I think the curse was the gods’ way of poetically stripping the leaders of their agency to teach them a lesson about being ignorant to the ways their power over others have been misused. Being cursed but not actively suffering—just knowing that you’re experiencing punishment—I think was an attempt to get the leaders to acknowledge (like you said, anon) the things they were ignoring about themselves and served as direct consequences for their actions. A consequence they couldn’t just ignore in the comfort of their positions of power. It’s kinda thrown off by Mallow existing but whatever KAJDKSNSMS

Maybe they try to gently break it off due to the guilt of the power dynamic developing and Cole starts guilt tripping them about it. Using desperation tactics basically. Like he knew the whole time that Ren had this guilt the whole time and he obviously didn’t want them to feel guilty over something he reciprocated but them trying to leave makes him upset and he starts saying some shit to make them feel Terrible.

Like yes he was insecure about being the one taken cared of in the beginning but he’s been with Ren long enough to know what they got out of the relationship and one thing was a peace of mind. The feeling that they were helping someone directly and not just passively through charities or other funding support, even if they personally benefited in the process. He could absolutely start pulling at that thread.

Like don’t you get it? He needs Ren now. Ren made him too comfortable in this lifestyle they provided for him—at least give him some time before they cut him off completely so he can transition back to his lifestyle from before. Ren made him THEIR responsibility. So they can’t just leave. Leave him like that. How cruel would they be to do something like that?

In this AU, Cole probably does his most to provide for a lot of other needs Ren has to make up for the emasculating discomfort he gets sometimes from their dynamic. He will never have nor make more money than Ren in his lifetime, but he’s a quick learner for all sorts of things. He’ll find ways of taking care of them