#cr c4e27

I'm convinced 85% of Azune’s meltdowns are extreme trauma and 15% of them are the most absolutely twisted crocodile tears you have ever witnessed, and it is fucking chilling (affectionate).

Azune knows he needs Demodus to come with him to the Stahlkeep. He also knows he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of the :gestures vaguely: everything. 

But Azune only gets to have a meltdown if the meltdown itself is useful, because that is how he's been conditioned.

So he waits until the big tactical meeting is over -- but doesn't wait until he's alone that night. He specifically gathers Murray and Thimble**, and then:

Destabilizes his audience by asking for Demodus.

Gets the 'no' he was expecting all along, for the reasons he expected all along: Demodus is a kid. Demodus deserves protection.

Is genuinely hurt by this, so he lets the barbs bypass his emotional AC and trigger the meltdown he was going to have anyway.

And then? He asks for Occtis instead.

Occtis is standing right there. Occtis can object. Thimble is even more likely to protect him than Murray was to protect Demodus. Suddenly the conversation isn't about whether Demodus should go. It's about whether Occtis should.

And Azune? Poor tearful Azune gets to look gracious in defeat. He was so willing to take no for an answer, and be seen taking no for an answer, that he didn't even want to let Occtis finish the rest of his (super touching!!!) thought.

But if Occtis isn't an option? Well, actually, Demodus starts looking like a suspiciously reasonable alternative.

By the end of the scene, Murray is offering exactly what Azune wanted in the first place, plus approximately one city's worth of ice cream.

The part that fascinates me is that I don't think any of this undermines the sincerity of the breakdown, nor how touching any of the character moments are within it.

Azune is genuinely devastated. He genuinely wants comfort. He genuinely needs someone to tell him he's worth protecting too.

But somewhere in the middle of all that pain is a tactical mastermind who found Murray and Thimble's pressure points, and pushed with ten times more accuracy than Thimble massaging his ear (which was fucking adorable, btw, but I digress).

Brennan had everyone roll Insight on this unhinged creature and nobody could beat his Persuasion/Deception check, which feels deeply appropriate. But I think it was even more interesting that Vaelus came over to him anyway, and connected with him about carrying the weight of memory and grief...

... I can't help but think if Vaelus had rolled high enough, the thing the two of them really would have bonded over is their capacity to weaponize that grief into something much more dangerous than a sword or cudgel.

And honestly, is there anything more terrifying in a world of mortals currently facing the obliteration of its afterlives?

Luis Carazo when I fucking find you.*

*I will buy you all the ice cream and cookies for this fucked up little guy you've created. Please let me find you.

Welcome to Knife and Palette Pigments, how may I help you today?