so like i'm a big fan of lemuen/fiametta/mostima AS a throuple but i was reminded by this excellent fanart that one of lemuen's Quirks alongside her harmless pranks and absolutely unhinged engineering decisions, is that she Really Wants To Touch Their Head Things
Lemuen: You don't really care much about me, do you? I'm so sad, and the only thing that can comfort me is if you let me feel your horns. Mostima: Why don't you ask if Holy Debt Collector might let you touch her ear plumage? Fiammetta: Go ahead. I don't mind.
and like. i do genuinely believe lemuen cares about them and genuinely likes those parts of their features and, lbr, is probably somewhat trying to make up for mostima's body dysmorphia.
BUT she is a sankta, the basically unquestioned racial hegemon in Laterano. and Mostima and Fiametta are racial minorities. and Lemen Wants To Touch The Things On Their Heads. which like... hoooonestly REALLY reminds me of how white people have that fixation on touching black peoples' hair?
idk if it's intentional but it's super interesting to me. (especially Mostima's aversion to it while Fiametta seems neutral to resigned)? like there are posts we see going around every so often about how even the nicest people in laterano were, you know, part of a commando squad raiding the relics of a foreign country completely unable to actually militarily present a threat to laterano. seriously how the fuck do you even have lateran caravans going through there.
idk! i think lemuen is an actively anti-racist person; she actively impedes the racial violence in both Hortus and MT and prioritizes that above the actual orders she's given. but that doesn't mean she's NOT racist, just... only good at picking up on and opposing the stuff she REALIZES is racist. and given mostima and fiametta are both part of the aforementioned racial minorities and FULL of self-loathing while living in a still incredibly racist state (and fiametta is also a centrist who refuses to think about the marginalization she experiences BECAUSE it's so emotionally overwhelming despite Patia's best efforts) it's not exactly surprising that neither of them have actually gone "lemuen listen we love and appreciate you but your fixation on our heads is kinda cringe" idk maybe mostima's "hey quick let her rub your tufts" in MT-9 is meant to be subtly making fun of lemuen's horny (heh) ass
hell it's not like it's even WRONG to like those aspects of their appearance but it has a different texture to medjehtiqedti rubbing anat's ears, you know? and i think that's super compelling.
