faust is the daughter and mephisto is the pawn.

(please note this statement does not coincide with how much she values each of them but more how each of them came to be influenced and used by talulah and later kashchey. she still desperately wanted them to be her family, and she wanted them to live.)

if we examine how faust and mephisto were each influenced by talulah as essentially their primary guardian and confidant after they joined reunion, we can see clear parallels in what parts of her get through to them and what parts of her as a person they end up understanding, and each of those correspond to a part of how kashchey raised talulah in turn.

kashchey set talulah up as his heir and thus instilled in her values and beliefs with his words and lessons, in whiich even her rejection of them characterised her. but he also used her as his pawn to his own ends by having her go and do his dirty work sending her on assassination missions, and later using reunion to attempt to spark a war for the benefit of ursus.

FIRST CASE. FAUST.

faust and talulah are fundamentally similar people in terms of heart; the kind who stand up for others, the kind who want to punish people for doing wrong, the kind who value and communicate what they mean through words and try to understand others in turn, the kind that carry far too many expectations and burdens and do not confide in anyone until it is tooo late.

they both willingly infected themselves, willingly submitting themselves to what they perceive as a "rotten life" to escape what came before, to be able to be like and fight for those near them who are suffering, but who they ultimately cannot help they way they want to and know how to.

therefore, faust is someone talulah both as the fighter and the black snake could easily impress her values upon with words.

the black snake even dismisses the both of them similarly...

SECOND CASE. MEPHISTO.

...while mephisto resembles her most in her lack of a concrete sense of self, not being able to be fostered before cruelty got their hands on them. built, then, upon bluster in a role not meant for them. both feel the immediate need to nullify temporary pain and suffering despite the fact it will harm, if not ruin them and everyone around them in the long term.

he has little interest in understanding morals or ideals or other people. he only wants to appease the people he trusts, and therefore gain value in obedience, being (loved?) valued in the only way he understands how. mephisto is the exact kind of person kashchey told talulah she will never get through to with her ideals alone, and she fails to do so even after alina warns her.

he is without self-esteem, with emotions and thoughts he does not properly dissect and scrutinise from his habit of running from pain and discomfort, and craves her attention, direction. he takes words and commands and executes them as he sees fit and appropriate, which is often cruelly, because he only understands appeasement and violence. he is the exact kind of person who would desperately want to be used by someone like her.

Kashchey / Deathless Black Snake from Arknights