#m!willow

m!Willow would have grown up very differently if he shared the same background as Willow. Willow’s father had been murdered when she was a child and her mother picked up drinking as a coping mechanism, which gradually grew worse and worse as the years went by. Where Willow hunkered down and did the best she could and accepted a lot of her mother’s abuse, m!Willow, despite having the same personality, would have picked up his father’s position as man of the house and did what he could to keep his small family of two going because that would be what was expected of him.

Part of this is to blame on the time frame that the game takes place in. We’ve narrowed down that it occurs in the late 1800s (due to the game stating it takes place in the 19th century and after Alice in Wonderland was published, 1865, as MC mentions she is aware of the novel). As much as I love the forward-thinking Cradle we see in the game, a late 1800s London would give m!Willow a very different life path than Willow.

There would have been a lot more opportunities for a m!Willow growing up. Learning a trade or starting to work young at a shop would have been like second nature. He potentially could have been able to pick up a job with whatever connections his father had had before his passing when he came of age to step up. There would have been somebody out there that would have picked him up to help around, at the very least. He would be just as inquisitive and friendly as Willow, but making money for the house would be much easier than Willow's situation where she sold embroidered trinkets and knick-knacks on the street or did small household chores, such as cleaning, for anybody who found her trustworthy enough.

There likely would have been less physical abuse for m!Willow (at home, at least). He would have done his best to take care of his mother as both an only son and the man of the house. With all of the teachings Willow’s parents gave her, she would have been prepared to be a homemaker and supporting individual over being prepared to face the world head on and be someone to rely on like m!Willow would have been.

The literacy rate for men at the time, though still low, was higher than that of women. m!Willow would likely have at least a rudimentary knowledge of reading and writing, especially if he worked in any kind of setting that required it. There’s no way that he could have been fooled by the false letters and some of the other ways Edgar tricked Willow (in addition to the ways he tricked MC in his route, as well).

So now we move on to Edgar.

In the beginning of his route, he’s not really looking for somebody to love. Quite the opposite, in fact. Really, I see the relationship for Edgar and m!Willow growing similarly to Edgar and Zero’s relationship. m!Willow is just as vulnerable as Willow emotionally and in personality, but Edgar, despite all his teasing, would likely give a very different respect to m!Willow as another man than he does for Willow. Edgar would treat m!Willow as more of an equal than something to protect. Edgar would still find m!Willow’s reactions cute, but it’s just like how he finds Zero’s reactions cute when he teases him.

m!Willow would support and help Edgar out of the shadows just as much as Willow would, but their relationship would very likely just be as friends. m!Willow and Zero would get along swimmingly and he would likely pick up a lot of the same reasons to join the military force in Cradle that Zero did. He wants to protect those who can’t protect themselves, much as he hadn’t had somebody to protect his father or his childhood self. He also would become a very good friend to Edgar, and they both would have a bond with each other that would be hard to break, as they had saved each other’s lives.

So no, Edgar would not love Willow and m!Willow the same way. But that doesn't mean they aren't important in each other's lives. They would care about each other immensely, but not romantically.