Obsessed with the idea that Lurien is someone who is at once revered and feared by the common populace (revered because he will do anything to ensure that his people are safe, feared because he is the eye of the god-king and nobody knows anything about their benevolent protector) while also being a person who is so good at what he does specifically because of the fact that nobody knows the person behind the mask, which means that his terribly introverted nature and general clumsiness around social conventions can be hidden by simply tapping into the aura of calm, benevolant, all-knowing protector figure that people built around him without them knowing that under it all he's secretly swearing up a storm because he's furious beyond belief at an injustice or quailing in terror because he's currently in a meeting room with hundreds of people and he's got a migraine that's set to split his head in two. I feel like in a way, Lurien embodies all of the ideals that the Pale King wanted, but he did so because he had the same traits arranged in a slightly different, less...volitile fashion, and the socialization to make it less internally self-destructive while also not sacrificing the sheer stubborness and force of will it took to not bend in front of the Radiance
Like, sure exploring PK/Lurien from a romantic view is fun, but what I find to be actually interesting about playing them off each other just in a platonic fashion, as a team (i actually cant see palewatcher being a thing outside of aus but thats another topic). They both have the same workaholic, protective tendancies and the same self-sacrificial urge to defend their city to the death, but Lurien's keen eye for detail- the trait that made him Watcher- is likely what allowed him to work so well with the Pale King, because he would be able to pick up on all the minute microexpressions and behaviors to indicate what he was thinking and feeling, traits that the average civilian likely wouldn't have noticed. And he was also strong-minded enough to handle being able to work side by side with a god...ough. The mental fortitude of this man must be fucking insane and I feel like the fandom doesn't give him enough credit for that
