#respectfully asking

first there's juan's make-up and matty's minor Illusion cantrip magics. then there's how mattyass prides himself on being able to hide behind a calm composure while wan dons on a smile and snarky remark to disguise the pain.

and then there's how mattyass' psyche tries to tuck his insecurity and guilt and shame under the mountainload of Justification and Egotism (ooh an interesting question is if hes lying about never forgiving himself - OR is he lying to himself about being a grand Puppet Master? someone who's finally made something of himself built on a throne of skull and bone. are you proud of that, little man with everything and nothing?)

in sharp contrast to wan, puppet of all puppets, who has sinks into their insecurities of being an out-of-control monster who hurts their loved ones

i think they both end up in toxic, self-defeating cycles where mattyass Bullshits justifies every sin under the sun as something that needs to be done as he wears his lil arrogant king of delusion crown... while wan ends up lashing out and pushing people away because they think they're so far below their loved ones

ultimately, however, wan is never alone. he has support from lia, abel, lincoln, joss and everyone else who's alive, and they have that connection that makes them want to do better and help others do better too.

I was raised that black hair salons were not for white people. That it was a space where black women went out side of white culture and I was supposed to respect that.