Incidentally, I definitely think Jesterās attempts to be friends with Lucien are totally manipulative - but I think theyāre also totally genuine.Ā Thatās the beauty of Jester - Matt asked out of character if there was any deception there.Ā There wasnāt!Ā She genuinely just wanted to make him a kitty and run around the tower with him.Ā Ā
But also, she wanted him to let down his guard and she wants him to trust her, and she wants him to underestimate her and think of her as sweet and naive and maybe just slightly stupid, and it works.Ā And like with Isharnai, Jesterās goal here isnāt friendship for the sake of friendship - itās because, as she said, she still feels like thereās something she can do to bring Molly out from the depths of Lucienās subconscious and sheās hoping heāll let himself be vulnerable enough around her, mentally and emotionally, to try it.
But, again - sheās not lying when she says she wants to be friends!Ā Sheās not lying when she saysĀ āitās harmless, iām just going to show you something cool, i promise.āĀ and if it works?Ā or, really, if it works to make lucien be her friend somehow but doesnāt actually unlock mollymauk - then sheāll have another scary evil bff, who she will treat EXACTLY the way she treats her normal, not scary friends!
jester sends isharnai the cupcakes she promised her even after theyāve gotten what they wanted out of her!Ā jester knows 100% that she manipulated and bespelled this hag, but, ALSO: they are friends.Ā Ā āand if it does work, and it does stick, then iāve got a really cool, powerful friend!āĀ Ā
friends, apparently, are friends, whether you got them by mind-whammying them with magic or not!Ā and you can continue to treat them as friends while also manipulating the hell out of them to get what you want!Ā Ā
(She may being doing this, long-game-style, with the Gentleman - using her more overt pushiness abt him contacting Marion to cover the subtler manipulation sheās actually after.Ā If anyone could manage to parent-trap them, it would be her.)
when she blurts out random, weird, semi-personal information likeĀ āoh iāll domesticate unicorns,ā sheās setting herself up to be someone lucien thinks just says whateverās on her mind.Ā so heāll dismiss her and think oh, jester, sheās so open, sheāll say anything to anyone, thereās definitely no way she could be keeping a secret from me, the nonagon, with all my eyes that see everything, surely not! i have to worry about the nosy monk and the curious wizard - but this one?Ā this cute one that talks about unicorns and turns into a cat for fun?Ā surely thereās nothing to worry about there!
