#(( i wanted to write more abt kotoha but... she deserves her own separate post me thinks... ))

[cryopathiic-a]

headcanon. love.

Love plays a pivotal part in Eternal Paradise religion. As a term, it is often used interchangeably with words such as 'compassion' or 'acceptance', but heavy emphasis is given on the romantic aspect of love. A union between lovers is considered exceptionally holy, as it often leads to the exercise of a unique human ability. The ability to create life.

From a demon's perspective, the ability to keep producing.

Although the cult is largely comprised of women, there is a percentage of men to match. ( of course with our modern day knowledge we would distinguish people of all genders in that slaughterhouse, but back then it was rather limited ) So by Taisho era, children had been born into the cult. And that was to Douma's favor for several reasons, apart from the renewed supply of flesh and lifeblood. As an example, Muzan, as a scientist, would have a much harder time obtaining human babies should the experiments require specific ingredients. It would also allow him to have ideal servants, indoctrinated from birth so that their minds could be entrusted to never hold doubt.

So, true to Douma's appointed tarot as The Hierophant, his role is to support the traditions of family and encourage the creation of it. And because it is a cult, boundaries are a little loose. The Lord Founder's influence seeps into every interpersonal relationship. Simply put, followers ask Douma for love advice, consider him a guru and follow his word when it comes to their own relationships. In fact, one of Douma's favorite activities in the cult is playing match-maker with the humans. When sometimes girls confess their feelings to him, he likes to redirect them towards one of the temple's men or advise them to enact their desires upon them instead. But he has long lost interest in engaging in anything other than that with them.

A part of Douma enjoys watching those bonds form. He lives vicariously through the relationships he, himself, is not capable of experiencing. And that's another, perhaps deeper, reason of why he is so active in his followers' lives. He has an idealized and rather immature take on love and tends to turn everything romantic with the same naivety a highschooler would. In his mind, he's very much the type to fall head over heels for someone, because in his mind he is someone sensitive and sweet.

But his reality is starkly different; in reality, Douma is a cold and callous person who cannot humble himself and get close to someone enough to love them. He doesn't know what love entails, because he has never known it. And the truest part of him, the one he makes sure to hide behind appropriate masks, is the part that does not believe love to exist. He tries hard to compensate for how deeply this notion runs in his veins.

A loveless child might grow up to be a hateful adult, after all.