#liiike. at the end of the day much of the theatrics ended up carrying over to faye but the hollow core persists

[nerice]

the arrogant theatrics are barely there anymore, hollow shell of a man etc....... remnants in corners, the monologue at reina in nighthearts, but so much of it is cruelty for cruelty's sake, born into violence etc. the core point of nighthearts is that gray has the upper hand and still deals the victory away to reina bc it doesn't matter to him, none of this matters. the labyrinth too, what does he rly care for rabbit torture at the end of the day. it's a pastime. it's shooting game bc you have a gun and there's prey but not for the enjoyment of the act. play pretend etc with nothing underneath, autopilot ever since meeting faye and [The End of Black Swan] a perpetual motion machine running for no sake at all

old canon was the sukuna bow thru and thru. 天上天下唯我独尊. the gilgamesh problem. 2014 was a lifetime ago..... the end of nerice his machinations, pushing over garvith's statue (imagery i'm pining after to this day) the soul experiments. a rabbit that is not a daughter. no blood relation, simply a failed prototype, twisted attachment grown into obsession (and old shades of dark maiden too. his masterpiece....) & ultimately why i enjoy the tsudaken thruline so much. the way the voice flips up during self-serving monologues that's still there it's the one tether to old shapes of things, play pretend or no, the shadow of a reality that no longer exists, a very different man