#no bc i just realised that alhaitham might just be me..

[cxsmikaiyo]

Do you guys also have that one oh moment where you realize that the reason you hate a character is because they are literally you?

[wri0thesley]

re read canicular and omg I'll never get over the slow build up and dissipating of tension when darling realizes all her effort was futile 😭 but with that being said, I hope u don't mind if I ask about a 'what if' scenario

as much as I know this will probably never be a probable situation considering the amount of security kaveh and alhaitham have, I am still curious as to what you think would happen if darling did manage to escape - if only for a few hours? would kaveh and alhaitham have a big fight upon realization darling escaped? or would they save it until after securing darling once more? who's blaming who? and would alhaitham also punish kaveh in some way if he believed this situation to be the result of kaveh's carelessness? what lengths are they willing to go and resources are they willing to use in order to find darling 😭 bc part of me rly thinks maybe alhaitham would make up some bizarre lie like darling is a con artist or something negative of the like in order to get people to report their sightings faster, but I also highly doubt he'd do that.. I just can't help but think he'd be an absolute asshole like that

but I cannot even begin to imagine the punishment alhaitham (and maybe even kaveh! it was so mean of you to scare him like that, you know..) have in mind for darling once they are captured. seeing as the current most severe punishment is the cage.. oh it literally makes me shiver to think what alhaitham might do to darling to break them down after their little escape

i just answered the 'what if they DID' escape question but i am publishing this too bc i appreciate it so much that it stayed with u!!!

i do think alhaitham is ready to make up a needlessly elaborate lie that he backs up with paperwork and all of the other kinds of boring things nobody would ever think twice about. of course, he has to be careful about what lies - he doesn't want the matra involved, and how awful if cyno found darling first and realised what was going on - but he has contacts and knowledge everywhere, on top of kaveh's contacts too . . . no matter how much they run, they won't get as far as they'd like to.

and as for the PUNISHMENT . . . well. i think the cage will certainly be moved into his bedroom (it's currently left in the living room, because alhaitham prefers to choose when he sleeps alone). i think darling will certainly be divested of other things they might have taken for granted - no warm water, sure. no more clothes. alhaitham will deal with showering them and brushing their teeth and their hair and all of those other hygiene issues (utterly humiliating, but . . . well. you can't be trusted). if there was something they had that they were particularly proud of - a lovely painting done with gifts from kaveh, perhaps . . . it would find itself destroyed. he'll work from home for a few days, a leash about their throat, forced to kneel next to him as he keeps the handle looped about his wrist. naturally, they'll be eating from bowls again. they couldn't be trusted with a spoon, let alone a knife. alhaitham almost almost almost wants to brand his name into them, the way one might with a prize livestock. a reminder that they are a pet and property, and so that anyone who does find them out there knows to 'return to owner', so to speak.

. . . that last one hangs in the air, a threat given voice, as a promise of what he will do to you the next time you place even a toe out of line. he does not neccessarily enjoy inflicting pain.

but if it's for your own good . . .