#yes Bell survives Freya in both my AUs

[fracturedodr]

(( I think the major difference in the new verse, for Bell, between trusting and not trusting Hestia, is this.

Mama Mia risked a lot by inferring over and over as much as she could in that one conversation that something was shitfucked in all this and that Bells memories WERE in fact real

Hestia did nothing. Not a single tiny hint of a thing to make Bell think that maybe he WASNT just going insane. On the outside, we can't really blame her, because of COURSE she didn't do anything to risk Bell OR herself, but Bell is 14 and not omniscient. He's not a outside viewer like we are and doesn't have access to all the facts, so it makes an amount of sense that this would hurt him.

Even with all the facts, hurt is hurt. And Bell is very hurt. For easily a month, and in fact MORE than a month in Freya!Bell's verse, possibly several, he was led to believe he was suddenly just entirely out of his mind and full of fake memories. Every turn he took in Orario for any hint that it wasn't a lie was denied. Hestia spoke to him once and it was basically just 'he's dangerous don't talk to him'. As an adult it's easier to reason out the hows and whys and sort out all the greys, but Bell is a child.

He's BARELY a teenager, to the point where any HINT of nsfw is met with a red face and constant apologies as he runs away, already overwhelmed by the mere THOUGHT of Adult Shenanigans. I doubt he'd be able to properly reason through the benefits of letting him suffer like that, think that yes, he was in fact just going insane, that Freya was in fact correct about everything - and nod and go 'yeah I understand why you did that and I accept your apology'.

Even if you assume he can see the logic, the line running through from A to B - he was, ultimately, hurt very badly by somebody he trusted would not hurt him. In my eyes, it feels like he would inadvertently learn the lesson "She will hurt me if she sees a good enough reason to". That even if she doesn't like it, she still will.