it's 3am time to have wizard thoughts since no one else is awake...i am thinking of rustica. i just think it's really interesting how a Ton of people me included upon first reading thought he was gonna be secretly evil/yandere because of his whole deal. like he's not but

the truth is in some ways a lot more questionable; i saw someone describing rustica & chloe as 'a lighter version of shylock and murr' and although they don't have the 'hate' bit of shylock & murr's hate-love r/s rustica DOES read to me as out of it in a way that current murr

is emphatically not; like yes, i have my own thoughts about current murr & can tell you this At Length but rustica is not just 'airheaded'.

he's...idk how to put this. he words things so Classical Gentlemanly but there is nothing in his brain in a way that sometimes is kinda worrying. like 'literally how did you survive without chloe' and 'no seriously, this is a level of unable to take care of self that is WORRYING'

& that's not even getting to the scene in walpurgis where chloe just refuses to consider even the hint that past rustica may have done something questionabld because the current him isn't the type at all

their relationship is legitimately so sweet & wholesome(ish) but i think to some degree chloe has figured out what's going on with rustica & unlike shylock whose stance on changing murr back is Complicated (tm) chloe definitely seems to already have made up his mind

& it's understandable as to why: rustica is happy like that, chloe is happy taking care of him & being cared for & needed in return, no real need to address the Giant elephant in the room that is rustica's backstory, (doesn't know where i'm going with this thread)

they're wholesome and caring and sweet and the theme of 'if someone's personality was completely changed to be smth more favorable to you what would you think' pops its head right back up and they both just have to deal with that.