Rue

**Rue** appears to be a young god, but is different enough from a god that the exact nature of their being is unknown. They feed on sadness.

## Appearance

Rue appears as a child with extremely pale skin. They have short and straight blue hair and short eyebrows. Rue has heterochromia, so their right eye is bright blue and their left eye is orange. A black spade is painted on their right eye and a red heart is painted on their left, with small red diamonds painted under both eyes. Rue also wears a medical eyepatch around their head and a white bandage across the bridge of their nose.

Rue wears a ruffled collar underneath the hood of a short black dress with bell sleeves that extend past their hands. At the middle of the collar is an elaborate black bow lined with silver thread placed behind an elaborate cross-shaped brooch with a red gem at its center. Underneath the collar, Rue wears a pointed white shawl that drapes down below their waist. Rue's knees and shins are covered in pastel bandages and childish stickers. On their left leg, they wear a blue-and-black striped knee-length sock and a black combat boot. On their right leg, they wear a rolled-up white sock and a pink mary-jane heel with a small bow on it.

## Personality

Rue's speech and actions are similar to those of a child; they use extremely simple sentences with improper grammar and can be seen making funny faces. This results in Rue accidentally saying rude or hurtful things, but they does not respond to reprimands for their behavior. Rue is also cautious and will not let strangers approach them if they do not want them to. They are extremely attached to a doll that was given to them by one of their human targets and will follow it around. Their motivations seem primarily driven by their desire to feed, but Rue appears to intheirently care about people, as they have expressed a desire for their targets to smile and take care of themselves. Rue also likes cute things.

## Background

Nothing is known about Rue from before the start of the comic. Rue was first spotted by Eros while he was volunteering at a local hospital, but kept their distance from him until he acquired their doll, at which point they refused to leave his domain. After learning that Sol was not responsible for Rue's presence in Eros' domain, Eros invited Rue to officially become a resident of his domain, which they accepted on grounds that they might eventually get a chance to eat Eros' sadness. Eros decided to give them a name so that they would be able to gain better control of their powers and suggested *Rue*, which Rue gladly accepted. Sol then noted to himself that "something" was wrong with Rue.

## Abilities

### Feeding

Rue will not eat a person's sadness without their permission. It is unknown if they do this as a courtesy or if they are barred from eating sadness without the target's consent. Rue eats a person's sadness by placing a sticker on their hand, pretending to "scare" the sadness away, then extracting an iridescent candy-shaped orb from the target that Rue can eat at their leisure. Rue's left eye appears to glow during the extraction process. It is unknown if the performance is necessary for extracting sadness from the victim.

### Blinking

Rue can rapidly teleport short distances away, as well as fade in and out of sight. They are also capable of making their body intangible so that anyone attempting to touch Rue simply passes through them.

Rue is also capable of transporting longer distances as well as taking humans with them, however it is implied that she must first fashion something resembling a door in order to take someone. Rue can choose a location, however vague (though they discourage choosing "anywhere" as a destination), and then travel through after writing the destination on the door and placing down one of their stickers. Correct spelling of the destination is not required.

## Relationships

### Eros

Rue follows Eros around because they want to eat his sadness, which Rue has stated that he has a lot of. Rue has agreed to officially stay in Eros' domain after asking if they could eat Eros' sadness later. Eros was initially annoyed by Rue's presence, but after learning that it was not a trick or trap laid by Sol, has stopped trying to get rid of Rue. While wary of them, Eros attempts to keep Rue safe and teach them social skills. However, his patience for their childlike mannerisms has a limit and he can be cold to them when it runs out. Eros strictly forbade Rue from feeding on any of his victims, which caused her to lash out and abandon him. After getting a taste of his sadness, Rue has gained an insatiable desire for it.

### Kai

*Main Article: Kai*

Rue has insulted Kai before, causing him to remark that they don't like him. It is possible that it is not Kai that Rue dislikes, just his smell.

### Sophie

*Main Article: Sophie*

Rue saved Sophie from Belial's victims as ordered by Eros and then offered to eat her sadness. When Sophie refused, Rue became confused and accused her of being a masochist, but ultimately respected her decision and said she would return if Sophie ever changed her mind.

## Trivia

* Ameliori has stated that Rue does not understand the concept of gender, so they probably respond to all pronouns. The comic so far has used they/it for Rue, but in conversation, Ameliori uses they/them for Rue.
* Rue's design seems heavily inspired by card suits and classical French clowns.
* The stickers that Rue gives out and the stickers on their leg are also shown decorating the exterior of the House of Light Children's Oncology and Medical Center.

## Gallery

A detailed illustration of Rue.Rue preparing to scare a target's sadness away.Rue's eye glowing as they extract sadness from a target.Rue happy to receive a doll from a target.Rue saddened by someone else's despair.Rue surprised after being caught by Eros.Rue displaying their ability to become intangible.Rue making a goofy face at Eros.Rue gesturing for Sol to give their doll back to them.Rue insulting Eros.