Sadistic Tendencies is a fic that plays with the Poor Communication Kills trope every which way and Sundays:
- Defied in chapter 5. Instead of keeping quiet about Striker stealing his phone and delivering the angelic rifle himself in exchange for getting it back, Moxxie tells the rest of I.M.P what Striker is planning, which results in Loona being assigned to guard him. Striker admits to himself that he’s a bit surprised that Moxxie isn’t naïve enough to fall for a Come Alone. (Though this unfortunately doesn’t keep Moxxie from being Lured into a Trap anyway)
- Played straight in chapter 21. While he still tries to warn Blitzo to take Striker seriously and that he’s dangerous, Moxxie refuses to tell the rest of I.M.P about Striker’s Attempted Rape of him, despite the snake imp proving himself to be just as untrustworthy and manipulative as ever. (Though chapter 24 reveals that he actually told Millie what happened, making her the only one who knows about it) This is in part due to Striker pushing his Trauma Button, making Moxxie feel even more like he doesn’t truly belong, and in part due to his insecurities and fears regarding being looked down upon and ”coddled”, believing that his colleagues will think that he can’t handle himself if they were to find out. (The fact that it’s the third time he’s been Lured into a Trap certainly doesn’t help, either) However, this is a problem because Striker has just offered I.M.P his assistance in tracking down a culprit who killed Sulfus with an angelic weapon... Which was Striker himself, but nobody but him knows that; He’s just using it as an opportunity to get close to Moxxie again and get another chance to manipulate him and claim him for himself.
- Blitzo and Loona genuinely want to keep Moxxie safe from Striker, being very wary of the latter and figuring that he’s up to something. Unfortunately, the way they choose to do it is to double down on their usual insults and condescending dismissal of Moxxie while talking to Striker about his proposal. This only serves to frustrate and anger Moxxie and make him feel even more alienated and looked down upon… An observation that Striker is all too keen to make and plan to use to his advantage.
- Since Millie loves Moxxie with all her heart, she just wants to protect her hubby and keep him safe and happy. At the same time, she doesn’t want to seem overbearing or act like Moxxie can’t handle himself and fight his own battles. Unfortunately, this means that she doesn’t vocalize her support of Moxxie or tell her boss, colleague and family off for their treatment of him, choosing to simply hug him close instead. Again, Striker notices this and taunts Millie about Moxxie having Striker’s number (The latter having added it before returning Moxxie’s phone) and not-so-subtly implies his plans to take Moxxie away from her, which serves to royally piss her off and make the tension at I.M.P even worse.
- Though this becomes subverted after Moxxie hits his Rage Breaking Point. After he and Millie have an argument, they both return to their apartment once they’ve cooled off, apologize to each other and have a mature heart-to-heart about what happened; Moxxie reveals how isolated he feels, how tired he is of feeling like he’s on his own against his boss, co-worker and in-laws and that he doesn’t want to go to work every day just to get yelled at and mistreated, and Millie accepts her role in the situation escalating and promises to be more openly supportive of him. She also encourages Moxxie to try and talk to Blitzo again in order to avert this trope in the future, and this chapter reveals that Moxxie trusts Millie enough that he told her about Striker’s Attempted Rape of him right away.
- Chapter 25 sees Moxxie further strive to avert this trope: He arrives at the I.M.P offices to have a talk with both Blitzo and Loona about his outburst. While the readers aren't made privvy to what Moxxie and Blitzo's discussion was about (Except that it involved a lot of talking and voices almost being raised), his talk with Loona involves him apologizing for hurting her, but also making it crystal-clear that he's not going to tolerate her slacker behavior and disrespectful treatment of him any longer. And ultimately, despite Striker's attempts at manipulating them, Moxxie's talk with Blitzo results in I.M.P starting to put their own plans into motion...
- Discussed in chapter 26. As part of his Gaslighting tactics, Striker tries to convince Moxxie that what happened at the motel was a ”misunderstanding” and that the people he meets are prone to those since they ”can’t keep up with him." Moxxie, while caught off-guard by Striker’s comments that constantly flip between threatening and complimenting him, irritably points out that, if it happens that often, then Striker is the problem and thus the one who should learn to communicate better.
