I LOVE LOVE LOVE this - thank you so much, Mystery Author! It's absolutely wonderful :D
I really enjoyed your take on Barty's motivations - it works brilliantly as an exploration of the darker side of love and obsession, its destructive power and the things it can make one do/accept/agree to.
This: "There's much more to come, little boy, once you grow up" was just - I don't even know - it made me go, "Oooh..." Such good work building the anticipation; maintaining the tension.
The first torture scene in particular is excellent - chilling. The image of blood works well here and, this could just be me being overly-analytical and too-much-a-literature student, but it almost functions as a sort of loss of virginity for Barty, if that makes sense.
The idea that Rabastan is turned on by violence fits perfectly and Barty's desire to fulfil that desire - to meet his demands and expectations - seems like an almost natural extension of the pressures imposed upon him by his father.
Just, guh, it's brilliant. I love it too, too much ♥ ♥ ♥