[BLIND READER NO SPOILERS OF ACT 6+] are they implying that…

He is definitely, at the very least, coded as such, yes.

The trolls in general always read to me as commentary on kids who are online at a very young age and end up seeing stuff and interacting with people they shouldn't have. More importantly, speaking as someone who was definitely that type of kid, how you just take that as normal most of the time until it comes back to haunt you.

"Because a child doesn't know what normal is."

He's certainly grooming people in one way or another regardless. It's definitely gross as hell.

One thing I really like is that when Rose accuses him of pedophilia his objection is that he is a puppet without any genitalia, and even though Rose doesn't articulate it the narrative thrust is obviously "that doesn't matter/make anything better"

re: librarySeraph

and i feel like this one moment is very much illustrative of his larger motifs as both a character and a narrator: he's focused on semantics and technicalities, his mode of manipulation is deflection and being "technically" correct. just like when rose accuses him of pedophilia, he deflects to a bunch of technical truths that nevertheless ignore the central point she was making: the truth that he likes manipulating young girls (something he pretty much admits to). it's correct to say that being immortal most morals to him are young, it's correct that he does not experience sexual attraction in the way humans do, but right afterwards he refers to himself as "a kindly uncle who would offer her candy to prove it", which just doubles down on the very clear implications. he states that he never lies - and that's technically true, because what he actually manipulates is not explicit truths but rather subtext.

what are you talking about? He’s just an innocent average guy Mckenzie’s figure to a lot of underage girls.

Oh absolutely. Scratch is the epitome of a good ol' boy. He's the patriarch. The man in charge. He feels entitled to young women and takes delight in their disgust when he pressures them into doing his work.

idk where in Act 5 you are so I'll spare specifics. But one of the most insidious ploys Scratch has is playing secret-keeper. He ensures his "proteges" that the relationship between them is unique. He attempts to correlate what makes these women special with himself, and will take all of the credit for their actions.

yeah i understand that grooming isn’t always sexual, he groomed Damara to be The Handmaid

i never found him that compelling of an antagonist and also I like Damara and Aradia so he just makes me angry looking at him lol. I disliked a lot of what he did and stuff it was weird.