#kwillowtext

[kwillow]

Had Jo lived I can’t begin to imagine what her courtship arrangement attempts for Theo might’ve looked like? Or even how any would pan out long term!

Hahaha you and her both.

Even if Theo wasn't the way that he is, it would have been difficult for her to find a suitable candidate. She would have wanted to find a lady mage for him to marry, to carry on the bloodline. Not easy, considering their dwindling numbers. Also, she endured a not-terribly-enjoyable marriage, and wants only the best for her dreadful son, so she wouldn't accept just any woman of a suitable bloodline (not like the awful husband she got saddled with). She'd want to find a woman with the right personality, who was trustworthy, well-mannered, traditional, humble, bright but not too bright, eager to follow instructions from her mother-in-law... important qualities like that.

But while I think she would have set upon the hunt for a bride-to-be like a bloodhound if she felt it was time, she never thought Theo was "ready" to court. For his part, Theo was happy to avoid the topic. They both managed to jointly put off the idea of courtship years past the typical age for marriage. Perhaps Theo reaching his mid-thirties sans-wife would push her to try hunting for a suitable arrangement, Theo's reluctance be damned (well, understood and empathized with, but still damned) but she never made it that far, obviously...

I can't imagine it would have gone well. Considering that the Norths weren't quite fallen gentry yet when Jo was alive, but were definitely in the process of going ass-over-head down the steps of impoverishment, and Theo has the charisma of a blobfish with distemper with an even worse reputation, I doubt she'd have much luck arranging the marriage of her dreams.

It's still kinda cute for me to imagine Theo trying to court. He'd be so, so bad at it! Like a kitten trying to eat wet food for the first time but with way more sweat.

[kwillow]

Has anyone ever brought up Hyden's kid he had with that calico cat?

Hyden and any offspring of his are @Chocodile's jurisdiction. So I can't answer whether he was ever "brought up" during Hyden's life in the old kingdoms, but I can theorize about whether Theo might know of him (being a Hyden aficionado and all).

As far as I am aware, Hyden's bastard is one of countless souls who lived humble lives, perished, were mourned, and then were forgotten, never to be thought again of by future generations. The only reason he might have ever been recorded were because of rumors of his relation to Hyden, which could possibly have been the subject of biography or at least ancient court proceedings. I'm sure Hyden would want any mention of him scraped from his name, though -- Hyden likes the idea of being the last of his line (though not enough to keep him from screwing around, apparently).

If any record of the catbunson did make it into Theo's hands, though, he would just dismiss it as a pernicious rumor, like Theo does with everything he reads about Hyden that he finds distasteful.

[kwillow]

Acknowleding that problematic and nasty guys are your favorite genre of character, you should consider the possibility that defying the expectations of his infernal appearance by being a nice, kind person (and notice I said nice and kind, not genuine), would be the most consistent way for Infernal Ambroys to get positive attention.

Well sure, though as I mentioned in that aforementioned too-long ramble, an Ambroys not lavished in fame and praise growing up would probably not be so focused on maximizing attention from common rubes as he normally is.

I noted an Infernal Ambroys would put up a nicer front (flattering, obsequious, trying to appear helpful and useful) to ingratiate himself to powerful people, but most people wouldn't be worth the effort and the risk of rejection. Again, expending effort only to get rejected would hurt his ego, which is always sensitive when you're an Ambroys.

Relatedly, multiple people also asked "what if an ordinary person were to love infernal Ambroys so much and never ever reject him, would he be good then?" and like I mentioned with how he'd hypothetically interact with Lou, he'd go "oh that's unexpectedly pleasant" but neglect that bond so he can focus on maintaining his relationships with high-status people instead.

Sorry, I know people want avenues for my characters to be sweetie pie bestie material (judging by the amount of asks I get trying to figure out scenarios where they're nicer, akin to a friendship-focused version of Green Eggs and Ham), but they're just not often capable of uncomplicated, easy friendships due to their moral failings and baggage. Maybe this is MY baggage, but imo not even the most decent person can be perfectly nice and make the right choices all the time! That's why I like making characters that explore being someone who needs connection (as all sapient social beings do) but keeps fucking it up.

[kwillow]

You and chocodile have such a rich world! Ambroys, Hyden, and Theo get so much love in the askbox (rightfully so! They are fascinatingly written and SO appealing in design!) but I want to throw some love to Alex, Lou, and Jo! I'd love to know more about them and their interests! Like how we know Theo loved his model trains- Did his mother have any similar interests or passion projects? Or did her passion lie exclusively in her duties?

Wah thank you so much! And thank you for showing some love to the girls. C:

Jo does not have special passions in the way that Theo does, in part because they had very different paths through their youths.

She was not given much opportunity to stretch her wings or take up much space as a girl (not like Theo, who got to take over entire rooms with train sets and bottle ships). She spent her adolescence looking after parents, taking on the responsibilities for their estate that they couldn't be bothered with -- and some that she frankly thought she could do better than they. Nearly as soon as she came of age, she was married, and then she was set to producing heirs, then she had to try to teach baby Theo to act like a person and not a rabid dog (not an easy task and an ongoing project throughout his life)... so she had little time to dedicate to her own flights of fancy.

She did develop "hobbies" but these were skills that were expected of her to show she was a lady of good breeding. She could play instruments like the piano and harp, she can dance, she is very focused on having perfect penmanship. She can enjoy these pursuits, but does not seek to innovate or create, only to perform each task in calculated, mathematical, unimpeachable precision. The fact that each of these were something she needed to do for an audience, even an imagined one, made them more a duty than a passion.

...She liked reading for its own sake, at least.

Unlike many of my other characters who are the idle rich (or at least the idle-used-to-be-rich), Lou had a job to do. She worked for her father, the marshal of the de Luxe estate, minding the stables and kennels and needing to groom the millionth new horse Ambroys bought on stupid impulse. But she was an outdoorsy girl when she wasn't stuck in the stables; she enjoyed hunting and fishing. Ambroys had no patience for fishing, but he let her come with him on hunting trips so she could watch him kill stuff.

[kwillow]

What's Theo's original story! I'm so used to him as a lil opossum guy, that I'm really rather intrigued what happened for him to be a lil (non?) human freak! Did he turn into a vampire? Some other such haunting creature? ( Also; his peers are incredible I love this odd little rat man )

Ah well it's not much of a story, really, I've never been very good with "plots" or "coherent narratives." Jack and Theo's original setting was in 1930s America, in a city on the Eastern seaboard. A lot of Theo's backstory for Amaranthine was taken from this setting, actually -- Theo was a paranoid and unstable outcast from an Old Money family fallen on hard times, sent into self-isolation from grieving his mother. Jack was a drifter on the wrong side of the mob, which is never a good place to be and why hiding behind a deranged freak who's idea of saying hello was putting a knife to his throat seemed like a pretty good idea to him.

Theo wasn't a vampire (though I've made an AU where he IS a vampire because of course I did), just a human guy who's got a thirty-car-pile-up of congenital disorders and physical quirks. His unusual appearance was a key part of his character and his angst about not fitting in with other people (and it is in Amaranthine, also, but I think his deformities aren't as clear in that design because they get kind of overwritten by the furry thing...) though admittedly his terrible personality didn't help matters.

Like I said, I never had a real narrative in place for them, I just liked imagining them in situations and writing disconnected drabbles, a weird mix of wacky odd-couple shenanigans, melodrama and bloody violence (that Theo found himself enjoying far too much).

Then I started sharing my characters with my artist friends, we joined a Fallout RP community and I made versions of my guys to fit in there, and since then I had discovered the joy and addictive power of making hundreds of AUs of your characters to play with. I never did much with their old setting beyond going on mind journeys, but obviously I still love writing these guys, no matter what world I've decided to plunk them into.

...And I still like to write wacky odd-couple shenanigans, melodrama and bloody violence. Some things never change.

[kwillow]

"I MISS YOUR MOM TOO" hahaha aw I love that. I also miss his mom sometimes.

She's in a tough spot when it comes to her mortality, because the sort of man Theo is when she's around and when she's not are quite different, and often I want the special flavor of deranged and stupid he is when he doesn't have her around to moderate his worst impulses. But at least there's AUs! I'm glad that she happens to be alive and kicking (well, maybe not kicking as much as sneeringly backstabbing) in Wishbone. I always enjoy writing her dialogue.

She would have had to settle, eventually. Beggars can't be choosy, especially with a biological clock ticking. And I'm sure eventually Theo would just be begging to be put out his misery and have her just choose SOMEONE, ANYONE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT IT JUST HAS TO BE DONE

[kwillow]

So, rereading your new Jo writing posts and– funny thought struck me; On a scale of 0-10 how likely was Theo just proverbially shooting himself in the foot repeatedly and additionally piling onto the delay timer of Jo’s choice paralysis back then?

Esp in the context of oblivious misinterpretations of a mommy-dearest-complex + a self-absorbed

paranoid bastard-man, lliiiiike,

“Mmf—this incessant disruption to mother and I’s usual schedule together is detestable. There’s no need for such excessive repeat household guests nor does it need to be dragging on for so long! ….why now all of a sudden does she keep sending me away… I- I don’t think i’ve embarrassed mother socially in front of these women the past few months…?? I- no, no, I didn’t- haven’t! I- d-don’t recall having done so as of late—? …Oh. N-no. NO! I’d remember parts of a debacle happening if it was anything like the last dreadful episode. I’ve been NOTHING but cordial!”

Or, I believe you mentioned a stance that Theo probably wouldn’t handle his mother having other friends too well? 100% hard agree. Even if he was just imagining it - between a guest lingering a little too long w/ her in the parlor room or Jocosa chuckling politely at something catching Theo off guard - He’s got fuuuuun nerves and paranoia at perceived threats :’)

Jocosa being traditional and proper lends so much too to the potential of faltering once or twice a wee bit on the usual reassurance communication for Theo’s needs!

Perhaps there’s a mortifyingly embarrassing element to it for a conservative mother like Jocosa when it hits just how long she’s neglected broaching certain standard subjects with Theo? Joint Banking accounts with spouses?!? Scandalous. Relatively speaking, bc of how early she was prepped ready to go on the topic entirely (no input required from her ofc).

Or maybe pride and self-perceived failure in not finding a satisfactory candidate for her darling baby boy yet manifesting as requests for Theo to leave her alone in privacy with the guests trying to shoulder the burden of taxing social obligations in consideration of his nerves and it backfiring spectacularly?

He thinks he hears someone laughing at his expense after clicking the door shut and later it’s “Oh you’re talking to me, I thought you only spoke behind my back!” cattiness at some poor girl who’s only mistake is attempting friendly small talk lmaooooo

Anyways, If-Jo-Lived Theo is HILARIOUS with that “ughhh just hurry up and pick one mom i don’t care!” bc ohhhhh yes he do. Any ruthless sorceress worth her salt wouldn’t dare hesitate unless she had good reason to. heh tho idk I might be completely off the mark?

Haha no you're not off the mark, all of these sounds pretty well in line for this semi-to-severely dysfunctional little family.

At least Theo felt secure in that she didn't care for anyone more than him, because despite her being relatively polite to people's faces, Theo would be privy to a bitch-session complaining about them right after any guests had left. But could still feel insecure about being excluded from certain events. That insecurity stemmed from feeling incompetent rather than feeling neglected.

She did try to take on more social obligations for him, because even she was aware that Theo has never been the most adept communicator, to put it mildly. And that could backfire. Though they rarely fought, he could still feel slighted and disrespected when her protectiveness made her treat him like a child (in the ways he didn't like, anyway).

And, of course, if his temper could make him angry with Mother Dearest, then there's no hope for anyone else. I'm sure he'd scupper more than a few potential connections by immediately assuming malicious intent and going into potential conversations with teeth bared and weapons drawn (metaphorically or literally).

And yes, she would find it awkward to talk about certain subjects with him, partly given that he's a man and she's a woman, and some things just aren't talked about in mixed company. That leaves Theo in a weird place where he knows some about relationships, proper roles within a marriages, etcetera, but is woefully clueless about others. And he often has no idea just how incorrect his vision of the world is until he says something bizarre and gets cold water dumped on his ego in the form of laughter or stares.

[kwillow]

Infernal Ambroys maintaining one crucial universal constant of the utmost importance.

Manwhore.

☝️

bitches love them sum nibble of the badboy kibble.

Alas, not so. It's easy to miss because it's buried in 10 paragraphs of my rambling (sorry OTL) but I mentioned briefly when talking about how an infernal Ambroys would act that he would probably "tamp down on the sexy bad-boy thing (knowing it would reflect badly on him and come off as “sleazy” instead of “dreamy”)."

I did draw him looking sleazy in that initial art, but I wasn't really thinking of it as a developed AU at the time so I wasn't considering any uuh psychological factors :'D But Ambroys' manwhore motivation is to get easy positive attention -- if he'd be likely to be rejected, as most people in his society at the time would do to hellspawn, he wouldn't bother to do the roguish rake routine. It'd be pointless (and get his feelings hurt).

It's possible he'd still use sex as a tool of manipulation if a powerful target did seem receptive, but it wouldn't be one of his main ways of getting what he wants. (He'd probably go for flattery and ingratiation first.)

[kwillow]

Hypothetically speaking. On Artfight Dot Net, do you have a fave oc this year you would like to see artwork of. And perhaps, if someone has drawn a few ocs previously, would you enjoy seeing an oc of yours they've never drawn before? Or More of the Most favoritest oc at the moment? Theoretically of course :^)

Draw whoever you like! If you want to mix it up, do, but if you like a specific character then by all means draw that one!

I don’t want anyone to spend their valuable and limited time on the planet drawing a character they’re not keen on, I’d rather people draw a character they’ll enjoy! (Even if it’s unicorn!Ambroys, haha. :P)

Heads up though, I mostly joined because I knew that a few people had drawn things for me before they realized I wasn't participating and I didn't want to stiff them -- but this is not a good Art Fight year for me. :'D I'm utterly crushed with work and five billion errands that need doing. Revenges are looking bad. Both from the metaphorical angle of "Kwillow can't draw fast enough to revenge people" and the literal angle of "wow Kwillow tried to draw this fast enough to revenge people and this drawing sucks major ass."