oliphaunt1089

[oliphaunt1089]

Okay fuck it if this post reaches 666k notes by the end of 2023 I'll practise basic self care

Why 666k? Because it's funny and impossible so good fucking luck

[oliphaunt1089]

idk what other people’s hypotheses are on the no-resurrection poison are but I think it’s more than just a “don’t come back” trick - I think it’s linked to the red storm and the reason Imogen saw Eshteross walking into it. I reckon those people’s souls have gone somewhere else, like, maybe, Ruidis? So rather than passing beyond the divine gate to the realms of the deities, they’re locked behind that big net thing? This theory is contingent on Bertrand Bell being killed by the same stuff, of course, which isn’t guaranteed. Also Orym saw Will when he was briefly dead so yeah maybe there are some holes in this theory.

But the best part is that if Bell’s Hells make it to Ruidis, maybe they’re going to find the souls of all those people...

[oliphaunt1089]

It’s always surprising to me that the default Thelyss family interpretation in fandom is “everyone (especially Deirta) is cold and abusive” because… I don’t think that would fly at all.

Leylas is starting to act rash and more violent in temperament because she’s exhibiting signs of typhros, and that’s clearly worrying the court, and if it were anyone but the literal queen, I think that kind of behavior would have already been either corrected or eliminated, because, well, they’re all stuck with each other, and they have to get along, even if that is very superficial.

In that scenario, you end up with family units that stick very closely together and are probably actually overly pleasant (if there are closed family units, which seems unlikely to me, making it even harder to hide particularly abusive behavior). These are people who have spent lifetimes in the same groups, who live incredibly long lives, and who want people to join their groups. They both have to put on a nice face and then keep the peace once they’ve won people over, even if that peace is tenuous and shallow.

That’s also exactly how Essek asks—he’s described as having a “perpetual soft smile” and at surface-level, he’s very accommodating. He is such a pleasant person, at all times, even when he’s under enormous amounts of stress. He had, essentially, one “outburst” toward the Nein that he was narratively pretty justified in, and the next time he saw them he apologized without prompting and took on most of the blame for the issue, which would probably be how I’d characterize conflict within the Dens.

And that’s absolutely still a toxic environment. It’s the type of environment that makes it nearly impossible to release any frustrations, where everyone is emotionally repressed because they haven’t yelled in six hundred years and internalizes any sort of problems as their own personal guilt. But it ensures that the Dens survive, at the expense of any sort of lasting conflict resolution. To be clear, I’m sure there is some amount of conflict resolution, because at the point where you have people together or breaking up after multiple lifetimes, I imagine you need it, but in terms of, say, ideological differences? Especially since this is a religiously-based family bond? I’d guess that that’s the kind of thing where the answer is “grin and bear it and don’t bring it up at the dinner table.”

And with that, Deirta as the matriarch has to not only be pleasant enough to get along with everyone, she is also probably the one mediating any conflicts that do arise, which means she is a probably maddeningly pleasant person. This is primarily important because, as the leader of the household and his mother, and given how he speaks about his father, Essek likely took most of how he presents himself from her.

[oliphaunt1089]

Essek and grief vs guilt

As with last week, there really is something wonderfully appropriate in who is affected by what Somnovem eye beam, and specifically I’ve been thinking about Essek and the slow effect from Luctus.

Specifically how Luctus evokes intense feelings of grief, not guilt (that’s Culpasi) which would also have been appropriate given his arc, and how that grief I feel is honestly even better than guilt in some ways.

Guilt can be, and generally is, based around regret of your own actions, feeling bad for something you specifically did. Guilt is more singular, more individual. And we know Essek does feel guilt for his actions now, or at least something close to it.

But grief? In a lot of ways I think grief necessitates connection to others. It’s about missing the connections with and between others, about what was, or what could been. Grief comes from caring for or about others, and for Essek, who did not find it within himself to really care for others before the Nein? That’s pretty huge.

And sure, the intense, action and movement slowing grief was caused by the eye, but his utter grief and despair at the end when they failed to rez Molly? His repetition of “It’s not fair”? Essek cares so so much, about someone he has never met, doesn’t know at all, but still cares for because his friends, the people he cares for, care about Molly, so he can care by extension too.

Idk I’m just full of feelings about Essek and how he’s grown so much from the selfish creature he once only knew himself as.

[oliphaunt1089]

Keyleth having long hair means it’s been ages since she’s been set on fire or fallen in lava! Well done Keyleth!

[oliphaunt1089]

Anyone else watching Headless series?

because damn Matt’s on a murder spree this week lol

[oliphaunt1089]

Big muscles pals and their panic girlfriends 🌈

See more of my art in my instagram!! <3 instagram.com/violetrashie

Prints available here :D

[oliphaunt1089]

Essek is picking up hobbies while waiting for Caleb

[oliphaunt1089]

The wizards are settling in

[oliphaunt1089]

While I'm making research policy jokes, headcanon that Caleb teaches ethics for a few years as part of his curriculum, realizes he's fighting a losing battle because virtually no one else is, and angrily shows up at the Cobalt Soul for help writing a whole bunch of ethics policy to slap down on Headmaster Margolin's desk.

But once he has a draft of it, he gets home and shoves it at Essek one evening and goes, "You were a ruthlessly ambitious arcane grad student for a while. Please point out every loophole you would've noted to exploit," and Essek proofreads a lot of papers for Caleb but never before has he looked as gleeful about it as he does in that moment.

[oliphaunt1089]

Official: We’re looking for a dangerous fugitive from the Dynasty by the name of Essek Thelyss, have you seen him recently?

Caleb: I’m sure I don’t know who you’re talking about

Essek, hiding under the table: *using mage hand to rotate all the jars labelled “Essek” to hide his name whenever the officer glances away*

[oliphaunt1089]

new headcanon: Essek pours hours into secretly memorising a Zemnian dictionary specifically to beat Caleb at scrabble. This is how he learns his partner’s language.

Mighty Nein's Favorite Board Games

Fjord- Scythe

It's the crunch, the strategy, the 2+ hour play time. This man is nose to the board, into it. Most of the Nein grumble about it, but Beau and Essek will play it with him and get far far too into it.

Beau- Red Dragon Inn

This appeals to the Beaurebar in her. On the surface, she's got the silly drinking gambling party game. Deeper, she knows how to meta and has a hero that she's very very good with. She excels at stacking everyone else's decks against them. Making it an actual drinking game is a favorite, and she supplies really awful shots when called for.

Caleb- Root

Not only are you the resistance to the Cat overlords, there's resources! Strategies! Conniving! And adorablely vicious forest creatures! Caleb gets very attached to his factions. He likes playing with the Riverfolk expansion as the otters.

Veth- King of Tokyo

Yahtzee but with Kaiju. Veth will rule over Tokyo with an iron fist. There is now a rule that dice rolls that land on the floor don't count. Yeza is always apprehensive when she and Luc want to play, but he tries to be a good sport about it.

Jester- Unstable Unicorns

Fast paced, full of cute unicorns and puns, and there's an NSFW expansion. Jester is here to slam down some cute unicorns, shut down your combos, and cackle maniacally over pumpkin spice Basics.

Yasha- Cascadia

Puzzling together habitats for wildlife. It's lowkey, and Yasha likes to try and make the most realistic ecosystems she can. She'll play it alone for hours, but sometimes she can drag Beau or Caduceus in to playing with her.

Caduceus- Everdell

A sweet game of woodland creatures, resources, and collecting through the seasons. It's a pleasant game to him, and he sometimes he plays single player as a way to connect with the Wildmother. He has all of the expansions and the Kickstarter exclusives.

Molly- Mysterium

A ghost uses dreams in the form of surreal art to point mediums to solve their murder. It's the absolute cold reading bullshit Molly loves. If he's one of the mediums, it's just interpreting tarot cards. He loves helping everyone else interpret their cards and make up bullshit stories about how and why and where and who. If he's the ghost, he equally tries to help people and fuck with them.

Kingsley- Pirates

Stack up crews, steal other people's crews, blow up bases and collect pirate ships, loot, and glory. Kingsley is delightfully vicious at this game, and much like the man who taught me how to play it he wears his big pirate hat and coat whenever they play.

Essek- Sagrada

Sudoku, now with pretty dice and modifiers. The stained glass motifs remind him of Rosohna in the best way, and he finds it soothing to put it all together. Everyone is shocked the first time he swears in Common over someone taking a die that he needs.

Other related headcanons:

Beau, Fjord, Caleb, and Essek get together and play some of the crunchiest Warhammer you've ever seen. Jester paints Fjord's armies and Yasha paints Beau's, Caleb and Essek have dedicated weekly paint nights.

Essek hate drafts during Sushi Go.

There was an attempt to play The Mind once. It was never played again.

Caleb and Essek have fierce Scrabble games. Everyone made fun of them until Beau asked to witness one, and realized they play with four different languages at once and do not hold back about it.

Yasha has the Stardew Valley board game and plays it as often as she can.

Essek and Fjord play chess together. It freaks people out sometimes because they will sit in silence for a very long time until one of them swears violently.

Throw Throw Burrito is only allowed every once in a while, and they "burrito proof" the house first every time after they broke a vase at Beau and Yasha's.

[oliphaunt1089]

[oliphaunt1089]

consider this the successor to [this piece]

(inspired by Like a Diamond to the Rough by @spottedenchants)

[image descriptions in alt text]

[oliphaunt1089]

Essek is likely smol enough that Caleb, with his measly wizard strength, can lift him up a bit when he sweeps Essek into his arms for a hug (or a kiss).

and if he can't, Essek can float so it feels like it!!! Have a sketch I made some time ago of actually-floating pick-up-kisses

[oliphaunt1089]

More shadowgast! I love them so much 🥺

[oliphaunt1089]

We can do this, together.

.

.

.

Rbs are appreciated!