#mcd headcanons

[xerith-42]

Laurance Minecraft Diaries Headcanons that are canon because I say so

-Laurance doesn't like mirrors. His appearance has changed so much and so drastically over such a short period of time that he doesn't like looking at his own reflection because it just reminds him that he can't go back to the person he used to be, no matter how badly he wants to.

-There's a spot near the center of his back where he carries most of his stress. If anyone puts pressure on that point Laurance collapses because it's so tense all the time there and he just never wants to let anyone worry about him so he tries to never be around others with his armor off.

-This slips into Garroth headcanons but Garroth has a similar spot on his back due to a deviated septum and the two of them noticed these things about one another the first time they had downtime together. Both resolved to try and help ease the stress of one another.

-Laurance's favorite color is green.

-He really loves other people's eyes. There's so much people think they hide but they give away everything with their eyes. Garroth has a frown line between his eyebrows when he makes his serious guard face TM, Katelyn says a lot from just a flick of her eyes in combat, Travis' eyes give away how much of his time is spent admiring others. Nobody realizes Laurance notices these things about them but he does.

-After the whole fiasco on the cat island, cats naturally start to be comfortable around Laurance. Strays walk around his legs and start purring before he even pets them. Even after the curse is reversed, he still faintly smells like a cat, and other cats recognize him as a really really big cat.

-Laurance really loves carrying people. Nobody ever lets him do it enough but he loves picking up his friends, or the kids when they want to climb on him, or any of Aphmau's dogs who will let him, Laurance thinks that the strength to hold someone's entire weight and proudly doing so is a beautiful display of love.

-When they were kids Laurance picked up woodcarving so he could make little dolls that Cadenza could then practice her dress making on. He stopped making them as he got older and more busy with guard work, but there's still a chest hiding in a house in Old Meteli that has a handful of small wooden figures with beautiful dresses and colorful hair.

-Laurance isn't sure if he believes in soulmates anymore. He used to, but then it started to feel like a curse. Now he questions if it's even a concept worth considering as a possibility.

[somnas-writes]

Mcd would’ve been so much funnier if the cast was allowed to curse

My life would be so much better if Aphmau had been allowed to tell Zane to kill himself at some point

Like

Zane: I am here to destroy your village, unless you give up my brother or marry me

Aphmau: KYS 🗣️🗣️💥‼️

[romeavebrainrot]

What are your Garmau head cannons

All of these are for MCD!

In my head, the moment Garroth had a crush on Aphmau was when she got Lord Burt to heal his arrow shot. It was mostly just a small crush tho until their conversation in the mines.

Their actual conversation was pretty short, but in my head it was much more emotional! Garroth opening up about his self-doubt and golden child trauma for the first time, nearly tearing up while Aph just... listens. And gives him a hug.

Aphmau, on the other hand, didn't have strong feelings for him until Season 2. Ironically, their separation is the thing that made her realize her feelings

Whenever Aphmau had the "tree dimension" dreams and woke up, she'd always try to go back to sleep on the offchance that she would end up there again (honestly i forget if this was a canon thing its been a while since i watched s2)

Enough sad talk its time for the silly hcs!! Garroth made the flower crown he gave to Aphmau himself

Aphmau's love language is quality time, and Garroth's is words of affection + physical touch!

Dale, Donna, and Kiki caught on to Garroth's crush on Aphmau early on. They gave Garroth tons of dating advice that went unused bc he was like "what if it flops"

I did say that Aph started liking Garroth in S2, but even before then her heart did skip a beat a few times; the first was when they danced at Donna and Logan's wedding. It was the first time she saw him smile

Both of them think of each other when they go to the docks. As in they're each others' first persons that come to mind as soon as they smell the ocean breeze

They both love cake!! After Nana moves to Phoenix Drop they'd stop by her bakery, buy some cake, and have a small picnic at the docks. Aph likes fluffy bread and Garroth prefers cheesecake

If they get to live together, they'd have the perfect chore distribution. Aphmau does the cooking bc she enjoys trying out the new crops she got from different villages while Garroth does the cleaning and laundry bc mundane tasks help him relax

[laurancezvahlslefteyebrow]

Headcanon that Laurance knows multiple languages:

Like obviously he’s fluent in Ru’Aunian (english), but I think he’d also be semi fluent in french and spanish (or whatever the in universe equivalent is). He comes from a pirate town, and there are a lot of “french” and “spainish” pirates and sailors that come to port so he picked up some things. I think Joh was probably rather fluent so he likely learned from him.

I think he’d know some conversational Galish (the main language of Gal’Ruk) and Southern Tulian. I imagine Galish is similar to Norwegian and Southern Tulian is similar to Japanese.

Travis definitely taught him all the Galish he knows and Nana, being from Southern Tu’La taught him not only a bit of Southern Tulian but also some common Meif’wa hand signs, as many of them (including her) sometimes prefer to speak nonverbally.

He also knows quite a bit of Old Ru’Aunian, as it’s what they mostly speak in the Nether. He doesn’t like speaking or reading it, as it brings up a lot of bad memories. But it can come in handy when needing a private conversation with Aphmau, when reading old texts, and when they meet Malachi. Malachi really only speaks the old language when they first meet him, so Aph and Laur are the only ones whom he can really speak to, partly why he’s so attached to them and views them as his parents.

Laury really likes learning new languages, and he always has. Like when he met Cadenza.

Cadenza spoke Ru’Aunian (obviously, she’s from Ru’Aun), but she also spoke a regional dialect from her old village Zerimar. This dialect sounds a bit like a cross between english and russian. To most, it’s just jibberish, but if you take the time to break it down it makes much more sense. As kids (and adults) Laurance and Cadenza would speak Zerimarian when they didn’t want anyone to know what they were saying. Much to Hayden and Joh’s disapproval, as Cadenza refused to teach them.

Not only that, but the only other Zeriamrian in Meteli, Kenmur, wouldn’t teach them either. Much too afraid of what Cadenza would do to him if he did.

I also think he’d know a little greek (again whatever the in universe equivalent is). I headcanon him as greek, so I think his parents spoke it. He was young when they died and he’s spoken Ru’Aunian most of his life, but I think as he grows he decides to relearn some to kind of regain a bit of what he’s lost.

[dev-mars]

Headcanons for Laurance if I rewrote MCD

• Orphaned at 4 he was left in the forest and doesn’t what happened to his parents or who they were but he had a blanket with his name in it

• Ungrth found him and took care of him to the best of his abilities

• 24 at the start of the story

• was raised by Joh and Hayden

• Both him and Cadenza were taken in around the same time he was 6

• Before he was taken in he helped out on fishing boats for extra money

• Despite Cadenza only being 1 year older than him she treats Laurance like he little brother

•Really looked up to Sasha before she died

• Cadenza and Laurance would bother Castor (the chicken shaman) as children but eventually he became sort of fond of them

• As first in his class at the guard academy Garroth had to give a speech welcoming the new recruits that was the first time he saw Garroth’s face due to the traditional uniform

• He didn’t put it together until he saw Garroth’s face for a second time because he had forgotten about the speech although before that he felt he had met Garroth somewhere because he felt familiar

• Laurance also became first of his class

• Got his scar on his lip from being too cocky while sparring at the academy

• He was naturally gifted at fighting and didn’t have to try too hard in the past but the embarrassment from the fight led him to push himself to become better

• He got humbled just enough

• He before he became a shadow knight he was a little insecure about the scar

• He gave the welcoming speech for Zenix’s guard academy class

• Laurance is charismatic and a ladies man as to compensate for how awkward he feels he is

• Although he flirts a lot he rarely actually acts on his flirting although he occasionally goes out with someone

• He let Cadenza dye his hair saying he wanted to impress ladies but actually he wanted to look more like his sister

• It end up looking not that great and he was trying to grow out so he cut out the dye

• He found Joh’s body after he died and had to help bury him

• Immediately Cadenza was missing too and he thought he was terrified he would find her dead somewhere

• Had his nose broken he before he was killed in the nether now it’s permanently crooked

• Before he went blind his eyes were darker sea green then they changed to a paler light green

Theses are just some fun story ideas that I came up with for Laurance! Most of them take place before the events of the story. Let me know what y’all think!

[iridiss]

(this mostly takes place in my au’s timeline, but) To compliment my earlier post about Garroth:

Laurance’s demeanor completely shifts after he becomes a Shadow Knight. Before he was bright, jovial, and very playful, you could always count on him to make you laugh. But after his death, getting him to laugh the way he used to would be considered a miracle.

He’s full-on depressed. He struggles from a form of C-PTSD due to what his time in the Nether put him through. He’s still just as gentle and kind and loving as he was before, but his old light is gone. His best days are still weighed down by an afternoon spent low, tired, and empty, and his worst days are rife with panic attacks and paranoia.

So Garroth becomes pretty perfect company for Laurance during this time.

Laurance often flinches at unexpected touch, it shocks him pretty badly, due to the extensive physical torture he went through. A lot of physical touch with him has now been associated with a fear-based adrenaline response—a trauma response. Garroth finds out about this pretty quickly.

Garroth is a very gentle man. He’s the kind of guy you could find cradling an injured bird in his big, meaty hands, and he’d never hurt it, he’d be as delicate and careful as a surgeon. So little by little, he rewrites Laurance’s brain by changing his association with physical touch, from pain, to gentle, pleasant, warm affection. He takes care of him. It’s like he becomes the emotional support golden retriever to his cheetah of nerves lol

He notices the small, new scars on Laurance’s face, so later that night he’d try to rest a hand on his cheek. Laurance would be tense and wary at first, but he wouldn’t push him away. So Garroth would start to softly rub his skin with his thumb, speaking to him all quiet and soothing, until Laurance leans into the touch and closes his eyes. He would remember the man he knew and loved before, who he knew he could trust. Sometimes you just…forget all of that, when you’ve been through a lot.

Garroth cups his face with his other hand. He’d keep his hand still for another moment, testing his reaction and checking in with him to make sure the touch is okay, and once Laurance gives him the a-okay, he’d caress his face and give him a soft kiss on the top of his head. He’d tell him that he loves him, very much. Laurance whispers it back, voice wavering and weak. They would linger there for a while.

In the beginning, Laurance would spend his nights keeping distance from Garroth and Aphmau, when before, the three of them used to regularly sleep in the same bed. He says that since he’s an undead Shadow Knight now, his body doesn’t need to sleep, so he’ll make himself useful and stand guard, keeping watch for the whole night. Plus, it’s probably too dangerous for something like him to be trusted around them at night. They protest, saying they know their Laurance would never hurt them, but he puts his foot down and insists that Shad would, if he got control of his mind while they were asleep. It could put them in serious trouble. He fights them on it hard enough that the two relent and let him stand guard outside.

They know he’s doing it to isolate himself, to keep them at arms length. They worry about him.

After a while though, he’d start to come back to them. He’d go to Garroth first.

(Garroth and Laurance, being Aphmau’s 24/7 bodyguards, would absolutely get their own rooms and living space added on to the Aphmau family house-now-a-mansion. There’s no way they can feasibly live in the Guard Tower on the other side of town and sleep there every night while Aphmau is left alone to be perfectly assassinated by the hundreds of night-dwelling Shadow Knights and creatures after her head. The woman has a massive blinking red target on her back, there’s no way she sleeps alone with no one but Zoe and the kids living in the house with her)

It’s likely the isolation pushing him to the brink that would make him crack. Without Garroth’s frequent gestures of affection and reassurance that “he can always come to him if he needs anything, even if he feels ashamed about it, Garroth’s doors are always open no matter what, NO MATTER WHAT,” he would probably just run away into the woods and cry under a tree somewhere when his thoughts and flashbacks get too loud to bear. But because of the support he’d been showing him the past few weeks, he does the unthinkable and caves in.

Garroth would be sleeping in his own separate bedroom when he’d wake up from the sound of someone else entering his quarters. He’d jump to sit up and confront the intruder, but then he’d stop at the sight of Laurance already climbing into bed. “Do you mind?” He would whisper, and any Defense Reflex at the shadowy stranger appearing in his bedroom would melt away at the tone of his quiet, quiet voice and the broken look in Laurance’s eyes. “No, no, of course I don’t mind, is everything alright?” He’d catch his breath and ask. “Yeah, it-…it’s fine, I just-…don’t like being alone with my thoughts tonight, that’s all.” Garroth would make room for Laurance to sleep next to him. He wonders if this would be the first time Laurance had slept since his return. “Well, you won’t be alone anymore,” he’d smile. Laurance would give a low, quiet whisper, “Thanks, big guy.” Garroth would get settled after him, wrapping his arms around him and bringing him in for a long-missed cuddle. Laurance would let out a sigh and finally, finally relax, just letting everything wash away and be replaced with the warmth of an embrace and a kiss on his head. “…thank you.”

Laurance would fall asleep for the first time in a long time.

He would sleep for over 12 hours, totally sleeping in for hours. Garroth would let him sleep in peace—heaven only knows how rare it is for him now—and he’d eventually wake up to Garroth making him a very nice breakfast. He’s surprised and nervous over it, insisting that he doesn’t need to eat, he really didn’t have to waste their food and spice supply on him, but Garroth insists with the same gentle, warm smile he always has, and Laurance relents. It tastes great. It’s a very nice relief to have another physical sensation that’s actually pleasant, and as a sweet, personal gift for him no less. It’s a strong reminder of his humanity, and a helpful way to reshape how he thinks about his body and physical sensations.

He asks how Garroth managed to make something this good. Garroth sheepishly admits he asked Zoe (the best cook in the house, when it comes to anything but Laurance’s family specialty: seafood) for help and advice. He chuckles.

Garroth sees how much this helps his day be worlds better, so he and Aphmau conspire to create as many more moments like that as possible. They convince Laurance to make the amazing cooked fish dinner he used to make for them all the time, and they rev him up about it enough to convince him to show them and walk them through it while they watch in awe from the dining table behind him. He shows off for the first time since his disappearance, getting an inch of his confidence back. They convince him to dish up, and the happy, nostalgic memories of Meteli and his dads’ cooking nearly makes him cry.

Aphmau and Garroth share a triumphant high-five once his back is turned.

The first time Laurance feels comfortable and safe enough to be fully vulnerable and bare with Garroth, also known as the first time he takes his shirt off in front of him lol, Garroth would definitely be shocked and worried about just how many scars he has, all over his upper body. His armor covers a lot of his body from view, and whenever he’s just walking around the house in casual clothes or pajamas, Garroth couldn’t help but take notice of the fact that he’d always wear long sleeves. Old Laurance would walk around ass-naked all the time if it was legal, but ever since his death, he’s been hiding as much skin as possible, so it’s a big ass deal when he first opens up to Garroth physically. (how do they NOT have a physical relationship in canon it iS SO IMPLICIT—)

It is a MASSIVE silent sign of trust. Garroth would try his hardest to not to freak out over all the new scars, but there’s no way he’s not worrying. He’d gently trace his thumb over some of the scars on his sides. Laurance would mumble under his breath how he got them, avoiding eye contact. Garroth would want to cry for him, with how terribly empathetic and sorrowful and worried he’d be for Laurance. He asks if he can hug him, Laurance hesitates, then nods, and the two embrace. Garroth would tell him he’s so, so sorry that this happened to him, how terribly it must have hurt. Laurance starts to say, “It’s fine,” but he gets about halfway through “it’s” before he starts to cry. He’d hold on to Garroth very tightly. He’s like his rock, that he never ever ever wants to let go of again, so maybe if he holds on tight enough, it’ll burn into his brain that he’s here now, safe in the Overworld, safe in his arms, and his light, his knight in shining armor, his Garroth, will never leave. They’d spend a good few hours cradled like that, probably in bed, they’d probably lay down and just cuddle until they get called to work (Laurance tries to apologize for killing the mood, Garroth stops him mid-sentence, demanding he NEVER apologize AGAIN for having natural reactions like this. Laurance laughs and makes a tired comment about how Garroth’s not the same doormat he met years ago, and Garroth says that’s entirely thanks to him. ,,Laurance hides his face).

Hell, even the first kiss on the lips they share since his return would be a huge deal too, because of how strongly Laurance feels ashamed and scared of himself and his body. He is terrified that someone loving him will get them hurt—or worse, murdered at his own hands, and guilt over getting his loved ones killed was a big sticking point with Laurance already. He’d struggle a lot with opening up to Garroth and Aphmau at first. And of course, Garroth would end up warming him out of his shell, which, to him, would be a very strange thing to have to do for the world’s most passionate, romantic knight, but it happens between them regardless. It happens with them in all fields of their relationship.

Until soon enough, Laurance is sleeping between them again.

He really starts to feel human again, laying beside the two of them.

Garroth would keep doing everything in his power to get him back, little by little. He’d keep giving him hugs, until Laurance ends up relaxing into every single one, until he reaches the point where he wraps his arms around him and hugs him back, until eventually he’s the one reaching for it and tackling Garroth like he used to. Cuddles turn from something he’s hesitant to trust, to something incredibly healing. He holds him very, very gently in his hands, and it’s that gentleness, that unconditional kindness that never goes away, that warmth, that soft smile, that would push him back on his feet. He needs the specific way that Garroth loves and gives affection more than anything during this time in his life, and Garroth is there to give it every step of the way. After all, that’s what Laurance did for him, back when they first met. When he lost Zenix, when he lost Zane, when he was recovering from his family’s damage. Laurance teaches Garroth to finally fight back, stand up for himself, and love himself for all that he is. Then Laurance falls next, and Garroth is there to pick him back up again. He teaches him how to relax, how to trust and be vulnerable and know that he’s safe, how to be himself again. He undoes everything The Shadow Lord and Gene do to break down his individuality, he gives him back his fire and his strength. That way, when things do get bad and Shad starts to control him again, he has enough strength in him built up to say fuck no, to punch back, and make a new name for himself under The Shadow Knight Rebellion. He can stand and fight again, against the very forces that broke him, he can face them head-on and bite back, for himself, for everyone he’s ever loved, because he had someone there to pick him up in the first place.

Laurance needs Garroth. He would be a very, very different man without him. He likely would’ve given up on his humanity entirely if Garroth was never someone to come back to, considering that he’d be far too dangerous to return to Irene of all people. But it’s not just Aphmau he came back for, she’s there to support and help him too, obviously, but if it were JUST her?

He would’ve given up on everything the second he found out what he’d become. Garroth is just that kind of..beacon of a person to make even a man stuck in the darkest pits of hell believe in a second chance for himself. It becomes about more than just “Protect Irene” and more about “do it for the loves of your life that you can’t let go of no matter how hard you try. Do it for your family, even if you’ve grievously let them down, because you still love them too much to abandon them. Do it for your sons, that have suffered through enough and deserve a brighter future. Do it for your home. Everyone in the village is counting on you. Do it for what it means to you. Because there’s far more than just your knightly honor at stake here.”

They all need each other. Garroth and Laurance need each other, desperately. They can’t stay standing by themselves for too long, they need the other man to fall back on when life takes a baseball bat to their ankles. They can’t do it alone. They crumble and (literally) die when they do it alone.

Garroth and Laurance make an inseparable team.

[fruitcakebro]

Imagine trans man Garroth in MCD.

Imagine him tearfully telling Zane when they were kids, because he was too scared to tell their parents.

Imagine Garte finding out, and saying that if he's going to 'pretend' to be a man, he might as well serve the town like one, and that's how the engagement starts.

Imagine all those years later, Zane finding him, and still calling him brother.

'I was the one person you could trust. Now watch me burn down your whole goddamn world for leaving me with that monster.'

[cinnamontoastcroonch]

Laurance Zvahl/MCD headcannons & ideas

- Laurance should have been the one to absorb Shad’s relic. The angst potential for an arc like that would be SO unreal. saturation 100 angst. Imagine the horror he would feel knowing that he houses the essence of the very thing that ruined both his and so many other lives. catastrophic. give it here🤲

- wears a necklace with a pendant that belonged to Joh. he is VERY attached. NEVER takes it off. do with this what you will. (evil laughter and angst noises)

- man has the sharpest tongue/quickest wit in Ru’aun. he will clap back at anybody and can make a joke out of anything. king of deadpan humor.

- very protective of Malachi. after the time leap, seeing him grown makes Laurance emotional, but he hides it.

- ^on the note of children, he is very good with them. he never really saw himself having children, but would most likely adopt given his own status as an orphan, which is why he kinda saw Malachi as a sort of son.

- has a natural knack for survival skills. point at anything and he will tell you if it’s safe to eat. always builds the fire when setting up camp w/ the crew, even if he hates the memories the flames bring him. besides, the fire won’t burn his hands like it will his friends’.

- keeps watch almost obsessively when traveling or on duty. his SK enhanced senses keep him ultra alert.

- once it was suggested that if they ever needed to visit the nether, he would be a definite candidate due to his ability to navigate it. he nodded along quietly and agreeably at the time, but disappeared for a few hours shortly after. if his hands had a slight tremble for the rest of the week, nobody mentioned it.

(if vylad saw him cradling his head between his knees at the base of a tree, he also kept quiet)

- takes great care of his hair (duh)

- is VERY fast. always has been.

-incredible fashion sense. creds to Cadenza ofc.

i definitely have more of these tucked up in the depths of my brain so lmk if u guys want more :D

[stellisketches]

Here she is! In all her glory. I don’t know what I ate in the past week to suddenly go ham on all the worldbuilding for MCD but I’m having fun with it. Enjoy the lore, if you have any questions or comments feel free to ask! I love getting feedback from people as sometimes I feel like I’m screaming into a void that thinks I am insane. 

[dantes-number-1-fanboy]

Heres a very small amount of my aphmau art!

[yourlocalspace-cadet]

MORE MCD!LAUR HEADCANONS

-Laurance doesn't sleep through the night so he takes naps throughout the day

-Laurance sometimes goes to Lucinda's house just to hang out or get some of her pumpkin pie

-Garroth said Laurance "fights dirty" after a 1v1 training session between the two

-Laurance says that Joh (his adoptive dad) was the best influence on him

-Laurance can't talk about Joh without it bringing him to tears, so he usually doesn't talk about it

-Aphmau never told Laurance that Sasha killed Joh. Once Laurance found out, he began losing trust in her.

-Laurance talks about Garroth a lot... like too much...

-Laurance can't sleep unless he knows that everyone else in whatever building he's in is safe, so he goes around making sure everyone is okay before he sleeps.

-When he was blind, Laurance had a staff that he used to find his way around when no one was with him. He still has it to this day.

-Laurance's automatic response to being frightened is to punch. This once lead to Cadenza getting a black eye and a lot of new sewing equipment.

-Laurance knows how to sew, but he's no where near as good as Cadenza.

-Laurance has the mindset that anyone who harms a child is unforgivable.

-Emmalyn once asked Laurance what being a Shadow Knight was like, since he's the only one in Pheonix Drop, which lead to hours of borderline trauma dumping that the two keep to themselves.

-Laurance sometimes goes to Cadenza's house after having nightmares, so she gave him a key.

-Laurance thinks marriage is kinda dumb

-Laurance sometimes avoids people, but he doesn't know why

-Laurance loosens up a LOT around Cadenza and Garroth, but Garroth didn't know that thats what was happening until Cadenza told him

-Cadenza and Laurance embarrass eachother all the time.

-Dante once asked what Joh was like, and was met with hours worth of stories from Laurance.

-Laurance visits Ungreth's grave a lot with offerings and once fell asleep there, which led to him getting yelled at by Garroth for worrying everyone

-Garroth and Dante are morning people but Laurance really isn't

-Laurance once snapped at Dante because he kept asking about the Nether, although he did apologize for it later.

-When Malachi was in a coma, Laurance did his best to make sure Aphmau and Levin were alright while Lucinda focused on Malachi

-Laurance puts himself into harms way all the time

-Laurance likes shiny things, like coins, so Garroth and Dante got him some of Zoey's fairy lights

-(in s2) Aphmau let Laurance watch Lilith Garnet a few times, but stopped because he accidently taught her how to say "fuck" and "motherfucker"

-Laurance thinks it's hilarious when young children curse

-(didn't know how to put this one into normal format so here):

Garroth: Laurance I need you to swear-

Laurance: FUCK

Garroth: ... swear as in promise!

BAM! THERE!

[xerith-42]

MCD Fighting Style breakdown

for @gonedreaminggg as a treat. I took your initial list, added a few ideas I came up with, had a breakdown, Bone apple teeth!

- Laurance: As seen in canon Laurance mainly uses a single large sword, though in his early appearances he uses a sword and a shield. I feel like Laurance has trained in multiple styles of combat to varying degrees. He's really good with a single sword of any size, and he can fight sword and shield. His dual wielding is lacking and he can tell every time he watches Dante fight. A lot of Laurance's movements are very basic forms of sword combat with slight variations and flare. Laurance is really light on his feet, so much so that when he really gets into a fight, it almost looks like he's gliding sometimes.

- Garroth: An absolute tank. Fuck what canon says here, Garroth has trained exclusively in fighting with a sword and shield. It is his bread and butter. His ass would not know what to do with a second sword, and nobody really tried to train him in anything else because he's so good at what he does. Garroth can and will always take the hits, he's a barbarian who manages to suppress the rage until he's forced to multiclass into paladin thanks to the relic. Always on the front lines, so good at throwing himself into danger, he wants to die a warriors death and go to Valhalla and both Aph and Laurance are like "Garroth please stop."

- Dante: Dual Wielding jack ass my beloved. Dual wielding isn't a super common style of combat just because it requires so much coordination and there's definitely a quantity over quality problem with guards in Ru'aun. Dante studies an unconventional style of fighting to stand out, and it works. He's super limber and flexible, at least when he's a teenager, and he's fast as fuck. Dante will absolutely be the one getting insane hit combos and doing like 8 attacks per round. He loves bragging about this so much, even though he has to slow down a little as he gets older and his body can't quite move the way it used to.

- Aphmau: Oh Aphmau... Can I call you Aph? You poor thing. In my brain Aph is partially trained by Garroth and Zenix in her early days, but she also just has some really good instincts from being Irene's reincarnation. She learns basic archery from Zenix, and a lot of basics in sword fighting from Garroth. She tends to prefer one lightweight weapon, though she does learn to get comfortable with larger weapons. She's shorter than a lot of her opponents so she likes having a lighter weapon that let's her move fast and go for the fucking knees. She does not fuck around in a fight, she will go straight for the kill. All the guards have some sort of honor/respect for their opponents. She doesn't. She will fucking kill you.

- Travis: Travis is the jack of all trades. You put a weapon in his hand and he knows how to use it. He's not particularly great with any one weapon, and he never has a preference. He was taught to always have his guard up and always be able to defend himself, so Travis is much more comfortable with being given a weapon and using it instead of having a preference. He carries a long sword with him everywhere he goes, but that's just in case he can't get his grubby little paws on something else. He also uses potions a lot more in battle than anyone else thinks to, so he's able to make up for any shortcomings in his fighting.

- Katelyn: Punch people at the perfect weak points of their body. Katelyn has done a lot of study into human anatomy and medicine, and she knows all the weak points of the body for taking someone out in a certain way. Want a quick knockout? There's a pressure point on the back of the neck she can hit while blindfolded. Want to make someone winded? Hit them in the solar plexus. Katelyn has honed her body for this style of fighting, she is ripped as fuck, and while she isn't the fastest fighter, mostly due to her still wearing armor, her strikes are powerful enough to make up for it.

- Lucinda: Evil!! She uses her witchcraft obviously, which I have a lot of thoughts about. I think it's basically being a prepared/component caster, so how well she does in a fight depends on what components she brings into it. But Lucinda literally has like three bags of holdings, she can always whip up something to kick your ass. And if she can't, her staff is definitely made out of some ancient tree and she'll just sweep people off their feet with it and then concuss them with the giant curved end of it. She prefers to take people down non-lethally if possible, especially because witchcraft is very susceptible to accidentally killing people, but if you hurt her friends, it's on sight,

- Zane: Despite his high position, Zane isn't particularly good with any large weapons. I always envision Zane to be somewhat lanky in his stature, and definitely the weakest out of his brothers. He doesn't want to be seen as a threat initially, and as shown in the series, he'd much prefer to find a non physically violent way to kill you. If he has to, he's always got knives hiding on his person, in his robe, in his belt, in his boots, man's always has a way to kill just in case.

- Nana: Magic in this universe is spontaneous casting, where most spells don't need active prep work, and fewer components. Like she needs her dolls as vessels and some magical energy that's naturally present in her body and she's good. I don't think Tu'la was always a safe place, and she likely learned to defend herself from a young age. But Nana isn't really good with conventional weapons like swords or bows, no, she knows how to dent your brain with a frying pan. She doesn't like being violent, but if you threaten her friends or family, she will absolutely demolish you with a cutting board.

- Vylad: The archer!! I like to think Vylad tried to spar with Garroth like once and hated it so much. He hates eye contact and getting close to people, so instead they learn how to be an absolute master of ranged combat. Vylad knows how to stab someone with a short sword in a desperate situation, but he'd much rather be perched on a tree above the battlefield and rain arrows from above. Vylad is also incredibly stealthy and faster than anyone else. So people see his perch and try to get there to take him down or have their own archers fire back, but he's already gone.

- Sasha: Sasha moves so gracefully, so fluidly, and almost enchantingly. For her fighting is a performance, she's gonna kill several people and she's gonna look good while doing it. Even when she was a trained guard she made herself stand out with an affinity for smaller curved blades that naturally assisted her fluid movements. She makes fights into an endurance test, cutting people up and whittling them down. But if she needs to kill, she knows how to do it in a single swipe and knows the weak points that guards are taught to protect, and the ones they aren't. She's such a menace :)

[somnas-writes]

Shadow knights have reflective eyes

Once Dante and Laurence were on patrol. Dante turned to Laurence and he looked like this

[xielianslver]

Divine Warriors

Here is some info dump about MCD's Divine Warriors in my rewrite, not all of this is known to the public of the mortal realm (especially the stuff about Shad.)

Irene the Matron: There isn't much known about Lady Irene's past, the only evidence they have are the scriptures Enki had written. Though most were burned. It is a common concept that she grew up in a small village (later Scaleswind) in Ru'aun. born from the ash of a god they say. She is incredibly strong, having healing magicks and the ability to bring those back from the dead as well as other abilities (mainly dimensional), Irene did not have a weapon. She can also change her form into a man but she rarely ever did this and it's said that she hated the form. After her disappearance (presumed death) which was 40 or so years after the fight with Shad. She was worshipped more commonly, which her worship later became widespread. Irene is worshipped as the god of medicine/health, the afterlife, agriculture and hope. She is associated with doves (because of her wings) and lavender, around churches and royalty/nobles homes, you will see statues of doves and fields of lavender. It's said that natural forming fields of lavender are places blessed by Irene. Although mainly worshipped in Ru'aun she is seen and heard all over the world.

Menphia the Fury: She grew up in Tu'la near the capital, one of the very few in Tu'la who was human. Menphia came from a well off noble family, she was a strong girl who could wield almost any close combat weapon. She became one of the princesses' guards at the age of 19. There was a rumor that Menphia and the princess were having an affair but it was never denied nor confirmed. She became a protector of Irene and later one of the Divine Warriors, she also had a pet tiger. Her magicks are very limited but they consist of strength and speed. Menphia used multiple different close combat weapons (swords, maces, battle axes, etc). She died during the fight with Shad to save Enki. She is worshipped mainly in Gal'ruk and Tu'la and usually by guards or soldiers. She is worshipped as the god of rage, strength, war, and courage. She is associated with tigers and fire. Her statues always have a tiger at her legs.

Shad the Destroyer: Not much is known about Shad at all, Enki himself destroyed practically everything that he had written about Shad. Them and Irene were close, the common conception was that they were lovers. Irene and Shad had a fight because he was a danger to mortals. Irene sealed Shad deep inside a mountain for 10 years, he later escaped and caused havoc. Although Irene and many of the other warriors had pushed her to their breaking point it was Shad himself who decided to be spiteful and become the Shadow Lord. Xavier was the first ever shadow knight. Their magicks consist of strength, telekinesis, and break dimension barriers. She can change their form much like Irene, to a woman, man, or a form of neither. He seems to enjoy this unlike Irene. Many depictions of Shad are different in gender because of this. Very few mortals worship him but she is seen as the god of deception, chaos, death, and tragedy. He is commonly associated with crows and lily of the valleys.

Enki the Keeper: Enki had many journals detailing both his and the other warriors lives yet he either burned most or hid them away, very few were actually found. He grew up in a home of warriors in Gal'ruk but despite this he became a scholar. He is known to have been in love with many, Menphia, Irene, Esmund's brother. Likely Xavier too. He was born without any magicks but he did know a bit of witchcraft. His abilities after getting a relic were; un-human observation, speed, and levitation. Enki barely fought but when he did he used an ink brush (much like Qiu Yongsi from Tianbao Fuyao lu). Enki died 5 or so years after the battle with Shad. He is worshipped in Gal'ruk and is a common figure head for literature. He is the god of; ink and paper, literature, language, and love. Enki is commonly associated with owls and snow.

Esmund the Protector: Much is known about him as he was the eldest son of one of the most well known historians, Ruthin Ro'meave. He grew up in Ru'aun, he became a guard and later became a Divine Warrior. Esmund was commonly known for his beauty that rivaled Irene's. He was deeply in love with Irene which caused a strain between Irene, Shad and Esmund. His younger brother was horrifically injured during a battle while under Shad's watch which caused Esmund to become even more resentful of Shad. Despite wanting to help defeat Shad he decided to stay behind and protect. He died 30 years before Irene's disappearance. He is worshipped in Ru'aun usually by Lords of villages seeking protection. He is the god of; protection, safety, loyalty, victory, and family. Esmund is associated with swords and diamonds.

Kul'zak the Wanderer: They grew up near the docks of Tu'la, they were a meif'wa. They helped with travel when ships docked on Tu'la. Kul'zak was the first Divine Warrior after Irene, and a nomad. They were a very good bard and a little mischievous. They were the oldest of the Divine Warriors and the one to have kept them all together. After the Divine Warriors split they traveled and spoke of legends for 10 years before dying. Unlike the other Divine Warriors they aren't worshipped in one place, they are worshipped as the god of; travel. merchants, alcohol and music. Kul'zak is associated with intoxication and the flute.

[laurancezvahlslefteyebrow]

I CALL UPON THE JURY OF REDESIGN

Guys I thinked of somethin

@xerith-42 @cinnamontoastcroonch @gonedreaminggg

So I made a shitpost a bit ago about Gene and Dante just straight up not having a last name. But then I got to thinking. What if they did? Key word: Did

Imagine: Gene and Dante grow up with the last name of Dillion, meaning loyal or loyalty. I picked a name that meant loyal because loyalty is one of the few things the brothers have in common, Gene’s loyalty to Shad and Dante’s loyalty to Aphmau.

Anyway.. So Gene never tampered with Dante’s mind, and in their village, he was basically the only one. But after making the entire village forget Dante, including their parents, he made Dante forget their name. Just another way to remove Dante’s existence without actually offing him. Not only did he make Dante forget, but he made sure Dante knew he forgot. Meaning he’ll have to wonder for the rest of his life.

Gene himself disowned the name, completely detaching it from himself. To simply become Gene.

[dev-mars]

MCD Little Details and Plot Points I Forgot pt. 2

Season one, around episode 84 to 94?

(basically my thoughts and notes about the series)

• Garroth says that he’s feels as though Laurance is like his brother and he was never able to experience this type of relationship with his own brothers (although he only mentions Zane so it makes me wonder if Jess hadn’t made Vylad his brother yet, or if talking about Vylad is too painful for Garroth.)

• Also, in my headcanon I feel like Garroth is developing feelings for Laurance and he tries to rationalize it as brotherhood. I feel like the monarchy that O’Kasis basically is, most likely prioritizes continuing the bloodline. Maybe this just started as a way of continuing Esmund’s legacy/power but as O’kasis became more powerful and corrupt it became more about creating dynasty that wouldn’t end. So gay relationships are probably frowned upon and personally I feel like at this point Garroth hadn’t considered being in relationship with a man and wasn’t fully aware it was an option. For me, I headcanon him as bisexual so possibly Garroth knew he was attracted to women and never thought more about his sexuality choosing to ignore any other feelings he had for anyone other than women.

• Anyway, Garroth then states that he hates seeing Laurance in pain from the Hayden’s death and feels like it might be worse than when he’s a shadow knight. Aphmau, of course, disagrees with this.

• Laurance struggling with his emotions while he thinks Hayden is dead shows the mental turmoil he’s experiencing as he balances his emotions as shadow knight.

• Aphmau inspects the crime scene so Laurance doesn’t have to see it. :((

• Laurance accidentally calls Aph “love” when he was exhausted. :((

• Laurance is able to sense when Aph is in danger? It happens twice the first time when they save Candenza and then when Aph is attacked by Aaron. It seems he just knows something is wrong and then just shows up.

Which is interesting considering that he and Aph seem to just have a connection since he became a shadow knight. Honestly, Laurance might’ve had some sort of untapped magicks before he was turned. Like when Laurance was stuck in the nether his image or consciousness was projected into the overworld and caused Levin to levitate/walk. That seems to be abnormal for when someone becomes a shadow knight. Maybe through coping with his transformation Laurance unknowingly manifested a bond/connection to Aphmau with whatever magical capacity he had.

Or, the bond was created simply because Aph is the person who Laurance must kill in order to become a fully fledged shadow knight. So Laurance then has a heightened sense of Aphmau’s status and location. Which, ironically, serves Laurance in being a better protector of Aph.

Ooor, even simpler, Laurance just has heightened senses in general and he’s always making sure Aph is alright using them and the Levin incident earlier in the season is irrelevant.

• Aphmau and Laurance have that hug moment in the woods outside of Phoenix Drop where he asks to always be by Aphmau’s side and earlier asks to keep Cadenza’s gift a secret.

• Aphmau chooses to keep both of these things a secret from Garroth, which he probably realizes he’s not being told everything that happened on the trip. Then Laurance wears a helmet for a couple days out of embarrassment. So, Garroth most likely thinks more happened between them than actually did. His jealousy probably started to grow more from this trip and he started feeling like he was being left out.

• Laurance asks Cadenza to watch over Garroth when they think he’s sick. :((((

• Laurance immediately steps up as head guard when everyone thinks Garroth is sick and makes sure everything is okay.

• Dante eats breakfast with Zoey and the kids and that’s the first time he’s been in her house. (I’m surprised how short of a time Dante has been in the series by the time we reach the end of season one, like as a kid I remember it being so much longer than it actually was.)

• Aaron second act as a character in the series is to threaten Aphmau and the village. (I’m so sorry to the Aaron stans out there but I can’t stand his ass and I can see the vision Jess was trying to go for but his character development was just everyone outside of him acting out of character).

Like I love a good “enemies to lovers” trope but Aaron pointing a sword to Aphmau’s throat wasn’t that. When something like that usually happens it’s like omg they have so much tension and they cross swords a couple times then they have dramatic banter that lets you feel that they’re is something more to their relationship than “enemies.”

Instead, we have Aaron knocking Aphmau over then pointing a sword to her throat. Then he threatens to kill her because he assumes without knowing her that she’s a selfish lord and only lets her live because she also hates Zane. But, he forces Aphmau to not tell anyone he’s there or else she’ll be putting her entire village in danger. HE IS QUITE LITERALLY CAMPED A SHORT WALK FROM APHMAU’S HOUSE WHERE SHE AND HER CHILDREN SLEEP EVERY NIGHT. That’s awful, man. Jess acts this out by constantly touching her throat so it’s kind of reasonable to assume that if they weren’t blocks the sword was probably directly pressed to Aphmau’s neck. Like I know, Aaron really isn’t that bad and he wasn’t talking about HIM hurting the village. He was actually talking about other people who after the pendent and this would put the village in danger. But, as the viewer and someone who’s seen the series before I have that knowledge as an outsider. While Aphmau in that scene only has the knowledge that if she’s says something wrong or lets other people know he’s here it will put everyone in danger.

Like Laurance comes up to Aph immediately after it happens because he felt she was in danger. He says she looks pale, distressed, and asks her if she’s been crying!!! Aphmau was terrified for her safety. That’s not a good beginning to a romance in my book! If the scene was framed differently where Aph had some autonomy in that scene like maybe she defends herself from Aaron then they begrudgingly come to agreement that he can stay that would be different. But instead he demands that Aph doesn’t tells anyone or else she’s in danger along with her loved ones. Anyway, I dislike this scene and Jess probably would have retconned it if she got to that point in Rebirth.

• Moving on! Laurance checks her temperature and makes sure she’s okay. He even tells her that he can carry her home if she’s too tired. Then he even takes the wood that she gathered and finishes the task for her so she can go home to her boys!

• Then, Malachi immediately blows up and Zoey cries because she feels like she’s a bad mom (even though she’s quite literally raising Aph’s kids for her but Zoey’s got trauma so I get it.) Aphmau reminds her that’s she apart of the family and isn’t upset with her. I love them so much!