Author Answers (December) (Patreon)

General

How would Red's family members want to be addressed by MC if MC came to visit? Any rough guide would be a godsent. The nerves of seeing Red's family for the first time in years turns my Redmancer's brain into mush. ^^"

In Blest, it's not that typical for young people to refer to their friends' parents by first name, so it'd probably be more standard for MC to call Red's parents "Mr. Antiqua" or "Mrs. Antiqua" out of politeness. They wouldn't mind if MC used their first names, but culturally it's not that standard, so they wouldn't be rushing to say, "Oh, please, call me Mara" or what have you. His sisters are fine just being called by their names or nicknames, so Idalia, Isodel, Gwyn (no one calls her Gwyneth), and Lydda!

I know that Blest doesn’t have Christmas but I couldn’t resist. Santa calls in sick and it’s up to the Shepherds to fill in and save Christmas! How do they do?

Blade: it depends: is this a group or solo effort? 😂 If you need someone to run Santa's workshop like a military operation, he's your man. If you need someone to literally pick out toys for kids and judge the merits of their behavior throughout the year....... a lot of kids are going to get utility tools in their stockings...

Trouble: he'd be pretty good at this, he both interacts with kids normally enough and has enough drive to be the Santa those kids need!

Tallys: no, sorry, disaster, she will not be moving with enough urgency to get all those presents delivered on time and is a pretty harsh judge of children's actions LOL they may not get a toy if they have some transgressions on their list already 😂

Shery: she'd be the best at this! Perfect Santa, perfect Christmas-fairy, her whole thing is organizing and dispersing supplies to as many people as possible, so she'd slot right into this beautifully!

Riel: "give them each a coin and leave me alone"

Chase: he gets the job done, but it's chaotic... too many firecrackers end up in the hands of children who really shouldn't have them... and he doesn't believe in the distinction between nice and naughty, so EVERY child gets a (questionable) gift!!!

Red: he'd be good at this, but is he passionate enough about it? Maybe if you framed it as an experiment in how fast he can use his Traveling powers to teleport into people's homes and deliver their presents LOL

Ayla: she'd like doing this, and would be pretty decent at it! She may not take the time to personalize each and every kid's gift (good kids get the same stuffed animal, and if they don't like it, tough shit, bad kids get nothing), but she'd get the job done and everyone would be reasonably happy with it!

Briony: enthusiastic but chaotic! I think she'd have scope creep where she'd be bursting with enthusiasm and quickly find herself way too over her head, so she barely gets the whole thing done and half-kills herself doing it... but it gets done!

Lavinet: *nicely says essentially the same thing as Riel* "Wouldn't it be simpler to give them a sum of money so they can buy whatever gifts they want for themselves?"

Halek: god please do not put him in charge of this, do you want those kids to have a good Christmas? Yes? then put Shery in charge

Sorry you got sick, hope you’re both feeling better! What’s everyone hoping to get for Wintersun this year? Merry Christmas!

Thank you em, we are! 💖 And Merry Christmas to you too!

Blade: he doesn't want anything, so he's not "hoping" for anything per se, but he'd be pleased with a book of poetry or an interesting historical biography or book of plays or something like that! Something for him to work through in his off-time!

Trouble: he really wants some new clothes. He wants to look fly as hell but doesn't know how to dress himself. Someone please gift him a good outfit or a new cloak or something. (But not like what Lavinet wants to do to him, he doesn't want to look all formal and trussed up like a stuffed turkey, he just wants like a badass leather jacket or something)

Tallys: she secretly wants a trip to a bathhouse/spa type of deal, just slather her with mud and medicinal spring water and let her ~relax~

Shery: she's happy with anything, but some new novels or accessories (like a necklace or a bow for her hair) would be lovely!

Riel: gourmet treats he's never sampled before are a really good bet for him, or tickets to the opera, or books that he hasn't read or heard of before (though this latter is very tricky territory, so beware)! (I also think he needs something that plays music in his office, but he himself hasn't thought of that.) 

Chase: he's not really hoping for anything in particular, he's happy and interested in anything! the greatest Wintersun present for him would be telling him a secret about someone else that no one else knows LMAO but a shared experience or a scavenger hunt or something like that would be very well-received!

Red: books. especially the really expensive, obscure ones that he can't really justify spending a ton of money on... he has a problem 😅

Ayla: she's had her eye on a very pretty amber ring that she would never in a million years buy for herself... (hint, hint)

Briony: she's happy with anything!! a shared experience together, like a day trip together to a nearby town or tickets to a local festival or something, would be amazing! she also needs more decorations and items to put in her room!

Lavinet: beautiful jewelry, accessories, or perfume is always a hit with her, darling, but for any Lavimancers out there, I think she'd be so hot for a new piece of armor or like a really trim battle outfit or something like that haha! Showing her that you take her seriously as a warrior would be such a meaningful gift! XD (But, you know. It should also look aesthetically appealing.) 

Halek: walking food tour through the Market Quarter!

Modern AU if Blest doesn't have an equivalent to santa.  Say MC tried to convince a romanced RO to dress up as santa for the neighbourhood children, who would be most difficult and what would it take to bribe them?  I feel like Blade and Riels price would be steep.

Trouble - Briony - Chase - Shery: no bribe at all, they would do it just for the fun of it!

Tallys - Lavinet - Halek: no, but they'd help as Santa's helpers or as Elves or something like that!

Red: you could talk him into being Santa, but you'd have to bribe him... If you're romancing him, you'd probably just have to bat your eyes pleadingly, but otherwise, you'll either get more traction just guilting and browbeating him OR bribing him with some nice shiny books or a favor he's been wanting (like getting you to be the subject of an experiment he's, like, 85% sure won't turn your skin purple)

Ayla: NOT INTERESTED. you could talk her into it eventually, but it would take weeks of campaigning and you'd have to really care about it, like "think of the children!! 🥺 they need this!! Christmas will be ruined!!" instead of just trying to get her to do it because it'd be funny! I don't think any bribes would work, you would just have to bug her about it persistently and over a lot enough time lol

Blade - Riel: no.... no. they have their limits. you can have financial support. please. just take the money and leave them alone. there are plenty of other willing participants around, you do not need them for this, and in fact, everyone involved would be worse off if they were Santa lol

Hi Lena! I'm so sorry you got sick again, that's the worst! I hope you and your partner are feeling better! My question would be: what would be the ideal holiday vacation for the Shepherds and their RO? Or, what would be the one gift they'd love to receive from their RO? I hope you guys stay healthy!! Much love!

Thank you vivinx, we're feeling better now!! And good question! In case you're curious, here's what their ideal vacations are, but in terms of holiday vacations...

Blade: a nice, remote, cozy cabin in the snowy mountains, just the two of them, would be perfect for him!

Trouble: honestly, I think he'd just prefer to stay home for the holidays and have a nice warm holiday celebration with all their friends and family, or go to someone else's home for the same!

Tallys: ditto for the cozy mountain cabin!

Shery: I think she's in Trouble's boat and would prefer to stay home (or someone else's home) for the holidays rather than travel!

Riel: I could see him enjoying a trip to a nice luxury winter lodge with thermal hot springs and, like, reindeer rides around the grounds and beautifully-decorated, festive surroundings, though he'd find ski resorts (and the act of skiing) insipid. I could also see him going somewhere like Paris!

Chase: he likes city trips, so any vacation to a big city with lots of shopping lanes and streets filled with twinkling lights and pretty banners and decorations would be perfect to get him into the holiday spirits! Think NYC if in a modern AU!

Red: he prefers going home for the holidays to spend it with his family, so that would be his ideal "vacation"--with his RO, of course!

Ayla: ski and snowboarding lodge!! A small mountain town like Boulder or Flagstaff would be really fun for her!

Briony: she's happy with anything, she doesn't really seem to have an "ideal", though she would prefer to be surrounded with friends and family (or at least people) and festive holiday cheer! So a remote cabin probably wouldn't be her first choice, but whether you want to go to Tokyo, NYC, London, Paris, staying at home and having a feast with friends and family, or just strolling through the city looking at the lights, she's happy with pretty much anything!

Lavinet: she typically likes to go home for the holidays to spend time with her family at their estate, but if that's not a possibility, I could totally see her going somewhere glamorous like Paris or NYC, or to the beach for a tropical vacation to switch things up!

Halek: lord, he's had enough of snow in his lifetime, let's go to the beach! Lazy river, here he comes!!

Are there plushies in Blest? If yes, what are the most common animal species used and what species are the options if you wanted a really big plushie (maybe not necessarily as big as Snorlax but, still, very huggable)?

There are plushies in Blest, though they're typically referred to as stuffed animals or "stuffies"! Rabbits and bears tend to be the most popular, though dogs, cats, and habune are also common! (You will actually be able to buy some for your room, courtesy of a Patron who used their reward to put them in the game!) They're considered something of a luxury item, since most commoner/working-class kids are going to receive toys that are more practical and durable (blocks, wooden figurines, etc.), rather than something that primarily brings comfort and can be easily damaged or dirtied, so they tend to make more of an appearance in wealthier homes than not. They're also all handmade in workshops (or at home) rather than being mass-produced in factories, so it's not like you're going to find them in everywhere: just at specialized shops in big cities only. Still, one of Caine's quests revolves around a stuffed rabbit, so they're not unheard of, either! I would say most common animals with fur are possible, like foxes or wolves, while more exotic animals like monkeys are going to be much less common and will probably have to be privately commissioned from a workshop rather than sold en masse. Domestic animals that are commonly eaten, like cows and pigs, are usually avoided, and there hasn't been a jump to reptiles or birds yet (demand isn't high enough to beget that kind of creativity/diversity), so no one has really though "make a chicken, but it doesn't have feathers, it has fur". 

Really big plushies aren't common at all! They're designed primarily for children/babies to hold in their arms, so it would be really unusual to have a really big plushy, and people would definitely remark on it. You'd definitely have to commission an artisan to make one for you, which would be very expensive as well as earn a lot of looks, but in that case, you could pretty much commission any species you wanted!

Hi! First of all just wanted to say that I absolutely adore this game! Secondly, based on real life events of mine, if you paired up the shepherd and put them in a three legged race, what team would win?

Thank you so much for your kind words!! And ooh good question, I used a random generator to make the teams:

Briony and Red - they do very well and have a lot of fun doing it! They're both athletic enough to place well and able to cooperate well enough to place high up there!

Ayla and Blade - while you have two extremely capable and athletic people, you have tied an angry cat to an irritable dog used to working alone and/or being the leader of the pack LOL. This does not go very well because they're too busy getting annoyed at each other to run in sync...

Chase and Halek - "slow down Longshanks, we're not all built like tree trunks, shorten your strides!!" "get longer legs"

Trouble and Shery - this is basically just Trouble running as fast as possible and towing Shery along while she helplessly screams. If he's allowed to, like, put her on his hip and half-carry her, he might win LOL or she might trip and they end up in a tangle, it really depends!

Tallys and Lavinet - if they're friends, they would win through sheer determination/competitiveness and combined athleticism, but if they're still not friends, I don't think they'd even do the race LOL

Caine and Riel - LMAO CAN YOU IMAGINEEEEEE 😂😂 Riel's not going to tie himself to a child... what do you TAKE him for?... And Caine's looking at him skeptically like he knows this stick man isn't going to help him win the race!! Can't he be tied to Trouble or something??

Final results:

• Tallys and Lavinet (if friends)
• Trouble and Shery (if Trouble was allowed to carry her)
• Briony and Red 
• Chase and Halek
• Blade and Ayla
• Trouble and Shery (if he wasn't allowed to carry her)
• Tallys and Lavinet (if not friends)
• Caine and Riel

Oh noo I’m so sorry you got back to back sick! Hope you and your partner feel better soon!🩵🩵  The Shepherds decide to hold a sled race, teams of 2. Call it Wintersun team building exercise 😂No magic allowed and they have to either build their own sled or use something that’s NOT a sled, - how do our intrepid heroes fair and what team is the victor?   Also in the immortal words of *NSYNC, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays Lena! 🎄

Thank you for the well wishes kingdom, we're feeling better now!! 💖 And haha, I love it!! 😂 Here's how the teams shook out with a random generator:

Team 1: Trouble and Red - Team Engineer... they SMOKE the competition, the guy who tinkers on things and puts them together just for fun + the scientifically-minded researcher who does the same thing?? Both also have arguably the most in-depth knowledge about physics, so yeah, this contest is done before it even started, lol. Their sled would be assembled from like the perfect planks to hold their weight and would look pretty good, to boot!

Team 2: Blade and Briony - Team Superstrength... they do pretty well with this, too! Under Blade's "trained to survive in the wild" direction, Briony probably like kicks down a pine tree with her bare hands and together they cobble together enough of a sled to get going quickly. It might not be as efficient as Trouble and Red's, but considering both are incredibly strong naturally, they might go faster just because of the initial push down the hill 😂

Team 3: Tallys and Ayla - Team Nature... ugh, they'd be amazing at this, too! Too bad Ayla can't use her wind-magic, though, but her experience with carving things + Tallys's ability to work wood (har har...) from her own training and ability to pick the perfect trees to craft the lightest bows out of... they would probably make the most in-depth, detailed, lovely, professional-looking sled, but unfortunately Tallys's natural lack of urgency and sense of Elven perfectionism might be a hindrance in a race... they do really, really impressively, though!

Team 4: Chase and Caine - Team Chaos... they're not bothering to build a sled and are just going to improvise it, like a wooden shield that was lying around the practice field or something! For this reason alone I could actually see them winning because everyone else would be like seriously bent over making an actual sled LOL they're just there to have fun and go down the hill really really fast, and they accomplish their mission well!

Team 5: Shery and Riel - Team Book Smart... with their combined intelligence alone, plus Riel's natural inventiveness, they could create an amazing sled to rival Team 3 or Team 1's, but their physical strength and lack of athleticism is... an impediment. I imagine them only getting like halfway down the hill before tumbling ungracefully off the sled or kind of getting stuck and trying to scoot down feebly

Team 6: Lavinet and Halek - Team Doesn't Care Enough About This and Just Wants To Go Inside and Get Warm!!! What it says on the tin LOL... they put in a token effort but they know for damn sure they're not winning and don't care enough to try and challenge their own prediction LMAO I think they kind of just agree to dally and procrastinate until someone crosses the finish line and they're like "yay you did it! good job!" as they're like edging back towards the hot chocolate station

Okay, this was actually way harder than I thought it was going to be lol, the more I went on the more I could see the strong competition from most of the teams! The final results are:

First place: Team 4, Chase and Caine, for the sheer reason that they would just like roll down the hill if that's what it took to cross the line first

Second place: Team 1, Trouble and Red, and they should probably be considered the true victors because they kept to the spirit of the competition

Third place: Team 2, Blade and Briony, because Briony's running start and push damn near rocketed them off the hill and broke both their necks 

Fourth place: Team 3, extremely closely behind Blade and Briony, but they were hampered by a little bickering because Tallys was getting too obsessive about the finishing on the sled while Ayla was bawling at her to get her ass in gear

Fifth place: Tie between Team 5 and Team 6, because Riel just got up after getting dumped in the snow halfway down the hill and stalked off and Lavinet and Halek immediately abandoned their "sled" and followed lmfao

Oh! Also if there’s any room for this one:  Modern AU-What would everyone’s favorite holiday movie be?

Ooh, great question!

Blade: It's a Wonderful Life

Trouble: Die Hard

Tallys: Klaus or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Shery: A Christmas Carol (Muppets version) or Little Women (if it counts)

Riel: A Christmas Carol (1938 version, though he'd tolerate the Muppets version) - side note: he'd ABHOR A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Chase: Home Alone

Red: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 

Ayla: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (animated or Jim Carrey version, not Benedict Cumberbatch version)

Briony: Elf

Lavinet: The Holiday or Love, Actually (I have actually not seen either of these but they're giving Lavi vibes 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Happy December! Sorry you got sick, but I hope you have a great Christmas to make up for it!  For the Q&A: what kind of gifts do the ROs prefer getting? I don’t mean specifics, more like practical gifts vs homemade gifts vs experiences instead of gifts, etc  Thanks!!!

Hi there, thanks for your great question! It's sort of been touched upon here in the #gifts tag, and I could've sworn I've answered it somewhere before, but since I can't find it anywhere (and especially not as nicely and succinctly as you put it), here goes!

Blade: I think he prefers sentimental gifts, experiences, or practical gifts; he doesn't tend to really desire super expensive or valuable gifts, because he's been taught to treat all objects as disposable in emergencies, and he wouldn't want to worry about losing or breaking his gift in the course of his work (so a really expensive shirt that he'd have to worry about getting stained, or a really rare item worth a lot of money might make him feel bad if he had to ditch it for whatever reason, would not be a great pick for him). Something that he can use or carry with him frequently, and which would make him think of MC whenever he used it, like a hunting knife or maybe even a matching pendant he could wear under his clothes, would be great! In short, something with care put into it, but which is also in a value bracket where it's easily replaceable. He'd also appreciate experiences or homemade items he can keep at home!

Trouble: I think he'd love any gift where clear care and attention was put into it: he loves comfy homemade pullovers or shabby scarves as much as he loves getting practical gifts like a tool box or a new pair of gloves! I also think the gifts he loves best tend to be gifts that can be shared with the recipient or with other people, like a shared experience (two tickets to a play or a new board game to play together, versus like, a new pillow just for him) or gifts with an element of fun--like he'd be more excited about receiving a bouncy ball than a new pair of socks, even if a bouncy ball isn't all that relevant to him. Or maybe gifts that can be actively used rather than are passive decorations or ornaments. Hope that makes sense!

Tallys: It's probably better not to get her a handmade gift, because although she'll appreciate the thought, Elven standards for crafts are quite high, so you'll probably end up feeling a bit self-conscious, especially if she decides to return the favor! I think she prefers simple, elegant, thoughtful gifts rather than huge grand gestures: plants or small, tasteful decorations for her room would be much more welcome than, like, ordering her a lavish custom-made gown or a huge stuffed animal or something like that! She has very specific tastes, so something that isn't too valuable or ostentatious is probably better for her. Or better yet, a shared experience!

Shery: she loves handmade and sentimental items, though she won't say no to being spoiled with expensive material goods (though you will have to deal with her abjectly trying to refuse it). I think she secretly craves being lavished upon like a princess, especially from a romantic partner, even though outwardly she'd deny it and would act embarrassed and abashed about being given a gold locket or a beautiful ring, etc., maybe to the point of you thinking she doesn't like it (but inwardly, she's thrilled and swooning)! But she'd also really appreciate something handmade and sentimental, like a scrapbook of shared memories together or a painting or stuffed animal, something like that!

Riel: he is super hard to get gifts for because he's not typically a fan of homemade gifts (they tend to clash with his aesthetics unless done incredibly well, lol), but he's wealthy enough that most expensive gifts wouldn't be all that meaningful to him, and he'd feel bad if MC scrimped and saved for something he could have just bought for himself. In the end, getting a gift for him is kind of an exercise in outthinking him, because the best gifts for him tend to be the ones he never knew he needed or wanted (like MC notices he always has a stiff neck so they make/order him some kind of custom desk stand so he doesn't always have to bend over his papers) and have to be pretty inventive! He'd also appreciate experiences so long as they're, you know, tailored to his interests and aren't just ways of forcing him out of his comfort zone lol (a personalized food tour of the city vs. an all-day trip to an amusement park roller coaster extravaganza). 

Chase: he's easy and pretty much likes any gift you deign to give him! He especially loves experiences, first and foremost; he tends to think handmade items are cute, but they don't tend to get him really hyped most of the time, it's more like "aw, thanks, sunshine, I'll treasure it forever!" in a kind, amused way, but it's not making him go crazy over it unless it's like insanely meaningful and heartfelt and sentimental (I'm thinking of like Shery knitting him a plushie or Caine making him a crude cat out of unpainted clay, not MC like painstakingly learning blacksmithing to forge him a wedding ring obviously lol). Buying him something thoughtful and personalized is a pretty surefire way to get a positive response; he obviously likes shiny things so can be excited by those (but doesn't appreciate it if you just mindlessly got him something glitzy without thinking about what he actually likes?). He wouldn't really like a practical, useful, "boring" gift, though, like "I noticed your boots are looking worn so I got you new ones!" or "a new umbrella" or "a frying pan for when you travel" or something like that!

Red: he tends to like gifts that are tailored to his interests or lifestyle, so I guess this sort of leans towards "practical" rather than purely homemade or sentimental? Like, an expensive quill set or a reading lamp or something in that bracket: no need for a really lavish, expensive gift, just something he can use frequently. Honestly, the safest bet for him is a book. He will always love a book. Even if it's a copy of a book he already has! Now he can use this one to write notes in the margins or something! I guess something homemade like a bookmark or a paperweight would also be well-received, rather than something homemade like a stuffed animal or a scarf, though of course he'd still appreciate the latter! He'd also really appreciate an experience, especially one that had a lot of effort involved rather than just money (planning a whole picnic to some secret location rather than just buying him a meal at a common restaurant down the street)! 

Ayla: she's happy with anything, really, though less comfortable with really expensive, lavish items (that she can't really reciprocate). I think she'd like something simple and transportable, but thoughtful; she'd also enjoy something that acknowledges different sides of her or encourages her to get out of her comfort zone, like a new hair pin for her braid or a ring (so, unexpectedly, something on the feminine side), or an experience doing something she's never done before and would never think to try on her own (so the opposite of a Riel or Lavinet; she'd be more excited if you told her 'we're going to go to this cheese festival you've never heard of' rather than 'I know you love watching the fights down by the docks so I arranged for you to have a private box for one'). 

Briony: whatever it is, don't make it temporary, like a bouquet of flowers or a baked good that will be gone once you consume it! She's very attached to her few belongings, so if you get her a present, it'll be something she wants to keep FOREVER and will literally hold onto for dear life; it would make her sad if it had some sort of expiration date or vanished forever! So something timeless is probably safer for her, not something she won't like or won't use use in a year (so not something super reliant on trends, like... a fidget spinner? Bad example, but you know what I mean)! The exception to this, of course, is an experience, she loves making new memories with her loved ones! (It would just be nice to be able to get a souvenir of it afterwards too!) She also really loves sentimental or thoughtful gifts that speak to an inside joke, shared memory, or what have you (so like a memento) as well, and doesn't tend to like practical gifts (like "you can use this fishing twine or compass on your next mission"!)

Lavinet: she tends to love expensive, well-made gifts... I think she would respond a bit less enthusiastically to a homemade gift, though she'd appreciate the sentiment in general! It would just be safer to do something else for her. She doesn't want to be materialistic, but being given something valuable does equate a certain amount of effort to her, especially if obvious care and attention was given to picking it out! So like a very nice fur throw that will keep her warm in the winter will be more appreciated than a cute little keychain to put on her backpack, or a handmade stuffed animal she'll never use. An experience would work, too, but it would have to meet her standards in a certain sense--it doesn't have to be "1,000$ Michelin dinner," but it can't be "I'll buy you a dinner at McDonald's and then we can go throw rocks by the quarry", if that makes any sense lmao...

Halek: he likes handmade stuff because he rarely got anything like that growing up, so he'd be quite charmed by cutesy, sentimental stuff like that! But really, anything that has thought and care put into it is good with him: he's very happy with a cookbook or two, or an experience tailored after his interests (not something where he feels like he has to do it in order to please MC, like a four-hour opera he's not that interested in but MC went through a lot of trouble to get the tickets for)! He's probably not one for dropping a ton of money on, though, his tastes don't tend to run expensive (unless it has to do with food) and he's keenly aware of making other people spend coin on him, so he'd probably feel guilty about receiving an ultra-expensive gift!

The long and short of it is, every single one of them likes experiences lol, so those are safest, as well as gifts that just generally had thought put into them, be they homemade, practical, sentimental, or expensive! I felt bad typing this all out because I don't want the characters to come off as these picky, ungrateful people who would be like disappointed by some of the still-thoughtful examples I gave! They'd love pretty much any present they received; there are just some that would elicit higher degrees of enthusiasm and glee than others!

I hope you and your partner feel better before Christmas 🥲

Idk if this exact question has been asked before, but if the ROs (plus Halek) didn't have MC, which one of them would each of them most likely fall for?? I know you have mentioned that none of them would get together, but I was just wondering which of the characters is most similar to each of their types if that makes sense 😭

Thank you, we're both already feeling much better! 😁💖 And it makes total sense! All of the info on Shepherd couples can be found in that tag, though mostly I do just go on about how it wouldn't ultimately work for any of them! There are some who are compatible personality-wise, but just don't have that physical attraction to each other, like Red and Riel, so ultimately I don't think any of them would really "fall" for each other! To keep things up to date, here are some pairings that I could see maybe linking up/trying something out in some unlikely circumstance, but ultimately none of them are perfect fits for each other and it wouldn't be romantic "love" so much as it would be "friends experiment with each other out of an idle sense of '...maybe?' before amiably or awkwardly fizzling out", or they're just purely theoretical matchups!

- Chase and Lavinet 

- Red and Riel 

- Tallys and Shery

- Tallys and Ayla (this came kind of out of nowhere for me but having them interact more directly in the cyberpunk zombie AU means I can kind of see it)

- Red and Briony

- Briony and Lavinet (brief one-sided crush from Briony) or Shery and Briony (brief one-sided crush from Shery)

Hope that's helpful!

Awesome hell. Getting sick is suck. I hope you will better soon. On the same note, how grumpy/miserable/pathetic the ROs and Halek gonna be when they got sick? Who refuse to rest even though they are obviously so God damn sick/on the edge of collapse that MC gotta wrestlethem into bed? Who gonna be baby and ask for lots ofbspoils from the MC?

Thank you rynna, I'm pretty much all better now and hoping I've put in my sick time for the year, so hopefully it doesn't happen again for a while! 🤣 It really is the worst! Your question is actually relevant because my partner and I get sick so rarely, it's maybe happened like 4-5 times in the ten years we've been together (until this month), and we always joked that I'm the stolid uncomplaining one and he'd probably be a little bit of a baby if he ever got really sick, but the opposite actually turned out to be true LOL he was a resilient champ who went about his busines and I was reduced to a pathetic sniffly blob haha! Anyway, the ROs' "sick" behavior is outlined in the tag here!

What would each of the Shepherds (+Croelle and anyone else) bring to a white elephant exchange?

Answered here! 

Sorry you’re sick, but I hope your Christmas is better! Speaking of Christmas, how would the ROs react to being stuck under mistletoe with MC?

Answered here!

Have you answered already how all of the Shepherds feel about Mimir? I like her a lot, and my first MC is good friends with her, so I'd love to know more about that! I loved the detail that Shery is the one who most often physically places food in Mimir's hands (I actually also just loved that detail about Mimir in general- it makes so much sense that she wouldn't remember to eat until physically handed food, and it meant a lot to me to see a character get that kind of accommodation from her community)

Aw, that's so sweet that your MC is good friends with Mimir, she deserves a good friend! 💖 The companions' feelings about Mimir can be found here, though you'll have to scroll a lot, as it's under the Spoilers section!

Spoilers

Are the bells on Anahera a reference to the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix??? Me and my Sabriel tattoo are praying they are!

Yes, great catch! A Sabriel tattoo sounds AMAZING: I absolutely loved Sabriel when I was younger and it still occupies a place of pride on my shelf! 💖

NSFW

So basically, we all know we can only start a relationship with Chase if we start a fwb relationship, but wouldn’t he be a lot more reluctant to starting a fwb with a Virgin!MC? Because it’d feel a lot more intimate in a way?

Hi, this has been answered here!