#Daedalus complex

[penhive]

New Narratives about Legends and Myths

In this narrative, I would like to take some personalities from legends and myth and weave them into psycho/narrative/fiction.

Perunthachan Complex

Perunthachan comes from a folk tale of Kerala and he is a skilled architect who murders his own son out of sheer jealousy.  From Perunthachan I have developed the Perunthachan complex and he can be considered as a father figure who hates his son and out of spite murders him. It is a complex of father atrocity.

Mahabali Complex

King Mahabali is the legendary, mythical figure of Kerala and his reign was one of prosperity and happiness. God Vaman grew jealous and visited him in the disguise of a dwarf and asked him for three boons. King Mahabali willingly complied and as soon as this happened Vaman grew in stature and his first step covered the earth and the second step the Heavens and then asked Mahabali for the third. The King Mahabali in obeisance offered his head and set a condition that he should visit his people every year as a festival and that’s how the festival of Onam is celebrated in Kerala. Mahabali complex can be described as a ritual of Gods being jealous of man’s success and also the death and return of a king.

Zarathustra Complex

Zarathustra was the God of Zoroastrian religion and he was later adopted by the Philosopher Nietzsche as Zarathustra the over-man or superman an embodiment of ego gratification and self-deification. Zarathustra complex stands for the triumph of individuality.

Abraham Complex

Abraham is the Old Testament patriarch and God wanting to test him asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. This Abraham willingly complied and when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son: God told him: ‘don’t: sacrifice a ram entangled in the thicket’. Abraham complex refers to personal gain and favor coming out of sacrificing something.

Icarus Complex

Icarus was the son of Daedalus who built the labyrinth to house Minotaur. He made wings for Icarus who flew close to the sun and got himself burned. Icarus complex refers to egoistic pride and satiating ambition.

Daedalus Complex

Daedalus was the skillful architect who built the labyrinth to house the bull Minotaur. Daedalus complex stands for perfection, harmony and balance.

Minotaur Complex

Minotaur was the bull who was placed in the labyrinth built by Daedalus. Minotaur complex refers to a peculiar situation where passions and emotions are subdued.

[soliloquent-stark]

You know what time it is. (Thinking about Tony Stark hurts time)

He's like Icarus to me. Tony Stark is a tragedy, his story was never meant to end happily.

Tony Stark had the perfect ending, the only ending that makes sense. Yeah, we should have known he wouldn't have gotten what he'd wanted. This is a boy born from war, an actual product of it. He's the aftermath of a galaxy destroyed by a bursting star, snake eyes on the board.

Iron Man is a prophecy. And the prophecy says he needs to burn. People call intelligent people bright because they know it burns. Being smart hurts, being smart means you're just something to marvel at. The smart people perform, so there goes Iron Man flying higher into the sky, letting the metal freeze. Shatter. Melt.

He's like Icarus to me.

Iron Man feels like a prophecy to me.

And sometimes it's so terrifying, knowing the story of Tony Stark. Rereading it a thousand times over and knowing that not only would you do the same, but you'd do it willingly. It's so scary looking at this character and seeing your potential. The full rise and fall.

i love this. i always thought of tony and peter as daedalus and icarus and always hoped to write a story around it but i think it's too complex for me to do it justice. my username was even daedalus-stark for like, a day, when i first made this tumblr. but i digress.

removing peter from this, tony as icarus makes a lot of sense. in addition to what you said, both his near-death in the avengers film and the one in the beginning of endgame allude to him flying into the sun, and though he ended up dying on earth, he still basically burnt to a crisp (fun) wearing and wielding the iron man armour he built as (pretty literal) wings for himself, and that's a bittersweet way of fulfilling his prophecy.

also waiting for my dear friend @fotibrit to come back from hiatus and join this discussion because i know they have much to say as a tony stark and greek mythology enthusiast.

[bleue-flora]

i wonder why cdream Said that ctommy being attachments to the server, bc that's not true like Even cdream had attachments before him like spirt. So i think it was to play with ctommy hero complex, like ctommy believes himself to be the hero of the story so what better than support this belief saying that he's the most important person in his plan and he is the cause of everything, to feed his ego so he would make sure he'd not question cdream's true plan. Like all the attachment vault was Made to make people pissed at him, so his speech to c!clingy literally played into what they wanted to believe for themselfs to make them feel like the role cwilbur give them

Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

Yes. Absolutely. (Have you been reading my drafts - are you in my head? This has literally been something rotting my brain recently…)

Honestly, I rewatched a lot of it recently and I forgot how freaking nonsensical he is in the disc confrontation, like man makes no sense. They literally had wars over attachments before Tommy arrived. (Now mind you the difference is the level of respect in those wars and stuff but the point stands) Tommy in absolutely no capacity created attachments. Nor does he need to exist for there to be attachments. And like the fact that some people think the finale wasn’t staged is wild. Like man is talking nonsense, and Dream may have been obsessive, unhinged, violent before but he never straight up lied so obviously and contradicted himself so insanely before. I mean the fish (I think it’s Bekerson) on the wall is from before Tommy joined.

It’s so insane. One of the funniest things I noticed was that the Skeppy cage is directly behind them when he first brings up the prison [clip]. And then as Dream tells them how he’s going to put Tommy in the prison, the Skeppy cage is literally right behind him [clip].

And they don’t even question that it’s weird. Their dead animals are sitting in pens and they hardly question it either, before or after he reveals the revive book. In fact, they mean so little it’s not confirmed they weren’t real until Daedalus.

Like damn, it’s so crazy it makes me wonder if part of that was intentional. If he almost meant to sabotage his own plan. Like as some cry for help. If they don’t pick up on it then great it goes to his plan, but if they question the insanity then maybe they’ll take five minutes to actually listen to him and pull him off the ledge. Because I know I’ve self sabotaged myself before almost like subconsciously as some kinda cry for help. So maybe there was one buried in there. One everyone missed…

I don’t know. But everytime I watch it my heart breaks a little more at how little questions are asked, because you are exactly right, he played the role they set for him. He just acted as they expected, so there was no reason for them to question it. And he played at Tommy’s ego, because as everyone knows, 9/10 times manipulating a man, just requires going for the ego. ;D

[sistersofsilver]

HEY WAIT. DOES ICARUS KNOW ABOUT HIS COUSIN?????

oh my god. does he know about perdix??? i too would have a complex fucking relationship in terms of my talent in comparison to my father. i also wouldnt rename daedalus hammer to icarus hammers not only because of the "reputation" and the self confidence issues. but also literally knowing your father murdered your cousin because he couldn't stand the competition that's...

oh my god, does he know?????

[riddledeep]

Dale's Full Character Profile

🍋 Chronically stressed owner of Dimmadome Global, Dimmazon, Dimm-'N-Out Burgers, and the Dome Zone Indoor Amusement Park (Coming soon)

🍋 Son of real estate tycoon Doug Dimmadome (Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome)

🍋 Husband of energetic slice-of-life travel vlogger Hadley Harrington... and father of Dev, I guess

🍋 Billionaire non-philanthropist

🍋 Late Daddy's not-pride and not-joy (It's fine; he's fine)

Notable Riddleverse ‘fic spoilers. Your mileage may vary.

Two AUs

Dale's profile aligns with both Cloudlands AU and City Lights AU. While the AUs are not canon-compliant with each other, in 2018 I set my OC Hadley up to marry Dale... a character I never expected to see in official media again :'D

As of September 2024, Dale's fate in Cloudlands AU has been tweaked to better mimic his A New Wish Season 1 lore. The original plan was for the couple to be betrothed - and married - young without romantic feelings for one another, but they'd grow closer as they raised their son (Dave) and took him around the world on adventures. And, well... Close enough! I'll take it.

As far as Cloudlands and City Lights canons are concerned, Hadley is Dale's wife and Dev's mom, and Dave's been replaced with Dev. My initial personality for adult Dale (Self-conscious and avoidant) still lurks under the surface, but he comes across as the same ol' confident jerk we know and love. The info below reads correct for both AUs!

OVERVIEW

Full Name: Daedalus Dallas Peddler "Dale" Dimmadome

Preferred Form of Address: Dale Dimmadome, Owner of Dimmadome Global Alternate Forms of Address: Doug's Son / Twerp / Mr. Dimmadome / Maverick / Dad His dad called him Daedalus or Peddler in his youth, but that phased out as he got older. Nowadays, only his wife calls him Daedalus (only when she REALLY needs to get through to him) Aspiration: Maintain his wealthy lifestyle and create his own legacy... in a hopeless attempt to "win his late dad's love."

Born: Spring of the Echoing Peaks

Zodiac: Soil Birthday: May 5th, 1986 Hometown: Dimmsdale -> Dimmadelphia, California; USA Age During Frozen Timestream: 16 - Turned this in both 2002 and every year for the 50 years retroactively condensed into 2003. Turned 17 in 2004. Age When Married: 24 Age at Dev's Birth: 26 (Nearly 27) Age During A New Wish Season 1: 36 (37 in May)

Species: Human

Ethnicity: Mostly English through the Dimm line with some Scottish, German, and Italian mixed in. Pretty familiar with his family history- He could kick your butt at Dimmadome trivia any day. Nationality: American (Texas proud!) (This is untrue)

Mindset: Extremely hardworking and devoted to a fault... to the things he chooses to put his time and care in. Not accurately described as "nervous and jumpy" so much as "paranoid and defensive."

Complex PTSD: Many layers of severe trauma related to his 7-year streak of abuse at Vicky's hands (on top of his parents not being... great). As an adult, Dale can push through a lot of things, but there's a lot of flickering between what he was able to handle as a kid (when he was used to being around such things) and stuff that's more triggering now that he's an adult who's kept his distance.

Notable triggers include lemon scent, loud voices, small spaces, the dark, hunger, rodents, toothaches, stomach pains, going too long without proper hygiene, and being barefoot (among other things). Some days he can handle his triggers fine, other days he can't... Just depends how haunted and jumpy he is.

Ex: Some days he mixes drinks and eats limes, some days limes are not distinct enough and touching the rinds upsets him. Sometimes he can touch dirt, other times he'll avoid it. If he made the decision to gulp down lemonade, he could do so - He grew up with it and is familiar with the smell and texture - but on a day he's not in the mood, it's very upsetting for him. Some days he's fine seeing citrus designs on clothing, other times he leaves the room to be annoyed in private. Notably, few people know about Dale's trauma as his dad was very insistent on keeping it quiet. Dale doesn't trust that information to others lightly.

Struggles with survivor's guilt and other complicated feelings about his trauma (often blaming himself for not being a good friend to Vicky and therefore pushing her to become rough with him). Struggles to connect with people and tends to keep his walls up. Lots of trust issues.

He sleeps with a nightlight and/or phone light on. Avoids things that remind him of cellars and trapdoors... Escape rooms and submarines would really affect him, but he does okay in helicopters. Mostly. I don't know why I'm saying this; he sends them crashing to the ground instead of landing properly.

If you ever tell Dale you sent your kid to bed without food, he will remember that and chalk you up as an unsafe person. What if you take his food? He will not come to your house, follow you, or be alone with you. You're scary.

Hypervigilance: Tendency to spiral, follow extreme trains of thought, and believe things that aren't true (Ex: "Hazel is going to ruin me, she wants to see me fail, she's part of a larger scheme, who does she work for, she wants to tear Dimmazon to the ground, she wants me to lose everything, she wants me on the streets, she and whoever she's working for are scheming to rob and hurt me).

Although not always obvious to Dev, Dale gets very anxious around mealtimes- Dev has hypoglycemia and Dale's the one who insisted to the school that the au pairs are medical devices to help monitor that. When Dev started school, Dale was absolutely the nervous parent who called multiple time to ask if he ate. He's grown more lax over the years due to his faith in the au pairs, but if he had his way, Dev would never be more than 10 feet from an au pair, ever. Too many bad things could happen. Terrifying.

Dissociation: During his stressed-out spirals, Dale sometimes loses his sense of being grounded to reality. Everything feels ambiguous and like it's trickling through his fingers. Sometimes he might still feel like he can function, but feels like his body's on auto-pilot and he's floating outside it. He might jolt "back to reality," check a clock, and realize an hour passed and he has no memory of it.

- Very common experience when studying falling stock charts, lying awake at night, thinking too much about his dad, riding in a vehicle, typing up data, fixing robots, cleaning things, in long meetings, showering, or during flirty bedroom moments. - Dale and Chloe are two sides of the same coin: Children struggling under grand expectations who go into anxiety attacks and dissociative episodes when criticized. - Adult Dale uses this as a shield for justifying his neglectful parenting ("You don't understand what I've been through / I can't be better than this because I have X and Y"). But if he ever said that to Chloe, her mouth would drop open for 5 seconds before she socked him in the jaw. Say good-bye to that last tooth, bud.

The boots, au pairs, beeping wristwatches, phone alarms, and physical touch from his wife or son help... a little.

OCD: Prefers routine- Hates going to bed without knowing what the plan is for the next day (or week, or month, or quarter... The list goes on). Doesn't love when things don't go as planned (and definitely doesn't like someone inviting him to go somewhere if he hasn't been warned in advance).

You will not get him to close his eyes and follow you for "a surprise." Repeatedly checks to ensure he left the doors unlocked so he doesn't get stuck inside (See also, open entrance to his tent in "Lost and Founder's Day").

Constantly checking his schedule out of paranoia he'll forget a meeting (Ex: Struggles to get through dinner without being plagued by thoughts that he was supposed to be doing something else). Tries to eat at a consistent time- Gets frustrated when Dev has other plans.

Lots of unwanted thoughts and impulses, especially in regards to pleasing his parents or Vicky. Sometimes lies awake wondering if his wife or business partners are manipulating him and he just can't see it yet (He's not great with criticism- See also, switching off the au pair that asked why he was hurting people).

Does not do well with his wife's hoarding OCD- Lots of boxes remind him of crates full of lemons and cramped conditions. Puts up with it because he has to, but he and Hadley have separate bathrooms, and he and the au pairs do their utmost to maintain Dale's bedroom spacious, clean, and uncrowded by her stuff. Hadley has her own bedroom, but it's so full of stuff that she seeks out his bed anyway.

Tends to scratch and pick at skin (in addition to pulling out hair). Mutters repetitive phrases sometimes.

Likes things laid out around him, easy to see, especially in a consistent color theme. Doesn't like when things don't match (Ex: If given the choice, he'd rather build an entire fleet of Version 2.0 au pairs rather than 1 or 2 new models alongside old versions... He'd just throw them all out). Has very specific layouts he prefers for buttons, switches, and knobs.

Often prefers symmetry (Ex: hedges and string lights on both sides), but he also likes alternating up-and-down patterns (Ex: Likes the levers in his control room to be up-down-up patterns. Tends to set them like that without thinking through the consequences of flipping things). Horrendous habit of walking into someone else's space and flipping THEIR levers without asking what they do.

Contamination OCD, especially regarding water (He does not like dirt in it) or food given to him by others (What if it's drugged or poisoned? This stuff could make him sick. Actually, we will sit here at the fancy dinner table not eating until everyone else does, and sometimes not even then. It's fine.) If you hand him a box of food, the first thing he'll do is check the expiration date. If it's too close, he'll throw it out.

Feels much safer with the au pairs cooking for him than a hired human chef. That's how people get murdered, Sally. "But what if his robots glitch-" Did I stutter. This man has never heard of "Too many cooks in the kitchen" and he always has several au pairs on the same meal at once. If the day comes where there is a glitch he can't fix, he will cook for himself instead of hiring someone. Do not touch his plate unless you're his wife or son, and even then... he might not eat it. But he also hates going without food, so you can imagine the internal conflict. Thankfully, he is actually married to someone who grew up cooking and who taught Dev to cook for videos. Unfortunately, Hadley is a hoarder and will keep food past its expiration date or when it's moldy. She is not allowed in the kitchen without Dale, Dev, and/or an au pair. Dale loses his mind if she goes in there unsupervised. You do not mess with his food anxiety. It's the thing they argue about most, mostly because Dale knows Hadley will just eat moldy things (or offer them to Dev) rather than throw them out. Thank goodness for au pairs that can cook and discard expired food; they are holding this family together. If you gave Dale the choice between eating something Hadley made or Dev made, he'd choose Dev's every time. He honestly likes his wife's cooking because she's dang good at it, but the picky eater is way more likely to throw things out if they're bad. -> Dale often compares his son to a machine, but in this case, it's a compliment. Dale would stake his life on Dev's ability to put his foot down to Hadley about expired food. He actually has had to do this when ingredients are separated from their labels; it's a huge relief that Dev also thinks her food hoarding habits are unsafe, because Dale finally has someone who Lives In This House and Gets It...

Misophonia: - Hypersensitive to sound; gets very snappy very fast when a sound upsets him. Often unclear what sets him off vs. what doesn't, but screams, squelches, splashes, and rodent squeaks are fairly consistent "Hell no"s. Less bothered by chewing food, but doesn't like whistling or random mouth noises for the sake of noise.

Likes beeps and boops, but prefers when he's in control of them (or they're in musical patterns)- Presumably, he likes when keys he presses make noise, as it draws him in and helps him block out sounds he doesn't like. Easily annoyed by random background sounds.

Very sensitive to the noises his au pairs make. Can instantly tell if one nearby is flying in the wrong direction, which tends to stress him out (What if his security's been compromised? What if someone snuck in? Must check immediately.)

Inattentive ADHD: Does much better with a to-do list or schedule in his hand than he does without (and does better when his list is typed on his phone or tablet instead of a piece of paper he's at risk of putting down).

Easily distracted when things don't snag his attention. Loses interest in meetings that stray from the topic of money and electronics. Although his wife's an influencer and puts out frequent videos, he doesn't watch them (unless something with robots or piles of money catches his eye). Mind glazes over when Dev shows him memes.

When something snags his thoughts, he has a difficult time shifting away from it (See also, unable to focus on the festival or his business in general while plagued by thoughts of Project H, which devolved into "all he talked about" for months). Doesn't switch gears easily when he's in the zone. Hates interruptions and has a hard time switching back if someone - mainly Dev - breaks his concentration.

See also, "only his wife calls him Daedalus and only when she really needs to get through to him." Dale snaps to attention when he hears his full name, but gets quite anxious as he assumes the worst.

Dale's not the best at organizing his thoughts in a coherent to-do list, but he's really good at sticking to a schedule once it's in hand. Maybe too good (and inflexible). He's picked up some of Hadley's list-making tactics over the years (and learned a lot from job shadowing his dad). He's getting better at prioritizing (and learning how to say No to pushy people), but the au pairs are a big help.

Sometimes gets sidetracked and changes course - see also, pursuing Danky in "Stanky Danky"; did Dev go home by himself? - and gets very sucked into what he's doing (Leading to rapid turnaround of his Danky Days marketing). Dale does have humans working in his company - and can turn to the au pairs for assistance - but he'll often do things himself since he feels he can do the work better and faster. He has a vision...

He talks a lot, tends to fidget, and interrupts people. Not very patient with those struggling to get their words out (his wife included). Still has outbursts and doesn't often apologize for cutting people off.

When his wife is stuck on a word, he'll usually fill it in for her and sometimes continue the sentence with his assumption of what she meant- often followed by the classic cartoon vibe of "Excellent idea! I'm glad I thought of it."

In the early years after his Vicky trauma, he was fairly quiet (Lots of racing thoughts inside his head), but even more fidgety than he is now. These days he might just bounce his leg, shift in his chair, or rub his thumb on the table while trying not to make noise that offends his misophonia. As a teen, he'd avoid eye contact, play with his sleeves, pick at stitches in his clothes, bite his nails, scratch his skin, and so on. Skin picking or pulling his hair is definitely one of his go-to behaviors since it's quiet.

Dale is less fidgety during meetings when eyes are on him, but he moves a lot when he's alone (See also, walking in the park while on the phone during "Lost and Founder's Day," taking work calls on Signal Hill more than once, and dancing in his control room).

Stats:

Power:  Average Endurance:  Above Average Wisdom:  Below Average Adaptability:  Below Average Charisma: Average Openness:  Below Average Conscientiousness:  Below Average Neuroticism:  Above Average

Residence: 1 Silver Spoon Hill, Dimmsdale -> 1 Dimmadome Way, Dimmadelphia

Occupation: Inventor (Robotics), owner of multiple businesses (Listed in first bullet point at top), Hadley's partner / assistant in her business affairs.

Heading Dimmadome Funds: 2014 - Present day Heir: Dev Dimmadome Previous Employment: Intern / assistant of Doug Dimmadome. We don't talk about the lemonade stand

BACKGROUND

Self-Perception: Went through hell for a best friend who didn't deserve his love and loyalty, but got up and made something of himself- Something his dad is sure to be proud of. No one in his family will ever be scrabbling for food again... and he's a lot more careful with his trust now than he was back then.

Alignment: Neutral Evil MBTI: ISTJ (Turbulent) Deadly Sin: Greed Heavenly Virtue: Diligence Love Language: Words of Affirmation Reinforcers: Security; making money; well-deserved vacation days

History: Born and raised in Dimmsdale, California- Specifically, in his father's precariously perched cliffside estate (S3's "Engine Blocked").

This extremely questionable environment to raise a child left him overly cautious of where he put his feet and whether people were walking towards him. He learned pretty fast that toys that go over the edge aren't coming back... at least, unless you pull up your big boy pants and take the long walk down to retrieve them from the beach.

See Dimmsdale Map - Dale grew up in the northwest (Through the woods, down a long and windy road, up on a cliff).

Dale didn't have many kids over to play during his youth - or throughout his teen years at that - as watching more than one kid would've really split his parents' attention. -> Adult Dale let Dev wander Dimmadelphia from a young age in part due to this warped idea he has of a child's ability to recognize danger (But mostly because he trusts the au pairs to grab him if he runs into the street).

You wouldn't know it looking at him now, but Dale was a very playful and curious child. He didn't have siblings and his parents' attention towards him was hit-or-miss. He kept himself entertained by exploring the beaches and cliffs around his home (along with any other location Doug brought him, such as Dimmsdale Farms and Dimmadelphia).

He poked through a lot of driftwood and garbage washing up on shore, taught himself to fix broken toys that went over the edge (like toy cars that popped their wheels out of place, or inflatable things that needed a patch).

Despite his mother (Pearl) living the stay-at-home-mom life, Dale preferred spending time with his father. Pearl came from generational wealth (as opposed to Doug's self-made wealth accrued from striking gold and using it wisely as he built up a larger fortune)- It was very important to her that Dale would grow up to be her vision of elegant and proper-mannered.

Pearl had very high expectations, especially in regards to what Dale ate. She struggled with an eating disorder in her teens and never quite let go of it, even though she recovered a lot. She cooked healthy meals and hated if Dale dragged his feet about it. Junk food was banned in the house, and if they attended an event with desserts, Dale was forbidden from eating them (She'd smack his hands if he tried). She commented frequently on his weight, as Doug's family is heavier than hers (especially since anxiety and eating disorders sprinkle her ancestry).

- When they were kids, Vicky snuck Dale sweets and snacks. What a good friend! - If you'd asked young Dale, he'd politely tell you he loves his mother, but as an adult, the question would be met with a pause. He has a lot of conflicting feelings about her... and we've only scratched the surface.

Doug went along with a lot of what Pearl said (Very "Doug is in charge of businesses and Pearl is in charge of the home life" vibes), so he never complained about the fresh-made meals even when Dale struggled with them.

Dale has some good memories with his mom - like playing Dimmanopoly and other board games - but he preferred the company of his relaxed father. Doug may have been too relaxed in some areas, leading to inconsistent parenting (with Pearl trying to set a standard that Doug ignored when she wasn't around and encouraged Dale to flaunt too with a wink and smile).

Dale loves his dad very much, having grown up with Doug as the epicenter of positive things in his life: Dad let him goof off, didn't control what he ate, took him to events (especially those hosted at the Dimmadome), and could do everything. He's so smart and fun!

Dale spent a lot of time following his dad around, being his very curious and eager-to-learn self. He happily volunteered for farm chores and found a system for cleaning and organizing; he'd get a head pat and words of affirmation from his dad, and has been neat and tidy ever since. Even as a very young child, Dale spent many afternoons happily scrubbing his dad's office desk, windows, or floor while Doug talked on the phone.

Dale's preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade years were marked with people who seemingly only took an interest in him because he came from wealth... or alternatively, kids who were children of wealthy families themselves. Dale attended many fancy social events growing up and became familiar with the rich kids his age range. Still, he reached the point where he began introducing himself outside the wealthy social circle as Dale Donovan... which is the name Vicky committed to memory (and never questioned).

Dale wasn't a kid who threw money around (See Remy Buxaplenty doing things like renting out an entire theater just for him and bags of money). He also wasn't "popular" per se- Not like Trixie, Tad, and Chad are in Timmy's era. In fact, Dale had no real money of his own and was pretty get-your-hands-dirty, down-to-earth. He was definitely provided for, but wasn't spoiled to the degree that Dev is. Dale was pretty content as a kid and didn't ask for much- He kept himself entertained, he liked exploring, and he liked cleaning. He lost some toys and balls over the edge of the cliff, but he learned to retrieve and repair them rather than throwing a fit and demanding a new one. Very "It's much faster if I do this myself" energy. - He'd ask for comic books (and maybe a few toys), but he received enough attention and friendship that he was simply happy with his life. It's possible he would've become more restless and spoiled if he hadn't befriended Vicky, or if the Lemonade Drama hadn't happened. -> All of this plays into Dale seeing himself as someone who worked for what he has. Yes, he inherited some generational wealth, but he doesn't consider himself a child who grew up with lots of liquid cash. He sees himself as a child who was grateful, worked hard, and achieved success. -> Dale gets frustrated with Dev and sees his outbursts as evidence he's a spoiled brat, hence Dev's bed being labeled S.S. Spoiled [in French]. Dale doesn't get why Dev "can't just be grateful he has a nice life." -> That said, he's also not the kind of dad who would tell Dev to stop hanging out with Hazel, even though Dale was frustrated with her during his Project H arc. Dale had a friend growing up- He figures Dev has several friends too (and is fine with Dev exploring the city... If only that dang kid would digitally mark when he's eaten!!)

Dale saw Vicky as "his only friend who cares about me for me, not my dad's money" and latched onto her. While he was still polite to other kids, Vicky knew him better than anyone (and he probably knew her better than most people, too... Arguably, he still knows her really well, which is uncomfortable for both of them).

See also, "50 Words of Dale and Vicky" (Age 6 to 9).

Dale always saw Vicky as clever, fun, and a good leader. He trusted her deeply and clung to threads even when she turned cruel towards him. Dale is very aware that "bad things happened" and "he felt hurt and scared for a long time," but he's uncomfortable when he thinks about Vicky as a person.

In his mind, the change was so extreme that he had thoughts like "This can't be who Vicky is- She's definitely under extreme distress. Something else is causing her to be lash out. I'm her best friend and I love her. She doesn't hate me; she's just upset. I forgive her, because that's what friends do. This is probably my fault; I'm not a good friend. I'm upsetting her. If I was better, she wouldn't yell at me."

He had a VERY difficult adjustment period after leaving Vicky. It was not easy for him to unlearn his attachment to her and it is consistently ambiguous to everyone (including himself) how he feels about her. He definitely hung out with her during his recovery period more than he should have.

Dale spent several years working through trauma- He reunited with his family, got doted on, was held to certain expectations, attended social events, played some basketball, played a lot of Sims, learned some languages, and gradually returned to school. Reunited with his mom - Lots of tension there - and was pretty clingy towards his dad.

See the Recovery & Time Freeze section of Dale's education details below.

When Dale was 19, his dad and Ed Leadly arranged a betrothal to Leadly's middle daughter. Since Hadley was someone Dale actually knew from rich people social gatherings, Dale was relieved for the chance to marry someone he knew rather than a stranger from out of state or something (and curious about getting set up with someone his dad liked).

Not much changed for them early on, but they made more of an effort to talk to each other at social events. They went on some walks, ate some treats, and got to know each other. Dale was still in recovery, Hadley more interested in school and friends, and that was expected. They didn't go out of their way to meet each other outside fancy social events.

With the betrothal in play, Dale continued his gap years and personal study; this set his university years up to overlap Hadley's. They lived apart for the first 2.5 years, gradually moving from "vaguely betrothed couple" to "pair who go on actual dates." Dale spent this time working up the courage to hold hands and touch another person (i.e. putting arm behind Hadley while watching a movie).

They married the January Hadley was 21 (and Dale 24), moved in together, and continued their schooling. Doug grew increasingly ill during this time. Despite his wife's excitement for kids, Dale was reluctant to go through with that part of maintaining the Dimmadome family line. Nonetheless, he is nothing if not everything his father wanted him to be; Hadley conceived Dev the summer she was 22 (~1.5 years after the wedding).

Doug passed just before Dev was born. Dale still beats himself up over "not just gritting his teeth and having the kid sooner so Dad could've seen him."

Since Hadley had graduated, she kept herself entertained by filming vlogs of her pregnancy and Dev's early years while Dale continued university studies (and working on the au pairs when he could find time). Dale wasn't often left the primary caretaker of Dev, but he sometimes was when Hadley wasn't available. Dev's hypoglycemia stressed him out very early, and Dale was relieved when the au pairs could monitor Dev's blood sugar levels.

When Dev was 6 and the au pairs were functional enough to handle some basic care (Like holding Dev back from playing in traffic), Hadley took to traveling the world. Ever since, Dale and the au pairs have split Dev's caretaking (with Hadley returning now and then before taking off on her next adventure).

Father-Son Relationships Note: Dale received plentiful physical affection from his father growing up, but as he grew older and more bitter, he resented his dad for giving him "just pats" without expressing his thoughts through words and engagement. He's since twisted his past into believing that Doug's care for him boils down to "needed an heir," that Doug has never been proud of him, and that his dad barely paid attention to him.

As an adult, Dale doesn't recognize how meaningful physical touch was to him. Because he always had it - and even got hugs from Vicky as a kid - he didn't know its absence and fails to process how desperate Dev is for physical affection.

Clarification: Dale lacked physical affection in the lemon pit, but had a lot of other things going on that made "not getting hugs" low priority.

Despite Dale's love for boots (and his fixation on the past, his trauma, and his dad) taking priority in his thoughts, he actually is a decent* parent when he's not working. Dale struggles to take breaks largely because he feels he doesn't deserve to (and/or believes he had to sacrifice work-life balance for success), but there are some situations that let him justify relaxing the reins.

Dale relaxes more during holidays. Yes, there's a lot of business-related things he can still be doing, but let's take Christmas as an example: It's a federal holiday... and it's a day where people open packages they received as gifts, which were possibly ordered through Dimmazon. He helped people find good gifts and have a happy Christmas. Thus, he deserves to relax... It's a holiday! Christmas and similar days Dale has decided are worthy of breaks are the moments Dev waits all year for: the time when his dad addresses him happily, keeps away from his phone and office, picks him up, plays games... or just crashes for a nap.

* "Decent Parent" Notes: Dale IS an inattentive parent and that should not be overlooked, but he brings Dev to city events, lets him hang out in his command tent, and responds to Dev's business-related questions in "Lost and Founder's Day." He greets him - even asking how he's doing this afternoon - when Dev returns home for lunch in "A New Dev-elopment." The au pairs were designed with the ability to cook and recognize when Dev wants a hug. Dale's not always there emotionally, but he sure can keep that kid alive. Dale's relationship with Dev is much more "job shadow me because this will be you soon" while the Buxaplenty's plan for Remy is that they will simply not die until they're very old. Who's Liam and why does it matter if he has enough skills to survive when they're gone? ... Remy. I meant Remy.

⭐ Dale is just "good dad" enough that Dev clings to that, believing "If Dad didn't have to work so much, he'd give me love and attention." Also, Hadley tends to see Dale either in his middle or positive states of being a dad and misses a lot of Dale's questionable moments... The "downs" are more likely to happen when Dale is the sole parent.

The only thing worse than a cluelessly neglectful parent is a try-hard who keeps leading you on. Come on, Dev- He's your father! When he's there, you have everything you've ever wanted... Don't you know how hard things are for him? He's doing his best; he had an abusive childhood and he works so hard. Of course he loves you. He'll come back around if you're patient; just keep on trucking. Smile wide. Work hard. Be a good boy. Give him another chance......

These breaks spent with family are the ones Dale internalizes as "This is who I am as a person; I've given my son everything and here he is. I made him. My kid's a brat, but I can't even blame him- I'm just glad he's safe. And honestly, no DNA test necessary- I get it, buddy. He's mine. I have a wife. I have a kid. I enjoy my family and life."

Despite the way Dale brushes Dev off a lot when he's in business mode, he's a good person. Why wouldn't he be? He's a real man's man- He makes the big bucks and provides for his wife and son! What more can you want? You're asking a lot. Geez... Dale was abused as a kid, you know. Cut him some slack :/

See also, the note on Dale's relationship with fundamental attribution error (Emoji star after the Personality section).

Personality: Dale's always been curious, but his bright mind and love for exploring new things is overshadowed by the trauma of his youth, which pushed him to fight for survival. In fact, he'll fistfight you if you push him into it- or even wrestle you to the ground. He craves security- His dad, boots, money, and straightforward instructions embody that for him. So does Vicky, but we don't have to go there.

Dale's a hard worker, very clever, and willing to fight for what he wants. He gets sucked into projects for weeks or months at a time, but he gets results. Fear, rage, and jealousy boil beneath the surface, but he's better at holding his temper than you'd think. Doesn't often snap at people- More likely to gripe and mutter. Not afraid to get his hands dirty- Always the first to leap into action when he needs something done. No one's as fast or committed as him- Why rely on other people when you can do everything yourself? Day after day after day...

Trust no one. Pay for nothing you don't trust. Make it yourself.

Beneath his "pulled myself up by the bootstraps" persona, Dale is anxious, awkward, and aware of it... The quiet and fidgety kid he was still lurks beneath the louder and more pompous exterior. He looked to Doug and Vicky for so long, he still struggles to be the prime decision-maker (apart from his impulsive adventures).

Dale exhausts himself with his day job, where he's a CEO of multiple companies and juggling tasks (A recent notable one being "overseeing the construction of an indoor amusement park"). In his personal life, he'd rather do low-brainpower things like take a nap- He has little energy for Dev after work. However, he'd find food for both of them if the au pairs glitched out. Their core purposes is to keep Dev from going into a seizure, passing out, or dying, and that's not an "I'll fix it later" problem. If we eat cupcakes in the Wall-2-Wall Mart parking lot at 2 AM, so be it.

After work hours, Dale wants to do the least-brainpower things he can, so he'll crash and sleep... or look to Hadley for instruction (when she's around). Sometimes Dev shows him videos while Dale is sprawled on the couch, but his dad does not understand what he's looking at 90% of the time.

Unless he's in a very stubborn mood, Dale tends to do what people tell him to do. He won't if it's in direct conflict with his money-making goals, but if you ask him to be an extra pair of hands while bringing in party decorations from your car, he'll do it. Beyond his egotistical attitude and hatred for recycling, he's a surprisingly good neighbor & husband (which is probably why people don't realize how neglectful he is to Dev). If you find him in the supermarket and ask if he knows where the spaghetti sauce is, he'll point you towards it. His default response is to be friendly... It's just something that was heavily beaten out of him by Vicky's cruelty, his dad's "Don't talk about your trauma" attitude, and the cutthroat business world. See also, ignoring Hazel's name when he saw her in "A New Dev-elopment," but still greeting her and Dev and asking how their afternoon was in the first place.

Dale is curious, likes learning, and will follow the lead of anyone he deems interesting, relevant, and knowledgeable:

From this post about Dale and Kevin Crocker going out to dinner

Somewhere underneath his poor parenting, Dale wants to be a decent family man... After all, he can't disappoint Daddy there either. But he didn't have good role models for that and putting in the work is hard. Someday... someday when he's not so busy...

⭐ Dale is a textbook case for "guy who doesn't fall into fundamental attribution error easily." In other words, Dale takes circumstances into account when judging people's actions (not just attributing things to personality)... Perhaps to a critically unhealthy degree.

- Dad loves him very much. He's just really busy... Dale already has his father's love; what he needs is something he unquestionably deserves because he worked for it: Daddy's pride in him. - Vicky can't be a horrifically cruel person because no one is actually like that. Vicky is just stressed and scared. She's doing her best and doesn't understand the effect she has on people. - Conversely, Dale has a very hard time recognizing the effects of his neglect on Dev. Of course he cares about Dev- Would he provide for him or spend time with him if he didn't? -> Dale doesn't see himself as "a bad person" or "a terrible dad" or "someone who would hurt a child." He sees himself as "a guy trying to grow and make money in ways that some people look down on or consider amoral, but everyone defines morals in their own way and you can't please everyone, so he's going to chase success regardless of what others think."

At his core, Dale is haunted not just by the abuse Vicky inflicted on him, but by the lack of praise and support he received from his dad growing up. But it's okay. Dad was just busy. He's over it. It's fine.

Education: Dale was a very enthusiastic student. He loved learning and would raise his hand for almost every question. He consistently landed top scores, was deemed "the smart kid," a suck-up, and a little too "goody-two-shoes perfect" for his own good.

Although restless and a little forgetful - ADHD be like that - Doug and Pearl kept him on track, and he did a mostly good job at turning in his homework.

Dale was very much the type to stand up to bullies. He got into several fights growing up, even as a 1st grader (Even with Vicky, who forgave his stupid acts, because she is a good person).

Elementary School: Dale attended preschool and kindergarten at a private school, but asked to be put in the same class as Vicky for 1st grade. Doug shrugged and did so, glad his son had a friend. Thus, Dale moved to Dimmsdale Elementary (with his dad's personal assistant dropping him off, as he was outside the school bus range... See also, lived beyond the woods up on a cliff).

Dale disappeared at the end of his 3rd grade year. He missed several years of school, including his entire middle school period.

- Despite several kids aware of Dale's family name, Vicky believed his surname was Donovan. Why would he lie about that? - If you asked Vicky directly, she'd say something like "Well, I found out his real last name at some point, but he always told me it was Donovan, so I kept calling him that. I thought he came from a family of successful farmers." Whether any of that is true is anyone's guess.

Recovery & Time Freeze: After leaving Vicky's lemonade factory, Dale spent some time "crashing"... mostly curled up in bed, struggling through a lot of feelings, and remembering how to live in a house (Preparing food, adjusting to bright lights, people coming and going, getting dressed every day, and so on).

Generally, Dale got pushed into things (like social interaction and independence) by his dad before he was ready. This may have been beneficial in the long term (seeing as Dale wanted to lay in bed for weeks or months, or maybe on the couch if he was daring), but he wasn't happy about it at the time.

Dale played a lot of PC games (Mostly Sims) and slowly caught up on his schooling... or at least the parts Doug cared about.

Notably, this is how Dale spent the 50 years time was frozen. He also picked up new skills like languages (for fun because he found them interesting), but like everyone else, he was under "It's uncommon to advance through school years because of time manipulation" rules, so... he looped through recovery, personal study, and a small amount of academia- Not a full year of schooling like other kids his age.

Dale also looped through job shadows with his dad. He became very knowledgeable about meticulous business workings and the stock market, farm-related expertise, and social events.

He also became incredibly good at card games (like Blackjack and Texas Hold'em), which surprised everyone including himself. He could consistently clean out his dad's gambling buddies after several loops at age 16, which they found adorable. They were very excited to take him to Vegas when he turned 21.

"Is that legal even if it happened in their own home?" -> We don't have to talk about that. Unrelated, but the Dimmadomes sure own a lot of business fronts and buy weird art pieces, huh?

Since businesses, product releases, and tech advancements continued changing as the years went by, Dale was exposed to many new things and was arguably more prepared for adulthood thanks to the time freeze than any other noteworthy character in the Cloudlands or City Lights AUs (except perhaps A.J.)

Like everyone else, he thinks he gained all his knowledge during 2003- Not during repeated 2002 years.

High School: Dale enrolled in a private school, his learning supplemented with private tutors - namely Denzel Crocker - but that didn't stop him from loitering around Dimmsdale High in search of Vicky. He had several run-ins with her, Justin Jake Ashton (Mark Chang), and other kids their age.

From this post about Dale (and Happy Peppy Gary) spying on Vicky & Justin

Further Education: Took several gap years before attending Archimedes University in Dimmadelphia. He took his courses slowly, just a few credits at a time, and his schooling was stretched out over a long period. He studied robotics and business (and later got a master's).

During this time, Doug passed on, Dev was born, and Dale inherited the Dimmadome fortune.

Favorite School Subject: Science -> Physics -> Robotics. He also enjoyed math, art, and marketing.

Least Favorite Subject: Biology

Clubs: Robotics, of course! (Nerd)

Friend Group: Jeremy and Watson- Upper class folks such as Remy, Trixie, Tad, Chad, Veronica, and Hadley. Also Mikey Munroe (Security expert like his parents), but who's asking?

Notable Likes:

- Boots - Robotics - Naps - Getting into a flow state without distractions (Especially noise) - Boots again - Drawing (Especially with colored pens or markers) - Dancing - Rodeos (plus state fairs, farms, cows, and horses) - Big buildings - Sims games and any card or board game that lets him accrue many pieces and cards. Worst Uno player you've ever met. - Snappy turnaround on his projects- He lives by an "It's faster if I do it myself" attitude - Feeling like he deserves rest (Like that ever happens) - When his wife is away and he gets the bed to himself - When his wife is home so the hypervigilance doesn't hit as hard - His wife :( - Following lists and meticulously organizing things - Cleaning products that don't smell like citrus - Puffy jackets with chunky zippers - People commenting he's gained weight - Sunlight (but no, he won't open the bedroom windows) - Rain and snow - Paloma cocktails - Boat rides - Gambling - Basketball - Animal print - Hunting - His wife in THOSE boots

Had Fairy Godparent: ... This page seems kinda smudged.

Favorite Wish: Hm. I don't think the archives ever wrote that down...

Goals:

- Build generational wealth to pass to his descendants - Stop overthinking things at night; go to bed satisfied - Accrue a lot of knowledge and learn many skills - Teach Dev things about business so he'll be more prepared to take over the Dimmadome fortune than Dale was - Reduce the number of prototypes it takes to land a great robot - Unwind... Rest... Take more guilt-free naps - Be a good family man (??)

Beliefs:

- Hard work will be rewarded - Security and stability are everything - Good branding doesn't guarantee success, but it sure makes things easier - Don't separate a traumatized person from their comforts. Or most people from those things. But Dev shouldn't have screen time too close to bed- Taking his tablet is good for him. - No one is truly evil; everyone is a good person with reasons for what they do. Knowing why people act the way they do is the key to negotiation and communication - Anything can be learned. Anything - and any person - can be improved with hard work, time, and dedication - Robots are helpful and improve quality of life... Good robots that people who know what they're doing built, at least. - Being left unsupervised as a child probably messed him up. Thank goodness Dev has au pair guardians - The ends justify the means

Fears:

- Disappointing his dad - Being abandoned by everyone (Vicky, his dad, his wife...) - Losing everything he's built up - He and/or his family getting kidnapped (and tormented) - Ed Leadly (Father-in-law) - Waking up in the lemonade factory (It was all a dream...) - Vicky Incorrect. Vicky is his friend. She would never hurt him.

Upsets:

- Losing money - Faulty au pairs - Random background noises - Animals (especially furry ones; very unhygienic) - Dev talking back to him, fidgeting during social events, or refusing to eat at a nice restaurant - Lemonade - Hadley dragging her trash into his space (or gifting him things that don't fit his organization system... but she's forgiven) - Loose seashells or stones lying around - Being separated from his boots - Unlabeled items that might contain lactose or mold - Dev not marking on his digital checklist that he's eaten around mealtimes. Boy, don't play these games... - People sneaking near his house

Comforts:

- His lucky boots - The Dimmsdale Dimmadome - Clothes that ease body dysphoria (Like puffy jackets that don't cling to his thin frame) - Things neatly put away (and his stuff still in the same place he left it), especially in his closet, office, bedroom, car, and bathroom - Having enough light to see - Clean water, abundant food, plenty of cash... The basics - Words of affirmation - Decorations and branding that remind him of his dad (Even if he's not a big fan of his dad's hats personally)

Indulgences: Cartoons from his childhood... but he doesn't watch often. When he does, it's probably with headphones on (and the sound low) with the door extra locked.

Sometimes he splurges on Crimson Chin comics since they can go for a high price (and he can afford it). Splurging often sucks him in, leading to binge scrolling and bulk memorabilia purchases.

Some of this stuff ends up in Dev's hands or Hadley's hoard. Dale will hold things in his own room briefly (i.e. while actively using them), but if he doesn't have a consistent storage space, he'll give them to a family member, sell them, or throw them out when he's done.

I am lying. You don't throw things out in Hadley's household!

EXTERNAL

Verbal Notes: Loves to talk; gets big and loud about it. Likes adjectives. Comes across as quite cheery (Was scolded post-lemonade factory for being quiet and fidgety, which was "weak and shameful"- He learned to "shape up" and mask a lot of what he felt).

Loves talking about himself, his businesses, and his dad's accomplishments.

Picked up old slang terms from his dad (and Dad's gambling buddies... who were also Dale's gambling buddies). "Tough titties, kitties" is one of his go-tos, though he censors it as "tough tittles" around Dev.

Other favorites are "Nifty!" (Cool), "Swanky" (Looks great; elegant), "Ah, applesauce!" (Dang it!), "Get a wiggle on" (Let's go; get moving), "Dry up" (Shut up and get lost), and "Bank's closed" (No making out tonight). I wish I was making that last one up. Dev finds these embarrassing and rolls his eyes, but at least he has something to throw back at his dad if Dale ever grumbles about Dev's preferred slang. Also, Dale would rather say "folks" than "everyone" or "guys." He sees people as customers, clients, or walking wallets, but will correct himself to more socially acceptable words (like "lovely people," "other students," "persons," or "kids your age").

Not afraid to share his thought process even if it's a little amoral (See also, "tends to assume others experience emotions the way he does"). When he sets rules and expectations, he'll explain why (Ex: "You can't go out alone; the au pairs are on the fritz" or "Finish your homework before dinner; we're going out tonight"). Dale likes knowing what to expect, so that's how he talks to other people.

Example from canon: "Devin, turn down that game. I can hear the incessant beeping and booping and tapping all the way in my office. I have an important project I'm working on for Founder's Day." -> As opposed to "Turn that off; it's loud." Dev picked this up from him- It's in the way he tells Hazel he's no longer interested in the treasure hunt because "It's silly to jump through hoops." Then he IS interested and explains why he snapped at her. He expresses frustration with Hazel's lack of frustration when he cheated in Rock, Paper, Scissors, etc. Say one thing about those Dimmadomes... They're not always on the same page, but they sure explain what they're thinking. I guess you don't get to be a great business negotiator without communication skills.

Dale's instinct isn't to be complimentary. During business meetings, he'll grit his teeth and fake enthusiasm, but he's definitely had moments where he wants to insult everything around him. He's sweeter with his wife than with most people, but focuses on topics like financial success and elegance.

Ex: "Way to rake it in, Hadley! The stocks are up this month" & "Now that's a classy look" as opposed to "You're such a hard worker" or "You look beautiful tonight". It's just his brain's go-to.

Since he didn't care for Doug's physical affection like pats and hugs but craved praise, Dale mirrors that towards Dev. He expresses pride (i.e. "Keep up the good work and you'll be running with your old man in no time") when he feels Dev "achieved success"... which usually means Hadley's Dev-themed videos are doing well, Dev won money from a tournament, or Dev scored all A's at the end of the year.

Big "Great; that's what I expect. You're a sharp kid; a real chip off the old block- you just need to apply yourself more" vibes.

He tends to overlook or diminish Dev's accomplishments. Are all A's that impressive if you weren't the best in class? Dev gets praised, but it feels hollow... He is never good enough.

In other words, Dale's compliments sound backhanded despite them not technically being rude... He just focuses on "things that help our success and status" more than the people he's addressing.

Dale uses tag questions like "Innit?", "Wouldya?", or "Do I?" Many sentences end with upward inflection. [ Think ~, ?, !, or :) ]

He has a great memory for names. Or rather, the importance of knowing names was drilled into him early on. He'll address people by name if the situation calls for it (even if they're a trash monster). And don't you dare insult the trash monster. That's his friend now. Very good at greeting people that he cares about when he sees them, especially in business situations.

Almost always calls his son Devin. Occasionally calls him Dev or a special nickname like "Kiddo," "Bud," "Son," or "Junior." Dev's full forename is Development, but that's reserved for special moments... Like pride, but never in scolding. Dev doesn't jump in alarm at the sound of his full name the way Dale does- Dale calls "Devin!" if he's mad. For all his emotional distance and dehumanization tendencies, Dale genuinely views Dev as his son. He refers to him as such and doesn't cut ties for the sake of professionalism... which is more than I can say for some people...

Language: Speaks fluent English; can pull off business talks in Mandarin and Japanese.

Better at Japanese since his wife's a big fan and has been learning the language since she was a kid, but Hadley speaks it with "an anime accent" and Dale speaks it with a more professional one.

Languages were one of the things Dale kept himself entertained with during his mental recovery years... Played a lot of video games with different language settings, listened to a lot of audiobooks. He knows all the Simlish words that actually are consistent words.

Physical Notes: Very expressive with his body language, but if you compare him with other people, you'll detect a certain stiffness or reservation in some movements (Ex: Tries to stop himself from flinching. If he does, he'll snap upright and square up... General sense that he doesn't let himself feel certain emotions. Compare with Mikey Munroe, who bends his entire body backwards and curls up when startled).

Tends to lean, often cocking one hand on his hip. Usually has a device in his other hand. Often walks while scrolling through his phone or tablet, or while talking on the phone. Prone to fidgeting (Ex: bouncing his leg) or dancing, especially when he's in the zone. He's dramatic even in his office- kicking himself across the room on his swivel chair or acting out mental images. Walks around a lot while listening to music, pretending he's in a dramatic scene.

Doesn't pocket his hands as much as Dev does and is more likely to pocket one than both. Blinks infrequently. Stares a lot (especially at screens). Often avoids eye contact.

Not afraid to pump his arms, throw his hands in the air, dance, stomp, hop, finger gun, flash peace signs, or whatever it takes to get people's eyes on him while he's trying to sell stuff.

In his teen years, Dale slouched a lot, fidgeted - especially by rubbing his cheeks since his mouth hurt - and struggled to look at people. His dad really pushed him to stand straight, shake hands, and talk more.

Does not often touch people - combo of OCD and trust issues - but he'll lean on them if he's in the zone and talking big (Ex: thumping his elbow on top of Danky while baby-talking him).

Has an easier time touching people with a clothed arm than making skin to skin contact.

Doesn't reach for people absentmindedly. Way more likely to hold his hands close to his chest than take his wife's hand. But sometimes he does, especially in front of cameras (You can't be the Dimmadome power couple if you don't convince everyone you're a couple). He'll clap a hand to Dev's shoulder when talking to or bragging about him.

He does this a lot at bustling social events because if he takes his hand off that child, he will probably lose him within 10 seconds.

Break Dale's trust forever by grabbing his extended hand and yanking him forward (or squeezing way too tight). Like an elephant, he will never forget and will keep an extra step away from you at all times. Do not grab or push him. He will go on guard around you.

Handedness: Right Body Language: Often stiff with a tendency to stare, though he does a lot of leaning. Becomes expressive when he's talking up a storm. Doesn't blink much. Usually holding a phone or tablet. Hair: Thin, often splitting at the ends, and comes out in clumps. Has some pomp and fluff to it, but he's pulled out a lot of that over the years. His front loop is a natural curl that will spring out again even if he clips that bit off. Specifically, it grew in as he got older and his front puff reduced in size. I don't always, but I like to draw the two stray hairs in the back like lowercase Ds (hanging on from their bottoms). Teeth: Had his missing teeth replaced with gold. Back when they were missing, Dale avoided smiling or talking much. Mouth hurt a lot for years. Scars: Physically, not as many as you'd think. But emotionally? Imagine the toil. Tattoos: None... to his wife's disappointment. Hadley would love for him to get a little cherry blossom with a cute branch wrapped around his ring finger to compensate for the sensory issues his wedding ring gives him, but being stabbed repeatedly with a sharp object does not factor into his life goals. When he goes out of town for business meetings, Hadley will often video call and ask to see the ring and/or ask him to write her name on his chest or stomach. She is THAT paranoid... but y'know, we can make small allowances for her. She's his friend wife!

Style: Has a funky, modern, sleek, and not necessarily professional style (See also, chunky zippers and sequin pants). Gives off huge "new money" vibes that make people in his social circle glance at him funny, but no one says anything because he's a billionaire.

Wears his puffer jacket even in the California summer because it makes him look less scrawny. It's a recent addition to his wardrobe, but it tremendously improved his confidence and self-perceived attractiveness. He loves it and is very proud that he found it himself. This man is also a tech geek who does not really understand fashion. He dresses how he wants.

Notably, Dale is very neat and doesn't like items that don't fit his closet organization. He'll humor his wife when she brings him new clothes, but they both know he'll discard it if it's inconsistent with what he already has and likes.

Dev owns a lot of oversized shirts because they were passed down from Dale; Dev wears them to bed sometimes.

Regular Clothing: Big puffer jacket and sequin pants, really leaning into that funky modern geek vibe. Casual Clothing: Anything baggy that doesn't cling to his scrawny figure, but it has to be something with a tight enough collar that it won't hang off his shoulders. Besides white and gold, he also likes purple... It's safe... Nightwear: Animal print boxer shorts. Sometimes leopard, sometimes zebra, sometimes cow... You never know! Hadley gives him pajamas for her holiday videos, so he'll wear those until he doesn't want to. He tends to like his things, but he also likes new and fun things. Formal Clothing: White suits with black and gold accents, as Dimmadomes are wont to do. Other: Cannot emphasize enough how much this man likes animal print. He will wear anything you give him, but cow patterns are a favorite (Probably because he grew up around them). Being barefoot is a huge trigger for lemonade pit memories (specifically, having dirt and grime underfoot). Dale has a stockpile of identical boots because they bring back memories of a safe childhood, his dad's affection, and his recovery process... but he'll still cling to one pair until it's absolutely falling apart. -> Mostly, he only takes the boots off only when getting dressed (They won't fit, but he'll leave them on if he's putting on something with wide leg holes) or in the shower (He cares a lot about scrubbing his feet to get off grime since that's the point of wearing them). -> If he gets separated from his boots, he'll keep his feet off the ground and call for someone... but everyone in his household knows not to touch them, so he's rarely without. Yes, the boots stay on in the bedroom. All the time. Not a big fan of hats... Specifically, his dad's style of hat. He would never, ever tell his father that.

Height: 6′4″

Hygiene: High risk of neglecting hygiene due to hyperfixating on his projects. The au pairs give him reminders, but it's not unusual for him to brush those off. He tries to take care of his remaining tooth.

Dale takes long showers due to mild contamination OCD (especially regarding his feet)- the shower is the only place he likes taking off his boots, and he cares a lot about scrubbing his feet. The feel of dirt or crumbs on his feet is a big trigger, and he wears the boots to take the edge off that.

Sometimes he dissociates, so he ends up in the bathroom longer than he needs to. He might jump on a phone call with Hadley to keep grounded, but strictly no one else- No business talks, no extended family. Wife only.

This is Dale's personal self-care-slash-check-in-with-wife time and he gets snappy if Dev interrupts him. Keep conversation to dinner, kid. If you want to talk to your mother, hop on call in the other room.

Morning Schedule: Brief morning shower (super quick rinse), hair care, check Dev marked himself as "Ate breakfast" on his digital daily checklist, start work.

Typical Day Schedule: Work- Lots of reviewing reports, contacting people, giving presentations, and sitting in meetings. Juggling multiple businesses. Check Dev ate lunch.

If he didn't mark it, stress out. Call school nurse; get assured he's fine. Pace around stressing over Dev until he finally gets the indication he's eaten. Stare blankly at screens, trying to get back in the zone. The usual.

Evening Schedule: Shower. Dinner with Dev (sometimes with fancy people). Stress out if Dev is late.

Dinner is when Dale and Dev talk the most. It's at that time that Dev will talk about his day at school (Ex: If he scored well on a test). Dale doesn't have much to say to Dev because the au pairs and/or Dev's daily checklist keep him on track with chores, homework, hygiene, and "No screen time an hour before bedtime" reminders. That said, if Dale makes plans that involve Dev, he'll tell him (Ex: "Tomorrow we're going out for dinner, so be ready to go by 5:30" or "I need you to pass Dimmlets out to your class." Not great at expressing interest for Dev's life, but he sure tells you his plans. Also, general father-son conversations like Dev getting permission to host a sleepover ("The Wellsington Hotellsington").

After dinner, Dale handles personal life money-related things, like bills, checking stocks, or donating money to Dev's school ("28 Puddings Later"). He'll handle communications with friends and family during this time if applicable (Ex: If his in-laws text to ask about family reunions).

Also does repairs or upgrades to the au pairs (and focused on Project H for a while). He's often on the phone with his wife while doing this since she gets lonely when she doesn't hear from him. Sometimes he's on the phone with other people, including for business reasons (Thus cutting down Dev's ability to engage with him).

Dale can easily get sucked into his projects, but the au pairs will get him when it's bedtime and that helps. He'll tidy up, do some night hygiene things, and try to sleep.

Dale is pretty repetitive with his schedule; he likes it to run smoothly. Very frustrating when things unexpectedly go awry (Ex: Dev was late getting home for dinner). That's a sure way to land him in a bad mood and he's more likely to be snappy about things that annoy him (See also, misophonia).

Dev does his best to appease his dad, but he feels awful if he slips up and his dad gets very grumpy about it. He will absolutely get home on time (and will probably be sitting at the table early) if he wants to ask permission for something. And if he was late, he'll be as quiet and non-needy as possible.

Hadley's often away from home, and Dale's often exhausted by the time he heads to bed. Maybe some light flirting, but sleepy cuddles are much more likely than sex. Their fantasies are a little elaborate... Tired owners of multiple businesses gotta sleep sometime.

Weekend Schedule

Slower to get dressed and up on weekends. It's not uncommon to work from bed, checking up on things and sending emails (Maybe with au pairs bringing him breakfast). Hadley sleeps late, but thrashes less in the early morning hours than she does in the night, so there's that.

Weekends are really their only option for married life intimacy, and only if Hadley's home. Despite Dale's general performance anxiety, he enjoys the cosplay and roleplay aspects, which can get pretty fancy. Work hard during the week, play hard on your half-day off.

He's not always into the things his wife's into, but he likes being told what to do, so take that as you will.

Don't worry- he's very good at pushing his own wants too.

There's plenty of general house stuff to do too, like fixing au pairs and making sure everything's running with the bills and garden.

Dale is mildly more attentive to Dev's personal life on weekends (especially Sundays and/or when Hadley isn't there), offering the hope of a relationship that keeps Dev going between holidays. Still, Dev doesn't see his dad as much as he wants to. It's fine.

Sleep Schedule: Does not sleep well. Even when his wife isn't thrashing around in bed, he's a light sleeper and tends to jolt awake. Very sensitive to sounds; struggles to feel safe at night. Often crashes into naps.

That said, having Hadley around does have its perks, like reducing anxiety that someone will sneak in and kidnap him.

Dale and the au pairs have made multiple attempts to clean Hadley's room so she'll sleep in hers instead of his, but it never works. She'll cuddle up to him despite Dale's annoyance with her thrashing around in her sleep. He tolerates it because... Let's be honest- He's aware he's A Lot, so he can put up with the fact that he's a married man and it's common for couples to share a bed. And while they're both awake, the cuddles aren't bad, so there's that.

Often struggles to drift off and then jerks awake, hypervigilance kicking in (and flooding him with adrenalin). He'll slip out of bed and make the rounds (Checking on Dev himself rather than sending flashy, beeping au pairs... It's easier to find the source of strange sounds when you're not trying to listen over the sound of whirring fan blades).

Sometimes gets up to work in the middle of the night to get a head start on projects. Often looks for food. Sometimes Dev comes down in the early morning to find his dad on the kitchen floor surrounded by boxes, often with a huge pile of opened things that are now "at risk foods" that clearly need to be thrown out. Food anxiety is rough.

Dale actually does like cuddling... Hadley's just not good at staying still. He likes holding Dev more than you'd think- After all, "Someone might kidnap my son" or "My son might die if he doesn't eat" are thoughts that keep him up at night, so it's easier to fall asleep when Dev's on the couch with him (or at least in the room).

Dev might seek him on occasion (i.e. holiday naptime, Mom's away and Dev's spooked by something, or camping), but Dale never asks for this (because... he's not going to ask his son to sleep in bed with him). He does request Dev or the au pairs to knock on his door if he came home late, but that's it. And Dale gets frustrated when Dev's not home for dinner, so sometimes he'll grump and grill him on what kept him out so long and if the reasons help him network. Dev usually avoids approaching his dad, not wanting to upset him (especially if he's ill or feels dumb for being spooked by loud noises). It's a balancing act, but whatcha gonna do?

PERSONAL

Dale's Family Tree: HERE

Disclaimer: If future New Wish seasons give us relatives for Dale, this family tree (and Dale's history section) may change. It also might not. We'll see!

Relationship Status: Married to Hadley Harrington (Ed Leadly's middle daughter). Dale loves her dearly, as far as he has love for a fellow person. Don't quote me on that; it's possibly untrue.

Wedding Anniversary: January 21st, 2012 - A few months before he turned 25

Dale reunited with Hadley at age 15 (after escaping Vicky) as she was part of the social circle he was re-introduced to after many years away. Since he's 3 years older, she was quite young when he went off the radar, but he's technically known her all her life.

Hadley's older sister (Harper) is Dale's age. For a while, he knew her better- He used to play with her as a kid. Harper's the one he (presumably) would've been betrothed to if she didn't fight her dad on the idea of betrothals in general. Hadley didn't mind marrying a man she might not love, so the offer fell to her. Dale still considers Harper a friend and enjoys seeing her at family reunions, but Harper and Hadley don't get along well. Not that Dale notices.

Since he's known her for years, Dale grew familiar with Hadley; she's easily the person he's closest with. He trusts her with his life in almost all situations... but he will still ritually check the expiration dates on every ingredient she cooks with (and will sometimes make a loop to check on things that make him nervous even if she already did it). And yes, he still loves his boots and will say so. See? You don't need to hoard to be happy! Just hyperfixate for life!!

It's almost hilarious that Dale has extreme trust in Hadley while she's paranoid he'll cheat on or divorce her. Hadley asks a lot of questions about where he's been and who he's with, but when she returns from a trip, he'll smile and adopt an attitude of "Hey! You're back!"

Exception being if she interrupts him to tell him she's home. He doesn't love when something breaks his concentration and will be snappy and fussy for the rest of the evening... but if he wraps up his work and then leaves his room to find she's home, he'll throw his arms in the air with a smile and acknowledge she's back. Wife :)

He will not be there emotionally, but he definitely knows when there's someone in his house.

Hadley has an outside entrance to her storage rooms so she can unpack while he works on late-night projects... They realized pretty fast that Dale doesn't handle unexpected door squeaks and footsteps very well.

Dale finds it very attractive that Hadley's always been friendly to him, including when he was fresh out of the lemonade pit, emotionally raw, and didn't look or act appealing. They bicker on occasion, but she's never threatened to hit him. In fact, she's pretty patient when he takes his time working up to things. Hadley came from a very wealthy family (thus cutting down the risk of her being a gold digger), yet is also a hard worker very devoted to her self-made career: making videos and selling a wide variety of products (especially things that don't fit his expertise, such as travel supplies and workout gear). Dale places a lot of value in work and independence, so he's very fond and supportive of his wife. She's a good, safe person. He genuinely doesn't mind when she's away traveling... She's there just enough to be comforting without being around so often that she's super annoying. Dev would benefit from having more parental attention, but Dale does just fine, so clearly his son is fine too.

Despite the conflicts that crop up in their marriage (such as Hadley being a hoarder while Dale is neat and tidy), Dale has a lot of positive feelings towards Hadley. If a positive thought about her comes to mind while she's in the room, he'll just say it. Surprisingly, that's gotten him far in life.

If you get him started, he can gush on about how much he likes his wife, who is very cool and hot...... He'd just also be able to walk away from this relationship without being too bothered that it ended. They might be a little TOO independent...

The vibe here is definitely "Enjoy what you have while you have it." Neither of these people likes letting go of things, so they continue enjoying what they have.

Dale has an interesting quirk of referring to Hadley by name rather than labels like "my wife" due to her extreme determination to make a name for herself; she'll jump in to say her name if she's around when he does use a label like that. Sometimes he'll say "your mother" to Dev (in the same vein he told Dev to "listen to his business partner" in canon), but he's broken most of the "my wife" habit.

Dale is significantly more touchy-feely with Hadley in front of crowds or cameras than he is when they're at home. That is, he'll sit with her at a dining table, hold her hand, or even frog-jump right over her to chase something that caught his eye.

He isn't the most complimentary, he's not great at sharing the spotlight, and he doesn't always sing her due praises despite listing off the many businesses he owns, but he'll smile at, finger gun, throw his arm around, or openly flirt with her.

... If you can call it flirting.

Dale is not big on being lovey-dovey, but he'll play up the flirting when people are watching (Ex: Bragging during a press conference, pulling her right up against him at a party while telling someone she's cool, leaning on her, handing her the microphone with no warning, and dropping comments like "Aw, ain't she a doll?") I mean... that's what people on TV do, right? He also texts her photos of him scoring business deals and/or covering himself in money. Sometimes he just stares at her from afar. Wow... wife...

He tends to talk over Hadley in public- She often stutters and isn't as loud and dramatic as he is, so he'll swoop into her conversations (Sometimes throwing his elbow on her head or shoulder, leaning a lot of his weight on her). He has an equally bad habit of getting distracted and wandering away during events, leaving her to wrap up what she was doing and then look around in confusion for him.

They are sickeningly cute in matching pajamas, which is most likely to happen when Hadley's pulled the family together for a game night, video, or vacation. Dale will probably be on the couch scrolling through his phone, but he lets Hadley sit near him. Maybe even lay her head on him. Even Dev can wriggle up to him when he's in vacation mode... Dale is definitely more at ease when Hadley's taking charge and telling him what to say and do.

Again, Dale is chronically unable to convince himself he deserves rest. When Hadley's in charge and "makes him rest" as a family bonding activity, he's actually okay with that. He'll let Dev climb in his lap and snuggle. Dale's not incredibly affectionate even during holidays, but when you're Dev, you take what you can get.

Dale is prone to both hyperfixations and dissociation; sometimes he feels like seconds or minutes passed when really, it was hours. The au pairs keep him grounded enough to eat, but if he's left alone without them, Dale will completely zone out and neglect all his needs (from hunger to bathroom to hygiene... not to mention Dev in general).

Criticize him for Dev's impersonal, drone-related upbringing all you want, but the cursed alternative is "Dale fails to feed his hypoglycemic little boy, who has a seizure and no one's there." The au pairs are holding this family together... Lost chargers, power outages, and long road trips without electricity cause genuine anxiety in the Dimmadome household. A family of 3 who all have ADHD/OCD comorbidity can get by together, but the worst part about the au pairs is how reliant you end up on them...

Dale considers himself to be an attentive parent "when not working" and fails to recognize the impact his devotion to business-y things has on Dev's daily life.

Cross-reference with H.P., who avoids admitting family relations, actively pushes his offspring away when they touch him, will stay awake until everyone else in the room is asleep, and is always micromanaging. H.P. has a "Not ever; that's unprofessional" approach to touch and family attitudes while Dale's energy is along the lines of "Not now; I'm busy" and "I loved my dad, so Devin loves me" and /takes his son's arm and points at him- "I made this."

Dale wants to be a good dad... he just has skewed memories of what his own dad was like, he's bad at talking to children, and doesn't care if he secures money (i.e. safety) in immoral ways. There's a lot going on inside his head, and frankly... He's not going to listen to your critique. You don't know what he's dealing with. He's raising this kid his way. Money is safety. Safety is everything. Dev is doing fine.

Dale and Hadley are also that couple who, if you put them in a room with a bunch of other people to play games, will always team up. They didn't come here to make new friends... They don't trust like that. Partner with someone else?? You're asking a lot.

Dimmadelphia's ruthless power couple, everyone.

Often takes off his wedding ring for sensory reasons and forgets where he put it (Don't tell his wife) (Oh no, she's onto him).

Due to the triple combo of Dale not wearing his ring, walking around separately at events, and not calling her "my wife" in conversation, there are a lot of people who don't know he's married... Including every teacher Dev's ever had until they get the jumpscare of Hadley showing up for parent-teacher conferences. Many people consider Hadley Dale's personal assistant and don't connect the dots that she's Dev's mom. Yes, they're uncomfortable if Dale hints he's slept with her. Every now and then, Dale attends a social event where some widower or divorcee asks if he'd be interested in joining a singles support group (to his bafflement, and he always turns them down because they're clearly trying to scam him out of money). He's been asked out multiple times... and since he's not great at reading signals, he's inadvertently gone on many dates he thought were business meetings. Sometimes he brings Dev with him "so the kid can get some business experience." Dev can instantly clock when the vibes are flirty and will try to subtly get his dad's attention or cut in with a comment about his mom, but he's often ignored. Comedy of errors...

Betrothed to Hadley at age 19. They'd run in the same social circle all their life, so they were certainly aware of each other despite not being romantic. Well, Dale missed 7 years, but other than that...

Specifically, their dads worked this out as an option in their youth, pitched it to them individually, and they both accepted. Dale was relieved to marry someone from Dimmsdale. Doug definitely had some options from elsewhere in the country and Dale was nervous to meet new people and explain all his trauma. Hadley actually saw him during recovery, so he never had to get into detail, and she's pretty accommodating. They get along great.

Clarifying note: They weren't married until they were older, but the betrothal was locked in at that time since by age 19, it was time for Dale and Doug to nail down a plan. Since the Leadlys are multimillionaires rich enough for Leadly to drop 17 million on a spontaneous purchase ("Dog Gone"), one of his daughters was the ideal place to start asking.

Simple courtship. Mostly, Dale and Hadley continued seeing each other at the usual social gatherings, but slowly moved towards deeper talks about their future. Lots of showy gifts exchanged in the way you'd expect upper class kids to privately flirt.

Dale definitely took his time working up to, y'know... talking to people. Neither Dale nor Hadley trusts easily, both having come from families that raised them to be wary of someone taking advantage of them for wealth. However, their shared backgrounds and planned betrothal helped grow their trust in each other, leading to them both feeling very safe in the other's presence.

Ideal Relationship: Back in the day, Dale would've had a hard time putting into words what he wanted- He was just glad to have his life back. Hadley fits snugly in his life and is a lot of things he never would've thought to ask for.

Besides the obvious - i.e. non-abusive - she's pretty lax, likes to schedule, openly communicates, enjoys her personal space, and has done her utmost to make a name for herself without relying on her dad or husband. She has the right amount of "Likes things done her way" energy to parallel Dale's "After work, I don't want to think, so just tell me what to do" energy. Hadley's been to Texas many times (since Pencil Nexus has a branch there). She also loves hunting, which Dale (child of Doug he is) enjoys too. They share a lot of interests. She also indulges his boot-related fantasies, which he likes. Wouldn't trade her for anyone. He might leave her to live alone, but he wouldn't trade her.

The areas they clash most are Hadley's hoarding OCD - very frustrating for him since her stuff gets everywhere - her paranoia that Dale will cheat on her, and Dale not being emotionally there when Hadley wants a vacation.

Although Dale was a curious child who likes exploring, he lost a lot of that during his trauma. Hadley is much more adventurous than Dale is (both in terms of travel and their bedroom life). Dale does not budge easily from his comfort zone and he wouldn't mind if she slackened the reins.

Hadley would've loved to have more kids. On some level, Dale does equate more kids to being more successful and would enjoy having more of them in that regard (especially since he, his dad, his mom, and his grandparents were all only children- Dale has no cousins, uncles, or aunts and doesn't know how to talk to such people).

That said, Dale doesn't feel a specific desire for more kids. He's very hesitant to stray outside his safe zone, especially while his life is currently in balance. He'd definitely be the type to assume more kids will "fix things."

- He would've preferred waiting until he was older to have a kid if it weren't for the crushing weight of Daddy's Expectations looming in the background... Doug always found it weird that Hadley wanted to do business things (like run her own company) and not exclusively be a stay-at-home mom like his wife was. - Dale still tosses and turns over the fact that Doug never got to meet Dev... Daddy never got to see him "succeed at continuing the Dimmadome line"... He will never know if he's proud. It's fine. He's fine. He's actually over it, haha.

Sexuality: Unclear and generally unimportant- 7 years of trauma did a number on his ability to identify emotions or trust other people, and now he's married, so who cares? Not the best at reading the room. Or himself, for that matter.

Grew up in the '90s and 2000s, missed a bunch of school (health class included), wasn't raised in a home that discussed many options beyond growing up to marry a nice woman so he could continue the Dimmadome line... and frankly, if he thought about it and realized there's a chance he may not have ended up with a woman and had a kid, he'd probably have an anxiety attack. We Do Not Disappoint Daddy In This Household.

All this said, Dale is aware of some Pride symbols - mostly rainbows - due to the Pride rodeos held at the Dimmsdale Dimmadome every year he was growing up (They were quite popular in Los Angeles Dimmsdale throughout the 90s). He attended several in the early 2000s, including the 50 years of frozen time. -> Dale has very positive memories of attending rodeos and similar events with his dad, and was none too pleased when they were banned from Los Angeles Dimmsdale in December 2023. See also, "Dirty Roads and Sterile Hearts." Dale also played a lot of Sims games... Up to Sims 9 or 10, in fact, given how products kept coming out during the 50 years of frozen time. He's not oblivious to sexualities, but it's not something he likes thinking about in relation to himself. He'll sell rainbow things for money and be done with it. He's definitely in the camp of assuming everyone experiences attraction (and most emotions for that matter) the way he does... which is to say, very little on the attraction front. Romance plots in media are baffling to him. He's glimpsed some anime and manga through his wife and son, but he's not invested in Kennueth's romance arc (despite Dev thinking it's heart-wrenching and fun).

Dale tends to ask people to lunch or dinner if he finds them intriguing - maybe at a nice restaurant, maybe at his house... maybe at Dimm-'N-Out Burgers - but if you asked him if he was attracted to any of these people, he would say "Of course not- I'm married" or "That would be unprofessional."

The more he wants to impress and befriend you, the more anxious he feels. He definitely has a squish on Kevin Crocker. Dale doesn't care about most people, but when you have a mouth full of implants and you've built your own line of robots, the dentist-slash-fellow robotics expert from Archimedes U is high on the Cool People list.

From this post about Dale and Kevin going out to dinner

It's very possible that Kevin (who's happily married and monogamous with Chloe) is Dale's type, but who knows if Dale's that self-aware.

If he did, it probably wouldn't change how badly he wants to talk to Kevin about robots. Even in a universe where they did date (and subsequently break-up), Dale would follow him around asking robotics questions. Given his struggles of letting go of Vicky, you can bet he'd be equally fascinated by Kevin. Geek to geek communication; romance optional.

No one ever knows how Dale feels about people or where he hopes things will go... Not even Dale.

Intimate History: Sexually intimate with only one partner (His wife, Hadley).

Cherry lemon ship masterpost

Didn't date anyone while in post-trauma recovery, and by the time he was ready to think about his intimate future, his dad already had betrothal options in mind. Dale accepted, never dated anyone, and never looked back.

Despite his unintended not-business dates, some odd workplace conversations, a few awkward doorstep encounters, aggressively flirtatious Amanda Killman, and people who are genuinely trying to seduce him just for money, he is completely faithful to his wife. Why wouldn't he be? He distrusts everyone equally and was probably backing away even before he realized they were flirting.

If you think this man is going to follow someone he doesn't trust with his life to a private location, think again... You have no choice but to flirt with him in front of his employees, weird drones who could probably fling you into the distance, his wife, or his son. You're dang right the office door is staying open.

No, you're not sharing the bed on this business trip. You can have it and he'll find another hotel. He will pry you off with a crowbar or drag you to the front desk before he ends up in a room with you alone. Don't test the man.

Turn-Ons: Prefers knowing what to expect- Giving him a schedule or explanation note in advance is practically a must. If you try to surprise him with spontaneity, he'll be fidgety and anxious the whole time. Feels most comfortable being told exactly what to do.

Dale: We should have a 24/7 total power exchange dynamic. Hadley: We're not doing that. Dale: Welp, not arguing with a bossy lady. Whatever you say...

Loves animal print and ranch-themed cosplay... It's really hot when his wife shoots a gun while wearing denim, cowgirl fringes, and rhinestone-coated boots tbh. Actually, can we keep the boots in the room? You... you can just put them on top of him. Please do that. Hadley, come back-

Very into recording videos of himself and/or Hadley covered in money, but has absolutely stopped Dev from browsing that au pair's collection in the nick of time. Dale is bad at many things, but his uncanny ability to cross paths with Dev .4 seconds before disaster is unparalleled.

Children: Dev Dimmadome

Dev gets most of his looks from Dale, though he has some of Hadley's tufts and curls (plus her body type).

... Sorry? Did you say someone on the family tree seems to be missing? That doesn't sound familiar.

Notable Grandchildren: I've heard Dale's obsessed with finding "the lost Dimmadome heir," whatever that means... I think Dev's profile might have more info for you there.

Father: Doug Dimmadome

Grandfather: Duncan "Development" Dimm Grandmother: Griselda "Penny" Dimm (née Huber) Notable Ancestors: Dale Dimm, Francis Macdome Dimm, Dimmalonius

Mother: Pearl Dimmadome (née Doe)

Pearl disappeared around the same time Dale went missing, leading many (including Doug) to wonder if she'd taken her young son and run off.

Grandfather: Cassias "Cash" Doe Grandmother: Aurelia "Goldie" Doe (née Astor) NOTE - No relation to John and Jane Doe from A New Wish at this time (Hazel's landlord & landlady; parents of the twins). The surname Doe is a play on "dough" being a word for money, which fits the name scheme of old money families we know. If we don't get a Season 2, I'll likely connect them (since John's hair gives me Buxaplenty vibes anyway and I think it would be interesting to play with that), but there's a chance they're aliens or something. No known relation, but this could change (and possibly land Dale with cousins) in a future update to this profile.

Fairy Godfather: [REDACTED]

Hmm... I think he was green?

Pixie Godfather: Fergus Whimsifinado (H.P.)

Met at some point. Memories are fuzzy...

Wife: Hadley Harrington (née Leadly)

- Met in early childhood. Grew up in the same social circle and saw each other at fancy parties. - Hadley used the surname Leadly in her early years, only taking her mother's name after the divorce

Celebrity Crushes: Why would he crush on someone when he's richer and better than all of them?

Current Love Interest: ........ Still Hadley? Unclear.

Other Important Relationships: 

Vicky Aingeal - Dale's childhood best friend since he was 6. They spent a few years playing together (and doing school projects) before The Incident that spiraled into a cover-up... and the lemon drama.

Related Works: "50 Words of Dale and Vicky," Lemonade and Papercuts, "You Deserve It."

Despite years of abuse beneath Vicky's hand, Dale had a very hard time adjusting to life without her. During recovery, he met up with her a few times in a desperate attempt to convince himself she felt bad for what she did and didn't mean to hurt her best friend. Because... she did. She... can't NOT regret what she put him through...

Dale cared deeply for Vicky and doesn't think of himself as someone who would betray his BFF... An emotion that's side by side with the desire to scream and hurt her just to give her a taste of what she put him through. His trauma haunted him for years (and still haunts him as an adult) as he's very broken up about what happened to him. -> He often blames himself. Ex: "She cares about me. She was only mean because I put her in a bad situation. If I'd been a better friend, she wouldn't have gotten upset with me." As he's gotten older, Dale's stopped clinging to those rose-colored glasses as much as he used to. He still feels awful and conflicted about what happened (and is quicker to find fault with his actions than Vicky's). Since his father's dead and Dale still feels like he never lived up to Daddy's expectations, there's a part of Dale that desperately wants Vicky to apologize and rekindle their friendship... She was his friend. He's supposed to hate her. He'd be reluctant to trust, but would probably hear her out if she asked him too. An apology would likely bring him to his knees, spitting and sobbing and screaming at the overwhelming emotions slamming over him... That's rough, buddy. -> See also, this comic I drew of City Lights Dale and Vicky hanging out at a party after A New Wish Season 1.

Ed Leadly - His father-in-law! ... Dale is overly showy and trips-over-his-feet-attentive to Hadley when her dad is around. Do you have any idea how many trees that man cuts down for pencils? Dimmsdale's [presumably magical] forest is literally kept in check because of Pencil Nexus ("The Boss of Me").

Yeah, we don't pick fights with the CEO of axe-wielding. Leadly is not afraid to hunt, chop wood, hunt, gut animals, or otherwise get his hands dirty and Dale is very afraid of him.

Remy Buxaplenty - A frequent contact. They do a lot of shipping-related business together (Remy with trains, Dale with drones).

Remy's also a long-time friend of Hadley's, so he's one of Dale's most common associates in personal life as well.

Timmy Turner - Not close in Timmy's youth, but once Timmy turned 18 (and forgot the magic parts of his childhood), he got into hunting with Sparky. Dale and Hadley were also hunters and let him join their trips several times. They consider each other buddies.

Dale doesn't hold Timmy up on a pedestal- As far as he's concerned, he got himself out of the lemon pit- Timmy's just the guy who let him eat and wash up while waiting for his dad to drive over. But they do know each other and crossed paths on occasion. Timmy knows Dale better due to Timmy living a double life as the mysterious benefactor who throws Septimberfest every year ("Momnipresent").

Amanda Killman (Sigh) - Another wealthy individual in the tech field. Amanda blatantly finds Dale attractive and has no shame in admitting it (or coming onto him). Dale thinks she's a creep and avoids her whenever possible. Hadley distrusts her and is paranoid her husband will cheat on a business trip someday.

Mikey Munroe (& Bunsen) - Met him a few times while his parents were installing security systems; Mikey followed in his parents' footsteps with Bunsen right behind him. Dale does not like either of them, but that doesn't stop Mikey from talking his ear off or trying to "fix" everything in his house. He does think Mikey's parents' drones are neat, though.

Dale can't deliver products to Beast World directly because there are no Beast portals in California, but Mikey orders things on their behalf and sends them through Muckledunk's portals.

Mikey and Bunsen have been trying to hang out with Dale for ages. They bounce around him when they visit (usually to install security or show him broken robots) and have a long history of sending Waffle House coupons in the mail. Every week. For 22 years. There are no Waffle Houses in California. Where do they even get these? Say one thing for Dale, though- He's better than many big companies at acknowledging the existence of the Beasts living both under and aboveground. Beast World is still a largely untapped market and he incorporates them into his campaign plans (and presumably, that's what he thought Danky was). Fun timeline note: Mikey didn't know Bunsen during the 50 years of repeating time, as Bunsen only met him after meeting Cosmo at Creature Con. Beasts were driven underground during the 2nd Creature War (See The Fae Wars) and have only been allowed aboveground for ~21 years as of A New Wish. Many places still don't trust or cater to them, but Dale will chase whatever makes him money. His old money friends are horrified, but he's pretty pleased with himself. Every now and then, someone tells Dale to "go to Hell" to which he responds "I'm already there and I'm making a killing."

TRIVIA

- Dale's MBTI is ISTJ while Hadley's is ESTJ. They're very similar people, though Hadley's definitely the more outgoing.

- I'm not yet consistent with my Dale design, but my vision is that the younger he is, the more front hair puffs he has (i.e. losing them slowly over time, not all at once). He pulls his hair a lot, but it grows back.

- I based his signature off an image I found of Steve Jobs' signature, which was all lowercase letters with a big dot on the j.

- Read his fair share of Crash Nebula and Crimson Chin comics as a kid. His collection was mostly tossed during his lemonade factory absence.

- Grew up around cows, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, and cattle dogs; went to the state fair with his dad every year growing up. The Dimmsdale Dimmadome hosted many rodeos over the decades.

- Walks on tiptoe more than you might think. It's a habit from his old days of exploring and trying not to get too dirty.

- No cousins. Has distant extended family he may refer to as uncle, aunt, or cousin colloquially, but they're not close.

- Dale will eat just about anything (Preferably lactose-free, though he's been desperate enough to eat that too), but he especially likes charcuterie boards, chips and salsa, carrots and ranch... Really, anything he can dip to feel "luxurious." Big fan of chocolate fountains- He gets really into carefully coating things. Dev has a lot of good memories of chocolate-coated marshmallows with Dad.

- Greatly enjoys beef and steak. Ate a lot of it thanks to Dimmadome Farms... In fact, he might like hamburgers a little too much (and even founded his own burger chain).

- He's lactose intolerant (and passed the gene to Dev).

- Often eats with his hands when alone (Ex: Spaghetti)- a leftover habit from not having silverware underground.

- Doesn't like the color green (Vicky's shirt). It's not a trigger- He just thinks the color's unpleasant.

- He's a card counter. It's a skill he picked up very fast, and the real trick is slipping under the radar. ADHD/OCD comorbidity + aggressive business instinct + 50 years of frozen time go brrrr...

- Has a weird relationship with holidays. Dislikes Halloween and April Fools Day - Neither is great for relaxing - but he does enjoy Christmas and Valentine's Day. While he's not the best at being emotionally present, he can follow the script for getting gifts. He's a lot more likely to be with family around Christmas, lured in by his wife's holiday video requests and the socially acceptable time of year to take a break.

Valentine's Day is a breeze- He has few qualms about spending money on expensive chocolates and big flower displays and they don't even need to be tailored to Hadley's personality. She both enjoys it personally and makes videos about his gifts. Black Friday weekend (Up through Cyber Monday) is a very busy time of year. Founder's Day also hits that time of year, so there's a lot to think about. Fortunately, no Dimmadomes have birthdays or anniversaries around then.

- Makes schedules he's bad at sticking to. Tends to go off-script, but at least the act of making them gives comfort in the moment.

- Constantly berating himself for not being "clever enough" or "productive enough" to be "more successful."

- Has a bad habit of running out in rain or snow without dressing for cold weather. He went without for so long...

- Scary in a fight. Although his build is thin, he's tall, broad-shouldered, and isn't afraid to listen to his survival instinct. He'll slam his elbows on you, bite, twist your arms, go for your face... Whatever it takes. Not a sleeping bear you want to poke.

- Tends to bite his nails, scratch or pick his skin, and pull out his hair. Tends to nibble on his hair, but gelling it back really helps.

- Has mild claustrophobia, though not as bad as it once was. He does fine in elevators, but tunnels and the underground make him uneasy. He sleeps with a nightlight, but doesn't mind dim light as long as he can see. However, he hates sleeping near windows.

- Contrary to everyone's belief, he actually does know his son's birthday and all his dietary needs. In fact, Dale is VERY paranoid that Dev will go into a seizure or die due to his hypoglycemia (and that was a big reason to build the au pairs in the first place).

- Owns a pair of similar-looking boots without spurs for safety in crowds, but good luck getting him to wear them.

- Simultaneously loves and loathes hunting... Misophonia be like that, but he wasn't gonna tell his dad it's hard for him.

- Has his anniversary date engraved on the inside of his ring.

- Running gag of Dale being a better parent when he's multitasking: Reaching over to seatbelt Dev while talking on the phone, catching Dev by the back of the collar before he can run into the street, covering Dev's eyes whenever they walk past a scantily clad advertisement even if his eyes were downcast the whole scene, picking him up to carry him across a dangerous or sopping wet part of the hiking trail even if he's checking stocks, or sensing Dev's about to eat something with lactose before Dev does. Parental instinct finds a way...

- If he's not on a call, he plays music to block out noises that trigger his misophonia. If he's in a bad enough mood, he'll be upset those songs bother him too.

- Dale and Hadley both like wearing cowboy hats and boots, especially when they visit Texas. A lot of their promotional images (as well as digital wallpapers) depict them in such clothes.

While Dale doesn't have a family photo as his phone background, he does have one on a laptop he only uses for family-related things (e.g. Scheduling vacations, checking on Hadley's businesses, making donations to Dev's school). It's... everyone sitting on a bench in boots, and the boots are the centered part. Close enough.

APPEARANCES

Main Blog Tag: #Dale Dimmadome owner of Dimmadome Global

Sideblog Tag: #RD Dale

AO3 Tag - #Dale Dimmadome

Dale makes most of his appearances in City Lights AU, with minor appearances in Cloudlands AU's Along the Cherry Lane and 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash.

His most notable appearance in the latter series is "You Deserve It," where he's the POV character, talks with Timmy, reunites with family, and attends his first fancy social gathering after escaping Vicky.

He's the protagonist of Lemonade and Papercuts and the antagonist of Dev's life... just in general.

Sideblog Masterpost

[puppygirlclaspers]

Hey people, so I was trying to find out a way of immersing myself in mecha even more and I settled on the idea of making funny little reviews about the gundam kits I've built on my blog so here it is tee hee

(Very minor spoilers for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury season 1 episode 6 ahead)

I present to you:

Demi Trainer A.K.A baby's first gundam kit

This is what kickstarted my addiction to building these little guys and honestly it was such a blast as my first experience with it! I saw the HG (1/144) model of this mobile suit in a nerd shop I was in that I was told had these kits and I figured it was a good starting point. I liked the idea of the training mech from g-witch acting as training wheels for me building these kits.

Fun Facts About the Demi Trainer

the MSJ-121 Demi Trainer is a mobile suit seen in The Witch From Mercury series, and is primarily used by students in Asticassia as a mobile suit to train with (hence the name Demi Trainer)

The Demi Trainer is just one model in a series of other Demi mobile suits! Other Demi models we see throughout the series are the MSJ-OP122 Demi Garrison (seen early on when Suletta Mercury's Gundam Aerial is being detained after her first duel), the MSJ-R122 Demi Barding, which is a more advanced model of mobile suit, equipped with more armaments, while still maintaining the Demi model philosophy. There's also Chuchu's iconic MSJ-105CC Demi Trainer, which is an older model that has been heavily modified by Chuchu in order to compete with more modern iterations of Demi mobile suits.

Our primary experience with Demi Trainer in the show is when Suletta Mercury is tasked with piloting one as part of her spotting exam, where she has a particularly difficult time passing it. It honestly made me feel really sad when I watched it for the first time :(

The Design of Demi Trainer

I really love how this mobile suit looks! It's a very simple design but I feel it's so effective at conveying it's primary purpose: to be a baseline training model for mobile suits. It's a lightweight mobile suit with minimal modifications done to it so that it can achieve high mobility and it's easy to maintain. It also looks very much like something a company would mass-produce for an institution like Asticassia.

Demi Trainers are used with a standard set of equipment, which includes a simple shield, a beam gun for ranged combat, a saber stick for melee combat, a combat knife, as well as the Daedalus multi-tool, which can be shaped and transformed into a variety of tools. This makes Demi Trainer a very versatile mobile suit, appropriate for use in many different situations. It doesn't seem to come with any sort of flight module, though that makes sense, as I imagine those are quite expensive to include on mobile suits, and this is meant as a simple trainer mech.

Of course, since it's heavily used in Asticassia, Demi Trainer also has an equipable antenna module for use in duels within the academy.

The Demi mobile suits are known for their extensive customisability, and the Demi Trainer is no different! You can even see these aspects within the design of this mobile suit. There are many little slots and places where you can modify Demi Trainer and potentially add modules or armaments, and you can see the extent of this modification in Chuchu's modified Demi Trainer, despite it being an older model. I'd really love to see what kind of modifications other student in the academy would apply to their Demi Trainers!

Building the Kit

My experience with building this gunpla kit was a blast! I was so excited to get started on this, and the kit did not disappoint! It wasn't too complex so that I was overwhelmed, but it also wasn't so simple that I was bored. Hearing all the clicks and feeling the pieces snap together as I built it was extremely satisfying, and I really like how the instruction booklet was structured.

You're not told to put individual parts of the mobile suit together until you've built a number of modules beforehand. For example, the instructions tell you to build the head, body and arms before telling you to put those parts together, and I think that makes the experience more satisfying. The same structure applies for the waist and legs of the kit, and being able to put all of the parts together at the end is such a good feeling! Of course, you can totally ignore the structure of the booklet and put parts together as you build them, which is also fine.

The kit also comes with a variety of stickers, and with the help of hindsight after having built 2 more kits after this one (which I also plan on reviewing), I can confidently say that the stickers for the Demi Trainer are probably the easiest to apply based on my limited experience! You get a small choice of stickers too, mainly a choice of what colour you want the middle torso portion to be. Of course, I picked purple because it's my favourite colour, but other choices also include red, blue, yellow and pink.

At one point while building this kit, I tried to take a part out so I could hear and feel the click of it again as I assembled it, but I accidentally applied too much force into it and the piece snapped, which make me panic but thankfully I had some glue to repair it, which was a huge relief. Not a fault of the kit itself, just my own excitement getting the better of me! Though I will recommend to be careful when assembling these kits if you're not experienced, and be gentle with them.

I was so so happy when the kit was finished and I could play around with it! Building it is half the fun, and the other half is posing it in all sorts of cool ways! You've seen some pictures of that already, but I also have some gifs of the kit spinning on a little turntable saved for the end.

The HG Demi Trainer kit comes with just the shield, saber stick and beam gun that I mentioned previously, which I personally don't mind too much but of course having more options for equipment is always a good thing. Thankfully you can buy an expansion set for Demi Trainer that includes a beam rifle, gatling gun, combat knife, 4-cell hand missile launcher and open hand parts, as well as some smaller extras. I personally don't have this expansion kit but I would love to get it at some point!

Overall, I think this is a fantastic kit to build, particularly if you are new to gunpla and are looking for a place to start. The Witch From Mercury kits are some of the best quality I think I've seen in gunpla (again, from my limited experience) and if you love the series and want to collect gunpla, you can't go wrong with getting this kit. The posable nature and movement of the kit itself is great, which I think is really cool and allows for some creative shots to be made with them!

This is a little series of posts that I hope to continue in the future! If you have any suggestions on things to add or change please let me know! I'm open to constructive criticism :)

[theminecraftbox]

theres something specific about "mister warden." just "warden" is a factual title, and "sir" is a formality, something you call someone of higher status, and within the "institution" of the prison Q higher on the totem pole than Dream, though the emphasis in Dream referring to Q as "sir" plays to the torture dynamic and Q's complex about power and whatnot. but "mister" is an odd one, because theres a sense of seniority associated with it, and while the word has other meanings, the specifc combination of mister + noun has an immaturity to it that makes the seniority dynamic stand out more (like Mister Policeman sounds like something a kid says). this person has more experience than you, they know better than you, etc. etc. honestly the childishness of the title makes it seem teasing/playful, perhaps the ccs just used that phrase in reference to their secret roleplay because they were being lighthearted. but if it was canonically something dream called sam, i think sams acceptance of the phrase shows he likes the idea of dream like, admitting to sam knowing better than him enough that it overrides interpreting the phrase as being rebellious teasing.

YEAH 😭 it's this exactly: it's a COY thing to say, so playful that it feels nearly out of place. It struck me in Daedalus too and it strikes me now. It's got different connotations than c!Dream referring to c!Sam with some other respectful title, or just saying "Warden."

Like you say, "mister warden"'s connotations with authority are... juvenile, in either a mocking way or in a way that casts the speaker as young or inexperienced. So the idea that c!Sam heard this and decided to let c!Dream roll with it anyway goes crazy. It carries not only the implication that c!Sam likes c!Dream casting himself as juvenile, but also that c!Sam feels that either a) he likes it enough to ignore the hint of rebellion, or b) that he has reason to believe the name is coming from a genuine place of subservience/respect.

crazy, man.

[politemagic]

thread the needle & ariadne's thread

“Thread the Needle” marks Vessel’s first true interactions with Sleep. Sleep has been watching him for some time, noting his pain and struggles to craft a plan to bring him into Their service. Sleep recognizes that the thing Vessel needs most is comfort and uses that to begin gaining his trust. Vessel begins to long for the comfort of these dreams that Sleep is showing him, though he hasn’t yet realized that it is Sleep who is responsible. This song, however, is the first time that Sleep presents Themself to him.

While looking at the lyrics to this song, I couldn’t help but draw a lot of connections between Vessel and the Greek hero Theseus. I’m not sure if anyone has ever really explored this before, but I had a lot of fun tying the myth of the Theseus and the Minotaur into this song and so I figured I would share some of my thoughts!

Bury me inside this labyrinth bed

We can feel that time is dilated

As a very brief refresher, in Greek mythology King Minos ordered the architect Daedalus to design the Labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur beneath Knossos. The Labyrinth was an extremely vast, complex maze that was nearly impossible to navigate, and as a punishment for the murder of his son, King Minos ordered the King of Athens, King Aegeus, to sacrifice 7 boys and 7 girls to the minotaur every nine years. This continued until Aegeus’ son Theseus volunteered himself as one of the sacrifices with the intention of finally slaying the Minotaur. Upon his arrival, King Minos’ daughter Princess Ariadne fell in love with Theseus. In an act of betrayal against her father, Ariadne gave Thesus a spool of thread that he used to guide him and the other Athenians out of the labyrinth after he killed the Minotaur. On their voyage home, they stopped on the island of Naxos, where Theseus and his crew abandoned Ariadne while she slept.

For simplicity, these are the major parallels I found:

King Minos = Sleep

Theseus = Vessel

Minotaur = Trauma/pain

Labyrinth = Dreamworld (presented by Sleep)

Sleep is the one calling Vessel into these dreams, just as King Minos ordered the sacrifices into the Labyrinth. Though Sleep isn’t intending to sacrifice Vessel, They are using the labyrinth to trap him into Their influence. Unlike Theseus, Vessel doesn’t immediately leave the labyrinth after he defeats the Minotaur. Instead, he relishes in his victory for some time, the death of the monster bringing him a sense of relief from the burdens of his pain and trauma. It feels as if time doesn’t exist in this world, like he exists in perfect freedom. This is when Sleep finally decides to present Themself to him.

We can spend the night in fascination

You can thread the needle

Time and time again

Sleep is telling him that it was Them who gave him the power to overcome that monster. They allowed him to feel that strength and power first, and then revealed that it was Them who bestowed it upon him, promising to continue so long as he surrenders himself to Sleep. The phrase “thread the needle” most often means carefully navigating a difficult situation between opposing forces. Sleep is presenting Themself as the missing piece to allow Vessel to make it through this dark period of his life, so long as he spends his nights with Them, and he is more than willing.

You turn the lights down

Come on and find out

You turn the lights down

Come on and find out

In a bonus sprinkling of Greek mythology, this just feels like a siren’s call, Sleep luring Vessel to his downfall. The specific phrasing here of “you turn the lights down” sounds to me more as if Sleep is simply narrating, implying the Vessel is coming on his own free will as opposed to Sleep commanding him to turn the lights down.

Something to confide in

Something to erase

Just look at where we're lying

An invisible space

Sleep continues offering to ease Vessel’s pain, playing to his specific wants. Vessel feels alone in his life, isolated by traumas, and Sleep offers to listen to him. He is constantly trying to forget past events, and Sleep offers to erase them and let him forget. This dreamworld in which they are interacting is a place that isn’t real, “an invisible space”, where real pains don’t exist. As he remains within the labyrinth, he begins to lose his connection with his humanity, and this is something that will only continue as the story progresses. 

In losing touch with his humanity, he begins to lose his attachment to Eden. Eden plays a very similar role in Vessel’s story as Princess Ariadne does in the story of Theseus. She loves him and cares for him, giving him the real strength (the “thread”) that he needs in order to make his way out of Sleep’s influence. But he has been seduced by Sleep, and that affiliation causes Vessel to hurt Eden as that relationship intensifies. Just as Theseus abandons Ariadne on the island of Naxos, Vessel abandons Eden in pursuit of his relationship with Sleep.

There are a few different reasons people believe that Theseus abandons Ariadne. For this comparison, I’ll be operating under the interpretation that Theseus abandoned her because Athena told him that she was only a distraction, that he needed to focus on his new role as King of Athens. Sleep will encourage Vessel to do the same thing to Eden, abandoning his love for her in interest of furthering Sleep’s plans and influence.

We can spend the night in fascination

You can thread the needle

Time and time again

You turn the lights down

Come on and find out

You turn the lights down

Come on and find out

I’ve been too nervous to share any of my thoughts from my lyrical analysis before, but my brain ran away with this one and I felt like I put a little too much time into it to keep it all to myself. If there are any other parallels you picked up on, or any other thoughts in general, or even if you think this is ridiculous feel free to add on!! I’d love to hear your thoughts, there’s so much to unpack with Sleep Token’s discography and I love reading other people’s theories and analyses.

[jheseltheunswerving]

Bill Cipher is an Icarus

Originally posted on the Gravity Falls Amino in August, 2019.

In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of Daedalus who was ordered by King Minos to build a structure that could contain a creature called the Minotaur. Rather than building a prison, Daedalus constructed a labyrinth so complex that anyone who entered could never find their way back out. 

Wanting to keep the Minotaur a secret, King Minos locked away Daedalus and his family, including Icarus. 

But Daedalus was clever. He built two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers. One for him and one for Icarus. Once the time came to make the attempt to escape, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun or the wax in his wings would melt. With that, the two started flying toward freedom.

Caught up in the sensation of flight, Icarus forgot his father’s warnings. He went higher and higher, seizing as much of that freedom as he could. He didn’t even notice the wax holding his wings together was melting. Suddenly, the feathers became too loose, and Icarus fell to his death in the sea. 

The story of Icarus is referenced to a couple times in Journal 3 by Ford. The first time he’s talking about how jealous he is of his “Muse” (Bill Cipher) for being free from all physical limitations. If a person spends eight hours of every day asleep, then they would be wasting about ⅓ of their life. While working on the portal, Fiddleford was the first to give into fatigue, and warned Ford not to stay up too late:

“‘Don’t forget what happened to Icarus,’ he told me as he packed up his things and left.

‘He didn’t flap hard enough,’ I replied.”

When Ford finds out what Bill was really planning, he admits Fiddleford was right. 

“If only Icarus could see me now.” Ford’s confession that he has flown too close to the sun, a consequence that almost resulted in his and the world’s undoing. 

But we know how that story ended, and it wasn’t just Ford’s wings that burned. The moral of Icarus’s story is to never forget your limitations. This is why I argue that the other Icarus in “Gravity Falls” is Bill Cipher.

Over the course of his story, Bill had one goal: to be free from all limitations. How this ambition developed doesn’t matter. What’s important to understand is that Bill’s ultimate goal was to be free from laws and restrictions, and that is why he burned his dimension.

Oh, and for some reason there is still some question if Bill burned his dimension. Let me clear that up. 

It’s in the Axolotl’s poem 

It’s in the journal

He admits to it

I hope that cleared up any doubts anyone may still have had.

However, burning his dimension didn’t give Bill the freedom he was after. After the fact, he was trapped in the Nightmare Realm for one trillion years, only able to interact with the physical world by means of possession or through the mindscape. That’s a pretty big limitation. That’s why whenever he came close to overcoming that barrier, and failed, he got visibly frustrated and angry. 

Absolute freedom is what Bill preached to justify what he was doing. It was his way of convincing himself that what he was doing, however messed up, wasn’t wrong. Why does he need to convince himself? Because freedom, the one thing he’s after, is the one thing he can never truly have. 

The Axolotl’s poem, as I showed you before, gives hints to Bill’s possible return. It’s not a particularly new discovery. Most everyone knows this by now, but for the sake of completion, let me recite those hints one more time:

“If he wants to shirk the blame, he’ll have to invoke (the Axolotl’s) name

One way to absolve his crime. A different form, a different time.”

Basically, if Bill wants to further avoid punishment for the arson, he can invoke the Axolotl. But this proves something about Bill. He’ll never be truly free from the responsibility of burning his dimension. He knows this, and it enrages him. 

I mean, how infuriating it must be that the one limitation he can never be free from is the one he imposed on himself. And it’s almost poetic that his downfall happened in a blue fire, similar to his blue fire that he ignites when he makes a deal. Almost like the deal he made with Stan was the moment he flew too close to the sun. 

Since the show ended, there has been a debate whether Bill is evil or tragic. This is my way of arguing both. The truth is, I don’t think there is an evil character who isn’t tragic. Anyone who believes that instigating fear and chaos is the right thing to do must have gone through a lot of pain themselves. That doesn’t make it okay. But it is tragic. 

I think what makes an Icarus is when a person gets too cocky and too comfortable, and they start to think they’re invincible. That’s when they fly too close to the sun. But I don’t think the moral of the story should be “remember your limitations”. I think it should be, “stay grounded”. Don’t be afraid to take risks, just remember that they’re risks. And be prepared that you might fall. 

2024 Review: This is the second of two posts from Amino I'm posting on this blog. I will be creating one more, original post that briefly summarizes my opinion on Bill as of today, which I will later reblog after The Book of Bill comes out.

[thatlonelymushroom]

~o. Athena Cabin 6 - Headcanons .o~

Credit to Viktoria Ridzel :)

World Count : 519

A/N: Okay, so I feel like the Athena cabin doesn't get as much love as the others, it's rarely mentioned in the books. So I decided I wanted to make some fun headcanons for it! As always requests are open! (The main two fandoms I write for is Bnha, and Percy Jackson) If you would like to request any other cabins lemme know! I do minor gods as well :) Alright enjoy!

Two Words. Game. Nights.

Alright, so just like how the Apollo cabin has karaoke every Friday, I’m thinking the Athena cabin has GAME NIGHTS.

And ooh geez. It’s competitive.

Some campers have nicknamed it “War night” because whenever they play, you can hear them arguing all over camp

Like full on “NO ANNABETH. YOU HAVE TO PAY UP. I OWN THAT SQUARE”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN UNO, I SAW YOU DROP THOSE CARDS ON THE FLOOR”

It’s almost scary how competitive they can get.

They’ll have this huge scoreboard for every camper, that’s really complex, and a whole system to decide who plays who, and which game.

And gods forbid you interrupt them. 

You will face the wrath of the entire Athena cabin.

not fun.

Additionally, I think they would also have study nights, where they bring all sorts of snacks and blankets

Just a bunch of Athena campers in a cozy little blanket fort- all studying XD

They would also definitely help each other with homework assignments and other stuff like that.

In the winter, since some campers stay full time, they probably don’t really have a school to go to-

So I think in the summer, the Athena campers would have a program to teach other demi-gods school subjects, and the core curriculum so that they could catch up

(Because there were definitely some campers who did not know what algebra was.)

On top of that, I feel like there are two types of Athena campers

The chaotic neat

Or the Neat Chaotic.

The Chaotic neat, will literally go around, and pick up ALL THE TRASH. 

They are the most organized campers you will ever meet

Every item has a specific place and reason why it’s in that place

Also- they will full on Lecture and Scold whoever gets in their way

The neat Chaotic, has projects everywhere- ish

It’s borderline messy, but I refuse to believe that an Athena camper can actually be full on messy. 

They’re the type to constantly lose their pencils, where Chaotic neat Athena campers are the type to always have a pencil tucked into their hair.

I have a feeling the Athena campers are very diverse- looks wise

But they all have gray eyes. ALL OF THEM

Sometimes it can be scary

If they’re all together, for games of like capture the flag- when they stand together gray eyes just staring

It’s So. Intimidating.

I think the cabin would request have laptops available

Like at any time-

Because Athena campers need to write down their ideas! 

And it’s just so much quicker when typing.

They would full on go up to Chiron, with a petition to get demi-god safe laptops solely for that purpose.

(Yeah Annabeth has her Daedalus Laptop- but her siblings would get jealous duh.)

+Random fun idea

Since Athena is god of crafts

I think some Athena campers would be extremely good at DIY stuff, and like crafting

So some of them would have like mini crochet + knitting clubs that they’d organize 

Maybe sell some stuffed animals to the younger campers 

Omg it’d be so cute.

[cdroloisms]

Oh I was just haunted by jmah!Dream’s deteriorating mental state

:C my BOYYY

and it's awful, too, because it's not like Dream is in a particularly good state of mind when the prison starts in the first place. and he's in here because he's terrified (and he's in here as punishment) and he's in here because even though Sam hates him--and he's ensured that Sam hates him, and he's planning to do more to make sure of that fact as well (in canon, c!Dream is talking to c!Sam 'all about exile' in those first few days)--Sam will do his job. he trusts him to do his job. he knows Sam, the man that he's worked with for the last month on this project, on making sure this prison is as secure as it can possibly be, one of the final few people to work with him before the events of the green festival, doomsday, staged finale etc. made sure he'd stand alone, just where he was supposed to. this is a Dream that's already been swimming in the lava before Sam travels back in time.

unlike Sam's betrayal in canon, there's nothing slow about what happens in JMAH. there's no ability for him to cope and go yeah, Sam's being kind of serious, but it's no big deal, yeah, this place kind of sucks, but it's survivable, yeah, there's some mistreatment, but I expected that. in an instant, Sam goes from a predictable cog in the machine meant to keep him alive into a stranger hellbent on torturing the fuck out of him, and he has no idea why. Sam is nowhere near as straightforward as Quackity in explaining what the hell he wants out of Dream--he asks for the book, sure, but also for information, also for complete obedience, also for explanations for things he shouldn't know and punishments for things he never did. there is no promise that the revive book will end anything, for this Dream, and no one to give him anything at all but the Warden.

just ,, the lengths to which this Sam is willing to go, the intensity of his obsession, the way he'd be left reeling with no choice other than to endure and wonder why breaks my heart. Dream has no fucking clue to what end this is all for, and i think he struggles a lot with that. worse than just the torture, perhaps, is the familiarity, the sparks of something that is almost fondness, the satisfaction in Sam's voice when he's gotten something and Dream isn't even sure what he's just given away--and maybe it'd be easier to understand if what Sam wanted from him were any more straightforward, if the desire could pan out as something as simple as sadistic pleasure at hurting him or deriving some kind of gratification from making him submit or wanting power or to eliminate a threat or anything, but all that is clear is that Sam wants something from him and will stop at nothing to get it.

c!Dream and identity is already a finicky thing as well as his whole complex about himself and evil--c!Dream thinks he's a person that does evil things to achieve good ends, but he struggles pretty heavily, honestly, with himself-as-evil and being viewed as evil-and-just-evil and actually being the tyrant-villain-monster-snake-that-just-bites, etc, which means that there is a level of vulnerability here when it comes to how he sees himself and builds his identity and the constant, relentless onslaught of . pain and torture combined with Sam justifying it all by Who He Is Innately and monologuing about how he deserves it all, because c!Dream isn't a person that doesn't think that punishment as a concept is wrong and doesn't necessarily disagree that he's evil either. and again. torture self harm box of mental illness. and part of the problem with a Sam that's fresh from Daedalus and then thrust into kind of the worst possible position of reflecting on those conversations by being in a place where he's able to fall hard on old habits to copium his way out of dealing with anything he personally might have done (because obviously he can just Fix It Now) while also having the additional cope of i-am-godsent-to-make-everything-better BY keeping dream in a box, you kind of get a situation where both Dream and Sam are psychologically in pretty vulnerable places and then you're taking a torture machine hammer to those stress points. so it's fun.

i have no clue if that last paragraph made any kind of sense btw.

but ... yeah. even for any character in any kind of state the insane torture contraption of torture efficiency would be. erm. extremely damaging to one's mental health, to say the least. the only good thing for dream i guess is that sam still has his head too far up his own ass to actually git gud at conditioning anyone deliberately and is therefore still largely skating by By Accident, because otherwise his head would've been even more blendered than it already gets.

[khaire-traveler]

Tbh I mostly sent that ask bc I'm listening to someone review an ARC of Crown of Starlight which is supposed to be a retelling of how Ariadne and Dionysus met, but sci-fi and its just so many things pissing me off.

Like the Moirai are a cult????? Who are obsessed with like, purity culture????? Like the Christian kind???

And the author boasts that she's writing the first ever androgynous Dionysus when DIONYSUS HIMSELF IS ANDROGYNOUS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN!! HE HAS AN EPITHET LITERALLY FOR HOW ANDROGYNOUS HE IS!!! HIS MYTHS FUCK WITH GENDER A LOT!! YOU DIDN'T INVENT SHIT!!!!

Ariadne is just a "I'm not like other girls" trope in such a stereotypical way and I HATTTTTEEE it. Like you can gave a girl not fit in and have it be interesting and not simultaneously shit on other women its not that hard. Like in Circe she showed interest in what Daedalus was doing and was curious about his inventions, and it made her more of her own character and also set her apart from the other women in her family. Not saying its the most perfect example but it's better than making her a fucking Pick Me girl who's pretending to not be a Pick Me.

Sorry just omg I could go on, I'm so glad this book will never be published.

Long rant incoming lol. Be warned.

Listen, I've come to accept that retellings will never be perfect to my standards because I'm a worshipper, and most of these authors are not. I've come to understand that it's ok for pieces to just stand on their own and exist without me interacting with them; I'm not being forced to engage with something I don't actually like. But this? What the hell even is this? There's a difference between creating your own retelling for the sake of artistic liberty with a story that means a lot to you and claiming to have created something that the thousands of years old culture you're basing your story on ALREADY created. See, there is a RIGHT and WRONG way to do retellings. The right way is more of a loose definition at times, but the wrong way sticks out like a sore thumb because it's typically extremely obvious.

This person has an interesting concept that fell right into their lap, then completely disregarded the original culture the story stemmed from. I don't want to ever discourage someone from writing again or trying to create an interesting story, since I understand how personal writing can be, but this is fucking ridiculous, and there is no excuse for being so blatantly incorrect about the source you're pulling your information directly from. "I'm the first writer to make Dionysus androgynous!" Read a book about Dionysus that isn't a retelling, and get back to me on that, jackass, because he's actually always been that way, and it's shitty of you to spread misinformation for the sake of boasting about your book.

People representing the gods negatively is no surprise to me, especially the Moirai - many authors seem to have a complex relationship with fate itself, in that way - but I really feel like they're being limited in a cult. It sounds so humanizingly plain, and I wouldn't enjoy that artistic liberty, personally, since to me, fate is inherently inhuman; I think it exists outside the bounds of human comprehension. It feels kind of boring and unnecessary to make them into a cult. There's so many other things you could do with them: make them into indifferent Eldritch horror space beings, depict them as strange yet slightly sinister sisters who live in the middle of nowhere and seem to have something just a little unsettling about them, or, hell, even depict them as animals who show up throughout the book as motifs of fate. Like, come on, a cult? I don't know; I guess it's just not for me. And making Ariadne a Pick Me? Ariadne? Really? There's so many things wrong with that interpretation of her, especially the fact that in the original myth, she was abandoned by Theseus on an island, essentially left to die, and was found by Dionysus who fell in love with her. It's not as if she was going out of her way to get picked up by him or something; she just happened to be there when he ran into her, from my understanding. She has gone through this incredibly traumatic experience and still persevered, and all this author can think of is "Lol she's such a Pick Me." Like???? Why???? Why do you think this???? You befuddle me. I am bemused. This reminds me of how people make Patroclus into a cute little UwU man who can't live without Achilles and can't really do much to defend himself, even though, in The Iliad, it took two soldiers and a GOD to finally kill him because he was so fierce in battle. I feel like a chihuahua barking at a wall about this, though, so I'll move on.

I'm not sure what book this is, but as a worshipper, and even just a fan of history, it's so frustrating to hear about. Like, if someone wrote a genuinely interesting book about this with the sci-fi elements, I'd find it extremely interesting, even if the gods weren't always depicted in the best light. Even ancient myths didn't always depict them in the best light, and that's ok, actually. Is it extremely annoying and upsetting when people lean too hard into it? Yes, absolutely. Is it an automatic reason to despise a piece of media? I'd say no because then you're going to miss out on a lot of really cool things that are out there. But there is still a wrong way to go about these representations, and this is one of the biggest ones: blatant misinformation for selfish gain. Another would be demonizing a god without giving them any redeemable qualities, since oftentimes, in myth, they are still rather complex, despite the wild things they do or that happen. It sounds to me like they've done this with the Moirai somewhat, though I don't fully know that.

These are just my thoughts on the matter, but yeah, this is wild. Thank you for taking me on this hectic ride lol. I'm always more than happy to hear about new weird things I've never heard of before, so feel free to share other things if you ever stumbled upon them. Also, I would love to know the name of this book if you remember it. I'm so glad I've never heard of this before, tbh. Take care, Nonny. 🧡

[bleue-flora]

why did c!dream let c!Sam out? I've never understood that. I know they used to be friends and they had a deal but that's the extent I know of it.

So I don’t think it really has to do with their previous friendship or the deal. While yes Dream tends to be a man of his word in regards to deals and trades, the actual reasons are a little more complex. I talk about it here actually [post].

But mostly it comes down to a few things a) the message of “not to fuck with me” (messenger kinda has to be alive for that) b) having someone outside who fears him and is like his pawn is helpful (I mean think about Sam helping confirm what happened in prison in the conversation with Foolish) c) I don’t think he wants to make himself a bigger target, killing someone completely may be reason to send people out for his head even more and spread more panic and fear d) I don’t think he’s after revenge as much as he threatens because needing revenge admits that prison effected him and it obviously didn’t XD.

But a big reason is that he does not want to stoop to their level. Part of Daedalus I think is trying to get Sam to see him as a person and if he murdered him completely then he’s just acting like the monster they think he is. But if he feeds Sam cake and good apples and just takes 1 life then he’s an active example of what Sam and the server should have done to him. - this is how you get a book from someone, this is how you can get revenge without breaking someone, this is how you treat people even when they’ve treated you worse. Just because someone’s bad doesn’t mean they should be treated badly...

[floridaboiler]

Walter Matthew Jefferies (Preferred name: "Matt Jefferies")Walter M. Jefferies is frequently overlooked as the man who gave us so much of what we know as "Star Trek" today. He was an aviation and mechanical artist, whose father was a chief engineer at a plant in Virginia. He served in World War II in B-24, B-17 and B-25 bombers. He later would work several years as a flight test engineer. He was the designer of the original Starship Enterprise used on the Original Series broadcasts; but his genius didn't stop there. He is also the one who specifically laid out the plans for the bridge and for sick bay. He also designed many props used on the show. Among props he designed are the phasers we see so often. He designed that three-spiked Klingon logo, and the D-7 Battlecruiser. He designed multiple interior and exteriors of the ship so many have come to know and love. His concept sketches were revisited and used to design the Starship Enterprise, the Olympic class USS Pasteur, the Daedalus-class and pre-Federation Vulcan ships. Jefferies had worked with NASA engineers in designing the Enterprise and the technology it used. Contrary to popular belief, he did NOT design the shuttlecraft, as his design was deemed "too complex" But he DID design the interior. Both Jefferies tubes and Captain Jefferies, were named in his honor. Jeffries said that the Starship Enterprise was the 17th design, and the first in that series--and it's from that where the number 1701 was derived. This is documented by Jefferies himself. Finally (before I get too longwinded again  ) Jefferies was not exactly overpowered when he watched "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." In fact, he fell asleep. He decided he'd rather not watch any of the later iterations of the Enterprise, stating: "They had turned my Navyesque bridge, into "the lobby of the Hilton."

[oliolioxenfreewrites]

i saw a mythology prompt earlier today to retell the story of icarus from the pov of the sun and i thought of how i would react if i were to experience that idiot as our sun soooo… without further ado:

Too Hot to Handle: The Sun’s Monologue

Shit, here goes another one… I swear, these mortals never learn.

I’m minding my own business, illuminating Earth like I always do—keeping my planets in orbit, growing the various crops, you know, basic life-sustaining stuff—when I notice this kid flapping his way toward me. Yes, toward me. I’m used to people admiring me from a distance (I mean, who wouldn’t?), but this one? Hell, he’s even got that look. That entitled ‘I’m special, the laws don’t apply to me look.’ Give me a break.

Icarus, they called him. What a name… I guess the junior and his dad, Daedalus (who’s at least smart enough to keep his own two feet on the ground as Zeus intended), thought they could outwit gravity with some, now, get a load of this: feathers and candle wax. You heard me—feathers. As if that wasn’t going to end in a spectacular disaster.

Now, before we dive any deeper into his whole little meltdown, let’s be very clear: I didn’t invite him here.

I’m simply doing my job, hanging out in space, radiating warmth, and oh you know, keeping everyone alive. And what does this moron decide to do with his life? He makes it his life’s mission to get up close and personal with me. I mean, I get it—I’m irresistible. But come on, we all know I’m a bit too hot to handle. Wink wink.

His dad warned him, of course… “Don’t fly too close to the sun," he said. Standard dad advice, right? But did Icarus listen? Ha! Of course not. He’s got wings now and arrogantly thinks he’s above it all—literally. Flapping higher and higher, all full of himself, or maybe the fumes from the poorly cured wax. I guess the rules of physics don’t apply when you’re having this much fun.

He's still here, getting closer and closer. And I can't help but wonder, 'Is this kid serious?' You could practically hear, not to mention smell, the wax starting to sizzle into his skin day after day, but nope. He kept coming, eyes wide, like he would make history or something?

Then came the inevitable—meltdown, both literal and figurative. His DIY wings start dripping wax all over the place. Feathers fall like tragic little snowflakes, and I can feel the panic hit him. That oh-no-I-screwed-up moment. I felt myself almost begin to feel bad for his naive hubris, but then I gleefully remembered this is my favorite part of arrogance. Failure.

You thought you could handle me? Please.

And down he goes, straight into the ocean, swallowed up like the wrong idea he came up with. Sploosh. Game over.

All that pointless ambition, that 'I’m-gonna-be-different attitude'—down the drain, along with the wasted feathers and dried wax. Now he’s just another legend (if you could even call him that) about why you shouldn’t fly too close to, well, me.

Now, I never ask for any of this. Do you think I wanted to fry some kid with a god complex? Nah. Enjoyable as mortal naïveté is, I’m simply here, doing what I’ve always done—burning bright, giving life, and occasionally serving a harsh reality check to anyone who thinks they can waltz into my territory without consequence.

But hey, what do I know? I’m just the sun.

I’ve only been doing this for a few billion years. Yet somehow, every so often, someone like Icarus decides that this time will be different. This time, they’ll beat the odds. And every time, without fail, they come crashing back down, wings melted, dreams shattered. You want to bask in my light? Be my guest. Enjoy the warmth; soak it in even, boo. But don’t ever get too cocky. Don’t think you can get too close without suffering consequences. Because trust me, I may shine, but I've never played favorites, and I will scorch your ass without so much as a second (or first) thought.

Icarus learned the hard way, poor thing. But me? Please… I’m still burning brighter than you and your fav, waiting for the next fool who thinks they can handle this scorching sunshine of mine. Spoiler: They can’t.

[tallbluelady]

Welcome to my blog! Feel free to ask me about my blorbos!

But who are my blorbos, you may ask? Well… we'll need a break for that.

Rowan Argentas, Warrior of Light

Duskwight Elezen, around 25 summers at the start of ARR. 

Combat Classes: Bard, Dragoon, Red Mage. Later picks up Arcanima and Astrology but does not use them in combat.

A shy, soft spoken woman, Rowan may not initially fit people's expectations of what a Warrior of Light should be. That is until they see her acumen in combat and her willingness to help her fellow man. Though she often acts with a gentle demeanor, Rowan will fight to the edge of her abilities to save the Star.

Relationship: Slow burn Romance with Urianger Arugelt.

Rowan finds herself drawn to the mysterious Urianger nigh instantly when she joins the Scions, finding his enthusiasm for magic and velvety voice attractive. Thanks to her mother's obsession with an Ishgardian playwright, she doesn't find his antiquated speech patterns hard to parse and almost revels in the ease that she can understand him.

Though his secrets have hurt her on at least two separate occasions, Rowan finds Urianger's reasons for keeping them natural and reasonable, and quickly forgives him each time. This spurs him to do better and to amend his ways. Though it takes them years for them to finally get together, the pair relax into a courtship where they can learn to express their wants and fears while receiving gentleness for both.

Key Traits: Acts of Service as a Love Language, musical, gentle, shy, martyr/Atlas complex, secret keeper, eager learner, holding others to accountability.

Family Members: Jeaneaux Argentas (adoptive father, deceased), Alfinne Argentas (adoptive mother, living), Ellant Argentas (adoptive brother, missing in action, later found), Louineaux Argentas-Arugelt (future son), Luninne Argentas-Arugelt (future daughter)

Tags: Rowan Argentas, Aether and Anatomy

Minthe, former Conceptual Consultant, one-time Holder of the Seat of Azem.

Rowan's Ancient Self

A mage of both healing and offensive magics, Minthe would be considered a Sage due to her use of Noulith like foci.

A woman who tries to hold herself to ethical hedonism, Minthe spent a good portion of her young adult life avoiding responsibility so she could maximize her time spent on the personal projects she enjoys. If one doesn't make a promise to be responsible, then there is no broken promise to be disappointed about. Having inadvertently visited the Underworld with Hades at a young age, Minthe is often beset by those who see her potential to rise up to it, much to her chagrin.

Relationships: Young love that soured with Hades, fun love that drops with Ariadne (@yloiseconeillants), and devoted love that persists through the Final Days with Daedalus (@azure-dragonsinger).

Hades

Having been told that they were destined to be a couple since childhood, Hades and Minthe decide to truly try out a relationship after they initially graduate from Akadaemia. While Hades continues his studies in an academic manner so that he may better the Star, Minthe spends her time tinkering with various spices to increase their potency and flavor. Finding the pursuit frivolous, Hades chides her for wasting her talent nigh constantly, urging her to return to the Akadaemia so she could do something useful. After one of her spice concepts catches the eye of Hythlodaeus, she is offered a job at the Bureau of the  Architect. Once Hades learns that Minthe is not going to take time to return to the Akadaemia, he dumps her and tries to move on. Were it not for the Final Days, things may have had time to truly mend between them.

Ariadne

After the break up with Hades, Minthe isolates herself. She does keep to her responsibilities at the Bureau of the Architect, but once her required time for the day was up, she returned to her apartment to tinker on her spices alone. After some coaxing by various coworkers and acquaintances, Minthe attends a mixer where another scientifically minded woman, Ariadne, also attends. With her quirky approach and determination, Minthe finds Ariadne to be enchanting and continues to see her after the party. The two of them enjoy each other, and even turn the fact that they both saw Hades during their years in the Akadaemia against him rather than at each other. 

While Minthe assumes all is well between them, she finds that Ariadne had been squirreling away various memories into crystal rather than face embarrassing moments with maturity. After some time hemming and hawing, Ariadne starts the process of returning her memories with the biggest secret that she was hiding - that she knew that Minthe had visited the Underworld as a child. Already frayed and exhausted with her at this point, Minthe ends the relationship then and leaves Amaurot for a time.

Daedalus

After traveling with her brother, Sideritis, for a while, Minthe prepares to return to Amaurot and her job at the Bureau of the Architect. But before she enters the city proper, she finds her friends at the feet of a colossal machine, which Icarus (@hermits-hovel) calls Alexander. Fighting their way through the maze like structure, the group finds it's creator, Daedalus at the center. After a spectacular battle with his brother, Icarus, Daedalus finds himself rather weak. After being told he needs help, Minthe tries to replenish his aether but finds that Daedalus has a unique form of soul unlike she's ever seen. She relays this information to Hades, who then swears to restore Daedalus to a proper state.

After returning to work, Minthe took the time to visit Daedalus at Alexander one day. Seeing that he was still in a sorry state, Minthe complains to Hades that nothing he is doing is working - otherwise he would be healthier. Annoyed, Hades tells her that if she's so worried, she should take the reigns on the project herself. With hesitance, she does, noting that she never really took the time to learn much about Daedalus beforehand. But through her time spent with him, Minthe finds Daedalus to be bright and passionate about his creations, magic, and eventually herself. The pair bond over their lives in spent creative pursuits and Minthe coaxes Daedalus to enjoy each day as it comes, which becomes much easier with her by his side.

Key Traits: Acts of Service and Gift Giving as Love Languages, ethical hedonism, food, fun, devotion vs duty, living life one day at a time, realist.

Family: Parents (both returned to the Star while Minthe was in Amaurot), Siderits (brother, survived until the Sundering of Etheirys)

Tags: Azem Minthe, I Melt With You, Plant Girlfriends, The Unstoppable Force and the Immovable Object

Other Shards

Throughout Etheirys' history, Minthe's Sundered Selves have found themselves in important events. In chronological order:

Lamiales, a silent protector. Alive during the Calamity of Wind, this Hrothgar travels with their companion, Caelo, who turns their whispers into spoken word. The pair of them seek their third friend, Selene, who was flung far from them in a large gale. Along the way they meet other travelers in similar situation and band together to find all their lost loved ones.

Lucky Apple, alchemist of some renown on the Twelfth Shard of Etheirys. As powerful lightning storms rend the very land asunder, Apple spends her days wandering and trying to purify what little fresh water is left, all with a cheery attitude and a smile on her face. With the uncanny ability to see the souls of the departed, she is recruited by a Mr. Selch from the city of Eutopia to investigate means of transporting souls from one locale to another. Unaware of the consequences of such a thing, she gladly helps him with his task, and even helps others in the city with their experiments and discoveries. After it is revealed that Mr. Selch is actively seeking the destruction of her world, Apple feels so betrayed that she leaves Eutopia to focus on what good she can do elsewhere.

Though she has made peace with the fact that her world is ending, Apple still seeks to ease the pain of others for as long as she can draw breath. After all, why would she waste her time feeling sorry for herself when she can smile instead?

Miranda of Allag, or M'randa of Zurvan. Alive during the end of Allag's reign over Eorzea, M'randa and her brother, M'cutio, seek to end the dark deeds of the corrupt state from the inside, hiding as servants in high places. Finding her brother unable to fulfill the task from the inside, she murders his master and urges him to work from the outside. When M'cutio asks her to come with him, she says she cannot. She received a part of her master's aether to infiltrate the upper society of Allag, and she fears Merycidia would not accept her. M'cutio correctly deduces that M'randa has feelings for her master, Prospero (@azure-dragonsinger), but swears to relieve her of her burden some day.

As Miranda continues to serve Prospero and surgically cut through Allag, a mysterious man enters his life and irrevocably changes him. While Miranda found her master to be a ruthless, devious and aspirational architect before, the man who takes his place, Daedalus, is actually full of kindness and despairs at their situation. But he his bound by duty, as well as to the man who changed him, Emet-Selch. Finding herself more and more tangled in Allag's web of lies and politics, Miranda finds that the simplest way to deal with it is to finish what she started and tear down the Empire from the inside, taking Emet-Selch down with it.

Moth Orchid, Ally of Ronka. A Viis of the First, Moth Orchid never sought much more honor than that of an adventurer. Through a fated encounter with Ambrose of Ronka, he gains favor with Princes and makes friends with the nation he sought to avoid. While Ambrose pulls him out of his aloof nature, the Viis is suspicious of many, including a mysterious man named Emet-Selch, who claims to have knowledge his friends seek.

Aoife Redbranch. A magus in the time of Mhach, Aoife was well known for two things: her raw power in the aetherial arts and her rivalry with one Bricriu Honey-tongue (@yloiseconeillants). That is, until she vanished one day in the woods. As she told Bricriu later, Aoife was drawn by a strangely familiar aether, full of power. The aether belonged to a certain man who called himself Emet-Selch. With promises of magicks not known to Mhach, Amdapor, or Nym, Aoife took his offer to stay by his side as he watched the world she knew crumble.

It didn't take that long for Aoife to become tired about the arrangement, however. After enough begging, Emet-Selch allows her to visit her rival, who she then tells that Emet-Selch is a Voidsent under her spell. More than annoyed at the falsehood, Emet-Selch humiliates Aoife in front of Bricriu. After a heated argument, Aoife manages to kill the mortal form of Emet-Selch, not knowing that the Wizard of Eld was able to come back from such a thing. Though he was prepared to return the favor, Emet-Selch finds he cannot kill Aoife, seeing something in her eyes that catches on what little remains of his heart. He does, however, tell her he cannot let her go free, lest she ruin his plans for the Rejoining inadvertently. So she asks him to gild her cage and allow her some luxury. He obliges, and the two start their relationship anew.

While it is still a bit lonely, Aoife is more or less content with the life she has with Emet-Selch. That is at least until she hosts a party of four adventurers trying to heal the world and themselves during the floods that have been occurring. Finding herself compassionate for the souls and liking herself more for it, she wonders if she could have always been kind, and if that could have saved her. Only time will tell if that holds true.

On top of that, I do have a few side characters. For now, they'll get a link to their Carrd.