#Kinglsey Tealeaf

[suraelis]

From Mighty Nein Reunited Pt.2

Kingsley being a fucking mood.

[mxlinoe]

Mollymauk and the Modern Dionysus

Something that has always driven me insane is the weird accuracy of mollymauk/lucien/kingsley’s story to that of Dionysus. Like, it’s a tired thing to equate Mollymauk to Dionysus - i’m sure everyone in the fandom at some point has done that - but i cannot stress enough how entirely accurate it actually is.

Lets start from the beginning: dionysus’s creation myth.

Parts of it vary here and there depending on who you ask but the story goes Zeus is having his nth affair with Semele. Hera finds out, but instead of just outright killing her, disguises herself as an old women. In disguise she speaks with Semele who reveals shes pregnant with Zeus’s child. Hera deceives Semele and tells her to ask Zeus to show his godly form “and deceived by Hera she asked that he would come to her as he came when he was wooing Hera” (Apollod. 3.4.3). This means basically come to me as your godly form, and when zeus did “came to her bridal chamber in a chariot, with lightnings and thunderings, and launched a thunderbolt” (Apollod. 3.4.3) it fucking killed her. From there, Zeus sews the childs heart to his leg and months later Dionysus is born from Zeus. Theres another version of the story where Zeus impregnates Semele by giving her a liquid version of Dionysus’s heart?? “Liber, son of Jove and Proserpine, was dismembered by the Titans, and Jove gave his heart, torn to bits, to Semele in a drink” (Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 167). Keep in mind this constant idea of death.

Anyhow, where the story really varies is who ends up raising Dionysus. Obviously, Semele is dead, and Hera wants him dead so he can’t stay on Olympus. Apollodorus states that he’s raised by the king and queen of Thebes as a girl (keep this in mind). A whole other version of this story is Dionysus is the child of Zeus and Persephone. This gives him connections to the underworld, death, and rebirth. Another version of the myth has him raised by nymphs? It all jumps around and I can’t find concrete textual evidence for anything but what Apollodorus states.

That’s where the story pretty much stops varying. From this point on it’s agreed that Hera drove Dionysus mad to wander the world and he teaches people about wine while he wanders, then he gets back to Greece and yayyy hes on the pantheon. 

Second thing to look at: Madness

In Euripides’s ‘The Bacchae’, Dionysus returns to Thebes to learn that worship of him has been banned and to clear his mothers name. He returns with a group of “bacchants”. When he arrived in Thebes, Dionysus drove Semele’s sisters mad - and then they fled up Mt Cithaeron to worship him. In the meantime (still in disguise) Dionysus is arrested and begins to drive King Pentheus of Thebes mad. The funniest part about this is how EXTENSIVELY Dionysus is physically described: 

“Well, stranger, I see this body of yours is not unsuitable for women’s pleasure— that’s why you’ve come to Thebes. As for your hair, it’s long, which suggests that you’re no wrestler. It flows across your cheeks That’s most seductive. You’ve a white skin, too. You’ve looked after it, avoiding the sun’s rays by staying in the shade, while with your beauty you chase Aphrodite” (Euripides. Bacchae. 564-571) 

LIKE??? Anyway. He starts to drive Pentheus insane by tricking him, causing a fire, and an earthquake. He persuades Pentheus to go undercover IN DRAG to the maenads (the women driven crazy on the mountain). Dionysus knows that this will be his death, but Pentheus doesn’t. So he goes up the mountain and is promptly torn apart by the women who believe they’re actually tearing apart a mountain lion (because they’re also mad). 

There’s also a myth where Dionysus gets captured by pirates during his worldly travels because they think he’s so cute so he drives them mad and then turns them into dolphins. Dionysus also drove A king of Edonia in Thrake (north of Greece) mad and in this madness the king killed his family. Dionysus really enjoys driving people mad. Like, I lose count of how many times he’s driven mortals mad for disrespecting him.

Thirdly: historical evolutions and aesthetic

Dionysus is an ancient god, believed to be as old as wine itself (which was invented in 6000 BC). He’s gone through a good few aesthetic changes over the years, but my favorite and most important thing to note is that Dionysus once had horns. HORNS! Because of these aesthetic changes, he’s also sometimes split into three separate “eras” - Mycenaean, Orphic, and Hellenized. The first is the oldest known Dioysus, he’s depicted as an older, beared figure with horns. It seems he was more worshiped for his connections to the Underworld and e was associated with marriage, death, sacrifice, and sexuality over wine. Orphic (of Orphisim, from Orpheus) is a younger, androgynous figure with horns. Dionysus was a central figure in Orphism because of his connections to death and rebirth, which correlated with Orpheus going to the underworld (and also correlated with Orpheus being torn apart by the maenads). Hellenized Dionysus is the modern day one. He’s still androgynous but doesn’t have horns :(, and the main thing people cared about regarding him was being the god of wine.  

Dionysus is also half the time wearing women’s clothing. Here’s some quotes about Dionysus and how he dresses from Lucian’s “Dialogue of the Gods’:

“Well, Zeus, I should be ashamed if I had such a son; so effeminate, … tying up his hair in a ribbon, indeed! and spending most of his time among mad women, himself as much a woman as any of them;” 

“Anyhow, my dear, this wearer of ribbons, this woman among women…” 

I also want to mention that Dionysus is cited multiple times being. Uh. the bottom? The receiver? I have no other way to say this that is pg lol. I make this note not to sexualize but to highlight the fact that out of all male gods who had fellow male lovers, he is the only one to “fulfill” the “women’s role” in sex. The rest of them were doing it, but it was only being done to him. Everyone’s favorite myth is Dionysus and Prosymnus and the creation of the “toy”. In that myth he, yknow, does it to himself on Prosymnus’ grave. There’s also a quote that describes is androgyny as:

“Androgynos (androgynous) : [A word applied to] Dionysos, as one doing both active, male things and passive, female ones [in sexual intercourse].” (Suidas s.v. Androgynos)

So, finally, with everything I just said in mind, how does this related to the threeleafs? Let’s make a check list to see the amount of overlap!

Queerness? Check and check. Mollymauk is so aggressively bisexual and gender-nonconforming it hurts. I wish Molly lived longer so we could see more of the transness that totally was going to happen but alas, the dice rule. I know we don’t know where Molly lands in bed, but most people see him as a bottom anyway so I thought I’d include the facts above about Dionysus’s position in bed.

Madness? Check and check! Focusing on Lucien a little more here I sort of equate the “pattern” from the Somnovem to be akin to the madness Dionysus emposes upon people. Mostly because when you are driven mad by Dionysus you’re seen as a maenad - and when you’re exposed to the pattern by the Somnovem, you’ve got yourself an extra few eyes. 

Death and rebirth? Check and check and check and check and check and check!! Must I even spell it out for you? It is the MAIN part of the threeleafs! 

Three different “eras”? Check and check! I feel like I’m stretching the link here but I thought I’d mention it. The fact that there’s three versions of the same person in one body - that all each have a defining difference between the three of them - reminds me a lot of Dionysus. Lucien being the oldest and more associated with his madness. Mollymauk more associated with the parties (by the fandom mostly) and sexuality. Kinglsey closely associated with identity. It’s really interesting to me to see the shift in how important wine was to Dionysus’s characterization over the three “eras”.

Horns? CHECK AND CHECK. When I learned Dionysus once had horns I went so crazy. He had bull horns, and bulls were notoriously used in ritual sacrifice for Dionysus. Bulls and serpents are some of his sacred animals. While Mollymauk may not have bull horns, he definitely has a snake tattoo!

I’m sure there’s more things I could link between the two of them but these four are the main things that have been driving me absolutely insane for a few years. I know Taliesin said he was really inspired by mermaids but I have a really hard time believing that when there’s THIS MUCH STUFF that lines up between the characters and Dionysus. 

Soooo, that’s basically it. I’m sure I forgot something I wanted to say but whatever. Mollymauk was so right when he said “I am your god, long may I reign”.

[but-a-humble-goon]

Things that give me emotions at random #83

Mollymauk Tealeaf opened his eyes for the first time, clawed his way out of Lucien’s shallow unmarked grave and decided whoever’s life he just inherited he wants nothing to do with it.

Kingsley Tealeaf opened his eyes for the first time surrounded by all the lives Molly touched and all the people who loved him and decided to take his name and call him brother.

[dumbass-rogue]

No because I can't stop thinking about Kingsley becoming the plank king and then lifting the ban on the mighty nein. Just- it's so good!

King shit right there.

I need a comic detailing his pirate life, please and thank you 😊

[nimhmistsong]

I WROTE FOR A PROMPT LIST! ENJOY!

[mollythebrave]

With each day that passes I grow a little more fond of Molly, Kingsley, and Lucien.

[queenjulia11]

I just realized Kingsley doesn’t have Molly’s peacock face tattoo. Does Exandria have laser tattoo removal??

[artemis-pendragon]

HOLD UP HOLD UP HOLD UP TAL IS PLAYING KINGSLEY IN THE M9 TWO-SHOT?!?! AAAHHH!!

[slushrottweiler]

CR fans:

Do yall think Kinglsey is covering his tatts and scars, or do you think he's had them magically removed?

Coz both make sense.

It would help distance himself from Molly and Lucien, especially with his memories returning. The tattoos were Molly's way of claiming his body, the eyes (now empty spaces) from Lucien's choices. The scars are marks of their previous lives. And whenever the Nein look at him with those marks, the see a little bit of the other two, no matter how much they love and adore Kingsley.

So it makes sense that he might cover them up. A little easier for the Nein to see him as himself and not his "brothers". And a little easier for himself when he looks in the mirror. Many of those returning memories are not going to be pleasant; and it's going to be hard to reconcile that He didn't do those things, not really. Covering the marks can be part of his healing process. A coping mechanism.

But if he took the marks away -- it's literally a clean slate. Any scars he gets now are his own; his pain, his choices. If he wants to be tattooed again, he can get his own ink that he chose. Those memories are still there, but Kingsley gets to be his own man with a dark family history. It could be a way to deny that past, or a way to free himself from it.

Idk which idea I like more. But Kingsley Tealeaf is just making me feel things and I will fight the world for his happiness. Hail to the Pirate King(sley)

[omniscientwreck]

Saw a post about what Caleb's bardic instrument would be so have a post about the Mighty Nein as orchestral musicians:

Beau: trumpet. They get lots of very beautiful lines, the instrument is about refinement and honing skills and building stamina. She'd be able to play super fucking high and also loves the piccolo trumpet parts.

Caduceus: viola. Integral to the sound of an orchestra but often misunderstood or overlooked. Superior to the violin in every way. Beautiful rich tone, sounds like a hug.

Caleb: french horn. One of the most difficult brass instruments, requires precision and a good ear (Caleb has perfect pitch fight me) and the parts are full of beautiful sweeping lines.

Essek: clarinet. Ok this was my instrument in school so maybe I'm a little biased but! It's a difficult instrument to master and keeping it in tune requires dedication. Full of flighty parts that require high amounts of precision and has a lot of character.

Fjord: timpani. The timpanist is the 3rd most highly paid orchestra member because they, along with the conductor and concertmaster keep the entire orchestra together.

Jester: bassoon. The rock of the wind section, does a lot of support but when they have solo lines they always steal the show. Also contra bassoon would be her favourite thing.

Kingsley: that's a flute player if I ever saw one. Flashy, showy, something that isn't technically difficult but it can make or break a piece if the flutes are out of it. Beautiful showy lines, often the centre of attention.

Veth: auxillary percussion. Needs to know how to do a lot of things and come in at exactly the right place. I think her favourite would probably be cymbals or gong but she can do all those fun little things that add so much character to a piece.

Yasha: cello. Passion, warmth, beautiful rich sounds. I just think she would be one of those cellists who moves so much while playing you have no idea how she keeps track of the instrument.

Bonus Yussa for shits and giggles: conductor. Very accomplished, probably started as a concert pianist and now leads the orchestra. Kind of an idiot, often does inexplicable things but produces a good performance every time and the musicians do trust him. Unconventional score interpretations but very flashy and entertaining to watch.

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

Whumptober Day 3: Impaled. Kingsley has been having some really weird dreams lately... well, it’s probably nothing worth worrying the rest of the crew about. ....right?????

[sepulchretide]

Lucien: Hello and welcome to Myself, Myself, and Me, an advice show for the modren era. I'm your oldest self, Lucien Nonagon.

Molly: I'm your middlest self Mollymauk Big Dog Woof Woof Tealeaf.

Kingsley: And I'm your sweet baby self Kingsley Tealeaf.

[applejuicewerewolf]

Post Campaign 2 solo adventure: King Tealeaf books a tattoo removal service

[suraelis]

Kinglsey from the Critical Role M9 Reunion Part 1

[bluemoontarot]

OK but despite me being like "Kingsley? 😔 No dni" I genuinely love AU's where all 3 iterations of Lucien's souls are just fuckin siblings

It's so funny and will never not amuse me to see Lucien as the oldest just so tired of his siblings shit as Molly and Kingsley fuck around and find out