AND NOW . the lackeys (what happened to them in the bad ending au)
NOW lackeys dont just hide and run away , theyre indebted to the current holder of the soul jam they serve (those being the soul jams of the beasts, which now technically belong to the oxomoros) and as expected, the oxomoros do not treat them well !
shadow milks lackeys have been taken in so gracefully by the oxomoro of ignorance, and theyre far less lenient with their subjects. why simply be a catalyst of the fun, a necessary propeller when you can be a part of it too? both of them are just as much the victims as those they terrorise, which also means that they go through changes ! black sapphires made out of all sorts of fun toys and games, (ignoxo remains ignorant to his distress, he should be enjoying it, isn’t he just such a charismatic charmer? why would he be distressed? maybe hes just faking it.) while candy apple is made into a card much like what shadow milk did in game, except now shes also trapped there forever ! and she can feel the rips and tears of the cards. and shes also missing one of her crutches (she’d have two normally, but ignoxo remains ignorant of her pain “she can tough it out, naturally”) they are tasked with overseeing the other lackeys and reporting anything to ignoxo (who also continues on any action through the other oxomoros, theyre all connected)
cloud haetae has been taken in by conoxo, the oxomoro of constraint and has now been given such an important mission ! to guard their post and look out for any sign of mystic flour, and they must stay determined, never leaving their post, never considering any life other than this, always being on duty. it doesnt matter if theyre starving or wasting away, they should be happy with the opportunities they’ve been given. not like that matters anyways, because THEY STILL NEED TO KEEP MOVING. they miss their momma. conoxo doesnt even let them leave and they miss mystic flour, they hope to find her soon
similarly, nutmeg tiger has been taken in by the oxomoro of stagnation, stagoxo, who places through harsher training (nobody even knew that was possible) by directly attacking her to prepare her for the confrontation with burning spice, as she has been tasked to attack her beast once she finds him. surely, she should be happier by this? she is now stronger, maybe even stronger than the Great Destroyer if she continues up with this, yet she is uncertain and she feels so, so weak. evidently she also misses her momma
PAVLOVA AND SUGARFLY have been taken in by the oxomoro of misery, misoxo. they havent technically been given any formal mission, but they serve their purpose well by being misoxo’s playthings in the first place. sugarfly, having been taken from the faerie kingdom once more, is more hostile and angered by the process, which misoxo allows- they like it when theres a bit of challenge, a bit of suffering involved. meanwhile, pavlova has to have a bit more convincing done for her sake, especially since she was so rebellious and out of line in the garden of delights ! that will not do. now shes far more malleable in a way sugarfly does not like seeing, does not like witnessing.