peony : what would a ‘ happy life ’ look like in your muse’s eyes ?
BOTANICAL HEADCANONS ・ accepting! ( warning for discussion or mentions of pregnancies, childbirth, child neglect / abuse, religious trauma, and bad parenting overall )
there are two answers to this depending on pre-death and post-death Zephia, so i'll answer this question twice, elaborate on both, and compare the expectation between the two, as slight as it might be. the order will be PRE-DEATH → POST-DEATH → COMPARISON. warning for rambling and long paragraphs, too 💕
first off, a "happy life" in PRE-DEATH Zephia's eyes would be pretty basic and concise. she would bear a child by Lord Sombron and heal her loneliness. but that's where it ends. she hadn't thought of anything after gracing a womb with a child, thus, after her child would be born, what then? what would she want after? though this "happy life" would consist of Sombron giving in to her wish, would he not expect her child to become a pawn if she taught them the ways of the Fell Dragon? but if she didn't, if she tried to be a mother like her mother once was, would her child not snap their jaws at the world like it was theirs?
no matter how many children she has, there is no place for the Four Hounds in this happy life. they were temporary in her real conquest and, thus, would be discarded once she was deemed pregnant. after all, her only reason to be Sombron's follower in the first place was for him to realize how good of a mother he could make her, right? there's a question of where she and her child go but for that, she has no answer. whatever it be, it would be nowhere close to a Fell Church. that much was for certain. she saw the treatment they gave children—took part in it, even. but she would be damned if anyone besides herself hurt her child. this, likely, extends to Sombron. she chose him as a father simply because of how absent he is in the lives of his own children so it should be the same for hers. he won't care and her child's entire world will revolve around her.
but, a "happy life" in POST-DEATH Zephia's eyes is more thought-out but less sensical. her conquest of bearing a Lord Sombron's child is still a priority, but she does not know where it stands among the others. because, now, she realizes that she does have other people she cares for. whether she has one child or plenty, the Four Hounds deserve a place at her side, however, she doesn't know where or how that is. would she take them far from the Fell Church? even after its damages have already been done? would she name Griss as the godfather of her child? Mauvier? would she forgive Marni and, in some twisted form of fate, pronounce her the dead godmother? either way, she will have a child ( because, to her, she needs to start over. a clean new slate. a clean new family. ) but where would she go to raise them?
after her death, Zephia doesn't really understand her goals or desires. she's realized that the Four Hounds were the family she wanted, yes, but would they be enough? especially after she had such an influence in all of their fates? what's to say that Griss would even be a good godfather? and if he isn't, what would she do? it isn't his fault that he's the way he is as much as it's her fault for encouraging his desires. would she discard him from the new life or would she see her child as the problem?
now for the COMPARISON. let it be known that imagining Xephia with a child is a dangerous game, as her own traumas are only repressed, not healed, and putting a child under her care would only prove how inept she is at motherhood. she wasn't made or taught how to properly love someone and her definition of parenthood is a transaction of obligation from the child for being born so... yeah.
pre-death Zephia is selfish whereas post-death Zephia is not as blind to her prior desires. this has nothing to do with Sombron, unfortunately, as she still wants to have his child. that will not change. for over a thousand years, that was her goal and, likely, will not change until a thousand more years of self-introspection occur. however, post-death Zephia does now see the Four Hounds as a family, though her understanding of this doesn't reflect that. she doesn't fully recognize the impact Griss, Mauvier, and Marni had on her conscious. so while she definitely imagines them being a part of a "happy life", in comparison to pre-death Zephia who will not think of them as anything beyond what they are, i don't think she knows what or where they'll be. because, after all, Marni's death was by her hands and Mauvier is nowhere to be found.
it's simple to assume that a "happy life" in Zephia's eyes would be something cruel and purposefully full of malice ( ex. founding a Fell Church of her own, or another faction of followers, or reviving Sombron completely ) but the only goal in life that she can remember having is to bear a child and live a life of fullness with them. the specifics aren't and were never thought out fully.
{ 👑 } THE LIAR WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN to keep his deep and dark secrets to himself, to refuse to utter a word that may deem him IMPLICIT to a soft heart. Yet, it is difficult, so very difficult when he's all but forced to reveal hard inner truths. The flowers don't hurt, but they irritate. Branding him a liar, a mistrustful man. Why, that technically isn't nothing NEW, but … well …
TO SEE NABOR AGAIN IS A relief in more ways than one.
❝NABBIE! YOU! WHAT THE HELL? SHOWING up on my doorstep like … like … ❞ Petals spew from within his sleeves as he clings to his companion. Arms move, gripping tight in a hug. ❝Big idiot - strong - handsome lug -- Gods, I was so FUCKING worried about you, you know that? I … ❞ A single tear is brushed away upon his sleeve as he watches thelast of his flowers fall. ❝I missed you more than anything.❞
“maybe you’re right..” he spoke with a soft voice as he combed his hands through his hair turning to the other. “but what am i suppose to do? there’s really not a book about how to keep a life when you become a superhero, y’know?”
“YOU NEED MORE HEROES TO TALK TO, MAN. Until somebody writes that book, the best way to learn is through other people’s advice.” He pauses, a smile pulling onto unmasked lips. “It can be really tough, but try to remind yourself of where your priorities are. Like, why you want to do this hero thing in the first place.”
{ 👑 } HE MAY INSIST TILL HE'S BLUE in the face that he doesn't care about others, much less the annoying pile of bones who calls himself 'Gaster', but he still finds himself taking notice of changes. There's more flowers out and about, blue ones, just like how the monster likes them. But these look … DIFFERENT from the mimicking, echoing ones - enough for him to stare right into the abyss. Is it his imagination, or does the abyss stare back? Nose crinkles up as he turns around to meet Gaster's gaze.
❝WHAT? YA GOT NEW FLOWERS … IT'S been years since ya did.❞ His nose wrinkles. When have I been so free in my tongue wagging? He doesn't think that he'd normally admit that … Must be the holiday season. Making me SOFT. Gangrel snorts. ❝Or, well, I think so, anyway.❞
{ 👑 } WITH SO MUCH POWER AT HIS fingertips, it is inevitable that some of it would get to his head. Much of it, in fact. He assumed that the part of him that has grown used to domestic living would be COMPLACENT to such a lifestyle, and truly, he's certainly worried about the people he likes —- but why render oneself to a sniveling wreck when you could do something. Anything. Crying has never done him any favors; when his mother couldn't defend herself, he PROUDLY stepped up to the plate. And now that this city needs its citizens to step in, he'll gladly have fun in his own way. Usually by inflicting pain upon CPNs, but sometimes … rather rarely … by offering support. ❝Hey KIDDO, you looked scraped up,❞ he shrugs, slinging his staff over one shoulder. ❝Need a healer?❞
