DQXI Mini-playlists

i am pleading on my hands and knees for video essayists to learn how to annunciate and how to intonate with more expression. if i click on one more kinda interesting looking thumbnail and am met with the exact same flat, british, monotone mumbling i'm going to eat a tire.

DQXI Characters and how they’d comfort you during finals week

Because this game is the only thing getting me through postgrad

Erik

At first it seems like he doesn’t really care that much but he’s actually just trying to stay out of your way. He thinks he’ll just distract you, and he doesn’t want to be another obstacle for you.

Wants to support you as best he can, but you’ll need to be direct with what it is he can do. Say the word and he’d have the sword of light in your hands if you really wanted it.

Please for the love of Erdrea do not ask this man to proofread your papers or he might start crying.

Veronica

The older sister instinct kicks in for sure. All of her advice is completely unsolicited, but she just wants you to succeed! Would sit and help you take notes, listen to you practice presenting, and offers excellent feedback

Wants to make sure you’re happy and healthy and not losing yourself to your work. Reminds you to drink water, throws a blanket over you when you fall asleep at your desk.

That doesn’t stop her from nagging you and calling you lazy when you wake up.

Serena

Offers to help with everything, even if it’s a little distracting sometimes.

Very she’s committed to being there for you. If you pull an all nighter, she’d volunteer to stay up right there next to you. She’d still end up falling asleep before you do, but it’s the thought that counts.

Would very much offer to do things like cook, clean, walk your dog while you focus on your studies. She wants to lessen your load as much as possible.

Sylvando

Retail therapy <3 He spoils you with little gifts, whether it’s a new purse or even some cute stationary so that highlighting the 7th textbook you’ve read is a little less painful

Your number one cheerleader. Postgrad degrees are serious commitments and acts of dedication to something you must care about, and he knows this.

Sylvando would do everything he can to reaffirm your confidence in yourself. It would make him sad to see something you care so much about bring you stress, so his top priority is making sure you smile.

Jade

I think she’s the type to wake up early in the morning to go to the gym. Before she leaves, she’d make your breakfast and set it on the table so it’s there when you wake up.

When she comes back to you, she has two iced coffees and a little box of pastries from the coffee store for you two share while she sits with you.

The way she supports you is very quiet and casual, but consistent. Does her best to keep you as routine oriented as possible. She knows responsibilities are daunting and she doesn’t want to see you run away from them.

Rab

He’s a little bit like an old dad who forgot how to do long division trying to help you get your fifth grade math homework done, but the spirit is there

Always offers to give you breaks. Want to come with me to the grocery store? Feeling like McDonald’s? Come sit on the porch with me and watch the sunset for a few minutes. Let’s watch some TV together tonight.

Brings cut fruit to your room when he knows you’re locked in and need to focus. Always leaves motivational post it notes throughout the house.

Hendrik

If you weren’t anxious enough about your work as it is, he (unintentionally) makes it worse. He’s a little bit on top of you, he remembers your deadlines better than you do and he will not let you forget them.

You might tell him to back off because he is just a tad bit making everything so much worse. He will be so apologetic, and from that point on he’s at your beck and call.

Need a break? Let’s take Obsidian for a walk. Hungry? He’ll bring food home for you. He’s got your favorite orders memorized. Need to cry? He’ll hold the tissue box, help you wash your face afterwards, and hold you if you really need him to.

Jasper

It feels like he’s actively antagonizing you. What, you’re having a hard time? What did you expect? Maybe you should’ve thought about that before deciding to pursue all this. What else are you going to do then? Quit?

It’s mean and not very helpful, but he’s parroting his own internal monologue towards you. You’d have to knock a little sense into him. After a discussion about projecting his own self esteem issues onto someone else, he’d be a little nicer.

Your weeks turn into long dates at the library, sitting across from each other at the desks. He reads his favorites while you study and promises to tell you how they end, as long as you finish your work. Afterwards, he takes you to dinner at your favourite place.

Where I’d Take DQXI Characters on a Date

Not quite a set of headcanons as much as just self indulgent nonsense -w-

Erik

I feel like he’s an activity guy. Part of me wants to think that the pressure of conversation would make him feel a little shy and second guess himself more than usual.

Rollerblading, ice skating, or even something like axe throwing would be a great idea! Something physical that lets him feel confidently in his element (agility, deftness, sleight of hand)

Veronica

I don’t know if I can call it a date but I’d take her to build a bear just to fuck with her LMAO

Afterwards I think it’d be fun to walk around the rest of the mall and laugh at silly stores, do some window shopping. Maybe get a giant pretzel.

I also think she’d like going to a gachapon arcade :)

Serena

Bookstore…Barnes and Noble…showing each other our favourite literature, poetry books, maybe even exploring some graphic novels…picking out books that make us think about each other…buying over priced Starbucks drinks…

A paint and sip or cooking class together would also be fun!! An activity, but something cooperative and cozy

Sylvando

Oh man I’d be nervous about this one

Immediately I want to start the night with a super fancy seafood dinner. Something we could both get super dressed up for. Seeing a theatre show or opera afterwards might be nice too!

Jade

I know in my heart she’d love a gym date but I’m far too out of shape for that and I would cry. We’re going for a nature hike together.

Rab

Honestly? I also think a nice little nature walk or visit to a public park would be nice. We could feed birds :)

I think he’d also lowkey love a board game cafe. Vibes. Fun drinks and possibly snacks. Learning experiences.

Hendrik

It is canon that this 6’6” man is afraid of bugs and if I ever met him personally I’d never let him live that down. I would take him on a date and surprise him with tickets to visit the museum. We would see the butterfly vivarium and then go touch giant cockroaches. I would buy him a giant, hyper-realistic stuffed isopod plush in the gift shop.

There would not be a second date.

Jasper

I would be terrified, first of all. If I don’t impress him I’d never be able to show my face on this earth again.

Honestly? I think I’d gamble and take him to a museum. Not for the same reason as Hendrik. Definitely an art museum. Is it a little quiet and boring? Maybe. But it would give him a chance to monologue and show off his thinking and analytic skills, and I think that would make him feel appreciated.

Then I would propose to him

fairies, drawn in 2019

What is the funniest pokemon move

The official DQ twitter account posted a graffiti-style illustration to celebrate the opening of a new Square Enix Garden store in Shibuya!

https://x.com/SQEX_MD_GOODS/status/1902163117632622738

How DQXI Party Members would navigate TikTok

Erik

Started by posting silly videos for himself and his friends. Videos of him and Lumi doing viral dances, pranking Veronica, the occasional thirst trap fit check or cool knife trick

Accidentally got a decent amount of attention. Like, people get excited when they see him leaving comments on their videos.

Doesn’t post nearly as often as he did before he got famous. Posts way more often on a secret private account he made.

Veronica

TikTok almost banned her for not meeting their age requirement

She’s got a very small presence. Doesn’t post too much, maybe an occasional review of a book Serena recommended to her. Sometimes posts herself showing off new magic abilities.

Restricts most of her videos to “friends only” but that doesn’t stop Erik, Serena, and Sylv from dragging her onto their accounts.

Serena

Never actually meant to post any videos but then she saw a BookTok take that was so horrendous she couldn’t stop herself from making a 14 minute video stitching her response

One of the biggest influencers leading critical discussions about contemporary literature. Would like to post cooking videos, but she’s too shy/under-confident about her skills

Posts videos of herself playing the harp every now and then to try and share some positivity— and then goes right back to dragging Colleen Hoover’s name through wet dirt

Sylvando

His presence immediately drew the attention of all his adoring fans, and he eats it up. Always posting make up tutorials, GRWM, OOTD, cooking, dances, etc. If he misses one day of posting his followers think he’s dead.

A rare but treasured breed of Sylvando post is the two minute long video of him reminding his followers to never stop smiling, always protect their own light, and to never give up fighting against the darkness that plagues the world.

He also dedicates a lot of his content to promoting/collaborating with smaller accounts :) The spotlight is meant to be shared!

Jade

Rarely posts, but when she does it’s usually some variety of a “get ready with me” video. Accidentally became famous because she’s got a lethal face card.

Loves showing off her cutesy matching workout sets and her favorite post gym recipes. Collabs with Sylvando whenever they have homie gym dates :)

Very easily discomforted by the parasociality of social media and will randomly drop off the face of the earth for months at a time

Rab

Help him. He doesn’t even have his own TikTok account, the kids just drag him into their own

Recurring character in his children’s (the party’s) videos. “Seeing how many oranges I can stack on my grandfather’s head while he sleeps.” // “Grandpa’s first time playing deltarune” // “My grandpa’s favourite sandwich recipe”

Not always fully into it but it makes him feel young and hip, and he loves making his kids happy :)

Hendrik

He’s got one of those accounts with a blank profile picture and autogenerated username like hendrik0621593

Never posts anything. Follows his friends and likes their videos and minds his business. Occasionally asks Jasper what certain slang means because he’s so out of the loop.

Always ends up on strange niche sides of TikTok because the algorithm is so confused by him. Ended up following a few mushroom forager accounts.

Jasper

Only has an account so he can block Hendrik.

Has a hard time getting into social media because he’s just so disinterested in the affairs of random people. Whenever he sees something annoying online, he gets a little embarrassed that he even cared enough to get angry in the first place

Tries to avoid doomscrolling but the content he does consume is usually aesthetic oriented. Musicians and singers, vacation inspo, occasionally baking content.

exactly one other person in the world understands Jasper like I do and it’s OP

PRINCE FARIS COULD FIX JASPER

Thinking again on some Dave Lore: In the book "Dave: A Legend", he's mentioned as becoming a "pink-masked privateer". A privateer was sponsored by the state, so to speak - which got me wondering.

A privateer was often issued commissions, or letters of marque, allowing them to attack other ships without fear of it being labelled as piracy, and being allowed to claim those ships as prizes under law. Dave only became a privateer after his beloved King fell - which I've always assumed to have been King Arnout of Zwaardsrust, the last King. After Arnout fell, so too did Zwaardsrust, leaving Dave without a home kingdom.

Twenty years or so later he met Sylv - a noble by birth - and together they painted all the masts and sails in the inland sea pink. Ergo, Sylv, as Dave's newfound sovereign, commissioned Dave and allowed him to go after those ships without fear of reprisal - and even helped him in that task, as the book mentions.